Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2 (Read 1391146 times)

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7500 on:** August 27, 2024, 05:25:37 PM »

Well done, @LeftA

I was at my sister's house & helped her with a lot of decluttering this weekend. Tons out of her garage, cleared up her office space, listed stuff on eBay for her, sold some things on FB marketplace, made a donation drop off... it was nice to get things cleared up!

As for our house, I am helping DS18 clean his room. Mostly because 1) he's open to it, just lazy. 2) his room has stuff from pre-middle school, and he's about to go to college. 3) It's gross in there. I have no shame in requiring him to go through his room before he leaves for school. Anything that he wants, he gets to keep. But, I did require him to at least vocally say he wanted stuff. Otherwise, gone.

So far, out of the house this week:
-Some school supplies
-No show socks that don't fit me properly
-Two desk organizers from DS18's room

Sold two more items on eBay: outgrown pants for DS17 & sample toiletries from Japan.

Frugal Lizard · « **Reply #7501 on:** August 28, 2024, 08:49:46 AM »

De-cluttering has continued at a much slower pace.

DD is getting used to her brother being moved out. She has also moved most of her stuff to her new place and didn't want the new place to feel all cluttered.

She was ok with me suggesting we have a box where she can put things she isn't ready to part with, but doesn't need right now either in her student place or our house. We agreed that I would let her see all the stuff her brother doesn't want any more and she could put some of it in a similar box in his room. But his stuff, his room. Her stuff, her room. My stuff is mine, and I decide where it goes. I think it really helped when she saw all the household goods she has amassed for her living space in one place. And how nice her closet at home was without all the bins.

I have continued to de-clutter garden paraphernalia. Seeds that don't germinate worth crap, broken pots / trays / labels. Anything without a service life is going. It is so satisfying.

I have found a place where I can look at objects as something someone else might find more value than I do at this time. I guess I have stored enough stuff too long that it has gotten moldy, or lost functionality, stickiness, faded, dried out, rusted that it is now just garbage. If I had donated it before someone could have painted / glued / repaired/ swum with it for a bit.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7502 on:** August 28, 2024, 02:09:34 PM »

That sounds like a really good compromise, @Frugal Lizard

I have continued to try & be very aggressive with our clean out.
-Sold another pair of sunglasses on eBay
-Gave away a unicorn 3 ring binder that DS17 ended up with last year, when he shopped for school supplies at the very last possible moment. He only needed it for a week before another one arrived, and a neighbor was thrilled to get it.

I was sick last time I made a tuna sandwich, and now just can't look at it in the pantry. Don't want it to expire, so gave the four remaining cans to another neighbor.

Also listed a couple of other items on BN, but no takers so far.

Based on the things I posted while I was at her house (but, no takers until after I left), my sister has:
-Sold 3 pieces of furniture
-Gotten rid of an enormous rusted out barbecue & air compressor for someone who uses them for scrap metal
I'm so happy that the forward progress is continuing, even when I'm not there!

Poundwise · « **Reply #7503 on:** August 29, 2024, 07:53:26 AM »

Feeling so good... we had an antique wooden desk sitting in our garage for four years. I finally tore off the crumbling felt top, sanded it down, and replaced with a nice piece of leather that I got off Etsy. My work wasn't perfect (the leather doesn't exactly fit) but it's good enough that we could clean off the desk and bring it back into the house! Where hopefully it will lead to more homework done and better grades for my kids (not holding my breath).

This move has cleared the way to a LOT of improvement as the desk was blocking a whole area in the garage. It's part of my strategy of prioritizing the largest decluttering items (by volume). Like, I could spend three hours going through a box of papers, or I could decide to mend or toss a quilt.

RetiredAt63 · « **Reply #7504 on:** August 30, 2024, 11:38:03 AM »

As part of my move I donated 2 items to my local Habitat for Humanity Restore - and bonus, I get a tax receipt. Then 2 boxes of stuff went to Value Village. And then I finally returned some liquor bottles to the Beer Store, some had 3 year old dust on them. I value the open space more than the $1.60 I got for them. ;-)

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7505 on:** August 30, 2024, 02:14:54 PM »

Well done, @Poundwise ! That is some serious progress. And, love the approach of prioritizing the largest decluttering by volume.

@RetiredAt63 - raking it in with the $1.60, and agree, the space is probably more valuable, and the removal in your brain of needing to remember to return them.

DS18 & his girlfriend (honestly, she's a gift to get him to declutter & helps out with it so much) went through his bookshelf yesterday & got rid of about 2/3 of the content. I took another spin through the closet. My eventual goal is to create enough space by ditching the desk & bookshelf to put a non-twin bed in his room. That would make the space much more functional & I know he'd appreciate the larger bed.

I now have a bunch more items to give away & a few things to try & sell. Plus, I dusted & cleaned out the space.

RetiredAt63 · « **Reply #7506 on:** August 31, 2024, 09:27:12 AM »

Quote from: MaybeBabyMustache on August 30, 2024, 02:14:54 PM

@RetiredAt63 - raking it in with the $1.60, and agree, the space is probably more valuable, and the removal in your brain of needing to remember to return them.

Well it is $1.60 I would not have had if I had just put them in the recycling! But seriously, just not having to look at them and think I need to return them is the biggest win.

Clutter, especially clutter that is something we need to do something about, is such a downer.

crocheted_stache · « **Reply #7507 on:** September 01, 2024, 09:02:48 AM »

We need to double down on cleaning our own clutter, too, in preparation for some house renovations, but some of what's in our house belongs to a friend. We have convinced this friend that it's time for this stuff to go, and she's begun chipping away at it.

Last night, she asked me to look at a box of stuff, in case it was mine. It had a bunch of extruded aluminum shapes, two feet long and a particular profile. There's no label, address, or packing list. None of us—me, friend, or DH—has any idea where these parts came from or even what they are! All we can figure is that they were sent by mistake, with or instead of some other order.

She's a maker space member and is going to find out if there's a place there to leave odds and ends for others to use. If not, I'll scrap them the next time there's an e-waste and metals drop.

Loretta · « **Reply #7508 on:** September 03, 2024, 07:44:07 PM »

Yesterday I went through some broken jewellery and solo earrings, reorganised like with like. It feels less jumble in my closet where the jewellery organiser hangs, at any rate. Then I also packed up a duffle for a vacation with some things to use one last time then discard or donate on the road.

Sandi_k · « **Reply #7509 on:** September 03, 2024, 10:22:51 PM »

I am very proud of myself and DH. I had committed to do SOMETHING productive over the holiday weekend; I had a bridal shower, dinner with friends, and another friend came and stayed for an overnight after a BBQ and pedicure.

So once all of that was done, we were home alone yesterday, and I completely emptied my "mail drawer" in the kitchen island. (The island has 6 drawers: we decided early on that it was a great mail-sorting locale. I have a drawer, DH has a drawer, there is a hardware drawer, a computer cords and chargers drawer, a drawer for operating manuals and catalogs, and a junk drawer).

My stuffed-to-the-brim drawer is now reduced greatly in volume; things were tossed; things were filed; things were shredded. MUCH better! And DH did the junk drawer.

Then today, the monthly housekeeper visit, so the house has a lovely feeling of order and peace. It won't last beyond today, but I love it. ;)

Sugaree · « **Reply #7510 on:** September 04, 2024, 07:06:48 AM »

For the last several years, there have been 5-6 boxes of LVP click tile piled in the utility room. Why? Who knows. It doesn't match anything in my house and isn't enough to do the only room that actually needs new flooring. I offered them to a local couple who are needing help fixing up their bathroom and they actually came and picked them up when they said they would. I call this a win-win.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7511 on:** September 04, 2024, 08:34:58 AM »

I went through all of my shoes (I'm honestly not much of a shoe person, so I was surprised by how many pair I had) & decided I had three pair I was never going to wear & could sell. I bought one pair as a souvenir, but DH hates them, one pair for a trip to France & then it was super hot & I wore the same pair of sandals. The third pair, DS17 talked me into & they are just uncomfortable. Listed them all on eBay.

Altogether, I listed 8 things on ebay yesterday, and sold 3 today! My favorites: I listed a pair of dS17's cleats on Buy Nothing. No takers. I meant to drop them off at our soccer club's cleat exchange. Forgot them in the back of our car. One more time on BN, and no takers still. Listed them on eBay, because I just want them out of my house & sold them in a few hours for $25. Yay!

slackmax · « **Reply #7512 on:** September 06, 2024, 06:14:52 PM »

Decluttered my 'to do' list by obtaining clean, nearly new mattress and box spring from an acquaintance who was going to throw them out! She said I could 'have it for free, but don't take too long to decide cuz it's going to be on the curb in 5 days'.

My old mattress and box spring were both disasters. I was putting up with it because my side was still OK, sort of. But the side where the gf sleeps was even worse. So, the time had come.

Rented a U-haul van for $42 for a whole day. Cost to have garbage co take away the old box spring and mattress was only $18 ! (Taking it myself to the local dump would have been outrageous. Something like $100)

Had to move stuff around inside the house to get the mattress up to the third floor (yes, 3 floors). Found stuff under the old bed frame that were prime candidates for recycling and throwing out.

Ended up rearranging some furniture in the process too. House is more walkable now.

The gf and I are going to take the lady who gave us the free bs and mattress out to lunch a few times. That was very nice of her to give them to us.

slackmax · « **Reply #7513 on:** September 06, 2024, 06:23:05 PM »

Way to go, Sandi_k, reducing the drawer clutter!

I have some drawers and boxes I have to go through. I plan to use the 'spend at least 15 minutes on it, and keep going if you've gotten into a groove' method.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7514 on:** September 06, 2024, 07:46:03 PM »

Quote from: MaybeBabyMustache on September 04, 2024, 08:34:58 AM

I went through all of my shoes (I'm honestly not much of a shoe person, so I was surprised by how many pair I had) & decided I had three pair I was never going to wear & could sell. I bought one pair as a souvenir, but DH hates them, one pair for a trip to France & then it was super hot & I wore the same pair of sandals. The third pair, DS17 talked me into & they are just uncomfortable. Listed them all on eBay.

Altogether, I listed 8 things on ebay yesterday, and sold 3 today! My favorites: I listed a pair of dS17's cleats on Buy Nothing. No takers. I meant to drop them off at our soccer club's cleat exchange. Forgot them in the back of our car. One more time on BN, and no takers still. Listed them on eBay, because I just want them out of my house & sold them in a few hours for $25. Yay!

Sold a pair of the shoes I listed yesterday & made $20+

slackmax · « **Reply #7515 on:** September 08, 2024, 08:45:09 AM »

Way to go, MBM, with the shoe sale !

I was looking for some misplaced paper notes today, gave up on that (vanished), but started a decluttering spat of other paper clutter.

rivendale · « **Reply #7516 on:** September 08, 2024, 10:32:48 PM »

Two bags of shredding out of the house, which means less stacks of paper to look at.

Frugal Lizard · « **Reply #7517 on:** September 09, 2024, 08:12:35 AM »

All the rusty canning rings are recycled! I really only do small batch canning these days so the most I need is 14 of each size! Why did I have a drawer full?

And I turned all the dodgy frozen vegetables that have been stock piled in the basement freezer by offspring moving back and forth to university into a vegetable stock. It tastes very much like corn so it will become a corn chowder base.

crocheted_stache · « **Reply #7518 on:** September 09, 2024, 10:35:49 AM »

@Frugal Lizard, I should clear out more of my old canning rings. I usually find them about when it's time to put them on jars, and then figure the old one can go around one more time so I don't have to dig around for more. I do toss the worst of the rusty and crusty ones. Anything bent or dented gets tossed immediately, too.

I dropped off another couple cleaning agents that nobody here is still using. I like that they're going to someone who can at least try them without buying another whole container, and not going to hazardous waste. Meanwhile, the friend with stuff in my garage is making a pretty good dent in it. It's time we get serious about our own stuff, too.

slackmax · « **Reply #7519 on:** September 13, 2024, 03:17:21 PM »

Sold an old 1991 CRT (cathode ray tube) from an old PC, to a college kid. Got $35 for it. They use these old monitors for retro stuff, I think. Vintage video games, perhaps.

I now have 2 more cubic feet of open space under in my computer room! Yay !

Frugal Lizard · « **Reply #7520 on:** September 16, 2024, 10:03:40 AM »

Good weekend for de-cluttering.

There is still an astonishing amount of stuff stashed here and there in our house. But I think I have hit a tipping point where I just deal with items on the fly and don't have to get myself all worked up.

Yesterday it was junk in the basement. Some stuff is truly garbage. And it is covered with layers of dust from previous dust events and cobwebs. And mold. Do we really really need all the cardboard that each paint brush we have ever bought came in? in a dirty bucket? No one is going to use that bucket for painting because it is too damned dirty.

It all started because I wanted to deal with the cat box area. Cat box area needs to be totally clutter free so that it is easy to keep up with. And now the cheap and not very powerful mini shop vac lives beside the area and is plugged in so there is absolutely now excuse for the floor to be covered in litter.

stoaX · « **Reply #7521 on:** September 19, 2024, 05:38:07 AM »

We have a community yard sale coming up in October. I'm already hinting to Mrs stoaX that things need to be priced to ensure a quick sale.

diapasoun · « **Reply #7522 on:** September 19, 2024, 10:41:44 AM »

Tossed some candle ends I'd been saving to melt down again and make more candles... except I am clearly not going to do it any time soon so I'm really just storing trash in my house instead of in the landfill.

slackmax · « **Reply #7523 on:** September 19, 2024, 07:46:29 PM »

Good job, Diapasoun!

I was trying to sell what I then thought was an ugly stained glass table lamp at the flea market, but no sale. The darn thing started to look cute to me, so now I have it next to the desk in the computer room, and am typing in its low power glow.

The cute paperweight globe next to it has the same story behind it.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7524 on:** September 19, 2024, 08:34:55 PM »

-Tried on a shirt today & didn't like the way it fit. Put it in the donation pile.
-Sold a pair of shoes on eBay

Dutch Comfort · « **Reply #7525 on:** September 20, 2024, 10:56:42 AM »

Last week, a friend asked if he could stay at our house for the night on his way to a meeting. This resulted in a good deep-clean of the guest room and I got rid of so many papers that were lying on the couch there. I also found all kinds of "souvenirs" from trips, that I do not want to display, so I've thrown it all out! Now to keep it nice and tidy......

Gave away two desk chairs and some kids toys on buy nothing. Everyone who claimed something showed up!

Put my son's winter clothes that do not fit anymore on Craigslist. Already have some interest. Hope to have it out by next week. If not, it will go on Buy Nothing.

Found unused pillow cases that do not fit our interior. Put them on Buy Nothing and will send them out tomorrow (taker pays for the shipping!).

Trying to get DH into cleaning out the motor-garage. So far no luck (I just throw the useless/broken stuff out, but stuff keeps accumulating there).

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7526 on:** September 20, 2024, 04:02:29 PM »

-Finished the deep clean of DS18's room, now that he's moved into college. Swapped his desk with DS17's deck. Sold DS17's deck on FB Marketplace for $90. We paid $300 or so for it at the height of COVID, but hey, at least we got something back out of it. DS18's room looks much more spacious.
-Listed DS18's monitor on FB
-Found the remaining part of an alarm clock, so I will list it on eBay (it's new, but couldn't ever find the missing piece for it.)
-Cleaned up untold number of dust bunnies in both dS17 & DS18's rooms.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7527 on:** September 21, 2024, 11:47:49 AM »

Went through eBay inventory & found some stuff that has been lingering forever. Gave it away on Buy Nothing.
-Two new hats
-Package of 3 lip balms

Have another person stopping by shortly to buy 3 games from DS18's room for $25.

I'm at 668 items out of the house, out of my original goal of 500 for the year.

Loretta · « **Reply #7528 on:** September 21, 2024, 02:26:29 PM »

Well I bought 4 articles of clothing at a thrift shop that supports an art program in the community when I didn’t really intend to buy clothes but hey we all win! I am throwing out an ancient quilt that is just too threadbare. It has previous generations’ cigarette burns so it also has history. But alas. Then I also gathered up a shoebox full of random knickknacks and decor and gifts I do not want. So some in some out.

fuzzy math · « **Reply #7529 on:** September 22, 2024, 02:37:36 PM »

- Got rid of 2 big black bags of hand me downs from DS1. DS2 either outgrew a lot of them or he refused to wear them. We paid to move these items. It occurred to me that we're pretty much done with hand me downs because DS2 is about the same size as DS1 now. I tried listing the clothes on BN, freecycle and craigslist and no one was interested. Lame!
- Took some new with tags (unreturnable) stuff to plato's closet and got a few measly dollars. Turned it in to some extra jeans for DD.
- DH is clearing out the garage today.
- I organized our entry way drawers so now all our school supplies, stationery and pens are all in one place. Should keep us from buying more. If the apocalypse happens and anyone needs mechanical pencils, DM me.
- Taking some old shoes to work (I work in healthcare, its sometimes messy) for days I don't wear my Dansko clogs. The shoes will go in the garbage from there.
- I keep tossing my least favorite remaining pairs of underwear. Then I up the ante a bit and find my newest least favorite.
- Shredded and recycled a huge pile of mail.

RetiredAt63 · « **Reply #7530 on:** September 26, 2024, 08:10:31 AM »

I got all my canning supplies together, kept what I might reasonably use in the next year or 2, and took the rest to a garden club meeting for the sale table (pay what you want). The extras are all gone, I'm happy to have the 4 boxes of canning supplies down to 2.

Downside, I came home with a geranium cutting so added to the indoor plant collection. It is one with very pretty foliage, so I voluntarily stood in line for the cutting, no one forced me to add to the plant collection. ;-)

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7531 on:** September 26, 2024, 08:41:11 AM »

-DS17 is a huge shoe person, but I got him to agree to give up one pair & donate them, so those are now out of the house.
-Found an old MP3 player during my eBay/junk clean out & someone on BN wanted it. Hurrah.
-Sold a 32 degree base layer set that didn't fit properly on eBay.

stoaX · « **Reply #7532 on:** September 27, 2024, 05:54:50 AM »

Quote from: Dutch Comfort on September 20, 2024, 10:56:42 AM

Last week, a friend asked if he could stay at our house for the night on his way to a meeting. This resulted in a good deep-clean of the guest room and I got rid of so many papers that were lying on the couch there. I also found all kinds of "souvenirs" from trips, that I do not want to display, so I've thrown it all out! Now to keep it nice and tidy......

Gave away two desk chairs and some kids toys on buy nothing. Everyone who claimed something showed up!

Put my son's winter clothes that do not fit anymore on Craigslist. Already have some interest. Hope to have it out by next week. If not, it will go on Buy Nothing.

Found unused pillow cases that do not fit our interior. Put them on Buy Nothing and will send them out tomorrow (taker pays for the shipping!).

Trying to get DH into cleaning out the motor-garage. So far no luck (I just throw the useless/broken stuff out, but stuff keeps accumulating there).

Having guests come for a stay certainly motivates me to clean and de-clutter.

Sandi_k · « **Reply #7533 on:** September 27, 2024, 09:01:48 AM »

Quote from: stoaX on September 27, 2024, 05:54:50 AM

Quote from: Dutch Comfort on September 20, 2024, 10:56:42 AM
Last week, a friend asked if he could stay at our house for the night on his way to a meeting. This resulted in a good deep-clean of the guest room and I got rid of so many papers that were lying on the couch there. I also found all kinds of "souvenirs" from trips, that I do not want to display, so I've thrown it all out! Now to keep it nice and tidy......

Gave away two desk chairs and some kids toys on buy nothing. Everyone who claimed something showed up!

Put my son's winter clothes that do not fit anymore on Craigslist. Already have some interest. Hope to have it out by next week. If not, it will go on Buy Nothing.

Found unused pillow cases that do not fit our interior. Put them on Buy Nothing and will send them out tomorrow (taker pays for the shipping!).

Trying to get DH into cleaning out the motor-garage. So far no luck (I just throw the useless/broken stuff out, but stuff keeps accumulating there).

Having guests come for a stay certainly motivates me to clean and de-clutter.

Ha! This is the crux of my long-standing agreement with DH. I don't nag him to pick up and clean up on a daily basis. But when we have guests? He is required to participate, with NO WHINING.

It's been a great household rule. ;)

TheFrenchCat · « **Reply #7534 on:** September 27, 2024, 12:25:37 PM »

Quote from: Sandi_k on September 27, 2024, 09:01:48 AM

Quote from: stoaX on September 27, 2024, 05:54:50 AM
Quote from: Dutch Comfort on September 20, 2024, 10:56:42 AM
Last week, a friend asked if he could stay at our house for the night on his way to a meeting. This resulted in a good deep-clean of the guest room and I got rid of so many papers that were lying on the couch there. I also found all kinds of "souvenirs" from trips, that I do not want to display, so I've thrown it all out! Now to keep it nice and tidy......

Gave away two desk chairs and some kids toys on buy nothing. Everyone who claimed something showed up!

Put my son's winter clothes that do not fit anymore on Craigslist. Already have some interest. Hope to have it out by next week. If not, it will go on Buy Nothing.

Found unused pillow cases that do not fit our interior. Put them on Buy Nothing and will send them out tomorrow (taker pays for the shipping!).

Trying to get DH into cleaning out the motor-garage. So far no luck (I just throw the useless/broken stuff out, but stuff keeps accumulating there).

Having guests come for a stay certainly motivates me to clean and de-clutter.

Ha! This is the crux of my long-standing agreement with DH. I don't nag him to pick up and clean up on a daily basis. But when we have guests? He is required to participate, with NO WHINING.

It's been a great household rule. ;)

We had friends over twice in one week, so we were able to get the living room and kitchen decluttered and cleaned. That was at the beginning of the month, and we've actually managed to keep it close to where it was! I'm kind of surprised, actually.

And yesterday I managed to clear out a box of stuff from the pile that was leftover from our move 1.5 years ago. I'll have to keep up the momentum there.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7535 on:** September 28, 2024, 08:44:01 AM »

Found an old tablet behind DS17's bed when I was cleaning, and listed that on eBay. Sold it a day later, so junk out of the house. I also managed to miraculously find the original box for it, which helped with the sale.

LeftA · « **Reply #7536 on:** September 28, 2024, 09:04:50 AM »

Here for my monthly update…with having done my entire house now and being on a second round, my purging has slowed down considerably.

The following did leave my house though:

1. A set of winter tires for a car - one of DHs relatives left them and I was able to pass them along to my BIL. Resulted in a nice large empty space in our garage.

2. A set of outdoor metal chairs. I didn’t realize they belonged to my BIL. He and my sis bought a house so I no longer have to store the chairs for them. Happy about that.

3. Traded 2 puzzles with a neighbour and then gave the newly acquired puzzles to my mom.

4. Gave away a book that I finished reading and was never going to reread.

5. Marked a bunch of mail as “return to sender” and got that out of my house. We’ve lived here for over a decade and still receive mail from my previous owners!

crocheted_stache · « **Reply #7537 on:** October 02, 2024, 12:45:49 AM »

Quote from: LeftA on September 28, 2024, 09:04:50 AM

5. Marked a bunch of mail as “return to sender” and got that out of my house. We’ve lived here for over a decade and still receive mail from my previous owners!

Bravo!

For the previous owners' mail, at least in the US:
Sign up with the direct marketing association's mail preference service, and list their names. You can list yours, too. This is the major distributor for junk mail lists.

Give it a couple months for the notification to get where it's going and for the pipeline to clear out. What's left after that, you can start to deal with case by case. Catalogs, you can usually just call customer service. Otherwise, a web search for "get off XYZ mailing list" should get you there.

I've gotten most of it gone. It didn't stop us from getting a juror summons for the previous owner, some 20 years late. That one, I called the court clerk to let them know that they might need to update, and not expect the guy.

midweststache · « **Reply #7538 on:** October 02, 2024, 06:58:20 AM »

Quote from: crocheted_stache on October 02, 2024, 12:45:49 AM

Quote from: LeftA on September 28, 2024, 09:04:50 AM

5. Marked a bunch of mail as “return to sender” and got that out of my house. We’ve lived here for over a decade and still receive mail from my previous owners!

Bravo!

For the previous owners' mail, at least in the US:
Sign up with the direct marketing association's mail preference service, and list their names. You can list yours, too. This is the major distributor for junk mail lists.

Give it a couple months for the notification to get where it's going and for the pipeline to clear out. What's left after that, you can start to deal with case by case. Catalogs, you can usually just call customer service. Otherwise, a web search for "get off XYZ mailing list" should get you there.

I've gotten most of it gone. It didn't stop us from getting a juror summons for the previous owner, some 20 years late. That one, I called the court clerk to let them know that they might need to update, and not expect the guy.

We've had a process server show up to our house for our previous owners (going on 3+ years, so not quite as egregious as some of your stories) who told us to open the previous owners mail (!) rather than just "return to sender."

I was like "Um, I'm not going to do that. Good day, sir."

Part of our issue is that the county hasn't updated the names associated with the property in their property tax database since we purchased the property, and that database is where a lot of these solicitation companies get their information. (It's on my "be an adult and get it done" list.)

LeftA · « **Reply #7539 on:** October 02, 2024, 08:37:23 AM »

@crocheted_stache , I don’t live in the US.

Also, it turns out that on top of writing “return to sender” on the envelope, you also have to cross off a bunch of things…I wasn’t doing that for the first few years, so I’m hoping to now see a drastic decrease in new erroneous mail getting to my house.

crocheted_stache · « **Reply #7540 on:** October 03, 2024, 02:16:24 AM »

@LeftA ah, then I hope what you're doing works for you there, or that you figure out what does. Here, the DMA should always be the first step.

I once got the former phone number of someone else, which came with many calls for him from collection agencies, who were surprisingly helpful when I answered or called back to tell them that they weren't about to reach him calling that phone number. His former phone number once got a collect call from Peru in the middle of the night, my time. I'm not sorry I left that phone number behind when I moved out of that city.

MaybeBabyMustache · « **Reply #7541 on:** October 03, 2024, 08:59:17 AM »

-Sold DS18's alarm clock that he never used
-Got rid of a ton of old jewelry & made way more than I was expecting. I will never wear it, so this was super exciting. It's been on my to do list for a million years. While I was cleaning that out, found a new pair of costume jewelry earrings that I put aside to give away on BN

News:

Author Topic: Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2 (Read 1391146 times)