Decluttering

I'm sure you're onto something there, MayBee.
I think it's nostalgia for more carefree times that prevent us from moving on in some small (or large) way.

There's a bra shop in the nearby town that takes in bras and sends them to third world countries. I struggle to walk round there these days though. I cleared out lots of old food yesterday thanks to the new recycling system. Old tinned vegetables etc. Don't understand why the dresses that came out of the wardrobe don't fit back it. I've got a lovely Lara Ashley coat that I bought when my husband left. It was meant to last a lifetime but I carried on wearing old faithful which was much more 'me' so it's still in a bag. I might try it on tonight. So many memories with some of the clothes, mainly my daughters wedding. I've never had cause for vanity but I really did look good that day. I used to make an effort at some occasions in case my husbands girlfriend was there; the first one was banned from family do's but the second one never wanted to accompany him even though she was welcome. I've got all the childrens fancy dress clothes...I used to love making them costumes for village fetes and carnivals. I wonder if I wouldn't feel so sad if we were still a family?

I don't know much about anything these days, ixion.
Thank you: i didn't know that.
I'll have a good read of what you've posted

NOT trying to organise you, MissAdventure, but you do know you can get Royal Mail to come and collect stuff for you, usually the next day?

They'll even bring the label for you ready-printed if you want - and sometimes it's cheaper on line.

send.royalmail.com/

Thank you.
I'm not out and about, for now, so it makes all of these things difficult.
(And me more inclined to get bogged down and end up losing the will to live!)
I'll have a look at the donating instructions though, so i might be able to collect up my bras, bit by bit and do a taxi run.

www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk/recycling/bra-recycling

This charity accepts second hand bras - just pop in a jiffy bag and post! (Not a Freepost service)

One of our shops had a box outside where you could put unwanted bras.
They were taken to somewhere where women don't own these sorts of things.

How annoying. Many charity shops don't take bras, yet they are expensive to buy, so might be useful to someone on a tight budget.

I'm away just now, so can't declutter, but I've been chatting to my son and encouraged him to ask his dad for any tools or garage-based 'stuff' he needs, rather than buying it himself. We tend to get people in these days when something needs doing, and Son has recently bought a house, so is in the DIY stage of life. The 'stuff' would be better off with him than us, and would help to clear some space in the garage.

That doesn't help with my wardrobe space though. I do need to get onto that when we get home.

I went through my by bra drawer the other night ( that’s what led me on to the dresses). Having lost a lot of weight as per usual the first place it goes from is my bust and the last place my hips and thighs. Thankfully I have got a couple of smaller ones that I kept but have a bad feeling that I did take some to a shop that rehomed them. Including my Gossard wonder bra which I could probably do with now. I might find it in a bag somewhere. The shop that’s closing used to take in old bras and passed them on to someone that used the lace to make lacey things.

Four bras (quite new ones, too!) have gone today, along with some microgreens i was growing, and have eaten a few times.

Oh blast!
There must be somewhere that will snap up those clothes.
In the meantime, maybe you could find another little corner of clutter to focus on?

I'm going to move onto colin cabinet now, because a lot of "stuff" has been shoved in there, out of the way.

I'm a very haphazard sorter outer.

Another set back. A lovely second hand clothes shop in the next village is closing down. It did sell good quality clothes and the money went to charity. I had planned to take some of my clothes there.

I searched for over forty years for a book from my childhood. When I eventually found it on eBay someone could easily have thrown it away, it was so tatty but I was overjoyed when I received it. I did find a copy in better condition but they are the only two I’ve ever been able to find ( it was an American book which is why I struggled to find it in the UK). I guess that’s why I struggled to find to part with books. Over the years I’ve found several of my childhood books; a film annual, Bunty annual, a book about a wild mustang. And a collection of Ladybird Thomas the Tank books along with Ned the Lonely donkey and a few others. I’ve got an old Mothercare catalogue that my daughter used to flick through as a baby; slightly chewed too. I know it needs to go but I can’t do it. I’m sure it’s all because mum and dad moved from one council property to another so everything from my childhood was discarded over the years. I know a lot of my clutter problem is because of this.

The books went into the recycling.
It was sad, because there was a few in there which my daughter used to read to my grandsons.
There was some dvds they used to watch, too.

My girl used to enjoy disney ones herself, as she became less mobile and more poorly.

She said at least they always had happy endings...

Hooray. Result!

They're in two pink bags now! The box is empty, although a few bits and bobs have gone into Colin (the cabinet) who is bursting at his seams!

Our local charity book shop takes all sorts. I am sure they would ditch unwanted ones but are always very polite. Are 5hey sold for pulp like rags are I wonder. I am lucky to have such a specialist shop close by. And it is always busy with good displays. Ordinary charity shops often have little space for books.
MissA would you pay an AgeUK handyperson to pack them up for you? There seems to be a gap in the market for such helpers. Not expensive decluttering agencies, but for someone to give a hand.

But back in the days of Bob a Job, books were quite a precious resource, you could only buy them at a proper bookshop.

Now, with Amazon, supermarkets selling books cheaply, the supply of books everywhere is huge.

Charity shops are inundated. You can sell them on online sites, but many are worth pennies.

Hardly worth the effort.

I have a very simple method of decluttering.

Imagine it has poo on it. Would you wash it or throw it away?

I'm cracking on with sorting as I am close to having cataracts done and then will be not doing any bending etc for quite a while. So decluttering will come to a grinding halt.

Packing up books and taking them to the charity shop or recycling would have been a Bob a Job job years back. Not possible now of course. Health and .safety and safeguarding restrictions. Understandable of course. But a trio of scouts would make short work of your books. And raise funds for their scout group.

But 2 is better than none! Witzend.

MissA. Write down the titles of the books then if you want to read them again..but probably you won't... you could always get them from the library.

Put off actually getting rid of them till you have more energy.

It sounds really good to have more lidded storage for bedding.

The best laid plans of mice and men (and Witzend)

Well, as per my post of the other day (finding long-lost earrings) I am now determined to tackle one drawer a day - who knows what else I might find!

A couple of years ago I vowed to myself that once the clocks changed at the end of October, I’d tackle one drawer or cupboard a day. I did precisely two!

Hmmmm yes, youre right, I'm sure, but i have a hell of a busy time coming up, wth appoimtments galore.
Dentist, doctor, hospital, plus sometimes needing to be fitted in at short notice.

If i bag them up, it means they're taking away what energy i do have which, is precious little, for what is a load of scruffy old books.

If the collection people are unable to access my place (which they can't, as ot is a buzzer system which isn't workimg) its extra stress for me, and the books will probably end up back in the box!

I’m hopeless at decluttering. I’ve just put my winter clothes away and got the summer stuff out, as I do every year. Put several summer dresses and tops in a pile for the charity shop, then took half of them back the next day because they might come in. In my defence I do wear things from decades ago when they come back into fashion - wide legged trousers being a recent case in point. And I really do regret getting rid of things like denim jackets, because obviously they were always going to make a comeback. I am good at ditching stuff that doesn’t suit me, however recently I’ve bought them (always in a sale, of course, just because they were a bargain. It’s a bad habit).

My many pairs of lovely high heeled shoes are definitely going to go this month though. Their time has come. I used to wear them every day, but now it’s for a few hours on high days and holidays. Even then only certain pairs.

I’m much better at passing books on now, but still have shelves full. I do weed a few out every now and then, but I love a house with books. Some of our charity shops collect donations, MissA. Our Heart Research shop is one, but I don’t know if that’s a national policy.