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

[better late]

I’ve been clearing out 5 items a day since Jan 1st...today’s the 20th... so I’m at 100 items given away, thrown away or listed/sold on Craigslist etc. since the start of 2019. Not a dent in the visual clutter or in my feeling of being overwhelmed/owned by my items. I will continue for the rest of January at least.

I would suggest you get some giant garbage bags (33 gallon size), the black ones. Go to an area that needs hoeing out. Wing the stuff in the bag that you want to get rid of but not sell. Fill a bunch of bags up and throw them in your car. Drive them to the nearest Goodwill store and donate them. This will be a no brainer. No selling, no advertising, just winging junk in bags that someone else can use. If you don't want to take them to Goodwill, call the Vietnam Veterans and they will arrange a date and will pick them up outside your house. You just have to bag and tag them VVA. Magically, the bags will be gone! I would say go to the area that needs attention, take you bags and a timer. Allow yourself 30 minutes to one hour each session. Don't dilly dally. Do this knowing time is precious and you are on a mission. Don't overthink what you are getting rid of. Bad zones in your house are just junk holes that need to be hoed out. If certain things you pull out are questionable, put them to the side. Don't dwell on them right now. Your mission is to hoe and wing into bags. Do this once a week or more. Make it a game to see how many bags you can fill up in one hour. Hoeing out 5 items a day is fine once you get the bulk of the crap out of your house. Bag it, tag it and get rid of it! Now I need to do some hoeing and winging! Anyone want to have a black bag challenge? There are 10 days till the end of the month. We could all report in on how many bags we filled on January 31, 2019.

So we did the big purge before we put our home on the market, and  another when we downsized into this home. A lot of what’s left is the stuff I put off to decide about later. Clutter=deferred decisions.
And then a lot of it isn’t mine. DH’s or the kids. I’m finding the 5 a day goal helps rally the troops— it’s so concrete.

[mspym]

Flights booked to go help my mum sort through and pack up her life as prep for moving house. Wish me luck.

Best of luck, mspym!

Thanks, I gotta work out the balance between supporting her, helping her feel in control but also not overwhelmed by decision fatigue. It's a big change for her : /

[I'm a red panda]

Does returning 72 cans to Aldi count as decluttering? I hate living in a bottle bill state. Curbside is so much better.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I was motivated by this thread, so after posting, I got off my duff & deleted another 500 digital pictures, & started to go through the first four boxes of print photos. I tossed another 100+ print photos, and also discovered our 2007 tax returns. Those are in a box ready to go the confidential shredder. I used the remaining folder to create a file for our 2018 taxes.

I'm getting excited about my 2019 photo project(s). Decluttering & having a usable set of photos is definitely the first and hardest part. I'm hoping that making the actual photo books will be much more enjoyable.

[mspym]

Laptop mouse off to the other house for gaming. 10 more books off to the street library. The donation pile shrinks and grows as we shed and find more things to shed.

[Bird In Hand]

I just found out our local library accepts DVD donations -- not to sell but to add to the library's DVD collection.  This is awesome news to us.  Now we can have someone else store our DVDs and we can still enjoy them if/when we want to re-watch something.  And hopefully others in town will enjoy our DVDs too.

If only we could do the same with our CD collection!

[diapasoun]

Major win this weekend: a housemate moved out, which means that a bunch of clutter moved out, too, and some deep cleaning was done. Housemate was wonderful but I didn't realize how much stuff in the common areas was his; our yard and dining room are much clearer now, and will get even clearer once we get a taker for the huge oak desk he left, too!

It also inspired me to get rid of some clutter of my own. I need to be more ruthless about not bringing things into the house (and especially requesting that no one gift me tchotchkes anymore). It's a lot easier than feeling guilty about l letting something go later.

[zygote]

Update: Cleaned out the bathroom cart last night. Got rid of three or four bottles of stuff that was too old to use and/or I don't enjoy using anymore. Just those few things made a difference; everything fits more comfortably now. I also wiped down the whole cart. The amount of dust that gathers in this apartment is unreal. I have no idea where it's coming from. More motivation to minimize the stuff in the apartment that it can cling to.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Decluttered my office as part of recent changes at work.

My building is a great source of freebies which I often snap up for potential gifts, but in this case I had four gorgeous coffee table books that I hadn't found a suitable recipient for. I gave one to my boss to display in her office, and put the other three out for colleagues to take.

They all disappeared within half an hour.

Also got rid of a vase, took home the empty coffee jars I'd saved, and recycled a heap of paper.

On the home front, I have another pile ready for Vinnies but I haven't checked if my local shop is still accepting donations because of the Marie Kondo influx.

Somehow, even after not buying toiletries or cosmetics for six months, and already being a very minimal user of such things, the things I do have are causing me low-level anxiety. Time to sort through again!

[MrsTuxedocat]

I gave away 95% of maternity clothes to another pregnant mom. Honestly, this was really tough for me because in the back of mind I was like I could sell it on Facebook Marketplace. Realistically, I could probably get like $30 for the lot. Plus it would take a lot of time and headaches. So I gave it all away to another tall pregnant lady, who was very thankful.

[I'm a red panda]

I gave away 95% of maternity clothes to another pregnant mom. Honestly, this was really tough for me because in the back of mind I was like I could sell it on Facebook Marketplace. Realistically, I could probably get like $30 for the lot. Plus it would take a lot of time and headaches. So I gave it all away to another tall pregnant lady, who was very thankful.

Good job.

I give away most of what I get rid of, but I keep trying to sell some things. It's hard to admit that things have very little value once purchased.

[mspym]

5 mystery forks and a spoon moved to the workplace cutlery drawer!

[oneday]

Craigslisted a starter weight bench with a bar and weights for $25.

Wife decided she was going to take one container of stuff from our bedroom at a time and go through it.  First on included work benefits paperwork.........from 2003, a metal hanger and a bunch of medical receipts from the early 2000's.  So everything was properly recycled.  Container #2 is now chosen and ready to sort.

I am so impressed with your wife!  Papers are hard for me.

Flights booked to go help my mum sort through and pack up her life as prep for moving house. Wish me luck.

Good luck!  That is quite the undertaking; and you are a devoted daughter.

[Money Badger]

Biggest decluttering win of 2019 so far was unloading a day-bed.   It had borderline antique value but took up 50 square feet of the room ($7500 worth of house value at $150 per sq foot) and needed about $300 worth of new cushions.   Said F-that and took a Sawzall to the old cushions to fit them in the trash and dropped the frame at Goodwill.   Maybe folks had time in the 30s to take naps on day beds in their parlor, but we sure as heck don’t!

[innkeeper77]

So far in the last 30 days, I have sold $800 worth of "crap" on craigslist, taken a trunk load to the resale shop, thrown out a full 96 gallon garbage bin worth of junk (full for once this week!), have another trunk load waiting to go to the resale shop, and we have cleaned everything out of TWO dressers- one in the office, one in the bedroom. My wife and I have consolidated to a shared dresser for clothes. I will be giving the dressers away on craigslist soon! Downsizing is becoming more and more possible.

[diapasoun]

We have five papers bags of clothing/tchotchkes to go to Goodwill, a big bag of old towels and sheets and other animal stuff to go to the shelter, a coffee maker to get sold on CL, and a desk to be left on the sidewalk with a FREE sign. SCORE. Our house just got so much simpler.

[jengod]

Delivered a bag of alphabet blocks to a local grandma who does full-time childcare for her granddaughter. We still have plenty of blocks and plenty of alphabets. :D

[FunkyStickman]

Next up on the "to-go" list:

• Huge Casio keyboard my mother bought years ago. Has light-up keys and everything.
• Dead computer I stripped for parts.
• A clarinet I bought for $25 for my kids who no longer want it.
• A bike my friend brought over "for me to look at." It needs new everything. Also needs to get out of my shed.
• A crate full of dead cellphones, laptop parts, chargers, and assorted paraphernalia.
• A really nice photo scanner that I'll never use.
• 5 webcams.
• A stack of dead laptop batteries to be recycled.
• 20 miles of cables.

[LaineyAZ]

Delivered a bag of alphabet blocks to a local grandma who does full-time childcare for her granddaughter. We still have plenty of blocks and plenty of alphabets. :D

That's a great thing to do, jengod.  There are so many grandparents who are babysitting or even raising grandchildren that I bet there's many who would love some toy donations.  Wonder if AARP or similar org would consider doing a toy donation drive and then redistribute those toys to these grandparents? 

[dcheesi]

One of my projects for this weekend is to photograph & post some leftover items from my storage building. I've already donated the easily donated items, so I'm down to stuff that's more niche interest.

[Poundwise]

Next up on the "to-go" list:

• Huge Casio keyboard my mother bought years ago. Has light-up keys and everything.
• Dead computer I stripped for parts.
• A clarinet I bought for $25 for my kids who no longer want it.
• A bike my friend brought over "for me to look at." It needs new everything. Also needs to get out of my shed.
• A crate full of dead cellphones, laptop parts, chargers, and assorted paraphernalia.
• A really nice photo scanner that I'll never use.
• 5 webcams.
• A stack of dead laptop batteries to be recycled.
• 20 miles of cables.

Sounds like my kind of junk.  I have to keep telling myself "just because you CAN fix something doesn't mean that you MUST fix it!"  I kind of wish that we fix-it sorts could have sidewalk seminars on fixing bikes, computers, etc.   If more people would fix their own broken things, then we would feel less compelled to rescue junk.

[diapasoun]

Next up on the "to-go" list:

• Huge Casio keyboard my mother bought years ago. Has light-up keys and everything.
• Dead computer I stripped for parts.
• A clarinet I bought for $25 for my kids who no longer want it.
• A bike my friend brought over "for me to look at." It needs new everything. Also needs to get out of my shed.
• A crate full of dead cellphones, laptop parts, chargers, and assorted paraphernalia.
• A really nice photo scanner that I'll never use.
• 5 webcams.
• A stack of dead laptop batteries to be recycled.
• 20 miles of cables.

Sounds like my kind of junk.  I have to keep telling myself "just because you CAN fix something doesn't mean that you MUST fix it!"  I kind of wish that we fix-it sorts could have sidewalk seminars on fixing bikes, computers, etc.   If more people would fix their own broken things, then we would feel less compelled to rescue junk.

Check out to see if your area has a free skool/free space or other "autonomous social space" (ye olde technical terme). They're often run by anarchist collectives and have a huge focus on DIY and self-reliance, and encourage community members to offer and take classes on all sorts of repair and creation. My local collective has both a bike repair shop and a computer repair shop that are available to literally anyone in the community to use -- I took a bike in to get help rebuilding an internal hub and ended up getting two hours of help from an awesome certified bike mechanic who totally glommed on to a fun weird project!

If you want a little less ~anarchist flair, you might also have luck with a local makerspace.

[Poundwise]

Next up on the "to-go" list:

• Huge Casio keyboard my mother bought years ago. Has light-up keys and everything.
• Dead computer I stripped for parts.
• A clarinet I bought for $25 for my kids who no longer want it.
• A bike my friend brought over "for me to look at." It needs new everything. Also needs to get out of my shed.
• A crate full of dead cellphones, laptop parts, chargers, and assorted paraphernalia.
• A really nice photo scanner that I'll never use.
• 5 webcams.
• A stack of dead laptop batteries to be recycled.
• 20 miles of cables.

Sounds like my kind of junk.  I have to keep telling myself "just because you CAN fix something doesn't mean that you MUST fix it!"  I kind of wish that we fix-it sorts could have sidewalk seminars on fixing bikes, computers, etc.   If more people would fix their own broken things, then we would feel less compelled to rescue junk.

Check out to see if your area has a free skool/free space or other "autonomous social space" (ye olde technical terme). They're often run by anarchist collectives and have a huge focus on DIY and self-reliance, and encourage community members to offer and take classes on all sorts of repair and creation. My local collective has both a bike repair shop and a computer repair shop that are available to literally anyone in the community to use -- I took a bike in to get help rebuilding an internal hub and ended up getting two hours of help from an awesome certified bike mechanic who totally glommed on to a fun weird project!

If you want a little less ~anarchist flair, you might also have luck with a local makerspace.

That sounds lovely!  Though unlikely where I live... the thought of an anarchist collective here! >snort<  Having a community bike repair shop (or even a bike repair shop at all) does sound like a nice idea... wonder whether my friends in local government would have thoughts on how to make it happen. They're trying to start a green streets initiative to encourage more walking/biking, and we're having issues with kids riding their bikes unsafely in the streets; maybe this could be part of that.

[Serendip]

Thought this was an interesting project--https://buynothingproject.org
The idea is a hyper-local gifting exchange (stuff/time/talents)--a nice way to pass things along if there is a group in your region

I am going through ABSOLUTELY each and every item in my art/creative space (art school hoarding habit needs to be acknowledged..)
--decluttering a lot of doubles (scissors, thread cutters, etc)

[jengod]

Gone today:
* 3 bags of books
* a warped skillet
* an extra roasting rack
* chipped/mismatched bowls and plates
* extra mugs
* extra butter dish

[Sibley]

Next up on the "to-go" list:

• Huge Casio keyboard my mother bought years ago. Has light-up keys and everything.
• Dead computer I stripped for parts.
• A clarinet I bought for $25 for my kids who no longer want it.
• A bike my friend brought over "for me to look at." It needs new everything. Also needs to get out of my shed.
• A crate full of dead cellphones, laptop parts, chargers, and assorted paraphernalia.
• A really nice photo scanner that I'll never use.
• 5 webcams.
• A stack of dead laptop batteries to be recycled.
• 20 miles of cables.

clarinet - do your local schools have a band program?
And I foresee a trip to the e-waste recycling drop off, or Best Buy. Good luck.

[Sibley]

I decided to work on my taxes a bit. I have most of the forms, so plugged those in. However, in order to do so, I had to file the paper stack neatly. And for some reason got sidetracked by sorting through the file box for stuff that could be tossed.

I now have a 2 inch stack of paper to be shredded/recycled, taxes 1/2 done, and a mess in the living room cause I didn't get any further than that.

Edit: I cleaned up the living room some, and it's not a 2 inch stack. Closer to 5 inches. I'm taking credit for those 3 extra inches.
and going to change the credit card statements to paperless.

[Shinplaster]

Boxed up all the crystal bowls, etc. that we got as wedding gifts 40 years ago.  I have never liked it, except for the vases (which I kept).  Didn't even try to sell them - I just can't deal with kijiji people (like Craig's list, but Canadian) anymore.   So off they went to Goodwill.

Also had a box of frames - where did I get so many picture frames?   Goodwill got those too.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Went through a tub of electronics today. Found a bunch to donate, one new in package item to sell (likely worth around $100), & finally convinced my husband to retrieve photos/videos off of an old laptop, so we can get rid of it. He had to find a wireless keyboard (laptop keyboard is broken) & we may have 3 additional laptops out of the house soon! Woohoo for getting rid of old tech!

[Frugal Lizard]

I finished going through my jewelry box.  A bunch of stuff is gone.  It was hard.

[I'm a red panda]

Took a box of frame, books and baby clothes today.

The future baby room is slowly getting emptied...

[SimpleCycle]

I made major progress on decluttering this weekend.  Last night I did our office stuff cabinet and ended up with a box full of stuff to donate to my daughter's school.  Then today I conquered a big pile of papers and got EVERYTHING disposed of, acted on, filed, or scanned.

Then at naptime DW and I took on a couple kitchen cabinets.  This is probably our third pass through the kitchen and yet it still feels like we have too much stuff.  I've come to realize that we're incremental declutterers, not "get rid of 80% of your possessions in one go" declutterers.  As I live with less stuff, it becomes more clear what more can go to make more physical and mental space in my life.

[oneday]

I finished going through my jewelry box.  A bunch of stuff is gone.  It was hard.

Well done, @Frugal Lizard!


Was doing a little anti-decluttering at the thrift shop today and asked if they were still taking donations.  I'd heard that some places were overwhelmed and stopped accepting more donations, and this was attributed to Marie Kondo's show.  The cashier said that wasn't a problem at their particular location.  So I told him a little about Marie and her show and he's going to check it out.  Maybe a new convert :)

[mountain mustache]

I went through my two file boxes to make a shred pile of stuff I don't need to keep anymore. I feel like I don't keep enough paperwork...but I also feel like everything is online, and I just don't have that many important things. I shredded 2 huge grocery bags of papers, and then drove the shreds to the recycling center. My life feels so much simpler just for knowing I don't have stacks of random medical bills and old insurance policies laying around.

[Frugal Lizard]

Did not fold any socks or underwear that holes in them.  Everything that got worn this past week, got folded or tossed by me yesterday.  Some of those underwear that hubs likes to wear are over ten years old - there wasn't even enough fabric to use them as a rag for a one time messy clean and toss.

[TomTX]

The way fabric recycling is done in my community is that it is bundled up and sold to someone out of state. There is no facility to recycle it here.

Hm, shredded cotton is actually pretty good as (house) insulation. I only see the denim stuff though. Seems like a good way to use old fabric, though you would have to sort out just the cotton.
 
https://www.homedepot.com/p/UltraTouch-R-6-7-Denim-Insulation-Roll-16-in-x-48-in-6-Pack-60306-16482/202710055

You can also just cut it up into rag sizes and use it for cleaning around the house/garage/car/whatever.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We have an ongoing donation pile going. Yesterday, my husband & son dropped it off, so it just looks cleaner now.

I went through a bunch of filing & paperwork yesterday & this morning. Got one computer completely clean of anything we'd want, and it's ready to be reset & donated. Filed all tax documents in the appropriate folder, recycled a bunch of a paperwork for a car we gifted to my parents, and filed a few other random papers that were laying around.

I'm feeling good! I also listed four sofa pillows on our local Facebook swap. They were tucked away in a closet, & in excellent condition. Would love to get rid of those, as they take up a lot of space.

[Raenia]

Went through our sheet sets and got rid of the oldest/most worn set, to be torn up for rags, as well as a few pillowcases missing their mates.  When I did laundry, threw out any undies with holes instead of putting them back in the drawer.

Not the win I was hoping for this weekend, but still something.

[HappierAtHome]

Today I have people coming by to pick up an underbed storage tub, and a bedside table my Dad had been using (confirmed first that no siblings wanted the bedside table - the weirdest things can suddenly become sentimental to you after someone dies).

[mspym]

Four more books to the street library, reformatting G's macbook for my mum. It feels like the books are never ending donations but the gaps in the bookshelves are getting larger.

[jengod]

* Reorganized our emergency kits, cleared out four bags of superfluous stuff to make room for face masks and goggles, which we definitely need being in a fire zone (the smoke/air pollution from wildfires is a big local issue)

* Stack of "easy readers" to the Little Free Library; they were cute vintage titles but never sold on Amazon and my first two kids can already read so sending them to other homes

[HappierAtHome]

As well as the items mentioned this morning, we found someone to take our old printer (still in working order). Yay!

[SimpleCycle]

I freecycled a pressure cooker and a slow cooker that have been displaced by the Instant Pot.

[mountain mustache]

I got rid of 3 bags of clothing yesterday. What's crazy is I got rid of two bags of clothing about a month ago. Yesterday I just decided to show no mercy on the closet, and finally got rid of things like cute dresses from college that had a lot of memories attached, and a lot of things things that just never fit right. I already don't have a huge wardrobe because I am just not a "fashion" oriented person, but now my clothing is pretty stripped down. BUT, it's everything I wear, and nothing I don't. My drawers are all half empty, and I have 35 empty hangers in my closet! Woohoo!

[JanetJackson]

NICE!

I got rid of 3 bags of clothing yesterday. What's crazy is I got rid of two bags of clothing about a month ago. Yesterday I just decided to show no mercy on the closet, and finally got rid of things like cute dresses from college that had a lot of memories attached, and a lot of things things that just never fit right. I already don't have a huge wardrobe because I am just not a "fashion" oriented person, but now my clothing is pretty stripped down. BUT, it's everything I wear, and nothing I don't. My drawers are all half empty, and I have 35 empty hangers in my closet! Woohoo!

[plainjane]

At one point when we first purchased the house, I had this idea that when we sold it, the new owners would be really happy to see that we had done regular maintenance like cleaning the eaves.

Today I have taken out those invoices/receipts from the box of random paperwork to go into the shredder box at work. I don't need to hold onto a vision of the new owner's hypothetical approval. And what was I thinking? That I'd have a binder beside the home inspection of all the receipts proving that I was a good home owner for people coming to an open house? That I'd give them a folder when they took possession?

[I'm a red panda]

Got rid of about 1/3 of the massive pile of styrofoam from the furniture we bought a few months ago.
The daycare owner gave me permission to put it in her dumpster, so I'll take the rest tomorrow!

[plainjane]

If you had asked me 3 months ago about whether the stored things in the guest bedroom or the basement was oppressive or irritating me, I would have told you that it didn't really bother me, I barely see it, we aren't using that space anyways.

But apparently every time I passed by that closed door at the top of the stairs, or down the stairs to the basement, I was suppressing how the unaddressed task nagged at me. I know that now, because each time I walk past them now, the absence of that feeling strikes me. It probably won't last for long, humans are nothing if not adaptable.

Just imagine how good it will feel once the paint is gone (waiting for the local environment day).

[zygote]

Spent most of Saturday cleaning some shelves in our bedroom and my jewelry box. The amount to throw away/donate was small, but the impact was huge. Now everything is much better organized, and I certainly decluttered a whole lot of dust!

I think that getting the point of actual cleaning vs. tidying has been the biggest impact on my year-long decluttering spree. Being able to dust/sweep/vacuum/mop more easily is just as refreshing as the emptier/more organized spaces. I feel like I can maintain the clean feeling much more easily now.

There are still some little things here and there that need to be organized (mostly my wife's stuff...), but I can finally say I'm in maintenance mode. I just have to be vigilant about not bringing in new things without refreshing older items to make room, etc. It feels great.

[SimpleCycle]

I sorted through all my craft stuff, which was HARD.  Thankfully there's a place here that takes donations of craft supplies and runs a reuse store with the donations.  I got rid of a ton of acrylic yarn that I felt really silly about buying but couldn't let go of until now.  I repatriated the four boxes of craft supplies I decided to keep to the closet where they are stored, and now there's some extra space in there.

A question for my fellow declutterers with kids - what do you do about their toys?  My kids are 3.5 and almost 2 and still have more toys than I'd like them to have, but every time I put something in the donate bag my wife pulls it out and tells me about a time that one of the kids loved playing with that object.  My main concern is the current lot of toys exceed the toy storage we have, so stuff just gets left out.  I'm thinking I should rotate some toys to "away" in the closet and see if they are missed.