Author Topic: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!  (Read 1851508 times)

deborah

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #900 on: December 29, 2014, 02:08:50 PM »
I find that the first pass of decluttering is the hardest for me. I keep a lot more stuff than I need. By the second and third pass, I'm better at letting go of stuff that I don't use. Does anyone else go through this or are you better at culling the first time around (which saves time).

Yes, thats how it works for me too.  And sometimes at random times an item I've visited  and kept on a previous declutter will pop into my mind and I think, "I could let that go".
I think that this is the best way to do it - get rid of things that you absolutely don't need in a quick first pass; then get rid of things you really don't need in a second pass; then really get stuck into it and get rid of things you don't use. In between you have been subconsciously monitoring how often you actually use things, and have also been subconsciously changing habits, so you realise how little some things are used.

Ready2Go

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #901 on: December 29, 2014, 02:28:53 PM »
Nearby elementary school was hosting free shredder day!! Was able to bring in 4 boxes of old tax returns, medical records and other old personal docs for free shredding.  Next step is the guest bedroom closet that's jammed with clothes we haven't worn for years..

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #902 on: December 29, 2014, 05:51:16 PM »
Oh excellent! Thank you for your responses! I feel much better about my progress now. You guys rock!

Cookie

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #903 on: December 29, 2014, 11:39:12 PM »
Quote
Cookie and Funkystickman,
how are you doing with your digital organising?  I have not begun the photo thing yet.  To be honest I barely know how the iPhoto software works.  I just put things in there.  This winter I am determined to deal with the photos and the excess paper that I held onto in the big purge. 

Great! I deleted about 2,600 bad photos, and organized the past 4 years of pictures into files. I also have been working on unsubscribing from emails, and have gotten rid of all icons on my desktop. It feels great to have this done!

MsPeacock

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #904 on: December 31, 2014, 07:12:07 AM »
I decluttered by clothes - closests and dressers, and shoes. Totalled up about 8 bags. Now I have much more room in my closet, can actually see what I have, and everything that is left fits, is in good condtion, and I enjoy wearing. Decluttered the board games - got rid of quite a few that we don't play. Working on the rest of the house. The kids rooms are the hardest because they both like to hang onto junk long past the point where they have lost interest.

I moved every 2-4 years for about 20 years. Now I've been in the same place since 2008. The moving was very effective at getting me to declutter in the process of packing and/or unpacking. Now I just put things away and they are out of sight/out of mind. (And I am still one of the least cluttered people that I know.)

ETA: I don't know if I can do an item a day for 2015 since I just unloaded a ton of stuff. However, I like the idea and I am going to try!

wintersun

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #905 on: January 01, 2015, 04:47:21 PM »
Cookie, that is impressive, 2,600 pics!  You must feel fabulous now.  I just wrote it in my diary to do this month (gulp). Thinking about it makes me want to snuggle under a blanket for a few months.

Funkystickman,  very cool.  I am not very tech savvy but vaguely know what you mean.  Good luck.

morning owl

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #906 on: January 02, 2015, 07:12:52 AM »
Has anyone read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo? It's really helpful in learning how to organize your house. A brief summary: start with clothes, then books, then papers, then personal items, then mementos. (From easy to more difficult.) And don't organize by room, but by subject, so that you take everything out of its place and examine one item at a time, while the group of items is all out in front of you. This way you can see at a glance what you have (usually a lot!), and eliminate one thing at a time. This is important because she advises that you assess for yourself whether each item sparks joy in you -- that is the one and only determining factor on whether or not to keep the item.

This cuts through all the excuses. "Oh but when I'm thinner maybe I can wear that again... or my sister bought me this so I can't throw it away." The idea is that the item has served its purpose -- either in the past, or if it's a gift, then the gift was a symbol of love and thoughtfulness that we can be grateful for, and then let it go. If you don't think too much about it, or give yourself time to come up with an excuse on why you are keeping the item, then you can assess how you feel about it intuitively. If you clear things out this way, in theory, you'll be surrounded only by things that give you joy!

I'm on a mission to sort through my household of stuff using this method over this next year. Maybe I'll do a little each month. Just cleaning out all the paperwork in my office took about 3 days over the holidays.

NinetyFour

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #907 on: January 02, 2015, 09:18:40 AM »
Has anyone read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo?

You might be interested in this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html?_r=0

tariskat

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #908 on: January 02, 2015, 11:13:32 AM »
Neat read, thanks for sharing!

morning owl

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #909 on: January 02, 2015, 11:29:38 AM »
Has anyone read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo?

You might be interested in this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html?_r=0

Thanks, NinetyFour... I had heard of the book via this NYT article, and then took it out from the library. Worth the read. It's like a how-to for becoming a minimalist, in a very human way. Most minimalism ideas I find a bit preachy and cold, but this book is totally heartfelt and down to earth. It's like working at minimalism from the inside out, rather than taking a bunch of rules and applying them.

gaja

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #910 on: January 02, 2015, 01:06:18 PM »
We have been getting ready to downsize in 2014, and have lost 40-45 m3 of stuff. Most of it junk, a lot has been donated, and some has been sold. In a week, a 32 m3 moving van will try to take the rest of our stuff to the new house. According to my calculations, we have 30 m3 of stuff left, I hope I'm right.

We will be buying new beds for the new house, and we might need some appliances (washing machine and fridge). But otherwise, I whink we are well covered.

Will try to
a) not buy stuff
and
b) loose even more stuff as we unpack

jordanread

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #911 on: January 02, 2015, 01:11:27 PM »
We have been getting ready to downsize in 2014, and have lost 40-45 m3 of stuff. Most of it junk, a lot has been donated, and some has been sold. In a week, a 32 m3 moving van will try to take the rest of our stuff to the new house. According to my calculations, we have 30 m3 of stuff left, I hope I'm right.
We will be buying new beds for the new house, and we might need some appliances (washing machine and fridge). But otherwise, I whink we are well covered.

Way to go on getting rid of stuff, and what a fun metric!! However,

Will try to


FunkyStickman

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #912 on: January 06, 2015, 11:18:23 AM »
Just dumped another 4 garbage bags of clothes to Goodwill, and I talked my parents into bring it for me, didn't even have to make an extra trip! :)

We also minimized more board games. Wife swears we play them all, but I know better... not worth storing if they only play them once a month or less.

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #913 on: January 06, 2015, 12:54:19 PM »
Pulled a whole green garbage bag of old clothes and purses I never use out of my cupboard to donate. Brought in 5 new articles of clothing last night so was determined to find 5 things to get rid of and found much, much more! yay!

Mr Dorothy Dollar

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #914 on: January 06, 2015, 07:07:41 PM »
Get rid of the phone book for good by opting out. Saves you time by never having to recycle it again and is environmentally friendly. https://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #915 on: January 06, 2015, 07:15:19 PM »
Awesome work, everybody!

Successfully convinced DH to get rid of a few old computers (a few had been in his long term storage and one in the carport). Yay!! There's one broken one to go which is tricky cos he wants to delete/rewrite the hard drive before disposal. But, big progress!

We've also given away a few things to friends and will take half a boot load of stuff to the recycle shed at the rubbish tip. I'm also finally getting of the box my electric garden shredder came in.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #916 on: January 06, 2015, 07:49:35 PM »
Magnet?  I found a bunch of old floppy disks while I was decluttering my home office - I ran a heavy duty (rare earth) fridge magnet over all of them, one at a time, both sides - not that anyone has a floppy disk drive any more.  They are in the recycling box now.


 There's one broken one to go which is tricky cos he wants to delete/rewrite the hard drive before disposal. But, big progress!


happy

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #917 on: January 06, 2015, 07:52:32 PM »
Still trying to goad council into action to remove our pile of stuff awaiting collection. Its free, but they are useless at collecting. Last time they took so long my lawn died. Heh this time its on driveway. Just have to keep phoning up.

Cleared out some old makeup. Went through DDs wardrobe, out with another small bag of clothes, found 1 pr my undies and 2prs of her brother socks.

Made yet another restart on the study: tossed a small pile of old magazines. This is my most troublesome, most avoided, junkiest, dustiest room. I just have to do something regularly in there.

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #918 on: January 06, 2015, 10:04:54 PM »
Magnet?  I found a bunch of old floppy disks while I was decluttering my home office - I ran a heavy duty (rare earth) fridge magnet over all of them, one at a time, both sides - not that anyone has a floppy disk drive any more.  They are in the recycling box now.


 There's one broken one to go which is tricky cos he wants to delete/rewrite the hard drive before disposal. But, big progress!


Thanks for the suggestion! DH also found a bunch of floppy disks when he got his stuff out of storage (the smaller ones with a hardcase, not the bigger actual floppy ones). I just slid the metal slide open and stabbed at the inner plastic drive with scissors to deform it and scratch it in a few places. Didn't think of a magnet but this was relatively fast too.

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #919 on: January 07, 2015, 12:50:16 AM »
Sorted through about 1/2 of a junky cupboard today. Got rid of some stuff but gave up after a while. So frustrating. Nothing has a "home."  Junky, junky, junky.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #920 on: January 07, 2015, 01:45:27 AM »
Sorted through about 1/2 of a junky cupboard today. Got rid of some stuff but gave up after a while. So frustrating. Nothing has a "home."  Junky, junky, junky.

I find it helps to focus on the stuff I got done, not the stuff still to go. So woot! You got rid of some stuff! Yay! (I also say to myself, you eat an elephant one bite at a time)

FunkyStickman

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #921 on: January 07, 2015, 08:19:38 AM »
Awesome work, everybody!

Successfully convinced DH to get rid of a few old computers (a few had been in his long term storage and one in the carport). Yay!! There's one broken one to go which is tricky cos he wants to delete/rewrite the hard drive before disposal. But, big progress!

Ah yeah, I forgot, I chunked an old PC tower this week. It was sitting in my closet. When I realized I could buy a $50 Altoid-tin-sized computer that was just as fast, it was gone!

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #922 on: January 07, 2015, 03:31:10 PM »
Thanks, Astatine! Feeling better about it today.

tariskat

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #923 on: January 07, 2015, 03:58:13 PM »
Has anyone read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo? It's really helpful in learning how to organize your house. A brief summary: start with clothes, then books, then papers, then personal items, then mementos. (From easy to more difficult.) And don't organize by room, but by subject, so that you take everything out of its place and examine one item at a time, while the group of items is all out in front of you. This way you can see at a glance what you have (usually a lot!), and eliminate one thing at a time. This is important because she advises that you assess for yourself whether each item sparks joy in you -- that is the one and only determining factor on whether or not to keep the item.

This cuts through all the excuses. "Oh but when I'm thinner maybe I can wear that again... or my sister bought me this so I can't throw it away." The idea is that the item has served its purpose -- either in the past, or if it's a gift, then the gift was a symbol of love and thoughtfulness that we can be grateful for, and then let it go. If you don't think too much about it, or give yourself time to come up with an excuse on why you are keeping the item, then you can assess how you feel about it intuitively. If you clear things out this way, in theory, you'll be surrounded only by things that give you joy!

I'm on a mission to sort through my household of stuff using this method over this next year. Maybe I'll do a little each month. Just cleaning out all the paperwork in my office took about 3 days over the holidays.

I read the article someone posted after this message and over the weekend read the book. Really really enjoyed it! I trashed 3/4 of all my files over the weekend and will probably recycle more when I go through it again after following her suggested order of stuff-examination.

happy

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #924 on: January 08, 2015, 12:26:15 AM »
I'm pleased to report I have decluttered paper in my study two days in a row for about 45mins each day. No visible sign of improvement but its a hell of a mess. 

I just must keep telling myself:

1. " an elephant is eaten one bite at a time" : thanks Astatine :)
2. I'll be retired in 3-4 years,  time to start culling, only keeping what is needed in the short term.


gaja

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #925 on: January 08, 2015, 03:38:57 AM »
Packed the stuff from the bathroom yesterday. Decided to only keep five of the towels, the rest go to recycling. Those five are the only ones we have bought. The rest were hand-me-downs and gifts.

Also got the kids sorting socks and finding pairs. The rest of the mismatched socks were tossed. Some of those have been single for years.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #926 on: January 08, 2015, 05:46:31 AM »
Paper sorting is the worst.  I just put out the recycling (-26C, gotta love winter) - a full recycling bin, and a blue recycling bag full of paper.  I would say I am 1/2 way through, in that of the paper to keep about 1/2 is sorted and filed.  The rest gets spread out on my bed, sorted until other activities call, and then popped into a box until the next time.  I should be done by the weekend.  Paper done, office done, me done.

I have a stack of paper (regular 8.5x11 paper) to shred.  Has anyone made fire logs out of this (as opposed to newspapers)?  I want to set up a terra preta bed in the garden this spring, and they could be used for that.  I am not worrying about the ink, it is all vegetable based now.

grantmeaname

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #927 on: January 08, 2015, 06:44:59 AM »
SWMBO gave Goodwill almost half of her clothes yesterday and I cleared out a (smaller) fraction of mine. And I listed all sixteen of the books I still own on eBay. Nothing lights a fire under your ass like moving to a place a third the size of the one you're in!

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #928 on: January 08, 2015, 09:24:32 AM »
I'm pleased to report I have decluttered paper in my study two days in a row for about 45mins each day. No visible sign of improvement but its a hell of a mess. 

I just must keep telling myself:

1. " an elephant is eaten one bite at a time" : thanks Astatine :)
2. I'll be retired in 3-4 years,  time to start culling, only keeping what is needed in the short term.

Paperwork is the thing I'm dreading dealing with the most. I think I need to try your strategy of 'one bite at a time'. :)

Zaga

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #929 on: January 08, 2015, 02:36:38 PM »
Started this week on a 1 year program to declutter.  It's called Declutter 365 if you want to look it up.

Week 1 was kitchen countertops.  I was doing great, my kitchen looked awesome...then I remembered that I have another kitchen in the basement.  Well, I'm tired, but the basement kitchen now also has completely cleared off countertops!  Well, except for the necessary items like dish soap of course!  All that remains for this week is to clear off the kitchen table (already mostly done) and to declutter potholders.

This is really going to be helpful to me I think.  I tent to start one thing, then see a mess someplace else and start on it, then see a mess somewhere else and start on it...  Next thing I know it's 3 hours later and the house looks exactly the same!

Next week is kitchen cupboards.  I hope to get rid of some things and have everything that remains be comfortably accessible.

Zaga

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #930 on: January 08, 2015, 02:44:05 PM »
Oh, and I should add.  The recycle bin was completely full last week.  It's one of the big ones with wheels and an attached lid.  It was so nice to get that much crap out of the house and recycled!

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #931 on: January 08, 2015, 02:51:46 PM »
Has anyone read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo?

You might be interested in this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html?_r=0

Thanks, NinetyFour... I had heard of the book via this NYT article, and then took it out from the library. Worth the read. It's like a how-to for becoming a minimalist, in a very human way. Most minimalism ideas I find a bit preachy and cold, but this book is totally heartfelt and down to earth. It's like working at minimalism from the inside out, rather than taking a bunch of rules and applying them.
I just read this on your recommendation. It is the best decluttering/minimalist/etc book I've read. I'm tidying in a haphazard way at the moment instead of the correct way she suggests, but I now have a gorgeously clear and prettily decorated bookshelf, and what looks like 100 books that ware "to-read" to be reviewed. I only pulled out the ones we haven't read yet, to give us a chance before they go.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #932 on: January 08, 2015, 04:04:14 PM »
Has anyone read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo?

You might be interested in this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html?_r=0

Thanks, NinetyFour... I had heard of the book via this NYT article, and then took it out from the library. Worth the read. It's like a how-to for becoming a minimalist, in a very human way. Most minimalism ideas I find a bit preachy and cold, but this book is totally heartfelt and down to earth. It's like working at minimalism from the inside out, rather than taking a bunch of rules and applying them.
I just read this on your recommendation. It is the best decluttering/minimalist/etc book I've read. I'm tidying in a haphazard way at the moment instead of the correct way she suggests, but I now have a gorgeously clear and prettily decorated bookshelf, and what looks like 100 books that ware "to-read" to be reviewed. I only pulled out the ones we haven't read yet, to give us a chance before they go.

It's already on the kindle, and is next on the list to read.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #933 on: January 08, 2015, 05:15:33 PM »
I love "get rid of paper as it never brings joy"!  YES!  I got rid of about 18inches of documentation I no longer need this week as well as some samples I received as gifts for buying certain products if I had not used them.  Tomorrow is recycle day so I keep stalking through the house looking for more candidates for the bin.

Anatidae V

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #934 on: January 08, 2015, 05:35:11 PM »
I love "get rid of paper as it never brings joy"!  YES!  I got rid of about 18inches of documentation I no longer need this week as well as some samples I received as gifts for buying certain products if I had not used them.  Tomorrow is recycle day so I keep stalking through the house looking for more candidates for the bin.

I get joy from the occasional bill that shows how we're doing with our use of electricity etc :)
I just listed our couches and two armchairs on Gumtree, because the couches certainly don't give us joy! The armchairs might, but I re-covered them with the intention of selling them, so I'll try that before we use them ourselves. If it works, we'll be a couch-less household for a little while - I'm really excited about the space!

Astatine

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #935 on: January 08, 2015, 09:13:06 PM »
I went through a shelf in the laundry that obviously hadn't been touched since before I started thinking seriously about minimalism (will never have a minimalist house cos DH is a recovering packrat and loves his CDs, DVDs, books etc, but I'm quite minimalist with my personal items now). I found half a packet of wooden clothes pegs that I didn't know I had. woot! So I put some out on the washing line (cos there's always a slow attrition rate of pegs getting lost or broken) and stashed the rest for later, but in a more easily seen spot.

Moved some stuff out to the carport (emergency water containers taking up space) and moved some painting stuff from when we painted the laundry and lounge 3 years ago.

Then looked at our leftover paint from 3 years ago. No idea how long it lasts, but at least 2 tins have started leaking out the side seam of the tin, and one was seriously rusted on the bottom. Need to work out what to do with it all.

In total, getting rid of to the recycle shed at the rubbish tip:
- plastic chest of drawers (they're a bit manky now from rust and leaking paint, so the shed might not take them)
- old gutter guard, no longer needed
- small bag of assorted crap from around the house

It's funny how I think I've gone through and cleared out every nook and cranny, and several years into serious decluttering, I'm STILL finding stuff to get rid of. Yikes.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #936 on: January 08, 2015, 09:29:31 PM »
Has anyone read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo?

You might be interested in this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html?_r=0

Thanks, NinetyFour... I had heard of the book via this NYT article, and then took it out from the library. Worth the read. It's like a how-to for becoming a minimalist, in a very human way. Most minimalism ideas I find a bit preachy and cold, but this book is totally heartfelt and down to earth. It's like working at minimalism from the inside out, rather than taking a bunch of rules and applying them.

A sentence I really like from the book: There are three approaches we can take toward our possessions: face them now, face them sometime, or avoid them until the day we die.

Kind of morbid, but sometimes I look at my stuff and think about what will happen after I die. The thought of having my family wasting time going through my junk is so depressing. I don't have too much stuff, but there's still some ways to go before minimalism.

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #937 on: January 09, 2015, 12:45:24 AM »
This book by Marie Kondo sounds fantastic! I am sad to report that it is not available at my library and in the spirit of decluttering, I will not be buying it....but, oh the temptation!

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #938 on: January 09, 2015, 04:20:18 AM »
I enjoyed the book. The main thing is asking yourself if each item sparks joy. If not, it's out! Another thing I liked is that she says if you do it correctly, you won't have to be constantly decluttering. I feel like I have to purge stuff every year so that really sparked joy in me! Lol

horsepoor

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #939 on: January 09, 2015, 07:42:25 AM »
I might have to give that book a gander. 

Yesterday I went down in the newly decluttered basement and swung my kettlebell around.  I'd been avoiding the area when all the stuff waiting to be donated was lurking down there (even though it wasn't in the way of my weights).

This should be a good weekend for going through my dresser and decluttering - I have a bunch of race shirts that are ugly and ill-fitting, and probably some other things that haven't seen the light of day in a while.  Trying to figure out how to approach getting DH to remove some of his clutter from a couple pieces of furniture he has appropriated - his MO is to spread shit all over horizontal surfaces so he can see all of it.  I've mostly trained myself to ignore these flaming clutter spots, but as the clutter is reduced around them, they stick out even worse and make me itch to just bin everything.

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #940 on: January 09, 2015, 01:24:45 PM »
"Found" $24.30 on two ancient Visa gift cards that have been kicking around in my wallet. Went to the 2 different websites to find out the balances and was pleasantly surprised. This decluttering business is paying off ... literally!

lbdance

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #941 on: January 09, 2015, 05:04:33 PM »
Whilst continuing to slowly potter away at my bits and pieces. Esp those areas that become collection locations for like minded items that you might use one day. This was useful at Christmas as I was able to recycle some tissue paper / cellophone etc when making up gift baskets. I haven't really felt like I have made any significant progress.

Today however, with a couple of days warning, we were able to tackle my husbands spare room. This has a range of items from car parts / computer parts (some personal some relating to his business which works out of our home) / toys / tools etc. Major progress has been made, and he has managed to recognise some items are rubbish / or would be better in someone elses home.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #942 on: January 10, 2015, 05:20:25 AM »
The whole sparking joy thing really worked for me. Great reframing idea. I sold a chair on Craigslist, and I'm bringing two bags to Goodwill today.

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #943 on: January 10, 2015, 05:31:26 AM »
I love "get rid of paper as it never brings joy"!  YES!  I got rid of about 18inches of documentation I no longer need this week as well as some samples I received as gifts for buying certain products if I had not used them.  Tomorrow is recycle day so I keep stalking through the house looking for more candidates for the bin.

I get joy from the occasional bill that shows how we're doing with our use of electricity etc :)
I just listed our couches and two armchairs on Gumtree, because the couches certainly don't give us joy! The armchairs might, but I re-covered them with the intention of selling them, so I'll try that before we use them ourselves. If it works, we'll be a couch-less household for a little while - I'm really excited about the space!
I used the 40 minutes cleaning, 20 minutes break and new shows on tv to get me through several large piles of paper yesterday and today. Tons of old receipts (from up to 7 years ago!) were tossed. Our recycling bin is now full, so probably up to 1.5 m3 of paper was removed. I then rearranged the dining area to fit our bikes better so we can get them in and out easier.

Yet, I'm struggling to see the difference in the house. I REALLY need to remember to take before and after shots. Will everything become clear once we are down to only the things we need and the things that bring us joy? I can still look at a spot and see things that don't fit. I think I'll keep trusting the process, since there hasn't been a downside yet!

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #944 on: January 10, 2015, 03:46:26 PM »
Took a slew of plastic bags out with recycling today, both the type we get at the grocery store and the fat pillows you get in packages.  Kept some for cat's litter/general use, but it was really nice to clear out that clutter.  I can actually get at stuff now.  (Still more to get rid of in the way of packing supplies.)

Also threw away a bit of boxed food that was waaay past date (2005 and 2007!)

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #945 on: January 10, 2015, 04:59:00 PM »
My sweetie cleaned off the top of his dresser today <3

boy_bye

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #946 on: January 10, 2015, 05:33:48 PM »
I went through my socks and underwear baskets today and threw out everything that did not spark joy. I have no more annoying socks or wedgie underwear, only ones that fit and do their job and make me happy. :)

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #947 on: January 10, 2015, 05:47:12 PM »
My sweetie has been clearing out our little boys shared bedroom today (ages 9 and 7)!

Cressida

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #948 on: January 10, 2015, 07:32:00 PM »
My sweetie cleaned off the top of his dresser today <3

Share your secret!  :)

Practical Magic

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Re: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter!
« Reply #949 on: January 10, 2015, 07:43:27 PM »
It's funny how I think I've gone through and cleared out every nook and cranny, and several years into serious decluttering, I'm STILL finding stuff to get rid of. Yikes.

This is how I'm feeling too. I keep wondering if I'll ever be done! I've made good headway lately with family "heirlooms", donating some and selling most of it on eBay. Now I'm into the linens; old doilies and tablecloths, and neck scarves which belonged to my grandmother, pieces of lace and fabric. Dolls from the 1950s and older, which were my grandma's and aunt's. I have diligently protected these things over the years and moved them from house to house, and I finally decided I don't want to be a museum curator anymore!! With every item that goes away, I feel lighter. Ahhhh

I've made $2400 net so far from these sales (which included a bunch of my childhood toys from the 1970s).
« Last Edit: January 10, 2015, 07:46:44 PM by Practical Magic »

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!