Thursday 21 January 2021

Another Seven Days of Decluttering

 


Eight - An assortment of magazines and supplements.
All into the recycling, with a clear conscience.


So here I am carrying on with the 31 Day Minimalist Decluttering Challenge for January that I started HERE last week.  Turning it into a bit of a game does seem to make it easier and really keeps me in the mindset to push on.  After the first seven days I had managed to get rid of twenty eight items, you'll see how much that number has gone up by when you get to the bottom of this post  😀

Nine - bits and bobs from the kitchen.

The lids don't stay on the little containers, the Xanthan Gum was bought for one recipe and never needed again and is now out of date, I have soooo many little jam jars now I might as well recycle these.  I just don't roast things that need bags and these have been in my drawer for far too long.  The coconut bowl ... well it leaks, very badly!!


Ten - Most of my jam making equipment.

Any batches made in future will be much smaller, and I just do not have the room to store such a lot of stuff in my new kitchen.  I sold this on Facebook Marketplace for £30.


Eleven - an assortment of glass and plastic containers and bottles.

These all went straight into the recycling bins, before I could change my mind.


Twelve - A random hotch potch of things from the kitchen cupboards.  

I just don't use any of them and I am determined that I will not be moving  with anything that will just sit in cupboards not being used


Thirteen - a random selection of things that I found on a quick ten minute sweep this morning ... as I had day 13 missing from my photos!!



Fourteen - Bits and Bobs from the kitchen in Wales.


So, with week two complete that was a grand total of  105  items that have gone from my life and that will not need moving with me to my new home ... and it really feels good.


Sue xx



39 comments:

  1. Well done Sue. We've started on a big declutter, we did the dining room first, which has some shelves and a big dresser. I haven't counted (or photographed) what we took out to dispose of, but am sure it's more than 105 items!

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    1. Brilliant, it feels good doesn't it 😃

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  2. Certainly does, we've got a long way to go before we get into your league though 😁

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    1. Oh I'm sure you've overtaken me already though now that you are 'in the zone' :-)

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  3. Well done. We too are in Serious Decluttering Mode. 80 days to retirement!

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    1. Wow ... so close, I bet you are so looking forward to it. Enjoy the decluttering too. xx

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  4. Wow! I really must start.

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    1. Go for it, starting on day one with just one item and working upwards is so much fun and it gets your mind working.

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  5. I've never seen such little Mason Cash basins - cute!

    If I'd have been near you I'm sure I would have been tempted by the jam making stuff, just because it looks such a good collection.....even though I have them all (mostly) already!

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    1. I know ... I was tempted by their cuteness!! But I have NEVER used them for anything other than going 'Awww' over, so they have to go, I have a couple of much more useful sized ramekins that double up for so many more jobs than these ever could.

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  6. It's so hard to know what to do with excess stuff, though. The charity shops aren't taking at present and I hate throwing out perfectly good items.

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    1. I know it's a shame to throw things away but with most of it that can't go in the recycling or be sold on Facebook Marketplace or Ziffit I am just gritting my teeth and chucking things in the bin. The thing to remember is that charity shops are going to be inundated with 'stuff' after this lockdown and it's unfair to swamp them with even more. I speak as an ex-charity shop manager of over 20 years.

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  7. All these items tell a story of your life, where you used to be and where you are now. An interesting collection.

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    1. They really do, and now it is time to move forward. My new place is tiny, with very limited storage so I have to plan wisely.

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  8. Gosh that’s a lot of things to get rid of, well done. Made me realise I have things in my kitchen that came with the house and haven’t been used in 20 years.

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    1. I am being quite ruthless this time. Even the things I put back in drawers or boxes will be gone through again before the end of this Challenge.

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    1. Turning it into a game seems to make it easier :-)

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  10. What I have discovered about 'hoeing out' is that the angst at getting rid of something is virtually nil...it is the prospect of getting rid of it which causes all the problems. Once it's gone, I rarely think of it again.

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    1. I think that's one of the reasons I have a good sort out and then get the things out of the house immediately after photographing them. There's almost a sense of relief at the space I have created, and that disperses any 'what if ...' thoughts.

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  11. I gave away, sold, recycled or binned so much stuff before our move. A year later there is still so much that we never use just sitting in cupboards. Perhaps I need a mini version of this challenge, perhaps just a week, to create a bit of space. The trouble is G tends to hoard stuff in the shed and I dare not dispose of anything in there. It was so tidy to begin with but now stuff is being crammed in 😱 I refuse to let tat build up in the house again though. I will have to sneak things into the bin! I agree that this can be so satisfying, Sue, you are being very ruthless in your task 😉 x

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    1. Oooh ... my Mum used to sneak things into the bin the night before collection day and my Dad wised up to it and would sneak out and retrieve things and pop them back into his garage.

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  12. I have been cleaning out and I look at an item and I think, "will I have room for this when I have to downsize or will my children ever want this?" I have been pitching a lot of things and often wonder, "what the heck did I save this for?" when I am tossing something. Haven't counted the items tho. :)
    You are doing a great job - it adds up fast!

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    1. I find that each time I do a sweep of decluttering I ask myself different questions, this time I am barely asking I am counting instead ... it's quite invigorating.

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  13. That's incredible. It's all the small things that add up. I need to make a start to.

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    1. I find just pulling out a drawer and fishing out the small things to make up a number makes me then want to move onto bigger areas, so this Challenge has its benefits.

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  14. Having watched you declutter so efficiently in the past I am staggered that you are still finding so many items 😃 👏. I would love to do the same.

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    1. I don't think I am going to be able to get to the number I need to here at the flat, but I'm going to give it a bloody good go, haha.

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  15. That's a good clear out, although I'm not sure I could have discarded those sweet miniature mixing bowls. X

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    1. They were really sweet and that's why I was tempted into buying them, but they have never been used for anything in all the years I have owned them ... so I was ruthless, and BOY did it feel good :-)

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  16. You keep alluding to your new digs...sounds mini mini.

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    1. It is.

      It's a grand total of 330sq ft ... 102sq ft smaller than the Van which was 432.

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  17. Wish I lived nearer I could have relieved you of some of your clutter - I use roasting bags, not for roasting but if they are like cellophane they are great to wrap food gifts in - I used some at Christmas to contain my cheese board gifts. I would have had your jam pan too just got myself the mini one and the magazines are welcome anytime.

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    1. The jam pan sold quickly to a local jam maker, I didn't even open the roasting bags so I don't know what sort of bags they were, but I'm guessing not too much like cellophane if they were able to stand the heat of an oven.

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  18. I really like some of the items that you are getting rid of! Maybe I should just come shopping at your house?!

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    1. Haha ... it seems like lots of my readers would have loved my stuff. I should have opened an online shop!!

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  19. What annoys me about Tupperware boxes (in this house, at any rate) is the way the lids get separated from the containers, in much the same way as one half of a pair of socks gets separated from the other.

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    1. Ooh ... not in my house, boxes are stored with their lids on and socks are always paired up prior to hanging on the washing line. We'll have no stragglers here!!

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  20. Well done! Fantastic that you made a bit of cash from your jam making kit, too.
    Before the most recent lockdown I held a bin bag at the end of the mantelpiece in my spare room and swept my entire collection of kitsch Spanish dolls I'd collected for years into it and donated the lot to the charity shop ten minutes later, it felt so liberating and at least with the shops now shut I can't be tempted to buy them back! xxx

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