Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2  (Read 1249455 times)

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #800 on: June 07, 2018, 05:26:40 PM »
At this time of the year, my number one goal is to not let new clutter into the house. The kids are coming home with bags of school supplies (half used), art projects, homework assignments, etc. Must stay on top of the influx, and later I can worry about decluttering beyond that.

Recycled a tremendous amount of paper, tossed broken pencils & supplies, saved what I could & washed all of the backpacks. Woohoo! I think I've now gone through all of the end of school influx of "things"

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #801 on: June 08, 2018, 01:47:28 AM »
Recycled a tremendous amount of paper, tossed broken pencils & supplies, saved what I could & washed all of the backpacks. Woohoo! I think I've now gone through all of the end of school influx of "things"

I once put a backpack in the washing machine. That was the end of the backpack. The coasting it had that kept the pack in shape and had some water resistance, came off piece by piece. The backpack ended up shapeless.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #802 on: June 08, 2018, 08:36:49 AM »
Recycled a tremendous amount of paper, tossed broken pencils & supplies, saved what I could & washed all of the backpacks. Woohoo! I think I've now gone through all of the end of school influx of "things"

I once put a backpack in the washing machine. That was the end of the backpack. The coasting it had that kept the pack in shape and had some water resistance, came off piece by piece. The backpack ended up shapeless.

I've washed ours pretty regularly. They hold up well. I have an old Jansport (I think it was my college back pack) & inside, the plastic coating is definitely coming off from the wash.

zygote

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #803 on: June 08, 2018, 09:04:43 AM »
Last night I spent over an hour cleaning out the black hole between the couch and the wall. It's where we store pillows and blankets we use on the couch, and I knew there were some I wanted to get rid of. However, it's my wife's side of the couch and a bunch of her stuff had fallen over and the whole thing was a mess. Full of pages she had saved from magazines, old (clean) napkins and plastic cutlery, general knick knacks. I've been avoiding it because I don't want to mess with her stuff. But I wanted to deal with my pillows and blankets, and frankly it was out of control. I threw away everything that was trash and put everything that was hers into a pile. I was planning to just consolidate it and leave it alone, but she ended up sorting through the pile and throwing away some of it. We got rid of three small plastic bags worth of junk and four pillows (for goodwill). We also found her favorite sunglasses and lighter that had been missing for months!

I still haven't put everything back, but it already feels so much better. I'll finally be able to reach my blankets again!

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #804 on: June 08, 2018, 12:27:46 PM »
Recycled a tremendous amount of paper, tossed broken pencils & supplies, saved what I could & washed all of the backpacks. Woohoo! I think I've now gone through all of the end of school influx of "things"

I once put a backpack in the washing machine. That was the end of the backpack. The coasting it had that kept the pack in shape and had some water resistance, came off piece by piece. The backpack ended up shapeless.

I've washed ours pretty regularly. They hold up well. I have an old Jansport (I think it was my college back pack) & inside, the plastic coating is definitely coming off from the wash.

Really depends on the backpack. Some have been destroyed in the washer, some have come through just fine.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #805 on: June 09, 2018, 03:32:37 PM »
-Went through all of the closets (mine + the kids). My husband's. . . well, that's another story. For my closet, it's already pretty trimmed back, but found a bunch of stuff in the kids closets to donate
-Finally spent the time to gather all of the kids Pokemon cards & accessories, package them up & listed them for sale

Rustychase

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #806 on: June 09, 2018, 06:31:08 PM »
My family are all hoarders. Borderline worthy for that tv show about extreme hoarders. There is an entire single wide on my dad's property filled up with stuff. I'm moving back to the states and wanted to go through what I have stored in there. I have pridefully claimed a WHOLE room. Aha, it's mostly old Barbies and her accessories, Polly Pockets, and tons of stuffed animals.

Does anyone have suggestions for donating these? I'm not keen on taking them to Good Will, I was thinking maybe churches or hospitals?

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #807 on: June 09, 2018, 08:11:56 PM »
My family are all hoarders. Borderline worthy for that tv show about extreme hoarders. There is an entire single wide on my dad's property filled up with stuff. I'm moving back to the states and wanted to go through what I have stored in there. I have pridefully claimed a WHOLE room. Aha, it's mostly old Barbies and her accessories, Polly Pockets, and tons of stuffed animals.

Does anyone have suggestions for donating these? I'm not keen on taking them to Good Will, I was thinking maybe churches or hospitals?

Do you think there's anything of value in there? Maybe a flat fee estate sale, if any of the items could be worth money. If not, and they are inexpensive toys, I vote for a local kid friendly charity

Rustychase

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #808 on: June 09, 2018, 08:18:56 PM »
My family are all hoarders. Borderline worthy for that tv show about extreme hoarders. There is an entire single wide on my dad's property filled up with stuff. I'm moving back to the states and wanted to go through what I have stored in there. I have pridefully claimed a WHOLE room. Aha, it's mostly old Barbies and her accessories, Polly Pockets, and tons of stuffed animals.

Does anyone have suggestions for donating these? I'm not keen on taking them to Good Will, I was thinking maybe churches or hospitals?

Do you think there's anything of value in there? Maybe a flat fee estate sale, if any of the items could be worth money. If not, and they are inexpensive toys, I vote for a local kid friendly charity

Maybe one or two New Year's Barbie's, but I wouldn't say anything has real value. Probably will look up some stuff just to see, but I would classify most things as trinkets.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #809 on: June 10, 2018, 12:03:52 PM »
I finally emptied some pots with earth and wine rwigs that didn't start growing. I put it all in the cellar, out of sight.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #810 on: June 10, 2018, 12:26:36 PM »
I just had Vietnam Vets come about two weeks ago to pick up about 15 giant garbage bags of stuff. I now have 3 grocery bags full of stuff. I also have two small entertainment cabinets I would like to get rid of. I also have some vases that I don't use and don't want. They were gifts and more clutter. I know I can come up with another mother load for VV for the next pick up. Seriously cannot believe how two people have accumulated so much stuff! Don't even get me started on the Hubs tools and things! He has two John Deere lawn mowing tractors. They are not the ones you get at Home Depot. They are more industrial so bigger. Then there is the snow blower, Sooooo much stuff in the garage we cannot park our two cars in there! OMG!

Two people that never had children, built a house in 1975 and never moved. Kept accumulating and accumulating for 43 years! We have rented dumpsters, gigantic ones and cleaned out many times! But the house is still FULL! Gotta keep pecking at it!

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #811 on: June 10, 2018, 01:09:26 PM »
I just had Vietnam Vets come about two weeks ago to pick up about 15 giant garbage bags of stuff. I now have 3 grocery bags full of stuff. I also have two small entertainment cabinets I would like to get rid of. I also have some vases that I don't use and don't want. They were gifts and more clutter. I know I can come up with another mother load for VV for the next pick up. Seriously cannot believe how two people have accumulated so much stuff! Don't even get me started on the Hubs tools and things! He has two John Deere lawn mowing tractors. They are not the ones you get at Home Depot. They are more industrial so bigger. Then there is the snow blower, Sooooo much stuff in the garage we cannot park our two cars in there! OMG!

Two people that never had children, built a house in 1975 and never moved. Kept accumulating and accumulating for 43 years! We have rented dumpsters, gigantic ones and cleaned out many times! But the house is still FULL! Gotta keep pecking at it!

One option: move everything out that you WANT. Then hold a massive estate sale on the rest. Once cleared out, move back in. If nothing else, you'll be able to clean the floors and do all your painting pretty easily while the house is empty. Make sure you do ceilings and closets too, everyone forgets those and it makes a huge difference. :)

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #812 on: June 10, 2018, 11:34:02 PM »
Not a lot of getting rid of this week.  But while looking through boxes for the aloe vera (hello, sunburn), I found the cover to the fire alarm...from my prior home!  Why the heck did I take that?  It's useless without the insides of the alarm.  Straight into the trash it went!

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #813 on: June 11, 2018, 12:09:07 AM »
4 books and 30 comic books into the free library, and a whole bunch of plastic hangers removed from my newly decluttered closet. I also realised exactly how many pens I have absentmindedly taken home from work so that's about to be rebalanced.

Steps towards future progress- made a list of the books sitting unread on the shelf behind my bed [there are 20!] and I'm going to start working my way through them. Get them off the mental backlog.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #814 on: June 11, 2018, 12:46:32 PM »
Added another random thing to the get-out-of-my-house box. The box is getting full enough that I could/should take it all to the thrift. Will get around to it, it's not in the way.

---

Does anyone know a reasonable estate sale company in the Detroit, MI area? There will be a house with lots of stuff to dispose of, sooner rather than later.

chasingthegoodlife

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #815 on: June 12, 2018, 03:12:23 PM »
Great work everyone.

It was a public holiday weekend here so used my ‘bonus’ day off to do a little bit of decluttering and maintenance around the house.

First I cleaned out the kitchen utensils and convinced SO to get rid of duplicates (how does a coffee loving household accumulate 4 tea strainers?) and a few useless things such as pasta servers that are almost impossible to pick up anything with. I oiled the wooden utensil handles, then moved on to oiling the wooden chopping boards/cheese board. Reviewing the chopping boards I noticed that with the new ones we were given for our wedding last year we have more than enough for any chopping board related emergency that might befall us, so the two grotty plastic ones were chucked.

It was so satisfying oiling and buffing those boards that I decided I would clean all of our leather as well. While doing that I went through the shoe cleaning supplies and tossed a bunch of old dry polish that SO must have brought with him when we combined households. We still have 5 (five !?$!) shoe brushes but holding off on tossing any while I think about how many we actually need (at least two for coloured/clear polish?) and whether we can repurpose them without sending to landfill (drubbing brush?)

Next step - go through the groceries that houseguests have left with us and donate the ones we won’t use to the local food pantry.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #816 on: June 13, 2018, 10:20:42 PM »
I didn't see this mentioned so I wanted to add a great resource I've been using:

Zappo's For Good (https://www.zappos.com/about/zapposforgood/give) pays shipping for donations; just print as many pre-paid UPS labels as you need. They take:

Shoes (this is the Soles for Souls program, which they're supporting by doing all the shipping)
Clothes
School supplies
School books

They sort and send to developing countries, for donations to schools but also and to people to start their own stores, to sell used clothing and shoes. Win-win!

Poundwise

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #817 on: June 14, 2018, 04:14:06 AM »
Not a lot of getting rid of this week.  But while looking through boxes for the aloe vera (hello, sunburn), I found the cover to the fire alarm...from my prior home!  Why the heck did I take that?  It's useless without the insides of the alarm.  Straight into the trash it went!

Ha!  That's the kind of thing I do too. I recently found a ziplock bag containing a bit of trim that fell off the kitchen cabinets in our old apartment. 

I made the mistake of helping clean up after the church tag sale, so I ended up with a lot of random stuff that was headed for the landfill.  I took photos, so the next step is to post them on Nextdoor for free where they will get snapped up.


Rustychase

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #818 on: June 14, 2018, 09:20:37 PM »
I'm in the middle of moving stuff from storage to my house, hasn't consisted of much cleaning out just yet, BUT I did go through two closets worth of stuff. I donated an encyclopedia set from the 80s :O, got rid of some ugly blankets that I wouldn't use, old comforter sets (there were literally 5), puzzles and puzzles and more puzzles, some airplane kits, and gave a few boxes of stuff that was my dad's back to him, muahaha.

Tomorrow I'm going to start going through things and sorting into trash, donate, sell, and move piles. Hopefully I'll be done by the end of the weekend!

firelight

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #819 on: June 15, 2018, 07:55:29 AM »
Got a huge pile of clothing out the door. Also went through baby clothes and selected a pile for donation. Even though I want to do a full round of km, I think we have so much excess that I need to first get rid of obvious excess before jumping into km.

And kids clothes and toys multiply!!! Both my kids now have a full drawer in our dresser (not including their fancy clothes) and wear one fifth of it for various reasons. I need a better way to rotate their clothes. Any ideas?

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #820 on: June 15, 2018, 08:14:12 AM »
@Poundwise its strangely comforting to know I'm not alone in those WTF did I keep this moments.

Tossed a pair of shoes that were hurting my feet, plus unpacked another box from the move. Nothing obvious to toss, but found a thing that belongs to my ex, so should be able to get that to him this weekend.

I took Monday off work and will do phase 2 of KonMari: books.

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #821 on: June 15, 2018, 01:09:57 PM »
Got a huge pile of clothing out the door. Also went through baby clothes and selected a pile for donation. Even though I want to do a full round of km, I think we have so much excess that I need to first get rid of obvious excess before jumping into km.

And kids clothes and toys multiply!!! Both my kids now have a full drawer in our dresser (not including their fancy clothes) and wear one fifth of it for various reasons. I need a better way to rotate their clothes. Any ideas?

Firelight, if they're only wearing 1/5 of the clothes, then they have too many clothes. Purge.

chasingthegoodlife

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #822 on: June 15, 2018, 06:18:43 PM »
@firelight are many of the clothes too big and you are waiting for them to grow into them?

You could store them separately as long as you are sure you will remember to get them out when it’s time. That will make your day to day choosing and putting away clothes so much easier.

Too small/worn but hanging onto them for memories? Purge. Don’t fall into the trap of hanging on to too many worn and torn clothes for messy activities either - for most people one or two outfits will do, and other clothes will continue to wear out and fill the gaps if you realise you’ve chucked too many.

Clothes for specific activities such as art or sport? Be realistic about how often they are using them, keep a realistic amount (few people need more than 2 swimsuits, even if all of them are in great condition), consider storing with the other supplies for that activity.

firelight

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #823 on: June 15, 2018, 07:40:15 PM »
These are right sized clothes for daily use (day and night) but due to the system I have (in a drawer front to back with laundered items going in the front), they end up wearing mostly the clothes that are in the front. My husband dresses them every day and he just picks from the front all the time despite me saying to pick from everywhere. Also I sometimes try and put the laundered clothes at the back in an effort to push other clothes to front but forget it most of the time. Is there a better way to do it?

How many outfits do your kids have for daily use?

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #824 on: June 16, 2018, 10:02:05 AM »
These are right sized clothes for daily use (day and night) but due to the system I have (in a drawer front to back with laundered items going in the front), they end up wearing mostly the clothes that are in the front. My husband dresses them every day and he just picks from the front all the time despite me saying to pick from everywhere. Also I sometimes try and put the laundered clothes at the back in an effort to push other clothes to front but forget it most of the time. Is there a better way to do it?

How many outfits do your kids have for daily use?

Maybe if you got rid of a *few* of the clothes, it'd be easier for you to put clean clothes at the back?  Cuz you know your husband isn't going to change his ways.

===========================================

Followed the one-in-one-out rule.  Bought a pair of shoes to wear indoors on doctor's orders and tossed out my slippers.  They needed to go anyway, they were pretty grungy.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #825 on: June 16, 2018, 10:13:37 AM »
Late to the convo, but re: bras. When I bought them, I bought them at the thrift. I also bought underwear there. And bathing suits. And slacks that the previous owner may or may not have worn undies with. Please donate everything! I'm very, very fussy about a lot of things -kitchen hygiene, sex safety, etc- and buy these second-hand because it makes the exact same sense as buying slacks there. Washed, they're clean.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #826 on: June 16, 2018, 01:38:30 PM »
These are right sized clothes for daily use (day and night) but due to the system I have (in a drawer front to back with laundered items going in the front), they end up wearing mostly the clothes that are in the front. My husband dresses them every day and he just picks from the front all the time despite me saying to pick from everywhere. Also I sometimes try and put the laundered clothes at the back in an effort to push other clothes to front but forget it most of the time. Is there a better way to do it?

How many outfits do your kids have for daily use?

Firelight, the kids simply have too many clothes. If you do laundry once a week, then they should have enough clothing for a week + 2-3 days. Otherwise, if your husband is going to dress the kids and only pulls from the front, then YOU have to create the rotation by putting freshly laundered clothing at the back. But realistically, just too much clothing.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #827 on: June 16, 2018, 03:30:30 PM »
I didn't see this mentioned so I wanted to add a great resource I've been using:

Zappo's For Good (https://www.zappos.com/about/zapposforgood/give) pays shipping for donations; just print as many pre-paid UPS labels as you need. They take:

Shoes (this is the Soles for Souls program, which they're supporting by doing all the shipping)
Clothes
School supplies
School books

They sort and send to developing countries, for donations to schools but also and to people to start their own stores, to sell used clothing and shoes. Win-win!

Thank you for posting this. I have a few very nice, unworn, items from very recent season that I've had a mental block about giving away... But I got excited to give them to this charity.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #828 on: June 16, 2018, 04:10:19 PM »
Do you find it difficult getting rid of things people have given to you?

For example, I was recently given super cheap bath supplies as a present. I already have tons of bath products and I don't really want it. Yet, the frugal in me wants to keep it, but the thing is that I have sensitive skin and can't use products full of dyes and chemicals.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #829 on: June 16, 2018, 11:29:38 PM »
Do you find it difficult getting rid of things people have given to you?

For example, I was recently given super cheap bath supplies as a present. I already have tons of bath products and I don't really want it. Yet, the frugal in me wants to keep it, but the thing is that I have sensitive skin and can't use products full of dyes and chemicals.

If you can't really use them then maybe pass them to a women's refuge or similar? I am debating a decorative thingo I was given about 10 years ago that I really liked at the time, but I've just sort of gone off... I don't really know why I've gone off it, so I might hang on to it another 6 months in case I change my mind! It's kind of awkward because I did really like it and I don't want my friend to think I was fibbing.

I am having an awesome decluttering session today. It was the best kind because I'm only dealing with surfaces, so I'll really see the difference. We've got small building works happening inside this week and there might be dust, hence the surface clearing. I've got rid of two things on FB, chucked a few, and found cupboard space for others.

We also went through a stack of magazines and papers that I'd asked hubby to do months ago (mainly his) and it's pretty much gone save some filing. It had been bugging me so long so it feels v good now.

I've just got to keep the energy up for a couple more hours!

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #830 on: June 17, 2018, 02:11:20 PM »
Do you find it difficult getting rid of things people have given to you?

For example, I was recently given super cheap bath supplies as a present. I already have tons of bath products and I don't really want it. Yet, the frugal in me wants to keep it, but the thing is that I have sensitive skin and can't use products full of dyes and chemicals.

I used to. This is one area where Marie Kondo helped me a lot. When I feel loved when someone gives me a gift, the gift has served its purpose. I feel no guilt passing the gift along to someone who is more likely to use or appreciate the physical gift itself. It's incredibly freeing.

chasingthegoodlife

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #831 on: June 17, 2018, 02:35:18 PM »
Do you find it difficult getting rid of things people have given to you?

For example, I was recently given super cheap bath supplies as a present. I already have tons of bath products and I don't really want it. Yet, the frugal in me wants to keep it, but the thing is that I have sensitive skin and can't use products full of dyes and chemicals.

I used to. This is one area where Marie Kondo helped me a lot. When I feel loved when someone gives me a gift, the gift has served its purpose. I feel no guilt passing the gift along to someone who is more likely to use or appreciate the physical gift itself. It's incredibly freeing.

This was one of my favourite take aways from Marie Kondo’s book too.

Most of the time people will never know if you’ve used their gift - a heartfelt thank you from you is what will bring them joy. If it is something like jewellery I try to wear it once or twice and send a photo of me enjoying the gift, if it is still not my style I will donate.

Keeping something you will never use is not frugal. It saves you no money sitting in a closet.

For things like bath products I like to donate to organisations putting together Christmas hampers, packages for newly arrived refugees etc. People without any money for luxuries would really appreciate them.


oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #832 on: June 17, 2018, 10:26:43 PM »
Got the one item I found to Mr. X today, plus a few more things I found in the meantime.

Didn't wait for Monday to Kondo my books.  I got rid of 23* and kept 48.  They would have all fit in my bookshelf, but I'm happier having only books that bring joy.

Actually got the Kondo'd clothes (1 box) and books (1/2 box) plus another 1 1/2 boxes down to the thrift shop today too.  I took @jooniFLORisploo's tip and called them...they were happy to have the out of season holiday items, whew.

Threw away a space bag that made the linens stored in it smell funny.

Identified 4 pieces of furniture that will go out shortly...2 into the trash, but tomorrow is trash day and all the dumpstsers are overflowing already.  Mr. X was vacillating on whether to take one of the others, so I will press him to decide soon.

*3 being the hardbound set of all the Calvin & Hobbes strips which I bought for myself as a luxury in 2005 when they first came out...passed them to a relative who will save them for her son Calvin when he's old enough.  That makes us both happy! :D

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #833 on: June 18, 2018, 07:59:50 AM »
I've been carrying around about 4 trash bags full of donated items in the car.  This weekend I finally dropped them off at the thrift shop.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #834 on: June 18, 2018, 10:49:54 AM »
...they were happy to have the out of season holiday items, whew.

Wonderful!!! :)

You're making heaps of progress!!!! Well done, oneday.

Bird In Hand

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #835 on: June 18, 2018, 02:32:56 PM »
I had to go back ~1 year to the original 'Clearing out clutter!' thread to find where I left off.  It was a good reminder of how much junk we got rid of last year.  But I feel like all we did was grab the low-hanging fruit.  Looking around the house now, I feel like we're just about back where we were a year ago.  One more year of more junk coming in, and not enough junk going out.  Time to start it all over again.  :(

RetiredAt63

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #836 on: June 18, 2018, 05:14:16 PM »
I had to go back ~1 year to the original 'Clearing out clutter!' thread to find where I left off.  It was a good reminder of how much junk we got rid of last year.  But I feel like all we did was grab the low-hanging fruit.  Looking around the house now, I feel like we're just about back where we were a year ago.  One more year of more junk coming in, and not enough junk going out.  Time to start it all over again.  :(

Didn't you know?  It breeds while your back is turned.  Like wire clothes hangers.

mspym

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #837 on: June 18, 2018, 07:09:30 PM »
It is amazing how often I keep looking at the same wardrobe/bookshelves and get rid of More Things.

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #838 on: June 18, 2018, 07:28:02 PM »
@jooniFLORisploo thanks!  For some reason I was going around & around in my own head about the holiday items.  I was stuck.  Your comment unstuck me.

@Bird In Hand @RetiredAt63 @mspym : as much as I am decluttering, I am also bringing in a bunch of stuff too. Between buying for need (shower curtain, trash can) and well-meaning people trying to give me furniture, the influx is mammoth.  I'm doing my best to keep it under control with tools like one-in-one-out and looking for alternates to buying (borrowing, making do, etc), and refusing stuff I plainly don't need.  But it's hard!  Just keep plugging away, I guess.

===============================================

I did trash the 2 furniture things and I think the third thing (loveseat) I'll have to trash too, as I didn't realize how much the cat has shredded it.

I'll press Mr. X for a decision on the 4th thing tomorrow when he comes over for other business.

Keeping the momentum going!

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #839 on: June 18, 2018, 08:44:43 PM »
My battle at the moment is not letting Ofpym derail my progress- he keeps saying "oh I'll read that" when I create a book pile. MY DUDE YOU WON'T BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #840 on: June 18, 2018, 08:57:18 PM »
My battle at the moment is not letting Ofpym derail my progress- he keeps saying "oh I'll read that" when I create a book pile. MY DUDE YOU WON'T BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.

My hubby does the exact same thing. He has read about 4 books in the last five years and all except one of those were biography type books related to his hobby in the last few yrs. He doesn't even read articles he's saved. Maybe in retirement... :/ 

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #841 on: June 18, 2018, 09:26:23 PM »
My battle at the moment is not letting Ofpym derail my progress- he keeps saying "oh I'll read that" when I create a book pile. MY DUDE YOU WON'T BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.

My hubby does the exact same thing. He has read about 4 books in the last five years and all except one of those were biography type books related to his hobby in the last few yrs. He doesn't even read articles he's saved. Maybe in retirement... :/

I am legit sneaking my books out of the house to stop this happening. I don't touch his books, many of which we have moved multiple houses without opening [but WHATIF HE NEEDS TO BUILD HIS OWN ELECTRIC BASS and we got rid of the book?!? CHECKMATE!] but just stopping him vetoing my right to get rid of my own books.

firelight

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #842 on: June 18, 2018, 10:03:59 PM »
Spent the day reorganizing my kitchen and pantry and now we have a lot more empty space (top corner cabinets at a weird angle anyone?) that I'm not sure what to do with. But the space is nice and the rearranging of the kitchen makes it more efficient. Also decluttered kids clothes and linen closet. Next on list are the bathrooms and toys.

I have a bunch of stuff to give away on but nothing group and work list. Hope they get picked up soon.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #843 on: June 19, 2018, 12:29:51 AM »
What to do when your mother wants to give you a book as a birthday present. I could pick one myself up to 50 euro.
I bought a book I wanted to have, a subject matter book that I can use for lookup things. But it was a lot cheaper. I couldn't find a relevant other book. Then I fell for the temptation of buying 3 pockets for little money. All 4 books together 50 euros. I will read the pockets, let DH read them and bring them to the give-away-bookshelf in the grocery store. They do need need to be moved to our next house.

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #844 on: June 19, 2018, 11:01:46 AM »
My battle at the moment is not letting Ofpym derail my progress- he keeps saying "oh I'll read that" when I create a book pile. MY DUDE YOU WON'T BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.

My hubby does the exact same thing. He has read about 4 books in the last five years and all except one of those were biography type books related to his hobby in the last few yrs. He doesn't even read articles he's saved. Maybe in retirement... :/

I am legit sneaking my books out of the house to stop this happening. I don't touch his books, many of which we have moved multiple houses without opening [but WHATIF HE NEEDS TO BUILD HIS OWN ELECTRIC BASS and we got rid of the book?!? CHECKMATE!] but just stopping him vetoing my right to get rid of my own books.

@mspym @Fresh Bread I feel you!  Mr. X tried to do something like this with an exercise ball *I* bought, then abandoned.  He never used it either.  My mistake was asking him if he would ever use it.   I snuck it out when he was on vacation & he never noticed!

Spent the day reorganizing my kitchen and pantry and now we have a lot more empty space (top corner cabinets at a weird angle anyone?) that I'm not sure what to do with.

Leave it empty :)  Sounds like it might be hard to get to, anyway.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #845 on: June 19, 2018, 11:42:26 AM »
What to do when your mother wants to give you a book as a birthday present. I could pick one myself up to 50 euro.
I bought a book I wanted to have, a subject matter book that I can use for lookup things. But it was a lot cheaper. I couldn't find a relevant other book. Then I fell for the temptation of buying 3 pockets for little money. All 4 books together 50 euros. I will read the pockets, let DH read them and bring them to the give-away-bookshelf in the grocery store. They do need need to be moved to our next house.

You're Dutch (speaking), right? This book is pretty special, you give it to your Mom to fill out and then she gives it back to you. There are similar books for fathers/grandparents. It'll be a book you'll keep forever!
https://www.bol.com/nl/p/vertel-eens-mam-vertel-eens/9200000040710112/

Bird In Hand

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #846 on: June 19, 2018, 11:50:54 AM »
I'm sure this idea has come up earlier in the thread or in the predecessor.  But we're going to give the kids each a cardboard box and pay them $5 (or $10, I don't know yet) to fill it up with old toys to donate.  I wish someone would make me the same offer to get rid of some of my unused items!  :D

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #847 on: June 19, 2018, 12:35:25 PM »
What to do when your mother wants to give you a book as a birthday present. I could pick one myself up to 50 euro.
I bought a book I wanted to have, a subject matter book that I can use for lookup things. But it was a lot cheaper. I couldn't find a relevant other book. Then I fell for the temptation of buying 3 pockets for little money. All 4 books together 50 euros. I will read the pockets, let DH read them and bring them to the give-away-bookshelf in the grocery store. They do need need to be moved to our next house.

You're Dutch (speaking), right? This book is pretty special, you give it to your Mom to fill out and then she gives it back to you. There are similar books for fathers/grandparents. It'll be a book you'll keep forever!
https://www.bol.com/nl/p/vertel-eens-mam-vertel-eens/9200000040710112/

Yes, I am Dutch. Interesting concept. My mother also has her birthday soon. I'll consider this book.

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #848 on: June 19, 2018, 11:25:46 PM »
I'll press Mr. X for a decision on the 4th thing tomorrow when he comes over for other business.

Mr. X is a slippery one and did not give me an answer.  So I'm not free to try to re-home the item!  I'm giving him an ultimatum on Friday, as I won't have time to follow through before that anyway.

================================================

Decided on a 5th item that needs to go, but can't go right away.  First I'll offer it back to the family member who gave it to me, but if they won't take it, it is trash.  Maybe I should just toss it?  It's a bookcase made from pine planks, quite ugly but functional, however subsequent modifications to add shelves are unsafe & should be removed.  No, the relative who gave it to me will notice if it's not in my house.  Although I did clarify it wasn't a loan, it was a gift...but I only got it a month ago...

Someone please tell me what to do!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #849 on: June 19, 2018, 11:53:10 PM »
Yes, tell the relative you've appreciated it but can't use it in your new home, do they want it back? Because otherwise you'll be donating it. Definitely donate vs trash :)

 

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