Author Topic: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!  (Read 1850066 times)

Aegishjalmur

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5750 on: January 29, 2018, 02:41:07 PM »
BIL moved into a new apartment last weekend. We used the time to clean up quite a bit of clutter: mattress, bed frame, couch,  book shelf, dresser, entertainment center, 2 tables and 2 stools, tv, old computer, Several boxes of kitchen stuff. It's amazing how much stuff wanders into your house over the years.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5751 on: January 29, 2018, 03:39:59 PM »

Hence why it's all sat in my house for long periods of time. I confirmed I can take it to our local fire department, but only the pills. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the liquids and epi pens.

Again, the pharmacy where it was bought should take it back, or really any pharmacy (drugstore).

abhe8

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5752 on: January 29, 2018, 03:58:12 PM »
Epipens might be nice to keep. Liquids u could put down the drain. Any veterans in your family? I know the VA pharmacies have envelopes to mail meds for disposal.

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I'm a red panda

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5753 on: January 29, 2018, 04:11:47 PM »
Don't pour medication down the drain. Water treatment isn't designed to deal with it.

You could mix it with kitty litter or mulch to trash it.

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5754 on: January 30, 2018, 03:12:49 AM »
Where I live, any pharmacy will take out of date medicines (tablets, liquids for injecting etc) and ensure they are disposed of responsibly. Is that an option where you live? (and yeah, I don't think pouring medicines down the sink is a good option)

couponvan

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5755 on: January 30, 2018, 06:11:45 AM »
I'm going to check the pharmacy today after work.  I'll be picking up the new version of some prescriptions later today.  Of course last night I read an article about how expired prescriptions are actually good way past their expiration date - some tested 30-40 years later and still had 90% potency. Too late for those dry prescriptions.  Grr. It probably wasn't good for all that codeine and old ADD meds to be hanging out in the house anyway.

chaskavitch

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5756 on: January 30, 2018, 06:49:49 AM »
The problem with out of date medicines is you don't know HOW potent they are, or for how long.  Yes, some of them are probably fine - I'd take ibuprofen basically forever, since it is a dry pill - but with antibiotics and things that are strictly dosed, you don't know how much of the prescribed amount of active ingredient you're actually getting.  You can't double up, because it is dangerous, but what if you're not getting enough of your antibiotic to clear an infection, because you decided to use the leftovers from a previous course?  I have a prescription that I took two pills from before they changed me to a different antibiotic that was more effective for the type of infection, but I'd never take the leftovers now, because they've been in my cupboard way too long.

I work at a pharmaceutical company that makes topical products, and the vast majority of our expiration dates are set for consistency or color changes in the product rather than decreased potency or increased bacterial load.  They're there for customer satisfaction and FDA requirements. 

On the other side of the coin, I have a coworker who used some badly out of date sunscreen and got burned in a ridiculous blotchy pattern, because the active ingredients were degrading over time and weren't effective anymore.  It was pretty funny for everyone but her :)

Aegishjalmur

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5757 on: January 30, 2018, 07:43:25 AM »
Regarding the prescription drugs, I know some of the town halls will have drop off days, and a quick online search (I entered city name,state prescription drugs) brought up the info pretty easily.
 https://www.greenwoodvillage.com/2093/Pharmaceutical-Drug-Disposal

and it looks like some businesses will do it year round(from the link above):
Business List
The following is a list of businesses that will take the medications year round.
King Soopers:
9551 S. University Blvd. in Highlands Ranch
100 Founders Pkwy. in Castle Rock
4271 S. Buckley Rd. in Aurora
2810 Quebec St. in Denver
3400 Youngfield St. in Wheat Ridge
1650 30th St. in Boulder
1173 Bergen Pkwy. in Evergreen

Denver Health:
Wellington E. Webb Center for Primary Care
301 W. 6th Ave.
Denver, CO


https://www.fcgov.com/recycling/centers.php?ID=128
Pharmaceuticals

Residents may now safely dispose of unused, unneeded and expired over-the-counter and prescriptions medications any day of the week to Fort Collins Police Services, 2221 S. Timberline Road, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. This service is free & anonymous.
Items not accepted include: intravenous solutions, injectables, syringes, mercury (thermometers), oxygen containers, chemotherapy/radioactive substances, pressurized canisters and illicit drugs.


Mezzie

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5758 on: January 31, 2018, 07:49:22 PM »
In my town, our sherriff's station has a secure, anonymous drop box for expired medicine. Our pharmacies don't accept them.

I have a lot to get rid of. I'll add that to my weekend to-do list.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5759 on: February 01, 2018, 12:49:23 AM »
On the other side of the coin, I have a coworker who used some badly out of date sunscreen and got burned in a ridiculous blotchy pattern, because the active ingredients were degrading over time and weren't effective anymore.  It was pretty funny for everyone but her :)

That is good to know. I often have a load of half full sunscreen bottles, as we have so many different sun factors. Last year I actively started using up some of them. I hope the rest keeps doing their job long enough.

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5760 on: February 01, 2018, 01:54:09 AM »
On the other side of the coin, I have a coworker who used some badly out of date sunscreen and got burned in a ridiculous blotchy pattern, because the active ingredients were degrading over time and weren't effective anymore.  It was pretty funny for everyone but her :)

That is good to know. I often have a load of half full sunscreen bottles, as we have so many different sun factors. Last year I actively started using up some of them. I hope the rest keeps doing their job long enough.

Aussie here. Not an expert but I have to pay attention to UV because ours is harsh and I have pale-ish skin. I look at the active ingredients to work out if I'm comfortable using sunscreen past its use-by.

If the active ingredient is zinc oxide or titanium oxide, then I'm happy to use sunscreen past its use by date for a year or so (those oxides are not gonna break down in a hurry).

But if the active ingredient is something else, I'll probably chuck it in the bin when it gets past its use by date or only use it in autumn or spring when the maximum UV is less than 8 and its less than 6 months past the use by date (dunno if the UV scale is international, I've just calibrated my burn rate to the numbers on the Aussie Bureau of Meterology forecasts/observations).

(and if it's an aerosol can of sunscreen, I would a) assume that 50+ is more like 15+ and I would discard it as soon as it hits the use by date. There were a bunch of articles about aersol sunscreens here recently from a reputable source and unfortunately my google-fu is failing me to share the articles)
« Last Edit: February 01, 2018, 02:03:21 AM by Astatine »

Linea_Norway

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5761 on: February 01, 2018, 03:52:37 AM »
On the other side of the coin, I have a coworker who used some badly out of date sunscreen and got burned in a ridiculous blotchy pattern, because the active ingredients were degrading over time and weren't effective anymore.  It was pretty funny for everyone but her :)

That is good to know. I often have a load of half full sunscreen bottles, as we have so many different sun factors. Last year I actively started using up some of them. I hope the rest keeps doing their job long enough.

Aussie here. Not an expert but I have to pay attention to UV because ours is harsh and I have pale-ish skin. I look at the active ingredients to work out if I'm comfortable using sunscreen past its use-by.

If the active ingredient is zinc oxide or titanium oxide, then I'm happy to use sunscreen past its use by date for a year or so (those oxides are not gonna break down in a hurry).

But if the active ingredient is something else, I'll probably chuck it in the bin when it gets past its use by date or only use it in autumn or spring when the maximum UV is less than 8 and its less than 6 months past the use by date (dunno if the UV scale is international, I've just calibrated my burn rate to the numbers on the Aussie Bureau of Meterology forecasts/observations).

(and if it's an aerosol can of sunscreen, I would a) assume that 50+ is more like 15+ and I would discard it as soon as it hits the use by date. There were a bunch of articles about aersol sunscreens here recently from a reputable source and unfortunately my google-fu is failing me to share the articles)

Thanks so much for specifying this. I think most of my personal sunscreens with SPF 30 contains these filters, because they make my white when I use them. But DH has a bunch of low SPF ones that I might want to throw away if we still have old bottles.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5762 on: February 01, 2018, 04:36:50 AM »
(and if it's an aerosol can of sunscreen, I would a) assume that 50+ is more like 15+ and I would discard it as soon as it hits the use by date. There were a bunch of articles about aersol sunscreens here recently from a reputable source and unfortunately my google-fu is failing me to share the articles)

The Cancer Council slammed aeresol sunscreens in November and announced they were pulling all aerosols from their own product line.

Apart from the fact that most people fail to apply it properly, people are drastically underestimating the amount needed for proper coverage.

Quote
About a quarter of an average bottle of aerosol sunscreen needs to be applied every two hours to ensure you are fully protected.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/useless-aerosols-cancer-council-says-best-place-for-spray-sunscreen-is-the-bin-20171130-gzvsk2.html

Also...

Thanks so much for specifying this. I think most of my personal sunscreens with SPF 30 contains these filters, because they make my white when I use them. But DH has a bunch of low SPF ones that I might want to throw away if we still have old bottles.

Smiling at SPF30 not being considered a low SPF in Norway. :)

couponvan

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5763 on: February 01, 2018, 08:18:17 AM »
Prescription pills successfully surrendered to the Fire Department this morning.  I had to go to two different doors, but then the nice fireman also said I could just put the liquid meds in the box as well since they started taking them in January. Yippee! It felt a bit weird when I was driving up because there was a police officer sitting on the street and here I am going up with this huge set of two bags of random pills and stuff.  I thought I might get pulled over or they'd pay more attention to my pharmacy record or something. The directions they gave were to dump all the pills into a large bag without the prescription labels - so essentially I was driving around town with a bunch of drugs that I didn't have an actual prescription in my name on anymore. It's done though!  That feels good.

I have a car full of Christmas returns - if the kids and husband haven't bothered to open/use their gifts within a month, I return them and give them cash back.  Turns out cash is king in our house.

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5764 on: February 02, 2018, 12:52:44 PM »
We're seriously considering moving, so I'm starting to consider what I'd need to do to stage our current house and sell it.

I was running through a mental list of things I'd pack and put in a storage unit for a few months ... and now I'm trying to justify why I would need to keep those things at all versus getting rid of them.  If I don't need it/won't use it for three months...do I really need it at all?



My husband is going to be really unhappy with me....he's admitted that I've only given away one thing he actually wanted (but had zero use for), but he is still highly suspicious of my attempts to declutter.


Clara Smith

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5765 on: February 03, 2018, 01:23:48 AM »
If you want to get rid of your stuff that you don't use anymore. you can sell them. In this way, you can earn money as well. :)

Anatidae V

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5766 on: February 03, 2018, 06:13:35 AM »
DH just took a boot load of stuff to the donation bin, all of which was stuff gifted to us that we never used. Ugh I'm so glad to have it out of our house.

New line for anyone offering us anything (we're I about to move from our rental house to one we purchased):
"Thanks for thinking of us. We already have everything we need!"

Simple, effective, hopefully won't result in any reasoning from the other party as to why we need their junk.

Sibley

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5767 on: February 03, 2018, 08:18:37 AM »
We're seriously considering moving, so I'm starting to consider what I'd need to do to stage our current house and sell it.

I was running through a mental list of things I'd pack and put in a storage unit for a few months ... and now I'm trying to justify why I would need to keep those things at all versus getting rid of them.  If I don't need it/won't use it for three months...do I really need it at all?

My husband is going to be really unhappy with me....he's admitted that I've only given away one thing he actually wanted (but had zero use for), but he is still highly suspicious of my attempts to declutter.

I'll save you some effort: you don't need to keep most of that stuff. Seasonal stuff, sure. Next up is just your husband. It might help to decide to move into a smaller house.

TomTX

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5768 on: February 03, 2018, 08:59:25 AM »

Aussie here. Not an expert but I have to pay attention to UV because ours is harsh and I have pale-ish skin. I look at the active ingredients to work out if I'm comfortable using sunscreen past its use-by.

If the active ingredient is zinc oxide or titanium oxide, then I'm happy to use sunscreen past its use by date for a year or so (those oxides are not gonna break down in a hurry until the Sun expands into a Red Giant and swallows the earth. Or a volcano erupts under the bottle. Something serious).


Added context ;)

I'm a red panda

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5769 on: February 03, 2018, 10:34:04 AM »
Took a giant tote to the crappy consignment shop. Since we won't itemize taxes this year, I'll let them have it and see if I can get a few pennies.

Prairie Gal

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5770 on: February 03, 2018, 02:13:50 PM »
Donated 3 swim tops and a swimsuit that were in the "hopefully I will fit into these again someday" drawer.

Also gave away a bunch miscellaneous Christmas stuff that didn't get used this year.

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5771 on: February 03, 2018, 05:26:40 PM »
DH just took a boot load of stuff to the donation bin, all of which was stuff gifted to us that we never used. Ugh I'm so glad to have it out of our house.

New line for anyone offering us anything (we're I about to move from our rental house to one we purchased):
"Thanks for thinking of us. We already have everything we need!"

Simple, effective, hopefully won't result in any reasoning from the other party as to why we need their junk.

Love it! Maybe change it slightly to 'We already have everything we need and want'. To avoid the occasional person who thinks that everyone needs treats and fancy things on top of the essentials.

Anatidae V

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5772 on: February 03, 2018, 05:44:26 PM »
DH just took a boot load of stuff to the donation bin, all of which was stuff gifted to us that we never used. Ugh I'm so glad to have it out of our house.

New line for anyone offering us anything (we're I about to move from our rental house to one we purchased):
"Thanks for thinking of us. We already have everything we need!"

Simple, effective, hopefully won't result in any reasoning from the other party as to why we need their junk.

Love it! Maybe change it slightly to 'We already have everything we need and want'. To avoid the occasional person who thinks that everyone needs treats and fancy things on top of the essentials.
That is a very good point, or even the people who think that if 1 coffee table is good, 2 must be better...

I had a dream that I'd missed some of the stuff I meant to donate last night. I was so relieved when I woke up and checked.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5773 on: February 03, 2018, 05:59:10 PM »
Just gifted some hand-me-down kids books that we didn't like, and a weird coat hanger (designed so it looks like a cat who is also a nurse is wearing your clothes...) on Buy Nothing.

halftimer

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5774 on: February 03, 2018, 09:53:08 PM »
2 more boxes ready to get donated and sent to reuse centre, and found a new hope for a few things that were gifted to me and never used (full string of tropical leaf shaped lights). Also went through a bunch of old photos and garbaged a pile, and set aside one envelope of the best duplicates and near-duplicates to go in our safety-deposit box so if our few albums ever get ruined we will have those pics. 
Great reminder here to do the digital declutter! I started a while ago, and need to get back to that.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5775 on: February 03, 2018, 10:09:25 PM »
@limeandpepper - This thread is quite long and slow to open. How do you feel about closing it and you or someone could open a new one?

limeandpepper

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5776 on: February 03, 2018, 10:45:39 PM »
@Fresh Bread it seems to load fine for me but I can open a new one and close this one, anyone else wants to chime in before I do it? Thanks for asking. :))

HappierAtHome

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5777 on: February 03, 2018, 11:03:59 PM »
Loads fine for me too. But supposedly long threads do slow down the server* more than short threads.

*Not sure if I described that right.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5778 on: February 04, 2018, 01:27:22 AM »
It might only be on my phone. No worries if no-one is slowed.

There might be people that posted on page 2 that might be glad to see a new thread though. I will re-join because I. just. love. decluttering.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5779 on: February 04, 2018, 03:22:26 AM »
Sold a dress on eBay for $140.

@Fresh Bread it seems to load fine for me but I can open a new one and close this one, anyone else wants to chime in before I do it? Thanks for asking. :))

Loads fine for me.

Rural

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5780 on: February 04, 2018, 07:29:39 AM »
@Fresh Bread it seems to load fine for me but I can open a new one and close this one, anyone else wants to chime in before I do it? Thanks for asking. :))


It may be that the difference is only noticeable for those with marginal Internet (like me). As a general rule, long threads are slower to load for me than shorter ones, and this is one of the threads where I notice and go do something else for a minute while it loads. It's not "go get more coffee" slow, but it's "start preloading a news article in another tab" slow. (Yes, I know that slows it down more, but it makes me feel better, so I don't care.)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5781 on: February 04, 2018, 07:33:44 AM »
@Fresh Bread it seems to load fine for me but I can open a new one and close this one, anyone else wants to chime in before I do it? Thanks for asking. :))


It may be that the difference is only noticeable for those with marginal Internet (like me). As a general rule, long threads are slower to load for me than shorter ones, and this is one of the threads where I notice and go do something else for a minute while it loads. It's not "go get more coffee" slow, but it's "start preloading a news article in another tab" slow. (Yes, I know that slows it down more, but it makes me feel better, so I don't care.)

Same. Since DH works from home, the router assigns him a huge % of the total bandwidth during the day. When this happens, I notice the loading speed of the longer threads. This and the "small thing to save money" in particular. The rest of the time it's fine though.

Rural

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5782 on: February 04, 2018, 07:43:59 AM »
@Fresh Bread it seems to load fine for me but I can open a new one and close this one, anyone else wants to chime in before I do it? Thanks for asking. :))


It may be that the difference is only noticeable for those with marginal Internet (like me). As a general rule, long threads are slower to load for me than shorter ones, and this is one of the threads where I notice and go do something else for a minute while it loads. It's not "go get more coffee" slow, but it's "start preloading a news article in another tab" slow. (Yes, I know that slows it down more, but it makes me feel better, so I don't care.)

Same. Since DH works from home, the router assigns him a huge % of the total bandwidth during the day. When this happens, I notice the loading speed of the longer threads. This and the "small thing to save money" in particular. The rest of the time it's fine though.


I've installed the "Images on/off" extension in Chrome, and it helps a lot. The forum in particular works well as text only, and if there's a picture I want to see, it's just a toggle button to turn things on.


--- and if pictures, the page header, and avatars can be considered "clutter," I'm even on topic!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5783 on: February 04, 2018, 08:16:44 AM »
So jazzed. I have had a couple of thick jackets posted on our local Facebook swap for weeks now, with no takers. They are too thick to mail cheaply via eBay. Finally got an interested person today! Hopefully they will be gone by end of day.

I also sold 3 more items on eBay & will get those out of the house & mailed today as well.

limeandpepper

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5784 on: February 04, 2018, 08:28:41 AM »
Okay peeps, I started a new thread! If you would like to continue to talk about your experiences getting rid of stuff and clearing out clutter, this is our new abode! :))

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/continued-getting-rid-of-stuff-clearing-out-clutter!-part-2/

TomTX

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #5785 on: February 04, 2018, 02:42:41 PM »
Okay peeps, I started a new thread! If you would like to continue to talk about your experiences getting rid of stuff and clearing out clutter, this is our new abode! :))

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/continued-getting-rid-of-stuff-clearing-out-clutter!-part-2/

You have decluttered the thread. Kudos!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!