uncluttering one day and one thing at a time

Quick post to say I've sold and shipped two things!  Two more blasted padded envelopes gone.

Eldest Child and I went through seasonal clothes and identified discards, which I will either list for sale or give away.  I hope to have a sizable bag to give to a friend this week.  Pulling seasonal clothes for both kids meant one bin empty--I'll put more handmedowns we receive in that when the time comes.  An empty bin is a nice feeling!

We're focusing on reducing food waste right now, which means muffins, croutons, and lots of tasty treats.  I love when decluttering/cleaning tastes great.

The current state of the world and the United States, concerned covid-19 and having to stay home, has not helped my decluttering.  I am sure we are healthy in this house and we do not have covid-19 viruses on our things.  Theoretically I could donate a few things (very few, not quite worth the trip) but then there's the going out part, and the second hand store is generally thought to be not quite clean on a good day..  Well, I could recycle a few electronic things at a different store, though that's still going out and we're not supposed to.  None of these are urgent errands.  Sales have dried up and I don't particularly want to offer things to friends online that I'd have to mail because that's a visit to the post office and that seems a bad idea right now.

Instead!

We make do.

We are making do with what we have.  We fix what we can.  I stitched up two rips in a coat and put the coat away.  Child will probably outgrow the coat before next winter, but the coat is ready for someone.

I tried on a shirt I really like... and it doesn't fit right.  So I put it away for future wearing by a child.  That's one less shirt in my closet.

I'm trying to use up everything in the pantry, something that's more fun and exciting than it should be.  But the meals are pretty good so far, nothing too creative yet.  I organized a few things in the pantry, put all the last-granola-bar-in-the-box-es into a single basket for easy access.  At the end of this (there will be an end), we can start the pantry from scratch again, like we did when we moved here years ago.

And now is the time to use up the good craft materials we've been saving.  That pretty yarn.  Those special beads.  That good paper.  The expensive paint and nice canvas.  Send the good postcards.  Make that model you've been saving. 

Read that book you've been holding on to and see if you want to keep it afterward.  I have a pile of five books on my nightstand right now to help me remember which books to read next.  Under my tablet with ebooks, but you know.  Easier access.

And get rid of the fear.  That is something we can declutter without leaving the house. 

Who else is moving at a slow pace with me?  Little things here and there.

It's still progress!

Enjoy that.

This week I grabbed a piano bench from the curb because I couldn't let that go to the dump.  A friend picked it up from me on Friday.  Clutter in, clutter out.

Younger Child outgrew some shoes, so I listed one pair for sale, might try to sell another pair, give away the third?  Anyway, hopefully soon so it's a three in, three out situation.  Ugh, shoes for all occasions.  But then we're set for the next six months at least.

I added two shirts to the donation box.

After a week or so of little to no movement, I finally got dealt with some things!

I mended 3 pairs of kid pants, putting them back in wearing rotation rather than having them on my bedroom chair.  None of the mending jobs are great but they will hold while the kids wear more holes in the pants.

I took in 2 electronic things for recycling, both of which worked-ish, but not great and it's just better to recycle them, not add them to the donation pile.  No one wants an alarm clock that has a loud electric buzz when it's plugged in.  No one.

In making Valentines, we used up LOTS of stickers.  I tried to get the kids to use more before interest waned.  Oh well.  Valentine mailboxes were repurposed gift bags from a grandparent that can be recycled at the end of the day.  No sense in making fancy-ish mailboxes when the kids were barely interested in marking some additional designs on the bags.

I'm also happy to report that my zipper mending job seems to be holding!  I've had a wool coat for over a decade and I love it, only to have the zipper teeth work themselves open from time to time.  I squeezed the glider together with some pliers, which will make the teeth close better and the whole coat stays fastened.  Fix what you can!  (Did the same with a kid's coat, haven't tested it yet)