Author Topic: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!  (Read 1850076 times)

tofuchampion

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1750 on: May 28, 2015, 06:08:03 PM »
I haven't done much of anything since I last posted. I have a pile of clothes that I intended to try to sell on eBay, but I've realized that I'd make so little from most of them that it wouldn't be worth it. So the whole pile is going in trash bags tonight and to Goodwill tomorrow. I did sell a few baby clothes on eBay, but didn't make much. I have $26.20 pending in my Paypal account, and paid $14 total for shipping... so that's $12.20 for 6 pieces. Plus the hassle of making the listings, going to the post office, etc. No thanks.

On the topic of spouses, Mr Tofu has given me permission to get rid of some things that have been cluttering up our closet - 2 old, nonworking computer towers, and a bin full of random bike parts. He also has a bike that needs work that he intended to fix up but never did, and he said that can go on craigslist. His DVD's, he said can go in our closet. He is basically acknowledging that no one ever watches them, but he spent so much money on them, he's still not going to get rid of them. Just put them away where they'll definitely never get watched. I don't understand this, but whatever. I'm actually planning to go through all of our movies, pull out the ones that get watched (mostly the kids' stuff), and leave those downstairs, then put the rest in the closet.

I think I need to go through my clothes again, too...

handsnhearts

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1751 on: May 28, 2015, 06:35:21 PM »
Now that I have moved, I have a big pile of stuff in a box by the front door to go to goodwill/ free cycle. There was some junk left in the house to go also, and I already checked in with the old tenants.   There were some things I was keeping to see about our new house, but now they can go. But I can already feel myself sliding into the phase where there is so much clutter, junk and boxes everywhere that I don't see it as much anymore. My eyes glaze over. How do I get going again?


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FrugalShrew

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1752 on: May 28, 2015, 08:03:11 PM »
It has taken me a few weeks to read through all 37 pages of this thread, but I am finally caught up & excited to get on board! 

Many, many pages ago there was a link to a website about why people hang onto things. Unfortunately, I identified with several of the categories: 1) not wanting to waste things, 2) keeping things that I may need or want someday in future, 3) sentimentality, and 4) feeling guilty about getting rid of things that were given to me as gifts. There is some logic to each of these positions, but they add up to a life governed by stuff and being surrounded by things that weigh me down.

This thread was just the inspiration I needed. I am currently feeling quite overwhelmed by stuff, clothes and papers in particular. I recently moved into an apartment with a small closet, and I have clothes overflowing everywhere in my room. I've never had a problem with this before, but I used to just add more storage if I needed it, and now I don't have room for that. I'd like to move more towards the minimalist wardrobe being discussed in another thread -- having each piece in my closet be something that fits, that I love, and that I would want to wear all the time.

The rest of the apartment could all use a trim, too, but it's all livable right now. The bathroom is actually amazing because there is no linen closet, and at first I found it so frustrating, because: where do I put all my stuff?? But now I LOVE it's lack of storage. There is a small medicine cabinet that I share with my roommate that houses my true essentials, and I keep my towel hung on the back of the door. That's it. I keep extra towels in my dresser.

horsepoor

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1753 on: May 28, 2015, 08:51:04 PM »
I have four days off, so I'm laying out a couple challenges for myself:

  • Actually get the latest box o' crap delivered to the thrift store
  • Go through and organize file cabinets
  • Get rid of two remaining fish and decommission the aquarium
  • Hang the curtains in the basement and clean up the hardware/crap that is hanging around there
  • List at least 5 items on eBay
  • Re-work a broken horse jump that's in the back yard using stuff I have on hand, and take it out to the stable

Dang, I haven't gotten to any of these.  The weather has been great, so I've been gardening and riding instead.  I was ready to load the boxes into the car and take them to the  Goodwill, but I realized that I am missing my gold necklace, so now I need to go through the boxes with a fine toothed comb to make sure I don't accidentally donate actual diamonds.  OTOH, I had an unexpected day at home today due to a last minute change of plans at work, so I've been decluttering outdoors.  So far I have the truck loaded up with old broken windows I had planned to make into cold frames, some materials that were too weathered to use for anything, a broken screen door and some nasty old Adirondack chairs that aren't worth scraping and re-painting.  I've also got an old A/C unit, 6 patio chairs and two plant pots out at the curb with "free" signs on them, and burned up a pile of yard waste that has been visual clutter in my line of sight from the kitchen window since last fall.

The Craigslist leaving things on the curb for the first person who gets it, and then deleting the ad thing works wonders.  I posted the ads, peeked out the window about 30 minutes later, and the stuff was there.  Then the doorbell started ringing while I was on a conference call.  Peeked out the window again and the stuff was gone, and a second person had come right behind them, apparently.  I deleted the ads, then a third person came by hoping to get the chairs.  All this in about an hour.  I feel a tiny bit guilty about the people who come by and don't get the item, but it's gone and out of my life.

Now to go through the boxes to check for my necklace, and get them in the car so they get dropped off tomorrow.  I have a couple books to add to the pile as well.

Villanelle

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1754 on: May 29, 2015, 04:12:51 AM »
I stood in front of the closet, staring at the dresses for about 5 minutes, reordering them, pulling one out and putting it back, etc.  Then I gave up and worked on another section of the closet.  20 pants and blazers in a donation bag.  Blazers are an area where I'll need at least one more pass (L. Ron,  I have so very many clothes!).  Not what I intended and I didn't tackle the scary dress project, but not bad for a day's work, either.

I love the idea of setting a number of X items that seems reasonable.  How many cardigans/swimsuits/pairs of boots is it reasonable for me to own.  If, after a purge, I'm at 150% of that number, clearly there's more work to be done.  Thanks for the great suggestion!

Another project is a major shoe purge.  When I was working in an office, I wore fancy heals almost daily.  I still want that life and imagine it for myself, so getting rid of work clothes is a tough sell mentally.  But I need to accept that it isn't my life.  If shoes haven't been worn since I move to Japan (5 years ago, and I'm in Germany now), clearly they need to go.  If I have the professional life I want again someday, I can buy more shoes.  I've acquired a lot more comfy, casual shoes, because they better fit my life, but I never got rid of the ones that fit my old life. 

It's amazing to me how much mental baggage gets opened up.  They may be just shoes, but to me, they are a symbol of the professional life I sacrificed to move.  Getting rid of them means accepting that difficult change a bit more fully.    Sometimes, a shirt is just a shirt, but other times, there's so much more meaning behind the Stuff.

ZiziPB

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1755 on: May 29, 2015, 05:13:44 AM »
I stood in front of the closet, staring at the dresses for about 5 minutes, reordering them, pulling one out and putting it back, etc.  Then I gave up and worked on another section of the closet.  20 pants and blazers in a donation bag.  Blazers are an area where I'll need at least one more pass (L. Ron,  I have so very many clothes!).  Not what I intended and I didn't tackle the scary dress project, but not bad for a day's work, either.

I love the idea of setting a number of X items that seems reasonable.  How many cardigans/swimsuits/pairs of boots is it reasonable for me to own.  If, after a purge, I'm at 150% of that number, clearly there's more work to be done.  Thanks for the great suggestion!

Another project is a major shoe purge.  When I was working in an office, I wore fancy heals almost daily.  I still want that life and imagine it for myself, so getting rid of work clothes is a tough sell mentally.  But I need to accept that it isn't my life.  If shoes haven't been worn since I move to Japan (5 years ago, and I'm in Germany now), clearly they need to go.  If I have the professional life I want again someday, I can buy more shoes.  I've acquired a lot more comfy, casual shoes, because they better fit my life, but I never got rid of the ones that fit my old life. 

It's amazing to me how much mental baggage gets opened up.  They may be just shoes, but to me, they are a symbol of the professional life I sacrificed to move.  Getting rid of them means accepting that difficult change a bit more fully.    Sometimes, a shirt is just a shirt, but other times, there's so much more meaning behind the Stuff.
This is so true! I recently got rid of some fancy handbags  and clothes that I used to wear in my prior job (5 years ago!).  The hardest part for me was the acknowledgment that that chapter of my life is now irrevocably closed. I almost turned back on my way to the consignment store. But after a day or so I started feeling better about it and now I almost feel ready for the here and now and the next chapter... Almost, because I still have a few dresses I hang on to for sentimental reasons. I need to screw up my courage and let them go. Soon...

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1756 on: May 29, 2015, 06:12:24 AM »
Tomorrow I start tackling cocktail and evening gowns.  This one will be hard for me.  I do wear these things, anywhere from 2-5 times a year, and I'm likely to start wearing them a bit more often.  Also, my size varies so I have a range of sizes (normal size and up and down one). 

I love these.  They are so beautiful.  And I do wear them.  And I hate wearing the same dress to more than every couple of years to these events.  Not entirely rational, but that's where I'm coming from as I tackle this.

This one will be a real struggle.  I probably have 25 or more.  Uggh.  I'm trying to decide what is reasonable.   This will be my first big challenge I think.

If you wear 2-5 a year, you don't like to repeat except every few years, it seems rational to keep 15, 5 per year, for 3 years.

So I'd combine the advice of the above post, and pare down to at most 15.

Then, I'd do a long term "hanger turn"- rather than move them to storage (do you have a storage building? I'd get rid of that!) Hang them with the hanger the wrong way, when you wear them, turn it around.  If after 3 years any are still the wrong way, get rid of them too.  Clearly, those weren't your favorites, and you didn't need as many dresses as you thought.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1757 on: May 29, 2015, 06:15:04 AM »
Regarding the fancy dresses, I had a recent revelation that they are cheap and plentiful on ebay here (UK), so I am storing them there from now on. I'll have a couple 'in stock' for last minute invitations, otherwise, I'll buy a 'new' one on ebay as an event invitation rolls in. Saves storing them, and means no repeats (I get you on that front). Actually, I think I'll send them to the consignment store, because they cost a lot more there, so I would probably do better even with the 50% commission.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1758 on: May 29, 2015, 04:49:58 PM »
Hello, I'm back!

I felt done for some time, but now that it is summer I can see what summer clothes I can part with. Also, my SO has come around to the whole "minimalism" thing! He even went a step further and things we should downsize from 1,000 sf (with lots of closets and a storage locker) to 700 (with hardly any closet space!). Which makes me a bit nervous because I don't want to feel crammed, and I also will have trouble parting with my large dining table that I restored with the intention of keeping forever.

So, I think we will have to go through everything again and see what can be trimmed. We aren't planning on moving for over a year, but I am already apprehensive at the thought of it.

Squirrel away

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1759 on: May 30, 2015, 04:22:20 AM »
I've slowed down on the clutter clearing lately so I went through some of my stuff again last night. I think I only ended up throwing away one thing, it was a packaging for a pillow that i was keeping for some unknown reason!

I ended up moving stuff around so it looks less cluttered which isn't really the point so I'm going to try again today.

Villanelle

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1760 on: May 30, 2015, 11:28:44 AM »
Tomorrow I start tackling cocktail and evening gowns.  This one will be hard for me.  I do wear these things, anywhere from 2-5 times a year, and I'm likely to start wearing them a bit more often.  Also, my size varies so I have a range of sizes (normal size and up and down one). 

I love these.  They are so beautiful.  And I do wear them.  And I hate wearing the same dress to more than every couple of years to these events.  Not entirely rational, but that's where I'm coming from as I tackle this.

This one will be a real struggle.  I probably have 25 or more.  Uggh.  I'm trying to decide what is reasonable.   This will be my first big challenge I think.

If you wear 2-5 a year, you don't like to repeat except every few years, it seems rational to keep 15, 5 per year, for 3 years.

So I'd combine the advice of the above post, and pare down to at most 15.

Then, I'd do a long term "hanger turn"- rather than move them to storage (do you have a storage building? I'd get rid of that!) Hang them with the hanger the wrong way, when you wear them, turn it around.  If after 3 years any are still the wrong way, get rid of them too.  Clearly, those weren't your favorites, and you didn't need as many dresses as you thought.

No storage building.  Well, we have furniture in storage, paid for by the military.  A huge purge of that will happen when we are reunited. It will definitely be a large exodus, but it's a separate issue and one we can't address right now.

Because these dresses are expensive (though I bought many used/on ebay), I think I am going to avoid donating them, like I've done with everything else.  I'll move them to the States where I know I can find a good consignment store to take them. Doing that here would be much more difficult, and European style is different. 

I think I am going to try to do 5 formals and 5 cocktail in my main size, and 1 formal and 2 cocktail each in the +1 and -1 sizes. That's 16, which is probably an aggressive goal, but seems reasonable.  Of course, it's easier to say that now than it will be when I'm trying on dresses!

My parents are visiting in a few days (which means a break from the purging) and it has been so nice having less stuff as I clean and organize in anticipation of their visit.  I'm not where I want to be, but it's nice to see some concrete benefits of these efforts. 

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1761 on: May 30, 2015, 12:50:01 PM »
I am giving my cedar chest to my brother, and ottoman back to the coworker who gave it to me . I'm moving in three days, already seeing there is more I want to be rid of before I move - more clothing. Although my belongings are quite minimal, I'm finding that at this point I really do not want to deal with things . moving things, in particular. I am so sick of moving but seems like it keeps being necessary.....

ZiziPB

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1762 on: May 30, 2015, 07:39:22 PM »
I sold a couple of items on Craigslist and also joined a local tag sale group on Facebook.  Packed a large bag of items for goodwill and have another large batch of clothes for the consignment store. Some will have to wait until they accept fall items but they are put aside and ready to go.

Feeling good about my tidying so far. Also finished reading Marie Kondo's book tonight. Very inspiring!

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1763 on: May 31, 2015, 02:44:56 AM »
I got rid of some old, organic toothpaste that I think had gone off, a lipstick I hate, some bath foam was used up, an old notebook was put into recycling and pet food packaging thrown away.


handsnhearts

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1764 on: May 31, 2015, 07:49:53 AM »
I threw away a bunch of old bathroom stuff. Like old toothpaste, old lotions and creams that were rancid, sunblock that was old and separated and had a tiny bit left, small sample size bottles of stuff that we were never going to use again. Also some plastic cosmetic bags that had seen better days. We also sorted all of our bathroom stuff, and we should have gotten rid of a ton more.  We have about 10 travel size toothpastes and the same number of brand new toothbrushes, all from the dentist. We use an electric one!  But DH didn't want to part with them (surprisingly since I'm the clutter bug). At least they are all in one place. I still have multiples of things, like 3 hotel shower caps, and too many cleaning items, like old toothbrushes and rags. But now that everything is together and organized, I can try a use things up or get rid of it in another pass. We are still missing a box from the bathroom, and we can't seem to find it.


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handsnhearts

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1765 on: May 31, 2015, 07:50:47 AM »
I also kept an old organic toothpaste, but I moved it to cleaning supplies and I'm going to try it on my headlights of my car as suggested on the internet.


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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1766 on: May 31, 2015, 10:22:17 AM »
I threw away a bunch of old bathroom stuff. Like old toothpaste, old lotions and creams that were rancid, sunblock that was old and separated and had a tiny bit left, small sample size bottles of stuff that we were never going to use again. Also some plastic cosmetic bags that had seen better days. We also sorted all of our bathroom stuff, and we should have gotten rid of a ton more.  We have about 10 travel size toothpastes and the same number of brand new toothbrushes, all from the dentist. We use an electric one!  But DH didn't want to part with them (surprisingly since I'm the clutter bug). At least they are all in one place. I still have multiples of things, like 3 hotel shower caps, and too many cleaning items, like old toothbrushes and rags. But now that everything is together and organized, I can try a use things up or get rid of it in another pass. We are still missing a box from the bathroom, and we can't seem to find it.


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Places like Ronald McDonald House, Fischer House (Like Ronald McDonald house but for military), or domestic abuse shelters are likely to be happy to take new toothbrushes and sample toiletries.  Perhaps having someone who can make use of them will make it easier to get rid of them.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1767 on: May 31, 2015, 10:51:22 AM »
I am rewarded for my cluttering efforts:
- $50 savings bond (15 years in of 30)
- $50 bill mixed in with deposit slips

Found them in a bin of my husband I haven't gotten him to go through, languishing in the closet.  Pulled out the obvious trash (e.g. an empty bag of bic razors), put away office stuff (yay, now we don't need to buy a three hole punch), and put off to the side potential sentimental items for him to look at.

Also went through my bathroom cabinet and DH's chest of clothes (reorganized and culled of damaged items, it looks great and actually closes now!  and I know we don't need to buy him new undershirts for about 5-10 years...).

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1768 on: May 31, 2015, 12:47:37 PM »
Went through my costume jewelry and got ride of about 80% of it. Gave one of the empty organizer boxes to my boyfriend for fishing lures. Packed up two organizer boxes with the jewelry I am giving. Away and set it aside for the nanny to take what she wants.

How I wish I had never bought this stuff!

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1769 on: May 31, 2015, 01:44:01 PM »
Not much time today, but I went through our winter hats and scarves.  It was a quick pass and I probably need at least one more but I filled 2 plastic grocery bags plus threw away a few single gloves. 

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1770 on: May 31, 2015, 07:41:23 PM »
I also kept an old organic toothpaste, but I moved it to cleaning supplies and I'm going to try it on my headlights of my car as suggested on the internet.


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Thanks, I am so trying this!  I was looking at my truck headlights today and they're really cloudy.

Other than listing some books on Amazon, I got almost nothing done this weekend.  Still feeling like there is a long way to go, though I happened to be in the living/dining room of an acquaintance a few days ago and with their "normal" amount of stuff, my place seemed almost Spartan in comparison.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1771 on: May 31, 2015, 08:07:32 PM »
I donated 99 books today. (Maybe I should have looked around for one more.) That takes care of mine - now I have to work on DH.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1772 on: June 01, 2015, 03:39:51 AM »
Got rid of a bottle of nailpolish which was going thick and lumpy, even after I tried to thin it. And put another one in a colour I don't like aside to give to my friend who loves all my cast-off cosmetics.

Earmarked a few pieces of fabric for summery patterns, though it's still cold here in the UK so I'm not feeling much motivation to make hot weather clothes. I'm slowly finishing up things in the bathroom and kitchen and loving the empty space left behind (though I have to keep reminding myself not to use too much of something just to get rid of it!).

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1773 on: June 01, 2015, 05:10:58 AM »
Sold some curtain fabric that I had for four years. I was never going to make the curtains, as the ones we have are perfectly good, and I just do not care about home decoration. The fabric had been a gift, but I"m glad to be rid of it. The man who purchased it said his wife was going to be so happy. I also donated an entire storage tub of fabric plus the storage bin. Most of that fabric had been gifted to me as well. Gave some nice sewing patterns to a friend and to the library. I'm next on the list for the Kondo book. Looking forward to more progress.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1774 on: June 01, 2015, 06:14:08 AM »
This post has been inspiring. We already went through our closet and bookshelf. So far we packed up three boxes and two bags.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1775 on: June 01, 2015, 07:46:49 AM »
The Kondo book is SO great - so inspiring, and the author is so empathetic about our attachment to our STUFF.

We're starting with clothes, and we've pulled out 11 kitchen-size trash bags to donate. I had already come to the realization that if I was going to try to sell stuff, it would never leave my house, so we are sending it all off to Green Drop and calling it done.

Our closet has probably half the clothes it did two weeks ago. I also cleaned out a little dresser of socks, undies, PJs, et cetera. Now I know exactly what I have and where it is!

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1776 on: June 01, 2015, 08:52:54 AM »
Well, this weekend was quite slow going, but I managed to: 1) give away a tube of nice lip gloss and three bottles of shampoo to my mom, and 2) donate two pairs of knee-high tights and a spatula.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1777 on: June 01, 2015, 09:05:53 AM »
I had a clothing swap this weekend which motivated me to go through my closet again. Got rid of about 40 more items which bumped me over my goal for this year of 365 items. I'm going to try to double it, since the year is not even half over. I may need to focus a little harder though, now that the easy stuff is already out the door.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1778 on: June 01, 2015, 10:01:41 AM »
I had a clothing swap this weekend which motivated me to go through my closet again. Got rid of about 40 more items which bumped me over my goal for this year of 365 items. I'm going to try to double it, since the year is not even half over. I may need to focus a little harder though, now that the easy stuff is already out the door.

I had a clothing swap this weekend too! Go us :)

It felt so good to get rid of my giant ikea bag of clothes.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1779 on: June 01, 2015, 10:17:48 AM »
Wife and I went through the "possibly mend" pile of kids' clothes yesterday. Chunked most of it. Anything worthy of Goodwill got bagged, and put with other bags waiting to get donated.

We've found a place that takes clothes donations in a drop-off bin, i.e. no long trips to Goodwill! I can chunk the stuff on the way to work now. I have decided to just chunk anything we can't immediately donate and/or sell.

I cleaned out my closet (mostly organized it, but the floor is clear now) and wife is decluttering the girls' room this morning. I'm getting the itch to organize my workshop too, but that's a long-term undertaking.

Slow. Very slow. But making progress.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1780 on: June 01, 2015, 05:17:16 PM »
Wife and I went through the "possibly mend" pile of kids' clothes yesterday. Chunked most of it. Anything worthy of Goodwill got bagged, and put with other bags waiting to get donated.

We've found a place that takes clothes donations in a drop-off bin, i.e. no long trips to Goodwill! I can chunk the stuff on the way to work now. I have decided to just chunk anything we can't immediately donate and/or sell.

I cleaned out my closet (mostly organized it, but the floor is clear now) and wife is decluttering the girls' room this morning. I'm getting the itch to organize my workshop too, but that's a long-term undertaking.

Slow. Very slow. But making progress.

I hate to be a downer, but I'd recommend checking out the company associated with the bin;they are often not legit.   Just as an FYI: "In 2012, Goodwill officials complained that nationwide donation bins operated by for-profit recycling businesses or nonprofits only giving a fraction of donated items to those who need it most were taking away from donations that would actually benefit the poor, USA Today reported."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24/new-york-city-clothes-drop-off-scams_n_5617336.html

FunkyStickman

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1781 on: June 02, 2015, 05:49:59 AM »
I hate to be a downer, but I'd recommend checking out the company associated with the bin;they are often not legit.   Just as an FYI: "In 2012, Goodwill officials complained that nationwide donation bins operated by for-profit recycling businesses or nonprofits only giving a fraction of donated items to those who need it most were taking away from donations that would actually benefit the poor, USA Today reported."

Goodwill is a for-profit company, too. I don't care what they do with it once I throw it in the bin: it's either that, or it goes in the dumpster. As long as it's not in my house.

Sibley

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1782 on: June 02, 2015, 11:33:08 AM »
I hate to be a downer, but I'd recommend checking out the company associated with the bin;they are often not legit.   Just as an FYI: "In 2012, Goodwill officials complained that nationwide donation bins operated by for-profit recycling businesses or nonprofits only giving a fraction of donated items to those who need it most were taking away from donations that would actually benefit the poor, USA Today reported."

Goodwill is a for-profit company, too. I don't care what they do with it once I throw it in the bin: it's either that, or it goes in the dumpster. As long as it's not in my house.

No, it's organized as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. You may or may not agree with how they operate (there's some things I don't like much), but they are not legally for profit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Industries

...and confirmed on the IRS' website because I was curious.

honaras

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1783 on: June 02, 2015, 11:36:46 AM »
i love playing "the minimalism game" where you get rid of one thing on day 1, two on day 2, all the way up to 30 on day 30.
'get rid of' could be sell, donate, give away, trash, etc.

it's a really painless way to unload 500+ items!

anything counts - a rubber band, a receipt, a bed. :)

i've played it three times (the two months before i moved last october and once again this march.)
figured i'd share, since a) i'm new, and b) it IS june 2nd, so not too late to start...

CommonCents

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1784 on: June 02, 2015, 12:39:43 PM »
i love playing "the minimalism game" where you get rid of one thing on day 1, two on day 2, all the way up to 30 on day 30.
'get rid of' could be sell, donate, give away, trash, etc.

it's a really painless way to unload 500+ items!

anything counts - a rubber band, a receipt, a bed. :)

i've played it three times (the two months before i moved last october and once again this march.)
figured i'd share, since a) i'm new, and b) it IS june 2nd, so not too late to start...

I think there is at least one person on here who is playing this game already.

firelight

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1785 on: June 02, 2015, 04:43:14 PM »
I finally got the book from library and read it immediately. I like most of what she is saying but with a small baby, I'm not sure how to keep everything in closets. Before baby, we were doing ok and things had their places. But now, with a crawler and her toys and books and clothes, everything seems everywhere. To add we live in a small apartment and her exersaucer takes up a lot of space. We've been good about giving away her big toys (her infant swing was replaced by jumperoo which was replaced by exersaucer) but we always have something big baby related. We also bought very few things for her compared to my friends and their babies. Our floor plan is such that our living room, dining room and kitchen are all in the same space (with two bedrooms and bathrooms on either side) - as a result, we end up spending A LOT of time in the main room. I've tried to repurpose stuff such that we use all the furniture in that room all the time (eg: our dining table is our changing table). Still I can see a lot of clutter in the main room and its driving me mad. Any idea how to tackle this?
« Last Edit: June 02, 2015, 04:50:37 PM by cutenila »

AlwaysBeenASaver

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1786 on: June 02, 2015, 08:01:55 PM »
Still I can see a lot of clutter in the main room and its driving me mad. Any idea how to tackle this?
I really really really recommend starting with clothing first, following her method: find all the t-shirts (for example) in the house, and put them in a big pile. Include those that are in your car, closet, dresser, floor, laundry room, wherever. Pick up each and every one and decide if you really love it and it's in wearable condition, in the size you currently wear. Get rid of all the others. Do this for every category of clothing. Doing the clothing first really helped me move on to other categories (I'm not nearly done yet). I found clothing easier because it's so well categorized, and it's obvious when it doesn't fit or is torn/stained, or I just never wear it. Doing this first got me into the groove for moving on to more difficult things.

daymare

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1787 on: June 02, 2015, 08:12:54 PM »
I also read the Magic of Tidying book - the author definitely came across as single-minded in her passion re: tidying (which I can respect), while also a bit kooky in a way I couldn't fully get behind, but I really enjoyed the book.  Over the last several years, I've been decluttering my belongings and trying to simplify things.  I came to know about myself that I really prefer bare (or mostly bare except a few decorative things) surfaces and space.  Like for other posters, having lots of stuff out is over-stimulating and distracting and chaotic.

We keep our bedroom and living space (small apt) relatively streamlined and bare and minimal. And yet, there's a bunch of stuff in various closets, and we don't use all of it regularly.  I went through my clothes again and filled a 13 gallon trash bag to donate to Goodwill - my clothes all basically fit in a small closet, the amount isn't excessive.  Though to be fair, a lot of my clothes are meh and don't bring me joy.  Meh.  I convinced my husband that the 2nd bedroom ('his' room) would be better if he got rid of a bookcase to create space - surprisingly, he agreed and actually went through his stuff and culled a bunch of electronics.  I definitely pushed him on getting rid of TV cables and the like (haven't had a TV in 2 years, neither of us feel a need to get one, we watch everything on our laptops anyway). But it was basically all him, and he got to re-position his desk/computer setup so he had more space.  And the bookcase we put outside on the street got snapped up within a few hours. (Yay!)

My other small victories were gathering some mini toiletries, as well as unopened office/school supplies, and a bunch of loose leaf tea that I don't drink much (all gifted - I'm a big tea drinker so theoretically it was a good gift, but I'm not picky and find the bagged tea more convenient), and donated it to a local domestic violence shelter/organization.  I also went through the 8 textbooks my husband refused to donate (8 left after he did donate a bunch) and for 6 of them, found PDFs of that or a newer edition of the book, which meant husband was fine with getting rid of the physical textbooks.  I feel somewhat crappy about illegally downloading the PDFs, but oh well.  Half are going to Goodwill, and half we'll sell for $60-70 each on Amazon.  One already sold (after being listed yesterday), as well as an old Roku I bought for my husband >3 years ago, and his old T-89 calculator.  Yay money.

I keep sporadically looking at housing in the Boston area (our endgame location, and where I grew up) and wanting to kill myself.  We'll be moving back in 3 months or 3 years, and considering buying a few years after that.  And the prices are horrible.  Not going to lie, I really want to have little stuff and be able to happily live in a 2 bedroom with 1 kid in the future.  But that's all very far away.  In the meantime, I just keep realizing how generally non-necessary and sometimes also crappy the clothes and things I've bought over the years are.  That's kinda depressing.

CommonCents

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1788 on: June 02, 2015, 09:11:00 PM »
I keep sporadically looking at housing in the Boston area (our endgame location, and where I grew up) and wanting to kill myself.  We'll be moving back in 3 months or 3 years, and considering buying a few years after that.  And the prices are horrible.  Not going to lie, I really want to have little stuff and be able to happily live in a 2 bedroom with 1 kid in the future.  But that's all very far away.  In the meantime, I just keep realizing how generally non-necessary and sometimes also crappy the clothes and things I've bought over the years are.  That's kinda depressing.

Yeah I live in a Boston suburb.  It's bad.  We closed 1.5 years ago.  Our house has gone up in value 11% (technically as we bought w/o a realtor and negotiated for that back, it's closer to 8.5%, but either way - high).  But don't get depressed, just focus now on buying things of meaning and not crap anymore, when you do decide to buy.  I've successfully persuaded my husband to avoid buying souvenirs of our trips that clutter up our house for example.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2015, 04:30:38 PM by CommonCents »

Mikhial

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1789 on: June 03, 2015, 06:50:35 AM »
I'm a third through the Magi of Tidying audio book and I'm not terribly impressed. She is definitely an odd one. I don't think it helps that the audiobook sounds like they're trying to impersonate a computer generated voice. Thnk GLaDOS, but with less personality.

Personally, I think the main thing she's selling - to keep only things that give you joy - doesn't make sense. Not everything is made to give you joy. Most tools are just tools. Does this USB cable give me joy? No, but it takes up a small amount of space and I like to have an extra one for certain situations. A bag of screws certainly doesn't give me joy, but that bag has saved me several trips to a hardware store.

I think a big problem I have is that I'm already pretty minimal and organized so most of her advice doesn't help me. I was hoping for something that would push me to go farther, but this book hasn't. I can't say it hasn't done anything for me, though. It has given me some motivation to go through some more stuff and make another pile for donation.

Sibley

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1790 on: June 03, 2015, 09:33:35 AM »
Trash picked yesterday - some empty boxes. To be used to ship stuff when I sell it on ebay. Plan is to list things this week!

Edited to add cause I completely forgot:
Last weekend I needed to find a specific picture, so I go to the laptop, open the folder, and realized that I had 3000 completely unorganized pictures. (I never take pictures, that's why it's so few compared to many). I spent hours deleting duplicates, bad pictures and other ones. Down to 1300 and it's organized!
« Last Edit: June 03, 2015, 11:45:25 AM by Sibley »

Mrs. Pomodoro

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1791 on: June 03, 2015, 12:35:17 PM »
i love playing "the minimalism game" where you get rid of one thing on day 1, two on day 2, all the way up to 30 on day 30.
'get rid of' could be sell, donate, give away, trash, etc.

it's a really painless way to unload 500+ items!

anything counts - a rubber band, a receipt, a bed. :)

i've played it three times (the two months before i moved last october and once again this march.)
figured i'd share, since a) i'm new, and b) it IS june 2nd, so not too late to start...

Thanks for posting this, honaras! I've read about this game on the minimalists' blog in the past but didn't think I could do it. You inspired me to actually start playing the game last night! ;)
« Last Edit: June 03, 2015, 12:46:07 PM by Mrs. Pomodoro »

Practical Magic

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1792 on: June 03, 2015, 08:54:36 PM »
Just an FYI: Marie Kondo is married (contrary to previous comments) and is having a baby. It will be fun to see how parenthood inspires creative tidying and storage methods for her.

honaras

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1793 on: June 03, 2015, 09:31:45 PM »
i love playing "the minimalism game" where you get rid of one thing on day 1, two on day 2, all the way up to 30 on day 30.
'get rid of' could be sell, donate, give away, trash, etc.

it's a really painless way to unload 500+ items!

anything counts - a rubber band, a receipt, a bed. :)

i've played it three times (the two months before i moved last october and once again this march.)
figured i'd share, since a) i'm new, and b) it IS june 2nd, so not too late to start...

Thanks for posting this, honaras! I've read about this game on the minimalists' blog in the past but didn't think I could do it. You inspired me to actually start playing the game last night! ;)

glad you were moved to start simplifying. keep us posted!

riverffashion

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1794 on: June 03, 2015, 11:23:12 PM »
I finally finished moving yesterday & donated/tossed more in the process: vacuum cleaner, bulky picture frame that I hate ( came with a beautiful print that I love & kept ) , lots more fabric out ( whole big bag full ) . more out most likely when I hav time to unpack . ahh, I love it . moved into a room a quite a bit smaller ( to be measured later ) & a closet half the size & feeling less cramped than previous room! Deciding what to do with glass table ( who to give it to ). Cedar chest to brother, ottoman back to coworker.

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1795 on: June 04, 2015, 02:59:51 AM »
I'm back to revisiting already decluttered spaces, and I'm glad to report there was still more to get rid of.

When I originally did the bathroom I put all of our flannels (face cloth / wash cloth whatever you want to call it) into a nice decorative box I didn't want to throw away. Now, months later, I realise I have never been into that box. I got rid of 5 flannels, and just kept a few, which fitted into a wash bag. I think I should probably go back and get rid of them all - we clearly are not flannel people. I would just hate to have to rebuy. And so I go round in circles. I'm going to get rid of them all. If I have to rebuy, oh well, at least I had all that space for all that time in between. Decision made.

Also reorganised a cabinet moving seldom used things higher up, and oft used things front and centre. Seems so obvious, don't know why I hadn't done it before (oh yeah, because there was so much crammed in there it was an avalanche if you tried to rearrange).

But I still have a long way to go before I've tamed the bathroom beast. I want all those products used up!

Cookie

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1796 on: June 04, 2015, 03:24:10 AM »
I've cleared out a huge pile of kitchen stuff we are getting rid of! and this is after I did a major purge already. This downsizing plan has really motivated me to only keep the essentials.

Quote
I would just hate to have to rebuy. And so I go round in circles.

The Minimalists say that they have a $20 rule. If you aren't sure if you will use it in the future and it can be repurchased for $20 or less then you should get rid of it. Chances are you'll never do that though!

My last major house purge was a little less than a year ago and I've only bought one of those metal round steamer things that goes in a pot for about $5. Everything else that I was worried about needing, I can't even remember them now!

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1797 on: June 04, 2015, 03:43:31 AM »
I've cleared out a huge pile of kitchen stuff we are getting rid of! and this is after I did a major purge already. This downsizing plan has really motivated me to only keep the essentials.

Quote
I would just hate to have to rebuy. And so I go round in circles.

The Minimalists say that they have a $20 rule. If you aren't sure if you will use it in the future and it can be repurchased for $20 or less then you should get rid of it. Chances are you'll never do that though!

My last major house purge was a little less than a year ago and I've only bought one of those metal round steamer things that goes in a pot for about $5. Everything else that I was worried about needing, I can't even remember them now!

Thanks Cookie, a rule is really helpful to me, I'm going to adopt that one. With most things I'm now happy to 'let Ebay' store it, but facecloths not so much. But you're right, they could be rebought cheaply if the need ever did arise. Out they go!

DagobertDuck

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1798 on: June 04, 2015, 04:58:17 AM »
Haven't decluttered much lately, but I gave 3 books to charity today. :-)

crujonez

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #1799 on: June 04, 2015, 05:33:12 AM »
I just sold my house i lived in for 13 years. Me and my wife are taking time off work and using our inlaws as home base so I have had to declutter in order to show the house well to sell it and now must get rid of a lot of stuff and pack everything into a PODS container. It has been overwhelming to say the least

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!