We’ve had the mother of all clear outs this last week. We didn’t get rid of all our stuff, bit of an embellishment, but we have sent five car loads off to the charity, recycling and landfill. Plus Freecycled like mad people and spam our local community facebook group with our offerings. It was quite an operation but went without a hitch and here’s how.
A little bit of life laundry is like cleansing the soul. Personally I get very uptight with visual mess. I don’t mind a bit of clutter, such as magazine racks or books and CDs stacked high on shelves. But I had clung on to every baby item and piece of clothing in the hope of doing car boot sales. After a couple of nearly new sales which nearly broke my energy levels, I decided that it was just too much trouble. Selling on eBay is also a faff. So my kids’ clothes from the age of 3 months were idle but protected in laundry bags in overflowing loft. They are now 7 and 4 years old. Enough was enough.
Step 1: Agree with your partner, husband or whoever you need to what exactly you’re getting rid of. The last thing you need is to change your mind mid-clear up and realise you haven’t actually managed to clear out.
Step 2: Clean, store and dispose. You’ll need extra vacuum bags, black sacks, spare boxes. We invested in some plastic storage drawers for the loft where our treasured cards, kids artwork and souvenir newspaper editions reside (yes, I’m a hoarder).
Step 3: Make a list of everything you’re freecycling, take photos and post. I used my office whiteboard to keep track of everything I wanted to pass on. Who was coming and when to collect. It was manic but we got there in end (a few people turned up and we were out! Which is a freecycling faux pas). And before taking anything to landfill advertise them on a board somewhere. You really never know who might need them. But do this 3-5 days before you want the space clear.
Step 4: Organise the charity donations. What I didn’t realise is most charities will pick up large consignments but by the time I found this out late, we had the car packed and ready to go. Twenty large sacks of toys and clothes are at the PDSA on London Road (go and buy some of my stuff, lots of lovely girls outfits). They have parking at the back, so it was easy to drop off. I did shed a tear, it was the toughest part of the week but there was no logical reason for hanging on to it all.
Step 5: Take coffee (or tea if you’re that way inclined) and cake breaks. A mega-session of lifting and shifting can take it’s toll. Stretch your muscles before and after as if you’re having a workout. You don’t need any injuries! Cake was supplied by our lovely neighbourhood bakery, The Flour Pot - worthy of a mention.
Our little two up, two down house has been transformed. The children even helped out by tidying their toys in the lounge and their bedroom, a chore we’re working on being a regular thing right now.
In fact, after doing so much life laundry, we haven’t got a lot else to procrastinate on this week.
