We’ve had a massive declutter/clear out of most of our rooms/cupboards etc. With Christmas and Dorothea’s birthday coming up soon; we are bound to have an influx of new toys, clothes and home bits and bobs.
I thought I’d share our tips and tricks for decluttering, sorting and disposing of (don’t worry- it’s eco friendly where possible).
Hallway:
- Full clean inc carpet freshen (see lounge)
- Buy some gorgeous festive blooms from Bloom and Wild use this link for £10 off (they even do make your own wreath kits if you’re feeling creative)
- Treat yourself to a fresh new vase Cox and Cox here’s a link to £20 off
Kids room:
- Sort of clothes into piles
- Too big/wrong season- pack away
- Fits/correct season- check if needs mending, if not fold/hang
- Too small/unloved/damaged
- Great condition;sell on- try Facebook marketplace or eBay if you have time.
- Great condition; no time- sell through Peachy and Birdie or Kidclo
- Good used condition; charity shop donation or hand me down to those in need.
- Damaged; can it be fixed? (Fix and as above) cut into rags for crafting/upcycle/dispose of
- Rearrange furniture if wanted; full clean.
- Tidy/organise toys as per playroom
- Sort other drawers/storage.
- Only keep what’s needed/recently used.
- Dispose of out of date/old meds or toiletries
- Buy/use drawer dividers to separate socks/vests/pants etc.
- Refold clothes so neat and emery’s to find
- Rehang clothes in sections so easy to find
- Chuck soft toys in the wash for a freshen
- Add a cute festive touch to their room; such as this ‘shelfie’ or some novelty lights.
Play room:
If your play room if anything like ours then it’s usually a warzone! If we didn’t sort this pre Christmas it would be a nightmare.
- Sort toys into piles
- keep- make sure they are clean and all pieces present.
- sell- outgrown/unloved toys in great condition. I find Facebook marketplace works.
- donate- outgrown/unloved toys in usable condition. Try local community groups or fb groups.
- broken, missing parts etc. (If can not be recycled, fixed or used for crafting- dispose of)
- Buy some storage if needed to help organisation of small toys. We got the units from ikea and small wooden boxes (which I painted) from eBay.
- Clean original storage and toys.
- Get the kids to be part of it; Dot loves to sort out things to give you a baby that doesn’t have much’.
Mum/Dads room:
- Rearrange furniture if wanted; full clean.
- Sort of clothes into piles
- wrong season- pack away
- Fits/correct season- check if needs mending, if not fold/hang
- Too small/big/unloved/damaged
- Fix/stain remove any damages- then sort as below or upcycle/craft/dispose of
- Great condition- sell on; I love to use Thrift plus as means you donate to charity and also gain credit to re-spend (or get John Lewis vouchers) Link for £5 credit
- Great condition; if you are local to Market Harborough you can sell on at The Attic (ladies clothes/shoes/accessories only)
- Used but wearable- donate to charity or local organisations.
- Sort drawers and clean out. Again if not needed/ used – sell/donate/throwaway.
- Sort makeup/toiletries- throw away out of date, donate unused/unwanted (shelters/food bank), sort using for fresh organisation.
- Buy a festive scent diffuser I love the Marmalade home fragrance if you are local you can buy these from In heaven at home
Kitchen:
- Decant one cupboard at a time
- Sort contents; if not used, out of date or broken- then throw away/donate as appropriate. Try Olio to donate food or download the app.
- Clean cupboard out
- Refill cupboard- buy new ways of organising if helps
- Fridge- empty, clean out and refill
- Clean top of cupboards and fridge freezer
- Clean oven
- Clean dishwasher
- Clean washing machine
- Sort drawers; if not used, out of date or broken throw away/donate
- Buy/fetch out festive tea towels
- Buy/fetch out festive accessories
- Buy a nice new treat for an eco- friendlier Christmas- our favourite gadget is a soda stream- and means you won’t get through tonnes of plastic bottles this festive season Soda Stream- 10% off here
Lounge:
- Use a carpet freshener before hoovering (I make my own by filling a jar with baking soda and adding 8 drops of essential oils)
- Full clean; including sofa – if you have leather I love Wheelers leather cleaner
- Sort out drawers/storage- again if not needed/ used – sell/donate/throwaway.
- Any old dvds/cds lying around? Maybe donate to Nothing new by Ruthie Ru
- Buy some festive fragrance- I’m loving wax burners and melts- my favourites are Dragonfly and co. Or Autumn and Belle both local small businesses.
Bathroom:
- Full clean (I like to de-limescale the taps and shower head too)
- Clean out cabinet/storage ; anything not used, out of date or broken- then throw away/donate as appropriate (remember food banks/shelters will take unopened toiletries or sanitary products)
- Reorganise with new boxes and label; i use Topsy Blossom for personalised decals.
- Buy some new festive hand soap- No 34 boutique has some great novelty ones and eco friendly choices too
Garage/shed/attic:
Oh no it’s the worst place!
But you’re here to dig out the Christmas decs; winter is t the time to do a big sort of this area (too cold- leave that til spring).
But; take a quick look and see if anything easy to get rid of, unused bikes or large toys the kids are too big for??? Get them on Facebook marketplace or donate.
Get your decs out! If you’ve got some new bits you’ll find you won’t use all the old one. But don’t throw away! There’s always families that can’t afford these non essentials ( especially in 2020) so pop them on Facebook marketplace- free to collect.
My favourite cleaning products:
I do like to be as eco friendly as possible; but also have to consider the cost and whether I like the scent.
- Thieves multipurpose cleaner from Young living great as all natural and can reuse your plastic bottles.
- Ocean saver has loads of different options for different sprays (plastic free- just reuse old spray bottles) I love their rhubarb spray!
- If you are local head to Refill Revolution in the Eco Village for great eco cleaning options- or shop online Refill Rev web
Now add Christmas cheer, pour yourself a large Baileys it’s well deserved!
You can’t go wrong with good quality preloved; you get more for your money and you get to be smug for shunning fast fashion. I love preloved, as it means I save on half of Dots wardrobe, meaning I can splurge on new items from the brands I love.
Motherhood after IVF 