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

[Loretta]

It’s not permanently clearing clutter but I’m taking my gift wrap, wreath and a my festive welcome mat back down to the creepy storage bin in the basement!  I’ll recycle my recyclables in the basement while I’m already there. 

[Captain FIRE]

@mspym Funny you say that as I was looking up recommended #s for toddler clothing last night!  And the ridiculous part to admit is that a different family has started giving us girl tops, so she will probably wear more of those than the other boy oriented ones we've saved.  (It's not guaranteed they'll continue or how much more we'll get from them so I don't want to rely on it to the extent of getting rid of everything, but it does push me towards being far more aggressive with the rest and not keeping any "on the fence" clothes!)  And the 65 short sleeve shirts was just what I had in boxes from my son - it actually didn't include a few short sleeve girl tops (5-7?) we already got from the new family.  Realistically, the kids tend to wear the same 5-10 things over and over.  So they need maybe 15-20 MAX factoring in leaving spare clothes at daycare, should we ever travel again (ha!), and those weeks when they go through multiple outfits.  Like this week, where I've run out of "acceptable" jeans for my son.  Sigh.

ETA: I need to change mindset from culling the items do we not need/want to keeping those items do we need/want.  I think I'll have substantially fewer items with the latter than the former.

[parkerk]

I'm very slowly trying to get a handle on the clutter and needless stuff in our house, and sometimes it feels like an unwinnable battle.  But I'm going to celebrate a small win here which is that someone on my local buy nothing group asked if anyone had a spare laundry drying rack, and lo and behold I had one collecting dust in the basement and now I am rid of it! 

Now I just need to do that about 100,000 more times ...

[mspym]

@Captain FIRE it makes a real change to your approach once you tackle it from the here is what I love and want to keep angle! When I was shifting countries I had a suitcase and could only take what fit in it - it made for a fantastic sorting tool.

[Plina]

I have been decluttering at my parents and aunts place. I moved closer to them and realized I needed some stuff. So I asked my mother and aunt if they had those items. I got a rack for drying dishes from my aunt, some cleaner before painting and a kitchen table. I will return the table but it saved me from buying something fast. I got skis and poles that my mother don’t use anymore, some recycling stuff to the kitchen as well as a side board from my grandparents that I like. Both my aunt and mother are always saving stuff because it can be useful. It is a win-win as they are happy to get rid of the stuff and I don’t need to buy it.

[mspym]

Today I found some old personal development papers from previous jobs and recycled it. It was oddly satisfying given how little actual space it took up, but I guess that's the mental space freeing up too. It's like when I decided oh I am NOT going to renew my professional certification, which is due 2 months after I quit the field for good.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Got rid of a few things on Buy Nothing today:
-3 ski base layers
-cake pan
-outgrown "teen brand" tshirt

When I was posting my BN items, I noticed that someone was giving away a bunch of cauliflower rice that I've been looking everywhere for (Costco seems to be out), so surreptitiously, I now have that. I've gone to a few stores for it, so this was a big win. The giver asked that I take a few other items (chicken broth, mac & cheese, etc), so I'm baking up the muffin mix right now for the kids. I don't want the items to further clutter my own pantry, so I'll focus on using them up right away.

I also listed a new cheeseboard I received from a work function, and have someone buying ti in a few hours. Fingers crossed, as it will be great to get that out of the house as well.

Next up: freezer & pantry inventory

[Dutch Comfort]

Listed a pile of boys clothes on Craigslist. One lady came by yesterday who showed interest in a couple of items, but after seeing all the clothes, she bought 2/3 of the whole pile! Cash in the kid's travel account, space in my home and a happy lady!

[YellowCat]

Dropped the first load of stuff at goodwill yesterday en route to the grocery store. It had been hibernating in my trunk for a couple weeks so it’s good to have that done.

Today I went through our kitchen cabinets to sort out what we don't use and made a plan to re-home / donate all of it. I’m giving a bunch of canning jars, some food containers, a silicone baking mat, and a few casserole dishes to a friend. She was planning to visit us tomorrow anyway so she’ll take them with her when she leaves. The rest will go to goodwill at the next opportunity, hopefully also this week.

My husband is currently sorting through our winter accessories  to see if there’s anything there that should also be donated. It’s nice that we can use some of our parental leave to get the house in order. When we’re both working full time plus parenting the rest of the time this stuff just doesn’t happen.

[Frugal Lizard]

The really good, but too small mitts from the ski box are gone to people with smaller hands than my (now) teens

[slackmax]

Listed a pile of boys clothes on Craigslist. One lady came by yesterday who showed interest in a couple of items, but after seeing all the clothes, she bought 2/3 of the whole pile! Cash in the kid's travel account, space in my home and a happy lady!

Excellent job, Dutch Comfort!   

[slackmax]

It's getting harder to find anything I can easily part with around here, but I went through some notebooks on the shelf and decided 4 of them could be recycled. So the shelf is still there, but has more open space.

Also found four more books to donate to the library.   

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Sold the cheeseboard to a neighbor, so one holiday gift that we didn't need/want out of the house
-Gave away more stuff on Buy Nothing (new socks, three new hats, an outgrown sports jersey, two pair of jeans). All picked up & gone
-I'm planning to go to the library today to donate to bags of books. It's been on my to do list for literally months, but their hours never align with my schedule. Fingers crossed that today is the day.

Also on the list for today/tomorrow:
-Going through my "paperwork tray" & cleaning out the junk that's collected
-Pantry organization
-eBay/donation closet

[SunnyDays]

It's getting harder to find anything I can easily part with around here, but I went through some notebooks on the shelf and decided 4 of them could be recycled. So the shelf is still there, but has more open space.

Also found four more books to donate to the library.   

Sounds like you're done with the low-hanging fruit - now the real work begins, ha ha.

Rounded up a few more things:  tattered dog blanket and holey socks for fabric recycling, a book, a sweatshirt in brand new condition that I won't wear, and a Scentsy bar I don't like.

Have to get back on the bandwagon and turf more stuff before spring.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Sold the cheeseboard to a neighbor, so one holiday gift that we didn't need/want out of the house
-Gave away more stuff on Buy Nothing (new socks, three new hats, an outgrown sports jersey, two pair of jeans). All picked up & gone
-I'm planning to go to the library today to donate to bags of books. It's been on my to do list for literally months, but their hours never align with my schedule. Fingers crossed that today is the day.

Also on the list for today/tomorrow:
-Going through my "paperwork tray" & cleaning out the junk that's collected
-Pantry organization
-eBay/donation closet

Indeed - today was the day! I dropped off two library books for donation & they are officially out of my house.

[oneday]

Pretty happy overall with my level of possessions; coasting along in maintenance mode. Recently took a small bagful to the haz mat.

But does anyone else accumulate, like, 3 things for the charity shop in several months? They're not so valuable that I'm willing to put effort into giving them away online individually (no Buy Nothing here). How do you/would you all handle it?

I take the stuff to our apartment complex’s general trash bins. I put them in nice paper or clear bags and leave them in a prominent area on top of the bin lids or in front of the bins on the floor (rather than putting them in the bins), so that people can clearly see what the stuff is. Last time I did that, the stuff was gone before I had even walked 30 steps away from the bins.

After another bout of frustration because a chair and matching footstool were in the way of the closet, realized I probably wouldn't get around to refinishing them. So added that bulky pair to the 3 small things and made a run to the charity shop this morning. The closet feels so spacious!!!

[SquashingDebt]

Yesterday was an excellent day of decluttering!  My SO and I have been in our new apartment for 6 months and are now pretty confident we'd like to stay here for several years at least.  It's quite small (he owns the property, rents out the house, and we're in the above-barn 500 sq ft apartment) and so now that we know we want to stay, I'm ready to trade stuff for space.

We started with the bedroom.  We let go a blanket that I love but that is kind of unraveling and thus dangerous for our dog.  We also let go two full-size comforters/bedspreads since we upgraded to a queen size mattress.  Then we tackled clothes.  My SO finally went through all his shirts and decided on a large bag's worth to donate.  I went through all my clothes and finally let go a bunch of free t-shirts from college (which was kind of awhile ago, haha) and some other shirts that I never wear.  All said, we have 4 trash bags full to donate and one to dispose of.  It made a huge impact on our tiny closet/bedroom!

[Captain FIRE]

Folks, I posted above preemptively went through clothes for a size my daughter is just now starting to wear.  We were given a lot. I gave it away through our Facebook freebie site to a family that sends it out for local Cradles to Crayons packets...and she told me it was almost enough for *6* different packets.  That's with me keeping about half or maybe even more.  In other words, my kid has MORE than what 6 kids need.  Now granted, what they consider need is less generous than I consider need, but still.  This inspired me to tell the woman I'd go back through the clothes and see what outwear I can pass on to her for the packets, and toss in some more long sleeve shirts.  I already put aside an extra jacket and sweatshirt.

Also went through the big box of nice shoes from my nephew.  Kept the bigger sizes for my son, but decided my daughter was unlikely to wear them so we should pass them on now.  6 pairs given away or pending, looking for homes for 4 more.

[SailingOnASmallSailboat]

Thanks for the inspiration.

Listed 3 items on Ebay, out of a box of maybe 12 items that need such treatment.

[Sibley]

Folks, I posted above preemptively went through clothes for a size my daughter is just now starting to wear.  We were given a lot. I gave it away through our Facebook freebie site to a family that sends it out for local Cradles to Crayons packets...and she told me it was almost enough for *6* different packets.  That's with me keeping about half or maybe even more.  In other words, my kid has MORE than what 6 kids need.  Now granted, what they consider need is less generous than I consider need, but still.  This inspired me to tell the woman I'd go back through the clothes and see what outwear I can pass on to her for the packets, and toss in some more long sleeve shirts.  I already put aside an extra jacket and sweatshirt.

Also went through the big box of nice shoes from my nephew.  Kept the bigger sizes for my son, but decided my daughter was unlikely to wear them so we should pass them on now.  6 pairs given away or pending, looking for homes for 4 more.

You might find it helpful to actually look at, in total, every piece of clothing your daughter wears over the course of a week. Every sock, shirt, pair of pants or underwear, everything that was worn. Count them up. That will give you some hard data as to how much is needed. That way, you can tell your brain when it insists that she needs 30 pairs of socks "no, because I counted and she wore 10 pairs in a week. 30 is way overkill".

[MountainGal]

Checking in to say, I love Decluttr!  I finally shipped two boxes of CDs to them, and they gave me just .80 less than what they originally offered.  This means two boxes of clutter out of the house, and $40 into our dining out account.  :)

[Fresh Bread]

Checking in to say, I love Decluttr!  I finally shipped two boxes of CDs to them, and they gave me just .80 less than what they originally offered.  This means two boxes of clutter out of the house, and $40 into our dining out account.  :)

What do they do with them that they can give you money? Charity shops here won't take them because they can't sell them and there's no recycling option here either AFAIK.

[Fresh Bread]

... It's quite small (he owns the property, rents out the house, and we're in the above-barn 500 sq ft apartment) and so now that we know we want to stay, I'm ready to trade stuff for space.
...

Snap! (almost) We live in 650sqft over a double garage and rent out the main house!

I have v few clothes now and I've been sort of thinking in a capsule wardrobe way about what comes in - it must go with everything else so it's mainly navy, grey, white, some other blues. My SO has loads of clothes but they are folded & stored Marie Kondo style which helps.

With other stuff we've cheated by storing what probably should have been got rid of in the garage, because in 2 more years I think we will move back to the big house. Picture frames was the hardest - we don't have the wall space but if we go back to the main house I'd probably want the same arrangement of photos again. And my SO never went through his personal stuff before the move so has a few boxes in the garage. I did sell the large and superfluous furniture at least!

[Weisass]

We are decluttering our driveway…. Our minivan is going on cl tonight and I hope it’s gone by the weekend

[Captain FIRE]

Folks, I posted above preemptively went through clothes for a size my daughter is just now starting to wear.  We were given a lot. I gave it away through our Facebook freebie site to a family that sends it out for local Cradles to Crayons packets...and she told me it was almost enough for *6* different packets.  That's with me keeping about half or maybe even more.  In other words, my kid has MORE than what 6 kids need.  Now granted, what they consider need is less generous than I consider need, but still.  This inspired me to tell the woman I'd go back through the clothes and see what outwear I can pass on to her for the packets, and toss in some more long sleeve shirts.  I already put aside an extra jacket and sweatshirt.

Also went through the big box of nice shoes from my nephew.  Kept the bigger sizes for my son, but decided my daughter was unlikely to wear them so we should pass them on now.  6 pairs given away or pending, looking for homes for 4 more.

You might find it helpful to actually look at, in total, every piece of clothing your daughter wears over the course of a week. Every sock, shirt, pair of pants or underwear, everything that was worn. Count them up. That will give you some hard data as to how much is needed. That way, you can tell your brain when it insists that she needs 30 pairs of socks "no, because I counted and she wore 10 pairs in a week. 30 is way overkill".

I assure socks is not where we have overkill.  :)  After a while of scrimping by (they get lost so easily...and now going out in winter they can go through multiple pairs in a day if they get their feet wet), I broke down and bought another set for Christmas.

But yes.  Absolutely.  She wears so little because she/I have favorites. 

[mspym]

Dropped some coffee, canned fruit and Vegemite into a church's food pantry. Another 2 books off to street libraries, 3 uncomfortable AND irretrievably sweated in sports bras into the rubbish, one deeply dead running t-shirt likewise. We have hit the point where we have enough rags for the foreseeable future and the thought of any more on the rag pile triggers my We Are Living In SQUALOR! reaction.

The new approach of buying something once the old one runs out seems to be keeping the pantry contents under control.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Checking in to say, I love Decluttr!  I finally shipped two boxes of CDs to them, and they gave me just .80 less than what they originally offered.  This means two boxes of clutter out of the house, and $40 into our dining out account.  :)

I made a similar amount selling basically all of our DVDs, CDs, & a few books. It was a ton of stuff out the house, so any money was a bonus.

[marion10]

Three coats out the door - one I have no idea where it came from! To local buy nothing group.

[SquashingDebt]

@Fresh Bread , I have all my extra wall art in storage in the barn/garage too.  And lots of other stuff.  We also got rid of the furniture stored down there recently, so we could have some space to exercise and do hobby stuff, so that's helped a lot. 

It's great living rent-free, even if a little extra space would be nice.  Bonus - I can vacuum the entire apartment only plugging the vacuum in once, haha.

[slackmax]

I'm counting this as decluttering.

I have lots of winter coats, some I only use for dirty work. One of them is a beige color, and got very dirty over the years, only is certain areas. I was planning on eventually just throwing it out, since everyone knows you can't wash winter coats (right?).

Just for kicks, I tried washing one area of the coat. Used a toothbrush and liquid laundry detergent, water, and a bucket.  It worked!  Nice and clean now.   

It's taking some time, but that's OK. Today I'm washing the other dirty areas on the coat. Satisfying.

And now I can wear this coat in public again, too.   

[LaineyAZ]

I'm counting this as decluttering.

I have lots of winter coats, some I only use for dirty work. One of them is a beige color, and got very dirty over the years, only is certain areas. I was planning on eventually just throwing it out, since everyone knows you can't wash winter coats (right?).

Just for kicks, I tried washing one area of the coat. Used a toothbrush and liquid laundry detergent, water, and a bucket.  It worked!  Nice and clean now.   

It's taking some time, but that's OK. Today I'm washing the other dirty areas on the coat. Satisfying.

And now I can wear this coat in public again, too.   

Cleaning a coat with a toothbrush?  That's dedication!

[Sibley]

I'm counting this as decluttering.

I have lots of winter coats, some I only use for dirty work. One of them is a beige color, and got very dirty over the years, only is certain areas. I was planning on eventually just throwing it out, since everyone knows you can't wash winter coats (right?).

Just for kicks, I tried washing one area of the coat. Used a toothbrush and liquid laundry detergent, water, and a bucket.  It worked!  Nice and clean now.   

It's taking some time, but that's OK. Today I'm washing the other dirty areas on the coat. Satisfying.

And now I can wear this coat in public again, too.   

Well, first, if you have winter coats that you're not using at all but they're in decent condition, why are you hanging on to them? Donate to the shelter or something so someone who doesn't have a coat can be a little warmer. Or take a walk down where the homeless people are see if anyone wants it. This isn't a situation where it's going to get tossed - someone needs that coat.

Also, what is this coat made of that it can't be cleaned? I've never heard of a winter coat that can't be cleaned, whether via washing machine or dry cleaning.

[Dutch Comfort]

Our son decided he does not want the rug in his room anymore since his Legos will disappear in it..... Listed it on Craigslist and sold it in a few hours. Now DS has to deal with the cold wooden floor on his feet when he gets out of bed. His choice!

[zygote]

Starting off the year with some digital decluttering.

-IT finally updated my work laptop to Windows 10 (it was running Windows 7 lol). It was a clean install, and I'm only going to add back the files and programs I really need.
-Went through and deleted a bunch of old apps I don't use off my phone. Now the apps I use all the time are more at the forefront.
-I also have way too many old pictures and videos, and my phone is getting full. I'm going to use my commute time for the foreseeable future to go through and delete (I don't drive, I take public transit). I have thousands and thousands of photos, so this is a daunting task to do as a whole. Keeping it to the commute turns it into a more reasonable project.

[RetiredAt63]

Starting off the year with some digital decluttering.

-IT finally updated my work laptop to Windows 10 (it was running Windows 7 lol). It was a clean install, and I'm only going to add back the files and programs I really need.
-Went through and deleted a bunch of old apps I don't use off my phone. Now the apps I use all the time are more at the forefront.
-I also have way too many old pictures and videos, and my phone is getting full. I'm going to use my commute time for the foreseeable future to go through and delete (I don't drive, I take public transit). I have thousands and thousands of photos, so this is a daunting task to do as a whole. Keeping it to the commute turns it into a more reasonable project.

I just dump all my phone photos to my laptop every so often and the phone starts fresh.  It is a lot easier to edit the photos on the larger laptop screen.

Won't work on your commute, though.   ;-(

[zygote]

I reference old photos when I'm out often enough that I definitely value having notable ones saved on my phone! Everything is of course periodically backed up on my computer, I'm just way behind on culling down the ones on my phone. Right now I'm still in 2017, yikes.

[MountainGal]

Checking in to say, I love Decluttr!  I finally shipped two boxes of CDs to them, and they gave me just .80 less than what they originally offered.  This means two boxes of clutter out of the house, and $40 into our dining out account.  :)

What do they do with them that they can give you money? Charity shops here won't take them because they can't sell them and there's no recycling option here either AFAIK.

I did a quick search and found this:

https://themodestwallet.com/decluttr-review/#:~:text=Decluttr%20is%20a%20second-hand%20tech%20and%20product%20buyer,make%20a%20bit%20of%20money%20in%20the%20process.

[Fresh Bread]

Checking in to say, I love Decluttr!  I finally shipped two boxes of CDs to them, and they gave me just .80 less than what they originally offered.  This means two boxes of clutter out of the house, and $40 into our dining out account.  :)

What do they do with them that they can give you money? Charity shops here won't take them because they can't sell them and there's no recycling option here either AFAIK.

I did a quick search and found this:

https://themodestwallet.com/decluttr-review/#:~:text=Decluttr%20is%20a%20second-hand%20tech%20and%20product%20buyer,make%20a%20bit%20of%20money%20in%20the%20process.

Wow, I stuggle to find someone to take them for free.

[MountainGal]

Checking in to say, I love Decluttr!  I finally shipped two boxes of CDs to them, and they gave me just .80 less than what they originally offered.  This means two boxes of clutter out of the house, and $40 into our dining out account.  :)

What do they do with them that they can give you money? Charity shops here won't take them because they can't sell them and there's no recycling option here either AFAIK.

I did a quick search and found this:

https://themodestwallet.com/decluttr-review/#:~:text=Decluttr%20is%20a%20second-hand%20tech%20and%20product%20buyer,make%20a%20bit%20of%20money%20in%20the%20process.

Wow, I stuggle to find someone to take them for free.

Right?  And Decluttr pays for shipping as well.  I cannot wait to go through my CDs (this first trial shipment contained mostly DH's), books, some DVDs, and quite possibly, the tablet I bought for $20 on impulse and used twice.

[SunnyDays]

I'm counting this as decluttering.

I have lots of winter coats, some I only use for dirty work. One of them is a beige color, and got very dirty over the years, only is certain areas. I was planning on eventually just throwing it out, since everyone knows you can't wash winter coats (right?).

Just for kicks, I tried washing one area of the coat. Used a toothbrush and liquid laundry detergent, water, and a bucket.  It worked!  Nice and clean now.   

It's taking some time, but that's OK. Today I'm washing the other dirty areas on the coat. Satisfying.

And now I can wear this coat in public again, too.   

I put my winter coats in the washer and dryer all the time.  Never had a problem.  Anything synthetic should be fine.

I also use a toothbrush on stains on clothes, along with Shout, the best stain remover I’ve found.

[RetiredAt63]

I'm counting this as decluttering.

I have lots of winter coats, some I only use for dirty work. One of them is a beige color, and got very dirty over the years, only is certain areas. I was planning on eventually just throwing it out, since everyone knows you can't wash winter coats (right?).

Just for kicks, I tried washing one area of the coat. Used a toothbrush and liquid laundry detergent, water, and a bucket.  It worked!  Nice and clean now.   

It's taking some time, but that's OK. Today I'm washing the other dirty areas on the coat. Satisfying.

And now I can wear this coat in public again, too.   

I put my winter coats in the washer and dryer all the time.  Never had a problem.  Anything synthetic should be fine.

I also use a toothbrush on stains on clothes, along with Shout, the best stain remover I’ve found.

Fabric purses too.  I use Shout and a toothbrush to get the obvious dirty spots clean, then into the washing machine (cold water wash, just in case) they go.

[slackmax]

I'm counting this as decluttering.

I have lots of winter coats, some I only use for dirty work. One of them is a beige color, and got very dirty over the years, only is certain areas. I was planning on eventually just throwing it out, since everyone knows you can't wash winter coats (right?).

Just for kicks, I tried washing one area of the coat. Used a toothbrush and liquid laundry detergent, water, and a bucket.  It worked!  Nice and clean now.   

It's taking some time, but that's OK. Today I'm washing the other dirty areas on the coat. Satisfying.

And now I can wear this coat in public again, too.   

Well, first, if you have winter coats that you're not using at all but they're in decent condition, why are you hanging on to them? Donate to the shelter or something so someone who doesn't have a coat can be a little warmer. Or take a walk down where the homeless people are see if anyone wants it. This isn't a situation where it's going to get tossed - someone needs that coat.

Also, what is this coat made of that it can't be cleaned? I've never heard of a winter coat that can't be cleaned, whether via washing machine or dry cleaning.

I didn't say I never use them or that they were in good condition. Some are torn and dirty and uncleanable (grease, oil, ground in grime). I really don't think a donation site would accept them, unless they have zero other coats. I wear them when I work on my car in winter, or something like that.  Occasionally I throw one out.

I have a fairly new vinyl coat that is scuffed up on the outside. You can wipe it with a damp cloth, but it still looks scuffed and worn and old. Clean but still scuffed.

I have another otherwise decent looking coat  that was dirtied up from carrying fire wood. Label said dry clean only. The dry cleaner said he could not get the dirt out of it. I tried cleaning it myself with alcohol, detergent, etc. No dice. 

So I was happily surprised to score a victory with cleaning my beige coat. I noticed the outer shell is 65% polyester and 35% cotton.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

My son outgrew his hiking/snow boots. I ordered him a new pair, and happened to find a friend who needed the smaller sized pair for her younger son. Perfect! Love that match to someone who needs exactly what you have.

[slackmax]

My mustachian box that converts the over the air tv signals into the old fashioned analog version, so you can still watch tv on an old tube tv,  died after many years.

Couldn't fix it, so took it down to a store that accepts electronics for recycling and let them have it. 

Then I installed the backup converter box I had, and I am up and running again with free tv.       

[LaineyAZ]

A book recommendation:  "A Decluttering Handbook for Creative Folks (and Everyone Else)" by Fay Wolf.  Easy read, the tone is helpful and fun (not nagging or shaming) and contains lots of websites for further reference. 

One of the many ideas I liked included her suggestion to only use paper file folders with the same tabs, e.g., all tabs on the right instead of left-center-right.  Our brains like the look of this and so we can find things faster.  Made a lot of sense, so I'll gradually be doing that for my paper files. 

[Captain FIRE]

20 pairs of kid shoes and boots out the door to new homes or pending in the past 2 weeks.  3 well worn pairs trashed.  (We were gifted a lot of shoes that had lots of life left.  Some my youngest outgrew, others my oldest outgrew and I decided my youngest was unlikely to wear.)

Also pending is a bottle sterilizer.  A nice gift we used once.

Next up: Preemptively sorting through the 3T clothes to see what I can pass on now.

[Poundwise]

I've been doing very poorly on the decluttering front these past few months... items just got moved to the garage but didn't actually leave our household. As a result, it was getting very difficult to find anything in the garage, leading to buying extras of items we already owned, etc.  Finally broke the roadblock this week and got rid of several items through Buy Nothing, and offloaded a big tub and several bags of kids' clothes to the newest batch of Afghan refugees. Being able to move around in the garage again, I finally found some stuff that I had posted on Craigslist free then subsequently lost, was able to tell the claimants they could pick it up, then followed up by even destashing some yarn to an acquaintance (I usually find it very hard to give away yarn.)

Almost 2 cubic yards freed!

[draco44]

Gave away a houseplant I didn't need to a teacher who wants to teach her class how to take care of plants. That seemed like an excellent new home.

[JupiterGreen]

Gave away a houseplant I didn't need to a teacher who wants to teach her class how to take care of plants. That seemed like an excellent new home.

Yes, I love this!

[oneday]

A book recommendation:  "A Decluttering Handbook for Creative Folks (and Everyone Else)" by Fay Wolf.  Easy read, the tone is helpful and fun (not nagging or shaming) and contains lots of websites for further reference. 

One of the many ideas I liked included her suggestion to only use paper file folders with the same tabs, e.g., all tabs on the right instead of left-center-right.  Our brains like the look of this and so we can find things faster.  Made a lot of sense, so I'll gradually be doing that for my paper files.

If one does have the left-center-right configuration, remember that the left/right ones can often be turned inside out to become the opposite. That leaves the center-tab ones as the oddballs. Y'all are on your own for ideas, there :)