Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2  (Read 1249287 times)

limeandpepper

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Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« on: February 04, 2018, 08:26:13 AM »
First part is here: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/getting-rid-of-stuff-clearing-out-clutter!/

I haven't been active in the original thread for a while but the other one was getting a bit long so starting a new one doesn't seem like a bad idea.

So, the challenge continues! Anything that's relevant to the thread title goes: donating clothes, eating up things in your pantry, selling goods, giving stuff to friends and family who would get more use out of them, shredding documents, putting things into the recycling bin or throwing out junk that nobody else will take.

My partner and I will be moving into a 1-bedroom apartment interstate and while we have already gotten rid of a bunch of things and packed the stuff that we're going to load on a truck over, I suspect upon arrival I will still find things that I decide to get rid of after all...

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2018, 08:30:21 AM »
Thanks for creating a second thread! I will be back with more decluttering adventures :-)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2018, 08:34:21 AM »
Following on this one! =) Thanks for making the thread (again)!

Yesterday took a fair amount of stuff for goodwill to the back of the truck. Mattress cover that's more stretched out than we like, dress that I got as a gift that never fit right, pajama pants that came with one leg slightly longer that always annoyed me, and were an obnoxious pattern besides, etc. Some Christmas decor.

Goal soon will be go through the cupboards in the laundry room and the closet in the office.

Things I should sell:
-Reel mower. We replaced it with an electric mower last year.
-Sconces we replaced when we bought the house.
-Old formal dresses

Step37

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2018, 09:46:02 AM »
This thread has been helping to keep me motivated, so I’m continuing to follow.

I have a few things listed on the local buy/sell; on Friday night someone asked about the availability of the heavy, bulky piece of furniture I really want gone and then ghosted. Gah!! I hate when people do that. I’m only asking $25 for the thing; perhaps it’s time I just change the price to $0 and hope to be rid of it. It was free to me in the first place (20 years ago!) and all I did was paint it... yes, changing to $0 NOW!!

Today I will go through a few more boxes of stuff in the office.

marion10

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2018, 10:14:01 AM »
Following

krmit

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2018, 10:24:28 AM »
Sorted through the bookshelves and pulled a pile of books to donate/sell. Probably mostly donate, since they're 90% old textbooks from six to ten years ago, but it is nice to have cleared a little extra space. As a bonus, made a pile of books to read!

Ms Ida

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2018, 10:42:33 AM »
Ready to go! Goal for this week-relocate the goodwill box from my closet to goodwill!
The original thread has been a great motivator the last few months. I have been keeping up a pretty steady flow of boxes to goodwill and posting to my local buy nothing group.


Goldielocks

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2018, 10:43:47 AM »
new thread!

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #8 on: February 04, 2018, 11:42:22 AM »
I love that we needed a new decluttering thread because someone decided there were too many posts in the old one. So we got rid of it. :)

shadowmoss

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2018, 11:45:27 AM »
PTF.  Inread the thread every day and sometimes even get rid of something.

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2018, 12:06:32 PM »
limeandpepper thanks for this thread and the original!  It really helps to know that I'm not alone and that decluttering isn't weird.

Welp, have scheduled to meet with a real estate agent today (gotta go after this post & get ready for that).  STBX and I are divorcing & live in a HCOL area, so we will sell the condo & each move to a small rental apartment.  There will be a lot of clearing out clutter in the coming months!

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2018, 02:05:50 PM »
@limeandpepper - need to lock the old thread, just in case.

On topic - I've got a project going to rewire the whole house. Phase 1 is almost done. They'll be here again tomorrow, and will be cutting into the ceilings on the first floor so they can run the new wires. So as messy as it's been, tomorrow is going to be 10x worse. To help reduce the cleanup time, I moved a bunch of stuff to the 2nd floor and started tarping other stuff. In the process, have identified several items to be donated.

Also contacted the local theater group, they're more than happy to accept unused paint donations. I've got a quart that I got to try, and immediately hated it on the wall. Also have 2 pints of another color, also samples. Once the electrical work is done downstairs, I'll need to touch up the closets then can donate that leftover paint.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #12 on: February 04, 2018, 02:13:52 PM »
Gave a couch and a loveseat away.  Really happy to have those out of the house.

The biggest thing for me is to realize it is better to let go, and realize i'm fortunate enough to not need the money; rather than wait around and try to sell them.

The woman who I gave them to was super grateful.

TomTX

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #13 on: February 04, 2018, 02:43:39 PM »
<3

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #14 on: February 04, 2018, 02:52:51 PM »
Mailed three eBay items - happy to get them out of the house. They included: a gifted shirt that didn't fit, a gifted set of yarn from the kids, who thought I might become a knitter, & 5 free drink coupons from United. Earned $31.61 & get to declutter in the process. Woohoo!

Next on the hit list - I have three necklaces that I never wear. (They were gifts.) I need to clean them & see if they are salvageable.

firelight

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #15 on: February 04, 2018, 08:28:56 PM »
Thanks for new thread.

Does preventing new stuff from entering your life count as decluttering? My mom gave me something that she had good memories of and wanted it to go to her heirs. But I have bad memories of it. I asked if I can swap with my sister but my mom said no. It kept weighing on my heart because she also forbade me from selling it or giving to someone else. Today I decided I didn't want it (even though it had a lot of cash value) if it came with so many strings attached and gave it back to her (technically still in her possession but the ownership had changed back and forth). I'm feeling way lighter after I returned it.

limeandpepper

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #16 on: February 04, 2018, 09:04:24 PM »
@limeandpepper - need to lock the old thread, just in case.

Already sent request to mods when I started this one.

vikingtantan

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2018, 10:04:39 PM »
I'm moving to a new apartment in a couple of weeks. As a self-proclaimed minimalist, I didn't think I had that much stuff. Boy was I wrong. I mean, it is a lot less then most people and I could easily fit everything into a car before I started the purging process, but I'm still amazed at how much I've accumulated in the past 2 years. When I moved to Korea, I brought over a full carry on suitcase, and a half full check in suitcase. Doing my best to decrease my stuff back into two suitcases and maybe a backpack. So far I've donated two bags of office and school related supplies to one of the schools I work at, and threw away a bunch of old documents I no longer need. I'll be donating at least 50% of the clothes I've accumulated tomorrow to a local thrift store, and planning to sell a few things (guitar, hamster cage, Korean language learning books, etc) by the end of the week. If they don't sell, they will also be donated to the thrift store. I've also already used up most of my food stuff or thrown away what's expired. It's such a relief when I'm not surrounded by so much clutter.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #18 on: February 04, 2018, 10:07:33 PM »
YESSSSSS one of my favourite threads!

My dad asked if we wanted something today (offering to buy it). I said no. Decluttering before anything has even entered the house!!

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #19 on: February 05, 2018, 01:25:41 AM »
We have had some parts of remote light switches laying on the kitchen counter for the last half year of so (time flies). I once more asked DH is he could take it along on his trip to town today and return it to the store. Then he mentioned that he needed the receipt from 2 years ago and that was the reason he hadn't brought it back yet.
I retrieved the shoebox with "receipts since 2013 until now" and started looking. In 10 minutes I had found the relevant receipt. So this morning the parts and the receipt were laying near the front door to be brought back later in the day. Finally...

I usually cut DH's hair and we have a cordless machine for cutting it. The battery is not great, so we need to load it before use. As our bathroom doesn't have an electricity outlet (stupid previous owner who built the house), and we have a big kitchen, we load it in the kitchen. The machine has been there for quite some time. I have been asking DH if I could cut his hair and he has answered no each time. But today, he has an important meeting, so last night he finally agreed on being cut. Now the machine could he put away again.

Small steps...

I have given up on the room that DH uses for his sewing projects. It is a mess and it is his job to tidy it. But he is constantly having new projects there, which I think is nice for him. As it is one separate room, I leave just leave it like that.

Astatine

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #20 on: February 05, 2018, 01:39:41 AM »
YESSSSSS one of my favourite threads!

Same.

I don't have anything recent to report but I am hanging out for DH to go through some more of his DVDs and CDs and hopefully get rid of at least 10% of them.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #21 on: February 05, 2018, 03:46:43 AM »
I had a realisation the other day - towels are like cats, there are just so many in the world that it's really hard to find homes for them. I get given 'towels for the dog', but when I try to pass them on to shelters and groomers they say they have too many. Some of the 'towels for the dog' are actually better than our towels for us so...

Things I have managed to declutter:
- Hubby's dressing gown. It was all musty from hanging on the back of the door for all eternity so it was yet again in the washing pile and I was going to store it in a space bag with a bunch of winter jumpers. He admitted he hasn't actually ever worn it and suggested we donate it :)
- Took a dog that wandered into my garden home :) :)

Astatine

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #22 on: February 05, 2018, 03:54:04 AM »
- Took a dog that wandered into my garden home :) :)

:D nawwww. Excellent decluttering.

former player

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #23 on: February 05, 2018, 05:06:57 AM »
I have a small bedroom at home and the only space for clothes is the cupboard over the stairs which also houses the water heater.  It's an awkward shape and my solution so far has been to put a cheap chest of drawers that came with the house in the cupboard sideways with drawers that only opened 8 inches, so many of my clothes have been cluttering up the guest bedroom.

Now I'm having much better custom drawers put in which will both open fully and provide more space, they will be fitted this week.  The cheap and flimsy chest of drawers will become firewood.  Any clothes that don't fit in the new drawers, using (somewhat) the Marie Kondo method, will be dispatched to the charity shop. 

This feels like the only place I can fully express the joy this is causing in me this week.

lizzzi

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #24 on: February 05, 2018, 06:03:58 AM »
Make it a habit to clean and tidy your closets/storage areas when you do routine dusting, vacuuming, cleaning of that particular room. Like--my storage closet is off the kitchen, so when I clean the kitchen, I routinely de-clutter the storage closet. Sometimes there is no clutter, but sometimes there is. When you do this routinely, it takes very little time. I learned to keep house this way in the military, where so often we were only living somewhere short-term, and had to keep the quarters nice.

kaypinkHH

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #25 on: February 05, 2018, 06:43:31 AM »
@formerlydivorcedmom
We're seriously considering moving, so I'm starting to consider what I'd need to do to stage our current house and sell it.

I was running through a mental list of things I'd pack and put in a storage unit for a few months ... and now I'm trying to justify why I would need to keep those things at all versus getting rid of them.  If I don't need it/won't use it for three months...do I really need it at all?

My husband is going to be really unhappy with me....he's admitted that I've only given away one thing he actually wanted (but had zero use for), but he is still highly suspicious of my attempts to declutter.


We just did this!! 1 storage pod was used to remove clutter from our house (we had a really small house and maximizing space made the place look way bigger than it actually was), Later, we used 2 pods were used to move rest of furniture/shed stuff after the sale.

In general the 1st pod (declutter) contained the following:
- Giant couch which we love, but made our living room look too small, fits nicely in new house. For staging we moved a smaller couch from our airbnb unit to the living room.
- Winter set of tires for car (should have been the summer ones that got packed..lesson learned)
- Seasonal items (we packed in October, knew we would have a house by spring), summer clothes etc.
- Craft items (things I know I will use once we had a new house but would not need for 4 months).
- Any extra kitchen stuff- stuff for "Hosting"- extra plates etc. Also, big specialty items- turkey/roast pan, giant soup pot. Things we use fairly regularly, but would not need in transition months.
- Personal artwork/decor- wedding photos, wedding gifts, personal trip momentos (not a lot of stuff, we like to curate our own "collections", but no one cares about my personalized artwork).

For staging we kept everything in one colour palate again to increase visual "flow" from one room to another. Anything not in this colour got moved/packed.

What we sold:
Giant ikea entertainment unit- no way we were moving that
Other ikea large furniture pieces- easily replaced and easy to sell
Patio furniture/bbq/Lawn maintenance things (bought second hand, will rebuy second hand in new location)

What we should have gone through more:
I moved out of the house before the 1st pod was packed up for work, I brought my own personal things that I have used for 4 months. Unpacking this weekend I realized a ton of old products (hair products, face/body lotions) etc. got packed. I haven't used it in 4 months, pretty sure don't need to ever use them. They all may get tossed. Same thing with a bunch of costume jewelry. I had a whole box of stuff, that obviously I don't need. At one point I used it, but it may be time to say "kthxbai" and get rid of it.

Stachetastic

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #26 on: February 05, 2018, 07:37:40 AM »
I loved reading the old thread, glad to be joining in on this one!

We purchased new ikea wardrobes and a new cabinet for the living room (stick with me, here). With the new pieces in place, we were able to get rid of a dresser, a large table, and a small shelf unit. Now everything is kept in enclosed storage, and we have opened up the floor space in two rooms. We also took a truck full of items to Goodwill yesterday, including 4 dining chairs, as well as a couple boxes of kids' clothes and books. They refused 2 Christmas trees, so we need to find someplace to unload those.


JoJoP

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #27 on: February 05, 2018, 08:15:03 AM »
I had a realisation the other day - towels are like cats, there are just so many in the world that it's really hard to find homes for them. I get given 'towels for the dog', but when I try to pass them on to shelters and groomers they say they have too many. Some of the 'towels for the dog' are actually better than our towels for us so...


The wildlife rescue in our neighborhood takes the towels.  Perhaps you've got one nearby?

I had a company last week and did a big clean-up & declutter.   Shamefully, a bit of stuff just got relocated (ok, shoved) into a back room.   BUT, the main rooms look fantastic and I'm going to keep it up.  My declutter continues slowly but surely.  Today, a Costco package of AA batteries that got old are going to the battery recycle bin at the library.   One shelf got decluttered of random items belonging to all of us. 

My new declutter commitment is that I try to drop something off at the thrift store several times a week.  Even if it's just ONE item, I swing by and get rid of it.  That way, nothing is piled in the car or the hallway.   

I've got some stuff listed on ebay that isn't selling.  I don't want to fall into the trap of relist relist relist.  If it doesn't sell, it's gone! 

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #28 on: February 05, 2018, 08:17:32 AM »
I think you guys will appreciate/tolerate/sympathize with me being a little smug =) Husband and I have had our house going on two years now. When we first moved in, we were told by *multiple* people that we'd fill the space up with crap and clutter, that it just happens, so on. In particular this was said about the garage- well you might park the car in there and have a home gym in there NOW, but just you wait. I am happy to report that many months later, our home gym is still used and even more badass, and the car happily and comfortably fits in the garage. We still have empty drawers in our kitchen, and our cupboards for jars and tupperware (we use glass jars and containers for everything) are still filled to exactly the level they were when we moved in, still exclusively have those items, etc.

That's not to say we haven't added stuff, obviously, but Husband pointed out yesterday when we were rearranging the garage how very wrong all those doom and gloom, "you'll be swimming in crap within the year" predictions really were. Made me happy =)

horsepoor

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #29 on: February 05, 2018, 08:40:31 AM »
Bracken, I just don't get WTF is filling peoples' garages??  All the houses in our neighborhood are large, and actually most people do park in their garages, but I see some that are just chock full of... what, exactly?  When we moved into this big house, it just made me extra vigilant about accumulating crap. 

So now that I'm posting to this new thread, I have a couple small boxes to go to the thrift store today - a few old kitchen items that were replaced, running shoes that ended up not working, and a few clothing items I don't wear anymore.

I also decluttered a large toiletries bag that is intended to be taken to horse shows and so on, and had lots of dried up/expired supplies in it.

Pulled out a pair of breeches that are too small for me, too nice to toss, but not likely to bring any money on eBay.  Will give them to someone at the barn who I think will be able to use them.

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #30 on: February 05, 2018, 11:16:27 AM »
Bracken, I just don't get WTF is filling peoples' garages??  All the houses in our neighborhood are large, and actually most people do park in their garages, but I see some that are just chock full of... what, exactly?  When we moved into this big house, it just made me extra vigilant about accumulating crap. 

Tools. Yard/garden equipment. Car stuff. Sports stuff. Bikes. Kids toys and outgrown stuff - this is a biggie. Off season holiday decorations. Motor cycles. In advanced cases, out of season clothing/out grown clothing. General catchall of stuff that should go away and doesn't.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #31 on: February 05, 2018, 12:18:04 PM »
I have a small bedroom at home and the only space for clothes is the cupboard over the stairs which also houses the water heater.  It's an awkward shape and my solution so far has been to put a cheap chest of drawers that came with the house in the cupboard sideways with drawers that only opened 8 inches, so many of my clothes have been cluttering up the guest bedroom.

Now I'm having much better custom drawers put in which will both open fully and provide more space, they will be fitted this week.  The cheap and flimsy chest of drawers will become firewood.  Any clothes that don't fit in the new drawers, using (somewhat) the Marie Kondo method, will be dispatched to the charity shop. 

This feels like the only place I can fully express the joy this is causing in me this week.

The new drawers sound amazing. I would be thrilled, too!

FireHiker

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #32 on: February 05, 2018, 12:25:56 PM »
I'm so happy for the new thread! I admit I was daunted by the size of the other one, since it was well underway before I discovered it. I'm much more likely to follow along with something from the beginning.

I am very much a minimalist at heart, but we have a giant clown house so there is a LOT to declutter before our eventual downsizing occurs. My husband wants to save everything "just in case we need it someday" but I'm slowly making progress there. I am happy to report that we DO park both cars in our garage, but we have a tandem area that is full of "stuff". I'm working on it. My mom is a borderline hoarder, so I have a lot of stuff from her that I have been sloooooowly sorting through over the years. There have been a couple things I've been really happy to have from her, otherwise I would just chuck it all without even opening the boxes. Anytime I feel complacent about getting rid of stuff I think about how much anxiety I feel when I see all of her stuff in her home. I always come home and want to get rid of stuff immediately.

frontstepdesign

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #33 on: February 05, 2018, 12:49:46 PM »
Yay for new thread, me too!

The new old house we moved into last fall is smaller than the 50's farmhouse, and although we moved more stuff than we really needed (thanks to moving in a swift fashion), I'm pretty happy with progress on going through stuff and getting it OUT.  Good thing, too, because in usual old-house fashion, this place doesn't have so much storage.

Does everyone know about H&M's textile recycling program?  They will take bags of ANY household textile - post-doggy towels, used underwear, 70's curtains.

Amazingly, my new town doesn't have thrift stores, so that's not an option for getting rid of stuff.  (We do have FB selling groups, which I've used somewhat.  I also drive out of town often enough to learn thrift stores in other places.)

Another option I like for nicer 'get it out now' clothing is ThredUp, which is sortof an online consignment store - you fill one of their polkadot CleanOut bags, they give you credit for what they think will sell, and give away the rest for you.  I have gotten AWESOME bargains on my clothing from ThredUp.
(Because I am on the NoClothesShopping challenge this year, I will valiantly try *not* to share my $10 for you/$10 for me code.  Unless someone asks nicely.)

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #34 on: February 05, 2018, 02:41:53 PM »
I think y'all are right - if it's packed up for months, I probably don't need it (except the Christmas decorations.  I'm keeping what survived this year's round of decluttering.)

The house we're trying to decide on is about 10% smaller than ours, but the layout is drastically different.  I was so impressed with Husband this weekend when we toured it - he actually volunteered "if we move here, we'd want to get rid of X, Y, and Z pieces of furniture."  We had a long talk last night that it would be a change to our lifestyle - no more game room to throw the kids into and shut the door (and collect electronics clutter), no more random giant storage spaces to collect office supply/projects/"might-need-it-just-in-case" clutter.

We (mostly meaning the other 4 people in my family) would be forced to be more mindful of what comes into the house.  I LOVE this idea.  I'm trying not to push and wait to see if H will come around on his own.  Either way, I now know he isn't attached to certain stuff in our house, so I can start thinking of ways to get rid of it.

eliza

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #35 on: February 05, 2018, 03:29:27 PM »
I'm continuing to slowly make progress.  I still can't believe how I've managed to accumulate so much stuff.  Especially given my general lack of storage space.  And the fact that I call myself a minimalist while not being so minimal.

~Got rid of another bag of random garbage and clothes that were too far gone for goodwill.  (I wasn't aware of the H&M recycling program, but will use that for the future.)   
~Donated a bag of books to the library.
~Went through my pantry, checking expiration dates.  Two small cans of jalapenos got tossed as they were way past date (no idea why I bought them, I don't like spicy food).  And identified a few things reaching the end of their lifespan that will be incorporated into cooking in the next few weeks.


MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #36 on: February 05, 2018, 03:46:07 PM »
Anyone have recommendations on how you would sell new (in packaging) gold jewelry? I have a matching set from my  mother in law, but the jeweler is international & doesn't have much/any eBay brand recognition. Pieces are lovely, but totally not my style. (Note that my husband is totally supportive of getting rid of it). Ideas? Take it to a local jeweler, or put on eBay & hope for the best?

former player

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #37 on: February 05, 2018, 04:02:39 PM »
Anyone have recommendations on how you would sell new (in packaging) gold jewelry? I have a matching set from my  mother in law, but the jeweler is international & doesn't have much/any eBay brand recognition. Pieces are lovely, but totally not my style. (Note that my husband is totally supportive of getting rid of it). Ideas? Take it to a local jeweler, or put on eBay & hope for the best?
lifejoy knows jewellery, I think, so you could tag her or message her.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #38 on: February 05, 2018, 08:11:33 PM »
Anyone have recommendations on how you would sell new (in packaging) gold jewelry? I have a matching set from my  mother in law, but the jeweler is international & doesn't have much/any eBay brand recognition. Pieces are lovely, but totally not my style. (Note that my husband is totally supportive of getting rid of it). Ideas? Take it to a local jeweler, or put on eBay & hope for the best?
lifejoy knows jewellery, I think, so you could tag her or message her.

Thanks!  I will try that. @lifejoy Any thoughts? :-)

Poundwise

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #39 on: February 05, 2018, 08:12:18 PM »
All of my kids now play with teeny tiny Legos. Sorted through a big bin of Mega Bloks that has been sitting around our bedroom and had accumulated a huge assortment of other toys and toy parts.  Now the bin is in our car and will go to the children's section of the library (already checked with librarian to see if they will take it.)

That's 4 cubic feet of home space recovered!

pancakes

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #40 on: February 05, 2018, 08:29:30 PM »
Following along. Our little 1 bedroom place is being overrun. I feel like we don’t have much stuff but a baby, cat and two adults sharing a space will do that I suppose.

Step 1 - get rid of all the boxes I haven’t gotten around to taking down to the recycling bins.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #41 on: February 05, 2018, 10:05:26 PM »
Anyone have recommendations on how you would sell new (in packaging) gold jewelry? I have a matching set from my  mother in law, but the jeweler is international & doesn't have much/any eBay brand recognition. Pieces are lovely, but totally not my style. (Note that my husband is totally supportive of getting rid of it). Ideas? Take it to a local jeweler, or put on eBay & hope for the best?
lifejoy knows jewellery, I think, so you could tag her or message her.

Last year on TV in Norway they showed that it was very difficult to sell private jewelry with diamonds, because the shops that would buy it need to be able to trace where the diamonds comes from.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2018, 04:34:54 AM by Linda_Norway »

happy

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #42 on: February 06, 2018, 04:31:56 AM »
PTF

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #43 on: February 06, 2018, 05:25:04 AM »
Over the last year or so I've been making adjustments to my fb newsfeed by blocking or unfollowing certain ads, friends, pages etc as well as following pages that support my lifestyle choices (mainly not spending unnecessarily, avoiding things that make me feel "not good enough", decluttering and so on). Then this week, this has come up several times from friends/family and it makes me feel sad for the world. I forget that I'm the weird one sometimes. It makes me want to do another overhaul of my house to remove excess items.

On the positive side, the last time I went to Kmart was to get undies for my daughter. I bought undies and only undies. The kids asked for extras of course, but I told them before we went that I wasn't buying anything else so they were fine when I said no. I'm pleased my perserverence has paid off. I haven't always said no so I encountered some resistence when first limiting spending more strictly.  They are finally getting it lol.

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #44 on: February 06, 2018, 08:18:39 AM »
All of my kids now play with teeny tiny Legos. Sorted through a big bin of Mega Bloks that has been sitting around our bedroom and had accumulated a huge assortment of other toys and toy parts.  Now the bin is in our car and will go to the children's section of the library (already checked with librarian to see if they will take it.)

That's 4 cubic feet of home space recovered!

Some libraries take Legos and Mega Bloks?  That is such an awesome idea.  I had already planned to start talking the kids into letting go of many of their Legos (they love putting them together, then they just sit on the shelves for years).   I'll have to check and see if our library does this/wants to start a program.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #45 on: February 06, 2018, 01:18:10 PM »
Yesterday and today I went through my kitchen cupboards and sorted out glassware/dishes we never use.  I have 3 medium boxes to donate next time I go out!  Mr SP was a little perturbed when he saw the cognac glasses we got as a wedding gift in the pile, but we have not used them in 39 years.  We don't drink cognac, and neither do our friends. Out they go!

CU Tiger

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #46 on: February 07, 2018, 08:14:26 PM »
I had a realisation the other day - towels are like cats, there are just so many in the world that it's really hard to find homes for them. I get given 'towels for the dog', but when I try to pass them on to shelters and groomers they say they have too many. Some of the 'towels for the dog' are actually better than our towels for us so...

No idea how it works down under, but my vet will take all the towels and sheets I offer them. This is the actual veterinarian, not a groomer.  They use sheets to drape for surgeries, towels to wipe up..whatever needs wiping up, or to line cages for post-op animals.

Have you checked that?

Shinplaster

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #47 on: February 07, 2018, 08:59:26 PM »
I had a realisation the other day - towels are like cats, there are just so many in the world that it's really hard to find homes for them. I get given 'towels for the dog', but when I try to pass them on to shelters and groomers they say they have too many. Some of the 'towels for the dog' are actually better than our towels for us so...

No idea how it works down under, but my vet will take all the towels and sheets I offer them. This is the actual veterinarian, not a groomer.  They use sheets to drape for surgeries, towels to wipe up..whatever needs wiping up, or to line cages for post-op animals.

Have you checked that?

"Our" (in quotes because we don't actually have a dog anymore) vet too.  They are happy to take any towels offered, but especially love really big bath ones.   

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #48 on: February 07, 2018, 09:25:25 PM »
Thanks for the vet tip, I'll ask there.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #49 on: February 08, 2018, 07:51:50 AM »
Got rid of a black tank top. Took it on my last business trip (under sweaters) & it slips & shows way too much to be work appropriate. Timing was poor, as it was one of my limited packed options. Put it in the donation pile for someone else to enjoy. Had hoped to finally get rid of two bulky jackets that have been on our local FB swap site forever, but someone posted about wanting both & then never replied. Pet peeve.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!