Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2  (Read 1406878 times)

diapasoun

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #450 on: April 02, 2018, 09:27:36 AM »
I've been following along, and am going to finally join in here. I need to part with some of my books. *cue dramatic music*

Roadrunner53

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #451 on: April 02, 2018, 09:33:14 AM »
Do you have a Paypal account? You can buy postage on ebay and the money comes out of Paypal. It is easy to set up. I have had Paypal for years and years.

It might make sense to have your ebay listing end on Thursday like I mentioned before. Then you can take the boxes to the PO on Saturday. You may not even sell these items! LOL, I have stuff listed for more than a month and no interested parties!

One other option would be to sell 'local' where you do not ship the item, the buyer picks it up. I would make sure the person pays first and no money exchanges hands at your home.


joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #452 on: April 02, 2018, 09:40:35 AM »
Unless you’re in extreme poverty, I would just give them away, Sibley. You have a job, and that’s awesome! Is the time spent hustling with every little item worth the relatively small net? When you do the time/money calculation, what’s the real hourly wage on those sales, and the effect on your spirit and body of cramming for that bit of cash? Is it worth fussing with things, or is there a bigger net gain to your whole life in having a charity benefit from such gifts?

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #453 on: April 02, 2018, 02:49:18 PM »
Unless you’re in extreme poverty, I would just give them away, Sibley. You have a job, and that’s awesome! Is the time spent hustling with every little item worth the relatively small net? When you do the time/money calculation, what’s the real hourly wage on those sales, and the effect on your spirit and body of cramming for that bit of cash? Is it worth fussing with things, or is there a bigger net gain to your whole life in having a charity benefit from such gifts?

Family politics. Honestly, the light fixtures (vintage) - yes. The pillows - no, but you can't convince my mom of that! Book - probably, but it's the smallest and least annoying of the lot.

I'll try Craigslist, then when I figure out the logistics of ebaying under the current situation will list stuff there.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #454 on: April 02, 2018, 03:14:18 PM »

eliza

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #455 on: April 02, 2018, 03:25:40 PM »
SA came and picked up.  Ended up getting rid of two boxes and three bags full of random stuff: clothes that I never wear, books I'm not going to reread, household goods (mostly acquired as gifts) that I don't use, random bits and bobs.

My floors in my bedroom have been needing swept for a while, I just kept putting it off because it seemed like soooo much work.  Since the storage unit is gone (went with SA), I figured I had no more excuses.  This dreaded task ended up taking less than 5 minutes and the room looks so much better now.  WTF brain, why do you always make things seem like so much bigger of a task than they actually are?

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #456 on: April 02, 2018, 03:43:46 PM »
This dreaded task ended up taking less than 5 minutes and the room looks so much better now.  WTF brain, why do you always make things seem like so much bigger of a task than they actually are?

:))))))))))))

Fresh Bread

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #457 on: April 02, 2018, 04:42:19 PM »
I ended up being sick a lot of our long weekend which stuffed up my funtime plans with my drop saw (building garden beds) BUT meant I got more decluttering and rearranging done. I got rid of some shelves, woo! It's still not ideal but there are no longer things lying on our study floor and there's less furniture in that tiny room.

A big part of it was DH decluttering a foot high stack of papers and notebooks. I was amazed, he must have caught a bit of the my decluttering zeal. I wonder if I can get him to do another stack next public holiday ;) He also tidied up his stuff in the spare room - some stuff has magically disappeared and I'm suspicious that it's been stuffed somewhere else like the garage, lols! Too bad because our garage is up next (again! Stuff breeds in there, and not in a neat and tidy way).

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #458 on: April 03, 2018, 02:43:18 AM »
When tidying up our camping gear after a holiday, I saw my old (small) teddy bear that my grandparents gave me when I was 1 year old. I have kept it for sentimental reasons. But it has been standing in the back of a cupboard for years now. I think it is time getting rid of it. I can make a picture of it.

At the next rainy day (or any day I feel that I will have time on my hands), I will start taking pictures or some sentimental paperwork (dancing diplomas and old school reports) and then throw them away. I will also put some of our stuff on the local facebook selling group.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #459 on: April 03, 2018, 02:49:11 AM »
Yesterday I saw our cabin neighbour decluttering. He was carrying out a man-high metal round rack that looked a bit like an old-fashioned bird cage, but was too open on the side. No idea what it was. Maybe some ornamental wine rack?
He was mumbling something about getting rid of waste. I think he could have been able to sell it. There might be a market for ornamental stuff.

mspym

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #460 on: April 03, 2018, 03:47:39 AM »
I have a new pile of books to donate after this weekend, which feels like progress.

Goldielocks

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #461 on: April 03, 2018, 03:02:52 PM »
Yesterday I saw our cabin neighbour decluttering. He was carrying out a man-high metal round rack that looked a bit like an old-fashioned bird cage, but was too open on the side. No idea what it was. Maybe some ornamental wine rack?
He was mumbling something about getting rid of waste. I think he could have been able to sell it. There might be a market for ornamental stuff.
Compost cage / tumbler?

MarciaB

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #462 on: April 03, 2018, 06:47:27 PM »
@Roadrunner53 , we already agreed to give the Legos to the library.  They have a weekly "open Lego play" time and have asked for donations.  The kids like the idea that they can still play with their old stuff if they want, and let other kids have fun too.

We did this but with adult stuff (furniture mostly) where we "gave it away" to people we know who are enjoying it and we can use/sit on/borrow/enjoy any time we want. It's a win win.  We basically gave away and sold everything we own to be international nomads, but some things were so sentimentally important to us we could only go as far as having them "fostered" by friends and family.

MrsTuxedocat

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #463 on: April 04, 2018, 12:16:17 AM »
I am moving at the end of the month and I am pretty proud of myself of the work I have done.

- I am a card hoarder and have recycled 75% of them
- Went through my clothes and got rid of a garbage bag of stuff
- Donated three pairs of shoes (I don't have many to begin with)
- Donated 20% of my books

mspym

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #464 on: April 04, 2018, 03:20:29 AM »
OK random declutter- I was keeping a cookbook for the sake of One Particular Dessert recipe that I wanted to make. Well we made it this weekend, the book is on the donate pile AND we ended up giving away 75% of the [superdelicious but totally not healthy] dessert, mostly to get it out of the house!

Roadrunner53

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #465 on: April 04, 2018, 04:54:42 AM »
One of the people from the local Culinary school is coming to my house to pick up around 6 grocery bags of Culinary cookbooks and some famous chef cookbooks! So glad they can use them and plus getting them out of the house. It is really hard to give up beautiful books but they are dust collectors and I still have more than I need! You can get most anything you need on the internet!

MarciaB

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #466 on: April 04, 2018, 08:05:45 AM »
OK random declutter- I was keeping a cookbook for the sake of One Particular Dessert recipe that I wanted to make. Well we made it this weekend, the book is on the donate pile AND we ended up giving away 75% of the [superdelicious but totally not healthy] dessert, mostly to get it out of the house!

One of my favorite decluttering books of all times is Don Aslette's Clutter's Last Stand. He has tons of great suggestions for all the different kinds of things in your life, and one I implemented was this - all those cookbooks that I had? I often really loved only 1 or 2 recipes out of them (and would cook those recipes over and over again), but the rest of the book...meh.

So I sliced that one or two recipes out of the book (gasp!) and gave the book away. Then I took the recipes and put them in a plastic sleeve and popped them into a binder I have with all my super favorite recipes. I have been creating that binder for over 20 years and only have about 90 recipes. That's not many per year (meaning something has to be a tried and true favorite, not a "maybe I'll make this" recipe).

I created a simple index on an Excel spreadsheet (name, type of food, page #) and update that every few years.

That binder goes everywhere - like we took it to France the year we lived there and cooked for dinner guests (who were shocked Americans could actually cook, let alone cook great food). And that binder is a coveted possession of the next generation, who all want it!

Roadrunner53

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #467 on: April 04, 2018, 08:12:36 AM »
Take your 'cookbook' to Staples and have them make copies and bind them to give to your family members now, while you can see them enjoy it!

What other tips do you have from the Clutter's Last Stand book?

MarciaB

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #468 on: April 04, 2018, 08:26:12 AM »
What other tips do you have from the Clutter's Last Stand book?

Get the book from the library - the copy I originally read in the 90s was the first edition, and there's been another one since. Totally worth checking out.

He is a big one for keeping the memory/spirit of something while also not keeping the actual physical thing. So taking a photo of the thing, or writing a little story about it, or somehow capturing why you love the thing...without lugging the thing around and storing it. That way you still "have it" without having the burden of it.

He also uses funny names for things, like storage containers he will call "junk bunkers" because they don't only organize our stuff, they allow us to eternally store stuff we aren't using and don't need. In my house we use the term "crap containment."

It's a funny book with silly drawings (he does them) and cute stories and quotes (there was one woman who said that because there was so much stuff in the hallways at her house, her children had to climb over it like mountain goats.) Totally worth checking out of the library and getting some tips.

That book was what turned me from a careless stuff-haver to basically a minimalist (over a number of years - it's a process). I gradually owned less and less, and was freer and freer. I now call myself a "recovering slob." The book was eye-opening (and for me life changing)!

Roadrunner53

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #469 on: April 04, 2018, 08:32:52 AM »
Yes, library is a good idea! Just getting rid of about 30 books and must resist buying more even if I get them for $2!

Thanks and congrats to you for being a recovered slob. I am that slob that needs unslobification! I am working on it and have 10 bags for Vietnam Vets on Friday. TRYING!!! Also, had a car load of crap I took to Goodwill about a month ago! Where in the hell does all this crap come from? So far, it has barely made a dent in the areas where stuff was removed!

We have had dumpsters over the years filled to the brim and still too much crap!

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #470 on: April 04, 2018, 08:37:15 AM »
Take your 'cookbook' to Staples and have them make copies and bind them to give to your family members now, while you can see them enjoy it!

My grandmother did this about 20 years ago.  All 5 of her kids and all of her adult grandchildren got a copy.  I treasure mine.

There were also notes about where the recipes came from.  I found a neat genealogy clue in the book (NO ONE in the family knew the parents of my grandfather's grandmother, who was a Smith with a common first name...and lo and behold, there was one of "Grandma Sylvia's" recipes.  No one in the family knew who Grandma Sylvia was, but on a hunch I searched for her with gf's gm...and there was the whole family!)

zygote

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #471 on: April 04, 2018, 09:47:09 AM »
Take your 'cookbook' to Staples and have them make copies and bind them to give to your family members now, while you can see them enjoy it!

My grandmother did this about 20 years ago.  All 5 of her kids and all of her adult grandchildren got a copy.  I treasure mine.

There were also notes about where the recipes came from.  I found a neat genealogy clue in the book (NO ONE in the family knew the parents of my grandfather's grandmother, who was a Smith with a common first name...and lo and behold, there was one of "Grandma Sylvia's" recipes.  No one in the family knew who Grandma Sylvia was, but on a hunch I searched for her with gf's gm...and there was the whole family!)

My grandmother did this too, though I was younger when she did it and only my parents/aunts/uncles have copies. It's really nice to have the stories to go with the family recipes. I will certainly cherish it one day when it comes to me, but for now I'm happy it lives at my parents' house!

Thanks for the tip on that book, @MarciaB. I will have to see if I can get my hands on a (library!) copy.

And congrats on the progress @Roadrunner53! It feels so good to get rid of that much stuff. it may not seem like you've made any progress at first, but it really does make a difference long term, especially as you keep going. I promise.

BlueHouse

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #472 on: April 04, 2018, 12:17:08 PM »
I have an old desktop computer that I no longer use and I assume is a security issue due to an old operating system.  It's almost always turned off, except when I need something windows-based. 
Should I just bring it to electronics recycling or should I try to sell it for parts?  Any advice?

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #473 on: April 04, 2018, 12:26:28 PM »
First clean the hard drive really well, so there’s nothing private that’s recoverable. @BiochemicalDJ really helped me with instructions for that once. There are also some online. Let me know if you need me to dig up BcDJ’s to me.

MarciaB

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #474 on: April 04, 2018, 12:58:35 PM »
I have an old desktop computer that I no longer use and I assume is a security issue due to an old operating system.  It's almost always turned off, except when I need something windows-based. 
Should I just bring it to electronics recycling or should I try to sell it for parts?  Any advice?

I donate electronics stuff to a nonprofit in Portland (FreeGeek.org) that helps kids use/rebuild/recycle them. And they "clean" them and say they guarantee data destruction. Which is good because I wouldn't know how to go about that.

Perhaps there's something like that in your community?

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #475 on: April 04, 2018, 01:27:44 PM »
I kept telling myself I'd sell our reel mower. Well, more than a year after replacing it, it hasn't happened. Some of our friends are buying a house and, lo and behold, want a reel mower. We're just going to gift it to them. Space in our garage, and helping them out as they're getting started (setting up a house is EXPENSIVE!) We'll still have it for a couple weeks until they move in, but still, it'll be nice to see it go.

eliza

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #476 on: April 04, 2018, 01:53:15 PM »
Take your 'cookbook' to Staples and have them make copies and bind them to give to your family members now, while you can see them enjoy it!

What other tips do you have from the Clutter's Last Stand book?


My grandmother did something similar - creating a book with recipes, pictures, and random anecdotes about how particular dishes played a role in various parties/holidays/get togethers over the years.   Had a bunch of copies made and gave them out to family members for Christmas one year.  One of my prized possessions.

ETA: Should have read further --- its sounds like this has been done many times and always seems to be greatly appreciated.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2018, 01:55:09 PM by eliza »

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #477 on: April 04, 2018, 10:58:51 PM »
Last night: Found a stack of gorgeous clothes outside my door.
Today: Tried them on, kept one pair slacks that fit DS perfectly, delivered the rest to thrift shop, done!

Fresh Bread

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #478 on: April 04, 2018, 11:31:11 PM »
Last night: Found a stack of gorgeous clothes outside my door.
Today: Tried them on, kept one pair slacks that fit DS perfectly, delivered the rest to thrift shop, done!

Ooo, there are no clothes fairies where I live, you live in a magical neighbourhood!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #479 on: April 04, 2018, 11:38:23 PM »
^ It's pretty funny! I've found many beautiful things outside my home. One I know who it was from, because it was food so I made sure to ask so I wouldn't die and things. I suspect Same Person of the other gifts as well, but a fourth occasion was someone else... So, who knows? All such gorgeous items :)

Yasha

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #480 on: April 05, 2018, 02:56:29 AM »
Hello hello! My first post in the MMM forum and it's to declutter ^_^ after having a bag of clothes sitting behind my front door for some weeks I finally got around to taking them to the women's space at my university after lurking in this thread for a few days. I dropped off 3 jumpers (I hope these will help someone who really needs them as we are coming in to winter), 4 tops, 3 bottoms (one shorts, one pants, one skirt), 4 scarves and one dress. It was very freeing to finally be rid of those items and to know that they will be really helpful to whoever needs them.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #481 on: April 05, 2018, 04:02:20 AM »
Welcome Yasha!

Where are you from that winter is just starting? I am here in Connecticut, USA and our winter is almost over. However, seems another snow storm this Saturday. We 'New Englanders' are so done with this winter!

Congrats on your declutter. Good choice where to donate the clothes!

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #482 on: April 05, 2018, 05:29:56 AM »
Welcome Yasha!

Where are you from that winter is just starting? I am here in Connecticut, USA and our winter is almost over. However, seems another snow storm this Saturday. We 'New Englanders' are so done with this winter!

Congrats on your declutter. Good choice where to donate the clothes!

Thanks! I'm from Eastern Australia (coastal) so our winters are very mild, but still cool enough for an additional layer!

I am keen to continue the declutter efforts over the weekend and I'm sure I can find more space in our unit - I'm toying with the idea of my sister moving in with my husband and I for a few months as a roommate to take the sting out of the rent a bit and for that to happen we would need to clear out a whole room (of our two bedroom apartment) - doable? for sure, easy? nope.

mspym

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #483 on: April 05, 2018, 05:39:08 AM »
OK random declutter- I was keeping a cookbook for the sake of One Particular Dessert recipe that I wanted to make. Well we made it this weekend, the book is on the donate pile AND we ended up giving away 75% of the [superdelicious but totally not healthy] dessert, mostly to get it out of the house!

One of my favorite decluttering books of all times is Don Aslette's Clutter's Last Stand. He has tons of great suggestions for all the different kinds of things in your life, and one I implemented was this - all those cookbooks that I had? I often really loved only 1 or 2 recipes out of them (and would cook those recipes over and over again), but the rest of the book...meh.

So I sliced that one or two recipes out of the book (gasp!) and gave the book away. Then I took the recipes and put them in a plastic sleeve and popped them into a binder I have with all my super favorite recipes. I have been creating that binder for over 20 years and only have about 90 recipes. That's not many per year (meaning something has to be a tried and true favorite, not a "maybe I'll make this" recipe).

I created a simple index on an Excel spreadsheet (name, type of food, page #) and update that every few years.

That binder goes everywhere - like we took it to France the year we lived there and cooked for dinner guests (who were shocked Americans could actually cook, let alone cook great food). And that binder is a coveted possession of the next generation, who all want it!

I actually have a cookbook that I write the tried and true recipes in, which has been a great help so i don't waste time trying to find the One Perfect Recipe in the depths of the internet, but sometimes a book hovers until I work out whether or not I will be pulling anything in to my master file.

A friend's husband had her classics turned into a really nice hardcover cookbook, and I've definitely taken recipes from it, and added to mine. I love how this recurring theme of food + stories threads its way through. Connections!

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #484 on: April 05, 2018, 07:14:16 AM »
My mom took all of the family recipes, deciphered the tiny handwriting, typed them up, translated where necessary (e.g. How much is "5 cents of yeast" - today?), and printed out into 3 small binders she gave to my siblings, cousin and me.  It's great it's in a binder because she easily adds to it when any of us finds a new favorite.  So it's become a compilation from grandma/cookbooks/our own adaptations.  It also makes it easier to send a recipe to a friend when asked.  And for some reason, because it's a printout, I don't mind writing in my own notes where I normally can't "desecrate" a book.

BlueHouse

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #485 on: April 05, 2018, 07:43:26 AM »
First clean the hard drive really well, so there’s nothing private that’s recoverable. @BiochemicalDJ really helped me with instructions for that once. There are also some online. Let me know if you need me to dig up BcDJ’s to me.
In the past, I've just erased everything, then copied music files until the disk is full, then repeated, but I just googled some software to do it for real and will get DBAN.  Good Advice, thanks!

I donate electronics stuff to a nonprofit in Portland (FreeGeek.org) that helps kids use/rebuild/recycle them. And they "clean" them and say they guarantee data destruction. Which is good because I wouldn't know how to go about that.

Perhaps there's something like that in your community?
Will look for something like this in my neighborhood.  Thanks for the idea!

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #486 on: April 05, 2018, 07:59:21 AM »
8-year-old asked if we could do more decluttering in his room last night.  We KonMari'd his room a few months ago, together, but he wanted to do a second pass.

We ended up removing:
2 (adult) armloads of recylcing
1 small trashbag full to throw away
1 small packing box full of stuff to donate

plus he has marked half of his Legos for giving to the library.  He won't let me remove them from his room yet; he wants to finish putting together the last set and is worried there might be random pieces he needs in the big box.

I was really proud of him!  The 12-year-old was jealous of the attention he was getting, so she plans to do her room tonight.

Just_Looking_Here

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #487 on: April 06, 2018, 03:55:44 AM »
Heading home after an extended family trip where we travelled light.

Just shows how little you need and excited to geT back and start a major declutter!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #488 on: April 07, 2018, 08:28:58 PM »
1. When I needed to pull out a work thing, I came across five small things that could go now. Processed all of those.

2. Shipped out a tiny item worth $90 in refund.

3. Set a boundary with kid's school: Will keep his work at home for two weeks at a time, max, then it gets recycled. If you want to document it, receive an oral report on it, etc, those are the time limits.

4. Used up all leftovers/perishables in tonight's supper.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #489 on: April 08, 2018, 07:44:38 AM »
Reorganized the most annoying drawer in the kitchen. I took out an oven tray that was laying underneath it't own rack, 2 cake baking tins and a cookie cooling rack. This oven tray is used frequently without it's rack. I put it in another cupcoard. Found out that that cupboard still had the glass lid of a glass oven jar, never used since we moved into this house. The glass lid is thrown away in the glass container. The oven tray is in it's place, more easily accessible. DH said he wasmost annoyd by the cookie rack laying on top of everything, so I removed that to another cupboard as well.
In the drawer I had 3 cake baking tins in total. I use most 2 at the time. I removed the newest one, made of silicon. I think I've not used it more than once or twice, after owning it for 12 or so years. I don't want to throw it away completely, so I've put it in a leftover halfunpacked moving box that is stored in an hobby room under a desk. This is in case we suddely remember to need it for another purpose. This whole box can go next time we move.

I retrieved something from of the bottom of the kitchen bin (green garbage is in another bin). It was a neat piece of velcro used to keep a cable together. I reused it to hold together 2 handle bars of my mushroom basket. It was in my list to sew something to hold them together and I hadn't been motivated to do this yet. This was a simple and effective solution.

Removed another 2 of my summer tops to the pile of remake clothes. I want be wearing them anymore anyway.

Not removing clutter, but I used a black marker to hide some damage on the large doors of  the coat cupboard in the hall, which are dark brown. They look better now.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2018, 07:49:21 AM by Linda_Norway »

aoedae

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #490 on: April 08, 2018, 08:57:28 AM »
I've sold 20(!) eBay items yesterday, which I'm in the process of packaging for sale. I expect another 10 or so to go tonight! :D

Also slimmed down my closet substantially this week and gave away a pair of plastic storage boxes.
Next up... reducing my book collection, which was always going to be a formidable task.


Linea_Norway

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #491 on: April 08, 2018, 11:08:39 AM »
Today I cancelled my bank account in a full servicebank. I have been using two internet banks for years, which are cost free to use. I had 20 dollars in the full sercive bank for many years, just in case I would ever need a service that my other banks don't provide. The 20 dollars in my account have decreased to 12 dollars. 8 dollars have evaporated in the form of yearly cost to have that account.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #492 on: April 08, 2018, 12:05:39 PM »
I had three items not sell on eBay. Immediately put them in the donation pile. Three more items out of the house!

pancakes

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #493 on: April 09, 2018, 05:02:13 AM »
I cleared out my email today! Deleted/ filed /archived the lot and unsubscribed the shit out of promotional newsletters and social media notifications.

Next up in my digital declutter are photos.

Mongoose

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #494 on: April 09, 2018, 07:31:24 AM »
Our basement flooded, our furnace needs to be replaced (unrelated), and I've been gone a lot taking care of my parents and various emergencies. Our house is a disaster. It's so discouraging...looks like we never started decluttering and organizing.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #495 on: April 09, 2018, 08:18:14 AM »
Where did the water come from? Thru the foundation or a water leak? Bad news! How much water are you talking about? If it isn't too much you could get the doggie wee wee pads to soak it up. Once you get it soaked up bring down some fans to dry it out to prevent mold. If your leak is really bad you may need a professional company. One time at work a pipe busted in the ceiling and splat on my chair and computer and the floors were soaked. They had to hire a professional company to come in and clean up. They had these GIANT fans running for days. I had to find somewhere else in the building to work. Good LUCK!

zygote

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #496 on: April 09, 2018, 09:37:52 AM »
Sorry to hear about your basement, @Mongoose, that really sucks! The house may feel like a disaster now, but I bet it's still in better shape than it would have been without previous decluttering efforts. Just keep telling yourself that, and that you'll get back to it when the crisis is over.

I have an old iPhone sitting around, and I sent it in to be recycled. I should get $100 back for it. I used it until it died so I don't feel comfortable selling it on eBay. I'm just happy I'm getting something back for the parts.

Listing my old clothes online has not been worth it at all. I've only gotten messages on one of the dresses I listed for $10, and no one has bought it despite all their detailed questions that take time and effort to answer. Not a good return on my time. This weekend, I'm just going to take everything to the consignment store.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #497 on: April 09, 2018, 09:41:18 AM »
Got rid of bamboo placemats and table runner my MIL bought us like a decade ago. Tags still on them.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #498 on: April 09, 2018, 09:51:02 AM »
Sorry to hear about your basement, @Mongoose, that really sucks! The house may feel like a disaster now, but I bet it's still in better shape than it would have been without previous decluttering efforts. Just keep telling yourself that, and that you'll get back to it when the crisis is over.

I have an old iPhone sitting around, and I sent it in to be recycled. I should get $100 back for it. I used it until it died so I don't feel comfortable selling it on eBay. I'm just happy I'm getting something back for the parts.

Listing my old clothes online has not been worth it at all. I've only gotten messages on one of the dresses I listed for $10, and no one has bought it despite all their detailed questions that take time and effort to answer. Not a good return on my time. This weekend, I'm just going to take everything to the consignment store.

Wow, $100 back for a not working iPhone? How does that work, where do you send it? We have a few dead phone hanging around =\ Thanks.

zygote

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #499 on: April 10, 2018, 11:31:21 AM »
Sorry to hear about your basement, @Mongoose, that really sucks! The house may feel like a disaster now, but I bet it's still in better shape than it would have been without previous decluttering efforts. Just keep telling yourself that, and that you'll get back to it when the crisis is over.

I have an old iPhone sitting around, and I sent it in to be recycled. I should get $100 back for it. I used it until it died so I don't feel comfortable selling it on eBay. I'm just happy I'm getting something back for the parts.

Listing my old clothes online has not been worth it at all. I've only gotten messages on one of the dresses I listed for $10, and no one has bought it despite all their detailed questions that take time and effort to answer. Not a good return on my time. This weekend, I'm just going to take everything to the consignment store.

Wow, $100 back for a not working iPhone? How does that work, where do you send it? We have a few dead phone hanging around =\ Thanks.

I guess it depends on your definition of dead. In my case, it was unusable due to constant freezing and crashing, but it did still turn on and I was eventually able to wipe it. I just answered the questions on the recycle link below and they gave me a quote. Doesn't hurt to see if you can get something back based on your phones' conditions!

This is the link I used: https://www.apple.com/recycling/ They don't do it in store unless you're trading it in for a new device, so they'll mail you the kit to send it in.

I will say that I could end up getting less if the phone is in worse condition than they thought...we'll see.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!