My Declutter Journey

Trying to get rid of clutter that's been weighing me down for several years and build better tidying habits. In no way trying to be a minimalist, but trying to manage what I have better. (This is a sideblog so likes and follows will come from my main.)

[babeyknife]

love it when my kitchen is clean, life is so much easier... i'm sorry countertops i will never let you get this nasty ever again (/fully lying)

[dduane]

A brief moment of rationality from the bird place.

[mydeclutterjourney]

I don't think my mother's house is ever going to be decluttered.

So, my mum downsized maybe 12ish years ago from a 4 bedroom house with attic to a 2 bedroom bungalow with attic and garage. And through the years, she has now ended up in a tiny 2 bedroom bungalow with no storage. The main bedroom is unusable, it's literally floor to ceiling of bags and boxes. Every surface in the kitchen is covered. Half the living room is piled high and covered with a cloth. And the second bedroom has only enough space to turn around in.

She talks about how living there is like a prison and is gradually getting rid of stuff but it's not enough. And she is always buying things. Yesterday I tried to clear some kitchen space and it was a struggle. I got one counter sort of clear and she parted with one box of items (but it has to go to the right recipients, so the box of stuff is still in the kitchen) and one bin bag of perishables (small win, she got rid of some green tea that she's had since I was in high school and I've only ever seen her make ONCE. I'm in my 30s now...) Just trying to convince her to let go of little plastic nozzles that she's saved from random bottles is a struggle, meanwhile I'm paying for a storage unit full of more things that couldn't fit in the bungalow. She also literally said "when I die, you can get rid of these" but I don't want to have to be doing that when she dies. And I want her to actually live in a home, not just be next to all this stuff in essentially what is storage rooms.

I'm kind of resigning to believing that the stuff will never be cleared and she will die in his cluttered, hoarded home. Maybe I'm being codependent, but I would also like to stop paying for this storage unit and not actually dread visiting her.

[theambitiouswoman]

[filthyprotozoan]

astonishing how good it can feel to get some chores done sometimes. you’ll be sitting there like damn i am some type of horrid little smeagol like creature who should be crushed to death. but then you do some laundry and you’re like wrow. im actually gods most fuckable soldier.

[crunchymayo]

Lord, grant me the strength to throw away this box that i'll never use, the courage to throw away this box that i'll never use, and the wisdom to throw away this box that i'll never use

[mydeclutterjourney]

[Image description: screenshot of a tweet by jenny slate, posted at 05:48 on 4 Aug 2011 saying "I love love love waking up! Love it! Everything in my house is waiting for me to look at it and use it. Hello, coffee cup! I love you!" End description.]

Honestly, goals. To get to a point where everything in my house is purposely used by me. Can't wait.

[mydeclutterjourney]

Partner washed the dishes yesterday for the second time in a month. Floored. I mean I did have to rewash multiple things. But goodness me, was it easier yesterday doing one less thing.

[mydeclutterjourney]

I've started using the Sweepy app. It's been one day and so far I'm liking it. The user interface is more intuitive and pleasing to the eye than Tody and it don't have a silly monster.

Running a household is so hard, because why do I have 60+ tasks that need doing at varying degrees of regularity 😭

[mydeclutterjourney]

Lost my streak on Sweepy and immediately turned that nonsense off. Choosing not to interact with that dark pattern, I already have enough shame around cleaning and tidying haha. Glad that there is the option to turn off gamification.

[mydeclutterjourney]

I've started using the Sweepy app. It's been one day and so far I'm liking it. The user interface is more intuitive and pleasing to the eye than Tody and it don't have a silly monster.

Running a household is so hard, because why do I have 60+ tasks that need doing at varying degrees of regularity 😭

[mydeclutterjourney]

I'm getting to a point where I feel like I have to get mean. I don't have the patience to be looking after my things and everyone else's.

I'm trying to be more compassionate towards my mother than she ever was towards me as a child but I don't have any patience left. I need her to expedite this decluttering so she can navigate her house safely in a wheelchair. I don't have the wherewithal to see more and more clutter whenever I visit.

I want that mouldy suitcase of my brother's gone and all the other bits out of my spare room so I can organise and decorate my house how I want. I'm allowed to want that. I'm allowed to want someone to come and sort their things out. I don't have to be the babysitter of other people's things when they're having a tough time. I feel like the villain but he doesn't even know what clothes are in this suitcase.

[mossworm]

me every day without fail: I'll do [chore] when I get home

me when I get home:

[bemusedlybespectacled]

me every single week: I'll do it on the weekend!

me the entire weekend:

[of-the-astral-sea]

all of us rn

[mydeclutterjourney]

Setting a goal...

I'm setting what is potentially an unrealistic goal! I am paying for a storage unit which has become a family storage unit. My mother and one sibling have stuff stored in there. Funnily enough, I have nothing in there! I was aiming to have it empty and no longer paying for it in one year but I think that's too soon, considering I have a lot of decluttering to do at my mother's. So I am aiming for 18 months.

By the end of October 2024, I will have the storage unit empty.

[mydeclutterjourney]

3 month reminder!

Edit: forgot to delete this. It won't happen by October, I think at this point it's pretty much impossible.

[mydeclutterjourney]

Setting a goal...

I'm setting what is potentially an unrealistic goal! I am paying for a storage unit which has become a family storage unit. My mother and one sibling have stuff stored in there. Funnily enough, I have nothing in there! I was aiming to have it empty and no longer paying for it in one year but I think that's too soon, considering I have a lot of decluttering to do at my mother's. So I am aiming for 18 months.

By the end of October 2024, I will have the storage unit empty.

[mydeclutterjourney]

4 month reminder!

Edit: I absolutely do not believe this is possible now. There is still so much to do at my mother's so the storage unit will have to take a massive back seat. I think I will have to aim for October 2025 now.

[albertweskerofficial]

Deeply fucked up that this game (real life) forces you to play a crafting mini-game (cooking) every time you want to replenish your stamina bar.

You can skip the crafting game by using a pre-made consumable if you have them on hand, but high level players will constantly nag you about it and tell you that it damages your character's stats in the long run.

[copperbadge]

Way worse is that you have an unskippable cut scene after the crafting mini game, every time, called "doing the dishes." You can avoid it for a while by exiting the kitchen but the longer you wait the longer the cutscene is.

[mydeclutterjourney]

Setting a goal...

I'm setting what is potentially an unrealistic goal! I am paying for a storage unit which has become a family storage unit. My mother and one sibling have stuff stored in there. Funnily enough, I have nothing in there! I was aiming to have it empty and no longer paying for it in one year but I think that's too soon, considering I have a lot of decluttering to do at my mother's. So I am aiming for 18 months.

By the end of October 2024, I will have the storage unit empty.

[mydeclutterjourney]

5 month reminder!

[mydeclutterjourney]

Fabric and scraps and sheets, oh my.

Last weekend, my mum let go of so much fabric and scraps, and old curtains and bedding. There were so many jigsaw like pieces of scraps that I've gathered up. And there were even cot sheets but her youngest child is in their 30s....

I tried to donate the bedding but animal shelters only take blankets and towels. So I unfortunately had to take those to fabric recycling at the tip. And the fabric and scraps I'll let some friends look through before they get sent off to craft swap.

To be honest, I was hoping she would get rid of some more but she did get rid of a lot of stuff. She's now got space to store other hobby stuff which should hopefully clear some living space.