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

[diapasoun]

Goal for this month is to de-clutter 30 things.

1-4 will be some ramekins that a housemate left behind when she moved out this last weekend. Our Buy Nothing group is sadly close to useless, so I'll probably walk these over to Goodwill.

5-7 will be some hats I knitted that will go to our local DSA for distribution to the homeless.

[Shinplaster]

The box I started a few days ago was dropped off to Goodwill this morning. On to the next one.

[oneday]

I am hoarding boxes right now due to an impending move, so am loath to use one for the donate pile, lol.  However, I have what would be about half a box of clothes.  Mostly pants that no longer fit and a lampshade.  I'll give up a precious, precious cardboard box if the stack grows and/or falls over.

The other thing I went through was my Renaissance Faire garb/costuming.  Since I've changed sizes, I wanted to see if my bodice fit and that kind of snowballed.  Turns out it does not fit, and the other one which might have fit, I cannot find.  I guess I got rid of it?  I was a little sad about not having that other bodice until I remembered I didn't like it that much anyway.  This is an opportunity to find an even better one!

ALSO in the ren garb was some of Mr. X's stuff.  I thought the taxes were the last thing to sever our ties, but turns out it's ren garb.  I have texted and hopefully we can get this taken care of ASAP, like this weekend maybe. 

[slackmax]

I got free tickets to my local minor league baseball team, so I went last night, what the heck.

On entering, they gave everyone 2 cute little metal drink coasters advertising the local cable tv service.

I purposefully left my coasters on the bar counter (happy hour) when I went to my assigned seat, and the barmaid said 'hey, you forgot your coasters!".  I didn't mean to, but I may have offended her when I said "I've already got way too much junk in my house". lol. She smiled, so maybe I didn't offend her.

[slackmax]

I am hoarding boxes right now due to an impending move, so am loath to use one for the donate pile, lol.  However, I have what would be about half a box of clothes.  Mostly pants that no longer fit and a lampshade.  I'll give up a precious, precious cardboard box if the stack grows and/or falls over.

Why not use a plastic bag instead of a box, to donate stuff? That's what everyone around here does at the Goodwill store. 

I can relate about the boxes. I only throw out the really beat up boxes. And a lot of my boxes are the kind you can fold up and store flat.  :)   

[oneday]

I am hoarding boxes right now due to an impending move, so am loath to use one for the donate pile, lol.  However, I have what would be about half a box of clothes.  Mostly pants that no longer fit and a lampshade.  I'll give up a precious, precious cardboard box if the stack grows and/or falls over.

Why not use a plastic bag instead of a box, to donate stuff? That's what everyone around here does at the Goodwill store. 

I can relate about the boxes. I only throw out the really beat up boxes. And a lot of my boxes are the kind you can fold up and store flat.  :)

Good call!  My first instinct was to say that California outlawed plastic shopping bags, but I could always use the kind I line my trash can with.  Not sure it will be increase the tidiness of the pile, tho :)

[I'm a red panda]

Hit a bit of a slow down.  I need to accept that baby clothes are not worth anything and just give them away in a giant pile to one of the buy nothing hoarders...
I just feel like they should go to someone who can use them, and I have SO many that it can't be a single person.

Goodwill gives SO much to fabric recyclers, just due to donation volume, I really hate taking stuff that is in great condition there.

[slackmax]

Woohoo!  Just made a Craigslist sale. Got rid of set of bongo drums for $10.  Yay!

[Nederstash]

I got free tickets to my local minor league baseball team, so I went last night, what the heck.

On entering, they gave everyone 2 cute little metal drink coasters advertising the local cable tv service.

I purposefully left my coasters on the bar counter (happy hour) when I went to my assigned seat, and the barmaid said 'hey, you forgot your coasters!".  I didn't mean to, but I may have offended her when I said "I've already got way too much junk in my house". lol. She smiled, so maybe I didn't offend her.

Lol, sounds like something I could say. But maybe "No thank you, I'm trying to declutter" is good as well. She probably wasn't offended... and maybe you even made a lightbulb go off in her head and made her realize that you DON'T need to take whatever comes your way. I know that I regularly find myself impressed with a good rebuff I (over)hear, and add it to my mental library.

[slackmax]

Another Craigslist sale! What is going on? Got rid of 5 orange life preservers. $20 for the lot. 

[innkeeper77]

Hit a bit of a slow down.  I need to accept that baby clothes are not worth anything and just give them away in a giant pile to one of the buy nothing hoarders...
I just feel like they should go to someone who can use them, and I have SO many that it can't be a single person.

Goodwill gives SO much to fabric recyclers, just due to donation volume, I really hate taking stuff that is in great condition there.

We were one of those people taking a massive load of clothes... But we only did it once, and ended up giving away plenty to another friend with a baby. Giving away a massive load at once doesn't mean they will not get used, and it can save both you and the recipient time! (Not having to drive around looking for clothes a bunch of places was very helpful) That, and only doing full baby laundry every 3 weeks or less was a time saver as well....

(The load of clothes we received was pre-birth, and we are still using it a year later! It was a MASSIVE pile.. we sorted into boxes by size, and didn't buy any other clothes.)

[I'm a red panda]

Hit a bit of a slow down.  I need to accept that baby clothes are not worth anything and just give them away in a giant pile to one of the buy nothing hoarders...
I just feel like they should go to someone who can use them, and I have SO many that it can't be a single person.

Goodwill gives SO much to fabric recyclers, just due to donation volume, I really hate taking stuff that is in great condition there.

We were one of those people taking a massive load of clothes... But we only did it once, and ended up giving away plenty to another friend with a baby. Giving away a massive load at once doesn't mean they will not get used, and it can save both you and the recipient time! (Not having to drive around looking for clothes a bunch of places was very helpful) That, and only doing full baby laundry every 3 weeks or less was a time saver as well....

(The load of clothes we received was pre-birth, and we are still using it a year later! It was a MASSIVE pile.. we sorted into boxes by size, and didn't buy any other clothes.)

Oh, I know, as ive often taken massive bags. I just know the people in the buy nothing group who are currently the ones claiming all the baby clothes. They are hoarders with no children. I don't even think they resell. Just take.

A friend gave me this bag. It's all NB size and more than enough to clothe quintuplets without rewear...

I think I'm waiting for the food bank to put out a call

[halftimer]

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.

I was logged out of this site for a month, but found this series at the same time, and it is very addictive. I saw that the owner was a featured speaker for a local museum so I checked out the series to know more about him and his business before deciding to book tickets. We didn't end up going, but I did watch most of the 'Potter' (hoarder) house series.  They took out 9 tons of garbage in the first few weeks of possession!  Later there was even more to go - and that's not counting the 70 bags of clothes they kept to sell or all of the truckloads of antiques and other interesting items.

I later had a chance to see the store itself. It felt a bit voyeuristic, as I have seen the storekeeper and the provenance of some of the items for sale from watching the recent videos. I didn't buy anything though ;-)

---
Progress update for me: I was able to give away a half dozen 'too-good-to-donate' items to friends and relatives lately. It was great to give out clothes that were exactly what they were looking for, and that they wore the same day.
 
I tried to give away another shirt I never seem to wear and it didn't go, so I was going to take it apart for fabric. Once I examined it though, I realized it was 2 thin layers with nicely finished seams on both sides and I could wear it inside out and it would match way more things.  Wore it that way today (took off the tags) and it worked out great!  A few people complimented my outfit, and I let 2 of them know my inside out trick - they couldn't tell even after I told them. Since I didn't actually alter the shirt I can still wear it the regular way too if I want to. So now it has a colorful side and a navy side. Options!

[Poundwise]

Hit a bit of a slow down.  I need to accept that baby clothes are not worth anything and just give them away in a giant pile to one of the buy nothing hoarders...
I just feel like they should go to someone who can use them, and I have SO many that it can't be a single person.

Goodwill gives SO much to fabric recyclers, just due to donation volume, I really hate taking stuff that is in great condition there.

Have you thought about putting up baby clothes for sale at a huge discount, like $20 for a big bag?  Or google "donate baby clothes" and your location.  Many shelters or places of worship will collect clothes to pass on to needy young families.

Speaking of which, I also have big bags of children's clothing to dispose of. In my case, I'm spoiled for choice: struggling with the desire to get rid of them FAST or hanging on to them to give where needed most.  I could disappear them right away through Buy Nothing to families who are about the same financial level as me (and probably better off); or save a few weeks to benefit our church youth group at the annual tag sale; or  save a few months until we find a poor family who needs those sizes.

[halftimer]

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.

I had a hard time with that too - partial projects and items I could upcycle but to others would just be garbage and not even accepted at the thrift stores.  Then I found that my city has a Reuse centre which accepts those kind of items, and was able to offload years worth of corks, cardboard, paper and unfinished projects that I knew I would never get to. The big purge was motivated by an impending house move that never happened, but I'm so happy I passed on those items.  It was freeing to realize if I ever wanted cardboard or any of those things there is a place to get it, and I don't need to personally store it all with no particular project in mind, just in case the artistic inspiration strikes. They also take incomplete puzzles and board games - some people use those for projects as well or to custom make their own board games. Last time I was there someone had just donated many high end art puzzles, so I grabbed a few to keep us busy on frugal evenings at home. So far only 1 was missing a piece.

[Yasha]

Had booked an annual leave day off work and spent a lovely day slowly chipping away at clutter (there isn't much left, yet I always find something...). Gave away a bottle of perfume on our PIF site (yet to see if she collects but there was heaps of interest, so if not I'll do another draw). Plus listed a pair of boots and a chest of drawers on Gumtree (equiv to Craigslist). The drawers have sold for $10, and if the shoes don't sell by the end of the week for $10 I'll put them up on the PIF site too. Rearranged my closet and will see if the new look (open so everything is visible) inspires me to declutter some more clothes.

[jnnfr]

Took some miscellaneous, decade old, electronics down to Cash Converters. 2 laptops, 2 cameras, couple of old consoles and a few games. Nothing special so I was happy with $365 for the lot, especially since I’d nearly taken the whole lot to the electronic waste collection!

[mustachepungoeshere]

In the past week I have:

- cashed in two bags of bottles and cans
- gave a friend a birthday present that has been sitting here for a month
- gave @marty998 the mesh produce bags I ordered for him, which I've been carrying around for two weeks and kept forgetting to hand over

Still have to drop off a couple of bags of donations and list about a dozen things on eBay.

[TomTX]

Speaking of which, I also have big bags of children's clothing to dispose of. In my case, I'm spoiled for choice: struggling with the desire to get rid of them FAST or hanging on to them to give where needed most.  I could disappear them right away through Buy Nothing to families who are about the same financial level as me (and probably better off); or save a few weeks to benefit our church youth group at the annual tag sale; or  save a few months until we find a poor family who needs those sizes.

Our local elementary schools have a free "clothes closet" based on donations.

[slackmax]

Took some miscellaneous, decade old, electronics down to Cash Converters. 2 laptops, 2 cameras, couple of old consoles and a few games. Nothing special so I was happy with $365 for the lot, especially since I’d nearly taken the whole lot to the electronic waste collection!

Congratulations. Well done!

[I'm a red panda]

Hit a bit of a slow down.  I need to accept that baby clothes are not worth anything and just give them away in a giant pile to one of the buy nothing hoarders...
I just feel like they should go to someone who can use them, and I have SO many that it can't be a single person.

Goodwill gives SO much to fabric recyclers, just due to donation volume, I really hate taking stuff that is in great condition there.

Have you thought about putting up baby clothes for sale at a huge discount, like $20 for a big bag?  Or google "donate baby clothes" and your location.  Many shelters or places of worship will collect clothes to pass on to needy young families.

Speaking of which, I also have big bags of children's clothing to dispose of. In my case, I'm spoiled for choice: struggling with the desire to get rid of them FAST or hanging on to them to give where needed most.  I could disappear them right away through Buy Nothing to families who are about the same financial level as me (and probably better off); or save a few weeks to benefit our church youth group at the annual tag sale; or  save a few months until we find a poor family who needs those sizes.

I can't sell them, as I haven't done a good job of keeping track what was given to me and what I bought. I don't want to sell things that were gifts.

I like Buy Nothing Project, as I've benefited greatly from them. I don't mind that people don't "need" the financial assistance; I'd rather things just go used.
I also give a lot through foster projects, churches, and the food pantry- but none of the usual places are asking for clothes.

I'm hoping someone puts up a BNP request soon. As, while the "rules" say you don't have to give to anyone you don't want- it's weird when only the one hoarder asks for things (um, everything), and then you just not give it away...  She's gotten like 60 requests in the past 2 weeks because no one else is claiming things...  most people just want stuff gone.

[Goldielocks]

I hope your plans, travel, etc are shaping up well... 
A question, becuase I think I have mixed things up in my mind...

You mentioned challenges with getting US health insurance, ACA changes maybe impacting your coverage / costs, etc.   I think I understand some of that.... but then you mentioned that if you travel and live elsewhere, like Germany, that their health care system may not have available some of the wonderful new (hideously expensive) drugs that are actually working for you.

I keep wondering if I mis-understand...  It seems like you don't like the US private system because coverage for people without tons of money or with existing conditions sucks (it does), but then socialist type health care would not even provide you the expensive newer treatments you need...?   I know I was shocked at how much health care a person on a "good" employer health plan and $5k in out of pocket could get in the USA..  Levels of health care proceducres / drugs / service that are not available in Canada.

Anyway, please correct me?  Would you want the EU type social health care if you move, or not or ??

[RetiredAt63]

I have decided I am not going to make* my own wine any more, the LCBO has all sorts of interesting wines at decent prices.  So 3 cartons of empty wine bottles will go for returns once the weather clears again.

I have also started a bunch of sweet potato slips, have been saving jam bottles for that.  I will be glad when they have all gone to our fund-raiser and I can put all the bottles into recycling and reclaim the windowsill.


*To be honest, I buy the concentrate and the store does all the work. I just do the bottling.  So at least there is no wine-making equipment to be gotten rid of.

[PMG]

We used up a quart of paint, and a roller cover, and then built a desk with scrap wood accumulated for that purpose and had to buy two quarts of paint for it and some other projects, so have we really decluttered anything?!  Almost. Almost. 

A friend gave me a few tops she didn't want.  They don't fit.  I feel a lot of awkward obligation to resew them and make them fit, and wear them in front of her so she can see I appreciate them... but I don't like them!  Synthetic fabrics, bleh!  I had one all pinned up to alter then came to my senses.  I found another friend who just started a new job and needs office wear, they are more likely to work for her... so perhaps I can navigate my way out of that ridiculous social obligation.

I've also packed up a few small things for Goodwill, and feeling good about it. 

[Serendip]

A friend gave me a few tops she didn't want.  They don't fit.  I feel a lot of awkward obligation to resew them and make them fit, and wear them in front of her so she can see I appreciate them... but I don't like them!  Synthetic fabrics, bleh!  I had one all pinned up to alter then came to my senses.  I found another friend who just started a new job and needs office wear, they are more likely to work for her... so perhaps I can navigate my way out of that ridiculous social obligation.

I've also packed up a few small things for Goodwill, and feeling good about it.

I like the notion that once someone gives something away that they don't like/use, they also relinquish the right to be offended if their recipient does the same! I have been practicing this myself, even gave away a sweatshirt that my sisters gave me as a gift (they each had a matching one) but I couldn't wear it and thought someone else might love the colors.

Packing a bag with clothing, a purse, books, skipping ropes--all heading out.

[Poundwise]

I can't sell them, as I haven't done a good job of keeping track what was given to me and what I bought. I don't want to sell things that were gifts.

I guess I'm just shameless!! I used to feel that way,  but nowadays will turn around and sell any gift that I don't want/need, even within a month of receipt.  I think I would have some qualms about handmade gifts though. I have a big ugly (but warm) sweater that my mother knit for me in the 1980s.  Big bat wing sleeves, y'know? Still haven't brought myself to get rid of it.

[jnnfr]

Took some miscellaneous, decade old, electronics down to Cash Converters. 2 laptops, 2 cameras, couple of old consoles and a few games. Nothing special so I was happy with $365 for the lot, especially since I’d nearly taken the whole lot to the electronic waste collection!

Congratulations. Well done!

Thank you! Today’s task is to deposit the cash in my bank account so it gets tracked in YNAB and not frittered away.

[marty998]

In the past week I have:

- cashed in two bags of bottles and cans
- gave a friend a birthday present that has been sitting here for a month
- gave @marty998 the mesh produce bags I ordered for him, which I've been carrying around for two weeks and kept forgetting to hand over

Still have to drop off a couple of bags of donations and list about a dozen things on eBay.

Do I have to remind you again @mustachepungoeshere that giving me things doesn't really count as clearing clutter?

It just transfers it! :D

[mustachepungoeshere]

In the past week I have:

- cashed in two bags of bottles and cans
- gave a friend a birthday present that has been sitting here for a month
- gave @marty998 the mesh produce bags I ordered for him, which I've been carrying around for two weeks and kept forgetting to hand over

Still have to drop off a couple of bags of donations and list about a dozen things on eBay.

Do I have to remind you again @mustachepungoeshere that giving me things doesn't really count as clearing clutter?

It just transfers it! :D

Do I have to remind you, @marty998, that plastic is forever and you don’t need a single-use plastic bag to carry apples the two blocks between the supermarket and your apartment?

[marty998]

In the past week I have:

- cashed in two bags of bottles and cans
- gave a friend a birthday present that has been sitting here for a month
- gave @marty998 the mesh produce bags I ordered for him, which I've been carrying around for two weeks and kept forgetting to hand over

Still have to drop off a couple of bags of donations and list about a dozen things on eBay.

Do I have to remind you again @mustachepungoeshere that giving me things doesn't really count as clearing clutter?

It just transfers it! :D

Do I have to remind you, @marty998, that plastic is forever and you don’t need a single-use plastic bag to carry apples the two blocks between the supermarket and your apartment?

Sassy! haha. point taken :)

[Frugal Lizard]

Did a few bits of paper - and it feels great.
Two books to the free library.
Daughter did a whole bin of clothes.
Collected all the tomato seeds for donation to the seed library.

Not doing so well on the dishes - neighbour gave me some beautiful dishes, I couldn't say no.

[slackmax]

Opened up a small mystery box that was sitting in front of the TV. I was sure I had already gone through it and decided about it. But when I opened it up, it was stuff I could easily bring myself to donate to Goodwill. Yay! No agonizing over it. Weird old-fashioned kitchen utensils of various sorts.

It's in a bag ready to go. 
 

[Roadrunner53]

Over the past two weeks I watched some Hoarder show episodes. OMG, crazy, crazy, crazy what these people accumulate! One episode I watched this woman had 3 homes full of stuff inside and out. When they came to help her clean out she wanted to go thru every box and bin to see what to keep. They could hardly get anything done with all the procrastination! She was selling junk for $10 while the town she lived in was imposing fines of like $500 a day for not complying with zoning laws. She was freaking out when they tried to throw out absolute crap. Her one daughter was being very pushy thus causing the mother to dig her heel in further. The woman's boyfriend was fed up was taking a hammer to crap to break it so there was no question on it being junk or not! I am addicted to watching that show now! It is like peeking into a hole to a world you can not imagine exists! I think I have junk and some clutter but I am Mrs. Clean by those people's standards! If you even need inspiration to get rid of crap around your house, watch a few of those episodes!

[Sibley]

Over the past two weeks I watched some Hoarder show episodes. OMG, crazy, crazy, crazy what these people accumulate! One episode I watched this woman had 3 homes full of stuff inside and out. When they came to help her clean out she wanted to go thru every box and bin to see what to keep. They could hardly get anything done with all the procrastination! She was selling junk for $10 while the town she lived in was imposing fines of like $500 a day for not complying with zoning laws. She was freaking out when they tried to throw out absolute crap. Her one daughter was being very pushy thus causing the mother to dig her heel in further. The woman's boyfriend was fed up was taking a hammer to crap to break it so there was no question on it being junk or not! I am addicted to watching that show now! It is like peeking into a hole to a world you can not imagine exists! I think I have junk and some clutter but I am Mrs. Clean by those people's standards! If you even need inspiration to get rid of crap around your house, watch a few of those episodes!

I saw that episode. Honestly, that woman hasn't hit rock bottom yet. Until she does, she's not going to change.

---
On topic - added another can of paint to the pile to be donated to the local theater. I will finally have a chance this week/next week or drop off all 4 cans, which will definitely help the closet situation. Am getting close on finishing painting the back bedroom (down to doors/trim), so am debating if I'll pass on the left over paint. One gallon is 3/4 full and I don't anticipate using it again. Decisions, decisions.

Also added a couple tops to the go away pile. Realized I haven't worn them all winter, therefore I'm not going to wear them.

[Yasha]

Finished and submitted an assessment task yesterday. Got up this morning and shredded the printed readings straight away. Means I have some paper shreds to add to the compost next time I need them. This is very out of character for me (I would usually move those papers to a pile of similar papers and be annoyed at them for months/years until I finally went through them all and purged), I am keen to encourage this new behaviour!

[mspym]

This weekend is hard rubbish! making a pile of the things to go out feels so satisfying. The best part is people scope things out and take stuff so there is a lot of practical recycling that happens. Goodness knows, this is where we have got a lot of *our* furniture

[slackmax]

I've been finding a lot of paper clutter that's easy to part with lately. Old local blurb magazines, etc., stuffed under couches.  So my brown paper grocery bag is full and heavy with all this paper clutter, and I have an excuse to drive over to the recycling place and dump it all in. Very satisfying. 

The place looks as messy as ever, but at least I know it is one bagful less cluttered.

As far as the 'yard sale' stuff goes, I'm still donating a lot of that to Goodwill, since I'm not sure I actually want to take part in my neighborhood's annual yard sale, since I am an introvert.

[Frugal Lizard]

worked on more of the little pieces of paper and am starting to see some clear spaces on my desk.
Man it feels good.
Started putting away some of the gear from winter and had empty bins waiting and space on the shelf where they are supposed to live
Man that felt good too.

[Raenia]

Emptied out my purse and tossed all the scraps of paper, dead pens, and other junk.  Swapped the important stuff into my back-up purse, and I'll be donating the first purse as I've decided I like the back-up better.

[Roadrunner53]

I have 8 giant garbage bags full of stuff to donate. I found our first VCR and I remember we paid around $800 for it! The remote control is on a wire connected to the machine! LOL! No chance of losing it was the only good thing!

I have a lot of crap for shredding. Our local senior center has had a free shred event for the last couple of years but there is nothing on the schedule yet. GRRRR!!! There is another shred event but it will cost me $10 a box. So...fingers crossed I find out about the free event before I have to pay about $50 to get rid of this stuff!

[haypug16]

Sold an old bookshelf on Let go last night. Made $20 and the hallway is looking so empty!

[Roadrunner53]

Does anyone do a garbage bag rodeo? Grab some garbage bags and run around the house to see if you can fill them up in maybe half an hour? I think I am feeling like doing that today. I may just do one bag full because the garbage bags I have are 33 gallon size.

Does anyone still have their wedding gowns? Mine is OLD, OLD, OLD! I have no one to 'give' it to and will never wear it again and it sits in my closet taking up space. I feel weird donating it. Part of me wants to keep it and part of me wants to donate it. What to do...

[I'm a red panda]

Does anyone do a garbage bag rodeo? Grab some garbage bags and run around the house to see if you can fill them up in maybe half an hour? I think I am feeling like doing that today. I may just do one bag full because the garbage bags I have are 33 gallon size.

Does anyone still have their wedding gowns? Mine is OLD, OLD, OLD! I have no one to 'give' it to and will never wear it again and it sits in my closet taking up space. I feel weird donating it. Part of me wants to keep it and part of me wants to donate it. What to do...

I donated mine immediately after the wedding. I never understood why people held onto them for 40-50 years.  What do you do with it?

Some cities have charities where they take donations to make funeral gowns for stillborn babies.  Ours is swamped with donations though and not accepting anymore.
There are also wedding dress specific charities, which I think is probably preferable to goodwill, where it is likely to get shelved with prom and formal wear.

[Raenia]

Does anyone do a garbage bag rodeo? Grab some garbage bags and run around the house to see if you can fill them up in maybe half an hour? I think I am feeling like doing that today. I may just do one bag full because the garbage bags I have are 33 gallon size.

Does anyone still have their wedding gowns? Mine is OLD, OLD, OLD! I have no one to 'give' it to and will never wear it again and it sits in my closet taking up space. I feel weird donating it. Part of me wants to keep it and part of me wants to donate it. What to do...

I still have mine, but to be fair I got married less than a year ago.  I have vague plans to try dyeing and hemming it, so I can use it as an evening gown (the style is suitable) but I have to clear out my sewing pile before tackling a new project.

[Roadrunner53]

Does anyone do a garbage bag rodeo? Grab some garbage bags and run around the house to see if you can fill them up in maybe half an hour? I think I am feeling like doing that today. I may just do one bag full because the garbage bags I have are 33 gallon size.

Does anyone still have their wedding gowns? Mine is OLD, OLD, OLD! I have no one to 'give' it to and will never wear it again and it sits in my closet taking up space. I feel weird donating it. Part of me wants to keep it and part of me wants to donate it. What to do...

I donated mine immediately after the wedding. I never understood why people held onto them for 40-50 years.  What do you do with it?

Some cities have charities where they take donations to make funeral gowns for stillborn babies.  Ours is swamped with donations though and not accepting anymore.
There are also wedding dress specific charities, which I think is probably preferable to goodwill, where it is likely to get shelved with prom and formal wear.

What do you do with it? It hangs in the original bag with veil and shoes! It takes up room and yes, been hanging for 40+ years! Maybe I could be buried in it but they would have to buy some extra fabric to let the dress out a few feet. LOL! Maybe it is time to let it go!

[diapasoun]

Put a book in the little free library on my street.

[Nederstash]

My dad gave me a stack of books from his career (he's retired now) and they've been sitting in my bookcase for well over a year now. Tomorrow I'll take them to work and drop them off at a department that might actually use it. If they don't want it, next step is the coffee table at work with a 'free' note.

[Roadrunner53]

My dad gave me a stack of books from his career (he's retired now) and they've been sitting in my bookcase for well over a year now. Tomorrow I'll take them to work and drop them off at a department that might actually use it. If they don't want it, next step is the coffee table at work with a 'free' note.

I donated a bunch of famous chef cookbooks acquired at the Culinary Institute of America to a local non profit culinary school for their use. If your books are of an educational nature like engineering or the trades, you might consider donating them to a local technical school.

[slackmax]

Resisting the thought in the back of my mind "Hey, I could get 50 cents for this at a garage sale", I donated a 2,000 piece puzzle to a church I was visiting yesterday, for their annual yard sale. I asked if they took clothes and they said no. Asked if they took unused scented candles, and the answer was yes! But since they said yes, I'm now thinking of selling them to my local reseller guy, assuming he takes them.

   

[slackmax]

There was so much stuff in my house (still is) that I worry about what effect there will be on  my heating and cooling bill if I ever get rid of it all.

So far the clutter I've removed  was tons of paper clutter (well, about 500 pounds at least).     

All that paper was storing heat in the winter and coolth in the summer. Sort of a thermal 'ballast' that makes it take longer for the air in house to change temperature, in theory, and allowing the heat pump to come on less often. Same way a fridge full of stuff is cheaper to run than an empty fridge.     

I'm still going to keep decluttering, though.

I'm maybe the only one thinking about this, lol.