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

[diapasoun]

Old fabric out the door to someone off Buy Nothing! \o/

[chasingthegoodlife]

Gave myself permission to get rid of 'nice' clothes: a lovely wool dress that itches and a pencil skirt with slit that feels too formal and figure hugging for my job.

The former was thrifted years ago and the latter was a hand me down from a friend so no money out, just getting more comfortable with keeping to only the things I need rather than 'just in case' items.

Said goodbye to holey and stretchy underwear too - with skirt weather coming up all underwear must be able to stay on by itself. Haha. I was becoming a sad underwear hoarder.   

 

[joonifloofeefloo]

Returned part not needed (space AND cash, woohoo!).

[Linea_Norway]

Said goodbye to holey and stretchy underwear too - with skirt weather coming up all underwear must be able to stay on by itself. Haha. I was becoming a sad underwear hoarder.

:-D

You must be living in Australia or thereabouts with shirt-weather coming up. Here, the shirt-wearers have started to wear stockings.

[Nancy]

Brought out our fall/winter clothes and managed to fill a big trash bag full of clothes to donate. Pretty excited!

I really just want to get rid of everything I own, but then I hold on to things. It's maddening.

[Nederstash]

Whoohoo! Finally got rid of a big bulky desk (sold for 51 bucks) and a desk chair (free, because it had been my cat's primary snooze spot and it showed!). So much open space!!

Can I get an opinion on dictionaries? I have gotten rid of my Dutch, English, French and German dictionaries because google translate is just more convenient if I need it. But I still have Latin, ancient Greek and Japanese. Google translate just doesn't work so well with those. I love languages, I had all 6 languages offered in high school (all of the above dictionaries except Japanese - I took up Japanese, Russian and Danish on my own). With real life ramping up (yay 30s) I just don't have the time to study languages. The only reason I'd study them is to speak the language on a trip and general curiosity. Haven't had time for curiosity for years and studying for trips never really seems to go as planned, leaving me stressed and sad and feeling inadequate. In short, I probably haven't touched these dictionaries in at least 4 years and I don't anticipate to touch them for another 10 years at least.

What to do? They're gorgeous big books that represent a passion of mine, but also bring a feeling of nostalgia and regret when I look at them.

[joonifloofeefloo]

^ Yep, thrift ‘em :)    You’ll free yourself of the painful feelings and of clutter, and gift other people with joy.

[diapasoun]

I agree with Jooni: Thrift them. There's no use keeping things that make you feel bad.

(If they're very rare materials and you're certain you'll use them again, I might keep them; but I've gotten rid of many grammars and dictionaries that ARE rare materials because I know I won't dig into them and I want them to be in the hands of someone who will use them.)

[zygote]

I agree. Also, while google translate may not work well for those languages, I'd bet a lot of money that if you google [language] online dictionary, you'll end up with something comparable to your hard copy.

[Serendip]

Slowly filling a box with doo-dads and random clutter (vases, candle-holders, jewellery I don't wear anymore), would love to fill the box by the end of the month and feel a bit more spacious/minimal in some of my storage spaces.

[SquashingDebt]

I had a decluttering "nightmare" last night - in my dream I was living in an apartment that apparently came furnished and there were lots of kitchen cupboards and they all had random dishes in them and I didn't know where anything was and I was very stressed out about it. 

I was surprisingly relieved when I woke up and realized I still have my nice small kitchen and I know what's in all of the cupboards.

[adamsputnik]

I've made a huge mistake. I opened Pandora's box, aka the basement closet. We still have stuff boxed up from when we moved in - ELEVEN years ago. And the stuff....all of the bloody stuff.

In other news, I took the carful of trash to the dump on Tuesday, and today donated a bag of clothes and two boxes of books to the local Goodwill. They'll be seeing more of me.... and all of the piles of books and dvds are now off the floor, though not in their final resting places. I have some bookcases and such in my future.

[mspym]

Three of my gorgeous but unused bags were sent off to new homes last night. And as a bonus, we arranged for social times with pals while doing the drop-off!

[LinneaH]

I'd like to join if I can. Been reading this thread for a long time but never written anything, even though we have been decluttering a lot for a long time. Long story short, we moved in together when we were both 30yrs+ combining two cluttered households, then inherited more stuff (furniture, household items), then had two kids and so more stuff.
Then we moved from larger house to a smaller and it is wonderful but also added a new level to decluttering. tough sometimes but mostly beneficial, we have gotten rid of a lot of stuff. But still a lot to do. We are slowly following the KonMari method but also decluttering outside of that.

Yesterday I handed in a paper bag of kids clothing to the used kids clothing store. Today added a paper bag of more worn (but still usable) kids clothing to the charity drop off pile.

[joonifloofeefloo]

Welcome, LinneaH :)

[zygote]

Welcome, LinneaH!

I went to the container store with my wife this weekend and spent too much money. But I was able to throw away two dingy old boxes that didn't fit their contents and get a lot more of the stuff that my wife doesn't want to declutter off the floor, so I'll consider it an overall win.

[joonifloofeefloo]

I have an exam today; my happy reward for doing it is a day decluttering :)   My house is very minimalist but looking through some files the other day I saw at least 30 pieces of paper that can go. Can also return anti-ecology paint to building manager so will do.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I'm planning to return two items of clothing I bought that are unnecessary. Getting rid of stuff I don't need but already own is awesome, but keeping things from even becoming possessions is even better. I don't buy clothes frequently, but picked up a couple of super inexpensive basics. In hindsight, I already have items that will work well in both cases, so will take my money back & avoid adding to my belongings. Win!

I need to get another raft of eBay listings going. I haven't had two weekends in a row where I could commit (one for posting, one for being home to mail, etc), but the end of the year is usually better, as I have less international work travel.

[Roadrunner53]

We are just two people but clutter is everywhere. I have been doing some major stuff in my kitchen. I have this countertop on one side of the kitchen that is held up by braces. I can't have cabinets under there because there is baseboard heat under there. It is a lot of wasted space and I have never utilized it properly over the years. Recently I bought 4 small chrome rolling carts and one is organized with hanging skillets. To the side of the skillets I purchased a small wire drawer (empty) that sits on the bottom shelf of the cart and the air fryer sits on top of that. Then above all this is another shelf with sheet pans. That is all on that cart. The second cart I have various plastic containers I used everyday. They are large ones with lids on each. Next shelf is holding two small blenders and a kitchen aid food processor. Top shelf is holding some large baking pans 9x13". Next cart is holding two bins of potatoes and two bins of onions. Next shelf has garlic. I have some tools on this cart too and some empty spaces. Next cart has on bottom shelf tall bottles like a gallon of water, olive oil, some vodka, next shelf has a box of wine on it, next shelf has canned dog food. On these carts I still have some space which in my world is a miracle! My hub is itching to put stuff on the shelves but I am hording my empty spots! I do have a plan for one shelf. I have looked high and low and cannot find a bin that will fit this shelf so I am going to build one! What I am using is some cooling racks that I will cut into the proper sizes, then put together with wire ties. I have drawn the pattern out and know this will work. Then, once I get the bin together, it will fit on the top shelf of one of a cart to contain all the cooking utensils. I plan to unload two giant upright containers from my counter top into this handmade bin. I have a hard time getting the utensil out of them because there are so many of everything. Will sort thru the crap and get rid of some of it. The rest will go on the cart. Still not a great improvement because it will require moving the cart out each time we will need a spatula or whatever but should be easy to see what we want. I have a space near my fridge I might build a second bin for a few spatulas and whatever. I have been eyeing my dogs treat jars which are also on the counter top. Not sure what I will do with those right now but thinking of doing something different. Maybe one divided Tupperware. Will have to think about it. I have watched some youtube organization ideas and some are good. I also put a pantry door organizer in my hallway pantry and have a few empty shelves there too! Like GOLD! Finally got my Spicy Shelf system and put that in a cabinet too! It is a pretty cheaply made system but it works and looks great! I can actually find my spices. That is going to require more work. I plan to buy some new spices which will make things look more organized due to the similar sized bottles. I have a bad habit of leaving my Windex and other spray bottles in my sink. I got SICK of it and put up this hanging organizer behind my paper towels and it fits the two spray bottles perfectly. I also ordered two new mesh drawer systems to up under the kitchen sink to replace the junky stuff I have under there now. Why is this taking me so long to do all of this! LOL! Cleaning out the clutter is a lot of work! How did I create this monster?

[CrustyBadger]

Oh, good job RoadRunner!  I'm jealous of all your undercounter space and rolling carts!  We have room for just one such cart (if I am imagining yours correctly) and I can hang 3 pots off the side, which I LOVE.   I'd be so great to have a few more!

[Roadrunner53]

My dream would be to have a room with chrome rolling shelves. I would have all my cooking things on one or two of these rolling shelves and then I would have two more for canned foods, boxed foods and other foods. I would have bins on just about every shelf to contain all this stuff. But alas, this dream is not going to happen. The carts are perfect and fit under the countertop. I did a lot of measuring. The great thing about these carts is that the shelves are adjustable. In fact, I bought a 5th cart but cannibalized it to put more shelves on two of the carts. All only come with 3 total shelves, but by cannibalizing the 5th cart I was able to add two shelves more to one cart and one more to the other.  I assessed my height needs and installed the shelves to the need. I bought these hooks for the cart that hangs the skillets. I must have around 7 or 8 skillets that are hanging from the top shelf.

This is not my cart but gives you the idea on how these skillets hang. Mine are closer together from smallest in front to biggest in back. https://www.amazon.com/MyGift-Mount-Kitchen-Storage-Utensil/dp/B01IWA59QE?hvadid=77859222677193&hvbmt=bb&hvdev=c&hvqmt=b&keywords=hanging+pot+shelf&qid=1538224469&sr=8-112&tag=mh0b-20&ref=sr_1_112

I used these hooks on the chrome rack. What is nice about them is that when you pull off a pan, the hook stays put! https://www.amazon.com/Mtlee-Hanging-Hangers-Storage-Bathroom/dp/B078HRKGJR?keywords=pot+hook&pd_rd_i=B078HRKGJR&pd_rd_r=df8405c1-184b-41e6-af07-17f548e2b47f&pd_rd_w=nJJRg&pd_rd_wg=8bjvB&pf_rd_i=pot%2Bhook&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=be4e4b33-ff1d-476e-a827-fb55b7c4763f&pf_rd_r=FA2P13HAZMHYAGK5DQWX&pf_rd_s=loom-desktop-bottom-slot&pf_rd_t=301&qid=1538224945&ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvpv2

Here are the chrome carts. Mine are all on wheels and you'd have to measure your area to make sure it will fit under a countertop or in a special spot. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chrome+cart&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

This is the one I bought three of but cannibalized one: https://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-Supreme-Laundry-Versatile-Solution/dp/B000ILHN4C?keywords=chrome+cart&qid=1538225268&sr=8-9&ref=sr_1_9

[SunnyDays]

Roadrunner53, glad you found a solution that works for you, but I would find that a nightmare!  My first thought was, how do you keep it all clean?  I HATE dust, plus I'm allergic to it.  Add in 3 pets (4 temporarily), and I would go out of my mind.  I like storage that's enclosed, so easy dusting.  Personally, I would have put something with doors there and just left room for heat venting behind it.  But if it works for you, great!

[Roadrunner53]

Roadrunner53, glad you found a solution that works for you, but I would find that a nightmare!  My first thought was, how do you keep it all clean?  I HATE dust, plus I'm allergic to it.  Add in 3 pets (4 temporarily), and I would go out of my mind.  I like storage that's enclosed, so easy dusting.  Personally, I would have put something with doors there and just left room for heat venting behind it.  But if it works for you, great!

I cannot enclose the area at all. As it is, the Hub was concerned about the carts blocking the heat. It is still very open under there. Most of what is on the carts gets used often so dust won't be a major disaster. I would prefer cabinets but no can do in that spot. It is a solution that is not perfect but works for me.

[CrustyBadger]

Here are the chrome carts. Mine are all on wheels and you'd have to measure your area to make sure it will fit under a countertop or in a special spot. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chrome+cart&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Yes, that's what I have -- but only have room for the one!   My 1950s kitchen is so small.  Someday I'd love to have a larger kitchen with a real pantry.

[Roadrunner53]

Here are the chrome carts. Mine are all on wheels and you'd have to measure your area to make sure it will fit under a countertop or in a special spot. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chrome+cart&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Yes, that's what I have -- but only have room for the one!   My 1950s kitchen is so small.  Someday I'd love to have a larger kitchen with a real pantry.

Yes, CB, I dream of a giant pantry and a extra large laundry room! My house was built in 1975. We actually built it way back then. But we were kids (22 and 23 years old) and didn't know much about anything! It is just an average raised ranch home with no frills. I rant about it all the time of what I wish we had. Until we sell and buy/build something else. This is it! We built it on a shoe string so even if we had been smarter, we probably couldn't have put in bells and whistles due to money issues! Now we are retired and face money issues!

CB, have you looked into buying a taller chrome cart? If you have space, you could go higher in the same footprint. I also bought this cart for another room. It is very narrow but is twice as tall. https://www.improvementscatalog.com/6-shelf-pantry-rack/250959?&prank=2  It says it is 10 inches wide but the shelf is actually smaller on the inside measurement. I like it a lot!

[Bracken_Joy]

The decision had officially been made: we're selling and moving. In preparation, we've made a big list of what needs to go now vs later and so on. It's a big list because we're going back to apartment living from our big suburban house.

Today, I've cleared out the 'alcohol' cupboard (no alcohol left in it, but weird odds and ends). Put a little book about whiskey into the donate box, recycled a booklet from a whisky tasting, recycled a couple fancy scotch boxes. Threw out some corks, and tossed out the tiny bit of remaining irish cream.

I also took photos of my old prom dresses from high school and listed them on facebook marketplace.

This is going to be a BIG project to get everything done.

[oneday]

The decision had officially been made: we're selling and moving. In preparation, we've made a big list of what needs to go now vs later and so on. It's a big list because we're going back to apartment living from our big suburban house.

Today, I've cleared out the 'alcohol' cupboard (no alcohol left in it, but weird odds and ends). Put a little book about whiskey into the donate box, recycled a booklet from a whisky tasting, recycled a couple fancy scotch boxes. Threw out some corks, and tossed out the tiny bit of remaining irish cream.

I also took photos of my old prom dresses from high school and listed them on facebook marketplace.

This is going to be a BIG project to get everything done.

I'm impressed!  Most of my decluttering came after my move...your way will be so much better!

[Cassie]

I have done some cross country moves with 5 people and learned the hard way to declutter first:))

[ysette9]

I have done some cross country moves with 5 people and learned the hard way to declutter first:))

Amen. Before our last move we took about two months before to slowly go through every room, closet, drawer, and so forth to declutter. We got rid of a lot.

Then we got to the other side and realized “oh crap, we have too much stuff, it isn’t going to fit.” Then we spent another several months doing decluttering round two. It felt silky to have moved that unwanted stuff even though we only moved five blocks.

[Bracken_Joy]

I have done some cross country moves with 5 people and learned the hard way to declutter first:))

Amen. Before our last move we took about two months before to slowly go through every room, closet, drawer, and so forth to declutter. We got rid of a lot.

Then we got to the other side and realized “oh crap, we have too much stuff, it isn’t going to fit.” Then we spent another several months doing decluttering round two. It felt silky to have moved that unwanted stuff even though we only moved five blocks.

Yeah, I learned the hard way on my first major downsize that even pre-decluttering isn't enough! BF and I moved from 2 bedrooms, ~950sqft to about 500sqft. Even getting rid of a TON of stuff before moving, I still ended up crying on the floor of an apartment with walls stacked with boxes, utterly overwhelmed.

We're now in a 3/2 with a den, storage attic, two car garage, and a yard, ~1900sqft, and probably moving to a 2/1 apartment with ~750sqft. Happily, we've stayed fairly minimalist while here, but that's still a HUGE change in space. Not to mention I want to get rid of some extras even before listing so it shows really well.

[Sibley]

I've filled up the donation box, now I just need to actually donate all of it. Will get around to it.

Have made significant progress on the garage, which allowed me to throw out 3 empty paint cans. Also, the pieces to repair my damaged gutter arrived, and I fixed the urgent one. The non-urgent one I'll do next weekend. All the leftover (messed up) pieces I can give to my neighbor for scrap metal recycling, he has a bin. (Note - if you drop a ladder on your downspout, it will bend.)

Also had a craigslist person come and take about half the rock pile, he'll probably come back this week and take the rest.

[chasingthegoodlife]

Off sick today with a gross head cold but I am having the time of my life unpacking and decluttering my books.

It’s the perfect low energy job and I’m giving myself lots of tea breaks.

We moved into this fixer upper 3.5 years ago, and have finally finished the dining room where our book shelves are. All the boxes have been waiting patiently in the dusty garage since we moved. It’s kind of like Christmas! Only I feel less guilty about sending half my presents straight to the thrift store.

[LinneaH]

Created a couple of ads on local Facebook buy and sell. Sold half a bag of toy tools almost immediately. So happy when it goes to someone who will appreciate it, my kids are now 7 and almost 6, this went to a grandma for a her 2 yr old granddaughter, and it is really suitable for that age. Also the grandfather used to work as a carpenter so perfect.

No takers on the cars the kids want to sell. Tons of ads on toy cars. If there aren't any takers, I will give them away. Not worth a lot of money anyway and those are big cars for smaller kids so would be great to get out of the house. EDITED TO ADD: when my kids decide to sell things, I give them money regardless if it sells or not. But I may price the toy to $3 and they want to sell for $1 so it all evens out anyway.

Also trying to give away a lamp but no takers there either.

And then I started another bag to hand in to local used kids clothing store, they are open later in the week. Want to add a few more things and hope to be able to hand it in on Thursday of Friday if I can leave work early enough.

The house just looks a total mess after the weekend. Before I can declutter more, I need to straighten up the regular stuff. We were away Satuday all day and tired yesterday. Got A LOT of laundry done though so today I will be folding so much. That is the project for tonight :-)  Then sort out what else needs to be done and after that go back to Konmari and ALL THE PAPERS...

[haypug16]

Put together a box to donate this weekend with 31 items. My goal for 2018 is to donate/sell 1 item for every day in the year. So far this will bring me up to May 31st.

It's getting tough but if I really sit and think about it I don't need all those books. I'm never going to re-read 95% of them, and I can just get them from the library. Clothes I have gotten rid of lot but still tend to hang on to things that I probably wont wear again. I wear the same outfits all the time and have a couple dresses that I wear for special occasions I really should just get rid of the rest. Shoes are another thing. I wear sneakers everyday except for the rare occasion when I wear hiking boots or sandals. Yet I have a good 20 pairs of heels sitting under my bed. Hoping to get the "June" box put together this week.

[joonifloofeefloo]

Blocking off a set of time to go through all files -there aren't many, they got superculled a while back so now it's just an annual update, essentially.

The Plan:
*schedule a two-hour block in my calendar
*buy a box of chocolates
*make tea
*bring files to big living area
*have empty crate for shreddables
*do eet

[diapasoun]

The tea + chocolates + papers combo sounds like a really good way to go about that bit of decluttering, Jooni. ;)

[haypug16]

Put together a box to donate this weekend with 31 items. My goal for 2018 is to donate/sell 1 item for every day in the year. So far this will bring me up to May 31st.

The phrasing here killed me. Because it's exactly how I feel in my own efforts to do things, especially decluttering. Goals, lists, mind tricks on myself.... and somehow on many things I end up six months behind! Best of luck with the June box.

Thanks, I'm like where did the year go? How am I 4 months behind on this. Oh well, at least stuff is getting out the door and not coming in :)

[Linea_Norway]

My DH finally threw away 4 plastic, orange cups. His parents have some decades in the past bought these for camping purpose. After that they have been using them for breakfast at their house, ugly, plastic, orange plates. My DH has always kept those stupid plastic cups. I was not allowed to through them away some years ago. But now he did it bij himself. :-D

[Nancy]

Linda_Norway, glad to hear the plastic cups are gone. I fall into that boat of keeping old things for sentimental reasons. I have no problem getting rid of nice, newish items, but I struggle to get rid of threadbare spider-man towels from my youth. Silly!

[CrustyBadger]

Put together a box to donate this weekend with 31 items. My goal for 2018 is to donate/sell 1 item for every day in the year. So far this will bring me up to May 31st.

The phrasing here killed me. Because it's exactly how I feel in my own efforts to do things, especially decluttering. Goals, lists, mind tricks on myself.... and somehow on many things I end up six months behind! Best of luck with the June box.

It's important not to overgoal!  (-:

[CrustyBadger]

Blocking off a set of time to go through all files -there aren't many, they got superculled a while back so now it's just an annual update, essentially.

The Plan:
*schedule a two-hour block in my calendar
*buy a box of chocolates
*make tea
*bring files to big living area
*have empty crate for shreddables
*do eet

This is my favorite kind of decluttering -- maintenance decluttering where I've already done the heavy lifting 6 months earlier!  It makes me feel like things are finally moving in a more streamlined direction.

Love the chocolates for motivation!

[chasingthegoodlife]

I love the vision of you decluttering your files Jooni. So cosy and soothing.

I tackled another box from the shed yesterday - the contents of the husband’s miscellaneous kitchen drawer from his last house. Many dried up pens were discarded, and I found some treasures like beautiful calligraphy pens, sparklers and an unused packet of blue tack.

I’ll take most of the office supplies in to the non profit I work for - we’ll never use so many pens and gluesticks at home.

Next mission is to get the donations out of the house, but I feel too snotty and gross to interact with the op shop volunteers today. I may photograph and list a few bigger things for sale, or I may head down to the shed to find more boxes.

[Bracken_Joy]

Put two bottles of shampoo (too strong smelling), two boxes of pads (wrong length), and two cartons of almond milk (weird flavor) on Buy Nothing. Already have pending pickups for all but the pads.

Picked out a couple pairs of capris for the donate pile. I'll slowly work through some clothes as my brain comes to terms with my body changes from IVF (...hopefully).

A couple days ago, took all our returnable bottles to the grocery store. I HATE doing this with a passion, so it was nice to get done. Plus, $4.30!

Split my big mama spider plant into two pots. As a result, the awaiting pot is now in use, and the plant will be happier (assuming it lives, lol). I was procrastinating this way too long!

[joonifloofeefloo]

I love the vision of you decluttering your files Jooni. So cosy and soothing.

It really is!!!! I've done one session of it so far, thoroughly enjoyed that, and am very much looking forward to my next go :)

[joonifloofeefloo]

A couple days ago, took all our returnable bottles to the grocery store. I HATE doing this with a passion, so it was nice to get done. Plus, $4.30!

I hate doing that too (just because I'd have to hang on to stuff longer than I want to) so I just leave it in bags outside and let anyone who wants take it. Usually people that rely on it for income. That $4.30 may be all their food money for the day, and can be a wonderful gift. Might that be an option in your area?

[Bracken_Joy]

A couple days ago, took all our returnable bottles to the grocery store. I HATE doing this with a passion, so it was nice to get done. Plus, $4.30!

I hate doing that too (just because I'd have to hang on to stuff longer than I want to) so I just leave it in bags outside and let anyone who wants take it. Usually people that rely on it for income. That $4.30 may be all their food money for the day, and can be a wonderful gift. Might that be an option in your area?

We always used to do that! No one comes by where we live now =( Fancy suburban neighborhood. When I lived in a city I'd always put them out in a bag and write "cans" on it. Didn't work when I tried it here. And then when I was younger and lived where I do now, I'd often take the cans to the center and if someone who looked like they do a lot of can returns/could use some help was around, I would offer them mine. No luck this time though. (Although storing them and getting them there is half the battle, I'll admit). So I just did the returns. Planned on getting myself a coffee as a reward, but I was so done by the time the machine was done crashing near my head that I just went home! (I will admit though, the new machines are MUCH better than they used to be. You can even do all returnable types into the same machine! Still loud, but quieter by far).

Space savings achieved. Opened up toothbrushes and razors that were packaged poorly, and consolidated them into the ziplocks I use to organize those drawers. Looks much cleaner under my sink and in that drawer now.

[joonifloofeefloo]

We always used to do that! No one comes by where we live now

Darn!! Oh well, at least your decluttering is going fabulously, it sounds like :)

[Linea_Norway]

A couple days ago, took all our returnable bottles to the grocery store. I HATE doing this with a passion, so it was nice to get done. Plus, $4.30!

I hate doing that too (just because I'd have to hang on to stuff longer than I want to) so I just leave it in bags outside and let anyone who wants take it. Usually people that rely on it for income. That $4.30 may be all their food money for the day, and can be a wonderful gift. Might that be an option in your area?

We always used to do that! No one comes by where we live now =( Fancy suburban neighborhood. When I lived in a city I'd always put them out in a bag and write "cans" on it. Didn't work when I tried it here. And then when I was younger and lived where I do now, I'd often take the cans to the center and if someone who looked like they do a lot of can returns/could use some help was around, I would offer them mine. No luck this time though. (Although storing them and getting them there is half the battle, I'll admit). So I just did the returns. Planned on getting myself a coffee as a reward, but I was so done by the time the machine was done crashing near my head that I just went home! (I will admit though, the new machines are MUCH better than they used to be. You can even do all returnable types into the same machine! Still loud, but quieter by far).

Space savings achieved. Opened up toothbrushes and razors that were packaged poorly, and consolidated them into the ziplocks I use to organize those drawers. Looks much cleaner under my sink and in that drawer now.

When I am in the city center and have an empty bottle of soda that I want to get rid of, I put it on top of one of the public garbage bins. Then the bottle-collectors don't need to stick their arm inside the bin to retrieve them.

At home, I just return them to the shop and collect the money. In the past I put all old bottles and cans (with and without return money) in a large bin in the kitchen. Every now and then I had to sort out which ones had return money and bring them back. I hated that job. Now we have a small bin under the sink for the bottles and glass that can be thrown away in a bin at our porch. The return bottles and cans go into a large shopping bag that I can grab when it is full. Yes, this is annoying, but not the worst thing one has to do in a household...

[middo]

Gave away 4 wheels and tyres that were left under the house hy the last tenants.  Someone was happy to get them, and saves my $120 that it would have cost to take them to the tip.

[Linea_Norway]

I new colleague will be emigrating to Norway. He mentioned wanting to buy a rental house that is big enough to store all his stuff until he can buy a house. Or else rent a storage place. He is sceptic towards renting an apartment, because of playing a piano. I have tipped him about the fact that you can collect a second hand piano here for free, so that it is not economically worth it to emigrate a piano. I also mentioned I have an electronic piano for sale, that you can play silently in an apartment. We'll see what happens.
I have been looking for houses for him. There is one lovely small house for rent, not so far from the office and it is cheap as well. It is just not big enough for all his stuff. I sent him the link for storage places. But I wish he had understood the value of downsizing. The furniture is maybe not worth storing for a year.