Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2  (Read 1254202 times)

happy

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6000 on: July 30, 2022, 05:21:12 PM »
Its a combination of a heap of old pool fencing that we had to replace, misc metal items from  renovations/repairs that we have been stockpiling, plus other bits and pieces the previous owner left stashed here and there.

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6001 on: July 31, 2022, 11:20:18 AM »
Its a combination of a heap of old pool fencing that we had to replace, misc metal items from  renovations/repairs that we have been stockpiling, plus other bits and pieces the previous owner left stashed here and there.

Wow. Well, you'll get it all cleared out.

happy

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6002 on: July 31, 2022, 02:58:03 PM »
Its a combination of a heap of old pool fencing that we had to replace, misc metal items from  renovations/repairs that we have been stockpiling, plus other bits and pieces the previous owner left stashed here and there.

Wow. Well, you'll get it all cleared out.

Yes, the pile of stuff is in the skip! I'll do a scout around this week and pick up anything else lying around. I found 2 more sheets of old corrugated iron to put in yesterday.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6003 on: July 31, 2022, 03:49:28 PM »
I'd been putting off delivering our full donation box, since we moved further away from the Salvation Army we used to use.  Just realized yesterday there is a Green Drop location much closer to us, so we finally dropped it off!  That gives me a good bit more space in the closet.  Next up, mailing a box of books for donation to Open Library.

MoneyTree

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6004 on: August 01, 2022, 11:11:38 AM »
old black and white laserjet printer has been sitting around in my office.

Sold it to my brother-in-law for about 40% of what it would cost new. He gets a great deal on a perfectly functioning printer. I get it out of my house plus a little bit of cash. Win-win.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6005 on: August 02, 2022, 03:19:14 AM »
I haven't read through this whole thread but any tips on dealing with a spouse who refuses to get rid of anything?  And gets upset even when you get rid of things which aren't "his"?  I mainly get rid of stuff when he's not around.  But he gets upset if he realises that I'm trying to get rid of stuff so I'm always careful not to do it too conspicuously.  Lately, I've had my eye on some old broken suitcases, broken IKEA furniture and duplicate/never used kitchen items.  But his idea of "frugal" is never getting rid of anything.  How do you negotiate with a spouse like this? 

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6006 on: August 02, 2022, 04:17:18 AM »
I haven't read through this whole thread but any tips on dealing with a spouse who refuses to get rid of anything?  And gets upset even when you get rid of things which aren't "his"?  I mainly get rid of stuff when he's not around.  But he gets upset if he realises that I'm trying to get rid of stuff so I'm always careful not to do it too conspicuously.  Lately, I've had my eye on some old broken suitcases, broken IKEA furniture and duplicate/never used kitchen items.  But his idea of "frugal" is never getting rid of anything.  How do you negotiate with a spouse like this?

When you figure it out, let me know.  It never fails that when I do convince him to get rid of something, he'll need it 2 weeks later. 

PMG

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6007 on: August 02, 2022, 05:50:27 AM »
I’m no expert but I think the person keeping things has to confront the reasoning and emotions behind the keeping. What’s the underlying cause.  Keeping things is often a symptom of something else.  Until they want to do that work, then the stuff will keep accumulating. 

slackmax

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6008 on: August 02, 2022, 06:58:17 AM »
old black and white laserjet printer has been sitting around in my office.

Sold it to my brother-in-law for about 40% of what it would cost new. He gets a great deal on a perfectly functioning printer. I get it out of my house plus a little bit of cash. Win-win.

Big win for you, MoneyTree!

slackmax

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6009 on: August 02, 2022, 07:07:53 AM »
I haven't read through this whole thread but any tips on dealing with a spouse who refuses to get rid of anything?  And gets upset even when you get rid of things which aren't "his"?  I mainly get rid of stuff when he's not around.  But he gets upset if he realises that I'm trying to get rid of stuff so I'm always careful not to do it too conspicuously.  Lately, I've had my eye on some old broken suitcases, broken IKEA furniture and duplicate/never used kitchen items.  But his idea of "frugal" is never getting rid of anything.  How do you negotiate with a spouse like this?

I assume he is not an actual hoarder, which of course is different from just being frugal.  I guess you have to sneak the broken things out, like the broken suitcases. But then you have to admit what you've done if he notices.

I had a hoarder girl friend who lived with me, and I had no compunctions about recycling some of her useless clutter without telling her. It was the same sort of stuff (old pamphlets, magazines, etc. that she always promised to get rid of, but never did) so I didn't feel guilty about it.

Of cxourse it's different, and much better, if he is not an actual hoarder.   

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6010 on: August 02, 2022, 07:21:34 AM »
I haven't read through this whole thread but any tips on dealing with a spouse who refuses to get rid of anything?  And gets upset even when you get rid of things which aren't "his"?  I mainly get rid of stuff when he's not around.  But he gets upset if he realises that I'm trying to get rid of stuff so I'm always careful not to do it too conspicuously.  Lately, I've had my eye on some old broken suitcases, broken IKEA furniture and duplicate/never used kitchen items.  But his idea of "frugal" is never getting rid of anything.  How do you negotiate with a spouse like this?

So, your spouse would rather that you live in an overcrowded home full of broken items? And polices even items which aren't his?

This is hoarding. Get the professionals involved, because otherwise this could seriously damage your relationship over time. And if he's unwilling to change, you need to seriously consider if you can be happy long term with someone who is unwilling to compromise with you on something that is important to you.

tygertygertyger

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6011 on: August 02, 2022, 09:24:08 AM »
My partner is always suspicious about me getting rid of stuff. I assure him that I won't touch his stuff, which he's slowly come around to relaxing about now.

The only thing that's been successful for me is bringing out the 10 duplicates we have of an item, and saying, hey, any of these you think we can get rid of? Seeing all the items together usually helps, and we're able to get rid of some.

But yeah, good luck! It's tough.

keepingfocus

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6012 on: August 04, 2022, 06:29:41 AM »
I have a partner who likes to keep EVERYTHING (I call this side of him Justin as in 'just in case') and is very resistant to change. He does have valid things-that-happened-in-the-past reasons for some of this, but even so, it's maddening.

I have been slowly decluttering our home of 20+ years for several years now, and he's always been OK with me doing it so long as 'his' stuff isn't being touched (though he's sometimes been quite critical). He remembers the cost of everything, sees throwing away anything even remotely potentially useful as a waste, and has really strong emotional attachments to things.

My approach has been to try to coax him along by leading by example, but I'm also very vocal about my decision-making process, how much I feel the difference in my mental health with an uncluttered environment, and how much I feel it 'costs' me to have so much space in my head taken up by navigating excess things.

There have been a few conversations about what we would want/need to take with us if we ever wanted to relocate overseas (not that this is actually likely to happen) or downsize (which I think may have sparked his imagination a little even though that would likely be at least 10 years away, unless our hand was forced by something drastic).

For a long, long time I felt like I was shouting into the void. It's also been abundantly clear to me that forcing the issue would never work with him and I would have to sit it out and wait for him to want to make changes himself (it has to be his idea, not mine!), and then go at his own pace (often weeks/months between voicing the intent to clear a space and actually starting to do it).

Over the last year he's been starting to let go of more without prompting. tygertygertyger's post about putting all of the duplicates in one place has definitely been a useful tactic (recently we've disposed of several bin bags full of old leads, power supplies, dead computer parts etc.), and now that we're preparing to have the house rewired, the practical benefits of having less stuff are starting to show themselves a lot more. There has been an almost seismic shift in activity (with him proactively sending me descriptions of things that he wants us to put on eBay so that all I have to do is snap a photo, copy the text and list them).

Good luck - it is really difficult.




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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6013 on: August 04, 2022, 11:51:54 AM »
I've been surrounded by pack rats my entire life. I grew up in a family of pack rats / hoarders, and seeing the negative impacts of it has likely shaped me to be the exact opposite.

My grandparents and aunts houses were literally piles and bags of stuff with small paths carved through the mess so people could get from room to room. Some rooms were so full of bags of stuff that they were unusable and never opened. I literally did not know that certain rooms existed in my grandmothers house, and I lived there for 4 years.

I remember giving away an old rear projection TV without my dad's knowledge. The giant ones from the 90s. We stopped using the thing because the quality on new TVs had improved so much. Still, my dad was furious when he came back from a trip and the TV was gone. I probably shouldn't have done that.

What I've learned is you really can't force someone to change from a hoarder mindset. Because it is not just a behavior change. It is a mindset that is ingrained and built in. In order for them to change, their values need to change from finding security in the stuff to valuing the benefits of letting go of that stuff. That is something that has to come internally.

slackmax

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6014 on: August 05, 2022, 05:54:38 PM »
On the hoarder issue: yeah, don't try to change them. I had to give up on fixing my hoarder girl friend. Either that or break up!

On a happier note, I have a milestone to report. The big cannister vacuum cleaner I listed on Facebook a couple weeks ago has received zero interest, so today I convinced, or allowed, myself to pack it into the car and take it over to Salvation Army.

I had been postponing this for years, since it still worked, and I was using it to vacuum the living room, but I have 3 spare regular vacuum cleaners which are much easier to use.   


oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6015 on: August 05, 2022, 07:37:33 PM »
Yay for making your life easier!

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6016 on: August 05, 2022, 08:01:22 PM »
Washed a couple litterboxes last weekend, while sick with covid. (Thank you cat for making it necessary and not delayable.) The 2nd litterbox that got washed was one which I replaced a while ago but never got around to washing out, it's been in the garage for months. It is now clean. And I put it, and the bag of other stuff for the shelter, in the car. I need to empty and wash out another box, but we'll see.

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6017 on: August 08, 2022, 08:21:37 AM »
We started on the boxes of household goods from my Mom's apartment.  DD went through everything with us and selected the items she wanted for her uni-res kitchenette and possibly for future apartment.  Then DH, bless him, started trying to get it all clean.  My mom always had really hard well water, with sulfyr and didn't care as things got greyer and greyer.  Most the steel items (cutlery, cooking utensils) got nice and shiny after a deep soak in hot vinegar water.  Some items needed a little help with elbow grease and baking soda.  I cleaned out her old coffee grinder and am going to use it powder foods I dehydrate such as garlic and green onions and these wicked hot peppers.  I have some really old rice I pulverized to get all the coffee residue out.  Now I have a dedicated grinder for herbs and spices. DD has all the gear and we are only keeping the high quality stuff.  Two more boxes to donate!

I went through the storage room to look for stuff and found a pile of empty boxes.  Our blue bin is now full of broken down cardboard.  Full!  One of the things DH and I are going to do once both kids are off to university is de-clutter.  DH is going to convert the play house to a garden storage shed and build me shelves for all the tools, pots and trays and bins for the soils / seed starting.  I am going to get him to make rods for drying plants and will have a stand where I can fill trays and pot up. So much gear will leave the garage, the basement, the back porch! I will know where everything is!

tygertygertyger

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6018 on: August 08, 2022, 08:41:08 AM »
It is my dream to know where everything is! I love this plan.

mspym

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6019 on: August 08, 2022, 03:30:15 PM »
Our NZ house is being the grateful recipient of my siblings' decluttering - a queen-size bed + bedding! a fridge! a washing machine! the bike my sister can't ride anymore!

We're all winning in this game.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6020 on: August 08, 2022, 06:19:05 PM »
Finally gave up on the decade old hand-med-down printer and tossed it. It hasn't worked properly in a while and  I can print  at work if I have to. Two feet of cabinet space back and a free electrical outlet. Printer paper in the recycling bin. It was all reused paper that had printing on one side.

Took the winter comforter to the cleaners. It had been wadded up on the ironing board for months. It's not getting rid of it, but it's switching a big pile of dirty laundry into a usable item.

Tomorrow is trash & recycling bin day, so I'm making a sweep through the house to get rid of stuff.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6021 on: August 09, 2022, 10:44:49 AM »
Sold 2 articles of clothing on Ebay. One did not fit and one I did not love. I didn't make much money since I offered free shipping but it got it out of my house and kept it out of the landfill. Hopefully the new buyers will love them.

slackmax

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6022 on: August 10, 2022, 09:48:26 AM »
Sold 2 articles of clothing on Ebay. One did not fit and one I did not love. I didn't make much money since I offered free shipping but it got it out of my house and kept it out of the landfill. Hopefully the new buyers will love them.

Way to go, GB! 

At my place, I finally decided I probably won't ever need the huge roll of plastic bubble wrap I had saved from the opening of an old box.

So I put it out for the recycling, and, bless them, they took it! Will it be recycled or landfilled? Don't know, but it's in out of my house, lol. 
 

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6023 on: August 10, 2022, 09:57:30 AM »
I dug out all the stash of bubble wrap and packaging and put it beside the pile my youngest is compiling for moving into her dorm in 18 days.  EEK 18 days is really soon!

RetiredAt63

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6024 on: August 10, 2022, 03:24:52 PM »
I just gave a pile of moving wrapping paper to my daughter for a friend of hers who is moving.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6025 on: August 10, 2022, 07:05:27 PM »
I got the bookcase and a coffee and end table out of the house.  Donated to Ukrainian refugees.  Also sent a small bag of random stuff (clothes, books, a plant etc) to the thrift store.  Another box, of miscellaneous man stuff, is ready to go, pending picking through by my handyman first.

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6026 on: August 11, 2022, 07:01:47 PM »
Found a friend with a working cassette deck. Now listening to the 15 cassettes I've held on to all these years because I didn't know what was on them.

First was a nearly 30 year old recording of a college lecture. Trashed.

Second was completely blank. Will offer to friend, otherwise thrift shop or Buy Nothing.

Third is in progress. Maybe also blank?

SunnyDays

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6027 on: August 13, 2022, 07:10:00 PM »
Handyman picked through box, took a few things and the rest is going to thrift store.  Also threw out 2 empty paint cans and recycled a partly full one at local hardware store.

Now if I could just declutter that mouse in the basement ......

zygote

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6028 on: August 13, 2022, 07:39:00 PM »
Threw away 90% of my makeup today. It was all old before the pandemic even started...I never wore makeup much to begin with, and I wear it even less now that I wear a mask most of the time I go out. Just kept a few of my very favorite things that all seemed to still be in good condition.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6029 on: August 14, 2022, 08:24:27 AM »
Found a friend with a working cassette deck. Now listening to the 15 cassettes I've held on to all these years because I didn't know what was on them.

First was a nearly 30 year old recording of a college lecture. Trashed.

Second was completely blank. Will offer to friend, otherwise thrift shop or Buy Nothing.

Third is in progress. Maybe also blank?
I just did that recently but with rewritable? CDs. We don't have an optical drive, so CDs have been sitting in a file for years now. I kept 3 out the 6 or 7. Found my wedding photos, and some other fun photos, but the rest were old college assignments.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6030 on: August 14, 2022, 08:56:02 AM »
Gave a good solid almost-new painting step-ladder to my daughter.  She wanted it, as in walked out with it the minute I said she could have it.   ;-)

If I ever need it I can always borrow it back.  But I expect I will rarely/ever need it.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6031 on: August 17, 2022, 08:55:32 PM »
Trashed a power cord that I kept just in case (cringe). I plugged in the device and it somehow drained the power instead of restoring it. Now I have one working cord instead of two tangled together. The item itself was sent to Amazon for credit long ago.

Some more clothing items in the donate bag. Being very intentional about clothes that fit and work for me.

This week is recycling pickup and I nearly filled one bin! I cleaned some easy stuff out of the garage and did a sweep of the house. The garage recycling was brought home from my old job that didn't have a recycling program, so it's been in there for about (gulp) four months. Now there's a lovely big space instead of things stacked on top of recycling bags. Current job has recycling so that build up won't happen again.

Working on getting all packaging out of the house as it comes in. None of that "this is a good box!" nonsense.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6032 on: August 17, 2022, 10:01:24 PM »
Gave up on the dream of breaking in my duckfeet sandals and donated them along with another pair of shoes. Hopefully someone with much hardier feet than this sookybaby will find them and be "score!"

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6033 on: August 18, 2022, 12:23:22 AM »
Decluttered all lunchboxes and kept only the onces that we are actually using. Put the good ones on the Buy-Nothing group. Now waiting for takers!
Started a challenge to declutter more, since I found we're keeping too much "just in case". Started with the bathroom and threw out a lot of stuff which was past expiry date or that we're not using anymore. Feels great!

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6034 on: August 18, 2022, 08:44:31 AM »
Finally getting rid of two old desktop computers. Was keeping them around for spare parts, but want to get rid of them now. Photographing them to put on Facebook Marketplace.

Will only ask $5 for each computer (no hard drives and don't know if the motherboards work).

If I don't sell them on FB in 2 weeks, off they go to the nearby place that recycles them for free.

That will be two fairly big boxes out of the house. 

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6035 on: August 19, 2022, 12:55:01 AM »
Sold one bike which became too small for our son. This bike was extremely well used by our son, but we managed (with some polishing skills of DH) to get only 30 euro less than what we paid for it. This comes to a depreciation of 10 euro a year, since our son used it for 3 years! Well worth the investment! And more room in our garden shed!

Today some sewing stuff that I put on Buy-Nothing will be picked up. Hope they will make better use of it than I did in the last 10 years (it is unused......*insert eye roll*).

Challenge for today: put at least 1 more item on Buy-Nothing and declutter/throw away a minimum of 10 items.

oneday

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6036 on: August 19, 2022, 10:18:09 AM »
Retrieved veggie peeler and meat thermometer from one of the partially unpacked boxes in the garage. The only thing left in that box was a mixing bowl, so the bowl got moved to a different partially unpacked box. The empty box and some packing materials got added to the empty box and extra packing material pile, which will soon be listed on Buy Nothing.

In the mean time, it's a bit easier to make my salad.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6037 on: August 19, 2022, 02:38:56 PM »
I took a planned day off yesterday, and in between reading and playing on my phone:

-Goodwill drop-off:  One pair each of jeans and slacks that are too big due to my 31-pound weight loss, 3 shirts, a cute but too small pair of penguin socks and a coffee mug.  I could've added more clothing, but didn't want to get too involved, LOL.  The last time I did a large clothing purge was 3 or 4 Labor Day weekends ago, and it took several hours.
-Neice2 apartment warming gift:  In a never used large coffee mug with matching saucer are munchies from the pantry, and a few glow sticks.
-Magazines:  One will be upcycled to my sis, the rest to a neighbor.
-To a different neighbor:  Egg cartons, her two Mason jars, and some homemade cookies.  She just had a baby, and I cannot wait to meet him.
-To a different friend next week:  Her serving spoon from a club excursion.
-Trashed a small freebie carton of coconut water from late last year.  Out of the back pantry and my life forever.

The back pantry is really starting to declutter.  About 2/3 of the shelving is open, and I want to continue streamlining items.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6038 on: August 19, 2022, 04:15:53 PM »
Another good result from Facebook Marketplace.

Just sold two old desktop computers for parts. Neither one would start, and I removed the hard drives.  Power supplies questionable.  Got $5 for each computer.

The guy who bought them is a collector. Likes to do stuff with vintage computer parts.

Computers not in E waste stream, being made use of, for now. Ten buckarooskis in my pocket, and about 6 cubic feet of clutter gonzo !

Woohoo  !!   

Sibley

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6039 on: August 19, 2022, 08:44:16 PM »
Awesome Slackmax!

FYI, Western Digital has/had a program where you could ship them old hard drives and they would destroy/recycle them for you. You're supposed to only send like 5 max, I think I sent 30-40 in the box. With a note saying sorry for the excessive number, it was the accumulated stash of an IT geek. It was all the hard drives floating around my parent's house pre-move.

slackmax

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6040 on: August 20, 2022, 07:38:52 AM »
Awesome Slackmax!

FYI, Western Digital has/had a program where you could ship them old hard drives and they would destroy/recycle them for you. You're supposed to only send like 5 max, I think I sent 30-40 in the box. With a note saying sorry for the excessive number, it was the accumulated stash of an IT geek. It was all the hard drives floating around my parent's house pre-move.


Just to be cautious, I kept an old desktop (1990's) that actually has a working 5 inch floppy drive (5.5 inch?) from yesteryear. It also has a 3 inch floppy reader and a fan, so I have those items as backup for my current desktop (also ancient but working fine, lol).

30-40 hard drives is  a lot,   Sibley,  lol. 

RetiredAt63

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6041 on: August 20, 2022, 08:42:50 AM »



Just to be cautious, I kept an old desktop (1990's) that actually has a working 5 inch floppy drive (5.5 inch?) from yesteryear. It also has a 3 inch floppy reader and a fan, so I have those items as backup for my current desktop (also ancient but working fine, lol).

Floppies were 8", 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" if I remember correctly.  I remember my first floppy disks, single sided single density.  It was a big deal when they moved to double sided double density.

I know, I am a dinosaur.    ;-)   I did my first programming on punch cards.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6042 on: August 20, 2022, 09:06:53 AM »
Awesome Slackmax!

FYI, Western Digital has/had a program where you could ship them old hard drives and they would destroy/recycle them for you. You're supposed to only send like 5 max, I think I sent 30-40 in the box. With a note saying sorry for the excessive number, it was the accumulated stash of an IT geek. It was all the hard drives floating around my parent's house pre-move.


Just to be cautious, I kept an old desktop (1990's) that actually has a working 5 inch floppy drive (5.5 inch?) from yesteryear. It also has a 3 inch floppy reader and a fan, so I have those items as backup for my current desktop (also ancient but working fine, lol).

30-40 hard drives is  a lot,   Sibley,  lol.

Those hard drives had been accumulated over 20+ years. It was a surprisingly small, but deceptively heavy box. And they are gone.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6043 on: August 21, 2022, 10:36:49 AM »


I know, I am a dinosaur.    ;-)   I did my first programming on punch cards.

Me too. COBOL on punch cards, lol.   When PL1 came along, that was so cool.

Every so often I donate one of my programming / IT  manuals to the library. Ebay has them  listed for big bucks, like $30 plus shipping, but I don't know if anyone is buying them, lol. 

Don't want the hassle of using Ebay.

I put them on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for local selling, and zero replies, lol.


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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6044 on: August 21, 2022, 10:46:34 AM »


I know, I am a dinosaur.    ;-)   I did my first programming on punch cards.

Me too. COBOL on punch cards, lol.   When PL1 came along, that was so cool.

Every so often I donate one of my programming / IT  manuals to the library. Ebay has them  listed for big bucks, like $30 plus shipping, but I don't know if anyone is buying them, lol. 

Don't want the hassle of using Ebay.

I put them on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for local selling, and zero replies, lol.
You can search Ebay for "sold" listings which would tell you if anyone is buying and at what price.  But I agree shipping is a pain.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6045 on: August 21, 2022, 03:16:01 PM »


I know, I am a dinosaur.    ;-)   I did my first programming on punch cards.

Me too. COBOL on punch cards, lol.   When PL1 came along, that was so cool.

Every so often I donate one of my programming / IT  manuals to the library. Ebay has them  listed for big bucks, like $30 plus shipping, but I don't know if anyone is buying them, lol. 

Don't want the hassle of using Ebay.

I put them on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for local selling, and zero replies, lol.
You can search Ebay for "sold" listings which would tell you if anyone is buying and at what price.  But I agree shipping is a pain.

I gave away all my Excel and Word manuals and workbooks years ago.  The programming stuff even earlier.  I didn't even bother to try to sell it.  I just wanted people who were switching to computer record keeping for various groups I was part of to have some support. 


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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6046 on: August 21, 2022, 06:49:37 PM »
My parents met over programming cards or whatever they are called :)

As a millennial , Y'all need to throw that shit away, don't keep old desktops and Kobol manuals!

Signed,
My in laws have shoved every computer they've ever owned in their basement and told us their long term plan is to die and make us deal with disposal.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6047 on: August 22, 2022, 06:01:11 AM »
My parents met over programming cards or whatever they are called :)

As a millennial , Y'all need to throw that shit away, don't keep old desktops and Kobol manuals!

Signed,
My in laws have shoved every computer they've ever owned in their basement and told us their long term plan is to die and make us deal with disposal.

They were generally called punch cards because they had holes punched in them.

After all my moves I am totally up to date of disposing of expired electronics.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6048 on: August 22, 2022, 08:19:37 AM »
My parents met over programming cards or whatever they are called :)

As a millennial , Y'all need to throw that shit away, don't keep old desktops and Kobol manuals!

Signed,
My in laws have shoved every computer they've ever owned in their basement and told us their long term plan is to die and make us deal with disposal.

Find 2 people: the collector, and the recycler. You'll be ok.

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Re: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2
« Reply #6049 on: August 22, 2022, 11:49:51 AM »
My parents met over programming cards or whatever they are called :)

As a millennial , Y'all need to throw that shit away, don't keep old desktops and Kobol manuals!

Signed,
My in laws have shoved every computer they've ever owned in their basement and told us their long term plan is to die and make us deal with disposal.

Find 2 people: the collector, and the recycler. You'll be ok.

No, just one - the recycler, as in the e-waste recycler.  Anything more is too much effort.