I posted my week 1 update last Saturday morning, since then I have been on a mission!!! I don’t know if this is of interest, but I am sharing it!

Outgoing (Donated, Recycled or Sold)

Saturday 18th April 2026

• Barely worn bras that didn’t fit, and some of my MIL’s, all packaged off to Against Breast Cancer, a breast cancer charity that rehomes/recycles them.
• Life vest that was too small for me, cuddly toy, more clothes!

Sunday

• ZX Spectrum, games and programming books
• Lamp/wax melter

Monday

• Ninetindo DS Games, earbuds and old phone*
• Laurel & Hardy DVD box set
• MIL’s clothes, accessories and random bits:
  • clothes she had bought in Australia, it won’t ever be warm enough here for her to need, two large bin liners full of shoes (her feet have grown so none of her shoes fit and she had dozens of pairs)
  • coats (I love having coat options, you need them in Scotland, but she has me beaten…this trip I dropped off 9!, bear in mind she has some at the nursing home and I already donated loads of winter ones when she went in the home in November!)
  • belts, baseball cap, about 20 suitcase padlocks with keys!, purses, handbags, a book and a tiny bird cage!
  • a dozen or more cigarette lighters (work will use them)
• Set of 8 (from the 17 mugs we are getting rid of) have gone to the local bowling green club.
• Table Lamp
• Carpet cleaner*

At one point on Monday I had someone at the front and someone else at the backdoor collecting things!!

Tuesday

• I took some bits of my jewellery to the local antique store, which is owned by our parrot sitter, and can now get some landscaping done in our back garden and another piece of jewellery altered.
• 6 old mobile phones! (All too old to sell)
• I cleared loads of stuff from our landing cupboard:
  • heated rollers circa 1990
  • humidifier last used 15 years ago
  • gas curling tongs!! Don’t even think they sell cartridges for these any more
  • out of date medications – the award going to a tube of cream best before 2008! 😂 Instead of having 4 large Tupperware boxes of medicine stuff I have one for medicines and one for plasters, bandages and antiseptic spray. I have a triangular cloth bandage in a sealed packet that says best before 2003….how can a bandage go out of date??? I’ve kept it!
  • lots of maps inc world, town and countries bought on holiday.
  • some holiday travel bits, like bum bags and airline socks!

I tried again to get rid of the electricals but the recycling container was already full again. She says it fills within the day it’s delivered, so I contacted a company who reuse and recycle electronics and made a plan to drop off ‘everything to be donated that has a plug’ on Thursday there.

Wednesday

• Our ancient video player, someone advertised they were looking for one fortunately!!
• Ordinance Survey maps put aside for a friend who is into hillwalking (currently climbing hills abroad), others put in the box for drop off next day.

Thursday

• 9 more mugs, plus 2 water bottles and a glass!! We still have at least 16 mugs left!! I mean one day this couple of introverts may invite a bunch of people over 😂
• As mentioned above, everything going that has a plug, was dropped at a local charity recycling/reuse place called ILM Highland. So things mentioned above plus:
  • MIL’s electricals: Kindle Fire, Notebook, my old iPad mini. (These were all too old a version to sell for money.)
  • Husband’s old stereo system, I mentioned last week
  • My old ipad, PC and laptop (all too old for selling)

On Thursday evening I went through 3 more large suitcases of her clothes and things!  She had a serious shopping addiction! 

Its unbelievable, having dropped off 9 of her summer coats on Monday, I found 5 more!!  I filled 2 large suitcases with clothes, more shoes, more handbags and a load of lightweight scarves to donate.  These were loaded into the car to donate on Friday, along with another empty suitcase for donation.  Also 4 plastic bags of clothes not good enough to donate, that will go in textile recycling. 

I would say since we started this last November there’s easily been over 100 pairs of trousers, over 150 tops, maybe a dozen or more pairs of Sketchers.  Easily 30 coats minimum.

Friday

Other than dropping off the suitcases and box of donations and the textile recycling, this is a planned day off from sorting stuff.  I am working until 4pm and then we are looking after my bosses dog for the weekend, so I am taking a break from it….well except if people respond to all my freebies and charged things on Facebook.

*Sold for money!

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I managed to put all MILs out of date food in food, paper & cardboard, glass or plastic recycling! 

So, the only things from the whole list above that couldn’t be recycled or reused were the medicines, a really tatty bumbag and some pens that no longer work. This would have been a lot easier to just hire a skip and throw it all in, I hope the planet appreciates my efforts! 🌍💚

Incoming

I hadn’t thought I would have an incoming section this week!! I mean the whole point is to declutter, right?!

But…a friend of a friend was having a destash sale so another friend and I went along for “a look”…I bought two large cones of yarn for weaving. 

Also, as I happened to be posting stuff on Facebook marketplace I spotted a Despicable Me 4 Gru’s House Lego set…brand new unopened.  Oops!   She was actually selling 4 different DM4 sets, and I only bought 1. I must resist opening it until I have decluttered more though!! Resist, resist!! 😆

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If you have managed to read this far, have a think about what you have and what others may need to sort for you if something happened.  This really has made me want to get rid of soooo much of my own things and I have advertised many things on Facebook marketplace in the hope they will go this weekend or early next week.  I will donate them if not. Not a single seed has been planted in my vegetable garden, which is usually where my April spare time is spent.

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Next week

I have some bits I am not sure whether to sell or keep:

I have a set of golf clubs last used about 10 years ago…maybe longer. The friends that I previously played with, one moved away but the other says when she has finished her Masters (she is hoping in 2027), she will be playing again…maybe I will keep them another year and then decide.

My digital SLR camera and gear, a shiatsu massage seat thingy, an infrared foot massager thingy, a spare DVD player. All not used in years and years.

My stand up paddleboarding stuff…am I going to use it this year…should I sell it as the season starts or keep it one more year to see?  I didn’t use it the last 2 years because of my arm, but that’s better now.  Pretty sure neither wetsuit will fit me now!

All our camping gear!  Will we try camping one more time to see if we still want to go camping? We last camped in either 2019 or maybe earlier!

Happy to hear opinions.

Did anyone make it to the end?