I must admit that thinking along similar lines is what kicked me into gear to start cleaning out the garage and when I’m done, the basement. The rest of the house looks pretty good but stuff is really piled up in those 2 places. I did think that if something happened to husband and I like a car accident, I’d be embarrassed to leave all that behind. That’s my confession of the day. 
Waiting to get a move date, but my apartment is full of boxes. How did we accumulate so much more stuff in just two years here? The only good news is that leaving the Far North Midwest for relatively sunny Maryland means that one box of FNM-quality winter gear doesn’t have to travel back with us. It can be passed along to a colleague who recently moved here from definitely sunny AZ!
Welcome (back?) to Maryland @happymomof1, where the heat index is already 95 degrees this early in the morning. Hard to think about winter gear, although we occasionally get down to the single digits.
My D’s summer job is over, while her friend’s jobs are not, so she’s hanging around the house, and I paid her to clean out two closets. She did a great job. Now if only she would have the same motivation to work on her own room…
Right there with ya @doschicos. Just hit a bunch of paper clutter between breakfast and work today. Lots more to go but I feel better already.
I don’t have the time to search for it now, but the link by doschicos reminded me of a Wislawa Szymborska poem, in which her furniture is plotting to outlive her. I will try to track it down.
There is a wonderful Alison Lurie short story: The Highboy about a dangerous anthropomorphic antique.
happymomof1, we had a 29" snow storm at my house this winter in suburban MD! The cross-country skiers had a great time on our unplowed streets!
I know @CountingDown ! There were a couple of times last winter when Happykid reported more snow in MD than we were seeing here. I will miss the space and the ten minute “commute”, but Happydad will be sooooo much happier at the new job.
Capri pants never coming back in style? re #2116. Next, someone will write that gaucho’s should be tossed.
Back of car loaded up again! Out it goes!
Getting work done around house and instead of moving stuff I’m tossing. Looking better!
Computer guy came to fix our network and he kept saying–"You can toss this. It’s dead (or old or icky or totally useless now). So able to happily throw away a bunch of tech stuff that I thought I should toss but was afraid to.
Never owned gaucho’s (thankfully)! But sure I’d toss those too.
I can’t believe this thread is 2100 posts long and I’ve never posted on it.
I have a revolving set of charities that call and pick up donations. I almost always have a few bags to donate. I feel like I am just now - after several years of really working to purge the excess - just now starting to see the light. And I don’t think we have a particularly “full” house, but I am the only one who cares about having too much stuff, so it can be a struggle.
We’ve been in this house for 14 years. The parts that I have purged recently are in pretty good shape. the places in it that are not “mine”, where other people feel ownership, still need a lot of work. Some members of my family have difficulty tossing things like old technology and VHS tapes. The good news is my husband’s mandatory retirement date is now just five years away, so he may be a bit more motivated to purge now.
I feel lighter with every bag that departs.
After youngest left for college, last week, H and I did a major garage clean-up. We donated bikes and sports equipment, rugs, Christmas decorations, etc. - filled the minivan. That felt good and now I see more we can do in there.
S put more clothes in the give away pile today. He leaves for school on Monday, so hopefully he will get rid of even more before he leaves.
Well said, eastcoastcrazy! That is my biggest challenge too.
Challenge–It’s when kids officially move out and still think of the home closet as “their closet”. The room you can have, just not the closet.
" Go ahead mom! Change out the furniture, redecorate! I got a new life! But can’t I leave my stuff in the closet? I don’t have enough room!" Like I do? For once I can do an “eye roll” to my kids.
Worse yet are the kid’s stuff YOU think they need to keep and they say “nope”. Wow. I’ve kept these things so long that I’ve grown attached thinking the kids were attached too. Now it’s on me!
I sometimes make a list of “left behind” items and send it to them. Want this? Speak now because it will be gone otherwise! Some of you would probably tell me not to bother with that but I had a mom who was always getting rid of my stuff and I simply hated it.
I’ve taken to clearing out some (pretty obvious throwaways–to me) stuff of other family members (since they don’t clear out their own stuff) and make a pile–retrieve what you want or out it goes! Works rather well.
Did the KonMarie method and took every candle holder and all vases out of different storage areas and
let go of 1/3 of them. Felt great.
Only reached to take one back but then let it go. Patted one goodby.
Yesterday, I put a box of tools (formerly property of my ex-h, now mine to dispose of) on the curb in preparation for today’s Easter Seals pickup. Then it occurred to me to advertise them on Craiglist as free for the taking. They were gone within two hours. Today’s donation of a laundry basket full of books, two desk chairs, and some other items has been picked up, and I went to the post office and sent a small priority-mail envelope, stuffed with ex-h’s report cards and such to him.
Husband goes through TONS of tennis balls. Found someone on craigslist looking for used tennis balls. Turns out a guy who is a physical therapist uses them for walkers and donates the same for nursing homes. Now I have an outlet for all those flat balls that gives them a good, useful second life. 
Now, how to find a home for many gently loved stuffed animals…
I’d love to find a home for gently loved stuffed animals, including Beanie Babies (which I’m sure aren’t worth much anymore).
I think our police department takes stuffed teddy bears to give to kids. Maybe yours does the same.
Observation while cleaning out: Printed t-shirts are a waste of resources and a scourge to our planet. They seem to multiply like rabbits.