<p>I’ll join this “club” for 2011! I’m a pretty organized person, but if stuff is out of sight, it’s out of (my) mind. That’s what happened when we moved here 4+ years ago – our previous house had a pretty large attic, and it was too easy to put stuff up there and forget about it. Freecycle was a huge help. There’s also a Freecycle group here in our “new” town, so I have continued getting rid of stuff. We’re most likely looking at another move in the near future, so I’d like to get a jump on sorting/cleaning out/organizing. H talks about clearing out stuff, but the actual doing is usually up to me.</p>
<p>We have far too many papers and hobbies and run two businesses out of our home. Not enough closet space and don’t have basements or attics in houses in my neighborhood. Thus, the stuff just clutters the house and garage!</p>
<p>I am thinking about one of those neat receipts scanners to get a handle on the massive amount of my husbands business cards and papers in the office. I have a wonderful photo scanner but it takes a long time to process dozens of pieces of paper at a time. </p>
<p>I have started the getting rid of one item of clothing for every item I take in. The problem is that there are so many in my overstuffed kitchen! This is an easy way to keep your closets from overflowing. </p>
<p>Keep the ideas coming. I need them.</p>
<p>We live in a small townhouse (with a basement). I work out of the house so the spare bedroom is my office. I don’t have a lot of space. Fortunately, DH and I are not savers, but we still have toooooo much stuff. </p>
<p>I like the five a day idea. I had thought of something similar myself, but I never followed through. I think this will be the day I start. I would love to get a dumpster for a day and just fill it up with stuff from the basement. I feel so much more relaxed when there is space. </p>
<p>My D on the other hand is the hoarder (ok - we have the reverse situation from someone on this thread). My father’s hoarding gene skipped my generation and took residence in her. I KNOW i get more anxious when she is home because of all her stuff but I have to learn to just shut her door and ignore the tsunami.</p>
<p>I’m inspired. I’ll get started right after vacation. Really, I will.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, here is a very helpful tip for the kitchen. Keep a Sharpie handy and write the date on open jars of spaghetti sauce or leftovers or anything you stick in the fridge. No more worrying about whether something is too old to eat. And it is easy to throw something away when you realize it is 3 weeks old, not just a couple of days.</p>
<p>OK, now, here is the tip for the freezer. Make double batches of soups and stews and casseroles. Freeze half and label them with date and contents. On the side of the freezer keep a note pad and WRITE DOWN what you added, the date and how many servings. When you take out the soup, scratch it off the list.</p>
<p>I have an extra freezer and this tip has served our family well over the years. It’s not enough to put something in there if you can’t remember what it is.</p>
<p>Now, why cant I get the closets under control?</p>
<p>I have an attic- but I can’t store anything there- way too hot. No basement. I have a two car garage- which is filled with stuff- things my mother couldn’t part with when she moved in with us after dad’s death. My goal in 2011 is to be able to park at least one car in the garage. We’ve lived here 15 years and never had a car in the garage. </p>
<p>I am planning a garage sale in late February. And I am posting items for sale on Craigslist. Will do ebay if I have to, but only for higher dollar items. </p>
<p>Part of the problem I have here is that most of what I have stored are collectibles and the frugal gal in me won’t toss. I want to make a buck, especially since I’m out of work. But researching all these items takes a while. And I don’t want to contribute to landfills.</p>
<p>I have made a small dent over the last year buy selling some things on Amazon. I’ve done Ebay, but for appropriate items I find Amazon much easier. I have sold books, computer equipment, cell phones and chargers, etc. </p>
<p>Most all clothing goes to a local charity that runs a thrift shop. I sold a few of kids clothes in one of those shops that gives you a price and pays on the spot (you don’t have to keep track or wait like you do with consignment shops). Though they only take certain labels and nothing over a couple years old.</p>
<p>Another Sharpie idea - if you carry a lot of gift cards in your purse/wallet, also carry one of the mini Sharpies - I keep it in the compartment near my gift cards - as soon as the register person returns the card I “round off” the amount and write it on the card w/the Sharpie (so, if the card balance is $6.18 - I round off to $6). No more keeping receipts.</p>
<p>I do estate sales and home organization. What is being described is the way most people live! Most of us seem to be savers or the out of site out of mind types and the truth is we just don’t have the time to go through all of that stuff.</p>
<p>When we do an estate sale we have to go through everything and I do mean everything. We usually do get a dumpster, it’s cheaper than you think, call around.</p>
<p>For a whole house organization the first thing to do is to decide general areas for things, some are no brainers like dishes in the dinning room. This is a tool to get things started. Then you place like with like. For example use a bedroom for all linens another bedroom for children’s things, a corner of the living room for books. Once you get all of the books, dishes, clothes, linens, etc. together then you can see what you’ve got. Take one area at a time and purge, you will be amazed to see how many duplicates you have and how many things you simply don’t or can’t use anymore. Another thing is paper, by this I mean boxes, wrapping, saved brochures, this stuff takes up a huge amount of space, if a box is big enough use it for items to be donated or sold, if not put it in the trash.</p>
<p>Note about items to be donated or sold - if its broken, dirty, out of style, well worn - NOBODY wants it - please throw it away. Many communities have a drop off for old clothes and other fabric items for recycling.</p>
<p>Once your boxes are packed up for sale/donation put them in one area - the best is the garage. Then it is easy to set up the garage sale or it’s easy to put out for a pick up or take to a charity.</p>
<p>Note on whether to sell or donate - If you are not a garage sale type person the likelihood of really having a sale are low, go ahead and donate. How to donate properly -
as you pack up items for donation write them down, at this point nothing fancy. For clothes write down, say t-shirts, then you can just make a mark next to the clothing item then you can add up the total later. Then you type up a list
example:</p>
<p>4 pair ladies slacks @ 2.50 ea $10.00
8 better ladies t shirts @ 2.00 ea 16.00
5 regular ladies t shirts @1.00 ea 5.00</p>
<p>You do this will everything except I will lump together boxes of toys, kitchen items and give the box an amount.</p>
<p>Then when you go to the charity or they pick it up I attach the list to their receipt and you are good to go for your IRS deduction.</p>
<p>As far as assessing value on larger items you can figure 10% of the cost. For clothes and household items here is a list that works well [Goodwill</a> Chicago - Goodwill Stores and Donation Centers - Donation Value Guide](<a href=“http://www.goodwillsew.com/page.asp?dbID=328]Goodwill”>http://www.goodwillsew.com/page.asp?dbID=328) adjust for your geographic location.</p>
<p>While I use this method for a whole house you can do this for one room or area at a time.</p>
<p>When you are done with the purge and begin to store what you are keeping always put like with like, for example you should have a camera drawer or bin, all hats and gloves should be together, all vases and flower things should be together. I know this sounds so simple and should be a given, but most people have stuff all over the place, then they can’t find what they want so they give up or go and buy new - more stuff!</p>
<p>I purge constantly. The kids, H and I go through our closets at the beginning of each season. I am on the email/call lists for a few charities and I say “yes” every time they plan to come so I can get the stuff out fast. I have a spreadsheet with specific areas of the house (i.e. master bathroom, kitchen desk, etc.) and whenever I have some time I go through the list, choose an area that hasn’t been cleaned out recently. I save larger items for our church rummage sale in the spring.</p>
<p>My downfall is a large toy closet. I have attempted to downsize time and time again, but I can’t seem to part with a thing. I have visions of grandchildren cherishing all of those beanie babies!</p>
<p>My kids beanie babies were donated to the church mission trip and are now being enjoyed in Belize.</p>
<p>^^^Legos, KNex, Thomas the Tank Engine trains – have them in the basement and cannot get rid of them. </p>
<p>DH announced yesterday that any “project” I take on must be completed in one day. Can’t stand the mess, even if I do haul out boxes and boxes of stuff for donations. Told him HE’LL be getting called on to lug the stuff once both guys are back at school. ;)</p>
<p>Can’t wait to get home and see if S1 has emptied out his room. We’re trying to move out a ginormous desk that takes up valuable space in his 9x10 room. (Removing it will give me more space for my crafts!) Some stuff is heading to the basement, as I expect both guys will be off campus within a year or two.</p>
<p>Nothing comes in without something going out at our house. Next week I tackle the upstairs linen closet. I know there are some sheets I took to college up there!</p>
<p>We did the clothing thing years ago…only a certain number of hangers…if you get something new, you gotta get rid of something old. We don’t buy any more hangers.</p>
<p>Anyone want 1000 (no kidding) science fiction paperbacks?</p>
<p>“The two areas dreaded most at my house (and likely many other homes as well) are the basement and basement storage areas and the attic.”</p>
<p>Hah! No basements OR attics in (my part of) California! And I have pledged no new horizontal surfaces.</p>
<p><<legos, knex,=“” thomas=“” the=“” tank=“” engine=“” trains=“” --=“” have=“” them=“” in=“” basement=“” and=“” cannot=“” get=“” rid=“” of=“” them.=“”>> </legos,></p>
<p>I have to admit, I am saving the best toys for my Imaginary Grandchildren. I finally cleaned all the outdoor toys and sporting gear out of the garage last summer; there was so much stuff-- lazar tag, hockey skates that don’t fit, sleds, kites . . . I took it down to the curb and put up a big FREE sign; the neighborhood kids had a great time picking through it all. I will do that again when I clean the attic now that Goodwill no longer takes toys.</p>
<p>Our town does a great thing every spring called “Riff Raff Days” when you can haul just about anything (old water heaters, furniture, etc) to the curb and they will collect it for free. The marvelous thing is that there are many people who learn which days they pick up in each neighborhood and then scour the streets for things they might be able to use. It keeps a lot of stuff out of the landfill.</p>
<p>Thumper1: your science fiction paperbacks could be auctioned on Ebay. Or given to your local school (many schools have trouble buying books these days).</p>
<p>I’ve tried to give the sci fi books away. The schools do NOT want old paper back books. I don’t think they consider science fiction “books”…not sure I do either! The library used book sale won’t even take them. The only trouble with ebay is shipping them. I think Freecycle might see these…if my husband says we can part with them…doubtful.</p>
<p>Thumper1- If you have a Half Price Book Store in your area- take them there- they will give you cash for the lot and then either sell them or donate. They will even help you empty your car/truck of the books.</p>
<p>
That is a great hint. As echoed by many other posters too, it’s good to think about what you are willing to give away to make room for the new item. </p>
<p>When we were home shopping, I used to ask myself, “where would I store the suitcases”? Some very nice bi-level houses (w/o attic or basement) were ruled out due to lack of storage. </p>
<p>Per toys, it is hard to part with them. But the kids and I got rid of 2 of the 4 crates of stuffed animals right before Christmas. We weren’t ready to part with all yet, but got we made 2 freecycler familes very happy.</p>
<p>thumper1, do you have the Star Wars books S2 hasn’t read yet? He’s on a mission to read all of them. I think he’s read about 75%, but of course they keep writing more! Our house probably has 1000 sci fi books too. :)</p>