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

[Bracken_Joy]

So I'm in an interesting spot, because I'm acquiring a TON right now. But trying to keep in useful, organized, sensible, etc. Baby on the way and the desire to get free stuff means a LOT is incoming!

-Decided we don't want to use the bassinet we got with a bunch of other stuff on BN. This will go to a friend who is also expecting- if she decides she doesn't want it, she works with foster families and will put it into their charity lot.
-Getting tons of hand me down clothes. I'm sorting it as it comes in. Setting aside things I don't like, or are too "boyish" for me to want to dress a girl in. Another friend is due the day before me, and is having a boy, so we're going to do a swap- she has some girl hand me downs she's gotten.
-Sold our futon and bought a twin bed for the office/'guest' room. It'll make for much better sleep when we do any shifts, and if we end up needing my mom to stay after the baby. I'm hoping not, but if I have a c-sec and Husband has to go quick back to site work, then we'll have no choice.
-Have some area rugs and hallway runners listed for sale. Also a puppy exercise pen and a second crate we don't use. And an amp we aren't using, since we swapped out for a soundbar after we moved.
-We're selling our truck. Going to trial one car for a while, and if car share etc doesn't work with a baby, then get a second car that's more appropriate to where we live now.

While husband is gone for work the next few days, I plan to sort through my dog's various toys, treats, etc. There's plenty of random odds and ends from when she was a little puppy that will be trash or I should rehome, I'm sure.

[FireHiker]

We are trying to decide when we're downsizing (we've decided it is no longer an if), and in the meantime I'm trying to clean stuff out of the house. This weekend I worked with the kids to clear out some old stuff from their rooms: several stuffed animals, other toys, some clothes. I pulled a couple pairs of shoes that I don't wear and some books too. I put a large wall hanging, some books, and a frozen toy on buy nothing and they were all gone right away. It's barely a dent if we really do downsize by more than half the square footage...but we're working on it. Now we're trying to decide on logistics for moving, but getting rid of the clutter will make everything easier. I really wish I'd finished it already...oh well.

[letsdoit]

saw one bed bug and it enabled me to get rid of some clutter in the bedroom
now BR looks almost like an ikea catalog photo

[slackmax]

I'm waiting for a charity van to come and hopefully pick up an entire carport of old furniture. "Hopefully", because these days they only want good stuff they can sell, and I'm not sure whether they will say some of the stuff is a scruffy. Its all solid and works just fine, and I would use it except that I already have more than enough furniture: however charities no longer provide free hand-me downs for people who are down on their luck.

Grrrr... they wouldn't bring the truck down the drive even to come get it. So that was a waste of time.  >:(       >:(

That's annoying.  The thrift store here will take almost anything, but they have people on staff who are good at spotting the good stuff.  Most of it gets sent to an antique shop in big, semi-local city.  It's good for their mission, I suppose (I have some issues with the way this particular one does business), but there are very, very rarely any treasures to be found.

I was watching Jeopardy once, and the then champion was bragging about how he slummed in salvation army stores to buy stuff he resold on Ebay for a profit.  I guess this isn't bad or good, just seems wrong.

I do something similar.  I piece out board games that I source at thrift stores.  A lot of people want to buy a single battleship piece rather than go out and buy a new version of the game.  Especially if it's the game they've had since childhood.  It's not making me a fortune or anything, but it's a low-effort way to get into eBay selling.

What a neat idea! You can sell stuff, and a buyer  is happy to get just what he needs and no more.  Cool. 

[Roadrunner53]

I have done that for years on ebay. I cannibalized my broken Keurig coffee maker and sold all the parts and they sold quickly. People are looking for parts and it is cheaper to buy a part than an new machine. I just bought a blender part on ebay.

[FireHiker]

We are putting in an offer today. The plan is to go from a 3,690 square foot house with yard and pool to a 1,642 square foot townhome with a large hardscaped patio. No more grass to mow, woohoo! Both my husband and I have been up since 1:30am since neither of us could sleep. It is a HUGE change for us. I'm actually looking forward to ruthlessly getting rid of stuff. I plan to give my mom a TON of stuff to sell on ebay since she is effectively retired at this point but doesn't really make ends meet. My deal with her is anything I give her to sell on ebay she gets to keep all the earnings. Frankly most of the stuff worth selling she probably bought at some point for me/us anyway because she is SUCH a buyer of stuff. All my old American Girl stuff that she bought in the first place, gave to me, and my daughter doesn't want? Going back to my mom (with her blessing) to ebay.

Last night I pulled probably 50 books and 6 travel coffee mugs. My 7 year old is super excited and also pulled about 20 books to donate. We are drowning in books, and now that I have a kindle I just don't need physical books for most things anymore. I'll let the library store them for me (digitally when possible), thanks! Since I couldn't sleep last night I was mentally going through what all will have to go, what will have to stay, and what will be replaced. We will need to buy some new furniture because our giant couches will not fit, but aside from smaller couch(es) and some desks/storage for the kids' rooms, there will be very little to have to purchase. Maybe a much smaller china cabinet/storage because my big lovely one won't fit. I'd rather be retired and travel than have a big china cabinet with stuff in it though. I am both excited about the end result and terrified about the amount of time and effort it will take to reach it.

[diapasoun]

Got rid of some extra flower seeds earlier this week via BuyNothing, and looks like I'll be getting some tubes of acrylic paints out the door this week too via BuyNothing. WOO.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I do something similar.  I piece out board games that I source at thrift stores.  A lot of people want to buy a single battleship piece rather than go out and buy a new version of the game.  Especially if it's the game they've had since childhood.  It's not making me a fortune or anything, but it's a low-effort way to get into eBay selling.

This is genius!

I already sell on eBay but selling board game parts never occurred to me. Mind blown!

[I'm a red panda]

Donated a box of maternity clothes. Also a dog life jacket that was still new with tags :(

[chaskavitch]

We're considering moving soon, so my husband is now motivated to clean out our basement, yay!  I'm trying to sell a backpacking backpack and a wave master punching bag on FB, but otherwise I think most of it is going to the dump or the thrift store.  We're making progress, though!

[LaineyAZ]

Saw a funny ad from a local storage unit business:  Declutter your home...Rent a storage unit from us!   
I don't think that's the real meaning of declutter, but maybe for some people it's a baby step. 

With that, I do understand the value of storage units as a temporary measure when circumstances dictate, e.g., transitioning from one home to another over a period of time, or cleaning out a loved one's property and keeping larger items for heirs or a sale, or storing valuable items during extensive travel.

[Tyson]

I used to hoard like crazy, but I turned a corner when I realized I had 2 sets of everything.  I had a set of normal/everyday stuff and I had my "nice stuff" for special occasions.  Then it occurred to me that my "normal stuff" was pretty worn/ratty.  So I thought "why not just get rid of ALL the normal/everyday stuff and ONLY have the nice stuff and actually use the better quality items in my every day life".

So that's what I do - I have very few things now, but they are NICE.  Makes my daily life very simple, but quality. 

Also, I really like this perspective from Antione de st. Exupery.  He's talking about design, but it applies equally to a work space or your home:

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away

[SunnyDays]

So, after donating tons of stuff in the last 2 years to a local animal charity, I've decided to make one final push, because there's STILL crap in the house! Because my roommate is moving out in 100 days (as of June 23rd), I'm going to get rid of 1 item per day until then.  If I still have stuff left after that, I'll start an "until Christmas" challenge with myself.  I'll post my weekly list on Sundays, so stay tuned ....
(Disclaimer:  some of it will be up for sale, so may not leave the house immediately, but will still be put on the list.  Other things will leave as possible.)
Wish me luck!

[FireHiker]

Another big push last night, which will be the status quo for the next two months. My daughter either wants to get rid of everything or nothing; not a lot of inbetween with her. She pulled a TON of stuff from the playroom yesterday, and about 80% of it will go. I'm listing on Buy Nothing and donating to VVA primarily. I'll probably list the play kitchen for sale online because it is a really good one with lots of accessories, but most little stuff I'll just donate. I'm excited to get rid of so many plastic toys. I also boxed up all the books and moved them to the VVA pile in the garage for my Monday scheduled pickup. My husband took a stab at the garage yesterday and threw out a bunch of stuff and gave me some items to donate.

[Roadrunner53]

Has anyone done and ebay challenge where you posted one item per day to sell? I get burned out on ebay at times and have not done it in almost a year. I have things I need to sell.

[happy]

I'm still making slow intermittent progress. After my mother died, I ended up with so much stuff that I was too overwhelmed to even figure what I had and which things should stay and which should go. I've worked through the bedding, and most of the sheets/towels etc. After a big push in the last 2 weeks I've  gotten rid of  half a carport of furniture, and about 2 cubic metres of broken items  to landfill. And sold a few things for $200. Still a work in progress.

[Fresh Bread]

Has anyone done and ebay challenge where you posted one item per day to sell? I get burned out on ebay at times and have not done it in almost a year. I have things I need to sell.

I haven't done this but I've sold things before and it saves heaps of time to list a few similar things in one session I find, when you are in the zone. I worry that it would be a time suck to list one thing a day. I guess if you can pick up a previous day's listing and "sell similar" it wouldn't be too bad. Generally ebay takes so much time compared to our version of Craiglist but it's still useful for things like collectables where you need a bigger marketplace.

[slackmax]

Has anyone done and ebay challenge where you posted one item per day to sell? I get burned out on ebay at times and have not done it in almost a year. I have things I need to sell.

Funny you should mention Ebay. I've got some stuff that I could sell on Ebay, like a Christian Dior perfume which goes for about $49,  and a 35 mm camera which is probably worth $100 or more.

I used to do Ebay 15 years ago, to buy and sell, and it was OK back then. You could accept checks, but now you are forced to use Paypal for everything, right?
Seems like too much hassle and too many fees.  But maybe it's the way to go, sigh...   

[slackmax]

Got brave enough to extract a big suitcase from the hoard in the bedroom, place it on the floor, and open it. Yep, filled completely and efficiently with ancient financial statements and personal letters of the deceased girlfriend. 

Am now spending a half hour per day examining every item, and tossing 99% of them into the recycling bag. Time-consuming but the good news is that it is a no-brainer what to do with it all, ie, recycle it. 

Am finding some neat sentimental value things too, and keeping those.     

[FireHiker]

We've made more progress the past couple days. We decided to give the play kitchen and all it's accessories to our favorite neighbor whose daughter turns 4 tomorrow and LOVES it. We also gave her some good like-new puzzles that our daughter has outgrown. That makes me much happier than selling it to someone I don't know. We have listed some things on buy nothing and already have takers: toys, doll bed, old train/lego table. My husband has cleared out SO MUCH STUFF from the garage. Mostly junk to trash/recycle but we're donating or giving away as much as we can. He has also started on the side yard...there is a fair bit of work left there though. I took a pass through my closet this morning before work and have a pile of clothes to bag up. I'm sure it won't be the last one. I've been keeping smaller sizes to fit into "someday" but giving myself permission to buy new when I lose the weight (which will be much easier with the free time that the smaller house will allow!) makes it a lot easier to let the stuff go. My 18 year old made a pass through his room so I have a pile of clothes and stuff to donate from there too. I went through my old piano music and I'm getting rid of half of it; somehow I still had ALL the old stuff from when I was 9 taking lessons...I think I have moved beyond that at this point. If either kid decides they want to learn they are going to want my old ratty/marked up lesson books!

I have VVA scheduled for Monday pick up, and my mom is happy to take a bunch of stuff to list on ebay, so we're moving right along. I've boxed/bagged most of it up and set it aside in the garage for the next time she comes down. It's still going to be a TON of work but with everyone on board it should be okay. It's amazing how much old stuff my mom saved and passed along to me over the years. No way in hell I'm doing that to my kids.

I will be posting A LOT the next few months; I am so excited about our soon-to-be smaller and simpler home. We are really, really excited about the fact that it will cut 5 years off of our FIRE timeframe. I'd rather have that than all this stuff!

[Sibley]

FireHiker, you're on a role. Keep it up!

[FireHiker]

Doll bed and train table gone, listed another small play table and already have someone to pick up this weekend. This weekend is going to be HUGE for getting rid of stuff; I'm exhausted already just thinking about it. Listed our large backyard playset on buy nothing; our realtor said it's really too big for the yard (yeah it is) and the house will show better with it gone. Just one more thing to handle/get rid of though. This is definitely a good reminder to not accumulate more stuff once we move!

[marion10]

Crystal I never used and two place setting of sterling flatware off to Replacements.com. I'll only net about $150- but it is gone and I'll make a little cash.

[FireHiker]

Crystal I never used and two place setting of sterling flatware off to Replacements.com. I'll only net about $150- but it is gone and I'll make a little cash.

Wow, I had never heard of this...thank you so much for mentioning it. I have crystal that we were planning to get rid of in this move and it is discontinued. Is it pretty easy to ship off to them?

[chaskavitch]

Sold the backpacking pack and wavemaster punching bag on FB marketplace.  Another $50 in my wallet instead of given to the thrift store, yay!  I'm finding it's MUCH easier to get a buyer through FB than Craigslist (also you can check on their profile to make sure they're not a crazy fake person.)

We just put in an offer on a house that has ~500 sq feet less floor space than our current house (but plenty of storage in the attic/cellar), so I'm finding EVEN MORE things to get rid of - queen sized bed frame, an old dresser, all of my maternity clothes, baby swings.  It's going to be awesome.

[marion10]

Crystal I never used and two place setting of sterling flatware off to Replacements.com. I'll only net about $150- but it is gone and I'll make a little cash.

Wow, I had never heard of this...thank you so much for mentioning it. I have crystal that we were planning to get rid of in this move and it is discontinued. Is it pretty easy to ship off to them?

You contact them and they will send you a sheet showing everything in your pattern and what they are offering. You have to box and send at your expense. Since we had just moved- I had a lot of boxes around. Crystal went in a wine box with dividers inside another box- all padded with newsprint. They then inspect your shipment and confirm the offer and send you a check. I am waiting for the check. You are only going to get about 1/3 of what they are selling it for on the website- but it is something. I would definitely look into it.

[Sibley]

Bagged up the stuff to go to thrift store and got it into the car. 3 bags. Then I pulled some more stuff from the desk, 4th bag.

Also have a bag of canned food that my cat doesn't like (Sibley ate most of the wet food, and since she's gone, don't need it) and a couple of like new cat toys that were immediate rejects ready to go to the shelter.

[SunnyDays]

So, after donating tons of stuff in the last 2 years to a local animal charity, I've decided to make one final push, because there's STILL crap in the house! Because my roommate is moving out in 100 days (as of June 23rd), I'm going to get rid of 1 item per day until then.  If I still have stuff left after that, I'll start an "until Christmas" challenge with myself.  I'll post my weekly list on Sundays, so stay tuned ....
(Disclaimer:  some of it will be up for sale, so may not leave the house immediately, but will still be put on the list.  Other things will leave as possible.)
Wish me luck!

First week's list:

1.  broken rain barrel - unfortunately recycling wouldn't take it in spite of a triangle symbol, so into the landfill it went
2.  box of sticks - my previous dog loved to chew them, the current one doesn't, so gave to the neighbours for their fire pit
3.  winter thermal top - going to thrift store
4.  long sleeve tee shirt - to be offered to relative
5.  another long sleeve tee - off to fabric recycling
6.  scrap fabric - fabric recycling also
7.  paperback - going to thrift store

So far, it's been painless.  I'm sure it will get harder, but it feels good to have a goal in mind.

Week 2 report next Sunday!

[Bracken_Joy]

Trying to keep the insane baby gear influx a little more sane! Got a big haul from Buy Nothing of bottles- took what I wanted, passed the bulk on to a friend that will be back at work right away with a 9-5 and needs lots. Also gave her some of the baby clothes I didn't want/were too gendered for our preferences. She also gave me some maternity clothes in turn- I tried those on immediately do decide what I'll keep and what'll go.

Huge 'declutter'- we're selling our second car. Challenge here is it's our truck, and some of our camping gear was kept in there, so we need to figure out how to store that =\ Bah. Always more to solve!

Currently have a rug listed on FB marketplace, will soon add two more. Then will add our old vacuum. Gifted a salt lamp I didn't use from my desk onto Buy Nothing, and have our old printer pending pickup now that DH's new employer gave him a new one they'll provide ink for.

[okisok]

Crystal I never used and two place setting of sterling flatware off to Replacements.com. I'll only net about $150- but it is gone and I'll make a little cash.

Wow, I had never heard of this...thank you so much for mentioning it. I have crystal that we were planning to get rid of in this move and it is discontinued. Is it pretty easy to ship off to them?

You contact them and they will send you a sheet showing everything in your pattern and what they are offering. You have to box and send at your expense. Since we had just moved- I had a lot of boxes around. Crystal went in a wine box with dividers inside another box- all padded with newsprint. They then inspect your shipment and confirm the offer and send you a check. I am waiting for the check. You are only going to get about 1/3 of what they are selling it for on the website- but it is something. I would definitely look into it.

Very timely post for me! I recently found out that the china I've packed and moved over a dozen times in my life and rarely used is NOT the WWII era gift from my great-uncle to my great-grandmother. No one in the family knows whose it is! I got 'permission' from my mom to do whatever I want with it :P She knows I'll sell it, but I'd been putting it off.

I just filled out the 'sell to us' form on the site, and am waiting to hear back. A lot of the pattern I have is sold out on their site, so I may be in luck!

[Prairie Gal]

Went through some dresser drawers and gave away a number of "wishful thinking" items. You know … the ones that you hope will fit again someday.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I used to hoard like crazy, but I turned a corner when I realized I had 2 sets of everything.  I had a set of normal/everyday stuff and I had my "nice stuff" for special occasions.  Then it occurred to me that my "normal stuff" was pretty worn/ratty.  So I thought "why not just get rid of ALL the normal/everyday stuff and ONLY have the nice stuff and actually use the better quality items in my every day life".

So that's what I do - I have very few things now, but they are NICE.  Makes my daily life very simple, but quality. 

Also, I really like this perspective from Antione de st. Exupery.  He's talking about design, but it applies equally to a work space or your home:

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away

You've just given me some clarity.

I had an old dinner set where at least half the plates and bowls have little chips here and there.

A friend gave me a lovely new dinner set for my birthday last year, but I've been hanging onto the old one just in case...


Time to move it on.

[marion10]

And got the check from replacements.com today. Ca- ching

[slackmax]

I just watched 2 beer case boxes full of old work papers, about 10 pounds each, get hoisted up into the top of the recycling truck, and dumped down into the hold.

Twenty pounds less junk in my house. Yay!

Hopefully to be recycled into something useful for humanity, and not landfilled. 

[FireHiker]

I tried to post with a picture yesterday but had issues. Oh well. We had a GIANT pile get picked up by VVA yesterday, yay! Now that we are in escrow on the new place and we're getting ready to sell our current place we are frantically going through all of our stuff. It's depressing to me how much accumulates so easily. I've already scheduled the next VVA pick up for next Monday and I have a medium pile ready to go. I have taken two more passes through my closet, and my husband took a pass through his side, and we have a growing pile of clothes to donate again.

We've been pulling and setting aside the furniture that we'll sell or donate in one part of the garage as well; right now I'm pretty glad we have the 3 car garage for staging/sorting stuff that will stay or go.

[diapasoun]

Read a book last night and put it in a donate pile.

[Tyson]

I used to hoard like crazy, but I turned a corner when I realized I had 2 sets of everything.  I had a set of normal/everyday stuff and I had my "nice stuff" for special occasions.  Then it occurred to me that my "normal stuff" was pretty worn/ratty.  So I thought "why not just get rid of ALL the normal/everyday stuff and ONLY have the nice stuff and actually use the better quality items in my every day life".

So that's what I do - I have very few things now, but they are NICE.  Makes my daily life very simple, but quality. 

Also, I really like this perspective from Antione de st. Exupery.  He's talking about design, but it applies equally to a work space or your home:

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away

You've just given me some clarity.

I had an old dinner set where at least half the plates and bowls have little chips here and there.

A friend gave me a lovely new dinner set for my birthday last year, but I've been hanging onto the old one just in case...


Time to move it on.

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!  I know for me, dealing with clutter really needed a mind shift towards embracing a more minimal lifestyle and not holding on to things "just in case".  Have very few things, but make them nice things.  That way you get quality in your life (luxury even!) and getting rid of the "stuff" doesn't feel like depravation. 

[FireHiker]

Have very few things, but make them nice things.  That way you get quality in your life (luxury even!) and getting rid of the "stuff" doesn't feel like depravation.

This is absolutely what I'm working towards!

[FireHiker]

Last night was another productive evening, but gosh, we are quickly getting burnt out. We have a desk alcove with storage that has been a crammed dumping ground the whole time we've lived in this house. I cleared off everything and went through all but one drawer. Another couple of boxes packed and a couple large bags of trash and donate...evidently end of school year kid crap has been stashed in these cupboards, ugh. It is completely tidy now with the games the kids actually play regularly stacked neatly in the cupboard.

We have also done the following last night/this morning before work:

-I bagged up two large bags of clothes to donate, some shoes, and an old exercise ball that has never been used in this house.
-We took two old desk chairs out to the garage donate pile, along with two large chairs we aren't keeping.
-Someone from buy nothing came by and picked up some toys last night.
-We brought a shoe bench we aren't keeping in to work to give to a young co-worker who was looking for one. We're going to give her a chance to see if she wants any of the other furniture we're not keeping too.

Whew, still so much to do. I am never, ever living in such a big house again, or accumulating so much stuff. It's absurd!! I found a whole drawer of coloring/activity books that the kids outgrew. I think when we move we're going to get some of those Ikea art storage drawers that are much more shallow so they don't lose stuff anymore in deep drawers.

[okisok]

Cleared out an entire set of china that I've moved several times. Turns out it's not the family heirloom I thought it was, and I'm not the guardian of family memories. Funny how I suddenly saw all these plates and bowls as irritating clutter, when I'd thought all these years that they were priceless links to my famiy's history! They are in the car, ready to be dropped off at the donation center tomorrow.

[slackmax]

Getting bogged down in the living room. What to sell? What to donate? SHould I just box it up and put it in the corner?

So I went upstairs and sorted through old bills. Got about a hundred easy-to-discard years-old bills into the recycle bag.   

 

[Sibley]

I decluttered the box of curtains by hanging the dang things. Finally. And am thinking that I should return the curtains I got for another room, partially because I'm second guessing if I like them, partially because I'm not going to hang them any time soon.

Also dropped off a bunch of stuff to the local animal shelter that my cat doesn't like (food/toys). Then turned around and got some of it back (food) along with a cat I'm fostering!

[SunnyDays]

Week 2 report:

8. Teeny tiny Pony bike that came with my house.  What kid could ride a 15" at the seat 2 wheeler?  No one that small would have the necessary balance.  Gone to thrift store.
9. 23 plastic plant pots - thrift store also.
10. Golf club thrown over my fence.  Put aside for animal rescue garage sale.
11. Silver necklace - thrift store.
12. Pair of shoe insoles - thrift store.
13. Pair of sandals - thrift store.
14. One winter glove, also thrown over my fence.  Thrift store.  (What's wrong with you people?  At least give me something useful!)

So far, still easy.  Why didn't I start this months ago?  One item a day is so doable.

[Fresh Bread]

Someone just came and picked up a bag of gift wrapping stuff. It's amazing how much space I've cleared by using up / giving away / throwing out this sort of stuff. Next is probably stationary. All this stuff I've been through before but not touched in 18 months so...

[mspym]

Week 2 report:

8. Teeny tiny Pony bike that came with my house.  What kid could ride a 15" at the seat 2 wheeler?  No one that small would have the necessary balance.  Gone to thrift store.
9. 23 plastic plant pots - thrift store also.
10. Golf club thrown over my fence.  Put aside for animal rescue garage sale.
11. Silver necklace - thrift store.
12. Pair of shoe insoles - thrift store.
13. Pair of sandals - thrift store.
14. One winter glove, also thrown over my fence. Thrift store.  (What's wrong with you people?  At least give me something useful!)

So far, still easy.  Why didn't I start this months ago?  One item a day is so doable.

You are doing great on the decluttering SunnyDays but why on earth are you giving a pair of shoe insoles and one glove to the thrift store? They won't sell or even give these away. Why not throw them away instead of making someone else do it?

[okisok]

Took the china and another box of random items to the thrift store, less than 12 hours after I put them in the car! I didn't drive them around in my trunk for weeks! There's a lovely empty spot in my closet where the box was. I'll probably put another empty box in there soon, so that I can toss things into it as I realize they need to go. But I'm really getting close to exactly where I want to be with my stuff.

[kaposzta]

Last week DW and I did the following:
- Throw paper trash out from one of our rooms
- Throw out some old magazines and boxes
- Throw out empty bottles

My goal is to get rid of at least 1 unnecessary stuff every day.

Next steps:
- check all frickin' empty boxes in our apartment (keep them for storage or throw out)
- clear out our "storage" room (it shouldn't be a storage room :D)
- check my old clothes one by one (and asking myself: would I pay for this piece in the store, or not? if not, I get rid of it)
- check my bookshelf again and sell or throw out the bad / unnecessary books
- check my shoes (I have an incredibly high number of shoes now) and get rid of the ones with holes in them :D
- open the dreaded drawer packed with cables, old computer stuff, etc. and keep only the really necessary stuff
- decide whether I should buy a new battery for my old laptop (currently we're using a better one), sell it or keep it as a backup

[former player]

Church fete next week, and the bric-a-brac stall has so far benefitted from a dog basket, a laundry basket, a rug, cushions, tablecloths, a laundry rack, some costume jewellery and various other things I've already forgotten. My guest bedroom is much improved as a result.  Anything that doesn't sell will be passed on to a local charity that runs activities for people with disabilities.

(It's interesting how quick and easy it is to forget items which have been passed on.)

[slackmax]

Week 2 report:

8. Teeny tiny Pony bike that came with my house.  What kid could ride a 15" at the seat 2 wheeler?  No one that small would have the necessary balance.  Gone to thrift store.
9. 23 plastic plant pots - thrift store also.
10. Golf club thrown over my fence.  Put aside for animal rescue garage sale.
11. Silver necklace - thrift store.
12. Pair of shoe insoles - thrift store.
13. Pair of sandals - thrift store.
14. One winter glove, also thrown over my fence. Thrift store.  (What's wrong with you people?  At least give me something useful!)

So far, still easy.  Why didn't I start this months ago?  One item a day is so doable.

You are doing great on the decluttering SunnyDays but why on earth are you giving a pair of shoe insoles and one glove to the thrift store? They won't sell or even give these away. Why not throw them away instead of making someone else do it?

SunnyDays, I've done the one glove donation too!  I feel you!   

[slackmax]

Someone just came and picked up a bag of gift wrapping stuff. It's amazing how much space I've cleared by using up / giving away / throwing out this sort of stuff. Next is probably stationary. All this stuff I've been through before but not touched in 18 months so...

I actually sold some wrapping stuff at the flea market yesterday. I only got 50 cents for it, but that's OK! Happy to be rid of it, and not to the Goodwill.

Every couple of weeks I take some of the stuff in the house down to the flea market and sell it. So far, I've always made at least $10, which is the fee they charge for a table.   

But at this rate, It'll take me years to finally  be decluttered. That's OK, except that I need to have some contractors inside my house soon to do some carpentry work, and that will be embarrassing! 

I'm stressing out about where to move the stuff, to get it out of their way. I guess I'll just have to consolidate it all, and throw out some perfectly good empty boxes. Or maybe I can keep them but stack them in a corner. 

I'm not a hoarder, but I have inherited a hoard that my late girlfriend left me. My OCD thing is not wanting to throw way or donate anything 'useful'. It's emotionally easy for me to sell it, though, even at a very low price.

The good news is that stuff is leaving the house and very little if any new stuff is coming in.