The FastDay Forum

If de-cluttering has been at the back of your mind recently .... here's some motivation to get on with it I'm starting in my bedroom. Chucking out yet more clothes and shoes I keep (why?) but don't wear - I'm going to be brutal.

Oh well done @lizbean ..for having a summer declutter and for resurrecting this tent!
Im glad to report i ve really smartened and tidied a cupboard up by having shelves fitted..everything is neatly placed on the shelves now and quite a lot of stuff been chucked
I actually feel thinner when i declutter
Yes i know i am weird!

First set of too large clothes gone to the charity shop, still more to go. Can't bring myself to dispose of too much, can't afford many new ones at the moment so only the worst (largest) have gone and plan to do that with a few at a time. Oh it is wonderful wearing some trousers in a size I haven't got into for around 20 years, snug but give me motivation to continue.

Thanks for re-pitching this tent, @Lizbean. I am in a constant state of de-cluttering. Now I have a new cupboard in my sewing room and I had to move everything out, in boxes, for the room to be renovated. I did that in a hurry. Now I have to slowly move back so that is an excellent opportunity to chuck and sort. All my fat clothes have gone though and I haven't lost any more. So clothes are stable. I did see a really good movie, The True Cost, about the fashion industry, and after that I have resolved not to buy any more clothes, at least for a year. I will reassess after a year. My goal is to mend clothes. I already have far more than I need. This movie made the point that consumer items are either 'to use' or ' to use up', and we have started treating clothes as if they are in the 'to use up' category. We all throw away, give away, heaps of clothes. Continually buying new clothes is unsustainable on many fronts. Clothes are cheap because people are working in awful conditions and there are dreadful environmental costs, which we don't see as they are happening in India and Cambodia etc. Ok. Off the soap box. Go and have breakfast.

Agree about the awful conditions some far eastern women work in and have resolved to try to buy 'local' where possible and like many I do not need as many clothes so hopefully more room in the wardrobe.
As to sewing room clean-out I just can't bear to part with anything but the smallest scrap so am trying to take up quilting, if successful I can donate to a children's hospice so a sick or terminally ill child can have a 'snuggle' comforter.

@CandiceMarie ha, you not only feel slimmer de-cluttering you are slimmer since the beginning of the summer challenge. Here's carorees' article from earlier this year. I'm gobsmacked at the stats ...... for one "according to various surveys, she (UK average woman) buys 59 items of clothing each year, she has twice as many things in her wardrobe today as she did in 1980, and she has 22 things in there she has never worn". At first I though, who on earth could afford to buy 59 items a year? But I guess some stores sell really cheap clothes and that encourages the mentality to buy more. So what have I purchased this year? One pair of blue shoes for the spring, some new underwear, tights, a £2 hat from the charity shop. I did look for a summer dress for work, didn't find one, so gave up and have managed with my current wardrobe. Last autumn I bought a new coat which I love and will wear till the end of it's life, a new dress a friend bought me a dress for Xmas (from Seasalt, very nice). Looking forward I have just purchased three new dresses for autumn-winter and my boots are worn out (sole has split beyond repair) so they need replacing. I guess I'm doing quite well stats wise!

Spotted this news item examining the parallels between over eating and collecting too much stuff. Interesting. Viewpoint: The hazards of too much stuff - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30849473

@rieson well done for getting into your 20 year old trousers. I found a favourite pair of pin striped trousers which must be over 10 years old. The reason I don't wear them is I have to wear heels, so I'm shortening to wear with flats. I have 2 dresses and 4 skirts from Whitestuff that I do need to let go trying to make them smaller is way beyond my skills - size 12 if anyone would like them? Also on their way to the charity shop are a hipster pair of jeans that fall down and a dress coat, that's it, for now. The rest of the clothes that I have not worn for ages are going for a test run as I'm hoping a few may feel and look better having only reduced by one size. @Sallyo I'm with you, buying from ethical brands is the only way. How far are you in your 12 month quest?
Bathroom de-clutter a coming .... de-cluttered the cabinet in Mum's spare bathroom last week, some of the meds were from the 1990s!

I would love to join this tent, I need to join this tent! I've not lost enough yet to be looking at getting rid of clothes since what I've been wearing has been pretty tight at my highest ever weight, but I live in a small house, which I loved when I moved in, but now I'm having trouble finding places to put my stuff and we all know what that means -- there has been no throwing away happening!

I have a question though for you that troubles me a bit and gets in the way of my throwing arm. What do you do later on when you've thrown away something and the need for it, or maybe just the desire for it, comes up much later. This has happened to me, like maybe even a year or two later and I am filled with regret for having thrown something away, not that I've ever thrown away a really important something. Happen to anyone else? Just bite the bullet and face that it is gone?

Dee

Thanks for re-pitching this tent, @Lizbean. I am in a constant state of de-cluttering. Now I have a new cupboard in my sewing room and I had to move everything out, in boxes, for the room to be renovated. I did that in a hurry. Now I have to slowly move back so that is an excellent opportunity to chuck and sort. All my fat clothes have gone though and I haven't lost any more. So clothes are stable. I did see a really good movie, The True Cost, about the fashion industry, and after that I have resolved not to buy any more clothes, at least for a year. I will reassess after a year. My goal is to mend clothes. I already have far more than I need. This movie made the point that consumer items are either 'to use' or ' to use up', and we have started treating clothes as if they are in the 'to use up' category. We all throw away, give away, heaps of clothes. Continually buying new clothes is unsustainable on many fronts. Clothes are cheap because people are working in awful conditions and there are dreadful environmental costs, which we don't see as they are happening in India and Cambodia etc. Ok. Off the soap box. Go and have breakfast.

Thanks, SallyO, This is one reason I like to buy in resale shops rather than creating a demand for new clothes to be manufactured.

A month or so ago I read a book my the Swedish stylist, designer etc etc Camilla Thulin which made me promptly starting to clear out the small walk in closet. First - remove all the plastic bins with various toys, the - shouldn't we do a car boot sale? Then find out about these car boot sales. Start sorting through all the stuff (tons and xxxSEK in there) = sons room plus the hallway outside is FULL of stuff. What can be sold, few items to save for sentimental reasons, the rest to throw away.
Take out all tent clothes, trousers that are kind of loose in the groin...stuff I haven't used in a year I'm not likely to use away. few things to sell (like my Etien Aigner (sp) pumps from the late 80th, IMC), some for re-cycling (some souls might enjoy them) and the rest to throw away. The result? I actually have a walk in closet that I can walk into And - i got rid of like 65-70% of my entire wardrobe, just got to get rid of some dresses and jackets too. The very up thing is that The DH thought it's a good idea to get new and more fitting clothes
Apart from that I have and still am, sorting through a humongous collection of Pokemon cards, to get the rare and valuable one for auction...

Welcome to the tent @Drdee to be honest I can't remember anything that is de-cluttered once it's out of the door, so no regrets. For me de-cluttering mainly consists of worn out items - clothes, shoes, kitchenware, past use by date, unwanted B'day/Xmas presents (sorry folks!), and reams of paperwork. Do you think you've let things go before coming to a firm decision that it is of absolutely no use or value to you? I also have a small home where everything has it's place otherwise it's a chaos of clutter and it hurts my brain.
So what's the plan Drdee?
@MaryBeth is a resale shop what we call a charity shop?

Nice one @Wolfie good luck with the car boot sale. I did one many, many years ago - baby and kids stuff, it was great fun, I met lots of great people and the proceeds went towards a family holiday.

@MaryBeth is a resale shop what we call a charity shop?[/quote]

Actually, @Lizbean I don't know where I picked up the phrase "resale shop". I don't hear it used here--I tend to read a lot of books set in other places and other times, often finding myself using words and terms from those (mostly British) sources

I tend to use "resale shop" as a generic for any store specializing in used goods, whether it's for a charity or for profit and whether it sells clothing or other items--anything short of collectible. Most people here in the US that I know just say "thrift shop" as a generic.

Other people in our far-flung country probably have other usages.

Not much help, eh?

How great to see this tent resurrected! I need to do some de-cluttering in my wardrobes as it is getting difficult to fit my clothes in! I still have some suits which I used to wear when I was a headteacher - and I retired thirteen years ago! I did send most of them to the charity shop at the time but kept a couple "just in case". Perhaps it's now time to let them go!
I would like to be the kind of person who is good at 'capsule' clothes where everything goes with everything else but, sadly, my purchasing is more of the 'impulse' variety where nothing goes with anything! Hence the bulging wardrobes.
My daughter has finally given the go-ahead for me to dispose of the plastic baby plates, cups, bowls etc, which we have here for our granddaughters - now they are older, but my heart wants to keep them as a souvenir of those baby times. It's a difficult step to take!
Never mind, some things will have to go! Watch this space!

Woohoo! I think I've found a little groove for myself with decluttering. I am working on one small thing each fast day. Last week I cleaned out a recipe file (dumped almost everything that wasn't going to support me in the healthier way I'm trying to eat) and cleaned off an entire (though small) bookcase.

I think I'm beginning to change my thinking from having to do it all in a hurry to a more modest bit-at-a-time approach. I hope so. I've been thinking, since I have a lot of weight to lose and will be doing two fasts a week for the next year or so, I can really get my house/closets/shed all streamlined by the time I get my body streamlined too!
Dee

@drdeefab idea to combine a fast with a declutter..while yr body is having an MOT, yr home is having a mini revamp
As th eold saying goes slowly slowly catchee monkee! Slow but sure wins the race x