Decluttering

Have been away for 4 weeks and came back to my cluttered chaos and found the porch had been leaking, my mail was soaked through and the burglar alarm wasn’t working. Mind you, any burglar would have thought the house had been ransacked anyway. Going to do a list tonight. Don’t know where to start to be honest.

Do you have a cupboard or sideboard etc that you could clear out t make space for things that need to be put away?

I started a couple of years ago with two sideboards that lived in alcoves in the dining room and housed unfeasible amounts of junk. I got rid of one, and the other now lives in the hall with large kitchen pots in the cupboard bits and things like gloves and woolly hats in the drawers. It made a big difference as I had somewhere to put 'stuff' when I'd thrown out old A level essays and children's jigsaws. I did the same upstairs and cleared a wardrobe so I could spread things around from other ones.

I’m still throwing one or two items away a day. I know it’s a very slow process but it is so much better than my habit of procrastination.

This morning very early I was thinking about my jewellery...nothing valuable...but lots of it. All hardly worn. When I was in my early 20s and had very few clothes, very little money and just a watch and a bangle I loved what I had.
Now I have too many clothes and too much unworn jewellery, none of it gives me any pleasure. Why on earth do we do this and why is it frightening somehow to let it go.

This is my next job on the next rainy day soon. I have a plain light cover on my bed...ideal for spreading out the jewellery. I must reduce it by half. And then maybe another rainy day reduce it down again. And wear what's left!!! Well that's the plan.
My sister and I had my mother's, father's and grandmother's wedding rings plus some other gold melted down to make a new ring each which I wear all the time. But all this other assorted stuff doesnt lend itself to remodelling

Having recovered from the journey home ( I’m not a good traveller) I’m about to make a start. I’ve resolved not to go to my partners house until my own house is sorted. Each time I go away and come back the situation is worse than before and leaving his house in tidy, pristine condition seems to exacerbate how awful I feel about my home ( when he’s not there he has friends staying so I have to leave it clean and tidy). I seem to be constantly packing and unpacking.

I friend told me she sold loads of old books on this app, below, for her sister. You can also sell used things on eBay for free now.
www.ziffit.com/en-gb/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADsPV2ULOKSRaQbF6n4b_PmeavK-q&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4dWm8Nz-iAMVz5ZQBh2KMyP6EAAYASAAEgJglfD_BwE

I am claiming benefits, though, so will need to give things, rather then sell them.

I know I can see light at the end of my 4 and a half year so far, grand tidy up, by starting to empty or move around the largest "keep" drawer.
Not kidding when I say I have upwards of 28 kids school reports, from their secondary school.
I had no idea I had so many until I started to properly empty the drawer.

MissAdventure

I am claiming benefits, though, so will need to give things, rather then sell them.

Surely not? How can it be wrong to sell your own property? I could understand if you were running a business selling second hand items, but it’s crazy if you aren’t able to sell your own things.

MissAdventure

I am claiming benefits, though, so will need to give things, rather then sell them.

No, you can sell your own unwanted goods as long as you don't make a business out of it. You might be liable for Capital Gains Tax if any single item for £6,000 or more and make a profit.

Of course, if it cost you £10,000 in the first place, what happens then?

I wish!!
OK, well if I sell something, and get "done" by the dwp I shall blame you!!

I've had to put everything back in the cupboard, for now, because of the great shrimp disaster.

The only way to sort out the cupboard, I've realised, is going to be by taking it all out, sorting though it, and putting it back again.

We'll come and spring you out of jail dressed as washerwomen with files hidden in the cakes in our baskets.

Oh, I hate that 'take it all out and put it back again' way of doing things, but it is often the only way, isn't it? I lose the will to live after the 'take it all out' part🥹

Yes!
There is too much to sort out for me to go inside the cupboard and do it, and I've tried the "bit at a time" method, but they just don't work.

Its gotta come out, which means the hall will be clogged up and I'll have to clamber over it all.

Ask someone else to help you?

I haven't got anyone to ask, sadly.

I do have a cleaner but that's not the kind of stuff she does. (even for a price)

I have thought that if I force myself into the far end of the cupboard and start there, then it won't mean I have to take it all out again, once it's tidy.
That's the Christmas tree end, though,and I keep putting that off.

I feel mean now for mentioning it. Sorry.
Hope it gets sorted easy and soon for you.

Nah, that's OK.
Nothing to apologise for.

I keep fiddle faddling about the blooming tree.
I suppose I want it to go to the "right" home.

Someone came to read the meter at 9 this morning. Not only was I still in my pyjamas but wearing a sweatshirt and a hat but the house is in an even worse state than usual ( I still haven’t unpacked from being away and I left everything in a mess before I left). I feel so embarrassed!

I bet they’ve seen worse. I can’t be doing with unexpected social callers, but people whose job it is to ‘drop in’ on people must see all sorts of things, particularly as they need access to meters which can be in out of the way recesses.

I remember putting on a face mask years ago, and realising the hairband I used was upstairs. ‘Luckily’ there was a pile of clean laundry on the kitchen table, so I took a pair of pants and used them to keep my hair off my face and out of the way of the green mask. This worked well, but of course the doorbell rang, and I had to answer the gas man with a green face and knickers on my head. I might have hidden but it was summer and the front door was open, so I was obviously in 😡

I've done nothing, I'm afraid.
Feeling really unwell at the moment and just can't summon the energy.

The plus side is that my walker thingy has still not made it into a cupboard, and I have this vague idea that if I can just go for a five minute walk it might give me an energy boost.

My progress has stalled too, MissA. This is a busy time for me work-wise, so I have other priorities. We are also gradually bringing things back from our caravan/lodge for the winter, so there are piles of 'stuff' everywhere that need to be washed and stored until Spring. As ever, I need to start at the beginning and clear the space first. It will have to be after next week though, and we still have the final visit and carload of items to come. It's a pain, but they risk getting damp if left over the winter. At this time of year the last thing I need is more in the house, though - I want to clear the decks ahead of Christmas.

I hope you enjoy your walk. The mess will still be there when you get back, but you will feel better.

I'm only going to the end of my block of flats and back again.

I keep thinking about my kitchen, too.
I've been painting it for 2 years now!

I can only manage a few minutes at a time but it isn't enough!!

I resorted the cupboards where I keep the party stuff. Banners. Best crockery etc etc.

Turned into a bit of a waste of time.
Yes, things are in their "right places" now. But didnt throw out much at all.
And who is going to ever know, except myself! And a few GNs!

It is pretty bad. I couldn’t even post a picture of any of the rooms ( they’re all awful) because they do look like something in one of those tv programmes. On top of that I bought some paint when I was away to paint round the windows that had been replaced recently with a view to replacing the blinds that I can no longer use there ( they were screwed into the wood which has been replaced with upvc) only to find that the plaster has cracked really badly. I seem to be taking one step forward and two steps back the whole time.

The same here.
A lot of decluttering means having to do repairs and patch up jobs as I go.

It certainly doesnt help matters.