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

[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.

[oneday]

@Prairie Gal if the paper jams, then it was likely not worth repairing and so recycling was probably the best call.

[midweststache]

 - When we bought our home this spring, we inherited a lot of stuff the previous owners just didn't want to move. Some of it was AWFUL (hello, giant L shaped desk that took up half our garage and prevented us from parking our car there until we could give it away) but some of it was lovely - including three very "us" MCM chairs. However, after almost six months in the house, we recognized we don't *need* the chairs. They're just taking up space, and other seating is a better fit for us right now. So we kept one for DH's office and I threw the other two up for $10 for the pair - it wasn't about making money, it was about getting rid of them. So now they're gone and our living room looks so much nicer!

- Friday is bulk trash PU and I already have a pile ready to go! (a long coffee table in such bad shape I can't give it away, a circular saw that has fritzed out, some other odds and ends from the previous owners that are in too rough shape to sell/give away, etc.)

- We're working really hard to rein in our food waste and eat down our cupboards. We made ratatouille for dinner last night to clear out our veggie drawer and I'll be eating leftovers for lunch today; I'll also be using the tomatoes and onions that didn't make it into that dish to make a pico de gallo for dinner tonight. We also had an old batch of cookie mix that came from World Market that DS1 and I baked to give us sweets and clear out a drawer. They were... fine. They'll be the kids post-dinner treats for the rest of the week.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I've sold a few things on eBay this week, so it's been great to get them out of the house: two pair of shoes & a set of fancy collar stays. The collar stays & one pair of shoes were reasonably pricey, so it was nice to clean out the closet & make a bit of money.

[rivendale]

I found a local second hand store that will take my wedding dress; they have a program/ministry in Haiti, so it will end up over there at some point. I just need to double check to make sure it's in reasonable condition. That will be the goal for next week.

A set of ski boots just recently sold on EBAY. Listed for forever. I cleared $40 after shipping and fees. At least they (and the box they were living in) are out of the house.

[Fresh Bread]

It's 1 October so I'm starting the minimalist game (with adaptations)

Today we had two boxes of returnable drinks containers picked up for a charity drive*. They set the date for their pickups so it was just a happy coincidence that it was 1 Oct. Our machines where you can return containers and get 10c each were shut for a few months so I had two big boxes taking up space. The service allows you to set a regular pickup so now I need to actually make a designated space for a large box in the garage rather than have them sit on the workbench. If I do the garden edging project I've been planning then that will use up a pile of odd profile timber that I've been saving and free up some space.

Anyway I'm counting the two boxes as two things, already ahead in the game, ha.

*NSW Aussies, it's a business called ReCollect. You can get your cans picked up and choose a charity for the $$. Mine was a local school / bush regen thing.

[Shinplaster]

Donated a big suitcase this morning.   Nothing wrong with it, but we aren't travelling as much now and we still have other ones we like better.  It was nice to get that out of the closet and make room for things we do want to keep.

[mspym]

One of our cups broke in the dishwasher so I guess that's one less item in the house.

[Fresh Bread]

Donated a big suitcase this morning.   Nothing wrong with it, but we aren't travelling as much now and we still have other ones we like better.  It was nice to get that out of the closet and make room for things we do want to keep.

Well done, that sort of thing is quite hard to get rid of I think.

[Fresh Bread]

I'm doing ok with the minimalism game, still on the low hanging fruit though. Jars that had been kept for storage but I know we won't use, and plastic spool and spray oil can that had been hanging around because I wasn't sure they could go in the recycling (they can).

I've decided to add another element. I'll also delete the same number of emails each day. I read a headline somewhere saying that you can decrease your environmental footprint by deleting emails that are being stored pointlessly. Didn't ever read the article but it makes sense!

Also, in excellent news, Mr F wants to organise his garage *flexes knuckles and stretches* My eyes lit up so much you could probably see them from over there in the US.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@Fresh Bread - if my husband ever offered up cleaning/organizing the garage, I would be ecstatic.

I finally listed a few things on Buy Nothing, & gave them away: a bunch of unused hair accessories (took them out of my sister's house when she was decluttering), a new running hat that was a work gift, a huge amount of ear plugs that are too small for me.

I also gave away a zucchini we were unlikely to eat. My friend traded me for apples from her garden.

[Shinplaster]

Got what I hope are the last excess kitchen items donated this morning.  Next up are the closets.

[mspym]

One of my shirts suddenly had complete fiber failure in multiple places. As in, it was fine all day and then, while reading a book, 4-5 large holes opened up across the stomach area and along the hemline. Since it was a stalwart of my summer wardrobe (silk-cotton voile! flattering shape and colours that went with 95% of my wardrobe!) I am saddened but not surprised. I got it secondhand and literally wore it to death.