I posted in here once, quite a while ago, about my desire to clear out stuff, both for the mental freedom and because we'll be moving soon, most likely to a smaller place. (We're currently in about 880 sq ft, plus some garage space.) And then I didn't do anything. Over the weekend, however, I FINALLY got off my butt. For some reason, was really just feeling like this had to get started.
The first thing is that my husband and I were talking about my desk. I said that if we move to a smaller place, we could get rid of that and I could make do with something else for my computer. He said, "If we move, that desk probably won't live through transport." He's right. So I went through the drawers which are falling apart and which I've just stuck "important" papers into without ever looking at them again, mostly because the drawers are falling apart and difficult/chancy to open. I consolidated all of our "important" stuff into two small file folders: one has all the actual documents we need, like passports, social security cards, tax files, car stuff, medical info, etc. The other has all of our manuals and warranties for things. That's it! I tend not to keep many papers anyway, but still got a nice big box full of recycling and biked about 2/3 of a ream of paper to work today to be shredded. :) Now we just need to get to work on making sure the few things that don't come through email start to, so that we can reduce paper even more.
I found 2 old (broken) cell phones and two old (broken) cameras which I left in the desk out of lethargy, because there's no good e-recycling around here so I didn't know what to do with them. But we're visiting my family in Seattle this summer so I've got them sitting on my desk to remind me to take them down there for recycling.
I looked through my book collection with an eye toward what I actually value. As in, if (when) we move out of state (probably next year), which of these would I actually think are worth taking? I didn't get rid of too many, but some is better than none. The silly part: I sold them to our local bookstore and the credit I got can be used half cash/half credit on any used books. So I'll end up buying some more books, but I'm going to get some more children's books to read to my daughter. I'm on a mission to find at least one book which has a dad who's not a completely incompetent ass (harder than you'd believe).
My projects for this week: Clean that skirt I wanted to sell to the consignment shop (it has one small spot on it that just needs to be sponged off) and put it in a pile with the pants that fit, but which I never wear because they look weird on me. I need to remind myself that if I haven't worn them often in the 4 years I've had them (or more?) I won't start wearing them now. I already got my husband to go through his "nice" pants and figure out which is the pair that actually fits. The other two are going to Value Village, most likely along with a few kitchen items.
Finally, there's a winter clothing drive box in my building at work. I've been hanging onto a coat for years as my "spare" winter coat. Then I realized, I have plenty of spare winter coats. We'll be fine. So that one is getting donated. (I went through hats/gloves/scarves last winter, so I know those are fine.)
For those of you getting rid of CDs/DVDs or just the cases, don't forget your local libraries! I believe donations are tax deductible, and they really will take just the cases since so many of theirs get damaged so frequently. Also, anywhere that has an archives section (like an academic library) would probably love empty CDs and cases.