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

[joonifloofeefloo]

*Raincoat - That was a toughie. After moving to a sopping climate, I needed a raincoat, but just wanted something simple and easy. I received one in a white elephant Christmas and just loved it! Red, hooded, zip, pockets... I felt so happy in it :)    Alas, the last two outings it has sliced itself long and wide. I thought I might store it as a souvenir, but I don't want to, so off it went.

*Car contents - We keep things in there for long outings (three bottles of water, two games, thick blanket, gym shoes, etc). Went through EVERYTHING, reorganized, took a big bagful out for recycling, thrift, summer storage, and garbage.

[mspym]

Five more books out of the house and I am making a new clothing pile for donation.

[Fresh Bread]

Thanks @Car Jack , I looked it up and I have about $20 worth so took them back out of the bin and am trying to give them away. I've asked at the animal shelter too what they use for their diabetic dogs.

[JanetJackson]

I'm a minimalist at heart and excited to join this thread.
I've moved more times than I can count, so I've always kept my possessions down to two carloads at most, BUT I'm planning to buy a house in late 2019/early 2020 so I want to pare it down as much as I can, and get rid of things with bad energy (yep, that sounds woo woo when I type it out) or poor function.
I've already started this process prior to digging into this thread, so I'll start with planning.

To Do:
Update Capsule Wardrobe excel spreadsheet
Make Household item list spreadsheet (yes, I seriously want to do this)

Sell:
DONE Leaf Blower (must clean up first)
DONE Espresso machine
Bean Grinder (maybe just give away)


Clean out/Give Away:
DONE Crafting/soap making items
DONE Sort bins under bed
DONE Make donation trip to local nonprofit thrift shop when I get two more bags or boxes (NOT Goodwill)


Yay!  Glad to join in!

A few things DONE from my list, a few remaining, but good progress!  The donation to the local thrift ended being huge- I was so happy.

Left to do:
Give away or sell Coffee bean grinder (uh, where did I put it?)
Update Capsule Wardrobe list (tonight?)
Make Household Item list (this seems like too big a job, I'm clearly avoiding it... I think I need to chop it up into several tasks...)

[Shinplaster]

Packed up a beautiful wool winter coat that I will likely never fit into again.  Winter is coming, and someone is going to be happy to find this at our local Goodwill.   Added a trenchcoat that Mr. SP will never get back into either, and some books.

[joonifloofeefloo]

Winter is coming, and someone is going to be happy to find this at our local Goodwill.

Nice :))))

[joonifloofeefloo]

*Processed another set of warranty paperwork. Able to look its reference number up online and see if it was still in effect. It's not; bye bye!

*In the latest round of decluttering, found several items that will serve as excellent gifts for white elephant Christmas. For example, when I bought an essential oil I loved, I received a teeny bottle of a different one. Not my style, but a perfect fit for someone I'll be sharing Festivus with. Now have a lovely selection of similarly wonderful items ready.

[Mongoose]

House is a mess. We rearranged furniture and then got pulled away to life so the final cleanup isn't finished. This weekend we need to clean it up and get the yard ready for winter! We have two actual days off from other duties!

[diapasoun]

Our cat passed away recently. I took an unused bag of litter over to some friends of ours this morning (they have two cats and use the same type of litter). Our other perishable cat items -- food, her meds, treats -- will go to the shelter, hopefully this weekend. We'll still have her collar and toys (can't give those up yet) and her bowls and litterbox (which should be useful for future cats).

[Sibley]

Our cat passed away recently. I took an unused bag of litter over to some friends of ours this morning (they have two cats and use the same type of litter). Our other perishable cat items -- food, her meds, treats -- will go to the shelter, hopefully this weekend. We'll still have her collar and toys (can't give those up yet) and her bowls and litterbox (which should be useful for future cats).

I'm so sorry you lost your kitty friend.

[mm1970]

I'm not sure my husband noticed yet.  He's been traveling a lot and only returned last night. 
He does not get rid of papers.  I discovered this 15 years ago, he had piles of paper for doing the bills - but junk mail in there too.  So I took over and recycle junk mail immediately.

But with 2 kids in school...oh the paper.  One night this week while he was traveling, I went through the 4 piles.  I filed the medical papers.  I have no idea if we have a medical folder.  I made a new one.  I filed the school business papers.  Already had a folder for that.  I recycled all the 1st grade school papers.  And I went through the enclosed "art" bench and recycled anything that was half done.

[diapasoun]

Our cat passed away recently. I took an unused bag of litter over to some friends of ours this morning (they have two cats and use the same type of litter). Our other perishable cat items -- food, her meds, treats -- will go to the shelter, hopefully this weekend. We'll still have her collar and toys (can't give those up yet) and her bowls and litterbox (which should be useful for future cats).

I'm so sorry you lost your kitty friend.

She had a good run of it, and was well loved for many, many years. It just plain sucks to lose her, but I'm grateful for all the time I got have with her, and grateful that when her time came it was quick.

And I'm so glad that I can take her leftover things to friends and to a shelter where they can benefit other cats. It helps to know that her food and treats and medicines will help others.

[RetiredAt63]

And I'm so glad that I can take her leftover things to friends and to a shelter where they can benefit other cats. It helps to know that her food and treats and medicines will help others.

I donated all Missy's things to a dog rescue group.  It was good to know that her things wold help other dogs.

[Bracken_Joy]

And I'm so glad that I can take her leftover things to friends and to a shelter where they can benefit other cats. It helps to know that her food and treats and medicines will help others.

I donated all Missy's things to a dog rescue group.  It was good to know that her things wold help other dogs.

Same. We had just bought a ton of meds and rx food when our dog took a sudden turn for the worse. We probably could have returned some of it, but it felt healing to help pets who wouldn't have gotten the treatment otherwise. Especially since Old Miss Dog was old, but a lot of pets that get her condition are often young.

My decluttering A- paid off and B- is taking a slightly strange turn. Our very first showing turned into a really strong offer on the house... and they want to buy a bunch of our stuff! Couch/TV/entertainment center/Stereo-Amp/Home gym/W+D/Fridge/two bedside tables. I love that couch... but honestly, they're offering a price on it all that would be insane NOT to take, especially since a bunch of that stuff was gonna get downsized anyway! Moving will be a lot easier I guess, haha!

[joonifloofeefloo]

Wow, Bracken_Joy, awesome!!

[Bracken_Joy]

Apparently I was right to obsessively clean, tidy, minimize EVERY spot in my home I could think of. Their showing lasted two hours, and they looked through the whole kitchen! Our agent is also their agent, so I got the deets, haha. (Also probably how it happened so quick- he's had this client for a long time and they've never made an offer. I think he knew our house was exactly what they wanted. Apparently, he was right!)

[Bateaux]

A friend is selling some really great stuff for 100.  Worth well over 1000 new.  Problem is I have enough stuff.  But dang what a deal.

[joonifloofeefloo]

Clutter is never a deal ;)

[Raenia]

Apparently I was right to obsessively clean, tidy, minimize EVERY spot in my home I could think of. Their showing lasted two hours, and they looked through the whole kitchen! Our agent is also their agent, so I got the deets, haha. (Also probably how it happened so quick- he's had this client for a long time and they've never made an offer. I think he knew our house was exactly what they wanted. Apparently, he was right!)

Congrats!  Great to see all your work pay off like that.

[oneday]

Apparently I was right to obsessively clean, tidy, minimize EVERY spot in my home I could think of. Their showing lasted two hours, and they looked through the whole kitchen! Our agent is also their agent, so I got the deets, haha. (Also probably how it happened so quick- he's had this client for a long time and they've never made an offer. I think he knew our house was exactly what they wanted. Apparently, he was right!)

Congrats!  Great to see all your work pay off like that.

+1

[Fresh Bread]

Well done Bracken Joy! What a result.

[Raenia]

Went through my kitchen cabinets this afternoon.  Tossed a few things that were badly out of date or things we'll never use, set aside a few bags of sunflower seeds for DH to take to work for snacks, and pulled out a spice packet I forgot I had so we can use it this week.  Not a ton of decluttering, but it felt so good to wipe down the shelves and put everything back neatly!

[marty998]

I don't normally participate here but I thought I'd share I just threw out four large garbage bags of tops, jumpers, pyjamas, singlets, shirts and jerseys. Over 50 items of clothing that I've barely seen in years.

Oh and there was one pair of socks in there too.

Good win for today.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Awesome news @Bracken_Joy.

I went through my closet & got rid of 2 scarves, 2 sweaters, a tshirt, & a skirt. I need to be realistic about what I actually wear, and what fits me.

I also recycled a luxury style magazine (no idea where it came from but "gag"), & a rope that I found in the kids room. Again, where do these things come from?

[mustachepungoeshere]

I don't normally participate here but I thought I'd share I just threw out four large garbage bags of tops, jumpers, pyjamas, singlets, shirts and jerseys. Over 50 items of clothing that I've barely seen in years.

Oh and there was one pair of socks in there too.

Good win for today.

Huge win. Well done!

You motivated me to throw a few more things in the Vinnies bag.

And we need some food storage options at work so I'm taking in some jars and plastic containers I'm more than happy to part with.

[Nancy]

@Serendip Thanks for the idea about composting old seeds! I feel foolish that I hadn't thought of it before.

I brought the big bag of stuff to donate, which felt great. Then I immediately started a new one. We also put out our two trash-picked chairs and they were picked up by someone new. Hooray! The recycling cycle continues.

Update: I posted my wetsuit for sale. I'm inordinately proud of myself. Sure, it probably won't sell because it isn't the right season, but I did the thing that I had been putting off, and it was easy!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Gave away a big staff of baseball cards & two more jackets. Found a jacket that had been hung in the wrong closet, & put it in its rightful location, so hopefully someone will find it/wear it.

[Bracken_Joy]

We went with the buyer who wants to buy all our stuff haha. So we'll replace a few items, but not all of them, and see if we want to add them back in one by one. (Ie, we'll replace our TV, but not our sound system for example.)

[Fresh Bread]

I'd love for someone to take all my stuff and let me start again! I think hubby would have a hard time though.

He's away for a week and I am making such great strides. It's not just about the decisions to get rid of stuff (it takes so much time when you need to explain or debate everything that's not even his) but also having everything stay tidy and uncluttered once I've done an area. And once a room has stayed tidy and uncluttered for a day then I'm much likely to clean or I can see how to rearrange things to look good.

I should have taken some 'before' photos!

[mspym]

We went with the buyer who wants to buy all our stuff haha. So we'll replace a few items, but not all of them, and see if we want to add them back in one by one.

That is the dream. So pleased for you

[Frugal Lizard]

I worked in the garage for a couple of hours.  While nothing has left the property the pile is sorted into zones for drop off locations in a consolidated area.  All the items that need repairs are in another place.   Some stuff left the basement.   A lot of garbage made it into the bins.  So much space.

[Nancy]

Congrats, @Bracken_Joy !

I emptied out my older backpack and put it in the donate bag. I had been holding onto it for sentimental reasons (I'd used it for 11 years) and because I had some fuzzy notion that I would use my old backpack for occasions when I didn't want to get my new bag dirty....what!? My new bag carries loads much more comfortably and is better organized. The old bag, which is in pretty good shape, is off to find its new home. (If you're wondering why I got the new bag in the first place, it's because it's a higher capacity traveling backpack that I use for trekking, vacations, work, and everyday.)

I also got rid of a pair of what if shoes, whose what if scenarios have never occurred, and I cleared off the entrance table.

I noticed that I have a tendency to keep items out if I want or need to do something with them, but then I don't do those things. Then every time I see the item, I think about how I have to do that thing, but continue on not doing it. What a silly drain on my mental energy! Maybe I'll create a closet box for all my to dos, and periodically, I can go through it.

[JanetJackson]

I started my 'List of Everything I Own' this weekend and while I have a long way to go to get everything listed, it's already helping!!

As I went through the list (just mentally, I didn't get up and dig through just yet- I'm doing memory first, then dig through and add to list) I jumped up out of my desk chair several times to get said item from said area and move it to my 'Donate' box. 
Something about listing everything and seeing it written out in front of me is helping so much.  Plus I get to do a strike-through on the list when I get rid of things, and that's VERY satisfying.  LOL.

Gone:
Coffee Grinder
Glass Cookware (I used for soap making)
Extra mobility balls (How many do I need....)
Duplicate mobility bands
Box of brand new high quality casters (I was saving for an imaginary project)
Roll of 5" elastic
Saucepan I never use

..and a few other things I can't remember just now.

YAY!

[SunnyDays]

I started my 'List of Everything I Own' this weekend and while I have a long way to go to get everything listed, it's already helping!!

As I went through the list (just mentally, I didn't get up and dig through just yet- I'm doing memory first, then dig through and add to list) I jumped up out of my desk chair several times to get said item from said area and move it to my 'Donate' box. 
Something about listing everything and seeing it written out in front of me is helping so much.  Plus I get to do a strike-through on the list when I get rid of things, and that's VERY satisfying.  LOL.

Gone:
Coffee Grinder
Glass Cookware (I used for soap making)
Extra mobility balls (How many do I need....)
Duplicate mobility bands
Box of brand new high quality casters (I was saving for an imaginary project)
Roll of 5" elastic
Saucepan I never use

..and a few other things I can't remember just now.

YAY!

I did this many years ago when I had a lot less stuff.  I found that it made me get rid of things, because I couldn't be bothered to write some things down, so I figured I didn't want it all that badly!  Might be time to do this again.  I use all kinds of strategies for decluttering and they all have their uses.

[diapasoun]

I started my 'List of Everything I Own' this weekend and while I have a long way to go to get everything listed, it's already helping!!

As I went through the list (just mentally, I didn't get up and dig through just yet- I'm doing memory first, then dig through and add to list) I jumped up out of my desk chair several times to get said item from said area and move it to my 'Donate' box. 
Something about listing everything and seeing it written out in front of me is helping so much.  Plus I get to do a strike-through on the list when I get rid of things, and that's VERY satisfying.  LOL.

Gone:
Coffee Grinder
Glass Cookware (I used for soap making)
Extra mobility balls (How many do I need....)
Duplicate mobility bands
Box of brand new high quality casters (I was saving for an imaginary project)
Roll of 5" elastic
Saucepan I never use

..and a few other things I can't remember just now.

YAY!

I did this many years ago when I had a lot less stuff.  I found that it made me get rid of things, because I couldn't be bothered to write some things down, so I figured I didn't want it all that badly!  Might be time to do this again.  I use all kinds of strategies for decluttering and they all have their uses.

I'm curious to try this, but it also kinda terrifies me a little. When you do this, how much detail do you use? ("Jar of pens" or "jar of pens, 10 black, 5 blue"? Or just "box of office supplies (pens, paper, etc)"?) And how many items do you end up with?

[shadowmoss]

Your inventory, your rules.  From attempting this a few times ( note word attempting) I'm guessing you will find the level of detail that makes sense.  Also, you can start with groups, then go into more detail later.

[JanetJackson]

I'm curious to try this, but it also kinda terrifies me a little. When you do this, how much detail do you use? ("Jar of pens" or "jar of pens, 10 black, 5 blue"? Or just "box of office supplies (pens, paper, etc)"?) And how many items do you end up with?

I think it'll be different for everyone. 
For me, so far (this could change) if it's something I have more than 10 of, I'll write something like "15-20 pens" etc.  This helped a lot because as I was typing some of this stuff out I was even able to go "do I REALLY need 12 three-ring binders?" and then I could get them out, take a look, and then just save the best few of the bunch.
 
I'm not going to get into painful detail, but just enough to help me REALLY realize what I have and think about each thing/category at least for a moment.

It's been great so far!  I highly recommend this.

I'm doing room-by-room/purpose such as "office items", "kitchen", "bathroom", "exercise stuff", Closet 1, Closet 2, etc. 

It'll probably be a messy list until I work on it for a while and condense, etc.

[diapasoun]

I do periodically inventory my books, which has helped me with that particular problem (books have been a gazingus pin for me in the past). And just listening to you guys talk about it this little bit, I suspect it'll help with a few other clutter areas (e.g. stationery -- I have stuff I love that I bought for myself, and stuff that people have given me that I don't particularly love).

I can doooooo this.

[mspym]

For a while I inventoried my books on Librarything but that's now so out of date, with the multiple sheddings that I would need to delete and re-load all my contents. A friend came over on the weekend for help making her Halloween party costume and I gave her a top that  I loved the colour of and then realised I needed to be ~6" taller to pull off, luckily she *is* that much taller and it's just right  for her. And I don't have to trek back to Uniqlo to return it. That place is a madhouse.

We returned 1 fork & 4 lunch containers to The Other House only to immediately find another container and 3 more forks.

[Debts_of_Despair]

Old broken iPod touch sent back to Apple for recycling.  They will give you a free shipping label for returning such items.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Got rid of a sweater & a shirt today. Sweater is too short & shirt is too tight. it's my goal to consolidate my closet to 3/4 of its current size. Each day, as I look to pick something to wear, I force myself to consider wearing a few things that are in my closet & haven't been worn in the last 9-12 months. If the answer is still no, and the item is seasonally appropriate enough to be logically considered, into the bin it goes.

[Roadrunner53]

Okay, I need a kick in the ass.

Problem 1: I emptied two very large containers that were on my countertop filled with utensils. One is a crock type container and the other is a square acrylic, clear container. Both are really nice and I am having issues getting rid of them but I have no use for them!

Problem 2: I bought a spicy shelf to organize my spices and emptied out about 20 small clear bottles. They all have sticky labels on them. I don't want to donate them without washing them but if I do donate them, the labels are going to require a lot of work to remove them. I am thinking about tossing them all out.

Problem 3: I have a friend who sends me flowers and they always come with a nice vase. Now I have about 6 vases and getting overwhelmed with all of them. They are all so nice but I just have too many!

[JanetJackson]

Okay, I need a kick in the ass.
OK, I'll try!

Problem 1: I emptied two very large containers that were on my countertop filled with utensils. One is a crock type container and the other is a square acrylic, clear container. Both are really nice and I am having issues getting rid of them but I have no use for them!
> If you have no use for them, put them into your car to donate.  If they sit in your car for a few days, you might forget about them and be more OK donating them.  It's step one of three donating steps after you declutter/minimalize: put in car, drive to place, donate to place :)  If you end up not wanting to donate them, that's ok, but just take that first step.
Also, when I was younger, I really really relied on thrift stores to have a nice home.  You'll be helping someone out by donating them.

Problem 2: I bought a spicy shelf to organize my spices and emptied out about 20 small clear bottles. They all have sticky labels on them. I don't want to donate them without washing them but if I do donate them, the labels are going to require a lot of work to remove them. I am thinking about tossing them all out.
> Donate them AS-IS or recycle them.  Don't let them sit in your house for another day.  Into the car to donate or into the recycling bin they go!  If you can't put them in your car right now, put them in a box outside of your house.  Out.

Problem 3: I have a friend who sends me flowers and they always come with a nice vase. Now I have about 6 vases and getting overwhelmed with all of them. They are all so nice but I just have too many!
> That's so very kind of your friend and certainly something you want to remember.  Pick one that you like the most, donate the rest.  When she sends new flowers either move them into that favorite vase and recycle the one they arrive in, or if you like the new one more, keep that until the next ones come.  No more than one back up vase seems necessary to cherish this thoughtful act.  Again, someone will really love finding those at the thrift store, and if you end up recycling them, that's great too- they'll become something else!  How cool.  They'll get to live their lives in some other manner and spread that good energy throughout the world.  Only one back up vase- get the rest out.

Good luck!

[Roadrunner53]

OKAY JJ I think you put a dent in my ass! The empty spice jars will go unwashed in a bag for donation. I will sort thru the vases and donate 'most' and the two big ass jugs I will also donate. UGH!

It seems the more I declutter or organize, it just doesn't seem to make any difference. We have rented dumpsters, gigantic ones, and filled them up around 3 times. Have donated hundreds of bags to Goodwill and Vietnam Vets (over the years) and still, my house is overflowing. There are only two of us and we never had kids so we can only blame ourselves! I donated a boat load of professional culinary books to a local cooking school. Since then, I have purchased maybe 5 books! Not all cook books but they are creeping back in again! Just bought a new skillet after donating a bunch of pots and pans...

I used to have a timeshare and wish I could minimalize like that. Our timeshare slept 6. In the kitchen there were six of each type of glass, plates, silverware. Limited amount of pots pans and a spaghetti strainer. If you ran out of something the answer was to wash them to reuse them!

[Bracken_Joy]

OKAY JJ I think you put a dent in my ass! The empty spice jars will go unwashed in a bag for donation. I will sort thru the vases and donate 'most' and the two big ass jugs I will also donate. UGH!

It seems the more I declutter or organize, it just doesn't seem to make any difference. We have rented dumpsters, gigantic ones, and filled them up around 3 times. Have donated hundreds of bags to Goodwill and Vietnam Vets (over the years) and still, my house is overflowing. There are only two of us and we never had kids so we can only blame ourselves! I donated a boat load of professional culinary books to a local cooking school. Since then, I have purchased maybe 5 books! Not all cook books but they are creeping back in again! Just bought a new skillet after donating a bunch of pots and pans...

I used to have a timeshare and wish I could minimalize like that. Our timeshare slept 6. In the kitchen there were six of each type of glass, plates, silverware. Limited amount of pots pans and a spaghetti strainer. If you ran out of something the answer was to wash them to reuse them!

What's stopping you from doing that? My husband and I lived like that for many years when we were starting out.

Also, +1 me with JJ for items to thrift stores potentially being major gifts to someone else. A lot of my home is still the thrifted or freebie items I bought/found/saved from apartment trash rooms when I was younger. Releasing your guilt and self blame is a step I think you need to take on all this. But right now I've only had one sip of coffee after waking up at 5:30am, so any further insights will have to wait, lol!

[Roadrunner53]

OKAY JJ I think you put a dent in my ass! The empty spice jars will go unwashed in a bag for donation. I will sort thru the vases and donate 'most' and the two big ass jugs I will also donate. UGH!

It seems the more I declutter or organize, it just doesn't seem to make any difference. We have rented dumpsters, gigantic ones, and filled them up around 3 times. Have donated hundreds of bags to Goodwill and Vietnam Vets (over the years) and still, my house is overflowing. There are only two of us and we never had kids so we can only blame ourselves! I donated a boat load of professional culinary books to a local cooking school. Since then, I have purchased maybe 5 books! Not all cook books but they are creeping back in again! Just bought a new skillet after donating a bunch of pots and pans...

I used to have a timeshare and wish I could minimalize like that. Our timeshare slept 6. In the kitchen there were six of each type of glass, plates, silverware. Limited amount of pots pans and a spaghetti strainer. If you ran out of something the answer was to wash them to reuse them!

What's stopping you from doing that? My husband and I lived like that for many years when we were starting out.

Also, +1 me with JJ for items to thrift stores potentially being major gifts to someone else. A lot of my home is still the thrifted or freebie items I bought/found/saved from apartment trash rooms when I was younger. Releasing your guilt and self blame is a step I think you need to take on all this. But right now I've only had one sip of coffee after waking up at 5:30am, so any further insights will have to wait, lol!

Not going to happen. We like to cook therefore we have lots of nice cookware, expensive knives and other quality stuff. It was nice while on vacation to experience it but I like having my stuff! The pots at the timeshare were cheap aluminum, the skillets were crappy too. I had a very generous Mother who loved to gift us with stuff. She would have us make a list of things we would like for Christmas. I might list a sweater in the color red. Well, if there were 6 other colors, she would buy all of them! So instead of one sweater, I would get 7! Multiply that with 10 other gifts she would buy all the colors too. She would do the same thing with my husband. We would come home from her house on Christmas day with our SUV jam packed to the moon with gifts! Multiply that by 40 years! So, we are digging out!

[JanetJackson]

OKAY JJ I think you put a dent in my ass! The empty spice jars will go unwashed in a bag for donation. I will sort thru the vases and donate 'most' and the two big ass jugs I will also donate. UGH!

It seems the more I declutter or organize, it just doesn't seem to make any difference. We have rented dumpsters, gigantic ones, and filled them up around 3 times. Have donated hundreds of bags to Goodwill and Vietnam Vets (over the years) and still, my house is overflowing. There are only two of us and we never had kids so we can only blame ourselves! I donated a boat load of professional culinary books to a local cooking school. Since then, I have purchased maybe 5 books! Not all cook books but they are creeping back in again! Just bought a new skillet after donating a bunch of pots and pans...

I used to have a timeshare and wish I could minimalize like that. Our timeshare slept 6. In the kitchen there were six of each type of glass, plates, silverware. Limited amount of pots pans and a spaghetti strainer. If you ran out of something the answer was to wash them to reuse them!

What's stopping you from doing that? My husband and I lived like that for many years when we were starting out.

Also, +1 me with JJ for items to thrift stores potentially being major gifts to someone else. A lot of my home is still the thrifted or freebie items I bought/found/saved from apartment trash rooms when I was younger. Releasing your guilt and self blame is a step I think you need to take on all this. But right now I've only had one sip of coffee after waking up at 5:30am, so any further insights will have to wait, lol!

+2 (I'm also tired, so not sure +2 even makes sense, but... ok)
I still live very close to the 1-per-person rule, but since I live alone, I do keep enough to have a dinner for 4.  4 mugs, 4 plates, 6 glasses (uh oh), etc.  I have one VERY good pot/pan for each need, and any pots/pans that were too similar were sold/donated.
I still live with "trash furnishings" and purchase nothing new besides underwear, or occasionally something at the thrift that still has the tags on it.  Your donations will truly help someone.

It may not be the right time for you to go minimalist or to scale way back, but if you're stressed from your house feeling like it's bursting, it may be time to make an organized plan of attack. 
Our "things" are supposed to HELP us with life; to make it doable and even enjoyable.  If your stuff is stressing you out, it's gotta go!

There are many methods of attack here...
> You can make a colossal pile of everything in one room and then pick through it one by one.
> You can make a big list and trim it back room by room
> You can hire a professional to help (there's a professional organizing company in my city who specializes in minimalist, believe it or not!)
> You can donate nearly everything and start with just 2-4 of everything and then repurchase what you NEED (this may seem wasteful at first, but it can work quite well).
> You can do the KonMari method
Etc. Etc... sooooo many ways.

I'm a list maker and an excessive planner, so I have to make a list that I can check off...

What method do you think might work for you?

[joonifloofeefloo]

Right on, Roadrunner, you’ve got this!

JJ’s ideas were exactly how I’d approach things. For your bigger picture, I would consider a few things. Yes, you can live in that timeshare environment -that’s how I do it and it helps me feel so peaceful and happy. If you have this much stuff -that you’ve released this much over the years and still have heaps- I would look at things like:

1. Taking a week off decluttering to implement systems to stop new influx. Put a stop to junk mail. Tell people NOW that the greatest Christmas gift you can receive is “help creating a clear home; no physical gifts please.” Where else is clutter coming from? Halt those incomings.

2. Keep a large, solid bin in your car. Anything to go, put directly in there. So there is no release pile in your house longer than three hours. You decide what goes, put it in the car bin. When it’s full, drop it off.

3. It’s okay to hire help. I had two points in my life where I had more stuff than felt good to own. In the first case, I worked through the stuff. In the second, it was paper and I was just stuck. I brought in a pro who sat with me and helped me identify, inventorize, and file the papers. All I had to do was hold each page up in the air :)  It was glorious. I’ve had only a lovely amount of paper since. A neighbour was feeling very overwhelmed with general physical excess and disorganization. He too hired a pro for I think three afternoons, and that was enough to get everything moving super fast and well. The ideas and support of the pro were enough to kickstart his major momentum. One in between -1800gotjunk- will let you just point at what to take away from their nooks and crannies. Here they’ll thrift, recycle, etc, what they feel they can and only garbage the rest.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@Roadrunner53 - for the vases in particular, I've had success with flower shops accepting back vases (all in excellent condition, washed) for credit. Especially if they are from "Joe's Flowers", and you've received 10 bouquets, I'd call ahead, explain to Joe's Flowers that you have 10 vases you'd like to turn in & see if they would give you a $10 credit or whatever. Next time you need to send flowers, there you are. Vases out of your house, credit towards a future purchase.

[Bracken_Joy]

OKAY JJ I think you put a dent in my ass! The empty spice jars will go unwashed in a bag for donation. I will sort thru the vases and donate 'most' and the two big ass jugs I will also donate. UGH!

It seems the more I declutter or organize, it just doesn't seem to make any difference. We have rented dumpsters, gigantic ones, and filled them up around 3 times. Have donated hundreds of bags to Goodwill and Vietnam Vets (over the years) and still, my house is overflowing. There are only two of us and we never had kids so we can only blame ourselves! I donated a boat load of professional culinary books to a local cooking school. Since then, I have purchased maybe 5 books! Not all cook books but they are creeping back in again! Just bought a new skillet after donating a bunch of pots and pans...

I used to have a timeshare and wish I could minimalize like that. Our timeshare slept 6. In the kitchen there were six of each type of glass, plates, silverware. Limited amount of pots pans and a spaghetti strainer. If you ran out of something the answer was to wash them to reuse them!

What's stopping you from doing that? My husband and I lived like that for many years when we were starting out.

Also, +1 me with JJ for items to thrift stores potentially being major gifts to someone else. A lot of my home is still the thrifted or freebie items I bought/found/saved from apartment trash rooms when I was younger. Releasing your guilt and self blame is a step I think you need to take on all this. But right now I've only had one sip of coffee after waking up at 5:30am, so any further insights will have to wait, lol!

Not going to happen. We like to cook therefore we have lots of nice cookware, expensive knives and other quality stuff. It was nice while on vacation to experience it but I like having my stuff! The pots at the timeshare were cheap aluminum, the skillets were crappy too. I had a very generous Mother who loved to gift us with stuff. She would have us make a list of things we would like for Christmas. I might list a sweater in the color red. Well, if there were 6 other colors, she would buy all of them! So instead of one sweater, I would get 7! Multiply that with 10 other gifts she would buy all the colors too. She would do the same thing with my husband. We would come home from her house on Christmas day with our SUV jam packed to the moon with gifts! Multiply that by 40 years! So, we are digging out!

But you can have NICE things, and not need a TON of things. We have an 8 piece set of big plates, small plates and bowls now, because we host holidays sometimes. If we need to host more, we have someone bring extras. Our dishes are nice, but we don't need tons! We also don't have tons and tons of pots and pans, and they're all incredibly high quality. (Le crueset, all clad, so on! NOT musachian, but we also adore cooking, and most have been gifts). Honestly, I think having fewer nicer items helps streamline your cooking, because then you "flow" in the tasks better. We cook a ton and all from scratch, so I definitely get wanting more kitchen items than some people might have. You have to find your balance though, and really curate your collection. You're a chef- would a chef want their kitchen overflowing with lesser used items? Or would they have their favored chef's knife kept in perfect condition always at the ready? =) Collection curation shall set us free, lol!

It definitely sounds like you might be in the place, based on the mom story, of having a hard time separating the items from the meaning of the items? Like, those sweaters aren't just sweaters, they're a symbol of love and of your mom's quirks and so on? That's not "wrong", it's just a really common impediment to decluttering! We have to come to a place to realize we're not releasing any love from our lives, we're JUST releasing objects. And, like JJ was talking about with the vases, just keeping one of a collection to symbolize a memory, or pictures, or transforming items (t shirt quilts and the like) so they serve us better.

@Roadrunner53 - for the vases in particular, I've had success with flower shops accepting back vases (all in excellent condition, washed) for credit. Especially if they are from "Joe's Flowers", and you've received 10 bouquets, I'd call ahead, explain to Joe's Flowers that you have 10 vases you'd like to turn in & see if they would give you a $10 credit or whatever. Next time you need to send flowers, there you are. Vases out of your house, credit towards a future purchase.

Oooh that's a good one! I'll need to keep that in mind.