Decluttering

A word of warning about keepng out of date tinnned food.

I had a tin of tomatoes which exploded inside my kitchen cupboard.

The mess, the sound!
I've no doubt that if I'd been holding the tin, it would have done me some damage.

So, on that basis, I'd bag them up and throw them out.

I am just back from taking a full car load to the tip, I collected everything over a week, including good suitcases and sports bags that belonged to my husband, it was hard to let those go and I kept them for over ten years but I have a new found age-related zest. The older I get the easier the letting-go is becoming.

The physical effort does not change but will never get easier as I approach my 79th year and no way on earth am I leaving any of this sorting for my AC

My downfall is still having the post-war mindset of my mum, when food was scarce. The food hoarding has continued however my coffee beans and chocolate bars have increased in price so this sort of hoarding is better than money in the bank

Oh karmalady, I admire your strength of character. Chocolate bars in any cupboard of mine would not last long enough to be hoarded.

I did my yearly go through of one of my freezers.
There were some frozen roast potatoes. I generally have a bag as a "keep in case" thing.
Well they were still half full.
I cant have had many emergencies on the potato front!
I said to DH we were going to eat them.
Date on them was best before June 2022.
We still ate them! We were fine.

Wouldnt recommend eating all out of date food though. Personally.

Yes, it depends what it is, for me. Beware of black treacle though. My MIL had a tin of that in the back of a cupboard for eons and it exploded when she opened it. She had to have the kitchen redecorated.

Good gosh.

Never heard of exploding tins.
Have heard of exploding bottles of home made elderflower wine.

I too have had exploding tins in the past - pineapples and something I could barely recognise that may have been peaches. I never witnessed the explosion, only the aftermath - YUCK!!
Out of curiosity I asked AI what to do. I learnt that you are not supposed to put milk down the drains because of the fat content. In the end I have decided to bag the tins up and put them out with general waste.

Ah, good.
They'll be out of your way, too.
Done and dusted.
I've done no decluttering (yet) today.
I might tidy up the little drawer set by my bed, so i can clear up the sideboard (there's a reason why its there) which currently is covered in creams, clips, false boobs, hairbands... and "stuff".

I've not felt up to decluttering, but need a few opinions from people.

My neighbour came in singing the praises of a cheese grater that you pou the cheese in, turn a handle, and out comes grated cheese.
Not to miss out, i bought one, used it once, and found it a lot of faffing around.

So, now, having been used once, its scowering at me from inside the cupboard, where it's taking up rather a lot of space.

Should it go? It should, shouldn't it?

Scowling, of course...

It sounds like a good candidate for a charity shop (or a gift). The mouli graters are a real faff to wash up and just not worth the effort. Get rid, as it will only annoy you every time it scowls at you.

Helterskelter - look at Vectis Toy Auctions if you want to sell your dolls and teddies.

I sold a lot of my childhood dolls and toys there a few years ago.
However your dolls may have sentimental value for you and then it is hard to part with them.

Thanks PiscesLady
You're right.
It takes up a surprisingly big amount of space in a tiny kitchen.
Out it goes!!!

PiscesLady thank you for that name. The toys are DDs' and only 2 ordinary bears and 2 dolls.. Nothing special.
They did have some rag dolls and other small bits which I passed on to my friends GCs. My friend who is a good sewer made some new dresses for them.
I want just good homes. Boxed games, Lego and Fischer Price well used toys have been passed on to family and friends. So what took up several big drawers now is condensed into a small suitcase.
It has been a wrench though as they would all have gone to my GC if DDs had had children. So that has been a little sad. And of course they reminded me of times with my DDs as littlies.

Getting ro the real nitty gritty now.
(Brian)
Packed full with paint, tools, jackets, all sorts, and all jumbled up in a big floor ro ceiling mess.

I am started to get excited too.

The loft I have left for the time being - DH has been happy with what I have acheived so far, though long way to go.

But I am about to start on the final bedroom.
Will donate about 3 pieces of furniture to my husband's shed. Which will make room for another set of beds for the grandkids when they come to stay.

That's a good incentive
A lot of mine has been mostly tidying and shifting stuff up until now, but a lot of it has been shifted into Brian - carrier bags full of silicone, scarves, macrame, pots...
Its a big space, but just with a few nails just banged in the walls 'and no decent shelving. Urgh!!

MissAdventure

Thanks PiscesLady
You're right.
It takes up a surprisingly big amount of space in a tiny kitchen.
Out it goes!!!

I did look it up and I think the only thing you’d really need one for is for grating chocolate for recipes. My daughter gave me a metal casserole years ago which I’ve never used and nearly gave to a charity shop but I’ve started eating more sweet potato recently which tends to ooze or explode so it’s perfect for containing it. This is why I struggle with donating to charity shops. Especially as I often dig something ancient from out of the wardrobe to wear.

I shouldn't have been swayed by my neighbours enthusiasm for the grater thingy.
£15 and used once although i found it easy to oust, once I'd put that out of my mind.

Well... this won't get the baby a bew bonnet, will it?
I'm going to find a podcast to listen to, and make a start. Gulp,!!!"

I've had to come and have a rest!
I seem to have been just lifting stuff from place to place, and it's heavy work.
The plus side is that I'm getting angry with myself for letting it get so bad.

I live on a smallholding and believe me the amount of stuff you can accumulate when you have outbuildings 🫣. Every year I say I will clean up one barn - which I did once but then had a room decorated and it got filled up again with all the rubbish that came out of it 🤣. As I get older I feel a more pressing need to tidy, yet another year where I say to myself, I must get a skip - but haven't got round to it yet .. 🙈

I can just inagine hiw easy iy nust be to put stuff in an outbuilding "for now"...
I warched a video of a woman who has a basement - same issue.

Nannyd0g

I live on a smallholding and believe me the amount of stuff you can accumulate when you have outbuildings 🫣. Every year I say I will clean up one barn - which I did once but then had a room decorated and it got filled up again with all the rubbish that came out of it 🤣. As I get older I feel a more pressing need to tidy, yet another year where I say to myself, I must get a skip - but haven't got round to it yet .. 🙈

That sounds like a job that you may need help for, from several people

I've had had to stop for a marmite sandwich [smile
I felt quite faint lugging all that stuff place to place, and even more faint when I looked at the sheer amount in the cupboard, still.