Things that have gone – 22

Decluttering continues apace – an imminent new arrival will give you added motivation I have found!

This week I’ve sold items, given them away on Freecycle, passed them onto other people after I spotted specific requests for that item and given items to charity shops.

1. Book – given to family member after I finished reading it
2. Book – sold, Facebook group for that subject area
3. Turf- specific request spotted on Freecycle, given away (would have just left it to decompose otherwise!)
4. Cat radiator bed – sold via Facebook Marketplace
5. Ornamental Flute-  sold on eBay
6. Oasis blouse – sold on eBay
7. Bag of clothing, books, DVDs and craft items – sent to charity shop
8. Glass worktop savers- given to someone after specific request seen
9. Wooden chopping board- given to someone after specific request seen
10. Selection of cleaning products, scourers and cloths (I no longer use these items, since switching to greener methods)- given to someone after specific request seen
11. Baking tray- given to someone after specific request seen

I literally have only 17 items left on eBay now, some of which I will give away if they don’t sell soon. And then I would honestly struggle to find something around the house to sell or give away, since I have pretty much got it down to items I need or use regularly (she says now). I am sure I will re-evaluate that point of view a few months down the line!!! But for now, I am happy and have totalled almost £3K back in the bank from this frenzy of selling over the last 18 months. I think that’s about what eBay reckon most people have tucked away in their houses/ lofts, storage etc.

Things that have gone – 21

It’s always amazes me what you can sell and sometimes you just need to be patient. This week I finally sold something which had been doing the rounds on eBay for more than a year! OK, OK, so I don’t recommend leaving it that long – better to take it to the charity shop and have rid of it.

I also sold some larger items on eBay, which I normally avoid because I think the higher postage costs will put people off. Actually by using a company called MyHermes, I have been able to send them for a reasonable price.

This week I have netted approx £100 and shifted several items. (Sorry don’t have pictures  of every item this week).

1. Refurbished pram canopy
2. Vintage jewellery box
3. 2 piano sheet music books
4. 2 jars homemade cranberry sauce (unwanted Christmas gifts, donated via Freecycle)
5. Cassette tape storage box (Freecycled)
6. Lampshade (Freecycled)
7. DVD

 

Things that have gone – 20

My decluttering continues in the background. I have sold and given away a few more things.

1. Vintage skirt
2. Vintage dress
3. Free gift from Boots
4. Clothes rail (Yes, I’ve managed to downsize my clothing that much that I can let go of my additional clothing rail!)
5. Handheld vacuum cleaner (thought it was worth a try on Freecycle, but was not powerful enough to bother with)
6. Cardboard boxes
7. Sewing thread case
8. Old pram mattress

I’ve also cleared out a storage box and an old lampshade, that if no-none wants on Freecycle – will go to the charity shop.

Stay tuned for my next update!

Things that Have Gone – 19!

Well, I’ve had another little spot of decluttering. In the last month, I’ve put several items on Freecycle. I let go of a large mirror I inherited from a family member that just didn’t seem to suit any room in our house. We cleared out our garage and I let 2 of these double cupboards go, whilst I refurbished one. I also gave away a whole load of odds and ends of wood. People came to collect pieces for so many different reasons and it was great not to send any of it to landfill.

I sold my Sega Master System II and all its games. I had enjoyed it over the years, but it had sat in a box unused for the last 3 years. So it was time to let someone else enjoy the retro gaming. I also sold a vintage kettle and 2 vintage Laura Ashley dresses. I’ll count the items in lots, so that’s 7 items gone – some of them big bundles.

Are you having a January clear out? Why not comment and tell me what you’re up to?

Things that have gone- 16

We recently re-configured the storage in our garage, so it was a good chance to go through a whole bunch more stuff. I was able to turn out a variety of items that we haven’t used in the 2 1/2 years since we moved in.

1. 20 mixed cardboard boxes for moving (Since we don’t plan on ever moving again and we’ve redecorated most of the house now, there will be no further need to keep boxing our stuff up. We don’t have the room to store all of these boxes anymore and decided there are other priorities for storage. Also, if we did keep them; we’d have to pay out to board more of our loft which seems crazy for some boxes! They’ll only deteriorate up there, so it was the best decision to let someone who needs them, take them).
2. Bundle of car care stuff (this wasn’t even ours, someone had left it in the shed in our last place and I took it because it seemed wasteful to leave it or chuck it. That daft ‘just incase’ scenario again. Thankfully I was able to give it all to a family member who would use it).
3. 3 metal poles (Used to hold up the storage we removed from our garage. Freecycled on to a gardener who wanted to use them to prop up their plants – perfect).
4. A cake tin (Purchased as a recipe specified it was needed, but it never worked as well because it was too large. Decided to stick to standard tins and freecycled this on to someone who could use it).
5. Bunch of rubbish (Took a large box of broken carpet gripper rods, odds and ends of carpet that were too small to use, empty paint cans and a broken drill to the tip).

That’s actually quite a lot more stuff gone when you look at it! I think I’ll be able to let go of some more, once we’ve organised our new space a bit. Stay tuned minimisers!

Things that have gone this week – 10 & 11

Wow, time flies – especially when you have visitors. I apologise that I missed a week, so I’ll stick the 2 posts together. As we’ve had people staying with us, I did not want to clutter up my space with more items waiting to go and so it really did slow down to almost nothing. I only sold 2 items on eBay, but that’s OK because I haven’t had time to list any more. I took a small bag of items to a charity shop just to get them out the way, I seem to recall it was a mix of books, clothing and household bric-a-brac.

1. Brand new M&S Bra
2. Brand new Bagpuss Cross Stitch Kit

I found these items lurking in my cupboards, brand new with the tags on. I decided I was not going to use them and I put them up for sale. After our visitors had left, we ended up with a whole bunch of food items that they bought and didn’t eat. They were kind of random items, like herbs, condiments, strong blue cheese and health food items that we would never choose to purchase or eat. So I offered them on Freecycle and someone gladly came to take them. Amazing what you can give away! Until next time…..I’m not even sure if I will have sold any more by then, but I have some more items waiting to be given away.

Things that have gone this week – 8

Wow, just when I think I’m going to slow down with the declutter, it picks up again! As usual, I got carried away and forgot to photograph everything that went. Never-mind, that’s not important- it’s more important that these things are no longer part of my life and space. I sold 5 items of clothing on eBay and then I gave away lots of things (see list below). I have now almost hit £1,500 of items sold (totalling 109 items to date!)

Rather than sending our used carpet to landfill, we were lucky enough to find someone who wanted it via the Freecycle network. I would also have tried allotment owners and pet shelters, before landfilling it. We acquired horrible terracotta orange carpets in all our bedrooms when we moved in. It was a vile colour (in my opinion) and stained in places. However for someone, it proved better than having no flooring at all and I’m glad that it could be re-used. In turn, we re-used the beige carpet we removed from our lounge diner to carpet 2 of the 3 bedrooms, with a bit left over incase we ever want to do the porch or small toilet.

We also sent our used stamps to help a charity. It really is amazing what can be re-used. I found some leaf grabbers in the garage, that I’d picked up at a car boot for £1 a few years ago. Now we live in a house without trees, so it was time for someone else to use them. I was finally ready to admit that I was not going to teach myself anymore guitar than I had done 5 years ago and I let it go to someone else wanting to learn, via Freecycle. I freecycled  2 pairs of tights that were huge on me, to someone wanting to make a fancy dress outfit! I found an old picture that hadn’t been up on the walls for about 5 years which I freecycled. Finally, I also sent a free gift that came with my watch to someone who could use and enjoy it, after it had been stuffed down the side of a cupboard for a couple of years.

1. Bustier
2. Coast Party Dress
3. Laura Ashley Gypsy Skirt
4. Frock & Frill Beaded Top
5. White Stuff Reversible Skirt
6. Roll of carpet taken up from office
7. Roll of carpet taken up from bedroom (Both rolls of carpet went to someone in need of carpet, via Freecycle)
8. Leaf grabbers (Given away on Freecycle)
9. A5 envelope of used stamps (Given away via Freecycle to help a charity)
10. Free gift of 4 nail varnishes that came with a watch I bought a couple of years ago (given away on Freecycle)
11. 2 pairs of black tights that were meant to be one size, but came up to my armpits!!! (Went to a man for a fancy dress costume!)
12. Guitar & music book (Freecycled)
13. Puffin picture (Freecycled)

Who knows what next week will hold? Why don’t you join me for Week 9 of my decluttering adventures.

Things that have gone this week – 5

Well, I was hoping a few more items would sell on eBay this week. But only 3 things have gone – a pair of shoes, a white blouse and a red dress. This pair marks the 12th pair of shoes I have gotten rid of! 12 pairs of shoes and I don’t even notice the difference. I still have more than 12 pairs, so a few more need to go!!!

Despite this, I have also recycled a whole lot of old papers and cards. Goodness knows why I was holding onto them! I had a Birthday card from 20 years ago amongst my selection. I am hoping to give away or donate some items too this week, either to charity shops or on Freecycle. I also traded in 14 books on www.webuybooks.co.uk which was a medium sized box worth. So there is definitely a little more space here!

Philanthropy – A Potent Motivator for Decluttering

It seems I have finally found my biggest motivator for decluttering – philanthropy. I guess it’s the most logical too. I have finally concluded that having items sat in my cupboards that I am not using, is preventing them from being used by someone else. Talk about wasteful! That is your most potent motivator, right there – for being Zero Waste and decluttering.

I don’t know if something has changed in me as well, but it’s like a pair of fresh eyes for me. I’ve got 2 pairs of sandals in my wardrobe, both were bought to go with a specific outfit to wear to a wedding. Neither the shoes or the outfits have been worn since! Let that be a lesson to me, never to buy something ‘just for a wedding’ again. Well, I’ve decided to donate them all. I’m sure plenty of people will be thrifty enough to use a charity shop for their one-time wedding purchase. That’s what I should do next time! Far better that someone wears that Bridesmaid dress, perhaps to their prom than it sits in m wardrobe forever. I am never going to be that slim again and besides, I have photos and my memories.

Another great motivator has been recognising that there are some things I am just not going to fix and therefore, it’s either time to throw out those items or Freecycle them on to someone who might like to fix them. There are a great deal of people out there, looking for a project. I had to admit that I was never going to glue those shoes back together, I had moved on. And that fridge magnet, no-one cares enough to glue that back together and it probably wasn’t going to last, even if I did! There are plenty of other fridge magnets on my fridge, but I felt attached to it as my parents had brought it back from holiday for me. Yes, I was ‘attached’ to a fridge magnet. Like I felt they would notice if I threw it out!

I am getting much better at putting unwanted gifts straight into the bag to go to a charity shop. I just don’t want to even have to deal with that kind of guilt anymore. What matters is that the person wanted to give you a gift and that you graciously accepted it. That doesn’t mean that you have to keep it. I often receive gifts that are duplicates of items I already own, so however thoughtful the gift-giver thinks they are being. I am sure they would rather someone use them, than they sit in my cupboard forever and a day. It’s also better for the planet if we use the things that have already been made, rather than storing them.

Over to you, what’s your biggest motivator for decluttering? I think big life events can also be a great initiator – especially if you are boxing everything up for a move (as we have done several times before), or preparing for a life change – like the arrival of a baby or an elderly parents coming to live with you. All these things mean that you need to clear some space and take some time to sort through your belongings with a more critical eye.

Make it Yourself- Drawstring Bags

I’m currently learning to sew- I’ve been using a mix of online tutorials and attending a sewing course. This has been a really good combination for me, as there are just some things I need to be shown. From not being able to sew – I’ve been able to make a pin cushion, make 2 pairs of lined curtains, make a simple top, a simple maxi skirt and 2 lots of bunting. I’m seriously impressed with what I’ve been able to make and I absolutely love it. I wish I’d learned when I was at school, but I was scared of how technical sewing machines seemed and teachers never have enough time to give one-to-one attention to build up your confidence. I stuck to cooking which I had more experience with, but I am learning now – almost 20 years later!

I am currently making some seat cushions for our dining chairs and making a net curtain! I will put up some more posts showing my efforts soon. But for now, here are some pictures of some drawstring bags I’ve been making. I am not going to put a whole tutorial here because I simply search for what I want to make online. I don’t think I’m quite at that level….yet…. although I am inventing my own method to recover my chair cushions, so that will be mine to share with you here very soon! Always have a read through first and make sure the method is something you feel comfortable with. I rejected a few, until I found the simplest one I could!

I got my material for free from Freecycle and I always save any old bits of ribbon that I get, so I just re-purposed this for the drawstring. So these are basically free – you can’t get better than that. They take 20-30 minutes to knock-up and are useful for SO many different things. I actually made these from an old scarf – hence the fancy tassel detail which I couldn’t bear to cut off! My top tips are to fold one side of your fabric to save yourself any unnecessary sewing and to zig-zag your edges (if you don’t have an overlocker) for additional strength.

I use these types of bags a lot at my local greengrocer to bring home my zero waste fruit and veg. What sort of things have your sewn? Any for zero waste purposes?