Mid-week uncluttering

[fred_mouse]

How is everyone's uncluttering going at this point of the week? Are you recovering from busy weekends, mooching along quietly, or something else?

I'm continuing with my yarn destash. I poked at all the boxes of yarn that I can find, and emptied most of a (~40L) tub, sorting the balls in to two bags of roughly the same mix, which included splitting some balls. This is all the 'odd' yarn - the feathery ones, the thick and thin, the last half ball of interesting colours and textures. These will be going to a couple of primary school teacher friends, one of whom was very keen, and the other may or may not be interested (if not, it will all go to the first friend, because I'll be seeing them together on Friday). All the sock yarn (of which there was not as much as expected) has been put in a bag with a set of DPNs and a pattern, ready to go a travelling.

And the other thing that I've started doing is finding uses for clothes that have been stashed as too damaged to repair, but good sources of fabric. From the remains of quite a nice (probably linen) shirt I made a liner for the small tub that lives under the sink, so that its contents can be lifted out if I ever need it for its intended purpose (a mop bucket). I struggled a bit, but it is okay to have pretty things that are just for me -- I don't have to use an ugly fabric just because no-one will ever see it. I deconstructed the remaining sections of the shirt into flat pieces with no seams, and then put the pieces into the active collection of fabric. I anticipate that I'll use it as decorative finish, because it really is pretty. And I've deconstructed two pairs of trousers, using one in patching, and moving the other (Yoda pattern flannelette) into the active pile. Not sure what I'll do with that one, maybe something for eldest (who wore the pyjama pants until a) they were completely worn through the second set of patches and b) they were so short as to nearly be at their knees).

Comments

[yukonsally]

3 more things given to friends via facebook! Small things but at least they are out of my desk and out of my way.

[fred_mouse]

Well done! I hate dealing with the small items, because they take effort for such a small apparent change.

[yukonsally]

My secret is, by offering these things to friends, I get to use up the padded envelope stash too! Decluttering TWO things for every thing I send away.

But yes, it's slow going and hard to see the change.

[harpers_child]

Went through the tupperware. Have 4 containers by the front door to be returned to their owners. Have a bunch of containers moving to the garage to store nails and screws in. Anything without a match is in the recycle bin.

[fred_mouse]

Brutal! I'm one of those people who go "I wonder if someone put the lid somewhere else, I'll just put it over there with the other mismatched stuff, and hope it turns up", so I'm in awe of your ability to just throw them out!

[harpers_child]

To be fair there are only about 6 lids and 1 bottom without mates. It's easy if there are only a few to deal with.

[peaceful_sands]

Well done on your continued progress.

I'm continuing to deal with the DVD collection by watching and deciding 'keep or go' with each one (I have three bags for their proposed destination after I decide they're to go and of those watched so far, I've got approximately 1/3 kept to 2/3 gone which isn't too bad and of the newer ones acquired since October I haven't kept any of the ones I've watched so far and I've watched just under half of them. Before anyone thinks I'm very extravagant and wasteful, almost all of the 'new purchases' were from charity shops so minimal cost - I've decided to look on it like 'renting' and it's cheaper than paying to rent from certain large organisations that I shan't name, plus I'm helping a charity and then I give most of them back so they can sell them again - the ones I haven't watched yet are the ones I'm expecting to be keepers!) and using up toiletries. I've also collected up no longer used/out of date medications and taken them to the pharmacy for disposal.

I have collected up the used batteries but need to actually take them to the recycling unit near the bus station. I've also collected 5 old telephone directories (how I managed to end up with 5 out of date ones and this year's is beyond me!) - these will be given to a friend who works in a school (if they're recycled through the schools, the school gets money for every 100 they collect - if I recycle them as an individual, nobody gets anything)

[yukonsally]

I do the same thing with the library book sales! I buy a book, read it whenever, and donate it back so they can sell it again.

[hooloovoo_42]

I have a bag of dead batteries ready to go to the recycling box. I also brought back an old CO2 alarm from Pa's which was beeping to say the battery was dead (it's been complaining for months, so just how dead is the battery???) which I will have to put in the battery box, as it can't go in the normal dustbin.

[fred_mouse]

Thank you.

And you achieved so many different things! I hear you on the 'renting' of DVDs from op-shops. There are now no video/DVD libraries in our local area, so that is my main source of older movies that I think I might want to watch. I've been very fortunate in picking up several TV shows as well (although seven seasons of one that turned out to all be region 2 were a bit of a disappointment.) I just have to make the time to watch them.

And thanks to someone who mentioned out of date medicines, I've done another pass through my medicine cabinet as well, finding a few things that went.

[alexseanchai]

While packing two boxes of media, I put ten books in the yard-sale box.

[fred_mouse]

Good job!