Well, as you can see, I didn't post days 2 and 3 because...well, I didn't really finish my declutter. I finished all the bedrooms and most of of the living areas BUT I didn't tackle 3 of my hot spots (laundry cupboards, craft cupboard and cupboard under stairs).... On the plus side, my house is looking decluttered....just don't open the cupboards!
The living room right now
The other reason why I am calling my latest decluttering challenge a failure is that I haven't actually gotten rid of the stuff that's to go to charity because none of the op shops are taking donations at the moment! The new year must've caused a decluttering bug in my city because every charity shop has been overwhelmed with stuff...
...actually the volunteers at the op shops are not only busy sorting out genuine donations, they are also having to deal with this:
South ONC *- Photo originally from here
North ONC - Photo originally from here
Over the Christmas period, the op shops close (its Christmas people!) and unfortunately, many people either can not wait till they re-opened again before giving their stuff....I also suspect that many people used that opportunity to illegally dump stuff that are normally rejected by these shops.**
-Regardless, littering and dumping is JUST NOT RIGHT PEOPLES!! -sigh-
Okay, my rant is over. So all the stuff I had planned on giving to charity is currently in my garage...which is a nightmare because I haven't even started decluttering there! Ah well. Maybe now is the time for me to declutter my garage and then hold a "free garage sale" so I can get rid of stuff.
Ah well, here's to a new year! I hope you've had a good start to the year.
* ONC = Our Nation's Capital.
** Just in case you didn't know, op shops do not accept old CRT TVs, many baby furniture/accessories (as many old items do not meet new safety standards for babies), and most mattresses.
3 comments:
The charity bins are a disgrace :( I have also been in the position of having clothes to donate and have found them in that state and not left my stuff there.
I don't know what the deal is with visiting the tip in Canberra but in my council area we cannot visit the tip for free, it is pretty costly, instead there is one or two council pick-ups per year. With pretty strict guidelines about how much can go out. We often are not organised for those pick-ups, so find ourselves getting a skip about once a year on average, depending on what home improvements etc we may have done. The skip company recycles what they can which is good. It's convenient for us but not cheap.
I think it shows a need going unmet in the community, for a nearby, inexpensive location to get rid of a small amount of stuff not suitable for charity or that can be put out with normal rubbish. While I would not do it myself, I can understand why it happens when a tip trip might cost $25 to get rid of one unneeded bulky baby item. The barriers to disposing vs "donating" are too high.
That's not a decluttering fail, that's a decluttering halfway point! I don't know about you, but I always find that decluttering actually requires a lot more mental than physical energy - maybe it's the effort of making hundreds of little decisions all in a row. Nowadays I try to work on a small area at a time, if it's possible, just so that I don't get overwhelmed by the avalanche of tiny choices.
Our local op shop charity bins have been removed for the same reasons you posted. So where ever they used to be is now cleaner... tidier.
On the downside, those that do still exist have security cameras. And you now have less places to leave donations out of hours.
No win situation all round. Which is a shame really. :(
Our local Lifeline warehouse will deliver wheelie bins for items to be placed in over the course of a week. It is then collected for you. No fuss. Plus I find it helps the motivation.
Your place is looking lovely though! x
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