uncluttering one day and one thing at a time

Spring cleaning at too high a price. TW: Death

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 21:31:54 GMT

Posted by: sisterofbloomerjunior

My mother died a few weeks ago, so amongst other duties, I'm donating some of her items - mainly clothes, though I did include a box full of books to the Epilepsy Foundation. So it's seven bags of her clothes (Four to EFMN, Three to Ridwell), one teddy bear from Valentines Day donated also in a box, and the aforementioned box.

Edit if I haven't mentioned it: We sold the Buick. :)

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 14:16:02 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

ps. I'm going to be a bit sporadic for at least the next month; please cheer along others in the comments!

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Weekly (ish) check-in

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 14:28:40 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

ps. I'm going to be a bit sporadic for at least the next month; please cheer along others in the comments!

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February Declutter Challenge

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 08:21:56 GMT

Posted by: mekare

I really need to do this, so why not make it an event where people can join in?

February here is all about carneval, Valentine's Day and unending winter weather. So, let's look at a couple of new areas (pick and choose):

STUFF TO MAKE YOURSELF LOOK DIFFERENT: old make-up, hair accessories, brushes, combs, hairclips, dried out nail polish etc.

BATH PRODUCTS: out of date creams, lotions, oils, bathing salts, old tooth brushes etc.

CLOTH: that towel with the holes (repair or put it to some other use), washcloths, reusable make-up pads, cleaning cloths (the ones that almost fall apart),...

PERFUMES: that gift someone got you, but really you never wear it, or maybe it's so old the scent changed

Let's free up some space in the space where we get clean! Or alternatively, let's clean those brushes and combs, replace that mangy toothbrush with a new one and throw away make-up we never use anyway.

Optional: if you have plants in your bathroom (I do), let's give them some love.

I'm open to more suggestions! Let me know what immediately came to your mind when you read the challenge.

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Weekly(ish) check-in

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 14:46:43 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

Optional extra, for those who did the low key January challenge: was there anything you want to comment on? Shall we look to do it again next year? I very much appreciated that there were people willing to get involved, and it helped me with focusing my uncluttering. I have a whole area in the main room that is now clear of junk!

In case you need to hear it: if you have a challenge you want to run, or you need a buddy for something, this is an open community. It is absolutely fine for you to decide to run something! No permissions are needed. I only checked in for this one because I needed the motivation of knowing other people were going to be involved.

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January Challenge (5 of 5)

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 14:12:08 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

January is nearly done! For some, that means the weather is heading out of being quite so awful, while for others the worst is yet to come. For all of those heading into dreadful weather, may it not last long (and if we have anyone here from South Australia or Victoria, may I say Oh! My! about the temperatures you've been having. I'm aware that lots of other places have also been having interesting weather, but there have been some truly improbable numbers reported in those states in the last week.)

Last week's challenge was making your space welcoming to visitors by dealing with clutter in shared spaces. How did that go?

To finish up the last few days of the month, the final challenge is to get something out of the house. If, like me, you've been stockpiling things as you work through other spaces, there are lots of choices! If you have been the responsible adult in the room, and been dealing with getting identified items out of the house as you've been going along decluttering spaces, I suggest picking the area you felt least happy with at the end of its focus week, and seeing if there are some easy wins.

The next checkin will be the regular weekend one, but I might try and post on Saturday for the end of the month to round the challenge off neatly.

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Weekly(ish) check-in

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 13:54:54 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

a day late, because we have a long weekend, and I lost track of the days

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

Optional extra, for those doing the low key January challenge: how go the visitor spaces?

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January Challenge (4 of 5)

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:57:08 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How did the decluttering of the work space(s) go? Did you spend time looking for things that could go, move a thing or two, or have a wildly successful week? Or did you work on a different space instead?

For week four we are moving from decluttering spaces in order to make them more welcoming to us, to making our space more welcoming to others. What this might look like

Is it difficult to get into the house? Option: work out what of the stuff in the front hall / entrance / verandah / front step is useful to have there, and deal with (some of) the rest. If that stuff is clutter to be rehomed, maybe make the getting it out of the house a priority
Is there nowhere for visitors to put things when they visit? Option: go through the shoe rack / coat rack / other storage and getting rid of what you don't use so that there is space for visitors to leave their shoes / coats / other when they visit
Is there nowhere for a visitor to sit? Option: Clear a second chair! Or a path to a second chair!
Are there too many choices of tea, and none of them good? Option: get rid of the stale tea so nobody accidentally gets served it. Do not suffer stale tea.
Have your serving plates / company coffee mugs / tea cups seen better days? Are there good ones that never get appreciated? Consider: ditch the dodgy, have the joy of using the nice ones (and if the nice ones aren't ever going to get used, is it time to send them out into the world to bring joy to someone else?)
if you have a car and are a person who provides transport, is there clutter in there making life awkward?

Remember, this is a gentle challenge, and if you get one thing progressed, that is a big win even when you can't give yourself the credit.

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:42:47 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

Optional extra, for those doing the low key January challenge: how go the work spaces?

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January Challenge (3 of 5)

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:03:21 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How did the decluttering of the hobby spaces go? Did you spend time looking for things that could go, move a thing or two, or have a wildly successful week? Or did you work on a different space instead?

For the third week, we are moving on to a work space -- just the one. Unless you have all the energy and all the time, in which case don't let me hold you back. But this was meant to be a gentle challenge to get started on the year. What decluttering a work space might look like

moving the cooking equipment you never use out of the kitchen
sorting through stuff in a work from home space so you have more space for you
looking in the laundry for things that have drifted into corners and become one with the wall.
going through the cleaning rag stash and getting it down to Just! One! Bucket! worth (for whatever size of bucket you keep your rags in)
throwing out old cleaning equipment--particularly if you have replaced it with one that you use!

Alternatively: keep going with the rest and / or hobby spaces. Get things out of the house!

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Weekly(ish) check in

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 12:55:35 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

Optional extra, for those doing the low key January challenge: how go the hobby spaces?

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January Challenge (2 of 5)

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 13:44:39 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How did you go with decluttering your rest space? Did you have thoughts about what you might do, did you deal with one tiny thing, or did you have a startlingly productive week?

For the second week, we are moving from rest space to hobby space. Can you find something to declutter? What this might look like:

acknowledging that you aren't going to come back to a craft project and rehoming the materials
clearing WIPs so that there is space to work on Just One -- especially if one of those is something that will leave the house when it is done! Gift yourself space while finishing that gift!
clearing a path to the sewing machine (this one is me. I really need to do that, because if I do that I can start work on repairing the clothing I want to keep and repurposing the ones I don't)
working through a shelf of books / DVDs / games and deciding which ones spark joy, and which ones can go.
going through the tool box and working out just how many pairs of scissors or screwdrivers or gumblesprockets* you really need

Alternatively: keep going with the resting space! Get something out of the house!

* no, i don't know what a gumblesprocket is either. It was one of the list of silly words for tools I learned in a poem as a kid

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January challenge (1 of 5)

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:37:00 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

I got a positive response on doing a low key January challenge! My intention is to post weekly on Wednesdays, which will cause there to be five weekly challenges.

For the first week, we are looking at making day time resting spots more restful. What this might look like:

Favourite Chair* has Stuff! on it --> Stuff! is moved somewhere else.
Floor on the way to Favourite Chair has tripping hazards --> clear a path.
Line of sight from Favourite Chair to window has something that irritates you --> Resolve at least one thing.
December related detritus in your relaxation space --> pack it up.
Cushions are leaking --> repair, replace, put a cover on, put it somewhere else....
There is a task that you notice Every! Single! Time! you stop for a rest --> move it, progress it, hide it ...

* for a value of chair that is where you rest when you aren't resting in bed. If you don't have one of these, then the challenge is to make one. Can you clear a space near a window so you can look outside? Standing and watching the traffic/clouds/birds/local wildlife counts as resting!

On easy mode, Stuff! gets added to a pile on the floor / chucked in a cupboard or box / made a problem for Future You. For each bit of extra energy you have, work through the list of: Rubbish in the bin. Put things that have homes away. Identify things that need returning or rehoming and put them in the 'return' and 'rehome' piles respectively. Find homes for things that don't have them.

Whether you do one thing once, or aim to do a little bit everyday, is entirely dependent on what you have time, energy, motivation and cope for. Reporting in can be done whenever you want, or on the (semi-)regular checkin, or the challenge checkin. If you have a thought about what you want to aim for, tell us in the comments!

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 14:25:53 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week! I haven't had the oomph to come and post replies to celebrate you, but I cheer each comment notification when I read it.

ps: would anyone like a lowkey challenge for January? I have some ideas...

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 14:18:43 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 14:20:14 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 12:25:03 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week!

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 13:19:54 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Continued thanks to those who did the cheering after the last posts - life continues to be a little full on.

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digitally minimizing

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 20:17:08 GMT

Posted by: mcbrat

over the past couple of weeks i have been deleting photos from my phone and cloud storage! its part of a whole digital minimializm upheaval in my life with a heavy emphasis on privacy and actual human connection. in the process ive realized that alot of my data footprint is in PICTURES. thousands upon thousands of pictures, most of which are frankly duplicated upwards of 10 times each (if its a selfie session easily 30-50 photos, out of which i like one or two)

so awhile ago i started with the strategy of favoriting photos that i really liked out of these photosets, and therefore my whole photo storage!

this has made it easier to go through and remember and delete things that truthfully i have never looked back on or thought about again. in the moment these things felt very meaningful to capture in pictures (so meaningful i needed 127 photos and 11 videos of a single concert), but looking back i have almost no attachment to them! and im a sentimental person.

so i have been using screen time where i would have scrolled previously to go through my library on my mobile phone and continue MASSSSS deleting. today i got rid of another 2.5k easily!

it feels good also to empty these essentially over memorialized memories because some of them were painfully associated, or i looked at them and some pain of rememberance came up with it, or disgust, or just plain old detatchment. even the ones that were great great memories but i know i would appreciate more if i could say print 25 photos of the whole trip out and make a memory book- it felt like a weeding process.

i repeat, i am a sentimental person and keeping photos, taking photos, curating photos, making collages and mood boards and vision boards is really really important and integral to me fundementally. which is why this feels even like an artistic extension of myself.

and i get to look at all my photos in the process of this decluttering!!
yayyy!!

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 14:27:09 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

And thanks to those who did the cheering after the last post, when my week completely vanished from under me and I forgot that dreamwidth is a place to spend time.

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uncluttering other people...

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 21:58:15 GMT

Posted by: wychwood

is much easier than doing your own!

My mother is not a hoarder, but has a regrettable tendency to accumulate things, an inability to do sorting and tidying activities which are not "work for four hours straight and accomplish the entire task in one go", and health conditions that mean she can essentially never do anything substantial in one go any more. Over the summer I pointed out that she probably didn't need three overflowing boxes of toddler books given that her youngest grandchild is now in secondary school, and strong-armed her into going through them with me so we could donate most of them and put the rest neatly away in the available storage.

I was with her again last week, and she had spontaneously decided we were going to do some more - I bagged up and put away some of her not-currently-in-use clothes for her, and we went through the toy collection which again now fits neatly in the box, while the overflow is waiting to be collected for the church Christmas fair.

We also talked about possible clothing solutions - she has bags and bags of clothes that don't fit, at least some of which may well be needed in the future, and I have done my best to suggest that "random unlabelled bin sacks in every corner" is not the optimal solution. We'll see what results.

What has everyone else been up to?

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Weekly (ish) check in

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 11:15:08 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

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Weekly(ish) check in

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:22:40 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

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Weekly(ish) check in

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 13:16:49 GMT

Posted by: fred_mouse

How goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?

Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.

Also: I've very much appreciated the posts people have been putting up through the week, I just haven't had the spoons to respond.

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Playhouse 50 presents “Unclutter-fest”. (Bring and recycle your own bottles.)

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 23:28:06 GMT

Posted by: sisterofbloomerjunior

I managed to clean out the main floor of our playhouse. The garden cart’s pieces, a tarp, and a plastic container are now in the screen house. I cut up the box the cart was shipped in. The rest of the items are currently in the raised planting box. I moved the play oven to underneath the rafter, if the Servpro staff need more room to put items from our basement, I’ll clean that out.

I think the screen house also has enough space for storage, but not our regular shed or garage.

Put a bunch of paperbacks with rather small font, Cliff Notes, and a coupon flyer for a supermarket we don’t shop into the neighborhood little library. Should put also that college flyer in there. Mentioned to person operating the Giving Tree that Ridwell is collecting textbooks this week. I donated a wooden basket and a can crusher. I doubt anyone still uses can crushers, but at least it’s no longer on our property. Hopefully she activates her Ridwell account in time.

Also ordered some twenty gallon trash bags, should also buy some 13 gallon ones.

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