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

[happy]

I remember there was an outcry of sorrow when I revealed I didn't have a toaster once :D

I haven't had one for years either. I was getting some plans drawn up for a kitchen reno and the designer was flabbergasted ..apparently they design in a space for the toaster nowadays.

[slackmax]

I remember there was an outcry of sorrow when I revealed I didn't have a toaster once :D

Ha Ha!  Just this morning I made bacon, eggs, and toast, without a toaster. I put two pieces of bread in a big pan, set the heat on medium for a few minutes. 

[okisok]

My trunk is full again. My SO decided it was time to clean out the garden shed and he was on fire about it. His oldest helped us take half the stuff out of the shed, sweep it out, install new shelving, and neatly organize what was left.

We filled up the trash and recycling cans with some left over. I took a stack of books to the nearest little library. There was another bag of donations that got added to mine since the donation place was closed by the time we finished. I found several dollars worth of change and some gift cards in the boxes of paperwork, so we made money decluttering without having to sell anything :)

He was so thrilled when we were done. He has much more space for his hobby. We realized he needed a new garden hose and his brother texted him about one he was getting rid of--one in one out! There was junk out there he had meant to get rid of for over 5 years. There's still more to go but it made us both so happy to toss stuff. We were able to put like things together into organizing containers, so I'm hoping he'll realize how much stuff he has and won't need to acquire any more.

[Tyson]

Spaghetti with ground bison and spicy marinara.

[SunnyDays]

Spaghetti with ground bison and spicy marinara.

Sounds delicious, but wrong thread!

Or did you mean that you decluttering this by eating it?

[Tyson]

Spaghetti with ground bison and spicy marinara.

Sounds delicious, but wrong thread!

Or did you mean that you decluttering this by eating it?

Haha, thought I was posting in the "Whatcha making for dinner tonight" thread.  On a decluttering note, I do now have 2 less cans of marinara sauce in my pantry....

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I found two stuffed animals under my teen's bed. He hasn't even noticed them in years, so I cleared them out. Hurrah for less stuff!

[slackmax]

Sold a big dried flower arrangement at the flea market today (I sell stuff there) that was in the corner of a bedroom for aeons. Already vacuumed out the area under it.     I sold it to another vendor for the massive sum of $3. I was happy to be rid of it, and she now has lots of exotic dried flowers to do her crafting with. 

[Prairie Gal]

Sold another chair as I won't have room for everything in the new place. It kind of pains me as I really liked it, but something has to give. I've had it for a few years, but I'm pretty sure that I bought it for $50 (used) and I just sold it for $75.

Lots of other small items going in the donate boxes as I pack. I found a package of mixed veggie seeds that I bought at the beginning of the pandemic thinking I would try to grow some lettuce, etc in pots. Never happened. Remember when everyone was nesting at the beginning of lockdown? Sour dough bread, etc. Seems like a long time ago. And yet we are still dealing with it. Oh well, those are thoughts for another thread.

[Roadrunner53]

Time to clean out your pantry of foods you have too many of. The Post Office is doing a Stamp Out Hunger drive on May 14th.

Good time to get rid of things you bought and don't like or things you bought too many of for some reason. I got on a canned fish kick and that fizzled out quickly, so I have quite a bit of that to donate.

I do believe they do not want anything in glass jars, nothing breakable.

It is a win, win situation! You get to hoe out your cupboards and make room in your house and people in need will get some needed food supplies.

Due to Covid, I don't think the Post Office has done this in two years.

https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive

[Loretta]

I dropped off 4 pairs of spectacles to a Lions Club box at the library. 

[Sibley]

Dropped off a partial bag of cat food to the shelter. Wasn't sure if they could take it because it's prescription and opened, but they were good with it. Silly cat ate around those food pieces.

[zygote]

Gathered up some bras and tank tops that don't fit right anymore, AND actually brought the bag to Goodwill.

[oneday]

Disassembled the love seat which needs to be disposed of. Don't have a dumpster at this place, nor do I own any kind of saw. Will need to get creative with the disposal of the biggest piece. But the cushion covers are already gone, yay!

The plan is to fill any remaining space in the trash carts each week late on the night before collection day. Maybe it will take 3 weeks. This way it is free.

Finally got all the loveseat pieces in the trash, hooray!

[mspym]

Two books, two jackets and a tailored shirt donated.

[okisok]

A free zippered pouch came withan  item I recently ordered. It was a 'free gift' that I couldn't remove from the cart. When it came it, it was cute and I thought about keeping it.

But I don't need another cluttery item like that! So I filled it with feminine supplies and am going to drop it off at the little 'take what you need' spot on my way to work. Then I looked around for other things that could be added and found a few more items that are off to someone who might need them.

[Prairie Gal]

Started going through old family photos from the days before digital. Threw out some as well as all the negatives. Put the rest in a plastic bin from the dollar store.

Went through one of my drawers that had some swim suits and clothes that hadn't been worn in a long time. Donated all but one swimsuit and cover up.

[KidneyBeansMD]

Any good consignment shops for men's clothing anyone has come across? I have a lot of old but barely worn clothes that I'm looking to get rid of, but don't want to have to reopen my FB account to use marketplace. I signed up for Poshmark and posted a couple good quality items (new with tags Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers slacks, as an example) but no takers.

[slackmax]

Looking for six D sized batteries to put in my electronic Casio piano keyboard so I could play it at the flea market, to sell it.

Had to move lots of stuff away from the bottom of a big cabinet, to open the doors. I thought I might have some old batteries in there. Sure enough, I found six D batteries there! Then tested them all, had to recycle 3 of them since they were weak. But I now have the other 3 to use toward the Casio demonstration. If I just went out and bought six new batteries, I'd still have these old batteries cluttering the place up.   

While in there, found stuff to toss, repurpose, or add to the 'sell' pile.

Will put all the remaining stuff back in the cabinet soon, lol.   

Going to donate a pile of old Readers Digests later today.

Forced myself to add a few pounds of ancient computer programming manuals to this morning's curbside recycling. 

[mspym]

@slackmax awesome work opening a whole new cabinet! honestly the old readers digests should be out on curbside recycling too. There is no value in them and whoever you donate them to is just going to recycle them.

[okisok]

Took the trunkful of donation items to the donation center today. Time to start another donation bag!

[Sibley]

Bag of stuff in the car to go to thrift store. Rejected cat bed and old blanket in car to go to animal shelter.

[NotJen]

It's been over a year since I moved.  Have lots of clothes I haven't worn or even looked at since.  I'm committing to donating 20 items (completely arbitrary number) before I leave for the summer.

[Prairie Gal]

A few more things in the donate box. I am still culling all of the printed photos. I am determined to only take that one plastic container with me when I move. Not sure how many more are in the basement, but the container is getting full. Wish me luck!

[Frugal Lizard]

4 boxes out of the basement. Have a lot of time on my hands so I am mentally sorting through things. As soon as I am cleared to lift again,  there will be a furry of activity.

[seemsright]

I am yet again clearing out crap out of this house. If the preteen has not touched the item during the lockdowns...it is going. I am so done with dealing with items. I just want simple and hassle free.

[Zamboni]

I'm in the final stages of a massive paper purge in my house. 6 hefty bags full of mostly shredded documents.

I gave the giant desk and hutch that was housing all of this away for free to a violin teacher for her studio. The are no words for how happy I was when she and her husband showed up with a dolly and a pick up truck and trailer to take that out of my life!

[NotJen]

It's been over a year since I moved.  Have lots of clothes I haven't worn or even looked at since.  I'm committing to donating 20 items (completely arbitrary number) before I leave for the summer.

I took 22 items to the donation center today.  I'm still hanging on to more than I should.

[Loretta]

Saturday AM we dropped off a large paper box and a garbage bag of mostly housewares to the thrift store.  My linen closet is lighter now.  I also looked at my toiletries with an eye toward using up some stuff.  I rejuvenated a package of Wegmans hand wipes with a shot of witch hazel. 

[Captain FIRE]

Passed a bunch of stuff out 8 different people through the local free group: winter toddler jacket, 2 formal toddler jackets, stack of toddler shorts, stack of toddler dresses etc, sterilizer, toddler toys, baby toys, books.  Very pleased they are onto new homes (not a landfill) and I'm motivated to find some more things!

[slackmax]

It's been over a year since I moved.  Have lots of clothes I haven't worn or even looked at since.  I'm committing to donating 20 items (completely arbitrary number) before I leave for the summer.

I took 22 items to the donation center today.  I'm still hanging on to more than I should.

Good going, NotJen. Slow and steady wins the race. 

I keep finding more clothes around the place. I take a big bag of clothes to Goodwill every few months.   

[Prairie Gal]

 - Sold an extra dresser that was in the spare room.
 - The people that are buying my house agreed that I could leave the treadmill. So happy about that. It is a big, heavy beast to move.
 - Put a garbage bag of clothes in the car and will take it to the thrift store on Tuesday.
 - Culled down a lot of old school pictures and projects from when my kids were little, plus a lot of other mementos to one plastic container.

I have some other stuff listed for sale that I don't have room for in my new place, so hopefully it sells.

[Sibley]

Finally dropped off the soffit vent to Habitat Restore, and dropped off the blanket to the animal shelter. Of course, then I grabbed a few more things from parent's house today that they do not need, will not need, and can be of use to someone else for the Restore. Which I can only get to on Saturdays. Sigh.

[Prairie Gal]

 - Sold two side tables that I had planned to flip, but never got around to.
 - A lady is supposed to be coming today to pick up a bunch of stuff that was going to the thrift store.

Still to get rid of:
 - Deep freeze
 - Two French Provincial side tables
 - Small table that kid made in shop class
 - long table in garage
 

[Sibley]

Someone is supposed to be coming tomorrow to take the rock pile.

The old wifi router got misplaced, then found again today. Amazing what happens when you clean! Now by the door, needs to be taken to ewaste.

[Freedomin5]

Cleared out a few cake pans, muffin tins, and kitchen paraphernalia. Also cleared out two large bags of clothes.

[slackmax]

Sold another 25 or so small items at the flea market yesterday. Another vendor wanted to give me about 100 audio cd's for free, but I said I appreciated the gesture, but just didn't want them. Patting myself on the back. But the truth is I didn't want them, no self-discipline involved. Too much hassle and clutter to drag around.   

On the way home I drove past a home with free stuff piled up in the front yard, with folks sorting through it. I did make a u turn for that one. Picked up two small containers of mold removing spray which I think I can sell quickly. 

Will donate a pair of shoes and a large book to Salvation Army today.

[okisok]

Culled some clothes that still had backwards hangers after the winter and early spring. Two work tops, a tshirt, and a pair of pants. I'm starting a new job soon that has a more professional dress code than my current job, so I'm seeing the clothes through a different lens. One cardigan got thrown away after it developed a bunch of holes in the wash. It had been purchased secondhand so not a huge loss.

I saw some family over the weekend who gave me a bunch of stuff I didn't need. I took most of it to the 'take what you need' cabinet in my neighborhood. Lots of personal care items that someone might need or want. Most of the packaging got recycled. Some unusable items did get thrown away and a couple of items will be regifted. But it's all out of their house and isn't cluttering up mine, so I count it as a plus. I'm still net a few items, but I have plans for all of them.

[chaskavitch]

I'm having trouble getting rid of things that are theoretically mendable, but logistically not so much. 

For example, I wore through the heels or balls of one side each of 5 pairs of wool socks in the last year.  I really did try to darn them, but the wool is fine enough that my patches are really thick compared to the rest of the socks, and they're uncomfortable to wear.  I feel SO BAD getting rid of that many wool/wool blend socks all at once.  I've found a few that are similar weight and paired the un-holey socks as well as I can, but I still have the other halves in my mending box. 

It's the same thing with kids' clothes that I could *probably* patch the knees on, or cardigans with a hole in the neck that I've already sewn up 4 times.  I don't NEED them, but I feel so wasteful just putting them in the trash.  No one else wants them either, though.

[Frugal Lizard]

Some furniture shuffling happened on the weekend.  Stuff got emptied out of two cabinets and not all went back in to one new cabinet and a writing desk.  This morning I realized the bird book that my mother fobbed off on us 20 years ago smelled moldy.  And she bought us a new bird book about 10 years ago.  Why I have been keeping this stinking bird book all these years? Now it is in the recycling.

[SunnyDays]

I'm having trouble getting rid of things that are theoretically mendable, but logistically not so much. 

For example, I wore through the heels or balls of one side each of 5 pairs of wool socks in the last year.  I really did try to darn them, but the wool is fine enough that my patches are really thick compared to the rest of the socks, and they're uncomfortable to wear.  I feel SO BAD getting rid of that many wool/wool blend socks all at once.  I've found a few that are similar weight and paired the un-holey socks as well as I can, but I still have the other halves in my mending box. 

It's the same thing with kids' clothes that I could *probably* patch the knees on, or cardigans with a hole in the neck that I've already sewn up 4 times.  I don't NEED them, but I feel so wasteful just putting them in the trash.  No one else wants them either, though.

Most thrift stores do fabric recycling, so you can donate the stuff to them.  Just clearly mark the bag so they don't have to sort through it.

[chaskavitch]

I'm having trouble getting rid of things that are theoretically mendable, but logistically not so much. 

For example, I wore through the heels or balls of one side each of 5 pairs of wool socks in the last year.  I really did try to darn them, but the wool is fine enough that my patches are really thick compared to the rest of the socks, and they're uncomfortable to wear.  I feel SO BAD getting rid of that many wool/wool blend socks all at once.  I've found a few that are similar weight and paired the un-holey socks as well as I can, but I still have the other halves in my mending box. 

It's the same thing with kids' clothes that I could *probably* patch the knees on, or cardigans with a hole in the neck that I've already sewn up 4 times.  I don't NEED them, but I feel so wasteful just putting them in the trash.  No one else wants them either, though.

Most thrift stores do fabric recycling, so you can donate the stuff to them.  Just clearly mark the bag so they don't have to sort through it.

Oooh, I did not know that!  I'll definitely look into it, that would solve a nice chunk of my clutter.

[Prairie Gal]

- Sold two side tables that I had planned to flip, but never got around to.
 - A lady is supposed to be coming today to pick up a bunch of stuff that was going to the thrift store.

Still to get rid of:
 - Deep freeze
 - Two French Provincial side tables
 - Small table that kid made in shop class
 - long table in garage

Offered the freezer to someone in a FB group that needs one. Will see if they actually come pick it up.

Will list the French Provincial tables today.
  SOLD!
I also need to go through my clothes one last time before moving and see if there is anything else that I can part with. Since I am not going back to work there are probably some work clothes that can go.

My Dad instilled in me a strong sense of "You might need that someday". He grew up during the Depression, and they didn't part with anything. I tried to get him to part with some old, rusty shovels and he launched into that speech. He lives in an apartment, and I am moving to a mobile home park where all of the yard work is taken care of by the park. We both have zero need for yard tools. Oh well.

[ixtap]

As we prepare to move back into the boat, I am working very hard at convincing myself that while it is true we might need it, the fact is that we can afford it at that time, if that time ever arrives.

[RetiredAt63]

As we prepare to move back into the boat, I am working very hard at convincing myself that while it is true we might need it, the fact is that we can afford it at that time, if that time ever arrives.

I left all my gardening tools with the house when I sold it.  Then I managed to find a community garden here.  At the height of lockdown I was able to buy the tools I needed for my new garden.

Some things I like to keep, but MMM was right when he said the community can be your storage shed (or words to that effect).

[okisok]

I managed to buy secondhand gardening tools at the height of lockdown, too. I broke a trowel recently and was almost immediately offered a friend's extra trowel, unbeknownst to them that I needed one.

[Tyson]

Found out there's a local paint recycling company that will pick up your old paint, for free.  So Tuesday, buh-bye all my old paint cans in the basement.

[okisok]

Threw away a burned up candle instead of cleaning out the jar and saving it for some hypothetical future use.

Put even more clothes in the donate bag. It's summer now and I'm getting rid of clothes I didn't love from fall/winter. I'm down to ten work shirts and five work pants. That will get me through the first week or two to see what else I need. I'm attempting to be systematic in my clothing acquisitions. Packed away the summer clothes and donated some of those, too.

[Prairie Gal]

Found out there's a local paint recycling company that will pick up your old paint, for free.  So Tuesday, buh-bye all my old paint cans in the basement.

Oh wow! That's great. I wonder if there is anything like that here? I have several cans of paint that could go.

Moved on the weekend and gave several items to family members that I no longer needed.

[SunnyDays]

Found out there's a local paint recycling company that will pick up your old paint, for free.  So Tuesday, buh-bye all my old paint cans in the basement.

Oh wow! That's great. I wonder if there is anything like that here? I have several cans of paint that could go.

Moved on the weekend and gave several items to family members that I no longer needed.

Doesn't any paint store/department take old paint?  My local, independent one does.  There's also the dump, that takes such stuff and recycles it.  If you ask around, especially at a paint store, I'm sure there's something near you.