Decluttering

Our charity shops do a roaring trade in wedding headgear. I’m sure they would be welcome. Tights? Our Salvation Army shop would be delighted, I’m not sure about others. Maybe phone and ask?

I rarely post on this thread but do read as there have been some useful suggestions. After a major downsize 13 years ago when we moved to our new home which is less than half the size of its predecessor I took my eye off the ball for a while and woke one morning to find we had again accumulated too much ‘stuff’. My approach is little and often as physically it’s the best way for me. Nothing dramatic. Lots of negotiating with Mr C who is a bit of a squirrel. There’s currently a mixed bag of just 6 things heading for a charity shop tomorrow. Nope I mean today 😂. There is one of those bags every week. It’s working, just slowly. Good luck everyone, no matter your approach good for you for doing it.

I’m currently going through the clothes in my bedroom ( again). Quite overwhelmed with clothes which I still buy even though I spend 99% of the time in my pyjamas! I’ve got a box full of unworn tights. Do charity shops take them? Do they have a shelf life. And hats I’ve bought for weddings. Never going to wear them again.

Aw, thanks.
I feel in need of a kindly push in the right direction lately.

Tiny steps add up as you well know MissA well done

I have taken all the experimental insulating bubble wrap off the downstairs windows, they came off cleanly and left no residue. I have a wardrobe shelf, on which were a few huge lakeland storage bags with inners that compress with a vac cleaner. They were superb when I moved but the outer on its own will do. now The inners are bagged for the skip and are bulky. The outers are not so strong but will serve a purpose

I put the bubble wraps into two outers, labelled

One thing leads to another, I only went to remove a couple of jackets, to re-home and now I feel like tackling all the bulky vac storage bags that I kept after moving house

I thought I was going to have an easy day

Btw the bubble wrap worked very well and will go up again as soon as we get another severe heatwave

Well done Karma

Excellent!!
I feel i may have a tiny declutter brewing.
I've been really out of sorts lately, but have just come back from a lovely coffee, in the shade, at the seafront.
I feel rejuvenated.
I was starting to get very resentful and probably unpleasant.
To myself, as well as others.

I have just had the incentive!! To properly clear my wardrobes and bedroom drawers. I just watched a youtube video, it popped up, I never went looking for it but it has given me the incentive I needed
called 15 things Scandinavians never keep in their closet

by Scandinavian secrets

I has sparked me into life, again and I am going to start with coats, including new coats and toppers I made recently from German boiled wool, it has been in my possession for years, lugged to a new house and turned into clothing but what on earth is the point? I don`t even like wearing boiled wool and there they hang, protected from moths but what on earth is the point

Salvation army here I come and first batch is going tomorrow

My things have spread and now they occupy twice as much space as when my husband was alive.

karmalady

*MissA* have a look at your house insurance, most cover for this sort of freezer incident

I've no idea where the paperwork would be, or who I'm even insured with.
Another consequnce of cluttet, but really, realistically, there was probably only about fifteen pounds worth of food.
A lot of it was big bags of veg.

I must deal with my paperwork at some point, though!

HelterSkelter1

Sorry that last ine was for another thread!!!

I’m curious; what thread was it meant for? I’ve just bought some feta cheese as I really fancied some!

Sorry that last ine was for another thread!!!

Salty food was advised. Feta, anchovies, olives and sardines. Diluted yogurt with mint to drink.

Thank you. That reminds me when I defrosted my freezer my neighbour took a bag of things to store in hers for a day or 2.
Its more than that now so I must look out for her. Although she is next door sometimes months go by and I don't see her.

I was ashamed of my freezer...but it is a clean delight now.

MissA have a look at your house insurance, most cover for this sort of freezer incident

Greenfinch

Oh MissA what a truly awful thing to happen.

Ah well... to be honest, the door was getting hard to close because it needed defrosting so badly.

Its a real test for me - I hate food waste, plus I've had to have the oven on, in this heat!!

What with the sticky red blobs walking everywhere.. lesson learned. Defrost the freezer, instead of ramming the shelves in and breaking/cracking them.
There was no big joints of meat or anything in there, so thats a blessing.

Yes, all of the food really, apart from some chicken breasts, which were only partially defrosted.

I cooked a pastry thingy to eat tomorrow, and some expensive veggie garlic and something or other "pieces" but they were horrible.

Not gone off, just not at all as nice as they sounded.

So, I suppose in a way i have deluttered the freezer, which has needed doing for almost a year

I have saved some big packs of veg, but I'm thinking of just throwing those, too, and finally getting all the ice covered shelves and conpartments clean and fresh.

The leaky berries are lovely! Bright red (of course!) summer fruits which ive just had a mountain of, with vanilla yoghurt on top.

Oh no. Has a lot of other food been ruined? I hate cooking. My diet consists of tea bread or banana bread which I bake every couple of weeks, chia pudding which I make every night and salad; marmite or peanut butter on toast.And yet I seem to have loads of washing up to do and the kitchen is in total chaos all the time. I’ve been decluttering it for months but it never looks any better.

Oh MissA what a truly awful thing to happen.

I almost feel ashamed.
Not one thing has been shifted here.
I'm finding the heat such a challenge (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

Plus, today, it was discovered that "someone" had left the freezer door open, so I had to deal with that.
There was frozen fruits in the feezer, and the juice from them had been trodden all around the place, stuck to my slippers.

Well done Grandmabatty

And well done KarmaLady for getting to the end!!

Inspired by this thread, I cleared out two drawers in my bedroom full of old toiletries and old makeup. It all went in the bin as it's been lurking for a number of years. Hall cupboard is next

There’s a vintage sale at a local village hall next week. I’m going to go along and get peoples cards saying that I have things that I need to sell in the future and would they buy them from me. I wish I’d realised sooner ( serves me right for not reading some of the blurb that gets posted through my letterbox) as I could possibly have booked a stall.

Well done karma. I expect you feel a weight off your shoulders.
My niece didnt want the books for her grandchildren so they have gone to the local charity book shop. The sweet little lamp needs to go to a charity shop which takes electricals. I must look on line. Will pack it up anyway and it can sit on the neat pile of boxes by the front door,. Almost gone..

Lots more to do of course, but am getting there slowly.

I have finished, done all I can do for the foreseeable. Very many things have gone, most of my impulsive fabric stash, many printed pdf patterns and so on. I am talking about sewing stash, I have been accumulating since the 70s. Bag after bag after bag, gone

I even gave an older overlocker away, extremely good too but I am bending to my age and to not getting younger. That has been taken to my dil and I have replaced with one that can thread itself

The only category I could not reorganise is bag-making and anyway they make fine presents

I finished the big tidy up an hour ago and the whole process has been massive. I now feel ready to tackle old age with my sewing hobby intact but without the clutter. Yes I will still buy fabric but now only a considered purchase eg a special linen fabric from Germany with a special garment in mind

I said I have finished but there is still the wardrobe cull to complete. I have a growing pile of toiles (a toile is a trial garment that is made before using best fabric}

This has taken me weeks but I could not quickly sort through over 50 years of sewing items.

I took 5 glasses to the charity shop today and a mirror surrounded by china flowers. Very pretty and had it for many years in a box unused. It was a present. I really really don't want any presents any more.

Tomorrow I will have a quick look in 2 cupboards to see if I can declutter a couple more things. And several small drawers. These are all places I have looked in already, but I may find more things to go.

I am hoping a niece who has GC will take some books and a small childrens night light next time she comes. The books I can get rid of, but of course the electrical night light is not so easy.
Now the weather is cooler for a little while and I can bend a bit more after cataract surgery, I must crack on.