De-cluttering, still at it, still no end

maybee when my daughters started to clear the loft last weekend, they found lots of their ‘A’level artwork up there. Some of the really large works were in the garage, very well wrapped up and stood against the wall. When we unwrapped them they were still all in perfect condition. No one has enough room for them, so we wrapped them up again and they’re still in the garage! Both DDs are in their 40s so the art has been there a while.

I recently had to clear a lot of old (but not really worth anything) bulky furniture from my late mother's house. I found a site called TrashNothing.com and managed to give away most of it. I have 3 items left, and one is a massive wardrobe that was too big to take, so my brother will dismantle and dispose of it!

People were really grateful for the things, and because you can give feedback, there were fewer timewasters than Facebook.

The site works well in cities, due to population size, but it's nationwide, so worth a look. I recommended to a friend who is in the same boat, and she cleared a lot in Surrey.

The other option we had was to pay a company £2800 to clear it (they said a lot of the cost was disposal fees.)

I've been in the loft again today, I'm envious of those who can clear their loft with one trip to the tip

Me too!

I was going to say that before, but kept quiet.

It is the only part of the house that would give the hoarder proagramme a run for their money.
Even on that Stacey show, I am not sure any have been worse than mine!

I have had enough for today, what I am doing is too airy fairy to be easy as in de-cluttering for a smaller abode. I could be using everything I have but am trying to look ahead, will I need it, won`t I need it?

One dd is having a few items the other says she has no room, some now will go to recycling and some to the cs. Tbh, I have started to feel bogged down by one of my husbands small hand carved bowls. I have stopped for the day, put the bowl into a cupboard, knowing I will never use it

I cannot do any more just now, it is tough

It rather depends how much smaller your new home will be.

Thankfully, ours is only about 25% smaller, so the sorting does not have to be too rigorous, and I am by nature a none horder. kitchen equipment is the least of my problems - but books and papers........... Plus DH and his tools. Oh, and we sold our house in France last year and while most of that was disposed of in France, some stuff, mainly books, pictures and cushions are still in a storage facility near by.

Oh dear I am getting carried away again, when I should be in the shower. That deep cupboard has 4 shelves and my kitchen is even more of a tip now

After my haircut, I will come back with new eyes and carefully go through my everyday baking tins, which take up most of a whole shelf

Grammaretto, I don`t envy you your marathon task, also you having to get a move on. Just grit your teeth and start in a corner of one room and work through. Be relentless and put feelings to one side. Marie Kondo book might help

I will be back home by 10.30 and have also got the bit in my teeth. Kitchen stuff, again, I need to make more sense of the one tall cupboard with just three shelves. My kitchen table is already full of the likes of sistema. The old way was me using pyrex jugs for custard etc in the microwave.

Top shelf is only reachable with steps, my nordic bakeware can stay there. omg, it is so tough,I want to keep my large assortment of baking dishes, bread tins etc. I am going to work on my mindset for the next couple of hours

I need to have a proper think, I need the space

I am in decluttering mood again as I have given the person who wants to buy my house a deadline for an offer or I will put it on the open market.

An auctioneer who came last month still hasn't taken anything away. 😔

He told me I could pay a house clearance company who would take 4 days to clear my house and would cost a lot of money.

I can see at the rate it's going I will have to resort to this solution.

I have tackled personal papers though so am making a little progress.

I admire your cool heads M0nica and Karmalady.

I sit and gaze at photos of DH and my DC hoping they don't accidentally get thrown out either by me or by one of my willing helpers.

MOnica

Well done if you can get rid of bedding.

A homeless charity near us only wants brand new stuff, nothing pre-loved as apparently it’s a health and hygiene issue.🤷‍♀️

If it’s laundered and in good condition, I cannot see the problem, if the recipients have nothing, surely that’s a better solution until they get back on their feet?

The charity is happy to accept cash instead.

No donation from me.

I've got all of my childrens art work which culminated in large pieces done for A Level exams in the loft. Old hi fi systems which are now popular again. I do actually find things like that aesthetically pleasing. Only stopped using it because the cd player stopped working. Annoyingly, having been locked out of my ipad facebook page I can't upload pictures onto either facebook or marketplace as I don't know how to do it on the computer. I always rather thought that having a loft full of old things was rather glamorous [growing up we never lived in houses with lofts...thought they were just for posh people]. If I wasn't spending so much time decluttering I'd have the time to read the books I've bought but never read or watch the programmes I've recorded over the years. I was one of those people that, when video recorders were invented, recorded everything.

I've been in the loft again today, I'm envious of those who can clear their loft with one trip to the tip! I have enough for another trip & I've probably taken 4 carloads already over the last 4 months, & sold 50+ items on ebay & vinted.
We do have a big loft & got into the bad habit of putting things up there because I don't like our rooms cluttered.
When we had our roof done, they left everything in the loft & didn't even use dustsheets (I was in London & didn't know roofers were coming that week). I did clear the big chunks of plaster & cleared all the dust from valued things, but the obscure boxes & corners were still all covered with fine dust, so I've been up there with the Henry in overalls & dust-mask all afternoon. It does look much better but there's still so much stuff!

Oh dear MayBe70.

I dont know what to write or suggest, but good that you have worked out your problem.

My local Oxfam isn't accepting clothes at the moment because it has too much. But happily accepted books and knick knacks.

Another charity shop is advertising for stock!

I’ve been going through various rooms and am horrified by how many things I’ve bought and never used and clothes and shoes that I’ve never worn. A lot of it is impulse buying. A lot of it is stuff I’ve bought to organise the things I’ve bought. I went to pick up a picture I’d had framed and bought a painting that was in the picture framers shop, even though I’ve got pictures in boxes that I’ll never put on a wall because I have no wall space. A few years ago I could have taken the clothes to shops that sell good quality second hand clothes but those shops don’t exist now because everybody sells clothes on vinted and you only get a few pounds ( if that) for them. I drove to a second hand clothes shop that I used to go to only to find that it had closed down years ago! And I’ve just bought two dresses from Next even though I can’t remember the last time I wore a dress! It’s like an addiction. When she died my partners mums bedroom was full of clothes that she’d never worn. I think she just sent away for things because she got a buzz from receiving them in the post and I realised that I’m doing the same.

You are right, M0nica- some of our foodbank clients are in need, and appreciative of, linen, towels and household goods.
My old saucepans were snapped up last week.

We did our third boot sale today, over the last few weeks, after paying for our pitch we are £150 better off.

I have been round the house twice but with removal companies coming in to give quotes I am going round the house, one room a day, and taking out everything that I think we will not need or have room for when we move.

Yesterday, it was the bathroom and airing cupboard, I have a great pile of towels and sheets and duvet covers I will never use again. The towels will go into the textile recycling at the tip, the bedding to a local charity that furnishes houses for the homeless. The council gives homeless people and families an empty flat or house and the charity helps them furnish it - and you need bedding as much as you need a bed.

In a moment I will start on the 3rd bedroom - most is coming with us, but there is a chest of drawers with all DH's theatre props, and lots of clothes hangers.

I practically emptied the loft yesterday and my lovely gardener is coming today to do a tip run for me as she has a permit and a van. I do a cupboard at a time but it is a very slow process.

‘It just all saps my energy’
That pretty much sums this decluttering lark up doesn’t it! I look at what I need to do and just want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.

Still struggling to de-clutter as I have been side tracked by other things going on in my life. Not sure if my recent mood is what is holding me back - it's either that or DH.
We did spend a fair bit of time in the garden yesterday and the patio is almost clear - we have been cleaning out the grouting or whatever it is called between the flags as it needs re-doing but have been doing that and other jobs in between resting because of back ache or whatever pain is aggravating at the time. It all seems so very slow going. It all needs jet washing before the new grout stuff goes in. However everything that we are throwing is behind the gate so a trip to the tip is needed.
We have a family holiday coming up so will use the opportunity to find out what bits of our camping gear that DS wants and then we can sell or boot sale the rest. DD says she has a friend who likes up-cycling old furniture (we have a family 'heirloom' that no-one in the family is interested in) so need to take photos and see if they will make an offer to take it off our hands. If not I may just take a sledgehammer to it for therapeutic purposes!!
Have some more pieces to put on Vinted but some of it has been in the wardrobe so long that I want to wash and iron it before doing so. Holiday suitcases will be coming down from the loft soon so there maybe more bits there too. Plus old Christmas decorations to go too.
DH's train room is a nightmare - he agrees that it needs to go as he's not done anything with it in a few years. But in the meantime I keep sneaking in and getting rid of little bits that can get lost in the bin. I have emptied one cupboard which now houses old 45s and our important paperwork. But I reckon even the records could go. He kept them because they were his brothers' but he's been gone a good few years now and we don't even have a music system to play them on - there might be some valuable bits in there before letting them go. Lots of games that need sorting through although GCs like playing some of them - a lot are quite adult games so beyond their comprehension.
DH has finally said that the fish tank in the kitchen can go to the tip too - I said to him yesterday that these are his hobbies but if he's not using them then just get rid of them because the 'projects' never come to fruition. Neither of us had anything when we got together 24 years ago and the amount of stuff we have now is ridiculous. It just all saps my energy.

RosieandherMaw

And they are….?

Have a look at videos of packmate. These bags get rid of air and compress eg duvets and woollens plus moths cannot get in. There are bags that roll the air out but easier are the ones that can have air extracted via a vacuum cleaner

And they are….?

Vac bags…

I have a double sided lined linen hamper in a spare room, it contains all my vac nags including the big double layered lakeland ones. I am keeping all of those as they made moving house so easy
Sorry what are “vac nags” ?

Two hundred books have gone this week, to the NT bookshop. A volunteer came to my car with their buggy and lifted the boxes. So helpful. About 200 to go now.

My airing cupboard is so neat and I can find everything

2 years ago I bought 6 periea beau folding storage boxes from amazon. They are incredibly good. I measured shelf space and height very carefully and have two big boxes side by side on the two lower shelves. They have a folding internal metal frame and easily access via 2 way zips, plus a viewing window. Also they have space on top for a vcuumed woolen duvet

I bought 4 large at £14 each and 2 medium at £12, the medium ones to stack one on top of the other on the top shelf. I used vac bags and packed anything with wool into the vac bags and everything has gone neatly into 2 large and 2 medium. I do have a lot of welsh wool blankets, woollen mattress covers etc

The lower large bags have summer linens in one and winter in the other. I also have spares for the spare beds in them

I don`t trust packmate to remain in a vacuum but do trust them to keep the moths out. All those bags are neatly contained within those boxes

I have a double sided lined linen hamper in a spare room, it contains all my vac nags including the big double layered lakeland ones. I am keeping all of those as they made moving house so easy

It is not just about de-cluttering but neat storage and keeping good quality items safe to be inherited or as needed