Friday 11 November 2011

Declutter month

Over at Thrifty Mrs it is Declutter month. She has set herself the target of 90 items to be decluttered in 30 days. This chimed in with me and my compulsive nesting/decluttering behaviour, so here I am joining in. This is the total from last weekend:


  • toy fire engine that was under the stairs for three years, surely no one will miss it? - charity shop

  • model making kit - charity shop


  • bin bag of scrap fabric - recycling bins

  • 9 books - charity shop


  • two broken rucksacks - recycling bins


  • one summer shirt - charity shop


  • one pair jeans - ebay

  • one piece tweed fabric - ebay


  • one knitting book - ebay

  • 1 pair of outgrown, worn school shoes - recycled for charity at local shoe shop


  • outgrown sports shoes x 3 pairs - charity shop


  • one barbie type doll(shhh....) - charity shop


  • 1/2 duvet cover found under the stairs - remade into pyjamas


  • 2 pairs of wellies - charity shop


  • various pieces missing from board games

  • 1 bottle perfume, unused gift - charity shop


  • 6 cardboard boxes that have sat on T's shelves, empty, for 2 years - recycled

    35/90....not bad going, but this is addictive....watch out. And the house is still full of clutter, although certain areas are starting to look a bit clearer! If you came to my house you could not sit still for long or leave your coat and bag lying around as I would pick them up with a maniacal glint in my eye and stick them on ebay or stuff them in a bin bag for the charity shop.

    I am in an odd position where I am trying to get rid of clutter but then there is some stuff I need to store. I need to get rid of some stuff to make room for more stuff. Witness what is my car boot: a complete set of clothing for 0 -3 months, hats, sleepsuits, even a snowsuit. These were kindly given to me by a friend of my sister's. I don't have anywhere to put them as yet. I was determined not to have to go and buy brand new furniture, so this morning Little I and I went to a second hand furniture shop run as a local charity. Donated furniture is collected, renovated and given out to low income families or individuals free of charge. (They have to be referred by a key worker to access this scheme). Recently the charity opened a small shop selling excess furniture to the public. There was one chest of drawers, a really sweet three drawer little one, I would say 1960s, with gold filigree style handles for £10. It is slightly bashed up but has a granny-chic charm. (Some people would say "old lady crap" but I say Granny Chic). I have to go and collect it next week as the shop is only open part time. I am in two minds about whether to paint it and add new handles or leave it with its granny look. Photos to follow after collection next week, then maybe someone can tell me what to do with it in terms of painting.

10 comments:

  1. Whenever I see the word 'de-clutter', I panic! I know that shoes, books and fabric are the things that clutter my life. Then there's the candle-making kit I bought at a jumble sale 4 years ago that seems to challenge me to send it back to jumble land every time I look at it. I suppose I could just make some candles and be done with it...! I keep empty boxes too. Why??!!

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  2. 90 things in 30 days? I need to do that, do pieces of paper count? If so I am up to about 50 already today!!

    Adding new furniture always causes de-cluttering mayhem in our house as we move everything around to fit the new thing in. I hope this is the case for you so that you end up in a clutter equilibrium of sorts.

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  3. Aaaaah ... this sounds like an excellent challenge! And 35 straight out the gate is not bad either. When I moved into my new place, I went into a panicked frenzy that I had too much STUFF and decided to get rid of/donate 100 items ... but only made it to 91. Might be time for another round of that though. It IS strangely liberating.

    Loved the "old lady crap"/granny chic! Hilarious.

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  4. Interesting that the nesting instinct can also provoke de-cluttering. Isn't it interesting how it gets almost addictive? And how when you write down what you got rid of, you can't imagine why it was ever so hard. Hmm, maybe I need to tap into that again sometime soon.

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  5. @Clare - I think you should make those candles for christmas presents! I too buy things at jumble sales thinking they will be such a bargain, then they sit for years gathering dust :) @parasombra, yes, I have been furniture moving too and paper chucking. @Jessica, 91 sounds pretty good to me. I agree is is strangely liberating. @Sigrid, yes it is highly addictive, writing it all down makes me feel even more that I have so much un-necessary stuff!

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  6. Oh, I'm in dire need of decluttering, too! I'm pretty sure I won't do it until I next clean up my desk, though... ;) Happy decluttering!

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  7. Catching up on my blog readi g bit by bit! What a wonderful feeling it must be. I remember my mum used to get us to do the equivalent before Christmas, clearing out our toys ( to make more room). She is so much more organised and tidy than me though. Sigh. I'll just read about your efforts instead!

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  8. Kudos for the decluttering! I have been doing this in baby steps over the past few weeks, but we've a long way to go. Courage!

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  9. Great post! You're right -- it's totally addictive. I feel like I've been inspecting every nook and cranny to find stuff I can give away.

    I think it's so wonderful to get rid of stuff, especially those things we don't use. I've been doing it often enough that I remember that 1) I don't miss anything I've given away and 2) it feels really good to have stuff I really love. 35 is great!

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  10. Wow, it must feel great to get rid of stuff! You're an inspiration-- I want to go through my apartment tonight after work now!

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