Thanks for all the great ideas on how to dispose of unwanted large bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. I think the idea of just using shampoo and body wash for liquid hand soap might be the easiest. @TS0104, I too remember hearing a podcast about givebackbox but had forgotten about it. Unfortunately, they specifically say no liquids. A pet peeve of mine is filling up landfills with plastic, which makes it a conundrum when it might be easier to just toss.
My clean out item today is our extra freezer in the basement. I’ve emptied it and threw out some freezer burnt meat and veggies and we’re going to have a hodge podge of freezer food that I bought for forgotten gatherings that somehow didn’t get cooked - fried shrimp, chicken drumsticks and mini quiches anyone? Friday was fridge clean out and I made a quiche to use up some eggs, mushrooms, cheese and broccoli!
I took 90 pounds of old architecture and art magazines out of the attic and into paper recycling. I weighed them because our garbage men don’t like the cans to weigh more than 75 pounds.
If you Google M Medium John Seed, you should find a link to a short satirical article in which Marie Studio-Apartment shows up to help the “Major Museum of Art” in New York City declutter. I recommend it.
Sorry to be effectively bumping my own last post, but the John Seed piece is really pretty funny. The Baroque wing of the museum is described as inducing claustrophobia, and Marie suggests seeing which paintings “spark guilt,” in order to make decisions.
Hmm, I can’t be the only person who has gone to a major art gallery, looked at some of the paintings, and thought (or said), “They paid how much for that?!”
I don’t use recipes from books anymore, and haven’t for a long time. I get all my recipes from the internet now, or links people put on FB (which is linked to the net). I print everything and it’s on 8 x 11 inch paper.
I bought a 1.2 inch binder, some plastic sleeves and caterogize, meat, chicken, soups, etc…
Sometimes if given one or I have something just written soon from an old recipe book, I’ll type it and print the page.
I like that it has colored pictures of many of the recipes. Several people have remarked they like it.
So, I went through and discarded any recipes that I never made, or didn’t like.
I read a follow up article with the couple from the first episode (young kids). It was nice…they are very happy with their tidied home and are keeping it up, and yes, she fired her laundry girl and doesn’t mind doing it any more. They say they can’t imagine going back to the clutter from before. Their only regret from doing the show is that the husband appeared a little demanding of her but they say that was just editing and a little skewed depiction of how much he does and asks of her.
I’d been avoiding Marie Kondo, because it all just sounded too twee to me. But I watched the first two episodes. That first one, did not make me miss kids at all! I was actually impressed that no one ends up with a minimalist house. The guy with the baseball cards still has too many boxes of them in the master bedroom. I figure if I don’t like the phrase “spark joy” I can use some different word. If some piece of clothing you don’t wear still has sentimental value, there’s no reason not to keep it. I’ve got the dress my Mom wore to the White House. I wore it once to a costume party, but it will never be in style again, I don’t think and it’s a bad color on me. But I’m not getting rid of it!
I think the whole all the clothing on the bed is very effective, but for right now it’s easier for me to do clothing by categories. All the t-shirts, all the underwear, all the socks, all the pants.
I started on the photos yesterday. I have most still in envelopes as I got lazy with albums many years ago. Once I got a smart phone, then no more tangible photos. I decided to use my dining room table to try to sort by date.
I also put mymparents’ Albums of their trips in a separate box. My mom had everything organized and labeled in albums. I doubt my son will care about these, but I’m not ready to throw them out.
I’m going through some photo boxes today. Tons of Christmas card photos from other families - friends, relatives, even nieces and nephews. What do you do with all of these types of photos? I have gazillions of my own family to sort and scan or keep. I am enjoying seeing these photos, but have no real interest in keeping them - yet feel a little guilty just tossing them.
Christmas photos get refrigerator space for the holiday season of that year. Once New Year’s is done, all get tossed except for my brother’s kids. I leave theirs up all year (it’s not really a holiday looking photo). I appreciate seeing the photos but I’m not attached to them beyond a holiday season.
If you’re more interested in your own family, toss everyone else in one box and figure it out later. When you have time, sort that box. I threw out everyone else’s kids childhood pics. Sounds tough, but they’re someone else’s family.
I have been cleaning up my emotional life/relationships. Very Kondo in approach. “Does this relationship bring joy to me?” “Does it even fit any more?” I will no doubt live the end of my life as a hermit… :-B
A tip for those of you who said you don’t have Netflix. The first month is free & it’s easy to cancel. Lowest tier is ~$10/month. You can subscribe, watch the episodes over 1-2 months then cancel. It’s not much more than a video rental. That’s what I did.
It was worth it - it helped my spouse see the emotional benefit of decluttering and “get on board” with the idea.
