Author Topic: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!  (Read 1851254 times)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4400 on: February 05, 2017, 09:39:28 AM »
I passed my ultimate minimalist hurtle to date: I sold my wedding dress. It was a huge box. You couldn't see the pretty parts of it how it was packed anyway (and I never would have unpacked it, I know myself, lol). I got married 1.5yrs ago. Trends won't hold forever, and I don't want to decide down the road I had sold it and basically have to give it away. I like the idea of it being part of another wedding, too. So, $800 in the bank and a big hole in the top part of our closet.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4401 on: February 05, 2017, 10:09:33 AM »
I passed my ultimate minimalist hurtle to date: I sold my wedding dress. It was a huge box. You couldn't see the pretty parts of it how it was packed anyway (and I never would have unpacked it, I know myself, lol). I got married 1.5yrs ago. Trends won't hold forever, and I don't want to decide down the road I had sold it and basically have to give it away. I like the idea of it being part of another wedding, too. So, $800 in the bank and a big hole in the top part of our closet.

Great job! And $800 is a really good amount to get for a wedding dress, regardless of original price.

Mezzie

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4402 on: February 05, 2017, 10:53:38 AM »
This is not so much clearing out as avoiding having to declutter in the future:

I avoided buying two books I really wanted. Turns out I can borrow one from a friend. The other I'll suggest as a library purchase; if I still really want it in a month, I'll get it with the understanding that it will be passed along when I'm done with it.

I dealt with mail that needs to be filed or shredded immediately instead of letting it pile up. I ended up finding a check in something I thought wasn't important (again! Another $255 payment for decluttering!). I do have a stack of tax-related mail that I can't do anything with until I get my final paperwork from Fidelity, but that stack will be dealt with and filed away next weekend when I do my taxes.

I'm starting my preparations for this year's garden, so lots of gardening things I've been hoarding (egg cartons for sprouting seeds, for example) are finally getting used. I haven't yet figured out where to put the grow light my mom gave me when she was decluttering. If I can't find a good place in two weeks, I'll donate it.

SuperSaver

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4403 on: February 05, 2017, 01:13:43 PM »
You guys are so inspiring! I have dropped off about 3 more Rubbermaid bins worth of donations since late fall to Goodwill. Yesterdays bin included "sentimental" items so a huge improvement for me even if it was only a few items of nostalgia! I have a few more sentimental items I am really close to donating. I'm out of boxes to use for donations...i need to find more, than I can say goodbye.  I have a trashbag full of clothes to donate and a bag of Food ( need to find a local food bank/pantry) sitting in my *donation station* I set up.

 I found using the wasted area under my mantle by the door made me really likely to donate or recycle so my fireplace looks nice. I went through all the papers in my house last week and had a laundry basket full of papers to shred and two large reusable bags of paper I took downstairs to recycle. We've been staying on top of incoming mail too.


Bracken_Joy

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4404 on: February 05, 2017, 01:42:11 PM »
Oh! I totally forgot one. When the lady came to buy my wedding dress, I offered her 6 shirts I was going to goodwill. I said, 'well, I figured we'd be the same size and have similar tastes!' She loved them, took them all.

4alpacas

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4405 on: February 05, 2017, 01:42:38 PM »
Everyone is so amazing!

I'm starting to create a pile for ThreadUp (mostly J Crew items that I never wear).  My husband saw the pile and added about 5 pairs of pants to it!  Woohoo! 

Oh! I totally forgot one. When the lady came to buy my wedding dress, I offered her 6 shirts I was going to goodwill. I said, 'well, I figured we'd be the same size and have similar tastes!' She loved them, took them all.
That is so thoughtful!

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4406 on: February 05, 2017, 03:01:29 PM »
Took all of my empty alcohol containers back to the Beer Store for a $6.20 refund.  It is surprising how many of those can accumulate over a few months!  Definitely cleared out some storage space. 

However, I've realized that the cost/benefit of holding onto empties is not worth it, so from now on, I will just place them in the recycle bin.  It took me an hour to organize them all and carry them down to the local Beer Store, thus making the $6.20 refund I received less than minimum wage. 


Bracken_Joy

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4407 on: February 05, 2017, 05:09:06 PM »
Took all of my empty alcohol containers back to the Beer Store for a $6.20 refund.  It is surprising how many of those can accumulate over a few months!  Definitely cleared out some storage space. 

However, I've realized that the cost/benefit of holding onto empties is not worth it, so from now on, I will just place them in the recycle bin.  It took me an hour to organize them all and carry them down to the local Beer Store, thus making the $6.20 refund I received less than minimum wage.

I've been doing this for a while- our bottle deposit is only $0.05/bottle, and it's one of my least favorite chores. Where I used to live, I would put them in a bag beside the bin so that our neighborhood homeless lady that collected cans and bottles could just 'grab and go'. But where I live now there are no homeless people that check the bins! Not sure what to do now, it seems a shame that *no one* is getting that money.

gaja

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4408 on: February 05, 2017, 05:23:00 PM »
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.

The kids have grown about 10 cm each, and have done a decent job sorting out their clothes as they grow out of them. I'm working on my closet, placing everything I've used most recently in the front. I've already sorted out a lot of stuff that I don't use, but in June I've done this for a year, and there will be no excuse to keep the stuff lingering in the back.

Tris Prior

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4409 on: February 05, 2017, 05:24:33 PM »
An entire granny-cartful of crap (plus 1 additional bag) went to the thrift store today!

Including a couple of things that my mother had given me to sell, that I've been trying to sell for literally years, with no takers. I feel really terrible about this; if she finds out, she'll be really angry. Note: this stuff is literally crap; it is not valuable in any way. (hoarder tendencies mean she's typically only willing to get rid of crap if someone will pay her for it, and she won't sell stuff herself for fear of getting murdered by a stranger coming to her home plus she doesn't have Internet  - I can't remember if I posted about this on this thread or in my journal? Anyway.) But, FFS, we're moving and I don't want to haul all her crap through yet another move.

And yes, I'm taking the coward's way out and not telling her what I did, because it will result in verbal abuse and tears and screaming and I don't have to take that!

Mezzie

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4410 on: February 05, 2017, 05:50:14 PM »
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....

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4411 on: February 05, 2017, 07:38:29 PM »

I've been doing this for a while- our bottle deposit is only $0.05/bottle, and it's one of my least favorite chores. Where I used to live, I would put them in a bag beside the bin so that our neighborhood homeless lady that collected cans and bottles could just 'grab and go'. But where I live now there are no homeless people that check the bins! Not sure what to do now, it seems a shame that *no one* is getting that money.

Yeah....in my neighbourhood there are definitely homeless people that go through the recycle bins.  Usually the empties are gone within an hour, so someone is getting the money back from the government haha. 

Using MMM's method of valuing my time though, it just simply is not worth the time to bring the empties back. 

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4412 on: February 06, 2017, 05:21:11 AM »
Re: the bottles with deposits (we don't have these here, AFAIK) aren't the bottles being reused instead of recycled if they're properly returned though? As in, cleaned and refilled and sold again, instead of broken up and made into 'new' glass? If so I think I'd still do it for the environmental benefits. Not trying to chastise anyone, we all have our own causes, so I totally get if it's still not worth it to you. Just thought it was worth a mention (if I am indeed correct that they get reused).

I got rid of some fabrics scraps at the weekend. I made a skirt and the remaining bits were not large nor particuarly useful (a thick tweed which frayed easily, so not a contender for facings or pocket bags etc).

I also tidied up a load of tools and supplies being used in our renovations and was able to weed out lots of empty screw boxes. The ugly pile is now smaller and neater.

I am still loving how much easier it is to clean with so much less stuff!


TomTX

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4413 on: February 06, 2017, 05:38:03 AM »
Re: the bottles with deposits (we don't have these here, AFAIK) aren't the bottles being reused instead of recycled if they're properly returned though? As in, cleaned and refilled and sold again, instead of broken up and made into 'new' glass? If so I think I'd still do it for the environmental benefits. Not trying to chastise anyone, we all have our own causes, so I totally get if it's still not worth it to you. Just thought it was worth a mention (if I am indeed correct that they get reused).

I got rid of some fabrics scraps at the weekend. I made a skirt and the remaining bits were not large nor particuarly useful (a thick tweed which frayed easily, so not a contender for facings or pocket bags etc).

I also tidied up a load of tools and supplies being used in our renovations and was able to weed out lots of empty screw boxes. The ugly pile is now smaller and neater.

I am still loving how much easier it is to clean with so much less stuff!

50 years ago a fair number of glass bottles were being re-used in the USA. Think those heavy classic Coke bottles. Typically now they are not.

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4414 on: February 06, 2017, 07:04:34 AM »

50 years ago a fair number of glass bottles were being re-used in the USA. Think those heavy classic Coke bottles. Typically now they are not.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I still have a milkman, because I like the idea of the bottles being reused over and over, plus I can smell plastic on milk from the supermarket. DH claims I'm making this up, but seriously, I always sniff the milk before using and the overwhelming smell (unless it's off) from shop-bought is plastic to me. Plus I hate leaving the house so milk, bread and eggs on the doorstep makes me very happy.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4415 on: February 06, 2017, 07:36:29 AM »
Took all of my empty alcohol containers back to the Beer Store for a $6.20 refund.  It is surprising how many of those can accumulate over a few months!  Definitely cleared out some storage space. 

However, I've realized that the cost/benefit of holding onto empties is not worth it, so from now on, I will just place them in the recycle bin.  It took me an hour to organize them all and carry them down to the local Beer Store, thus making the $6.20 refund I received less than minimum wage.

I've been doing this for a while- our bottle deposit is only $0.05/bottle, and it's one of my least favorite chores. Where I used to live, I would put them in a bag beside the bin so that our neighborhood homeless lady that collected cans and bottles could just 'grab and go'. But where I live now there are no homeless people that check the bins! Not sure what to do now, it seems a shame that *no one* is getting that money.

Any kids in the neighborhood? Ours often request cans/bottles to help fundraise or for pocket money. 

I have an entire bin full of them that I need to return. My BIL drank a number of cases of beer while here for thanksgiving.  We usually take a whole year to fill that bin up and he did it in 5 days...

Debts_of_Despair

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4416 on: February 06, 2017, 08:19:18 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4417 on: February 06, 2017, 08:41:38 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4418 on: February 06, 2017, 08:56:48 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4419 on: February 06, 2017, 01:40:39 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4420 on: February 06, 2017, 02:13:51 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4421 on: February 06, 2017, 05:36:48 PM »
Ha!

TheStrenuousLife

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4422 on: February 07, 2017, 09:59:38 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4423 on: February 07, 2017, 01:24:51 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4424 on: February 07, 2017, 06:32:39 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4425 on: February 08, 2017, 08:37:02 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4426 on: February 08, 2017, 10:17:19 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4427 on: February 08, 2017, 03:31:49 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4428 on: February 08, 2017, 04:28:21 PM »
A scarf of mine and three of my husband's ties into the donation bag.

theadvicist

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4429 on: February 09, 2017, 03:46:57 AM »
Put a pair of pants that were itchy in the donation box. Glad for extra room in that drawer, it was getting cramped.

Monocle Money Mouth

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4430 on: February 09, 2017, 04:17:01 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4431 on: February 09, 2017, 09:42:36 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4432 on: February 09, 2017, 09:51:40 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4433 on: February 09, 2017, 09:57:12 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4434 on: February 09, 2017, 09:26:12 PM »
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.

« Last Edit: February 10, 2017, 03:36:18 PM by mustachepungoeshere »

jordanread

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4435 on: February 10, 2017, 06:33:50 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4436 on: February 10, 2017, 09:32:31 AM »
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.

Monocle Money Mouth

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4437 on: February 10, 2017, 02:34:56 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4438 on: February 10, 2017, 03:27:07 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4439 on: February 12, 2017, 04:59:41 AM »
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.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4440 on: February 12, 2017, 05:09:06 AM »
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.

Monocle Money Mouth

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4441 on: February 12, 2017, 06:04:06 AM »
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.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2017, 06:26:06 AM by mies »

misshershey

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4442 on: February 12, 2017, 05:42:29 PM »
(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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4443 on: February 13, 2017, 03:02:57 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4444 on: February 13, 2017, 09:59:38 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4445 on: February 13, 2017, 10:11:40 PM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4446 on: February 14, 2017, 02:39:55 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4447 on: February 14, 2017, 03:36:11 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4448 on: February 14, 2017, 10:56:03 AM »
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

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #4449 on: February 14, 2017, 01:49:47 PM »
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.