Author Topic: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!  (Read 1851694 times)

Zamboni

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1200 on: March 11, 2015, 07:14:08 AM »
It's clothes donation day for me today.  Which means I have to quickly sift through it to make a list for tax deductions.  Ugh!  But it shall be done!

Cookie78

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1201 on: March 11, 2015, 08:23:29 AM »
Another box full of stuff gone (to someone who was collecting stuff for a flea market), yeah!

And remembering again WHY I'm doing this:
Less stuff = no need for big house and a car* = lower expenses = freedom to work part time and enjoy life NOW**

*I found out I'd rather live in a tiny apartment in an area I truly love than in a bigger one in an area I don't like.
*small house in cool area = easier to live car-free. It's been 7 weeks since I sold my car and I haven't missed it for one second.

**applied for a part time side job as a bike messenger! Secretly I'm totally stoked about this. Minimum wages but it is something I would love to do. If I had a fancy house and high mortgage I could never do something like this.

Thank you, I really appreciated this post. Life took a crazy turn in the last few weeks and I haven't been doing much of anything except recovering. I moved the 'donate' pile out of sight for a bit and haven't been decluttering at all. I also haven't been cleaning much, but I did notice the other day when I finally swept the floor and tidied up the kitchen that it is much easier than it used to be with less stuff in the way.

I will get back at it in good time, but I appreciated the great reminder of why I am doing this.

CommonCents

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1202 on: March 11, 2015, 01:47:09 PM »
OK, I'm pretty good at finding new homes for clothes and general household stuff, but I'm stuck on jars of 5 and 10c coins. Help!

Any collectible coins in there? In the US, 10c coins used to be made of silver and you occasionally still find them in circulation. Maybe there are coins that are worth more than their face value in your jars.

If the idea of looking through coins makes you want to huddle in the corner and rock, then I second donation.

A bank will give you wrappers.  Tally them up while watching a redbox or hulu/amazon movie.  And then drop them off at your bank.  :)

kbeth07

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1203 on: March 11, 2015, 02:54:20 PM »
For the past year or so, I've been pretty obsessed with the idea of minimalism and decluttering. I've been slowly getting rid of most of my collection of stuff. I've cut my wardrobe down to about half of its size (still considering of reducing it further), realized I didn't need 5 pairs of jeans and like 10 different pairs of pajama pants or a drawer overflowing with socks. Down to 10 pairs of shoes, that I actually wear regularly. Got rid of all of my DVDs and CDs, all but one shelf of books, most of my random knick-knacks, most of my beauty stuff, art supplies I never used, etc.

I'm moving out of my parents' house in the fall, and I'd like to make the move as smooth as possible, by not lugging a lot of stuff with me. As much as I've already gotten rid of, I feel like there's still quite a bit more to go. I'm in the process of trying to sell this last bit of stuff through a mix of Ebay, Amazon, and local Facebook buy/sell groups. Kind of a slow process, and sometimes I think of just saying, "screw it" and tossing it all in a big bag to go to the Goodwill, but I could use the chunk of change for living expenses and such. I feel like I've come a long way in removing emotional attachments to physical possessions!

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1204 on: March 12, 2015, 05:01:22 AM »
Giggle, I just had an image of you trying to stuff hundreds of 5/10c coins into a little Salvation Army ladies box. And a surprised look on her face when it was too heavy to hold…..

Seriously though, why not give them to a charity collector ( of course there won't be any now you're looking), or take them into Vinnies or something?

LOL Hmmm. That's a good point. I could take the jars to Vinnies and see if they'll take them. Or I could be annoying and go to our local Maccas and stuff coins into the Ronald McDonald House collection box til the staff get sick of me. Thanks for the suggestions!

OK, I'm pretty good at finding new homes for clothes and general household stuff, but I'm stuck on jars of 5 and 10c coins. Help!

Any collectible coins in there? In the US, 10c coins used to be made of silver and you occasionally still find them in circulation. Maybe there are coins that are worth more than their face value in your jars.

If the idea of looking through coins makes you want to huddle in the corner and rock, then I second donation.

A bank will give you wrappers.  Tally them up while watching a redbox or hulu/amazon movie.  And then drop them off at your bank.  :)

LadyDriver - nah, highly unlikely to be collectible coins in our stash of shrapnel. And if there were, yeah, huddle in corner and rock would be my likely reaction :)

CommentCents - that's a possibility but will probably suffer from inertia/laziness that we've demonstrated superbly thus far (also not helped by the opening hours of the banks we have accounts with).

I think my conclusion is try to give it to charity in some way. Vinnies is probably easiest option (or the local op shop).

Thanks everyone!

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1205 on: March 12, 2015, 06:06:14 AM »
5 big bags dropped off at the charity shop today! I can't even really remember what half of that stuff was, but I know I'm glad to be rid of it.

Wow, our bedroom is so much easier to vacuum now! There used to be stuff that 'lived' on the floor because there wasn't anywhere else to put it. Now I've cleaned off all shelves and drawers of stuff that was 'put away' but rarely / never used, I'm getting to the point where everything that is used regularly has a home.

I designated one of my dresser drawers for 'works in progress' for my dressmaking hobby. Fabrics that have been cut out have to lay flat to prevent anything stretching out of shape, and they were taking over. Now, they all lay flat in the drawer, ready for me to grab and sew. I tend to cut out lots at once as it's a faff for me to get the cutting board out.

I've been checking every item off my list - since the beginning of the year I have got rid of over 600 things. And I thought I'd didn't have much stuff...

DagobertDuck

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1206 on: March 13, 2015, 04:56:30 AM »
2 shirts and 1 pair of trousers to goodwill, 1 cycling hat given away.

Found out there's some kind of book trading/giveaway/takeaway store not far from here. Will surely bring some books there, too.


Decluttered my iPad and pc as well: deleted a number of apps, put all the Apple apps I don't use in one folder, and reduced the number of desktop icons on my pc too.
Smartphone homescreen decluttered as well: 8 less icons on my homescreen.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 05:20:21 AM by DagobertDuck »

riverffashion

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1207 on: March 13, 2015, 07:33:54 AM »
I always accumulate a stack of papers ( pamphlets, receipts, clippings, etc) to look at "later". Went thru and recycled 90%. Like to take care of papers when I get them to avoid the pile . donated a dress, nightgown, pants. Tossed several worn socks.

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1208 on: March 13, 2015, 09:28:57 AM »
I always accumulate a stack of papers ( pamphlets, receipts, clippings, etc) to look at "later". Went thru and recycled 90%. Like to take care of papers when I get them to avoid the pile . donated a dress, nightgown, pants. Tossed several worn socks.

Riverffashion - this is a great insight - I'm going to try to remind myself that 'later' rarely comes. If I wanted to read it, I would do it there and then. I am not short of time, it's just a delaying tactic for me. Thank you!

4alpacas

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1209 on: March 13, 2015, 02:57:10 PM »
I listed 5 old text books last week.  One sold today.  Mailed it out.  I should make about $20. 

I am going to sort through all of our paperback books this week.  I'll probably walk around our neighborhood and put books in all of the Free Little Libraries. 

Zaga

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1210 on: March 13, 2015, 03:02:18 PM »
Today is the day of The Great Shoe Roundup.

I knew we had a ton of shoes, but geez there were even more than I thought!  There's no reason for 2 people to have over 50 shoes between them, I mean really!

So once DH gets home we'll go through, I believe we can easily get rid of 20 pairs, maybe more.

firelight

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1211 on: March 13, 2015, 04:22:02 PM »
Zaga, you reminded me of something I need to declutter: shoes!!

Will attack that this weekend.

Zaga

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1212 on: March 13, 2015, 05:00:58 PM »
It was quite an undertaking.  1 trash bag is full of trash shoes, and about a half bag for donation.  Total of 18 pairs.  So we still have around 35 pairs for the 2 of us. 

We sort of suck at this, but it's a start.

GoldenGrove

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1213 on: March 14, 2015, 10:45:09 AM »
Posting here to keep motivated (y'all are awesome!). Over the past three years I've donated/sold two-thirds of my wardrobe (maybe 60 items?), close to 800 books (yeah, I used to have a HUGE used book buying problem), and scanned about 4,000 sheets of paper and 200 photos. So now all the obvious candidates for removal are gone, but I still feel that I have more stuff than my apartment can comfortably hold and that I don't need.

Incidentally, while clearing out some digital clutter, I found this quote I like from Shakespeare:

Those that much covet are with gain so fond
That what they have not, that which they possess,
They scatter and unloose it from their bond,
And so by hoping more they have but less,
Or, gaining more, the profit of excess
   Is but to surfeit and such griefs sustain
   That they prove bankrupt in this poor-rich gain.

Keep up the good fight!

wintersun

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1214 on: March 14, 2015, 11:56:28 AM »
Gloriana you ROCK!!! What scanner did you use?  And how do you keep track of the info in your computer?

GoldenGrove

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1215 on: March 14, 2015, 05:34:27 PM »
Wintersun, I've used my ca. 2009 Canon MP620 flatbed scanner for the vast majority of the paper and photo scanning. It's rather slow (I just jam out to music while scanning), but the quality seems to still be pretty good.

Honestly I don't really keep track of all that in one location-- I just tallied it up for this thread because I was curious. When I record the money earned from selling books in my master income/expenses spreadsheet, I always note the number of books sold. For pages scanned, I counted PDF pages because obviously I have nothing better to do with my time. :)
« Last Edit: March 14, 2015, 06:19:03 PM by Gloriana »

Cookie78

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1216 on: March 15, 2015, 11:59:46 AM »
Went through the hall closet today. Cleaned out about half of it. Stuff I haven't used in .....ever, expired medicines, vacuum cleaner bags even though my vacuum is long gone! Looks so much nicer. I can actually see what's in there now.

Tackling my donate pile today too. It's getting too big, but after stuff sits in that pile for awhile it makes it easy to see it for what it is... junk.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1217 on: March 15, 2015, 03:10:58 PM »
I've been finding random bags of "stuff" as I sort various rooms.  A lot of it is old paper - maybe 1% is keep, the rest is recycling or shredding.  I now have another blue recycling bag full of shredded paper to go out this week.  Plus my recycling bin is full every week, instead of half full.  Plus I am managing paper better as it enters the house, since it is easier to file what should be kept and recycle or shred what needs to go.  Lots of pluses   ;-)

RetiredAt63

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1218 on: March 15, 2015, 03:16:52 PM »
Paper question - especially for Canadians (things vary by country).  Has anyone found a site that tells how long to keep documentation? 

Background: I figure I can start shredding old CC statements (unless I need one for proof of purchase) and things like that.  Fortunately a lot of my billing is online now,which has cut down on the paper.  But I am thinking of paperwork for houses I no longer own - how long do the major documents have to be kept?  Plus now that the divorce is done, I have put most of the paperwork in a box for storage - but I hope in a year or so to go back and shred 98% of it.  And is there anything that qualifies for "keep for almost forever" besides income taxes?

Cookie78

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1219 on: March 15, 2015, 04:35:42 PM »
Paper question - especially for Canadians (things vary by country).  Has anyone found a site that tells how long to keep documentation? 

Background: I figure I can start shredding old CC statements (unless I need one for proof of purchase) and things like that.  Fortunately a lot of my billing is online now,which has cut down on the paper.  But I am thinking of paperwork for houses I no longer own - how long do the major documents have to be kept?  Plus now that the divorce is done, I have put most of the paperwork in a box for storage - but I hope in a year or so to go back and shred 98% of it.  And is there anything that qualifies for "keep for almost forever" besides income taxes?

I'm curious about this also. I still need to attack the paperwork. I have credit card statements, utility bills and pay stubs that go back as far as 2008! I thought that you were supposed to keep income tax records for 7 years, but I just looked it up and CRA says 6 years. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/kpng/menu-eng.html

Went through the greenhouse and a little bit of the garage today to tidy up and I threw out a few more junk things. Very excitedly, I found so many things in the garage that I can donate too. That's going to be a big project and I am quite looking forward to it.

Ascotillion

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1220 on: March 15, 2015, 06:39:34 PM »
OK, I'm pretty good at finding new homes for clothes and general household stuff, but I'm stuck on jars of 5 and 10c coins. Help!

Commonwealth (and probably others) has machines you can dump your change into and they'll convert it to electronic money. You can look on your bank's website and see if they do it. Last time I took my bucket in, it was over $200!

MMMaybe

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1221 on: March 15, 2015, 07:22:19 PM »
I'm just going to start reading this thread from the beginning...

But I have been doing a little decluttering of my own. I decided to deal with the "toiletry cupboard of shame" as its known. It was full of stuff people have given me (gift sets etc), hotel toiletries, stuff I 'had' to try and duplicates of stuff because I'd forgotten that I had them...

I've been working it down for 6 months and should be done soon. When its over, I will be trying to use far fewer products overall...

I also did the cupboard under the sink where I keep household cleaners. I've used up most of the products I had and now use just a few multi-purpose (more natural) ones.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1222 on: March 15, 2015, 08:14:18 PM »
Wish me luck: I'm planning a big weekend of decluttering.

Targets this weekend are the huge, heavy, horrible filing cabinet in the spare room - this is the BF's and holds only his stuff, so I will be spending a lot of time assisting him with that and offering emotional support (he finds decluttering difficult) - and our apartment's external storage unit, which is filled with who knows what. We need the storage unit to be more or less clear so that we can shift our remaining possessions into it as necessary while we're repainting, redoing the flooring, and then staging the place to sell.

I'm anticipating having a lot to throw out (including some broken / crap furniture to take to the tip), a lot of papers to take in for shredding, and hopefully by the end of the weekend another car load for charity.

At some point when the BF isn't around to get sentimental on my behalf, I'm going to photograph and then throw out some items from childhood which aren't in good enough condition to pass on to our hypothetical children or give to charity. I suspect I also have some half-finished craft projects that need to go.

I also have some laptops which are no longer at all useable / re-sellable, but which I've hung on to as I didn't know how to clear my personal information from them before recycling. I know I need to remove the hard drive, but how?? I have no computer knowledge at all. Suspect the BF has at least one old computer for which he needs to do the same. Maybe I should make friends with somebody with IT expertise (or even basic general IT knowledge...).

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1223 on: March 16, 2015, 05:17:45 AM »
OK, I'm pretty good at finding new homes for clothes and general household stuff, but I'm stuck on jars of 5 and 10c coins. Help!

Commonwealth (and probably others) has machines you can dump your change into and they'll convert it to electronic money. You can look on your bank's website and see if they do it. Last time I took my bucket in, it was over $200!

Ooooh. That might be a goer. We did take one jar of coins to the local op shop but they were closed. *sigh*

RetiredAt63

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1224 on: March 16, 2015, 06:12:31 AM »
@HappierAtHome - sentimental stuff is the hardest.  I donated little china animal figurines a while ago, all from my childhood.  That was hard.  But they were sitting in a box and I never had them out, so why keep them?  So I kept the two I liked the most now, and have them out, and donated the rest.  And I don't miss the ones I donated.  Remembering that whole exercise helps when I go through sentimental things - is it truly something I want to keep, in which case why is it living in a box, or is it inertia?

The possibility that I might be putting the house on the market in the summer of 2016 and moving 4500 km away certainly gives me motivation.

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1225 on: March 16, 2015, 07:58:10 AM »
I'm afraid my first piece of decluttering grief has reared its ugly head...

My friend gave me an sports bra which no longer fits her, because I was saying I needed a new one. I looked at it, realised it was totally the wrong size, and put it straight in the donate bag. Off it went...

She text me the other night... Whoops, that wasn't the sports bra I gave you! It was a nursing bra, can I have it back?

Uh oh.

(but also, don't let me put you off. I've got rid of over 600 things so far this year and I haven't missed a single one! Just maybe think twice when you are expecting something in your size and what you get is totally different... should have put two and two together).

DagobertDuck

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1226 on: March 16, 2015, 10:02:30 AM »
I also have some laptops which are no longer at all useable / re-sellable, but which I've hung on to as I didn't know how to clear my personal information from them before recycling. I know I need to remove the hard drive, but how?? I have no computer knowledge at all. Suspect the BF has at least one old computer for which he needs to do the same. Maybe I should make friends with somebody with IT expertise (or even basic general IT knowledge...).
Open laptop.
Remove HDD.
Smash HDD with sledge hammer.

Practical Magic

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1227 on: March 16, 2015, 10:11:31 PM »
I have just finished 3 weeks of arduous work painting and prepping a house for sale and it's now on the market as of today! It was a rental house for 9 years and finally the market was high enough to consider selling it. We still have several other rental houses though, so my burden is only slightly lessened. I have a garage full of supplies that *might* be used at one of the houses, and a couple of them are furnished, so besides building and painting supplies, I have decor items and tons of cleansers and such. It all feels so burdensome, but I hesitate to get rid of it for fear of needing it. Not quite sure how to deal with the situation.

firelight

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1228 on: March 16, 2015, 10:54:37 PM »
Practical magic, maybe store it in craigslist?

kander

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1229 on: March 17, 2015, 03:33:43 AM »
I started with decluttering our wardrobe today. Got rid of some old panties, bikinis and socks.

Practical Magic

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1230 on: March 17, 2015, 12:20:46 PM »
Practical magic, maybe store it in craigslist?

Haha, I'm thinking that's a good idea!!

DagobertDuck

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oldladystache

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1232 on: March 17, 2015, 07:41:18 PM »
I did it. moved four months ago to a 560 sq ft place with carport from my 1300 ft house with double garage. I just took what I really needed, then for three months I went back for things I discovered I needed. There was a huge amount remaining.

I invited friends to come and take whatever they wanted. I took some things to donate, and I sold the few things of significant value. Then I had a huge sale. Didn't make much money but the stuff found a home. Everything left went out on the driveway with a free sign. Then I had the trash people pick up the rest. Had painters and handyman and carpet installers and cleaners spend a busy week.

Put it on the market and sold it in four days. Escrow closes April ten.

Hooray.

riverffashion

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1233 on: March 17, 2015, 09:14:35 PM »
I did it. moved four months ago to a 560 sq ft place with carport from my 1300 ft house with double garage. I just took what I really needed, then for three months I went back for things I discovered I needed. There was a huge amount remaining.

I invited friends to come and take whatever they wanted. I took some things to donate, and I sold the few things of significant value. Then I had a huge sale. Didn't make much money but the stuff found a home. Everything left went out on the driveway with a free sign. Then I had the trash people pick up the rest. Had painters and handyman and carpet installers and cleaners spend a busy week.

Put it on the market and sold it in four days. Escrow closes April ten.

Hooray.

This is so great! Great move, excellent inspiring decluttering.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1234 on: March 17, 2015, 11:38:03 PM »
Brought some jewellery in (mostly presents from ex boyfriends!) to see if a jewellery-loving colleague would like it. She thinks some of it is worth actual money and has offered to list it on ebay and share the proceeds - even after I insisted that I was happy for her to just have it.

Let's see if I make a little cash :-)

wintersun

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1235 on: March 18, 2015, 11:41:19 AM »
I am feeling pleased at how far I have gotten with this ...and just got given another piece of furniture.  It is free and means we will not be buying one of these as planned but it sort of sticks in my craw.  I keep a list of objects entering the house and I am realising that there is some conflict in me between saving money and de-cluttering.  They both feel good, but sometimes I acquire something for free or very cheap that is not really what I want and is a stop gap.It is not a great feeling.

Just writing this has convinced me to take it to the thrift store.  Phew.  Thank heavens for this thread!!!!!

Practical Magic

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1236 on: March 18, 2015, 01:47:11 PM »
MMM wrote about this (of course)

Yes, and somehow I always still laugh when I "hear" it. ;-)

firelight

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1237 on: March 19, 2015, 05:26:24 AM »
I did it. moved four months ago to a 560 sq ft place with carport from my 1300 ft house with double garage. I just took what I really needed, then for three months I went back for things I discovered I needed. There was a huge amount remaining.

I invited friends to come and take whatever they wanted. I took some things to donate, and I sold the few things of significant value. Then I had a huge sale. Didn't make much money but the stuff found a home. Everything left went out on the driveway with a free sign. Then I had the trash people pick up the rest. Had painters and handyman and carpet installers and cleaners spend a busy week.

Put it on the market and sold it in four days. Escrow closes April ten.

Hooray.
Awesome! You are inspiring us to do something similar though at a smaller scale. We are going from 1200+ sqft to 900 sqft. Your idea of moving the must haves and then decluttering is brilliant. Going to run it by the husband!

MMMaybe

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1238 on: March 19, 2015, 06:12:55 AM »
OK, I'm pretty good at finding new homes for clothes and general household stuff, but I'm stuck on jars of 5 and 10c coins. Help!

Long story short, when we got DH's stuff out of storage last year, there were 3 or 4 jars of coins, ie loose change. We've picked out all the high value coins and spent them, but now we're down to 5 and 10c coins - 3 jars worth. We can't use them up on parking, cos the meters are all restricted to a maximum number of coins (although we could probably get through a few 10c coings) plus they don't accept 5c coins these days. I'm guessing there's maybe $10 worth of shrapnel, give or take a bit.

What's the best way to get rid of it? I'm happy to give it away to charity. I've even considered dumping the coins on a footpath near a school for kids to find. I could possibly take it to a bank and see if they'll count it for us, but neither of us have done it in 6 months, so unlikely to happen any time soon - we just never go to a bank, and dunno which ones will accept piles of coins from non-business customers. (I've read that the US has Coinstar which would be awesome, but I don't think such a thing exists here)

Feels like such a stupid thing to be stuck on, but I just want them gone now.

I take spare coins and put them in a coin purse. I dish them out to everyone. I am quick to count the coins though (and dont do massive transactions) so I dont piss off people behind me. Most shops are really pleased to get change actually and some will ask for more of it.

Another way to get rid of it is in train ticket machines? Or for small purchases like newspapers or a bar of chocolate. I kind of treat it as found money so I buy stuff with it that I might not normally.

tariskat

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1239 on: March 19, 2015, 08:44:44 PM »
I got rid of a huge framed picture hanging.  It was gorgeous and I still liked it, but it sucks to move because it pops out of the frame.  Now I can hang other pretty pictures there instead.

I also sold my motorcycle.  Bam! But this doesn't count since I only sold it so I had cash for a new (to me, but cheaper and bigger engine) one.  Did NOT want to risk not being able to sell my first one and having two sitting in my garage stall.  I would cringe every time I saw the 'money' sitting there.

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1240 on: March 20, 2015, 12:38:47 AM »
My husband offered our big old piano to someone at work. We have a new one gifted to us by my parents, so why was I keeping the old one? For one of the kids when they get married. Well, I thought about that old MMM article about using Craiglist and the library as a place to store your goods till you need them again. When you look on CL, there are free pianos popping up every day, so my kids will be able to get one that way and I will be free of this gigantic upright piano in my living room (across the room from the OTHER piano!). For a while, I thought I was emotionally attached to the piano since all of my kids learned to play on it, but if they're not attached to it, why should I be either?

Such a DUH moment when I realized we should do this. The fellow at work mentioned at the staff Christmas party that he would like to get his little girls a piano someday, so its a perfect situation! Everyone's happy!

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1241 on: March 20, 2015, 06:35:05 AM »
And in the meantime 1967 you've given some kid the gift of music! Lovely story where everyone benefits.

driftwood

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1242 on: March 20, 2015, 08:07:15 AM »
I've been getting rid of stuff for a few years now.  We're moving to the UK in a few months (military) so that's motivating both my wife (OK with getting rid of stuff we don't need), and I (obsessed about having as little as possible) to trim out more unecessary things before we move.  We don't know what size house will be available, so we've been trying to get set up to be able to fit in a much smaller house.

Biggest win:  We've been talking for a year or so about getting rid of our huge sectional.  We bought it new in 2004 for $2700 (more than my first car) and absolutely love it.  Still in good condition.  Of the three sides (think a U shape) we only use 2.  The biggest issue is that it usually only fits in one room one way in each place we've lived.  If we end up in a house that doesn't fit it well we're screwed.  My wife finally decided we should sell it (I've wanted to sell it for awhile).  She found a replacement (couch with chaise that can be switched from side to side) and a matching chair with ottoman for $200.  Then she sold the sectional for $500!

firelight

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1243 on: March 20, 2015, 12:10:08 PM »
What do you do with things you know u'll need in a year or two? We have a ton of baby stuff that we know we'll use for baby#2. We are also moving from a two bedroom apartment to a one bed one and have extra furniture. We are planning to move back to a two bed apartment next year. Should I keep them in storage or just sell and rebuy?

CommonCents

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1244 on: March 20, 2015, 02:21:43 PM »
What do you do with things you know u'll need in a year or two? We have a ton of baby stuff that we know we'll use for baby#2. We are also moving from a two bedroom apartment to a one bed one and have extra furniture. We are planning to move back to a two bed apartment next year. Should I keep them in storage or just sell and rebuy?

One year I'd keep - the effort of selling and the possible inability to buy/sell at prices I'd accept wouldn't be worth it to me.  Indefinite or really long time I'd sell.  I have friends that gave away their baby stuff planning on only one kid.  Then they changed their minds, but they had already given away all of the clothes and they're unhappy about that now.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1245 on: March 20, 2015, 02:33:58 PM »
What do you do with things you know u'll need in a year or two? We have a ton of baby stuff that we know we'll use for baby#2. We are also moving from a two bedroom apartment to a one bed one and have extra furniture. We are planning to move back to a two bed apartment next year. Should I keep them in storage or just sell and rebuy?

How much do you have to pay for storage?  If you have it in the apartment, absolutely keep it.  If you have to get external storage, I'd estimate how much you are actually paying for the storage vs paying to rebuy it.

horsepoor

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1246 on: March 20, 2015, 04:31:42 PM »
Spring cleaning is making me pissed at the stuff that is sitting around requiring dusting, so I'm finding a whole new round of stuff to take to the thrift store - throw pillows, ramekins (wtf, I have 14 ramekins?!).  I'm even feeling less sentimental about some things that came from family and thinking I might be ready to get rid of them soon.  Combined some random partially filled toiletries - like, mixed the assorted conditioners together - and getting rid of bottles.  Tossed out a 15 year wine cork collection - I am never going to get around to making a bulletin board out of those.  Pared a few more items out of my wardrobe while switching out some of the winter and spring clothes.

Also decluttering the pantry via getting rid of stuff we just don't eat any more.  This is a giant savings because I like my kitchen better and no longer want to tear it out and replace it with one that has more storage.

tariskat

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1247 on: March 21, 2015, 01:04:17 PM »
I dropped off a little bag of odds and ends that had accumulated today, it was half a dozen or a dozen things.  Time to start another donation bag or box, I guess!

Cookie78

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1248 on: March 21, 2015, 01:23:58 PM »
Posted some things online for free on a Facebook group. Have had a few people show up to take away my things! Some of them are taking a look at the pile to find other things I haven't posted yet, that they might be able to use. Feeling lighter already.

riverffashion

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1249 on: March 21, 2015, 04:24:35 PM »
I've been from finding a lot of random things to donate, recycle , or toss just about everyday! Guess I'm on a roll now. So far today: sunglasses I never wear because are not polarized, cellphone holder I never use, various essential oils I found but do not like scents ( must be more discerning of what I bring in- not just take because free or found), extra nail clippers, tweezers, box.