Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!

[Debts_of_Despair]

I really struggle with the can/bottle returns.... what a PITA.  The worst part is that if the store doesn't sell that product they won't give you the deposit back.  I usually have about a 75% success rate.  Occasionally the local high school will do a can/bottle drive and they will pick them up at the curb.  I am happy to give them away if I know someone will get the deposit.

The big question is, why does the deposit system even exist anymore?  Almost all municipalities have recycling now.  Why are drink containers so special that they need to have a deposit?

[Jakejake]

The reason for the deposits is that people are disgusting pigs that throw their trash at the side of the road; they don't recycle. If there is a deposit, they're less likely to do that - but at least if they do, other people are more likely to clean it up.

We have a ten cent deposit on soda and beer here, and last year just while biking to work/the store, I personally picked up over a thousand cans and bottles that people just threw out of their car windows.

For every bottle with a deposit that I find, there are still probably 30-40 water bottles thrown on the ground. Those accumulate because we don't have a deposit on them. When you look at the trash, you can really see the impact of the deposits.

If your bottles are piling up and you don't want to be bothered to return them, post them up for free on craigslist; someone will probably be happy to get them.

[PMG]

Deposit bottles here (in Kentucky, US) still get reused.  They are only for one certain kind of soda that is produced fairly locally. 

Upthread someone talked about milk smelling like plastic.  I often decant milk into mason jars, I swear it last longer and stays fresher in the glass.

[With This Herring]

Finally joining this thread...

Last week, we finally went through all the footwear in the open closet by the front door.  Many pairs of shoes/boots had worn out completely.  A few other pairs either were never worn or actually had been left with us in our prior apartment by previous roommates so those got donated.  Boy, I'm glad we carted those in a move...

Freecycle had a guy posting that he takes completely worn out sneakers to be ground up and recycled, so all the worn footwear went to him.  It was nice that those shoes aren't ending up completely in the trash.

[RetiredAt63]

I did some real decluttering too:

- Cleaned out enough of my closet that I could fit my sewing machine and board games in there, making more room in the garage. I also have room for my sewing table to come in once I drop off a newly filled box of donations.

- I got some yarn to see if I could crochet, but my arthritis flared up like crazy. That means I can give said yarn, crochet, and knitting stuff to relatives and friends who can use them. I've hung onto that stuff for a loooong time wondering if I could ever use it again.

-Shredded an old diary. Reading the next one and should shred tonight. I kind of like rereading them, but I also am tempted to just shred them all at once. (I have dozens -- I've been an avid diarist since I could write and a near-hoarder just as long).

-I'm seriously loving the Konmari folding style still. It saves a ton of room (part of how I managed to fit the sewing machine in the closet).

Challenge coming up: Stuffed animals. I still have my first teddy bear and some other stuffed animals that are heavy nostalgia triggers for me. Thinking about it....

I'll  send Missy to you. She loves stuffies.  Give her a few hours and all your stuffed toys will be history.

[Mezzie]

Ha!

[TheStrenuousLife]

Great discussion on the issue of bottle deposits.  To clarify, in Ontario, you can bring any sort of alcoholic container, including the bladders of boxed wine, back to the Beer Store, regardless of whether you bought it from the brewer, the LCBO, a grocery store, or the Beer Store....which pretty much exhausts the places you can legally buy alcohol in Ontario. You can even return the packaging, caps, plastic rings, etc.  It is pretty environmentally friendly system and ensures that everything is properly recycled. 

The Beer Store is quite proud of their program, and although I have issues with the monopoly aspect of the Beer Store, the return program does seem objectively to have been a huge success.  More details here: http://www.thebeerstore.ca/about-us/environmental-leadership

I would feel more uneasy if I felt my bottles and cans were just going to the trash or even the municipal recycle program unsorted.  However, by leaving them in the recycle bins outside my apartment, the homeless/bottle collectors in my neighborhood just take them to the same Beer Store that I use.  And I'm not kidding...within an hour tops, they are gone. 

 

[rachellynn99]

15 old journals from my office went into the recycling today. I have hundreds of them and am getting rid of them slowly. They are all online now anyways.... no need for hard copies.

[Mezzie]

In decluttering the garage, I made a bit of a mess. Most of that is tamed now.

Still waiting for the weather to cooperate so I can get rid of the shelves and file cabinet.

[Tris Prior]

I'm just curious whether your local thrift store, Goodwill, whatever turns down perfectly good donations because they are full on that item? Didn't happen to me, but to a friend, at the thrift store where we are donating most of our crap.

[With This Herring]

I'm just curious whether your local thrift store, Goodwill, whatever turns down perfectly good donations because they are full on that item? Didn't happen to me, but to a friend, at the thrift store where we are donating most of our crap.

There are a LOT of big blue drop-off boxes for clothes and shoes in this area, so I stick things there and have never worried about them being rejected.

[YogiKitti]

I'm moving soon! So we have sold furniture, which I am happy to do because we ended up buying stuff that is uncomfortable to sit on for more than 30 minutes. It is annoying because we couldn't tell when we bought the furniture. Hopefully next time we will do better.

We also have been going through everything and decluttered technology, clothes, and other random things. Still lots to do.

I also gave away our plants :(

[mustachepungoeshere]

A scarf of mine and three of my husband's ties into the donation bag.

[theadvicist]

Put a pair of pants that were itchy in the donation box. Glad for extra room in that drawer, it was getting cramped.

[mies]

I have been on a purging spree lately. I had a ton of stuff just sitting in my closet and basement. I have managed to sell quite a few items.

Last night, I tossed a bunch of old CD ROM's and the spindles I was using to store them. They were mostly 8+ year old Linux distributions.

I also found a bag of old cell phones. I think my wife has every cell phone she has ever bought. I convinced her to let me recycle the old flip phones. We have a few old smart phones laying around too. We just need to wipe the data off of them first. I don't mind keeping the last phone around as a spare if my current phone gets trashed. We certainly don't need 7 year old smart phones laying around.

I'm going to be much choosier about my purchases going forward so I don't have to keep dealing with moving/selling/trashing old crap.

[4alpacas]

Packed up a bunch of my stuff in the ThreadUp bag.  If I get even a few dollars out of the transaction, I'll be happy.

[BlueHouse]

DH has been claiming for a long time he can make money renovating old electronics and selling them online. He just never got around to the selling part, until this month. Knowing his sales skill, someone got a good deal. But he still got away with about twice as much as he paid for the stuff, including parts. The big question now is whether this counts as getting rid of stuff, or if he'll just buy new stuff to continue the "business". Until then, I'm counting it as a win.

Why don't you encourage him to set up a simple webpage describing his services?  He may have fixed things that others on this site would like to buy "refurbished" and we most certainly have some items that we'd like to get rid of but don't want to throw in a landfill.  Good business opportunity!  Plus, he can pick and choose.  an easy "nope, not for me" would mean "deal with your own clutter, it's of no use to me".  ha!

[Poundwise]

Pinned down a date with BIL and SIL to come pick up our old baby stuff.  Hurray!!!  I think it's going to clear about a room full of stuff.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Put a pair of pants that were itchy in the donation box.

Life's too short to wear uncomfortable clothes.

I have a couple of items that I can't wear without demanding, "Feel this! How soft is this fabric?!"



Edited for punctuation.

[jordanread]

Put a pair of pants that were itchy in the donation box.

Life's too short to wear uncomfortable clothes.

I have a couple of items that I can't wear without demanding, "Feel this! How soft is this fabric?!

I had to get rid of my crushed velvet shirt for that exact reason.

[Debts_of_Despair]

I have been on a purging spree lately. I had a ton of stuff just sitting in my closet and basement. I have managed to sell quite a few items.

Last night, I tossed a bunch of old CD ROM's and the spindles I was using to store them. They were mostly 8+ year old Linux distributions.

I also found a bag of old cell phones. I think my wife has every cell phone she has ever bought. I convinced her to let me recycle the old flip phones. We have a few old smart phones laying around too. We just need to wipe the data off of them first. I don't mind keeping the last phone around as a spare if my current phone gets trashed. We certainly don't need 7 year old smart phones laying around.

I'm going to be much choosier about my purchases going forward so I don't have to keep dealing with moving/selling/trashing old crap.

Ha, that would drive me nuts having all those old phones laying around!  I usually have my old phone sold within hours of getting the new one.  I don't follow the "I might need this someday" line of thinking.  A.) The old phone was already replaced because it wasn't meeting my needs anymore.  Why would I ever want to go back to using it?  B.) If the new phone does go down, I can probably have a replacement in my hands in 48 hrs or less.

[mies]

I have been on a purging spree lately. I had a ton of stuff just sitting in my closet and basement. I have managed to sell quite a few items.

Last night, I tossed a bunch of old CD ROM's and the spindles I was using to store them. They were mostly 8+ year old Linux distributions.

I also found a bag of old cell phones. I think my wife has every cell phone she has ever bought. I convinced her to let me recycle the old flip phones. We have a few old smart phones laying around too. We just need to wipe the data off of them first. I don't mind keeping the last phone around as a spare if my current phone gets trashed. We certainly don't need 7 year old smart phones laying around.

I'm going to be much choosier about my purchases going forward so I don't have to keep dealing with moving/selling/trashing old crap.

Ha, that would drive me nuts having all those old phones laying around!  I usually have my old phone sold within hours of getting the new one.  I don't follow the "I might need this someday" line of thinking.  A.) The old phone was already replaced because it wasn't meeting my needs anymore.  Why would I ever want to go back to using it?  B.) If the new phone does go down, I can probably have a replacement in my hands in 48 hrs or less.

The old phones weren't too bad as far as clutter goes. They were all in an old Verizon bag, but they were taking up space that I needed for something else. I think Target does phone recycling, so we will drop them of there the next time we go shopping.

I always just keep my last most recent phone around since the only phone I have is a cell phone. If I had a land line phone, I wouldn't worry about keeping a spare around.

[firelight]

I have been on a purging spree lately. I had a ton of stuff just sitting in my closet and basement. I have managed to sell quite a few items.

Last night, I tossed a bunch of old CD ROM's and the spindles I was using to store them. They were mostly 8+ year old Linux distributions.

I also found a bag of old cell phones. I think my wife has every cell phone she has ever bought. I convinced her to let me recycle the old flip phones. We have a few old smart phones laying around too. We just need to wipe the data off of them first. I don't mind keeping the last phone around as a spare if my current phone gets trashed. We certainly don't need 7 year old smart phones laying around.

I'm going to be much choosier about my purchases going forward so I don't have to keep dealing with moving/selling/trashing old crap.

Ha, that would drive me nuts having all those old phones laying around!  I usually have my old phone sold within hours of getting the new one.  I don't follow the "I might need this someday" line of thinking.  A.) The old phone was already replaced because it wasn't meeting my needs anymore.  Why would I ever want to go back to using it?  B.) If the new phone does go down, I can probably have a replacement in my hands in 48 hrs or less.

The old phones weren't too bad as far as clutter goes. They were all in an old Verizon bag, but they were taking up space that I needed for something else. I think Target does phone recycling, so we will drop them of there the next time we go shopping.

I always just keep my last most recent phone around since the only phone I have is a cell phone. If I had a land line phone, I wouldn't worry about keeping a spare around.

We do this too... We keep one old phone each since we only have smartphones and have run into weird issues all of a sudden. So till we take it to the shop to figure it out and fix it (for free usually), we need another phone. Having two around has saved us $$$ and tension in having to buy a new old phone. And yeah, we've had the unique bad luck where both our main phones died within hours of each other. So two phones it is.

[ZiziPB]

Brought a load of stuff to Goodwill yesterday.  And sold a filing cabinet on CL.  Will prep a batch of items for consignment to bring in this week.

[eezema]

Hubs and I have been on a hardcore purge cycle the last week... Took 3 boxes of books to the library for donation last weekend, and donated a box of random things from our front closet to charity.

Yesterday we got 5 bags of worn out or ill-fitting clothes/shoes out of our lives, which is just crazy to me... It didn't even seem like we had that much to begin with and yet here we are! I also boxed up literally every piece of jewelry that I don't wear, is looking rough, or is just plain cheap. Later this week I'll be paring down unnecessary kitchen stuffs and fabric in my sewing bin that I either will never use or is too small to do anything useful with.

[mies]

Hubs and I have been on a hardcore purge cycle the last week... Took 3 boxes of books to the library for donation last weekend, and donated a box of random things from our front closet to charity.

Yesterday we got 5 bags of worn out or ill-fitting clothes/shoes out of our lives, which is just crazy to me... It didn't even seem like we had that much to begin with and yet here we are! I also boxed up literally every piece of jewelry that I don't wear, is looking rough, or is just plain cheap. Later this week I'll be paring down unnecessary kitchen stuffs and fabric in my sewing bin that I either will never use or is too small to do anything useful with.

Nice! It's crazy how much junk you can accumulate over the years. My wife and I cleaned out our hallway linen closet yesterday and found a ton of crap we didn't even realize we had. I found an old Olympus SLR film camera. We had a bunch of queen size sheets when we don't even have a queen size bed in the house anymore. There was a beer growler in there too for some reason. Now that we have it cleaned out and reorganized, we still have 2 empty shelves we can use for stuff like toilet paper and facial tissue we use in the bathroom.

I also worked on getting my old road bike back in working order so I can sell it. I have a nicer newer bike that I usually ride. I always kept the old one around thinking I would use it as a beater bike for bad weather, but I never ride in bad weather anyway. I also have a wheelset I am going to sell. I'm trying to see if I can get the old camera working too. The battery cover on the bottom does not want to budge. I could probably sell it as is, but if I can prove that it works, I might be able to get a few more bucks out of it.

I did bring a few things in to the house that were the result of purging, organizing, and cleaning but I tried to make sure they were useful and had a reason to be in my house. I bought another laundry basket. I used to just throw my grubby yardwork clothes on the floor in the basement, but that was becoming annoying to work around, so getting the basket made it easier to move them all at once. I also bought a longer ethernet cable for our office. After purging stuff from our office, I rearranged our desks to better utilize the space. The only downside to that was I needed a longer cable to stretch from the router to my wife's machine. I also bought a new shirt at an outdoor store that was closing. I got a $55 dollar Columbia button down for $16. I'm trying to reduce the number of t-shirts I wear and I donated a bunch of old shirts I haven't worn in years. I'll get years of use out of the new shirt.

[misshershey]

(First post on this topic, /waves madly)

I've been clearing out stuff for a little over a year now, in preparation for buying a house (went under contract on a condo on Friday! Yay!!!!) As of today, I've donated 620 pounds of stuff to Goodwill/Value Village/Buy Nothing, and trashed 91 pounds of junk. My realtor called me this afternoon and told me about a family that lost everything in a fire yesterday, so 80 pounds of stuff (sheets, towels, dishes, clothes, kitchen stuff, misc) is going to them. My goal is to try to eliminate 1000 pounds of stuff from my apartment before I move. 209 pounds left, and about 6 weeks to go!

[theadvicist]

Welcome misshershey! And congrats on the house and clearing out so much stuff. Out of interest, are you weighing it as you get rid of it, or just estimating?

This weekend I threw out / donated two 'buffs' (as in the infinity scarf type thing one wears skiing). I had bought a new merino wool one at Aldi, to replace a faux fur one my mom bought me which was itchy, and one I tried to make myself that was never quite right in sizing. As I went to put the new one away I realised there was no room and was so thrilled when I realised I could make room by getting rid of two bulky things which I didn't like but until now had a need for. Gone!

[misshershey]

theadvicist--I'm totally weighing my stuff before it leaves the house. I'm too anal-retentive to do otherwise. :P I currently live in a 3rd floor apartment, and I realized that I a) had too much stuff and b) didn't want to haul all of that unnecessary stuff down all those stairs at once. There will still be *a lot* to move, but at least it's less than before!

[mustachepungoeshere]

theadvicist--I'm totally weighing my stuff before it leaves the house.

This is awesome!

Wish I had done this when I started decluttering a few years ago.

[theadvicist]

theadvicist--I'm totally weighing my stuff before it leaves the house.

Wow, that is dedication! When I got rid of 2015 things in 2015 I did have a chart and I marked off each item. It was so satisfying and motivating, and I'm sure you feel the same!

[Fresh Bread]

I have 2.5 weeks to finish my Marie Kondo discarding and tidying - I have given myself a deadline because we have people visiting! I stalled when work got busy but I really want to keep on with it.

[alleykat]

theadvicist--I'm totally weighing my stuff before it leaves the house.

This is awesome!

Wish I had done this when I started decluttering a few years ago.

Me too.  That would have been interesting.

[CU Tiger]

Yesterday I noticed I have duplicates - open duplicates - of several herbs and spices. I consolidated and made room in the spice drawer. Such a tiny thing, but it felt like progress.

[mustachepungoeshere]

When I got rid of 2015 things in 2015 I did have a chart and I marked off each item. It was so satisfying and motivating, and I'm sure you feel the same!

Stealing this idea.

I've been using a whiteboard to track the number of items I get rid of each week, but tallying what I dispose of throughout the year definitely appeals to me.

I just made up my own chart. Now to get decluttering!

[Mezzie]

I gave away four travel books to students and threw away some travel memorabilia (museum maps and such).

[mustachepungoeshere]

Just had a thought...

In homage to The Minimalist Mom's "1 in, 2 out" series, I've decided to print two copies of my chart: one for items brought into the home (excluding consumables like food, toiletries and cleaning supplies), and one for items I declutter.

It's not like I'm out shopping every month, but there can be a bit of an influx of work-related bits and pieces, so I'm curious to see if there is a net reduction.

[Squirrel away]

I got rid of a floor lamp, it tilts to one side and it collects dust, so it can go!

[sw1tch]

Just putting this here as my goal:

Get rid of as much stuff as possible to be capable of moving cross-country in a Prius while maybe pulling a small trailer.  This would include myself and my wife so double the de-cluttering.

[ZiziPB]

Sold some yarn on CL for $10 - I had it listed for a long time with no takers and was ready to finally just donate it, but a buyer materialized yesterday :-)  She was very grateful for it and I was happy to know that the yarn was going to someone who will actually use it.  Win win!

[former player]

Took a box of bits and pieces to the charity shop this lunchtime, and found a hedgehog rescue that will take some unwanted dog food.

[CU Tiger]

Took a box of bits and pieces to the charity shop this lunchtime, and found a hedgehog rescue that will take some unwanted dog food.

I am delighted there is such a place as a hedgehog rescue!

[ariapluscat]

i'm making a promise to the internet to actually pack up and take out the junk left behind by past roommate.

[theadvicist]

So this is probably the tiniest thing I could declutter in my whole house, but yesterday I decluttered some needles! Sewing is a hobby of mine, but when I was going through my needles (looking for one type I didn't have, of course) I noticed I had two cards of tapestry needles. I haven't done a tapestry since... 1998? So I filled the remaining slots in the cards with tapestry needles from my needle case so they each held a full 6, in the correct sizes. And then I put them in the charity shop bag. I hope someone will appreciate them.

This freed up enough room in my needle case that I could empty a little plastic dish full of needles into it, which was very satisfying, as the plastic case was cracked and, being round, difficult to store. I also consolidated some open packs of machine needles into single cards.

So even though the -needles- were tiny, I ended up removing about 4 cards and one plastic case from my needle box, which is now much more orderly, and it was very easy to establish that I didn't have what I needed after all! Of course, now I've ordered enough new ones to fill up the space (so I would qualify for free shipping) but at least these ones are relevant to my current hobby and will be used up quickly.

[With This Herring]

theadvicist--I'm totally weighing my stuff before it leaves the house.

This is awesome!

Wish I had done this when I started decluttering a few years ago.

Me too.  That would have been interesting.

Today I gave away a grocery bag stuffed full of pink packing peanuts.  This was a lot of bulk, but the weight was only an ounce or two... *sigh*

[mustachepungoeshere]

theadvicist--I'm totally weighing my stuff before it leaves the house.

This is awesome!

Wish I had done this when I started decluttering a few years ago.

Me too.  That would have been interesting.

Today I gave away a grocery bag stuffed full of pink packing peanuts.  This was a lot of bulk, but the weight was only an ounce or two... *sigh*

You could have counted the individual packing peanuts then posted "today I gave away 729 things". ;)

[mies]

I'm decluttering my front yard. I have an old beat up light post that is super annoying to mow around. The paint is peeling off the post so it looks shabby. the lid on top that lets you access the bulb is missing its fasteners and strong winds or bumping in to it with the lawn mower knock it off the post. The previous owners wired it to a sensor on the house that would turn the light on whenever it got dark. I never liked that I couldn't just turn it on and off as needed. Finally, whoever ran the conduit from the electrical box on the exterior of the house to the light post did a lousy job. There was an inch gap between the bottom of the box and the top of the conduit where you could see the wiring.

Yesterday, I disconnected the lamp form the house's power and replaced the sensor eye with a GFCI outlet and a weatherproof cover. I pulled out as much copper from the conduit as I could, but it eventually snapped. Most of the copper was a wet rusty mess. I'm probably lucky we never shorted the breaker. I also dug several inches down and cut off the section of conduit that ran to the box on the house. The side of the house looks much cleaner and the exterior outlet is more useful than the lamp sensor. I'm hoping that tomorrow I can dig up the light post and be done with it.  I'll just have to replant the grass in the spring and mowing the front lawn will be smooth sailing :)

[Fresh Bread]

I have thrown out a grass skirt that my dad brought me from a pacific island, a disintegrated Pilates stretchy strap thing and a suit carry cover (that the strap disintegrated onto!)

Discovered that hubby has been stuffing random things into the spare room wardrobe! So those things are going in their 'place' and the shelves tidied up. I think I can free up a drawer by folding and organising things better, which means I'll be able to put away an annoying carrier bag of hobby bits and pieces. The bag is annoying because it has not been touched since Oct 2015 but it's not mine to chuck.

Lastly, I've consolidated long length clothing into one section, which means I can put shelves in the other and organise blankets, spare pillows etc so that they are actually accessible. The end goal will be that the linen cupboard that's by the front door could become a much more useful coat and shoe cupboard. DH is not keen on this so for now I'll just do step one, which is find some chipboard pieces and supports at the DIY store and rearrange things.

[VeggieTable]

I've been on a huge decluttering kick. I've even moved on to the attic, which I was glad to see didn't have as much stuff in it as I thought. I've added a ton to my ebay selling pile, thrown away a fair amount, and even found a few useful items! Best part of decluttering is realizing you already have what you need. The shoulder strap on my duffel bag broke a while back and I've been meaning to get a new one forever (strap, that is). Well, I found a spare! Problem solved, money saved! I also found a brand-new rug pad which I will use with a rug I got for free from a FB garage sale group. Why we had a spare rug pad, I'll never know, but I'm glad to not have to buy one.

[mies]

I've been on a huge decluttering kick. I've even moved on to the attic, which I was glad to see didn't have as much stuff in it as I thought. I've added a ton to my ebay selling pile, thrown away a fair amount, and even found a few useful items! Best part of decluttering is realizing you already have what you need. The shoulder strap on my duffel bag broke a while back and I've been meaning to get a new one forever (strap, that is). Well, I found a spare! Problem solved, money saved! I also found a brand-new rug pad which I will use with a rug I got for free from a FB garage sale group. Why we had a spare rug pad, I'll never know, but I'm glad to not have to buy one.

I love it when you find stuff that is useful. I can't remember if I mentioned this in a previous posts, but we found some shower curtain rings. That was fortuitous because the ones we had up were getting pretty rusty. We just replaced our shower curtain rings from 2016 from ones we probably bought in 2005 :D