Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2

[former player]

I've tried to make a start on a bit of electronic clearing up with a prune of redundant internet logins.  Some have a nice easy "delete this account" but others require a hunt through terms and conditions and even an email request to delete an account and data.  Gawd.

[fuzzy math]

I've tried to make a start on a bit of electronic clearing up with a prune of redundant internet logins.  Some have a nice easy "delete this account" but others require a hunt through terms and conditions and even an email request to delete an account and data.  Gawd.

Oh gosh this is a neverending task, especially because it doesn't take up physical space and can be lurking out there in the internet indefinitely!

[slackmax]

I've tried to make a start on a bit of electronic clearing up with a prune of redundant internet logins.  Some have a nice easy "delete this account" but others require a hunt through terms and conditions and even an email request to delete an account and data.  Gawd.

This reminds me I meant to sometime go through all the cards and paper notes in my wallet. Need to use up my Barnes and Noble card so I can throw it out. Need to combine all the little paper notes into one clearly printed note. My many psw's and phone nums, userids,  etc.    Wallet is getting bulky.       

[Freedomin5]

Sold a puzzle and a waffle maker. Cleaned out a bunch of papers. Gave away a set of patio chairs. Listed several other 1000 pc puzzles for sale.

[Freedomin5]

Sold a puzzle and a waffle maker. Cleaned out a bunch of papers. Gave away a set of patio chairs. Listed several other 1000 pc puzzles for sale.

Also donated a bag of books, set out a box of household goods with a “free” sign, and sold some books.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@MountainGal - very envious on your gym makeover! It sounds great. We currently have a treadmill & an elliptical in a random room in our house. It's a super weird room that I suppose is like an open concept living room, but we never use it. So, it has living room furniture, and then tucked away in the corner is the gym equipment. Not exactly ideal. ;-)

I haven't been on BN much, as I've been out of town on & off throughout October, but I'm going to see if I can find 10 items to trash/recycle or give away today!

[Loretta]

I emptied 2 shelves in the a kitchen cabinet and wiped them down.  Then I attempted to organize my few bottles of spices and tea and coffee.  Looks much less chaotic. 

[Roadrunner53]

Knowing today would be rainy and my awning has been taken down, I went on the deck yesterday and tossed a bunch of junk away. Some old plants, planters, glass vases and a bunch of odd ball crap that had accumulated. I kept saying I would use this and that and the little piles of clutter kept adding up. I bit my lip and just winged the clutter into the garbage bag and it is gone! I tidied up some other junk on the deck too. Once it stops raining I will store some of the other stuff in the shed over the winter.

So, my next project is going to be interesting. We have this foam bed topper that we used for about a week and it did not work for us so we took it off the bed and put it in another room. It was only supposed to be there temporarily but has been there now WAY, WAY too long and it is making me nuts. It is quite huge and is king size. My plan is to fold it in thirds and roll it in a ball like a jelly roll. I will have to tie it with rope so it won't unfurl. Then I bought this Christmas tree storage bag and will put it in the bag. Next I plan to give it to Vietnam Veterans. Originally I bought some contractor bags but was concerned the bags were still too small for this gigantic bed topper. So, we shall see how this project goes!

We might get a small dumpster to get rid of some large things like two old grills, some old tv's and other junk. The smallest dumpster costs $295 but we can keep it 10 days which is nice amount of time.

[slackmax]

I recently was able to sell some old retro vintage computer books (just $2 each, but hey) to a geek who was buying one of my old computers.

This has emboldened me to put some more of my retro computer books on the internet for sale (local pickup only, can't be bothered to ship them).

Even if no one is interested, the happy ending is that I will be OK emotionally with just recycling them.     

[LeftA]

@slackmax , where are you posting them for sale? My brother has left at least 20 of these types of massive books at my house! I want them gone!

[Frugal Lizard]

A bunch of weights just left the garage. A neighbor came and got them. He is a fine carpenter and uses them when clamps don't work.

A whole bunch of papers found the recycling bin.

I tidied a lot of gardening stuff.

Two cars easily fit into the garage.   So much so that the passenger can stay in the car until it is turned off.

[midweststache]

- Small stack of baby books to one of the LFLs in the area. My kiddos have officially outgrown them, so time to pass them on. 
- Cycled through the kiddos clothes to make room for some winter items. We were at least net neutral following the one-in, one-out rule, but may have gotten rid of some extra items.
- We went through the kids' treats from trick or treating so far (i.e. community trick or treat events) to ensure all the treats were appropriately put away (i.e. chips in the snack draw, Taffy away for the grown ups, non-edibles either recycled or put in the mini-toy box, etc.) We'll let them hold on to their spooky things until they lose interest (usually a few days after Halloween) and then recycle all the dumb stuff they get, like plastic spider rings. SIGH.
- Fixed up some Abuelita hot chocolate that's been lurking in the back corner of our cabinets after this afternoon's soccer game. Used up some nearing-the-end-of-its-days heavy cream to make some whipped cream for the hot chocolate. My favorite kind of decluttering! :)

[slackmax]

@slackmax , where are you posting them for sale? My brother has left at least 20 of these types of massive books at my house! I want them gone!

I go to a retro / vintage computer group to ask what they are worth, then I post them at the group, and also on facebook marketplace.

The customer base for these things is minute.  I was lucky to get some one who would be in my area, and he came by to buy this sort of stuff. I hope I get another buyer like him, but who knows.

It was my ad on Facebook he saw. 

I sold him an old IBM manual for $2, and 15 old VHS AT&T training tapes for $20. Not a fortune, but I got rid of the stuff, and got at least something for it.  He bought an old non-working pc computer for $100.

It helps if your 'vintage' stuff is a big well-known name, like IBM, AT&T, etc.

[Sibley]

@Roadrunner53
I was able to rehome my foam bed topper. May even have gotten a few bucks for it. Put it out there and see what happens.

[rivendale]

@Roadrunner53
I was able to rehome my foam bed topper. May even have gotten a few bucks for it. Put it out there and see what happens.

Same here. Only difference was mine was a latex topper. I think I got about $100. (It was king sized).

In deckuttering news:
Two big paper grocery bags of outgrown kid clothing passed along to a teammate. 2 pieces of younger kid wall decor (30x40in and 11x14in) pending pickup by a neighbor. She's going to stash it till Christmas. Win! Win!

[MountainGal]

@MountainGal - very envious on your gym makeover! It sounds great. We currently have a treadmill & an elliptical in a random room in our house. It's a super weird room that I suppose is like an open concept living room, but we never use it. So, it has living room furniture, and then tucked away in the corner is the gym equipment. Not exactly ideal. ;-)

@MaybeBabyMustache, thank you!  Our situation was similar:  The stationary bike was in the living room, the treadmill in my home office, and the new-to-us elliptical (DH bought it from one of my friends for $100) was downstairs.  So far, all but treadmill is now in the "gym."  There was a small coffee maker, 4 coffee mugs, filters, etc. for guests, and I was going to give them away.  DH said he will use them on chilly winter mornings when he's doing projects in his man cave.  :)

@Frugal Lizard, congratulations on fitting both vehicles in the garage!

[Freedomin5]

Cleared out a bag of clothes that DD had outgrown. Also gave away several sturdy canvas bags since we have way too many.

[mspym]

Yesterday I managed to break off the arm of my sunglasses and couldn't repair them. Alrighty, I now own one (1) pair of sunglasses and don't need to pick between the two.

[FrugalShrew]

Three bags out the door to the thrift store, including some boots that were hard to part with. They were so darling, but I can no longer stand for my toes to be squished. I just got a new pair of barefoot shoes, so it was time to finally say goodbye to the boots.

I ended up donating to the "less desirable" thrift store, keeping in mind KC Davis' advice that "good enough is perfect." I try to donate to the ones who have a broader mission I support beyond just re-use of stuff--but none of them are close by, and they have limited donation hours, and decluttering my house and letting someone else enjoy my things are still good goals to accomplish. So the "good enough" thrift store it is!

[slackmax]

Curating stuff today.

I was so 'stuck' as far as finding stuff to get rid of, that I decided to just walk around the place and make notes about what was where, since that was so much more interesting and didn't involve making decisions. 

There's so much I totally forgot I had, let alone where it could be found.

I am recording the locations of the stuff in a file on my computer, and will back it up on a thumb drive. 

I found a few small things to toss out, and repurpose.     

[Sibley]

Curating stuff today.

I was so 'stuck' as far as finding stuff to get rid of, that I decided to just walk around the place and make notes about what was where, since that was so much more interesting and didn't involve making decisions. 

There's so much I totally forgot I had, let alone where it could be found.

I am recording the locations of the stuff in a file on my computer, and will back it up on a thumb drive. 

I found a few small things to toss out, and repurpose.   

If you forgot you had it, then do you really need it? My guess is no. Make it go away.

[FrugalShrew]

Curating stuff today.

I was so 'stuck' as far as finding stuff to get rid of, that I decided to just walk around the place and make notes about what was where, since that was so much more interesting and didn't involve making decisions. 

There's so much I totally forgot I had, let alone where it could be found.

I am recording the locations of the stuff in a file on my computer, and will back it up on a thumb drive. 

I found a few small things to toss out, and repurpose.   

I think this was a great way to try and get yourself unstuck--you identified a step that would be helpful in the decluttering process, which felt doable right now, and then you did it!

And inventorying and knowing what you have and where it lives are independently important, too, because what is the point of having stuff if you don't use it? Appreciate and enjoy the things you do use, and let go of the rest.

Sometimes I find that my mind needs a few days or few weeks of letting an item marinate subconsciously, in order to make the decision to let it go. So just looking at something and putting it in my mind is often my first step, too.

Hopefully you can build some momentum from the small things you tossed out and keep going!

[happy]

Sometimes I find that my mind needs a few days or few weeks of letting an item marinate subconsciously, in order to make the decision to let it go. So just looking at something and putting it in my mind is often my first step, too.

I do this too. It seems to work automatically without me needing to  make a conscious decision, which is nice, but much slower overall.

[mspym]

We are continuing our New House organising. It's not so much getting rid of things as finding their final home. More art is on the walls, I could actually use my sewing machine the other day without having to move 20 things first, the kitchen ergonomics are falling into place.

[Freedomin5]

Sold my sewing machine.

[slackmax]

Congratulations, Freedomin5 !

Interesting self-study this morning for me. I was walking around the hood and saw 2 knobby tired bikes, in good condition, on the curb with a free sign.

My emotion was one of obligation, not joy. I felt obligated to something, or someone, to take them and sell them at the flea market.

My mind realized I didn't 'need' to take them, and that they would just be a burden, so I left them there. 

Burden avoided ! 

I'll let someone else take them, as their own burden, or, preferably, their own joy, lol.

[mspym]

@slackmax someone gets a free bike! [one of the joys of our pre-move declutter was hearing small kids excitedly yell "hey Billy, BILLY! Free scooters!" followed by the sound of wheels on the footpath]

We are making slow but steady progress on getting pictures up on walls, reducing the small pile in the corner. We also have a clear dining table to eat at and a small table by the door to put keys and sunglasses down on. It's nice having time to find exactly the right solution instead of just throwing money at whatever solution was available.

[oneday]

My emotion was one of obligation, not joy. I felt obligated to something, or someone, to take them and sell them at the flea market.

My mind realized I didn't 'need' to take them, and that they would just be a burden, so I left them there. 

Burden avoided ! 

Bravo!!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

DS17 had his final game of club soccer yesterday, which was a bit of an emotional milestone, after ten years & an endless amount of practices, games, tournaments, etc. But, that also meant we could clean out a bunch of stuff!
-I've already reached out the our club, and they will buy back his uniform (at a tiny, tiny fraction of the cost), to help new players. I will add in the backpack, which has the same number as the jerseys, so the new player will get a complete set. Found a brand new package of uniform socks, and also added those in as well.
-Went to the "soccer drawer", which has taken up 20% of his dresser for the last ten years, and pulled everything out. Made a large pile to donate, a few things to give away on BN (better matched to specific location + age group, given what's required for club).
-Decided to turn the "soccer drawer" into the "pants drawer", so had DS17 try on all of his pants. Two pair were too small (we're in California, and the teens will go months between pants wearing) & listed those on BN.
-Found his most destroyed pair of soccer cleats, and put those aside for shoe recycling. I'll keep his better pair, as he wants to play intramural in college.

So much stuff out of the house! I will miss the games, but I have 1.5 more years with my other teen, who his his first varsity school game on Friday. When one door closes & all.

[slackmax]

Since I am in clothes selling mode, I noticed a nice red coat in my foyer closet, and took it out to give it a look.

That brought my attention to the fact that I had lots of other old coats and shirts stuffed in there, plus stuff up on the shelf and down below in a basket. For some reason I thought I had already gone through this closet, but no.

So I spent a couple hours sorting stuff out, washing some of it, throwing some out, and donating some.

I got one bag of clothes to throw out, and 3 bags of clothes to donate.

Now the closet is half as full, and also cleaner.

And reminded myself that I have some nice coats still, that I can wear this winter. 

[LaineyAZ]

Since I am in clothes selling mode, I noticed a nice red coat in my foyer closet, and took it out to give it a look.

That brought my attention to the fact that I had lots of other old coats and shirts stuffed in there, plus stuff up on the shelf and down below in a basket. For some reason I thought I had already gone through this closet, but no.

So I spent a couple hours sorting stuff out, washing some of it, throwing some out, and donating some.

I got one bag of clothes to throw out, and 3 bags of clothes to donate.

...

Speaking of winter clothes to donate, does your local school district have a "free closet" for students?  Ours does, and they specifically asked for sweatshirts, pants and coats.  It's been a great help to local families in need.
Last winter I read about another district that didn't have this and some kids were walking to school with blankets wrapped around them. 

[slackmax]

The only places I know of, around here, to drop off a winter coat, are Salvation Army and Goodwill. 

[Sibley]

This is more anti-decluttering, but at least it's not me. My parents started with 7 bookcases and have overflowed. Getting a cheap bookcase of FB marketplace for them tonight, and I'm sure they'll need another bookcase. Or 3.

At least when they die and I have to clear the house, a houseful of books is homogeneous enough to easily determine what to do with them, right?

Edit: Bookcase successfully acquired and transported to parent's house. This should be enough to house all the current books.

[Freedomin5]

Getting ready to send four boxes of books to my sister, who teaches in a developing country. They’ve been sitting in a giant ikea bag for over a year. Problem is that I’ve run out of suitable boxes. I guess tomorrow morning, I’ll take a walk around the complex and see if any of my spendy neighbors have made purchases recently and are getting rid of medium size boxes. It’ll cost a bit to ship the books, but it’s cheaper than my sister having to purchase the books from overseas, and I’ll consider the shipping costs as a donation to a good cause.

[happy]

At least when they die and I have to clear the house, a houseful of books is homogeneous enough to easily determine what to do with them, right?

Absolutely.  I've found books are the easiest items to declutter. When we had to clear out my folks house we packed them up and put them undercover in the carport and told a few neighbours they were welcome to take anything they wanted. This reduced the huge quantity by about 50%. The rest went to Lifeline, a worthy charity known in my country for raising money by having enormous second hand book fairs.

The only downside is that boxes of books are heavy.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Listed a bunch of items on Buy Nothing, and cleaned up my coat closet (where I store future BN items). It's nice to see the floor again in there.

[Josiecat22222]

have 4 trashbags full of clothes to be "redistributed" over the Thanksgiving holiday.  My MIL is one of 10 siblings and there are lots of young adults and grandchildren just starting out. I helped a girlfriend clean out her closets and saved all of the items in good condition to be given away for this redistribution.  I then added to it some items DS has outgrown and some items from my professional wardrobe (that do not see daylight since I FIRE'd).  Hopefully they will make some of the cousins very happy!!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

awesome work, @Josiecat23503

Went through another giant pile today. Some of which was BN stuff given to me (e.g. one item out of a few didn't fit, etc) & got all of that posted. I also finally made my way through the stuff I pulled out of DS16's room, when we cleaned it. And, found a few new board games that folks were super excited to pick up, ahead of the long holiday weekend.

I also went through my stash set aside to list on eBay, and got a bunch of stuff listed. Pulled down some listings & donated a bunch of other stuff.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Sold a watch on eBay, got that mailed & out of the house.
-Went through my workout pants drawer (I have a lot, but also work out every day, and have three shorts, capris & full length, to accommodate for seasons). Got rid of five pair, and already have takers for those on BN.
-Majority of all BN stuff listed over the weekend is now taken, most picked up. The rest will go into our donation pile.

Goal for today is to find another ten items to list on either BN or eBay.

[slackmax]

Since I couldn't decide what to declutter, I spent an hour and half cleaning out the traps under the kitchen sink and one bathroom sink. They were both getting slow. Not exactly decluttering, but related, as a substitute activity. Very satisfying.   

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Cleaned out & organized drawer that contains bras & swimsuits. Four three bras to give away, and one swimsuit. Everything is now nicely organized & easily accessible.

[Loretta]

I’m away and donating some of the threadbare casual clothes I wore this week to a Goodwill I drove by.  I’ve also used up a good amount of a weird toothpaste and face wipes. 

[Freedomin5]

I mailed another box of books to my sister in Cambodia, who teaches at a school for the poor. We just have one more suitcase of books to send her, and then our storage will be a bit tidier.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I've been giving away bags & bags of stuff on Buy Nothing. Had a bad experience today, where someone made a borderline racial slur about the items I was gifting, which was particularly uncomfortable, as I'd used a photo of my kids (you couldn't see their faces) modeling the items. I LOVE my BN community, and have met so many lovely people, so it was really unfortunate.

[Josiecat22222]

@MaybeBabyMustache -- I'm so sorry.  That is just awful.  I can't believe the hate that has seeped into our most innocent endeavors (such as donating your household items to another family).

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@Josiecat23503 - right? It's sad. But, moving on, because giving things away is great for me, and for others & keeps stuff I don't want out of landfills.

-Tracked down 2 people who didn't reply to original BN & got there stuff ready to go out today.
-Find 20 items to recycle, toss or donate today

[slackmax]

MY girl friend convinced me to throw out some 'probably fine' stuff from the fridge that was 10 years old or older. I always like to think that stuff lasts forever if it is sealed up in the original container and kept in a fridge. But maybe not.

In any event, I haven't used it in 10 years, so maybe never will, ha ha. Gone now, no need to worry about using it up. One of the tossed items was a 'glaze' in a plastic bag.

[Sibley]

MY girl friend convinced me to throw out some 'probably fine' stuff from the fridge that was 10 years old or older. I always like to think that stuff lasts forever if it is sealed up in the original container and kept in a fridge. But maybe not.

In any event, I haven't used it in 10 years, so maybe never will, ha ha. Gone now, no need to worry about using it up. One of the tossed items was a 'glaze' in a plastic bag.

Here's the thing. You may be willing to risk food poisoning yourself, but can you can't make that decision for others. If you knowingly used an ingredient that was questionable and someone got sick from it - that's on you. And depending on how sick they got, there could be real consequences.

So, if you wouldn't be ok with feeding it to your [insert appropriate medically vulnerable loved one], then toss it. Or find someone with a compost bin if you don't have one.

[Frugal Lizard]

I got rid of a box of stuff from my office.

I started packing up the clothes that I will never wear and got stopped with thoughts of: wonder if my daughter would like this? or it almost fits me, I love it, maybe I can lose the weight. I paused for now on the closet. But I have a large bag half full in there and will continue as I have band width for.

[mspym]

@slackmax yup if you have used it in >1y you are super unlikely to ever use it. Just ditch it and enjoy the extra fridge space. Now, do the pantry?

We haven’t had any decluttering to do since we are still shy about bringing new things into the house but Ofpym has basically unpacked and organised his art studio in the garage. I still have 20% to go on the sewing room. I keep being distracted by the garden.