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

[Poundwise]

Yesterday I got to hear two small boys discover the skateboard we had put out in the donation bin

“Billy, BILLY! It’s a FREE SKATEBOARD!”
“What???”
….rumble of wheels down to the park

It made me feel good all day.

That is SO sweet!!

Today I finally got rid of three big trash bags of cloth waste. I dropped two of them off at a booth at the farmers' market that says they take textile waste, so they got our socks and clothes that are too ragged to donate. The old blankets and towels went to the animal shelter.  That was 3 cubic yards of space in our home freed!

[Captain FIRE]

i got DS to go through his pile of trucks (mostly gifted from the neighbor) and although he didn't reach the 50% reduction I asked for, he did cut it by 40%. Which he kept declaring "at least it's something!" I took that as a win. He was much less successful culling the (also donated from neighbor) PJ masks collection, so I'll come back to it in a few months.

[mspym]

On yesterday’s walk I noticed one of the nearby street libraries was half empty so I immediately grabbed an armload of appropriate books and magazines and walked them over. Pretty confident that Dr Seuss will go quickly next to a pre-school.

We also dropped off a bag of clothes at a charity, took three pot plants and some hangers to our friend’s house, helped her clean out a carload of cardboard boxes to the recycling place and called that good for the day.

[LaineyAZ]

...
We also dropped off a bag of clothes at a charity, took three pot plants and some hangers to our friend’s house, helped her clean out a carload of cardboard boxes to the recycling place and called that good for the day.

Was that really three pot plants, or three potted plants??  :-)

[mspym]

...
We also dropped off a bag of clothes at a charity, took three pot plants and some hangers to our friend’s house, helped her clean out a carload of cardboard boxes to the recycling place and called that good for the day.

Was that really three pot plants, or three potted plants??  :-)

In the Antipodes, they're called pot plants. It's the math/maths of the gardening world.
No one is getting high off two spider plants and a sedum

[Loretta]

I freecycled a pain in the neck vacuum cleaner and almost freecycled some toiletries but I can’t seem to get 100% of takers to show. 

[oneday]

Did a small desk declutter. Got rid of a handful of papers, tidied up the myriad charging cables on a little container, and rearranged the objects that live on the desk. Not totally clean, as there are still some papers, but much nicer. No longer an anxiety trigger.

[LeftA]

I’ve never posted in this thread…

A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to purge my whole house. We just have too much stuff!

Shortly before starting this particular round of purging, I did most of my master bedroom. This included my medicine cabinet, under my sink and several drawers. I ended up with expired medication to bring to the pharmacy and old make up containers to recycle.

As of the start of the purge, I’ve done the following:

In the Master Bedroom:
- purged and organized bracelets and necklaces from my closet.
-purged and organized 4 out of 6 night table drawers
- p&o sweaters from large tall dresser
-p&o 8 out of 12 drawers in large wide dresser (the other 4 were done not too long ago)
-p&o purses and clutches

In top floor bathroom
-p & o under both bathroom sinks


In office (also spare bedroom)
-p& o all tall dresser drawers
-p&o all wide dresser drawers
-p&o shoes
-p&o books on top of dresser
-cleared out a box under bed

in hall area
-cleared books from end table

In child 1’s bedroom
-cleaned 1 side of closet and the floor so child could be motivated to do rest :)
-p&o top drawer of dresser

In child 2s bedroom
-p&o hangers, top shelf on left and top shelf in middle of closet.
-helped YDC clear out armoire

In kitchen
-p&o all bottom cabinets

In family room
-p&o magazines
-p&o stuff accumulated on top of a storage box
-p&o cookbooks

In basement
-p&o all board games (kid and adult)
-p&o coats in an armoire
-p&o desk used by YDC
- started on the storage area, which will likely take many, many days to address.

The result of all of this so far, is that I’ve gotten rid of about 20 pairs of adult shoes, 30+necklaces and bracelets, a few bags of adult clothes, > 10 board games, at least 8 boxes of kid’s clothes, 2 garbage bags of stuffed animals and random toys, a bin of old magazines/catalogs and a small kitchen appliance. Not bad, but lots more work to do!

ETA: I have not sold any of this stuff, a small amount has been thrown out, while the rest has been gifted, donated or recycled.

[stoaX]

I’ve never posted in this thread…

A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to purge my whole house. We just have too much stuff!

Shortly before starting this particular round of purging, I did most of my master bedroom. This included my medicine cabinet, under my sink and several drawers. I ended up with expired medication to bring to the pharmacy and old make up containers to recycle.

As of the start of the purge, I’ve done the following:

In the Master Bedroom:
- purged and organized bracelets and necklaces from my closet.
-purged and organized 4 out of 6 night table drawers
- p&o sweaters from large tall dresser
-p&o 8 out of 12 drawers in large wide dresser (the other 4 were done not too long ago)
-p&o purses and clutches

In top floor bathroom
-p & o under both bathroom sinks


In office (also spare bedroom)
-p& o all tall dresser drawers
-p&o all wide dresser drawers
-p&o shoes
-p&o books on top of dresser
-cleared out a box under bed

in hall area
-cleared books from end table

In child 1’s bedroom
-cleaned 1 side of closet and the floor so child could be motivated to do rest :)
-p&o top drawer of dresser

In child 2s bedroom
-p&o hangers, top shelf on left and top shelf in middle of closet.
-helped YDC clear out armoire

In kitchen
-p&o all bottom cabinets

In family room
-p&o magazines
-p&o stuff accumulated on top of a storage box
-p&o cookbooks

In basement
-p&o all board games (kid and adult)
-p&o coats in an armoire
-p&o desk used by YDC
- started on the storage area, which will likely take many, many days to address.

The result of all of this so far, is that I’ve gotten rid of about 20 pairs of adult shoes, 30+necklaces and bracelets, a few bags of adult clothes, > 10 board games, at least 8 boxes of kid’s clothes, 2 garbage bags of stuffed animals and random toys, a bin of old magazines/catalogs and a small kitchen appliance. Not bad, but lots more work to do!

ETA: I have not sold any of this stuff, a small amount has been thrown out, while the rest has been gifted, donated or recycled.

Wow - good job! I like the abbreviation "P&O" for purge and organize.   Time to get on the P&O railroad!

[Poundwise]

Happy dance, @stoaX!! That must be the greatest feeling to get all that done!

@Captain FIRE , it sounds like your spouse accomplished much and hopefully it was a positive enough experience that he'll do it again.

[Captain FIRE]

@Captain FIRE , it sounds like your spouse accomplished much and hopefully it was a positive enough experience that he'll do it again.

Haha I read that and I thought, why are you talking about my husband? D’oh, i mistyped. My six yr old son. DS not DH. I would likely take a different tack with a spouse…

[LeftA]

Thanks @stoaX ! It was getting a bit tedious typing out the term giving how long my list is!

@Poundwise , I have a feeling you meant me and not stoaX. It feels good and yet I have so much more to do!

@Captain FIRE , I was thinking wow her husband sounds like he’s holding onto his childhood with all those trucks…LOL.

I decided to list something for sale using FB Marketplace. Wow, now I remember why I give away so much stuff! It does not seem worth the effort to answer all the people interested and arrange for pickup!

[mspym]

I was hoping it was a typo otherwise I was wondering if trucks were building out in the yard out back.

Yesterday Ofpym went through the tools in the basement and a whole set of broken parts and tools are now trashed. I went through some bathroom drawers and threw some more random items out. It was more of a slow and steady day after our weekend blitz

[LeftA]

Yesterday and today I worked on the papers in my basement. I’ve kept way too much from the days of paper statements! I cleared up multiple piles, shredding and recycling as appropriate. I also found 2 bags of materials from my conference attending days. There were actually some useful giveaways in there! Embarrassed to say they lay there unused for years!

I also just dropped off 3 large bags of kids clothes to someone who could use them. Win win.

[Poundwise]

@Poundwise , I have a feeling you meant me and not stoaX. It feels good and yet I have so much more to do!

Haha, yes!  Good work @LeftA !!

@Captain FIRE , yeah, I thought perhaps your husband collected broken trucks that he meant to repair!  There's a guy in my neighborhood who angers my other neighbors because he has been hoarding broken classic cars, motorcycles, and boats with the intention of fixing them and selling them. 

[LeftA]

It’s been a busy few days of purging and organizing.

My cleaning lady left with some fragrances, body washes, necklaces & bracelets, and a bag of clothes. She seemed happy to have them, which feels good.

I went through most of my basement office. Recycled, shredded and discarded piles of paper.

Yesterday, I attacked YDC’s closet. So much stuff in there! Recycled a medium sized box of stuff, lots of odds and ends to donate, a few arts games to free cycle to neighbours, and a few broken / torn things to throw out. It was a BIG job, so I still have a small pile to go through this morning.

Today, I have someone passing by to get a bag of kids books and a neighbour has confirmed she’d like some kid’s clothing.

It’s so rewarding to start to see all my efforts translate into spaces that are much more organized and clutter-free!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I love a 4 day weekend to get me motivated. The extra time is a huge win.

1) Cleaned out three tiered tray, where I keep paperwork, bills, & other random miscellany. As expected, it build over time & it was in desperate need of organization. Found $100 of gift cards, as well as a bunch of stuff to file, recycle, etc. Woohoo! It looks so much better. Whenever I'd walk by it previously, it would irritate me. I should have just cleaned it earlier, rather than continually walking past it & being frustrated.
2) Talked to my teens, and they both agreed to part with their suits. Neither of them can fit into the pants, but I wasn't sure if they wanted any of the other pieces. Nope. Listed on Buy Nothing, and people are expectedly thrilled to have an option for a full suit set (jacket, shirt, vest, tie, pants) in teen sizes. One is gone, and the other is going today. Excellent.
3) I think I finally have someone coming to pick up a FB set that I've had listed for a long time - a reffing kit, complete with all of the gear & miscellany (flags, coin, stop watch, etc). It will be nice to have that out of the closet.

Now to keep going & organize the freezer a bit, as well as decide which eBay items I want to keep, donate, & if there's anything new I want to add to the pile of things for sale.

[mspym]

Today’s mission is to get all the tools and various bits and bobs in the basement and discard all the trash and duplicates. We don’t need 28 IKEA Allan wrenches.

We’ve also got all the books down to the point where they fit on two bookshelves not four so there’s two shelves to get rid of.

Update: some ad hoc pottering in the kitchen removed three ancient unused vinegars and I found some unused spices that can be donated.

[fuzzy math]

DH has been working in the old house purging before the moving truck arrives. We face timed and he put every cup, thermos, and mug on our dining table. Needless to say between kid stuff, sports stuff, bar ware items and every day use things for both coffee and regular beverages, the table was almost covered. We ended up purging about 40% of the items including some of my favorites for reasons of making things simpler (all metal travel mugs must have interchangeable lids, all bar ware or coffee mugs must match). I'm done having eclectic stuff, I just want my items to match and look serene on my open kitchen shelving.

I've been giving him full rein to get rid of anything else in the home that he deems non worthy, except for a few choice items. The strange thing is at the new house, we don't really have anything but we don't miss much either. I know once all the crap arrives we're going to be cluttered and overwhelmed again :-/ 
At least DH was being practical and said "we've done the most we can for now, we can unpack and get rid of things once they arrive, it doesn't matter"

[Loretta]

On a road trip and purging some stuff along the way.  I wore a skirt today with droopy waistband elastic and it will be purged to Goodwill.  I also have my mom some first aid brace stuff back that I don’t even remember why she loaned to me. 

[LeftA]

Thank you all for posting. It keeps me motivated to keep going. I have a big house and we’ve all kept too much over the years. Add to that, I have a lot of my stuff from parent’s house - when one of them passed, the other didn’t want to part with all the stuff :( I’m making progress but it does often feel overwhelming.

On Sunday, I organized the cabinets in my laundry room. So glad I did this as I could never easily access the few tools that I would like to keep there (I.e. a hammer and the most commonly used screwdrivers). I was also able to nicely organize our extra lightbulbs. We have a few now because with all our organizing I had husband buy bulbs for the entire house where they were all burned out - many of our light fixtures take multiple bulbs.

I also identified and posted 5 separate listing lots to my local freecyle group. All are wanted. 2 have already been collected. 1 will be collected tomorrow. And, arranging pick up for the last 2.

Today, I went through a box in basement. I had papers from my elementary school years! I’m recycling the majority, but became a bit overwhelmed so left a few folders for another day. Knowing that I kept them all these years makes me feel like perhaps I had some psychological issues?!!

[fuzzy math]

Selling DS's bunk bed this morning and a reptile tank. Yeehaw $$ !

[Sibley]

Thank you all for posting. It keeps me motivated to keep going. I have a big house and we’ve all kept too much over the years. Add to that, I have a lot of my stuff from parent’s house - when one of them passed, the other didn’t want to part with all the stuff :( I’m making progress but it does often feel overwhelming.

On Sunday, I organized the cabinets in my laundry room. So glad I did this as I could never easily access the few tools that I would like to keep there (I.e. a hammer and the most commonly used screwdrivers). I was also able to nicely organize our extra lightbulbs. We have a few now because with all our organizing I had husband buy bulbs for the entire house where they were all burned out - many of our light fixtures take multiple bulbs.

I also identified and posted 5 separate listing lots to my local freecyle group. All are wanted. 2 have already been collected. 1 will be collected tomorrow. And, arranging pick up for the last 2.

Today, I went through a box in basement. I had papers from my elementary school years! I’m recycling the majority, but became a bit overwhelmed so left a few folders for another day. Knowing that I kept them all these years makes me feel like perhaps I had some psychological issues?!!

There's nothing wrong with being sentimental. It's when your sentimentality becomes inability to get rid of anything that you run into problems. Just keep at it, bit by bit. You didn't get into this situation over night, and short of a house fire (not recommended) you won't get out of it overnight.

If you need an example: @slackmax has been working through what seems like an overwhelming amount of stuff, and is making real progress. It is possible.

[keepingfocus]

Last week we got a wait and load skip, and I spent a joyous hour hurling things into it. The garden hasn't been so uncluttered in years!

[LeftA]

@Sibley , thanks for your post. It's very compassionate.

I probably make it sound worse than it is. I've had a hectic, fast-paced career for over 20 years. Add in two children and some family health issues and managing the stuff often took a back burner.

Recently made a career change so I have more time and energy to focus on non-work stuff. And, the children are older are therefore require less time commitment and have also outgrown a lot of stuff.

I haven't posted in a week. Since then, I've put in consistent effort and have gotten rid of a bunch more stuff.

-Gave away a few things (a booster seat, doll toys and 4 dining room chairs)
-Last weekend husband brought a couple of boxes of stuff to donation place
-Gave away 4 boxes of kid's clothes
-Recycled more papers
-The large items collection came by this morning, and picked up what wasn't pilfered by my neighbors (pilfered is too strong a word, I'm pleased that they took the stuff so it could avoid the landfill). What was left was random construction debris, rusted tools and expired car seats. So happy that's not lying around my house anymore!

I'm taking a break now for a few weeks to focus on a few others things and will pick it up again in early August. I want to enjoy some time outdoors.

Apart from the spaces I posted about a few posts ago, I made a major dent in our storage area. I would say, I've gotten rid of about 35% of the stuff that was there! The top 2 floors of my house are in great shape, but I need to work on my basement and the rest of the storage area when I get back to it.

[Linea_Norway]

Tonight someone will pick up a box of brochures and some other stuff that I had stored for a club. I gave a deadline to August, when we are going to move, but she responded in a few days. One thing less to move.

We are going away for a few days on a vacation + meeting family there. After that we have 3 and a half weeks left before we get the key to our next house. In that time, we will try to sell lots of stuff. I already have some adds out, like the wine fridge, but we will post the rest on the end of the vacation.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I've made a bit of progress here & there:
-Gave away three shirts & a pair of shorts. Both were picked up via BN, and didn't work, so I passed them along.
-Sold a new biking shirt (my son's) on eBay, as it didn't fit him properly


Also given away via BN:
-Travel amenity kits (international business travel for work) that were partially used. People love this stuff.
-A container of RIT clothing dye, mostly unused. Purchased to try to rescue a pair of shoes, but it was a failure.
-Iron on patches.

I need to go through my "staging closet" where I keep things that need to be donated, sold or tossed & continue my progress. While the idea of such a closet seems like an opportunity to generate clutter, it's actually helpful. In the moment where I find something that we don't need, I often don't have time to deal with it. And, I prefer to list 7-10 items at a time on BN, vs one by one. This helps me aggregate my items.

I also made my teen go through his school bag & toss/recycle an enormous stack of papers. More junk out of the house!

[slackmax]

Thank you all for posting. It keeps me motivated to keep going. I have a big house and we’ve all kept too much over the years. Add to that, I have a lot of my stuff from parent’s house - when one of them passed, the other didn’t want to part with all the stuff :( I’m making progress but it does often feel overwhelming.

On Sunday, I organized the cabinets in my laundry room. So glad I did this as I could never easily access the few tools that I would like to keep there (I.e. a hammer and the most commonly used screwdrivers). I was also able to nicely organize our extra lightbulbs. We have a few now because with all our organizing I had husband buy bulbs for the entire house where they were all burned out - many of our light fixtures take multiple bulbs.

I also identified and posted 5 separate listing lots to my local freecyle group. All are wanted. 2 have already been collected. 1 will be collected tomorrow. And, arranging pick up for the last 2.

Today, I went through a box in basement. I had papers from my elementary school years! I’m recycling the majority, but became a bit overwhelmed so left a few folders for another day. Knowing that I kept them all these years makes me feel like perhaps I had some psychological issues?!!

There's nothing wrong with being sentimental. It's when your sentimentality becomes inability to get rid of anything that you run into problems. Just keep at it, bit by bit. You didn't get into this situation over night, and short of a house fire (not recommended) you won't get out of it overnight.

If you need an example: @slackmax has been working through what seems like an overwhelming amount of stuff, and is making real progress. It is possible.

Yes, it can feel overwhelming. Today I drove some clutter back from my Mom's place. Golf clubs, a roller suitcase, some Christmas stuff, etc. Now the clutter is in my house, ha ha, but I plan to sell it, and if it doesn't sell, will gladly donate it. That's my style. Try to sell, donate after x amount of time.   

Finally getting some responses about some leftover medical stuff I listed on the internet for free.  But now I have no time to meet the people who want it! Oh well, I told them I would get back to them. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@slackmax - I leave stuff out on our porch, in a bag with folks name on it, and never had any problems with it. Of course, don't know if that would work for you/where you live.

I listed another 15 items on Buy Nothing, and have takers for all but one item. I haven't gone through my eBay stuff, but need to work on that as well.

[Loretta]

I filled a bag with clothing I thrifted or obtained for free that was not flattering/fit poorly.  It’s now in the trunk of my car.  I will use up some toiletries my stash this week as the humidity and heat have ramped up and I’m sweating more = more shampooing. 

[slackmax]

My mom is moving from her apartment into assisted living, so I am decluttering her place at a mad pace, since time matters. Took some stuff in my car, like an 8 by 10 foot persian rug, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

The interesting thing for me, is that I was able to make myself throw out stuff like retro brown plastic drinking glasses. Could have sold them at the flea market, but not gonna happen. No time. Threw out a lot of stuff.

She currently lives in an apartment in an independent living setup in a retirement community. 

I haven't asked ( I should) , but I think the community does not allow people to come in to buy stuff, so I am probably going to get zero dollars for anything here, unless I remove it and sell it outside the community.   

[SunnyDays]

My mom is moving from her apartment into assisted living, so I am decluttering her place at a mad pace, since time matters. Took some stuff in my car, like an 8 by 10 foot persian rug, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

The interesting thing for me, is that I was able to make myself throw out stuff like retro brown plastic drinking glasses. Could have sold them at the flea market, but not gonna happen. No time. Threw out a lot of stuff.

She currently lives in an apartment in an independent living setup in a retirement community. 

I haven't asked ( I should) , but I think the community does not allow people to come in to buy stuff, so I am probably going to get zero dollars for anything here, unless I remove it and sell it outside the community.   

Can you take decent stuff to a thrift store so at least it all doesn't end up in a landfill?

[middo]

We took a TV to the tip today.  Bought a new one yesterday from Aldi, as the old one wasn't seeing the remote most of the time.  (It wasn't the batteries, or anything else.  Tried as many fixes as possible).

Three nearby tips,  went to the wrong one by mistake, but instead of charging for e-waste, it was free.  $57 saving.

[Adventine]

My mom is moving from her apartment into assisted living, so I am decluttering her place at a mad pace, since time matters. Took some stuff in my car, like an 8 by 10 foot persian rug, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

The interesting thing for me, is that I was able to make myself throw out stuff like retro brown plastic drinking glasses. Could have sold them at the flea market, but not gonna happen. No time. Threw out a lot of stuff.

She currently lives in an apartment in an independent living setup in a retirement community. 

I haven't asked ( I should) , but I think the community does not allow people to come in to buy stuff, so I am probably going to get zero dollars for anything here, unless I remove it and sell it outside the community.   

Can you take decent stuff to a thrift store so at least it all doesn't end up in a landfill?

Alternatively, could you just ask the property management office if it's allowed to have a residents-only garage sale or giveaway? Maybe residents or employees in the retirement community could use the items.

[Serendip]

Did a big art supply/fabric cleanout so I ave a few big bag of donations to take to the thrift store and feels great especially since I've been given so much over the years (wool, quilting fabric, batting, etc)..

[mspym]

We just made some dude suuuuuper happy - free drum kit! and Ofpym realised we still had the drum key while they were putting it into the back of the car the dude had called so handed that over too.

[slackmax]

Sold 4 Berenstain Bears books for $10. Took 3 months of being on Facebook marketplace. Drove 1 mile to meetup place.

[draco44]

I had tried to give away various craft supplies on Buy Nothing and had no takers. Then miraculously my local library announced it was collecting craft supplies for a community swap event. The librarian gratefully accepted my stash.

[slackmax]

I had tried to give away various craft supplies on Buy Nothing and had no takers. Then miraculously my local library announced it was collecting craft supplies for a community swap event. The librarian gratefully accepted my stash.

Cool.   

I finally got rid of some boxes of free medical supplies.  Had to drive 6 miles to the meetup place, but she gave me $5 for it !  Icing on the cake. 3 cubic feet of clutter gone.       

[mspym]

Even more cane baskets were left outside for takers and they are gone! Along with a couple of backpacks and basketballs. Things are starting to look bare. I don't think I've had this little food in the cupboards since I was at uni.

[oneday]

Realized I could let a lightweight jacket go when I found myself shopping for it's replacement (didn't buy anything, either). While I was in the closet pulling out the jacket, found a second one to add to the "you're outta here" pile. Win!

[LaineyAZ]

Another win for overcoming clutter "blindness" - I still have an iron but these days I only use it every few years for formal clothes.  But I had a specialized metal holder for the iron and a full-size ironing board still hanging on my laundry wall.  I finally realized I could park the iron in the closet and remove the holder from the wall.

After I removed it I realized it had been protruding from the wall right into my path to my washer, so now I'm not ducking out of the way.  It's the little things.

[mspym]

Dog walk with Ofpym at lunchtime with the side-benefit of 3 books put into a street library and good containers and food we will not eat before we leave (peanut butter, mirin, herbal teas, miso) put into the local food pantry.

[slackmax]

I have complained here in the past about having nowhere to sell or give away old computer technical manuals from w*rk days.   

Well, it seems there is suddenly a market for 'retro' and 'vintage' computers, computer parts, and even manuals! All things come to he who waits?

I just sold a box of floppy disks from 1980's or 1990's Windows 3.0 Graphical Environment for $20 to a local person. He wanted me to throw in some old technical manuals, which I happily did.

I don't know when this 'market' popped up. I have been scouring the internet for years trying to sell this stuff, and suddenly I find these vintage groups out there who are looking for this stuff to buy! And they've been around for years, apparently.   

[Sibley]

I have complained here in the past about having nowhere to sell or give away old computer technical manuals from w*rk days.   

Well, it seems there is suddenly a market for 'retro' and 'vintage' computers, computer parts, and even manuals! All things come to he who waits?

I just sold a box of floppy disks from 1980's or 1990's Windows 3.0 Graphical Environment for $20 to a local person. He wanted me to throw in some old technical manuals, which I happily did.

I don't know when this 'market' popped up. I have been scouring the internet for years trying to sell this stuff, and suddenly I find these vintage groups out there who are looking for this stuff to buy! And they've been around for years, apparently.   

Awesome! Take advantage of it before they disappear. Off load ALL of it.

[Tyson]

Today, got rid of 50% of all the crap in my garage, in one fell swoop.  Woot!

[oneday]

Four books given back into the LFL. While I was there, another reader was browsing the offerings and took one of the books I left. Score one for spreading joy in the world :)

[Fresh Bread]

Today, got rid of 50% of all the crap in my garage, in one fell swoop.  Woot!

Well done! Did you do a yard sale or was it just rubbish?

[Tyson]

Today, got rid of 50% of all the crap in my garage, in one fell swoop.  Woot!

Well done! Did you do a yard sale or was it just rubbish?

Thank you!

It was all rubbish.  I don't do yard sales because the process of setting up the sale actually prevents me from decluttering.  So nowadays I only have 2 modes - give it away to a friend, or toss it.  Simple, clean, easy. 

[happy]

It was all rubbish.  I don't do yard sales because the process of setting up the sale actually prevents me from decluttering.  So nowadays I only have 2 modes - give it away to a friend, or toss it.  Simple, clean, easy.

I have to admit a bit of a recent breakthrough in my decluttering whereby I have finally let myself send more to landfill. I used to donate things, that were "still good", at least in my mind, but that realistically would not be able to be re-sold. I think I would prefer to donate things rather than toss them because it made me feel less bad about parting with them.  Realistically this is rather unfair, since the charity would then have to dispose of them. I still do try to re-purpose things but have to be strict about this otherwise I just end up with a lot of unfinished projects (aka clutter!).

Recent examples include a top that contained elastane that dramatically stretched out....I went to donate it, but seriously it was so bad no-one would pay money for it, and it was not suitable even for me to re-purpose to cut up and use as rags. So I tossed it, and make a mental note to be more careful of what I buy. And a very old mixing bowl, that the ceramic on the inside had completely crazed, and visibly absorbed liquid into the clay/porcelain underneath every time I used it. It always came clean to the eye, but I have lots of mixing bowls and realistically sooner or later I was going to have issues with some nasty bacteria lurking in the cracks. It could have been re-purposed to hold a plant but would need a drainage hole drilled for this to work properly. Did I have the right drill bit, and would the bowl break in the process? Also I already have too many pots. In previous times I would have donated this, and I believe it could have been re-sold to some unsuspecting person, who would then have the issue to deal with. So it went to landfill too.

Unfortunately I spent an awful lot of time and energy overthinking what to do with these 2 objects ( and typing out this post!). I've learnt to  transfer my upbringing programming of never throwing anything out, to the need to re-purpose, recycle or donate unwanted items. This alleviated the guilt.  But I do need to make the decision to just throw something out a bit more quickly.