uncluttering one day and one thing at a time

Unclutter 2014: final report

Wed, 31 Dec 2014 15:24:26 GMT

Posted by: nou

So this year I've been doing the Unclutter 2014 challenge, which involved getting rid of 1 thing per day in 2014, plus an extra thing for every thing that came into the house. I thought I'd also keep track of where the things went (landfill, charity shop, recycling, etc).

Here are details of the past 25 days:

Day 344: 1 out: bag of tinsel collected by a Freegler.

Day 346: 16 out: 15 balls of wool and 1 large bag of stuffing collected by a Freegler.

Day 355: 1 out: jar of chilli-garlic mayonnaise, best before December 2012, finally used up.

Day 361: 1 in: new tablecloth (actually entered the house as a length of cloth, gift from bob, but immediately hemmed for use as tablecloth).

And here are my final grand totals:

607 out:
- 204 recycled
- 154 charity shop
- 136 landfill
- 39 Freegle
- 29 gifts
- 19 used up
- 16 food waste
- 8 archived
- 1 returned to owner
- 1 bartered
139 in
468 net out

I'm very pleased! I said at the start that I'd like to manage the full 365 net out but would be happy if I could beat my previous total of 198. I appear to have done rather better than that.

Many thanks to everyone who's provided support/encouragement by posting in this community!

comments

Unclutter 2014: days 321–340

Sun, 07 Dec 2014 08:38:20 GMT

Posted by: nou

As previously noted, I'm doing Unclutter 2014, which involves getting rid of 1 thing per day in 2014, plus an extra thing for every thing that comes into the house. I thought I'd also keep track of where the things go (landfill, charity shop, recycling, etc). I'm planning to post once every ten (or sometimes twenty) days, giving a summary of how I'm doing.

Days 1–320: 528 out (131 landfill, 189 recycled, 132 charity shop, 29 gifts, 1 returned to owner, 8 Freegle, 1 bartered, 17 used up, 12 food waste, 8 archived), 131 in, net out: 397.

Days 321–340 totals: 61 out (5 landfill, 15 recycled, 22 charity shop, 14 Freegle, 1 used up, 4 food waste), 7 in, net out: 54.

I seem to be accelerating well past the finish line! My next update will be on 31 December with the final grand totals. Details of the past 20 days are below.

Day 323: 13 out: 9 CDs, 2 DVDs, and 2 DVD box sets taken to the charity shop.

Day 325: 5 in: 5 new bras arrived in the post.

Day 327: 23 out: 1 broken button put in landfill, 10 pots of fabric paint given to Freegler, 1 bag of soda ash and 3 packets of dye given to a different Freegler, 2 broken pieces of tupperware and 3 old plastic spoons put in recycling, 3 bags of ancient food from the freezer (prawn shells, gingko nuts, parmesan rinds) put in food waste.

Day 328: 2 out: 1 empty packet that's been hanging around in my wardrobe for over a year (recycled), 1 bottle of cream cleaner finally used up and recycled (we switched to spray cleaners a very long time ago).

Day 330: 5 out: 4 knitting needles which no longer have another half (landfill), 1 handful of yarn scraps (composted, counting as food waste).

Day 331: 8 out: 4 pairs of shoes put in textiles recycling, 4 pairs of knitting needles taken to charity shop, 1 in: old bus leaflet bought on eBay, arrived today.

Day 332: 5 out: book, hat, 2 cushions, and ball of yarn taken to charity shop.

Day 335: 1 out: old booklet put in the recycling, 1 in: local history book arrived in the post.

Day 338: 4 out: tshirt and bathmat put into textiles recycling; packet of soya chunks used up (been in the cupboard for ages); plastic box put in recycling.

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Unclutter 2014: days 301–320

Thu, 20 Nov 2014 19:08:26 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–300: 468 out (130 landfill, 185 recycled, 83 charity shop, 27 gifts, 1 returned to owner, 8 Freegle, 1 bartered, 16 used up, 9 food waste, 8 archived), 126 in, net out: 342.

Days 301–320 totals: 60 out (1 landfill, 4 recycled, 49 charity shop, 2 gifts, 1 used up, 3 food waste), 5 in, net out: 55.

Finally got past 365 net out, thanks to a clearout of cookery books in collaboration with bob. Details of the past 20 days are below.

Day 301: 2 out: Halloween stickers and crocheted pumpkin given to nephew. 5 in: 4 microfibre cloths and 1 postcard.

Day 302: 3 out: 2 packets of dried fish products, ancient and not stored properly (put in the food waste), 1 packet of ancient TVP chunks (used up).

Day 303: 1 out: Plastic bowl put in the recycling.

Day 304: 6 out: Cracked mug put in landfill; 2 tops, a coathanger, and a food warmer taken to charity shop; 1 bottle very-expired squash put in plastic recycling (after pouring contents down sink).

Day 307: 2 out: 2 books containing Bad Science put in the recycling.

Day 312: 1 out: Ancient and bad-smelling jar of instant coffee decanted into the food waste.

Day 314: 25 out: 25 books taken to charity shop.

Day 318: 20 out: 20 books taken to charity shop.

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Unclutter 2014: days 281–300

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 09:45:24 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–280: 464 out (128 landfill, 185 recycled, 83 charity shop, 26 gifts, 1 returned to owner, 8 Freegle, 1 bartered, 15 used up, 9 food waste, 8 archived), 124 in, net out: 340.

Days 281–300 totals: 4 out (2 landfill, 1 gift, 1 used up), 2 in, net out: 2.

I am slowly, ever so slowly, inching towards my goal. Details of the past 20 days are below.

Days 281–284: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 285: 2 out: A broken clothespeg and a broken bowl, both put into landfill.

Day 286: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 287: 1 out: Top given to friend to take to clothes swap.

Day 286: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 289: 1 out: Tub of dashi that's been in the freezer since September 2011, used up.

Days 290–297: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 298: 2 in: An original painting and the bubble wrap used to transport it.

Days 299–300: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 261–280

Sun, 12 Oct 2014 10:24:04 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–260: 455 out (127 landfill, 182 recycled, 83 charity shop, 21 gifts, 1 returned to owner, 8 Freegle, 1 bartered, 15 used up, 9 food waste, 8 archived), 123 in, net out: 332.

Days 261–280 totals: 9 out (1 landfill, 3 recycled, 5 gifts), 1 in, net out: 8.

Slow and steady progress. Nearly at 365 net out! Details of the past 20 days are below.

Days 261–263: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 264: 1 out: Box of writing icing gone hard (icing in landfill, box recycled, counting as 1 in landfill).

Days 265–267: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 268: 2 out: Dead Kindle and dead clock taken to recycling depot.

Day 269: 1 out: Book posted to a friend.

Days 270–275: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 276: 1 in: Scarf bought from new local shop (partly to encourage the new business).

Days 277–278: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 279: 5 out: 4 books posted to a friend, 1 broken glass taken to recycling point.

Day 280: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 241-260

Thu, 18 Sep 2014 08:34:23 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–240: 451 out (127 landfill, 179 recycled, 83 charity shop, 20 gifts, 1 returned to owner, 8 Freegle, 1 bartered, 15 used up, 9 food waste, 8 archived), 113 in, net out: 338.

Days 241–260 totals: 4 out (3 recycled, 1 gift), 10 in, net out: -6.

I had another busy period (including visiting and reviewing 29 pubs in 8 days), so I'm not too worried that my total this time is negative. Details of the past 20 days are below.

Day 241: 1 out: 1 box of washing powder taken to food bank (we're swapping to liquid concentrates). 1 in: 1 book about Charringtons the coal merchants (this actually arrived a couple of days ago but I forgot to count it in).

Day 242: 2 in: 1 pestle and mortar, 1 nail file/buffer.

Day 243: 1 out: dead plastic bowl put in recycling.

Day 244: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 245: 2 in: pair of oven gloves.

Day 246: 1 in: oral history book.

Day 247: 2 out: old pair of oven gloves put in textile recycling.

Day 248: 1 in: 1 pint glass (present for bob from a friend).

Day 249: 2 in: 1 copy of The Cleaver Quarterly, 1 copy of the 2015 Good Beer Guide.

Days 250-256: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 257: 1 in: Third-place trophy for the natural goatee division of the British Beard Championships (won by bob).

Days 258-260: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 231–240

Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:53:13 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–230: 430 out (127 landfill, 173 recycled, 79 charity shop, 14 gifts, 1 returned to owner, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 15 used up, 9 food waste, 8 archived), 111 in, net out: 319.

Days 231–240 totals: 21 out (6 recycled, 4 charity shop, 6 gifts, 5 Freegle), 2 in, net out: 19.

It is so nice to have time to declutter again! And nothing in landfill this time. Details of the past 10 days are below.

Day 231: 4 out: 4 batteries taken to Maplin for recycling (we've switched to reusables). 2 in: 1 bag and 1 programme guide from Worldcon.

Day 232: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 233: 4 out: 1 rubber duck taken to work by bob (counting as 1 gift), 1 dead tshirt and 1 dead pair of shorts put in textile recycling, 1 laptop screen protector collected by Freegler.

Day 234: 12 out: 4 rubber ducks taken to charity shop, 4 bottles of shower gel taken to food bank (counting as gifts), 4 packs of stickers/cards collected by Freegler.

Days 235-239: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 240: 1 out: postcard posted to friend (counting as gift).

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Unclutter 2014: days 221–230

Wed, 20 Aug 2014 06:43:02 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–220: 406 out (118 landfill, 160 recycled, 79 charity shop, 14 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 14 used up, 9 food waste, 8 archived), 104 in, net out: 302.

Days 221–230 totals: 24 out (9 landfill, 13 recycled, 1 returned to owner, 1 used up), 7 in, net out: 17.

Back on track after a busy few months! 17 things in 10 days is a rate I'm very happy with.

Details of the past 10 days are below.

Day 221: 2 in: 1 Crossrail magazine, 1 handout from railway tour.

Day 222: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 223: 7 out: 1 box of instant soup, used up (counting this because I only ate it to get rid of it), 4 booklets and a small box (recycled), 1 insole for a shoe I no longer own (landfill).

Day 224: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 225: 3 in: 1 tray, 1 programme, and 1 glass from the 2014 Great British Beer Festival.

Day 226: 2 out: 1 sock and 1 pair of knickers put in the textile recycling. 1 in: 1 book about Sanders Bros (for local history research).

Day 227: 1 in: 1 new pair of trousers.

Day 288: 11 out: 1 programme from the 2013 Great British Beer Festival, put into the recycling (don't worry, bob; this was my one not your one), 1 tangram set with a missing piece (landfill), 5 envelopes of no-longer-needed paperwork (recycling), 4 torn padded envelopes (landfill).

Day 299: 4 out: 1 unwanted wardrobe pole (landfill), 2 sachets of sachets from KFC (landfill), 1 mysterious photo found in second-hand book purchase several years ago (posted back to address on envelope).

Day 230: Nothing in, nothing out.

comments

Unclutter 2014: days 191–220

Sun, 10 Aug 2014 07:19:43 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–190: 371 out (115 landfill, 141 recycled, 70 charity shop, 12 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 13 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 98 in, net out: 273.

Days 191–220 totals: 35 out (3 landfill, 19 recycled, 9 charity shop, 2 gifts, 1 used up, 1 food waste), 6 in, net out: 29.

I was very busy in July! So I haven't posted totals for a while, but I have been recording things, and I have been making progress. Details of the past 30 days are below.

Days 191-196: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 197: 4 out: 1 dead wok (landfill), 2 mouldy boxes from under sink (landfill), 1 broken glass (recycling).

Days 198-199: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 200: 1 in: 1 meat thermometer.

Days 201-205: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 206: 1 in: 1 new pair of trousers.

Days 207-210: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 211: 8 out: 3 tshirts, 1 jacket, 1 coat, 1 mortarboard, 1 towel, 1 kitchen implement taken to charity shop.

Day 212: 5 out: 3 dead pairs of trousers put into textile recycling, end of a bag of chicken feet (very out of date) put into food waste, box of teabags given to food bank, 2 in: 2 new pairs of trousers.

Day 213: 10 out: 10 plastic boxes I'd been saving for various uses but now surplus to requirements (put into recycling).

Day 214: 1 in: 1 sink deblocker.

Day 215: 5 out: 3 plastic boxes and 2 cardboard tubes I'd been saving for various uses but now surplus to requirements (put into recycling).

Day 216: 1 out: 1 box of instant soup, used up (counting this because I only ate it to get rid of it).

Day 217: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 218: 2 out: 1 decorative pot taken to charity shop, 1 book given to a friend.

Day 219: 1 in: children's book about roads.

Day 220: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 171–190

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 08:10:45 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–170: 358 out (115 landfill, 141 recycled, 63 charity shop, 9 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 10 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 82 in, net out: 276.

Days 171–190 totals: 13 out (7 charity shop, 3 gifts, 3 used up), 16 in, net out: -3.

I didn't get around to posting about days 171–180, so this post covers 20 days instead of 10. Another negative total! I thought I'd have more time for decluttering in July, due to the end of a large project, but actually Plastic-Free July is eating all my time and energy, so there's not much left over for decluttering. Details of the past 20 days are below.

Day 171: 1 out: card sent to a friend (1 used up). 13 in: 12 new glasses bought as a set, 1 bar spoon.

Days 172–177: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 178: 2 out: 1 water bottle, 1 beer can cosy, taken to work by bob (counting as 2 used up). 3 in: 3 British Beard Club cloth bags.

Days 179–184: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 185: 7 out: 7 glasses taken to charity shop.

Day 186: 3 out: 3 chocolate things that have been in the cupboard for ages, given to friends.

Days 187–190: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 161–170

Fri, 20 Jun 2014 09:12:09 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–160: 355 out (115 landfill, 140 recycled, 63 charity shop, 9 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 8 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 75 in, net out: 280.

Days 161–170 totals: 3 out (1 recycled, 2 used up), 7 in, net out: -4.

Negative again, but as I mentioned last time I'm more busy than usual at the moment — and a large deadline on 1 July means I'll have more time after that. Details of the past 10 days are below.

Day 161: 2 out: a card and a postcard, both posted to friends. 4 in: 4 local history publications given to me by a friend.

Day 162: 1 in: 1 copy of The Cleaver Quarterly arrived in the post.

Day 163: 1 out: 1 dead bra put in the textiles recycling.

Day 164: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 165: 2 in: 2 glasses bought from charity stall at local environmental fair.

Days 166-170: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 151–160

Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:20:09 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–150: 353 out (115 landfill, 138 recycled, 63 charity shop, 9 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 8 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 71 in, net out: 282.

Days 151–160 totals: 2 out (2 recycled), 4 in, net out: -2.

Another negative 10-day total :( Though as with the last time this happened, some of the items are things that will prevent waste in the future. Also, I'm still really really busy with things that will become less time-consuming after July. Also also, my net total out is still ahead of my number of days. So I'm not losing hope! Details of the past 10 days are below.

Day 151: 2 out: 2 broken glasses taken to recycling point.

Days 152-156: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 157: 4 in: a bag of Onya Weigh bags (counting as 1 thing because the mesh bags live inside their storage bag), an Onya Lunch sandwich wrap, 2 fridge magnets from a local takeaway.

Days 158-160: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 141–150

Tue, 03 Jun 2014 05:14:15 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–140: 344 out (114 landfill, 138 recycled, 55 charity shop, 9 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 8 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 69 in, net out: 275.

Days 141–150 totals: 9 out (1 landfill, 8 charity shop), 2 in, net out: 7.

Not the full 10, but better than last time! Details of the past 10 days are below.

Day 141: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 142: 1 out: Insole for a shoe I no longer own (landfill).

Day 143: 1 in: Thompson directory came through door. Not sure whether I'll be keeping this or not.

Day 144: 8 out: books taken to charity shop.

Days 145-147: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 148: 1 in: Copy of Herb Lester's London guide arrived in the post.

Days 149-150: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 131–140

Wed, 21 May 2014 16:10:25 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–130: 339 out (114 landfill, 134 recycled, 55 charity shop, 8 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 8 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 65 in, net out: 274.

Days 131–140 totals: 5 out (4 recycled, 1 gift), 4 in, net out: 1.

As with my last report, not doing very well at the moment. However, this is partly because I'm very busy with a project that should get less time-demanding at the start of next month. I actually have lots of things ready to go to the charity shop once I have time to take them there! So I'm not feeling too discouraged. Details of the past 10 days are below.

Day 131: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 132: 1 out: perfume sample posted to a friend.

Days 133-134: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 135: 4 out: 4 batteries taken to Maplin for recycling.

Day 136: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 137: 4 in: a card, 2 small bowls, and a small jug from local craft fair.

Days 138-140: Nothing in, nothing out.

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Unclutter 2014: days 121–130

Wed, 14 May 2014 12:44:16 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–120: 330 out (113 landfill, 126 recycled, 55 charity shop, 8 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 8 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 52 in, net out: 278.

Day 121: 5 in: 3 reusable sandwich wraps, 1 steel water bottle, 1 sports cap for the water bottle.

Day 122: 1 in: book on English shops and shopping.

Day 123: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 124: 1 out: almost-empty jar of seafood sauce that's been sitting in the fridge for months (recycled).

Days 125-126: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 127: 3 in: 1 piece of original artwork for website design, 2 boxes of rechargeable batteries.

Day 128: 3 in: battery charger, battery charger lead, battery charger instructions.

Day 129: 8 out: t-shirt, trousers, and 2 socks (textiles recycling); old letter, flyer, and magazine (paper recycling); sleeve for mini-umbrella that no longer exists (landfill).

Day 130: 1 in: new coat for bob.

Days 121–130 totals: 9 out (1 landfill, 8 recycled), 13 in, net out: -4.

My first negative total :( :( :( At least most of the things that came in are things that will prevent waste (though not necessarily clutter) in the future.

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Unclutter 2014: days 111-120

Mon, 05 May 2014 17:48:21 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–110: 275 out (73 landfill, 116 recycled, 52 charity shop, 8 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 6 used up, 8 food waste, 8 archived), 49 in, net out: 226.

Day 111: 31 out: 1 greetings card used up (sent to a friend) plus a drawer clearout yielding 13 torn jiffy bags (landfill), 2 random bits of plastic (landfill), 2 dead rubber bands (landfill), 2 dead erasers (landfill), 1 dried-up bottle of Tippex (landfill), 8 dead pens (landfill), 1 torn envelope (recycled), 1 piece crumpled-up paper (recycled).

Days 112-113: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 114: 1 in: Babylon 5 book arrived for bob.

Day 115: 10 out: 1 dead propelling pencil, 9 nearly-dead biros (all in landfill - tried to give biros away on Freegle but no joy).

Day 116: 9 out: 5 pieces broken jewellery posted to Alzheimer's Society (counting as recycled), 1 plastic tub they were stored in (recycled), 2 pint glasses and a kitchen timer taken to charity shop, 1 bottle Coke used up to cook gammon (Coke appears in our house sometimes via takeaways, but nobody here drinks it), 1 dead pen put into landfill.

Day 117: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 118: 1 in: vintage map from eBay.

Day 119: 3 out: 2 ancient takeaway menus (recycled), 1 broken glass (put into landfill because I can't currently justify the time to take it to the glass bin). 1 in: Another Babylon 5 book arrived for bob (a duplicate which I think he may be attempting to return).

Day 120: Nothing in, nothing out.

Days 111–120 totals: 55 out (40 landfill, 10 recycled, 3 charity shop, 2 used up), 3 in, net out: 52.

Total net out at day 120: 278.

Lots out this week, but unfortunately most of it went to landfill.

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Unclutter 2014: days 91–110

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 18:34:56 GMT

Posted by: nou

As previously noted, I'm doing Unclutter 2014, which involves getting rid of 1 thing per day in 2014, plus an extra thing for every thing that comes into the house. I thought I'd also keep track of where the things go (landfill, charity shop, recycling, etc). I'm planning to post once every ten days, giving a summary of how I'm doing. I didn't get around to posting about days 91–100, so this post covers 20 days instead of ten.

Days 1–90: 241 out (61 landfill, 103 recycled, 47 charity shop, 8 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 5 used up, 7 food waste, 6 archived), 41 in, net out: 200.

Day 91: 3 in: new laptop + cable + screen cleaning cloth.

Day 92: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 93: 1 out: glass bottle now surplus to requirements (recycled).

Day 94: 13 out: 1 broken cup (landfill), 2 leaflets for the local credit union (archived), batch of old bank statements (shredded and composted, counting as recycled), 5 spare plastic doorhandles (recycled), 3 random bits of plastic (recycled), 1 plastic spoon (recycled). 1 in: AppleCare Protection Plan certificate arrived in post.

Days 95–98: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 99: 1 out: pair of slightly-too-small trainers taken to charity shop.

Day 100: 1 out: batch of old bank statements (shredded and composted, counting as recycled). 1 in: plug adaptor for overseas guests.

Day 101: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 102: 4 out: 4 books taken to charity shop.

Day 103: 11 out: 11 things from a shed clearout by bob (all to landfill).

Days 104–105: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 106: 2 out: 1 packet of dried-out wheat tortillas from freezer (food waste), 1 packet of three-year-old tofu from freezer (marinated with lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce, then baked).

Day 107: 1 out: 1 half-bottle of vinegary mustard that nobody likes (mustard in food waste, bottle in recycling, counting as 1 recycled).

Day 108: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 109: 3 in: 1 USB drive, 1 card from arts & crafts fair, 1 box of Trivial Pursuit questions from charity shop.

Day 110: Nothing in, nothing out.

Days 91–110 totals: 34 out (12 landfill, 13 recycled, 5 charity shop, 1 used up, 1 food waste, 2 archived), 8 in, net out: 26.

Total net out at day 110: 226.

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Unclutter 2014: days 81–90

Tue, 01 Apr 2014 14:57:15 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1–80: 235 out (60 landfill, 99 recycled, 47 charity shop, 8 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 4 used up, 7 food waste, 6 archived), 35 in, net out: 200.

Days 81-85: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 86: 5 out: 3 broken glasses taken to recycling point, 1 empty cardboard box (used to contain wine glasses; the last one broke the other day) put in the doorstep recycling, 1 travel-size thing of shampoo used up. 2 in: 2 postcards from bob.

Day 87: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 88: 3 in: 1 AppleCare booklet, 2 Oystercards for use of guests.

Day 89: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 90: 1 out: dead laptop cable put in landfill. 1 in: second-hand book on manhole covers, bought as a present for bob.

Days 81–90 totals: 6 out (1 landfill, 4 recycled, 1 used up), 6 in, net out: 0.

No progress in these 10 days, but also no backsliding. Ideally I would have taken the laptop cable from day 90 to Maplin to see if they could recycle any of the components, but I was a bit desperate to get rid of a thing to balance out the book I bought on impulse earlier that evening, so I just dumped it in the bin.

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Unclutter 2014: days 71-80

Sun, 23 Mar 2014 21:35:17 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1-50: 175 out (32 landfill, 87 recycled, 38 charity shop, 7 gifts, 3 Freegle, 2 used up, 6 archived), 31 in, net out: 144.

Days 51-60: 22 out (10 landfill, 2 recycled, 1 bartered, 2 used up, 7 food waste), 0 in, net out: 22.

Days 61–70: 3 out (3 recycled), 0 in, net out: 3.

Day 71: 1 in: a mug from the London Drinker beer festival, brought home by bob.

Day 72: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 73: 28 out: 25 things from a shed clearout yielding 1 mouldy pillow, 6 non-working solar lights, 1 old u-bend, 1 empty charcoal bag, 3 pieces of torn roof felt, 1 random piece of plastic, 4 random pieces of wood, and 1 bag of broken pottery pieces (all landfilled) plus 3 manky carrier bags, 1 empty BBQ briquettes box, and 3 empty plastic trays (all recycled). Also, 2 mugs and 1 cheesegrater taken to charity shop.

Days 74-75: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 76: 3 in: new printer, plus associated instruction book and CD. 7 out: 1 mug taken to bob's work for communal mug pile (counting as 1 gift), 1 other mug and 5 glasses taken to charity shop.

Days 77-80: Nothing in, nothing out.

Total out so far: 235 (60 landfill, 99 recycled, 47 charity shop, 8 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 4 used up, 7 food waste, 6 archived)
Total in so far: 35
Net total out at day 80: 200

Well! I thought I wasn't going to get much done this week, but then fred_mouse inspired me with their verandah and hall clearout so I got a load of stuff out of the shed. Also, bob helped by identifying his least favourite pint glasses to go to the charity shop. Hurrah!

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Unclutter 2014: days 61-70

Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:04:05 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1-50: 175 out (32 landfill, 87 recycled, 38 charity shop, 7 gifts, 3 Freegle, 2 used up, 6 archived), 31 in, net out: 144.

Days 51-60: 22 out (10 landfill, 2 recycled, 1 bartered, 2 used up, 7 food waste), 0 in, net out: 22.

Days 61-63: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 64: 2 out: recycled 2 instruction leaflets for things I no longer own.

Days 65-68: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 69: 1 out: jar of ancient pickled vegetables from back of fridge (veg in food waste, jar in recycling, counting as 1 recycled).

Day 70: Nothing in, nothing out.

Total out so far: 200 (42 landfill, 92 recycled, 38 charity shop, 7 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 4 used up, 7 food waste, 6 archived)
Total in so far: 31
Net total out at day 70: 169

Really busy at the moment, so not much decluttering going on. This will continue for at least a week, but hopefully after that I'll have more time for it.

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Unclutter 2014: days 51-60

Sun, 02 Mar 2014 11:05:41 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1-50: 175 out (32 landfill, 87 recycled, 38 charity shop, 7 gifts, 3 Freegle, 2 used up, 6 archived), 31 in, net total out: 144.

Day 51: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 52: 1 out: book used to pay for lesson at Trade School.

Day 53: 1 out: travel-size shampoo bottle that had been hanging around for ages (used up, recycled bottle, counting as 1 used up).

Days 54-56: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 57: 19 out: 8 pieces of trash that had been hanging around in the shed for ages (landfill), 4 containers of takeaway food that had been in the freezer for ages (food in food waste, foil containers recycled, counting as 4 food waste), some pickled garlic, chicken fat, and tinned anchovies that had been in the fridge for ages (food waste), an empty wasabi tube (recycled), 2 empty packets (landfill) and an instruction leaflet (recycled) from kitchen drawer.

Day 58: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 59: 1 out: a ginger teabag that had been sitting on its own at the bottom of a tin for months (made tea, drank it, used the tin to consolidate another clutter).

Day 60: Nothing in, nothing out.

Total out so far: 197 (42 landfill, 89 recycled, 38 charity shop, 7 gifts, 3 Freegle, 1 bartered, 4 used up, 7 food waste, 6 archived)
Total in so far: 31
Net total out at day 60: 166

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Unclutter 2014: days 41–50

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 14:48:17 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1-10: 32 out (6 landfill, 3 recycled, 19 charity shop, 2 gifts, 1 Freegle, 1 used up), 8 in, net total out: 24.

Days 11–20: 28 out (12 landfill, 6 recycled, 8 charity shop, 1 Freegle, 1 used up), 15 in, net total out: 13.

Days 21–30: 29 out (6 landfill, 11 recycled, 5 charity shop, 1 Freegle, 6 archived), 3 in, net total out: 26.

Days 31–40: 58 out (5 landfill, 53 recycled), 0 in, net total out: 58.

Day 41: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 42: 4 in: Three new microfibre cloths and a new cloth apron.

Day 43: 4 out: 2 plastic bottles now surplus to requirements (recycled), 1 box that didn't have anything in it (recycled), 1 piece of blender that got broken ages ago (landfill).

Day 44: 2 out: half-empty bottle of conditioner that we moved house with over two years ago - the bottle had somehow gone mouldy (bottle recycled), plastic bag randomly hanging around in bathroom (recycled).

Day 45: 6 out: 6 books taken to charity shop.

Day 46: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 47: 1 in: bob bought a set of Trivial Pursuit questions.

Day 48: 14 out: 2 books, 1 measuring cylinder, 1 pair of shoelaces all given to a friend; 1 bottle chilli sauce given to another friend; 1 card, 3 receipts, 1 packet, 2 envelopes, 2 letters all recycled.

Day 49: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 50: 2 out: 1 broken button that's been hanging around for ages (landfill), 1 broken bowl (landfill).

Total out so far: 175 (32 landfill, 87 recycled, 38 charity shop, 7 gifts, 3 Freegle, 2 used up, 6 archived)
Total in so far: 31
Net total out at day 50: 144

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Unclutter 2014: days 31–40

Mon, 10 Feb 2014 08:58:03 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1-10: 32 out (6 landfill, 3 recycled, 19 charity shop, 2 gifts, 1 Freegle, 1 used up), 8 in, net total out: 24.

Days 11–20: 28 out (12 landfill, 6 recycled, 8 charity shop, 1 Freegle, 1 used up), 15 in, net total out: 13.

Days 21–30: 29 out (6 landfill, 11 recycled, 5 charity shop, 1 Freegle, 6 archived), 3 in, net total out: 26.

Days 31–32: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 33: 2 out: handful of old receipts (recycling), broken key fob (landfill).

Day 34: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 35: 50 out: plastic tub collection winnowed through, everything we don't use regularly put into recycling.

Day 36: 5 out: 2 boxes of old earplugs (landfill), 1 sliver of ancient soap (landfill), 1 surplus-to-requirements tube of medicated cream (landfill), 1 no-longer-needed instruction leaflet (recycled).

Days 37–39: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 40: 1 out: old bottle of mouthwash, dregs tipped down sink and bottle put into recycling.

Total out so far: 147 (29 landfill, 73 recycled, 32 charity shop, 2 gifts, 3 Freegle, 2 used up, 6 archived)
Total in so far: 26
Net total out at day 40: 121

I had to think carefully about the plastic tub collection on day 35. None of it was bought - all of it was left over from takeaways and other food purchases - but it was all saved purposefully for reuse, in some cases for years. Although some of it was unusable due to incompatible lids/tubs, some of it could have been reused if I'd taken the time to offer it on Freegle. I decided against this because I already have several outstanding offers on Freegle and I'm running out of the time/energy to keep up with it - but in an ideal world, I would have tried to find these tubs a new home with someone else. Putting plastic in the recycling is better than putting it directly in landfill, but there's no guarantee that it won't eventually end up in landfill anyway.

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Unclutter 2014: days 21–30

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 10:12:06 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1-10: 32 out (6 landfill, 3 recycled, 19 charity shop, 2 gifts, 1 Freegle, 1 used up), 8 in, net total out: 24.

Days 11–20: 28 out (12 landfill, 6 recycled, 8 charity shop, 1 Freegle, 1 used up), 15 in, net total out: 13.

Day 21: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 22: 2 in, 19 out: DVD and card arrived from a friend; did a drawer cleanout yielding handful of old receipts (recycled), old circular (envelope recycled, circular put in local history archive, counting as one recycled), five flyers/leaflets (archive), old medical notification (shredded, composted, counting as recycled), wrapper from a cereal bar (landfill), specimen tube surplus to requirements (recycled), two old map printouts (recycled), expired membership card for local shared workspace (archive), handful of old Boggle word sheets (recycled), old takeaway menu (recycled), list of who got what meat from a pig slaughtered a couple of years ago (recycled), crochet cotton label (recycled), old copy of London Drinker magazine (recycled), greasy paper bag (shredded, composted, counting as recycled).

Day 23: 1 in, 10 out: Copy of Interzone arrived; took 5 boxes of expired medication to pharmacy for disposal (counting as landfill), took a lemon zester, corkscrew, bottle-opener, plastic mat, and pocket-sized mirror to charity shop.

Day 24: 1 out: tin of candle wax collected by a Freegler.

Days 25-30: Nothing in, nothing out.

Total out so far: 89 (24 landfill, 20 recycled, 32 charity shop, 2 gifts, 3 Freegle, 2 used up, 6 archived)
Total in so far: 26
Net total out at day 30: 63

NB I'm counting stuff put into my local history archive as uncluttered, because this involves filing things properly (rather than having them scattered around) and I'm counting new folders as "in"s. I'm not counting future things in and out though, as long as they get filed promptly, which they usually do. (Hopefully in the long run this will be merged into the existing collection at the council-run local archives service, but this depends on resources and budget cuts. We've agreed that the best course is for it to stay with me for now.)

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Unclutter 2014: days 11–20

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 06:04:15 GMT

Posted by: nou

Days 1-10: 32 out (6 landfill, 3 recycled, 19 charity shop, 2 gifts, 1 Freegle, 1 used up), 8 in, net total out: 24.

Day 11: 5 in, 12 out: A box of candles and 4 boxes of matches in. Outs were: 1 half-empty bottle of "friendly bacteria" tablets (old, not been kept in fridge as advised on label, no longer needed anyway - tablets in landfill, bottle in recycling, counting as 1 in recycling), 1 collection ticket (2 pieces of A4 paper, recycled) for a duvet I already collected months ago, 8 non-working disposable pens (landfill), 2 obsolete connectors (landfill).

Day 12: 3 out: bag of scrap material collected by a Freegler, old Clas Ohlson catalogue found in a drawer and recycled, old edition of What's Brewing ditto.

Day 13: 10 in, 2 out: Bought 10 wallet folders (needed for filing historical research), took a pair of baby slippers (wrong size) and a baby bib (wrong type) to the charity shop.

Days 14-17: Nothing in, nothing out.

Day 18: 5 out: a few stickers that have been hanging around for a while (stuck them to stuff), handful of dead hairbands (landfill), plastic bottle surplus to requirements (recycling), handful of no-longer-needed instruction leaflets found in kitchen drawer (recycling), plastic packaging with nothing inside, also found in kitchen drawer (landfill).

Day 19: 6 out: 5 items of jewellery and a 2014 calendar taken to the charity shop.

Day 20: Nothing in, nothing out.

Total out so far: 60 (18 landfill, 9 recycled, 27 charity shop, 2 gifts, 2 Freegle, 2 used up)
Total in so far: 23
Net total out at day 20: 37

(Update, 31 Jan: corrected figures — I'd miscounted my "out"s and actually had one more than I thought, though my net total out was correct.)

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