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

[Sugaree]

I sorted, logged, and tagged 200 items for the consignment sale with the intention of it being my very last fall sale.  Only for it to be cancelled at the very last minute.  They say that the same tags will be good next fall, but I was really hoping to get this stuff out of my house. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@Sugaree - that sucks.

I'm in my busy season at work, and we had a soccer tournament this weekend, so I made zero progress. I did list an item on eBay today, that's been on my to do list for a while. I was planning on listing a bunch on Buy Nothing, but didn't get through that. Hopefully this week!

[SunnyDays]

Still chipping away at odds and ends.  Got rid of 2 pairs of pants, a purse, a few books, some costume jewelry, and two old phone books.  However, I rescued a milk crate from a dumpster - if I don’t use it I’ll donate it to the thrift store.

[Shinplaster]

Took a couple of lamp shades and a bag of framed prints/miscellaneous clothes to donation yesterday.   I'm determined to get our possessions down about a third in the next year.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Listed an item on Tuesday, sold it yesterday, out of the house today. It was a workout tank that I didn't ever like.
-Listed another item on eBay today

I still need to get on top of my Buy Nothing donation pile, and get everything posted.

[slackmax]

Loaded up the vehic and took it to the flea market to sell stuff. Sold about 10 items, made a few bucks.
Decided I will happily donate 3 big books that aren't selling, to the library.  Spent 7 hours having a good time socializing, plus the side benefit of some decluttering.

[Loretta]

A friend picked me up and we both donated to the big local thrift shop this afternoon.  She had a few garbage bags and a small laundry basket thing and I had one garbage bag.  We did NOT go inside and buy anything. 

[Dutch Comfort]

Cleaned out the kids' closets this weekend. Lots of clothing which they've outgrown is now on one pile. Will take the next couple of evenings to sort between trash/donate/sell. But it WILL go out of the house. Also donated lots of cloth hangers and a glass jar.
DS got inspired and checked out his toys. He gave me some items (around 20) to donate. I'm just happy that he found things that he does not want anymore. He is such a hoarder, so this was a big thing for him.

[better late]

4 overflowing boxes to Goodwill from the Great Basement Clean Out part one.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Sold another item on eBay (shirt from our vacation house. One of the items I brought with us when we emptied it out).
-Still haven't done my big Buy Nothing post, to get rid of all of the items accumulating in my closet.

I need to go through all of my stuff I have set aside, and determine if I'm listing it on eBay, giving it away, or donating it. I keep adding it to my to do list, and promptly ignoring it. ;-)

[Prairie Gal]

Got rid of quite a few things in my town's Reuse Rendezvous this past weekend, too bad it was raining on Saturday or it would have been more.

Someone offered me $5 for a frame that I have listed for sale. I felt a bit offended, so I declined the offer. It's not even worth the hassle for $5. I am going to try putting some prints that I have in the frames and list them at a higher price as art. We'll see how that goes.

[mspym]

- I've just done the winter>summer closet change over and picked out things I either didn't wear last season or don't want to wear next season. Donation places aren't open here so I have been putting things in a bag for when they are.
- I have been steadily working through dropping books into street libraries as space opens up and have managed to whittle off 20 books from my TBR pile.
- The quest to use up uncommon foodstuffs is ongoing. Yesterday's fruitloaf used up the mixed dried fruit bought for making a Christmas cake 3-4 years ago. We are nearly down to just having the food in the house that we regularly eat.

Our next council cleanup is happening in October so also making a pile of things to go out then.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Sold another few items on eBay:
-A remote (thrilled, as this was heading for the garbage, if it didn't get sold)
-Another item of clothing

[Josiecat22222]

@MaybeBabyMustache , I have found myself in the same situation; faced with a mound of items to either list on FBK, ebay or Buy Nothing and feeling overwhelmed!  My local Buy Nothing Group does a quarterly "Junk in the Trunk" event where we all bring all of our items, lay them out for the taking and then whatever remains is taken to goodwill.  I don't know if this a common thing with BN groups, but it seems to help decompress the mess!!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@Josiecat23503 - love that idea. I've never seen it on my Buy Nothing, but I will suggest it!

[midweststache]

@MaybeBabyMustache , I have found myself in the same situation; faced with a mound of items to either list on FBK, ebay or Buy Nothing and feeling overwhelmed!  My local Buy Nothing Group does a quarterly "Junk in the Trunk" event where we all bring all of our items, lay them out for the taking and then whatever remains is taken to goodwill.  I don't know if this a common thing with BN groups, but it seems to help decompress the mess!!

I'm in a pretty dense urban area, and our neighborhood BN just did a sidewalk 'sale' - everyone put things out on the sidewalk/yard tables with signs, an admin made a neighborhood list of who would be setting things out, and people made a day of walking around (and meeting each other - socially distanced, of course)! It seemed to be a pretty big success. I like the "Junk in the Trunk" idea for less dense neighborhoods/towns though!

[diapasoun]

We moved in late August and ended up doing a good amount of decluttering around that (though not as much as I would like -- some stuff I wanted to declutter accidentally got packed, SIGH).

Now I'm trying to resist the bringing in of More Stuff as we figure out our new setup! Ahhhhhhhh.

[happy]

I decluttered 500 items in August.

[mspym]

Moved ~15 books from the discard pile on our basement steps to a street library, which had the side benefit of getting a bike ride in on a day when I was getting twitchy and anxious for no good reason.

Two minimalism YT videos helped me move a dress and a pair of boots to the donation bag - life's too short to hold onto clothes that make you feel bad!
Minimal Mom on the onion method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA2NAoKNxUs
How to GYST on things to declutter right now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_VD0KfblwM

[RetiredAt63]

I decluttered 500 items in August.

I am majorly impressed!

[Fresh Bread]

I decluttered 500 items in August.

I am majorly impressed!

I'm majorly inspired. I'm thinking maybe it's time for a minimalist challenge in October ie 1 item on the 1st, 2 items on the 2nd etc

Not sure I'll have time in the first half of the month but there's probably some low hanging fruit. And maybe I can include things like trimming the dead leaves of my plants, which will make the place look better & more peaceful which is my overall aim!

[SunnyDays]

I decluttered 500 items in August.

That’s excellent progress!

I found 3 more books, 2 pictures that I’m finally ready to let go of and some packing material to go to the thrift store tomorrow.  Also returning a purse that isn’t going to work for me.  Once I’ve finished with outdoor work in a month or so, I plan to give the house a good scour over the winter.  I want to get rid of quite a bit more stuff and complete some decor projects to make the house look more put together.  Hopefully it will be my final push to “get ‘er done.”

[slackmax]

Congrats on the 500 items!

I spent about an hour curating 22 different small value jewelry items. Took them to the local jewelry sore to sell, which always makes me a little nervous and excited, in a good way, I guess.
Got 50 buckarooskis for the lot. The biggest score was $15 for a very, very small and thin gold charm,
which was not even marked as gold, so I was expecting it to be a one dollar item.

They weren't interested in some of the stuff, like antique watches, so I kept those to try to sell
elsewhere.   

[former player]

$50 for an hour's work (I guess a bit more including the visit to the store) is a great return in addition to getting stuff you don't want or need out of the house.

[slackmax]

$50 for an hour's work (I guess a bit more including the visit to the store) is a great return in addition to getting stuff you don't want or need out of the house.

Thanks for the positive reinforcement, Former Player. It seems like most of the clutter that remains is small stuff, that doesn't result in a big visual impact when gone, and I need to remind myself it all matters.       

[LaineyAZ]

I've spent 2 days helping an older relative get ready to move from their one-bedroom apartment.  They'd been living there for almost 10 years and although they discarded basic trash they had never done a regular decluttering, which meant the closet had lots of old stained clothes and worn out shoes, the kitchen had multiples of expired spices and food, medicine cabinet had expired vitamins and medicines, paperwork had piled up, etc.

As we all know, moving is difficult as it is and is a big motivation for decluttering; however, it's 10x easier if overall decluttering is part of the general home maintenance routine. 
So if you need motivation, play a pretend "we're moving" game and you'd be surprised at how much you can let go.

[Prairie Gal]

I've spent 2 days helping an older relative get ready to move from their one-bedroom apartment.  They'd been living there for almost 10 years and although they discarded basic trash they had never done a regular decluttering, which meant the closet had lots of old stained clothes and worn out shoes, the kitchen had multiples of expired spices and food, medicine cabinet had expired vitamins and medicines, paperwork had piled up, etc.

As we all know, moving is difficult as it is and is a big motivation for decluttering; however, it's 10x easier if overall decluttering is part of the general home maintenance routine. 
So if you need motivation, play a pretend "we're moving" game and you'd be surprised at how much you can let go.

I use that method often. I say to myself "Do I want to move that?"

Found a few more small things today in my office as I was tidying up. I need to figure out where I can dispose of an old fax machine. It still works, except the paper jams. Might just need a good cleaning. I should try listing it for free on FB Marketplace.

[halftimer]

I've spent 2 days helping an older relative get ready to move from their one-bedroom apartment.  They'd been living there for almost 10 years and although they discarded basic trash they had never done a regular decluttering, which meant the closet had lots of old stained clothes and worn out shoes, the kitchen had multiples of expired spices and food, medicine cabinet had expired vitamins and medicines, paperwork had piled up, etc.

As we all know, moving is difficult as it is and is a big motivation for decluttering; however, it's 10x easier if overall decluttering is part of the general home maintenance routine. 
So if you need motivation, play a pretend "we're moving" game and you'd be surprised at how much you can let go.

Thanks for the nudge! I read 'expired vitamins' and stood up and checked the 2 giant bottles I've been trying to use up lately. Yup both expired and in the garbage now; they will not be replaced. I sometimes keep product packaging if it has a warranty, and a few of those  are expired now too even though the item itself is still going strong. So those are out too. Feeling pretty good about the extra load I just put together.

[Plina]

I've spent 2 days helping an older relative get ready to move from their one-bedroom apartment.  They'd been living there for almost 10 years and although they discarded basic trash they had never done a regular decluttering, which meant the closet had lots of old stained clothes and worn out shoes, the kitchen had multiples of expired spices and food, medicine cabinet had expired vitamins and medicines, paperwork had piled up, etc.

As we all know, moving is difficult as it is and is a big motivation for decluttering; however, it's 10x easier if overall decluttering is part of the general home maintenance routine. 
So if you need motivation, play a pretend "we're moving" game and you'd be surprised at how much you can let go.

I use that method often. I say to myself "Do I want to move that?"

Found a few more small things today in my office as I was tidying up. I need to figure out where I can dispose of an old fax machine. It still works, except the paper jams. Might just need a good cleaning. I should try listing it for free on FB Marketplace.

I haven’t heard of anyone faxing during at least the last five years. I thought that had diseappered with the landlines and been replaced by emails. It will be interesting to hear if someone wants it.

[Sibley]

There are a lot of things at parent's house that are no longer needed and can be sold. My sister put up a ton of this stuff on FB marketplace last night, and she is handling the communications and people coming over. With any luck, the 2.5 car garage will soon be empty. It's currently full.

I have 3 small bags of clothes to donate.

Edit: 5 large trash bags of packing peanuts, a pool table, massive stack of moving boxes (broken down), massive stack of moving blankets, and an egg beater are all sold. Plus probably other random stuff I haven't heard about. Parent's garage is much less cluttered.

[nessness]

We had a garage sale today, which didn't get much traffic, but we did sell a set of dining chairs and a stroller. I sold another stroller on Marketplace and took all the small garage sale leftovers to the thrift store. $150 in my pocket and a decent amount of stuff out of the house and garage - not too shabby!

[RetiredAt63]

I had a box full of student projects.  I thought it was going to take all evening to sort, and then I would end up with several papers to reread.

Under the 4 (4!) student papers was just stuff - old calendars (wonderful pictures, why I kept them), old magazines, old paperwork, instruction manuals, bills.  Bills from 2007.  Some is ready to take down to recycling.  Some is too personal, it is in a heavy duty garbage bag.  The 4 papers all have interesting topics (and are set aside to be read), which is probably why I kept them in the first place.

I wish all decluttering were this easy!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

It's been a really, really intense few weeks at work, so my decluttering is down to a crawl. I did list a few things on eBay, including some stuff that's been in my closet for a year, waiting to get posted. Yikes. I've completed 3/5 (they are designer mens suits, so they require some time to research & measure). I feel good about the progress.

Today I'm going to organize my three tier tray, were junk/paperwork/bills go to die.

[slackmax]

We had a garage sale today, which didn't get much traffic, but we did sell a set of dining chairs and a stroller. I sold another stroller on Marketplace and took all the small garage sale leftovers to the thrift store. $150 in my pocket and a decent amount of stuff out of the house and garage - not too shabby!

Way to go, Nessness !

[slackmax]

I've spent 2 days helping an older relative get ready to move from their one-bedroom apartment.  They'd been living there for almost 10 years and although they discarded basic trash they had never done a regular decluttering, which meant the closet had lots of old stained clothes and worn out shoes, the kitchen had multiples of expired spices and food, medicine cabinet had expired vitamins and medicines, paperwork had piled up, etc.

As we all know, moving is difficult as it is and is a big motivation for decluttering; however, it's 10x easier if overall decluttering is part of the general home maintenance routine. 
So if you need motivation, play a pretend "we're moving" game and you'd be surprised at how much you can let go.

I use that method often. I say to myself "Do I want to move that?"

Found a few more small things today in my office as I was tidying up. I need to figure out where I can dispose of an old fax machine. It still works, except the paper jams. Might just need a good cleaning. I should try listing it for free on FB Marketplace.

I haven’t heard of anyone faxing during at least the last five years. I thought that had diseappered with the landlines and been replaced by emails. It will be interesting to hear if someone wants it.

I read here a few months ago somewhere that there are businesses that still use fax machines. Maybe for security purposes?
Lawyers? Notaries?

[Sibley]

Well, I was going to take a few bags to the thrift store. Except last weekend was the townwide garage sale. I've heard that the Goodwill is not accepting donations at this time, they are overwhelmed. Guess I'll just clutter up my house a bit more.

Got a new tv. Gave old tv to parents. Went through some of the excess cord stash and have a variety to donate. If I get the inclination, pretty sure there's more in the closet.

[slackmax]

 Threw out two things that wouldn't sell at the flea market.

Also, convinced myself there is no market for two big old IT manuals, so I removed the contents (3 pounds of paper) and recycled it all.
Donated the 2 huge binders that were holding the paper. More space in computer room now, and 2 fewer items to worry about. 

[Plina]

I've spent 2 days helping an older relative get ready to move from their one-bedroom apartment.  They'd been living there for almost 10 years and although they discarded basic trash they had never done a regular decluttering, which meant the closet had lots of old stained clothes and worn out shoes, the kitchen had multiples of expired spices and food, medicine cabinet had expired vitamins and medicines, paperwork had piled up, etc.

As we all know, moving is difficult as it is and is a big motivation for decluttering; however, it's 10x easier if overall decluttering is part of the general home maintenance routine. 
So if you need motivation, play a pretend "we're moving" game and you'd be surprised at how much you can let go.

I use that method often. I say to myself "Do I want to move that?"

Found a few more small things today in my office as I was tidying up. I need to figure out where I can dispose of an old fax machine. It still works, except the paper jams. Might just need a good cleaning. I should try listing it for free on FB Marketplace.

I haven’t heard of anyone faxing during at least the last five years. I thought that had diseappered with the landlines and been replaced by emails. It will be interesting to hear if someone wants it.

I read here a few months ago somewhere that there are businesses that still use fax machines. Maybe for security purposes?
Lawyers? Notaries?

I work in a law firm. We don’t have a fax number. I looked and noticed that the courts don’t even have a fax number

[SunnyDays]

My doctor’s office, where everything is digital, still faxes medication renewals to the pharmacy, maybe because they are outside of the clinic’s system.

[Sibley]

You know who uses faxes? The IRS. Accounting firms have fax machines. They may not be used a ton, but they are used.

[slackmax]

I found a small cabinet with a 2 foot tall stack of 8 by 11 colored paper inside. Discovered it was a combo
of typing paper and card stock, both of which I have been able to sell on FB Marketplace.

I moved it out of the cabinet and into my "sell" area, so I will be reminded of it daily. Will
photograph it and put a new ad on FBM.

Now I can put other stuff into the empty cabinet, or maybe sell it for a few bucks.

[Plina]

You know who uses faxes? The IRS. Accounting firms have fax machines. They may not be used a ton, but they are used.

You can’t fax our IRS but you can chat with them. Actually, the IRS is known for their digitalization of their processes. Their webpage and digital services are really easy to use. You can approve your tax return through texting. I don’t think I have seen a paper version of a preskription for years.

So the fax machines seems to still exist.

[Sibley]

You know who uses faxes? The IRS. Accounting firms have fax machines. They may not be used a ton, but they are used.

You can’t fax our IRS but you can chat with them. Actually, the IRS is known for their digitalization of their processes. Their webpage and digital services are really easy to use. You can approve your tax return through texting. I don’t think I have seen a paper version of a preskription for years.

So the fax machines seems to still exist.

The American IRS is not that advanced. There is some digital, but the base software they use is decades old.

However, for medical stuff - that has digitized, at least for me. Records, prescriptions, etc are all digital.

[Loretta]

Rhetorical question but alas why oh why do I have so many coffee mugs? 

[SunnyDays]

Rhetorical question but alas why oh why do I have so many coffee mugs? 

Hah.  Me too.  They multiply, like hangers.

[Sibley]

Rhetorical question but alas why oh why do I have so many coffee mugs? 

Hah.  Me too.  They multiply, like hangers.

I think I got rid of some. Not sure when, because I am down to 4.

[mspym]

Unsubscribed from 3 different mailing lists because I am not currently in the market for their products. If I am not going to buy anything from them, I don't need to keep getting their sales pitches.

[rivendale]

Any tips on donating a 12 yo wedding dress? I have done some interneting research; have signed up to be on a waiting list for Angel Gowns. But its time to say goodbye. Thanks.

[PMG]

I just witnessed a young woman find her wedding dress at goodwill today. It was beautiful and she was in tears.  It might be nice to find a place that specializes in wedding gear but good old goodwill for the win this time.

[Prairie Gal]

Update on the fax machine: I took the path of least resistance and ended up just recycling it. They were having a drive at a supermarket near me and it was just too easy. It would have been pretty hard to re-home for all of the reasons mentioned above, but also because the paper jams. I also recycled an old printer while I was there, so two things out of the house. Yay! Now if I could only figure out a different location for my current printer I could get rid of the little desk it sits on. Hmmm ... this has me thinking. I re-finish furniture as a hobby and I may have a small side table or something that I could use. Will have to look around the basement.

Rhetorical question but alas why oh why do I have so many coffee mugs? 

Hah.  Me too.  They multiply, like hangers.

I think I got rid of some. Not sure when, because I am down to 4.

Oh, how I can relate. I used to collect coffee mugs on our travels, so each one has a special meaning. They are very hard to get rid of for sentimental reasons. One from Paris is a weird shape and feels a bit unstable, so never gets used. I think I can part with that one. I now collect fridge magnets instead.