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

[chaskavitch]

My sentimental items take up about one office binder's worth of space, but it still stresses me a little that I have so many. 
The old family photos I may start mailing out to my relatives randomly. 
My dad has 6 sisters, so I have approx. 7,900,000 cousins that I don't even really know. 
A lot of them are sort of deadbeat-ish, but I also don't know them much and shouldn't judge... I'd just hate to mail them a 100 year old photo and have them just throw it away.

I'm big on rituals when getting rid of something sentimental. 

Ideas?

My mom is the keeper of all things old for her family of 8 siblings, so she has a TON of the old photos, starting from the mid/late 1800s.  She's scanned the majority of them and actually uploaded a lot of them to Ancestry tagged to her family tree.  Yes, she pays for it, but now other people who are related to her who are also interested in family history have access to the pictures as well.  She hasn't actually gotten rid of any of the physical pictures yet, but it might help you feel like you can get rid of some of the more recent ones, or at least store them somewhere secure that you don't need to have easy physical access to.

[Serendip]

I worked on my 'List of Everything That I Own' and it's going well so far.

ooh----I have wanted to do this!
So cool that you are working on it. I had an idea to do micro-illustrations to go with the list but of course..this is a huge time-commitment. Maybe in the new year once we have finished our year of No-Shopping and truly have less belongings :)

We just took another box to the thrift store

-some athletic shoes my SO was given that he didn't like
-a button-up shirt and t-shirt that I gave him that he didn't love
-more books
-a weird wood & metal thing that my father gave us at Christmas..we didn't even know what it was for, maybe a BBQ?

[Frugal Lizard]

Found another box of random junk in the basement.   The pile in the garage is getting bigger.  The basement closet fits all the patio furniture cushions. Yessssss.

[mspym]

Added The Communist Manifesto, Life and Work: Rethinking Economic Man and I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was to the workplace lending library.

[Fresh Bread]

Added The Communist Manifesto, Life and Work: Rethinking Economic Man and I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was to the workplace lending library.

Lol! I should have given all my career change books to old work! Including "if it wasn't for the money I wouldn't be doing this" about how to get by when you hate your job.

[mspym]

Added The Communist Manifesto, Life and Work: Rethinking Economic Man and I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was to the workplace lending library.

Lol! I should have given all my career change books to old work! Including "if it wasn't for the money I wouldn't be doing this" about how to get by when you hate your job.

I looked that up- gosh it's hard to source! ONE COPY on Abebooks!

[Fresh Bread]

Added The Communist Manifesto, Life and Work: Rethinking Economic Man and I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was to the workplace lending library.

Lol! I should have given all my career change books to old work! Including "if it wasn't for the money I wouldn't be doing this" about how to get by when you hate your job.

I looked that up- gosh it's hard to source! ONE COPY on Abebooks!

I got it from a second hand shop... Had no idea it was so rare, it's not a bad book. It had tips for toxic colleagues and how to make people like you (bring food).

[Yasha]

Took two enviro bags of donations that have been accumulating over the last three months to the drop-off. Donated a veggie steamer thing for a pot we no longer have. Was going to donate a big terranium jar that I haven’t planted yet but second guessed myself at the last moment and put it aside to think about for a while. Everyone is going greatguns!

[Roadrunner53]

Have around 11 giant garbage bags going to Vietnam Vets Tomorrow. They will come to the house to pick the stuff up. I told my friend about another boat load of stuff leaving my house and she said "wow, your house must be almost empty by now". Hahahahaha, not even close! Two people, no kids and a house ready to explode! Where did all this crap come from? I keep bagging up the stuff and getting rid of it but there is still more and more and more!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Donated a suit jacket to Dress for Success over the weekend
-Repurposed an old poster board for a kid school project, vs buying new
-In my continuing attempts to try on something I haven't worn in a long time every day, & either wear it or donate, found another shirt to add to the donation pile. Apparently, I optimistically thought that, some day, I'd wear patterns. Nope.

[Frankies Girl]

I appreciate the support. The whole "desperately wanted kids/of course can't have them through any possible means - and yes, we tried everything, multiple times, including what you're about to helpfully suggest" thing has changed the entire fabric of my existence. When there is no one to save things for, it changes your whole outlook on the intrinsic value/need of your stuff.

I spent a few days sorting and then shredding old photos I took from middle and high school - just dumb kid stuff. I also have a huge amount of family photos of parents/sibling/family stuff that I guess need to be mailed back to my sibling, since I'm a dead branch so they'll just get pitched out eventually if I don't give them to the "fertile" branch of our family. It was another sobering, sobbing thing realizing that no one is going to care about keeping stupid old photos of me as a kid, no one will care or remember me after I'm gone anyway, so why save any of them? My sibling barely acknowledges me anyway and sibling's kid literally doesn't know me - I'd be surprised if kid even knows my last name. Husband is an only child. We're not close to any family at all... so everything is going to be left to strangers (charity) and our personal junk is likely going to be trashed if they can't sell it.

Husband is contacting his old high school to find out about donating his yearbooks. He doesn't really want them, so I suggested asking if they wanted them before tossing them into a recycle or donating.

We're supposed to go tomorrow to dump a huge amount of old toys/comics/books. Actually should be getting a bit of $ for it as there are things like Star Wars toys in decent condition, some collectable stuff that is actually worth money, just needed to wait til after the shop in question finished a big sale so they were willing to buy what we had to replenish their stock.

We're going to be sitting on a pretty large amount of Halloween decorations until next summer, unless I get antsy to dump more of it before then. But likely that would mean they'll be thrown away and I haven't reached the point of being comfortable with "perfectly good stuff" being trashed and we do have the space to store the items so we'll be hanging in there for a bit longer.

[Bracken_Joy]

Frankie, I had NO idea you were in the same boat as me. We're not at the end of the line, yet, but there's not a whole lot between us and it. Once you get through an IVF round and everything is genetically abnormal, your chances aren't looking good anymore =\ I'm giving it one more try though. But I just wanted to say... I just so, so deeply and sadly and bone achingly get it. And I wish no one else was going through this shit, but since there are, I'm glad I can connect with a kickass human like yourself.

-Listed bedframe and mattress on FB marketplace for a low price and had takers (had none through buy nothing, ironically). So that'll be going tomorrow.
-Sold our gorilla shelves that won't fit well/we don't need to our new building's maintenance guy for $20 for the two of them. Made a little, didn't need to transport them, cultivated some good will. Wins all around.

[Roadrunner53]

Tomorrow 11 giant garbage bags out the door. Vietnam Vets will do a pick up between 8 am and 5 pm. We are due to get rain in the afternoon so I hope they come early. So much good stuff leaving my house. Kind of feel sad to give it up but none of it has been used in years...I hope it makes someone happy! We have probably given 50 bags to Vietnam Vets so far not to mention dumpsters, donating to Goodwill and selling stuff on ebay. OMG, where does this stuff come from? Still have tons of crap to get rid of! Just two people with no kids!

[joonifloofeefloo]

Way to go, Roadrunner53!!!!

[JAYSLOL]

I've been away from this thread for too long, and now moving day is in sight so I've got to get going on clearing out the clutter.  I've dropped off a big car load of donation items, and have a lot more to go including some furniture, speakers, old TV, tons of boxes of left over garage sale stuff and clothing to clear out.  It's going to be an interesting ride.

[Frugal Lizard]

Way to go, Roadrunner53!!!!

whoot whoot

[MrsTuxedocat]

This thread is so motivating! I went through my stationary drawer and got rid of random paper, some pens that no longer work and corroded paper clips.

I also donated dropped of a small bag of clothing at a thrift store. I posted a few free items online and should have them gone by the weekend.

[former player]

Yesterday donated a box of surplus office supplies to the village school.  Today taking a box of bits and pieces from my mother's house (she died nearly 4 years ago) to my brother - a nice chance to get together for a country pub lunch.

Apart from too much old paperwork and the disaster which is the spare bedroom the house is looking and feeling pretty good.

[Nancy]

I finally got rid of my old torn up gardening sneakers. (Thank you for your service; you were brilliant.) Also donated school supplies and some just in case sewing supplies, among other things. Some posts ago, I listed jobs to tackle, and I'm happy to say I've done them all. Today, I'm walking my bikes over to the donation place where teens learn how to fix bikes and work their way toward owning one of the donated bikes. I'm stoked!

[I'm a red panda]

Giant bag going to goodwill.
This has gotten harder for me to do now that we aren't itemizing our taxes. I feel like I should save it all for a year that we do (we think we will every 3 years now due to our DAF.)

I tried to sell a few of the things in it, but it is barely worth the time. :(

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Love this thread!

Six items to the donation bin today:
-1 shirt that I never wear
-3 maxi dresses (too small)
-1 race shirt (too small)
-1 gaming item I received at a conference & never used

Now that I have a bit of momentum, I may open the doors to the boys room. It's always so frightening to see what lurks in the rooms of an 11 & 12 year old!

[Nederstash]

Did a walk-through of my house and then my charity drop off this morning. Only had a small box, along with some boxes and some unsalvagable furniture to the dump. Apart from books and clothes I think I'm pretty much done decluttering! Organized some stuff and cleaned. Every drawer and cupboard gives me a peaceful feeling. I love it.

[Frugal Lizard]

We just got an energy audit done on our house and the biggest energy saving thing we can do is insulate the basement walls.  That will entail pulling everything away from the walls of the basement.  Which is 75% devoted to storage.  This will be a massive opportunity to declutter.  I will have to be ruthless about not putting stuff back after.  I think we will tackle that project next summer.  Trying to decide if I should try to de-clutter first so that there is way less stuff to take off the shelves and out of the closets or just let it stay there for now and shame myself with the craziness of the amount when we go to put it back?

[Serendip]

Did a walk-through of my house and then my charity drop off this morning. Only had a small box, along with some boxes and some unsalvagable furniture to the dump. Apart from books and clothes I think I'm pretty much done decluttering! Organized some stuff and cleaned. Every drawer and cupboard gives me a peaceful feeling. I love it.

What a superb feeling--congrats!!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We just got an energy audit done on our house and the biggest energy saving thing we can do is insulate the basement walls.  That will entail pulling everything away from the walls of the basement.  Which is 75% devoted to storage.  This will be a massive opportunity to declutter.  I will have to be ruthless about not putting stuff back after.  I think we will tackle that project next summer.  Trying to decide if I should try to de-clutter first so that there is way less stuff to take off the shelves and out of the closets or just let it stay there for now and shame myself with the craziness of the amount when we go to put it back?

I'd definitely start decluttering, so there's less stuff to put on the shelves. Sounds like a great opportunity to declutter!

[Yasha]

Started a new donation bag. Decluttered a camping bathroom bag thing with a hook to hang up in the shower... I’d been putting off decluttering it for ages because it would mean I would have to empty it out and in my mind that was an impossible task. Opened it up and the entire contents were 4 individually wrapped tampons and a necklace I wore once and am never going to wear again. Donated the necklace, set aside the tampons until I make contact with the women’s shelter and find out if they take half-open boxes. I remember watching an interview with homeless women once and over and over they requested tampons not pads... it really stuck with me, and now I no longer need them it seems so wrong to throw them away.

Other than that found a weird card holder thing that is meant to stick to the back of your phone and donated that. The donation bag itself is a backpack I don’t want and I saw something on Hubbys desk that I think I can donate I just need to check with him first.

[Fresh Bread]

Did a walk-through of my house and then my charity drop off this morning. Only had a small box, along with some boxes and some unsalvagable furniture to the dump. Apart from books and clothes I think I'm pretty much done decluttering! Organized some stuff and cleaned. Every drawer and cupboard gives me a peaceful feeling. I love it.

Nice. I'm not very far off that if I don't open Hubby's drawers ;)

[mspym]

Combining the Gazingus Pin and Clutter threads, I went through my stash today and put all the material I am never ever going to make into clothes into the donation pile, along with any patterns that I am never ever going to make. I live in Sydney, I don't need woolen skirts and once I live in a country that might need them, I'm not going to need work suitable clothes anymore. Similarly, the peppermint striped material that I thought would make a sundress? Is 100% artificial fibers and will be disgusting in the heat! The iridescent olive green taffeta with a dark olive plaid? Even if I made it up, I would never ever wear it. All these fantasy outfits provided a GREAT DEAL of enjoyment to me when I was picturing making them, and now someone else gets to have them.

I also went through the repair pile and mended my perfect linen dress and my favourite shirt, so they are back in the closet and accepted that I am never turning my $12 wedding dress [white linen Laura Ashley!] from the Vinnies into a shirt or work out how to make one shirtdress less inexplicably frumpy. Into the donation pile they go!

I officially abandoned all of my WIP that I have made no progress on in 1 calendar year, and now I can fit all my fabric into the one storage box. It feels great. And now I have cut out a new pattern {kwik sew 3232} and wil be making it up in sea blue linen from the duvet set we bought at Ikea that we didn't like sleeping on.

Lastly, I turned one of my old teeshirts into a plaid rope chew toy for Honey and she loves playing tug of war with it.

[RetiredAt63]

We just got an energy audit done on our house and the biggest energy saving thing we can do is insulate the basement walls.  That will entail pulling everything away from the walls of the basement.  Which is 75% devoted to storage.  This will be a massive opportunity to declutter.  I will have to be ruthless about not putting stuff back after.  I think we will tackle that project next summer.  Trying to decide if I should try to de-clutter first so that there is way less stuff to take off the shelves and out of the closets or just let it stay there for now and shame myself with the craziness of the amount when we go to put it back?

Declutter now.  It will be easier to move everything away from the walls.  When you put back what is left you will find more to declutter.  I've done serious decluttering before every move, and still moved stuff that then got donated.  It's like peeling an onion, there is another layer once the first layer is gone.

[Frugal Lizard]

Two votes for continuing to de-clutter and none for taking a break.  I think I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the task but you folks buck me up in just the right way.  Resolve renewed. 

[Nancy]

@mspym I'm impressed! Not only did you declutter your stash, you also got some projects done. Good on ya!

I donated fabric to a cool second-hand art supply store in my neighborhood. I can't believe that fabric survived three moves. I had already used what I needed from it years ago. Silly.

[Linea_Norway]

A small ting. I threw away a photo album containing 5 photos or so. It was supposed to document Norwegian buildings in past times. But we never added more than the few first photos. Also, the album had been in a box when the cellar flooded and was water damaged. It has been laying on the floor of the garage for the last year or two.

[horsepoor]

I finally took a big box of clothes and randomness to the thrift store.  Bonus that I got DH to get rid of a stack of dress shirts and ties he hasn't worn in years.

Yesterday I gave a bunch of jars to a friend who's been getting into canning.  I also passed on a basket from our old fridge that I could never find a good place for (delivered some of the jars to her in the basket).

[Roadrunner53]

Dusting some stuff in the house today and found 3 things to donate. One was a vase someone gave me that I never put any flowers into. One is a personalized cookie jar for a dog that we had that is deceased for many years and then some decorative candle thing someone gave me that I never used. All of it was collecting dust. Just got rid of 10 bags to Vietnam Vets on Friday. Now it begins again! More STUFF to get rid of! Stuff is like mushrooms in my house!

[Bracken_Joy]

Brought another truck load from the house to the apartment. This is a tough one. Lots to go through. Lots of emotional processing, too. I finally had Husband load the high chair and stroller in to be donated. That was a blow, but there's no attic to hide them in anymore. Haven't talked myself into getting rid of the clothes and cloth diapers yet, so we'll see there.

Influx was mainly decor items though. First pass I unloaded all the "easy" items, put all the things that were clear give aways into the donation box, and currently have 3 "hard" boxes to get back to. Now we're hanging art, and anything that doesn't make it up we'll get rid of.

Hardest part of all this is my mom had given me a lot of family items. We had a house, they downsized and moved far away, it made sense to 'pass the torch' in a way. But, life had other plans. So a lot of items have to be stored a couple months until we drive the nearly 1500 miles for Christmas and return it all.

A lot of this is harder than expected. Glad I bought some whiskey. Lol.

Even having to declutter a bottle of wine I had been saving for a long time with sentimental value. It got far too cold, so it should be consumed now =( Probably for the best. Clean start for everything. Husband and I will open it together tonight and try to savor it. Hopefully it's not vinegar now ;)

[TomTX]

I love my personal home shredder for the tiny bits I like to do daily. 3-5 documents, maybe 30 on an exciting day. Backlog -the build up from years, or from a massive project- I like to get to a shredding company, out, done.

I'm way behind on this thread - I get discouraged because I have to get approval to get rid of almost anything.

Anyway: Shredding!

I'm pleased with the personal shredder we got from Costco some years ago. Occasionally oil the blades, occasionally remove stuck bits from the teeth. Works great for the everyday mail sorting type shredding.

For bigger shred sessions (old files) - I usually take a pile into work and use the industrial shredder.

Edit: I have decluttered my desk :)- shredded/filed/tossed a fair stack of documents, verified gift cards were zeroed and disposed, consolidated the "to do" list.

[Yasha]

A ‘dress up’ shirt, the cozy bolaro I wore over my wedding dress a year ago, my formal dress from year 12 (8 years ago) plus the matching bow tie, all into the donation bag. I feel like we have too many big plates, so put all the chipped ones into a bag under the bed while I decide if that means we have too few. If we don’t miss them by after Christmas they will go too. Trying to drink down some of my tea stash - finished a sample pack yesterday, moving onto another sample pack today.

[HappierAtHome]

Doing a huge wardrobe clearout, plus a heap of baby things. One big surprise is EIGHT great quality bras in a size I haven't been for years - probably the only time in my life I've owned eight bras in one size?! Such luxury. Luckily a friend thinks they'll fit her so they're going to a good home.

[Frankies Girl]

So.

I'm thinking in the next week of donating something I used to think I'd have til I died... my grandparents had this wacky GIANT round mirror in their house and when they died, I ended up with it. All I know about it is that it was once a barbershop mirror back in the 40s or 50s and my granddad somehow ended up with it (he was not a barber - no idea). It is like 4 foot round, small bevel, nothing to really look at other than the sheer size of it. It has 4 basic clips that are screwed into a heavy wooden frame and the whole thing likely weighs something like 30 pounds and there are a few tiny chips in the edge and it's got some very very minor silvering specks happening. And the clips themselves always look like it's about to slip the frame and fall - I can see the edge of the wood frame back at the top. I got so paranoid for about 6 months it wasn't even on a wall as I wanted to get it looked at and then just said screw it and put it back up, but it give me butterflies still seeing it hanging up and thinking about what a godawful mess it would make and all the cat blood that would result from it crashing down as the only room it can go in is the "cat/craft room" where we keep the litterboxes (we have 5 cats. I am a sucker for a sob story stray).

So no one is going to know if I donate it. It's not like it's an heirloom that someone will rise up from their grave and there's no secret compartment or anything. I think someone that is into modern/clean lines and mirrors would really love it, but I just don't really want to deal with it any more. I keep thinking about the bother and expense of getting it remounted and for all of that, I could go BUY a beautiful, well framed and even antique mirror if I really, really had to have one again.

So can I get rid of it?

[HappierAtHome]

You had me at "cat blood".

There is someone out there who will LOVE it and cherish it and make it the centrepiece of their favourite room.

[TomTX]

My battle at the moment is not letting Ofpym derail my progress- he keeps saying "oh I'll read that" when I create a book pile. MY DUDE YOU WON'T BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.

My hubby does the exact same thing. He has read about 4 books in the last five years and all except one of those were biography type books related to his hobby in the last few yrs. He doesn't even read articles he's saved. Maybe in retirement... :/

If my Dad is any indication.... it won't happen. He has unopened boxes of books, articles, etc in the basement that I know were  still boxed from moves back at least as far as 1991. Last year I was finally able to get him to let me dispose of some magazines that I know were sitting in a box back in the 1980s.

[HappierAtHome]

Small win - gave away an unopened bottle of bath wash and it occurred to me that the person who wanted it might want an open bottle of similar gunk. She does! Getting rid of two products we won't use instead of one :-)

[Roadrunner53]

So.

I'm thinking in the next week of donating something I used to think I'd have til I died... my grandparents had this wacky GIANT round mirror in their house and when they died, I ended up with it. All I know about it is that it was once a barbershop mirror back in the 40s or 50s and my granddad somehow ended up with it (he was not a barber - no idea). It is like 4 foot round, small bevel, nothing to really look at other than the sheer size of it. It has 4 basic clips that are screwed into a heavy wooden frame and the whole thing likely weighs something like 30 pounds and there are a few tiny chips in the edge and it's got some very very minor silvering specks happening. And the clips themselves always look like it's about to slip the frame and fall - I can see the edge of the wood frame back at the top. I got so paranoid for about 6 months it wasn't even on a wall as I wanted to get it looked at and then just said screw it and put it back up, but it give me butterflies still seeing it hanging up and thinking about what a godawful mess it would make and all the cat blood that would result from it crashing down as the only room it can go in is the "cat/craft room" where we keep the litterboxes (we have 5 cats. I am a sucker for a sob story stray).

So no one is going to know if I donate it. It's not like it's an heirloom that someone will rise up from their grave and there's no secret compartment or anything. I think someone that is into modern/clean lines and mirrors would really love it, but I just don't really want to deal with it any more. I keep thinking about the bother and expense of getting it remounted and for all of that, I could go BUY a beautiful, well framed and even antique mirror if I really, really had to have one again.

So can I get rid of it?

If you truly don't feel the love for the mirror, let it go. One man's trash is another mans treasure. However, before you get rid of it give it one more thought. Have you considered spray painting the frame an updated color. Spray paint is amazing and can turn something ugly into something beautiful. Plus, if you updated it and now liked it better it would mean a bit more to you that it was something your granddad liked. Remove the frame and put an decorative edging on it (see video). Some people make mirrors into chalkboards so you can write on it like what's for dinner to night or appointments. Some people apply mirrors to table tops. Here is a video for some ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrW68JQfzS4    You might be able to find an art student to help apply pieces of ceramic tiles in a decorative pattern on the edges of the mirror. Some people apply fake flowers or beads or shells. I am not a fan of that because it will become a dust magnet and I have no idea how you would clean it.

[smalllife]

You had me at "cat blood".

There is someone out there who will LOVE it and cherish it and make it the centrepiece of their favourite room.

+1   Doesn't sound like there is any emotional or family significance, donate and feel like your babies are safe.

I have a quilt in the donate pile (accepted when my grandmother downsized, to replace a polyester comforter - but apparently I like the polyester better, so the quilt has to go).  I put a bunch of candlemaking supplies up for sale, will list just the wax next if they still don't sell.  When I switched out the wardrobe to winter, I put a few items I wasn't excited about seeing in the donate bin as well.  Unfortunately, this means a trip to Goodwill as I literally have one work appropriate long-sleeved shirt (the other DIED, like omfg this thing stretched three sizes died the other day).  I also threw out a few fabric scraps too small to use that aren't going in my patchwork quilt.

And in the alternative use category, I took some unused mason jars - bought on sale for when the garden ramps up in a few years - filled them with water, and put them in our freezer to improve the efficiency. Win win on storage.

I've been lurking on this thread for a while, and it inspired me to do another round - hence the candles, etc.   Keep it up everyone!

[horsepoor]

Yes, ditch the mirror.  It's taking up too much mental space, clearly, and someone else will love to have it.

Friday night I burned up all the credit card offer type junk mail that accumulated over summer.  Actually, there is probably some more to burn, but the main basket full by the fireplace is gone.

[Raenia]

I went through my summer wardrobe and weeded out a bunch of things.  A few t-shirts with small holes that I am quite fond of went in the sewing pile to be reincarnated in my next project (only because I have a concrete plan to use them that was already going to be my next project, which I have already started organizing, otherwise they would be for the donate or rag bin depending on condition).  A few other ones that I'm not attached to or weren't the right kind of fabric went in the donate bag.  Also weeded out a perfectly good bathing suit that happens to be my least favorite, and I have plenty, and a few pairs of shorts that are just a tiny bit too short to be comfortable.  Also moved a pair of boots that I like the look of but just aren't comfortable to wear into the donate pile.

The pile is getting big enough it's time to schedule a donation drop day.  Unfortunately our local thrift shop has fairly narrow hours for donations, so I'll have to time it carefully.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

A for sure yes to getting rid of the mirror.

I helped my younger soon clean his room.
-We recycled maybe 3 shoe boxes worth of junk
-donated a few odds & ends
-I found two complete game sets that have never been played with (let that be a lesson to me at Christmas this year.) I've listed them on our local Facebook swap for a steal. Hopefully they can make someone happy!
-Everything that didn't belong in his room (bike lock, pool toy, granola bars?) are now back to their proper location
-All dirty laundry stashed under the bed has now been properly transferred to the wash

It looks SO GOOD! Also, the old library book that my son claimed he'd turned in . . . yes, that was there too. ;-0

[Bracken_Joy]

More to the donate box. Our old towels were getting really worn (we only had 4, and I wash them weekly and it's been 7 or 8 years. I guess I'll allow it!). We had bought some pretty white ones to have as the guest towels, so when we moved and we don't have as much room now, the old towels will get passed on.

There's still some key areas that aren't dealt with yet, so I'm sure more will join! Need to address meds/bathroom goods, camping gear, christmas decor, general decor (some remaining unknowns), and what *was* our garage stuff, but we don't have a garage anymore, lol! We also have a large dresser in the back of our truck that ended up not fitting. Dang. Oh! And I'm moving a bunch of my clothes from hanging and from the dresser my husband and I have been sharing, into a dresser of my VERY OWN. (Gasp). I'm sure I'll pare down as I go.

[Yasha]

A few tubes of almost used up creams, tinctures and the like while cleaning out the entry closet that doubles as the bathroom and ‘shed’ storage. Two pretty bras that are too uncomfortable to wear. A tiny handbag with an Elmo pattern that I’ve grown out of XD

[Nancy]

The way we all list out the specific items we ditch reads like death notices for things. Don't get me wrong; I love this thread. It just struck me as funny and deliciously weird.

Old pillows, sodastream, and computer backpack are added to the donation pile.