Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2 (Read 1417666 times)

RetiredAt63 · « **Reply #2200 on:** March 09, 2019, 09:11:00 AM »

Quote from: Sibley on March 08, 2019, 07:20:23 PM

Threw 2 shirts that I'd gotten and didn't like, but didn't get my act together to return them into the go away box.

Also, please observe a moment of silence for my friend, who due to the death of her brother in law today is now going to have to clean out a 4 bedroom house, 3 storage units and a shed that are all crammed full of STUFF. Yes, the BIL was a hoarder, and due to his habit of stashing things everywhere, they're going to have to go through all of it. She estimated that it's going to take a full year.

I did suggest that she contact Habitat for Humanity and see if they do pick ups - apparently, BIL had a tendency to collect tools and various building supplies.

Your poor friend. I'm sure everyone here truly feels for her situation.

Estate agents/auction houses? I've seen sales listed in our area where basically everything non-perishable is in the sale.

Sibley · « **Reply #2201 on:** March 09, 2019, 10:25:46 AM »

Quote from: RetiredAt63 on March 09, 2019, 09:11:00 AM

Quote from: Sibley on March 08, 2019, 07:20:23 PM
Threw 2 shirts that I'd gotten and didn't like, but didn't get my act together to return them into the go away box.

Also, please observe a moment of silence for my friend, who due to the death of her brother in law today is now going to have to clean out a 4 bedroom house, 3 storage units and a shed that are all crammed full of STUFF. Yes, the BIL was a hoarder, and due to his habit of stashing things everywhere, they're going to have to go through all of it. She estimated that it's going to take a full year.

I did suggest that she contact Habitat for Humanity and see if they do pick ups - apparently, BIL had a tendency to collect tools and various building supplies.

Your poor friend. I'm sure everyone here truly feels for her situation.

Estate agents/auction houses? I've seen sales listed in our area where basically everything non-perishable is in the sale.

She doesn't think that'll work, because he stashed important stuff all over. She's planning to start with the storage units as they'll be easier (and it'll cut down the $$ out), and once she knows what they're dealing with will take the least effort path. But the main house will probably be a nightmare.

RetiredAt63 · « **Reply #2202 on:** March 09, 2019, 11:15:32 AM »

Quote from: Sibley on March 09, 2019, 10:25:46 AM

She doesn't think that'll work, because he stashed important stuff all over. She's planning to start with the storage units as they'll be easier (and it'll cut down the $$ out), and once she knows what they're dealing with will take the least effort path. But the main house will probably be a nightmare.

Oh, things like important documents, or small valuables? Yes, in that case they are stuck.

We cleaned out my in-laws' storage unit after they both died. 50% was garbage and another 40% was just stuff. I think between the whole family maybe 8 items were kept.

chasingthegoodlife · « **Reply #2203 on:** March 09, 2019, 01:26:25 PM »

How important is the important stuff? I mean, if your sister will miss a few small wads of cash stashed in a desk or suitcase that seems worth a year of her time.

Most documents will probably be in piles together (guessing here! Your BIL may have had some creative systems) and no one is going to want to buy a box of old papers at an estate sale so they could possibly just be put to the side as they come to light.

If there are priceless family heirlooms unaccounted for that’s another thing entirely.

Habitat sounds like a great idea. I’m wishing her luck on her mission.

slackmax · « **Reply #2204 on:** March 10, 2019, 12:05:05 PM »

Interesting thread. My hoarder girlfriend died 2 years ago and I'm left with her stuff. We had big arguments about her hoarding, and I finally just gave up, and let her hoard to her heart's content.

She had 3 large off site storage units full of junk, at $90 per unit per month. I harvested one old tv and 4 folding chairs, and let the storage facility take everything else. I checked out various ways of selling all the junk, but I decided it wasn't worth it.

Here at the house, it still is a disaster area, but I have tossed/donated/recycled about one third of it all.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #2205 on:** March 10, 2019, 03:58:22 PM »

@slackmax - that seems really hard. Do you have a system you're using in the house?

As for me, I went through two shelves of my pantry today, & organized & tossed a few open bags. Why do the kids always leave the pretzel bag with like two pretzels left, back on the shelf? And, organized my three tier tray where I keep papers & bills. Dealt with all of the things that needed work. Finished our taxes & now have a call tomorrow to finalize. Felt good to get all of that done.

oneday · « **Reply #2206 on:** March 10, 2019, 08:02:42 PM »

Got through a tough one today. Eons ago, my ex gave me a small basket that was sort of bear shaped and the bear wears a plaid bow tie. Charming, cute and practical. Over the years, bear basket has faithfully held my keys and other assorted small items. In my current apartment, he holds tape and hand sanitizer among other things. Charming & practical as ever. Yet he reminds me of my ex, so not ideal. I realized today I have a very pretty ceramic bowl of similar size that does not function as it should (yarn bowl). But would be a great and beautiful substitute for bear basket. So the swap is done. Bear will find a new home after he goes to the thrift store.

This was hard because I had mixed feelings. I truly like the basket, but it comes with baggage. So much easier to let that go once I had a substitute.

Sugaree · « **Reply #2207 on:** March 11, 2019, 05:37:40 AM »

Consignment sale drop-off is done....finally. I filled all 200 slots I was allotted in the sale with clothes that my kid had outgrown. There are some things that I will get back at the end, mostly things like diapers or college football shirts that have a better chance of selling in the fall), but about 150 of those items are gone for good. Of course, the kiddo picks this weekend to ask when he's going to get a brother or sister. "Sorry, that's probably not in the cards for you. Wouldn't you rather have a puppy?" I'm feeling a bit...conflicted. I'm 99.9% sure that I'm done having kids. I'm not even one of those people who's very sentimental over my baby not being a baby anymore. But getting rid of his little clothes, and the diapers especially, seems so...final.

chaskavitch · « **Reply #2208 on:** March 11, 2019, 06:13:20 AM »

I got rid of a set of taekwondo sparring pads I haven't used in 3.5 years. I found them last month when I was looking for a duffel bag to use for my hospital go-bag for labor. Such a silly thing to store for 3+ years.

My nesting brain has apparently decided our catch-all basement room is the room to declutter before there's a baby, probably because it also contains the dresser that's full of all of our saved baby clothes so I'm down there more often than I used to be. I brought two small boxes of random things (file folders, candle jars, tea lights, an empty journal, etc), some TV trays, a toddler chair that always tips over, and an extremely old sewing machine to the ARC - holy crap do they have a lot of stuff right now. Like, I almost want to just store my crap for longer and spread out my donations so they don't automatically go into the trash.

I also have a bunch of clothes to get rid of. My church does a clothes swap every Feb/March, so they were all packed up in anticipation for last weekend, but then it got pushed to some future date that works better for more people. I'm guessing I'll just have DH drop off the clothes - I'm due in 1 week and 2 days, so PROBABLY any future reschedule will be at a bad time for me. Maybe it'll be a nice way to get out of the house, though, who knows?

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #2209 on:** March 11, 2019, 07:01:50 AM »

Slowing down on the decluttering, but managed to get another bag to Goodwill.

The hardest part is recognizing that the baby clothes have zero value. It takes too long to sell them, even at a dime a piece in lots, on facebook. (People will literally post "100 baby clothes- $12". They just need to go. But that's hard for me to do.

slackmax · « **Reply #2210 on:** March 11, 2019, 02:12:50 PM »

Quote from: MaybeBabyMustache on March 10, 2019, 03:58:22 PM

@slackmax - that seems really hard. Do you have a system you're using in the house?

As for me, I went through two shelves of my pantry today, & organized & tossed a few open bags. Why do the kids always leave the pretzel bag with like two pretzels left, back on the shelf? And, organized my three tier tray where I keep papers & bills. Dealt with all of the things that needed work. Finished our taxes & now have a call tomorrow to finalize. Felt good to get all of that done.

MaybeBaby,

My system at first was to dig into the mountain, and finds bag after bag of paper clutter - bills, bank statements, leaflets, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets,etc, and get about 5 pounds sorted out, and look over all the possibly important papers, keep the important stuff, and take the rest down to recycling.

Each trip to recycling was a couple shopping bags of paper clutter dumped into the bin. About 5 to 10 pounds each trip. Felt good. Did about 30 trips to recycling and now all the 'easy' decluttering is done.

The hard stuff is all the knick knacks she collected, and hundreds of unworn clothing items, craft stuff, some electronics here and there. And about a thousand books! paperbacks and hardback.

My problem now is that almost everything now seems to have a monetary value, even if very low, and giving it away or tossing it is hard. A beautiful scarf is worth $1 at a garage sale, I guess. Hard for me to donate it to Goodwill. Although I have donated a lot of decent stuff of hers to Goodwill already, just to prove to myself I can do it, and not feel bad about it.

Right now I'm waiting for our annual neighborhood yard sale. That's my excuse for not decluttering more. I'll put out all sorts of knicknacks for $1 each, card stock (paper) for a half-cent per sheet, perfume for $1 a bottle, Avon lotions and makeup for $1 per item, wicker baskets for $2 each (40 wicker baskets!) and a few clothing items just for kicks, books for $1 each, dvd's and vhs tapes $1 each. And on and on and on.

But the yard sale is months away, and when I get bored, I still declutter. My new system is to select an area, perhaps one specific closet, and tear all the hoarded stuff out, that's packed tightly from top to bottom, and look for any obvious junk I can throw out (and I usually find some) and box some of it up in a box labeled 'yardsale'. About half of the closet stuff gets put back in the closet.

Raenia · « **Reply #2211 on:** March 12, 2019, 04:56:39 AM »

Finally got rid of a bag of sports equipment that's been following me from apartment to apartment and not been used once since college. I decided to donate it to my college program, since they offer a class for beginners for athletic credit in addition to the varsity team. It was a bit of a drive to drop it off, but I know it will be used, unlike if I donated at a thrift store, and it was an excuse to catch up with my old coach as well.

SunnyDays · « **Reply #2212 on:** March 12, 2019, 01:03:10 PM »

@slackmax - sorry for your loss. You have an extra layer of difficulty there in getting rid of her possessions. Just wanted to share my experiences with garage sales (LOTS of them). I found that no matter how low the price, people will always ask if you'll take less. Some had the audacity to offer literally a dime on a dollar item! And then you'll only sell 20% of the stuff if you're lucky Unless you like to meet lots of people and have some interesting chats, in my opinion, garage sales just aren't worth it, with all the setting up and deciding on prices. Not to mention packing it all back up again. Now, I just give stuff away, to people I know if possible, or to charity garage sales. Anything over $50 I try to sell online. Way easier.

Nederstash · « **Reply #2213 on:** March 12, 2019, 01:05:18 PM »

Guys, major binge-worthy youtube series: check out Curiosity Inc's channel. This guy bought a hoarder house two months ago. First few episodes are of him cleaning it out and finding lots of cool stuff for his antique shop. Then doing up the house and getting to know the previous owner, who is a 104 year old woman who was a potter. Her pottery was in galleries world wide. She's now considered for the Order of Canada for her contributions to the country. She couldn't deal with the hoard and sold the house as-is, contents and all. The guy finds all sorts of cool old stuff in the house.

Anyway if you want to binge on a Hoarder-like series with some home reno thrown in, start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4SpyeH5IQ

It's so addictive to watch. It's an ongoing series btw, ep 9 was just put online today. I'm already rewatching.

chasingthegoodlife · « **Reply #2214 on:** March 12, 2019, 01:41:09 PM »

Will definitely check it out, sounds fascinating!

My own update: I’m still working my way through the konmari process. So far I’ve done clothes, books, papers (both of ours), jewellery and electronics. I thought I was quite minimalist already but I’ve let go of so much in the last week and it feels great.

The filing cabinet is now empty and will be given away, as all our documents fit in four slim document boxes on our bookshelf. I’ve got a few ideas about how I can rejig the guest room to be a relaxing space for me to exercise and work on my projects.

I’m still holding on to two pairs of shoes that are ready for the bin until I can buy some more but apart from that I have really gotten rid of all the stained, torn, faded clothes that are no long appropriate for out of the house wear, with the exception of three comfy gardening/renovation outfits that I enjoy wearing for that purpose. I’ll probably be washing more often after this, but I think I’ll be feeling a lot better about how I look and how I present myself at work.

diapasoun · « **Reply #2215 on:** March 12, 2019, 07:23:00 PM »

Finally got 4 bags of clothing and knicknacks, an old coffee maker, and a hat gone to Goodwill. Most of this was left by previous housemates, so it's nice to have gone.

mustachepungoeshere · « **Reply #2216 on:** March 13, 2019, 04:08:40 AM »

I'm finding myself decluttering my work desk again, for sad reasons.

My department has been sold, and we move to our new offices in less than two weeks.

It will mean breaking up my tight-knit team (two of these people have worked together for 18 years).

So I am - very sadly - tossing papers and donating books ahead of the office move.

slackmax · « **Reply #2217 on:** March 13, 2019, 06:25:29 AM »

Quote from: SunnyDays on March 12, 2019, 01:03:10 PM

@slackmax - sorry for your loss. You have an extra layer of difficulty there in getting rid of her possessions. Just wanted to share my experiences with garage sales (LOTS of them). I found that no matter how low the price, people will always ask if you'll take less. Some had the audacity to offer literally a dime on a dollar item! And then you'll only sell 20% of the stuff if you're lucky Unless you like to meet lots of people and have some interesting chats, in my opinion, garage sales just aren't worth it, with all the setting up and deciding on prices. Not to mention packing it all back up again. Now, I just give stuff away, to people I know if possible, or to charity garage sales. Anything over $50 I try to sell online. Way easier.

SunnyDays,

Yeah, I don't look forward to the yard sale, as I'm an introvert. If I could just get 'anything' for the stuff, if I could just sell it all to another yardsaler for $10 or something, that would be great.

Oh well, I can practice my people skills and maybe meet some new people in the process.

When my girlfriend was alive, I used to tell her to imagine all of her clutter just disappearing and if she would miss any of it.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #2218 on:** March 13, 2019, 07:02:27 AM »

Quote from: slackmax on March 13, 2019, 06:25:29 AM

Yeah, I don't look forward to the yard sale, as I'm an introvert. If I could just get 'anything' for the stuff, if I could just sell it all to another yardsaler for $10 or something, that would be great.

Can you list it in large "must take all" lots for super cheap on facebook market?
I pretty much never think yard sales are worth the effort.

I'm sorry for your loss.

slackmax · « **Reply #2219 on:** March 14, 2019, 06:38:38 AM »

Quote from: I'm a red panda on March 13, 2019, 07:02:27 AM

Quote from: slackmax on March 13, 2019, 06:25:29 AM
Yeah, I don't look forward to the yard sale, as I'm an introvert. If I could just get 'anything' for the stuff, if I could just sell it all to another yardsaler for $10 or something, that would be great.

Can you list it in large "must take all" lots for super cheap on facebook market?
I pretty much never think yard sales are worth the effort.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Thanks. I'm not a Facebook fan, but I do like Craigslist. Have had some luck selling stuff there before. Maybe the bulk tactic would work there.

mspym · « **Reply #2220 on:** March 14, 2019, 11:49:04 PM »

Watching the Curiosity Inc show and got a sympathy dust-headache by halfway through the first episode.

Raenia · « **Reply #2221 on:** March 15, 2019, 06:48:10 AM »

I'm sloooowly going through my clothes and paring down a bit. I did a fast pass through it all a few months ago and got the obvious stuff, but now I'm going drawer by drawer and weeding out further. This week I went through my sock/undies drawer and my sweatpants/sleepwear and pulled a few things. Going to try to do my t-shirts this evening.

I also finally heard back from the library that they will accept donated board games, so I'll be able to drop those off in the next few days.

Nederstash · « **Reply #2222 on:** March 15, 2019, 01:06:17 PM »

Quote from: mspym on March 14, 2019, 11:49:04 PM

Watching the Curiosity Inc show and got a sympathy dust-headache by halfway through the first episode.

lol yeah I understand! At one point it gets to -40 F and of course there's no heating in the house. This guy is seriously a trooper, donates or resells anything he can and the house is starting to look fantastic with upcycled stuff found everywhere. Keep watching :)

Shinplaster · « **Reply #2223 on:** March 15, 2019, 01:46:43 PM »

Quote from: Nederstash on March 12, 2019, 01:05:18 PM

Guys, major binge-worthy youtube series: check out Curiosity Inc's channel. This guy bought a hoarder house two months ago. First few episodes are of him cleaning it out and finding lots of cool stuff for his antique shop. Then doing up the house and getting to know the previous owner, who is a 104 year old woman who was a potter. Her pottery was in galleries world wide. She's now considered for the Order of Canada for her contributions to the country. She couldn't deal with the hoard and sold the house as-is, contents and all. The guy finds all sorts of cool old stuff in the house.

Anyway if you want to binge on a Hoarder-like series with some home reno thrown in, start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4SpyeH5IQ

It's so addictive to watch. It's an ongoing series btw, ep 9 was just put online today. I'm already rewatching.

Thanks so much for posting this. I had heard the story about "Adam", and the Bambi film cell, but didn't know about Mary's house. So interesting to watch. I did all 9 episodes in one evening - stayed up until 2 a.m. to do that - good job I'm retired! I'm working my way through some of his other videos too.

Nederstash · « **Reply #2224 on:** March 16, 2019, 03:32:19 AM »

Quote from: Shinplaster on March 15, 2019, 01:46:43 PM

Quote from: Nederstash on March 12, 2019, 01:05:18 PM
Guys, major binge-worthy youtube series: check out Curiosity Inc's channel. This guy bought a hoarder house two months ago. First few episodes are of him cleaning it out and finding lots of cool stuff for his antique shop. Then doing up the house and getting to know the previous owner, who is a 104 year old woman who was a potter. Her pottery was in galleries world wide. She's now considered for the Order of Canada for her contributions to the country. She couldn't deal with the hoard and sold the house as-is, contents and all. The guy finds all sorts of cool old stuff in the house.

Anyway if you want to binge on a Hoarder-like series with some home reno thrown in, start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4SpyeH5IQ

It's so addictive to watch. It's an ongoing series btw, ep 9 was just put online today. I'm already rewatching.

Thanks so much for posting this. I had heard the story about "Adam", and the Bambi film cell, but didn't know about Mary's house. So interesting to watch. I did all 9 episodes in one evening - stayed up until 2 a.m. to do that - good job I'm retired! I'm working my way through some of his other videos too.

Yes, I saw the Bambi film cell story! This guy is just top quality. I think he wants to turn the Potters House into a museum when it's done. And so satisfying to see everything rescued from the house, cleaned and sold on from his shop. In my mind, this is true materialism: having deep respect for the items that exist around us - as opposed to an unbridled want for new and more stuff.

Shinplaster · « **Reply #2225 on:** March 16, 2019, 11:20:45 AM »

Quote from: Nederstash on March 16, 2019, 03:32:19 AM

Quote from: Shinplaster on March 15, 2019, 01:46:43 PM
Quote from: Nederstash on March 12, 2019, 01:05:18 PM
Guys, major binge-worthy youtube series: check out Curiosity Inc's channel. This guy bought a hoarder house two months ago. First few episodes are of him cleaning it out and finding lots of cool stuff for his antique shop. Then doing up the house and getting to know the previous owner, who is a 104 year old woman who was a potter. Her pottery was in galleries world wide. She's now considered for the Order of Canada for her contributions to the country. She couldn't deal with the hoard and sold the house as-is, contents and all. The guy finds all sorts of cool old stuff in the house.

Anyway if you want to binge on a Hoarder-like series with some home reno thrown in, start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4SpyeH5IQ

It's so addictive to watch. It's an ongoing series btw, ep 9 was just put online today. I'm already rewatching.

Thanks so much for posting this. I had heard the story about "Adam", and the Bambi film cell, but didn't know about Mary's house. So interesting to watch. I did all 9 episodes in one evening - stayed up until 2 a.m. to do that - good job I'm retired! I'm working my way through some of his other videos too.

Yes, I saw the Bambi film cell story! This guy is just top quality. I think he wants to turn the Potters House into a museum when it's done. And so satisfying to see everything rescued from the house, cleaned and sold on from his shop. In my mind, this is true materialism: having deep respect for the items that exist around us - as opposed to an unbridled want for new and more stuff.

I love that he also kept all the family photos and papers for the family. He could have so easily just turfed it, but instead sorted it and gave it all back to the family. I can't wait to see what he ends up giving the town museum to represent Mary and her work.

innkeeper77 · « **Reply #2226 on:** March 17, 2019, 12:04:34 AM »

This past month of de-cluttering has been going well! Most of this junk took a significant amount of moving van space when we moved into this house, and was not touched since then.... our next move will be much easier.

A large box of electronics has been dropped off at a city e-recycling day (Broken car radio, old hard drives, busted fans, a trashed and stripped laptop, bulky/hard to unload things like that)
Literal garbage (old business venture materials, etc, which have zero resale market and I couldn't give away for free) - five garbage bags full- is gone
A second entire car load of misc good condition "junk" and clothing is ready to go to the resale shop after the first load a few weeks ago.
TWO old dressers were taken away from our porch with minimal hassle (Thanks craigslist free section!) - DW and I now share a dresser!
"Junk drawer" bits and parts for an old hobby- 2 large boxes worth- gone for $60
And a piece of equipment from a failed business venture just sold on ebay for almost $1000! Even after 50lbs of shipping, that is well over $800.

We still have "stuff", but the house is beginning to feel bare, and we will be able to stage it to sell with minimal effort. The guest bedroom (when not staging the resale shop load) is empty, and the office is close to empty aside from the computers. Our master bedroom now holds less stuff than my old rooms from when I lived alone!

slackmax · « **Reply #2227 on:** March 17, 2019, 06:27:43 AM »

Brought a bag-o-books down to the library. Previously checked on internet to see if I could resell any online to 'buyback' places. Out of 10 books, all were worth zero, except one self-help book that was worth 16 cents.

Happily donated the 10 books to the library.

Also brought a bag-o-junk (said in jest) to Good Will. I'm sure they will put out at least half of it for sale. If they toss the rest, so be it.

adamsputnik · « **Reply #2228 on:** March 17, 2019, 03:13:54 PM »

I went back through my closet after cleaning it out five or six months ago. Found even more stuff to get rid of or donate, including the forgotten tubs of sweaters lurking under the bed.

I also reorganised my dresser drawers to help aid in the clean out. Definitely all seems to be easier to find stuff now, and the closet doesn't seem nearly as cluttered.

oneday · « **Reply #2229 on:** March 17, 2019, 07:16:53 PM »

Spontaneously decluttered a 4-foot tall cat scratch post last night. As a friend was packing up to go home, my eye fell on the post and I said, "that's the post I offered you the other day, that you didn't think would work." She looked it over and changed her mind, so we loaded it into her car an today her cat has a nice, new sturdy and stable perch! Yay!

Sugaree · « **Reply #2230 on:** March 18, 2019, 07:52:06 AM »

I'd consider the consignment sale a success. Sold 104 things (mostly kid's clothes) and donated ~60 pieces that didn't sell. I did get about 35 pieces back that were either rejected for being "out of season" or that I think have a decent chance of selling in the fall. Made about $200....which promptly paid the contractor to finish the bathroom that DH has been working on for MONTHS now.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #2231 on:** March 18, 2019, 08:14:44 AM »

Listed two small pieces of furniture on facebook marketplace. Hopefully they sell quickly.

JanetJackson · « **Reply #2232 on:** March 19, 2019, 07:40:17 AM »

Quick update: I just moved, but it facilitated taking one giant hatchback load of stuff to the local donation store. It felt good. I did it with very little thinking, which helps.

I also scraped together a few furniture solutions with things I already have/things I found in the shed rather than buying.
The only thing I have purchased furniture-wise is a craigslist sofa.

I'm a red panda · « **Reply #2233 on:** March 19, 2019, 07:48:34 AM »

Sold the console table yesterday- $20 in about half an hour :) (Listed for $25)

I need to take the giant bag of baby clothes to goodwill. I hate sending clothes to goodwill, as most of it goes to waste (hopefully fabric recyclers) and this is all good; but no one else will take it out of season). A friend gave me newborn clothes- all NB or 0 size (her baby is only 8 weeks). There were at least 200 outfits in there. I kept 15, which is likely more than I need, since I already had a lot on hand.

slackmax · « **Reply #2234 on:** March 19, 2019, 10:49:25 AM »

Posted some stuff on Craigslist 3 days ago. No responses! There's still hope, though.

Brought six perfectly functional but ugly and superfluous pots and pans down to the recycling place. Forced myself to do it.

Going to Goodwill later on today with a plastic bag full of old china used for camping in the old days. Fully usable, but just unneeded. Some of it was so filthy I just threw it out instead of washing it. (Pats self on back for ruthlessly tossing it!) I did wash the rest of it, and dried it and stacked it up in the plastic bag for Goodwill. All this decluttering is time-consuming, isn't it?

Also bringing a small bag of baby clothes to Goodwill.

Lost my flashlight somehow, making it harder to see under the stairway which is where I am decluttering now.

All this work and my house is still a disaster area, but posting here is therapeutic.

LinneaH · « **Reply #2235 on:** March 19, 2019, 05:56:33 PM »

I have been doing some de-cluttering but due to a toxic work situation, I don't have a lot of energy for anything. Last week I was informed that they will most likely let some of us go and I was one of those who received notice. This is pure joy from my side so no need to feel sorry for me. Tomorrow I get to know more.

If things go as planned/union recommended, I will have a couple of months on garden leave/minimal work from home handover during two months, starting April 1st. I expect this will do wonders for my de-cluttering situation :-).

PMG · « **Reply #2236 on:** March 19, 2019, 07:07:08 PM »

You are going to declutter that job and move on to something better.

Poundwise · « **Reply #2237 on:** March 20, 2019, 11:53:31 AM »

Quote from: slackmax on March 19, 2019, 10:49:25 AM

All this decluttering is time-consuming, isn't it?

So true! I call it "unshopping".

I can see how some hoarders get started. Begin with a conscientious, high-throughput kind of person, like me. I want to rehome things, but nobody wants board games with pieces missing (I know those parts are somewhere around), or appliances that don't work (I could fix it if I had the time to find a part), or incomplete craft items (I just have to get a little more yarn of the right color to finish that project) etc. So decluttering is harder than the original act of acquisition. For a while one can keep up, but when one slows down with age or gets ill, decluttering slows or stops, and then one has a hoard.

My goal is to reduce the number of items we possess overall by the time I get old, so this doesn't happen to me.

I decluttered three big bags of kids' books, and now my children's bookshelves look great and are easy to use without books lying horizontally on top of the others. We found nine duplicates and two triplicates of books! I hate it when they get gifts of things they already own, and then open them up so they can't be regifted/returned.

mspym · « **Reply #2238 on:** March 20, 2019, 02:29:24 PM »

Today is capsule wardrobe swap day aka look at the clothes you packed away and may/may not have missed day. I have a donation bag at the ready.

LinneaH · « **Reply #2239 on:** March 20, 2019, 04:42:32 PM »

Quote from: PMG on March 19, 2019, 07:07:08 PM

You are going to declutter that job and move on to something better.

Yes, that is absolutely true. Currently I feel so excited. I have about 4-5 hour work to do tomorrow (from home as it will be phone and computer only). Fri-Sun off. Then five full days in office Mon-Fri and then I am out :-D.

Today I sold two very nice baby blankets. My youngest is 6,5 now... Really nice (highly pregnant) lady buying got a really good price on a high quality woolen blanket, and I am happy those much beloved blankets will come to a good home. I also asked if she wanted some pieces of clothing for the cute 2-yr old she brought along so I managed to unload a jacket and a wind stopper fleece as well. So happy about that and so was she.

slackmax · « **Reply #2240 on:** March 21, 2019, 06:32:34 AM »

I'm still digging through the place under the first floor stairs. And I still haven't found my darn flashlight. But I did find a great little flashlight for $1 at Walmart! Works great.

Found a bunch of kid toys, some nice clothes, some awful old moldy, mouse chewn cloth of some sort (blanket?) and some random plastic parts of toys.

Will take kid toys to Goodwill, the nice clothes also to Goodwill (hate to do it but too much hassle to sell), toss the random toy parts (easy to do) and recycle the mouse chewn fabric at the recycling center. It's heavy, weighs about 5 pounds. Good to get rid of it.

I'm spending a lot of time on this. I have to force myself to do it. I look at the clock, and work at decluttering for a half-hour, then reassess. Usually keep going until an hour is done, then feel good about things, making progress, and stop.

Now that I think about it, one hour a day decluttering is not that much!

diapasoun · « **Reply #2241 on:** March 21, 2019, 10:36:36 AM »

One of my housemates has started to clear out her room a little and has put two bags of clothes out to be taken to Goodwill. I am very proud of her -- she used to have her own apartment and so owns a lot of stuff (and keeps buying new stuff despite having much less space now). Getting rid of stuff is a big step for her and I'm happy.

mspym · « **Reply #2242 on:** March 22, 2019, 05:12:29 PM »

I have a bag of clothes for the Vinnies, 2 books for the street library and for some reason am ready to get rid of 90% of my remaining cds as we have no way to play them other than the car.

Raenia · « **Reply #2243 on:** March 22, 2019, 05:58:15 PM »

Finally got DH to sit down with me and go through a bin and duffel bag that we were storing in the basement storage. Wound up tossing almost everything into the donate box, just a few things he wanted to keep that need to find proper homes. And a big pile of electronics waste/computer parts to go to the electronics recycling. Fortunately, I hadn't made the trip yet with my broken printer, so they can all go together.

slackmax · « **Reply #2244 on:** March 23, 2019, 07:40:51 AM »

Found hundreds of great vinyl albums under the stairs. Blew off the dust on top, and brought them all upstairs and put them next to the record player. I had decluttered around the record player last year, so I now had some room for them.

Moving the albums is not decluttering, but at least they will be in a better climate. Less mold-inducing. They do have a musty odor, but seem to be fine, sound great still.

As far as the other junk under the stairs, have been able to recycle 2 old rotting moving boxes, and recycled/ threw out a lot of the junk in them. Will end up putting back about 25% of the 'junk' since it has sentimental value. So, a 75% success rate here, I guess.

It's unbelievable how much time I have to take on this stuff. I have to (choose to, actually) think about just about everything I find, and reminisce about it, before deciding what to do with it. I don't photograph it, thank God. I'm not that bad, ha ha.

mustachepungoeshere · « **Reply #2245 on:** March 23, 2019, 10:59:22 PM »

I came into a dozen gorgeous recipe books through work and put them aside for a friend.

Finally caught up with her and handed them over.

I also threw out a pair of work pants that were well and truly past it. (Still trying to replace them, as the company stopped making this style - black, stretchy, skinny leg suit pants with belt loops and real pockets.)

Cassie · « **Reply #2246 on:** March 24, 2019, 09:24:02 AM »

I always gave my kids toys and clothes to foster homes because they are hard on toys. We are older now and I definitely won’t be leaving a mess behind.

zygote · « **Reply #2247 on:** March 24, 2019, 10:26:21 AM »

Finally got rid of the clothes I chose to purge at the beginning of January. It was too much for public transportation, so I waited until my wife went through a pile she wanted to clean, and we got a Lyft to goodwill to get rid of everything at once. It feels so good to have that corner of the room back.

gaja · « **Reply #2248 on:** March 24, 2019, 12:13:41 PM »

The school has agreed to let me and a few other parents use the gymnasium to organize a community clothes and sports equipment swap/sale in a couple of weeks. Hope it works out well, we don't have a lot of time for preparation.

RetiredAt63 · « **Reply #2249 on:** March 24, 2019, 01:08:07 PM »

Quote from: gaja on March 24, 2019, 12:13:41 PM

The school has agreed to let me and a few other parents use the gymnasium to organize a community clothes and sports equipment swap/sale in a couple of weeks. Hope it works out well, we don't have a lot of time for preparation.

Great idea. That is how we got all our bikes as kids. Sell your outgrown kid's bike, buy someone else's outgrown kids bike.

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Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2 (Read 1417666 times)