Last Wednesday, I put five bags of stuff in the driveway, for the scheduled Easter Seals pick-up. The truck didnāt come. I contemplated calling the organization but decided instead to move the bags directly to the back of the car. They couldnāt stay there for long because the space was needed for D2ās suitcase for her move two days later. So we took the stuff to another organizationās nearby donation center.
I can see 22 pillows and some ceramic pineapples coming this way!
^ =)) =))
Mr. hauled a carload of stuff to Goodwill. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The best part of the experience is that he is now solidly on board with the idea that accumulation of crap is detrimental to oneās wellbeing. 
H was surprising compliant tonight. My car is filled with stuff to be dropped of tomorrowāof course on a
super hot day.
He even let go of some old coats. I did start to cheat and put some things from the storage room in but
then decided to behave 
Finally recycled hundreds of college info letters and flyers from S2. I wonder how many years it will be before paper flyers are a thing of the past? S also receiver 3,500 emails from schools. He didnāt open those either.
Popping in to say Iām up to over $700/stuff sold on ebay (and counting), dismantled and tossed a giant Ikea wardrobe (that was satisfying-wore headphones playing AC/DC and safety glasses and had at it with a big mallet), and now staging a part of the garage for next monthās neighborhood yard sale. Iām tagging prices on things as i put them out there so I donāt get overwhelmed by it.
Husband is still not ready to tackle his giant room full of electronics, but his big, empty fish tank sprang a leak and I had to drain it while he was at work (yuck). Iām hoping this puts him one step closer to rehoming it.
Another good side effect of incipient downsizing is Iām being a LOT more fussy when it comes to what I bring into the house now. Iām like, am I just going to have to sell/donate/toss this in 6 months?
I still bring about 1 bag a week to goodwill, although after reading about them online recently, Iām going to switch to my local humane societyās thrift store. Turns out that goodwill isnāt really helping peopleā¦
^ A big āwoot!ā to the eBay cash!! And all your other good work.
Iām ready for some fall spruce up and clean out. NEED H to tackle the garage/shed with me. He needs to be coaxed to part with some of his crap!!!
Goodness, why? Is he really really special??
My husband was on a job last week that required excavation - they uncovered numerous bottles from the 1800ās so he put them aside and brought them home. As I am looking them up on ebay and telling him what they sell for he gets excited so Iām thinking āGreat - letās get them out of hereā. Then he informs me theyāre not for sale because they are, and I quote, āmy special thingsā. LMAO - what doesnāt kill me makes me stronger!
We watched the eclipse in a small town that had a concession area set up for hot dogs, snow cones, viewing glasses, and t-shirts. DH did not buy a t-shirt. Iām counting that as my bag for that week.
We have some appliances and leftover building materials to go to the Habitat store or the metal recycler (if the Habitat says they are not accepting such stuff).
My S hasnāt lived at home for at least 5 years post college. He will unlikely live at home again. When he moved into an apartment he took most of the furniture. We repainted and put in new carpet but we never did his closet. It is a walk in and still has a lot of stuff. I cleaned out the obvious stuff. Snow boarding clothes that no longer fit in a pile for a friend. Dried up art supplies to the trash. His middle school pack pack with a large hole in the bottom to the trash along with an old beat up bike helmet. The hanging bar is now empty. The drawers have some stuff that he and his fiancĆ© need to sort through. The shelves are where I really need him to look. He has boxes of books, baseball cards (a few years ago I recycled huge box loads of cards), boxes of art supplies and some poster size prints from college. He has a BFA so some portfolio items and the supplies. I also have a big Rubbermaid container of things he brought home from college. I really need to pin him down to pick up his things.
I really need to get D1 to tackle her closet and room.
Where I struggle is I have a large house with just H, me and the dog. I really donāt have a need for them to clear out their stuff. Itās not like we are using the bedrooms for anything.
@VeryHappy - he was top of his class but the emails were probably from giving his email address during the ACT or PSAT? I imagine most kids got the same - but read and deleted them.
Not checking that contact box on standardized tests will save a lot of junk coming into the house - as well as some trees.
Iām setting the timer and spending 20-30 minutes here and there straightening out our tool area in the basement. Itāsā¦humbling.
Clearly, weāve been so unorganized and untidy that we pick up something at the hardware store without realizing we already have 2 of them in the basement. Iām finding a lot of multiples.
Iāve thrown out a LOT. Donated some. Put almost a dozen paint cans in the garage with lids open to dry out. Made fun of myself for thinking Iām going to āuse this somedayā. It helps if I imagine we are going to move to an apartment.
^^Yep. I finally organized my basement shelvesā¦which have a lot of accumulated stuff from remodels and rentals. H doesnāt remember he already has the part, then he buys 2 while heās in town because he doesnāt want to go back if itās not enough. Hence, 20 caulking tubes of Blackjack roof repair, etc.
We have decided to sell the house about 2 years earlier than planned, due to some circumstances that make time of the essence. I have about 2 weeks to do 2 months worth of workā¦all while working and watching a baby.
Antique buyer is coming, painter is coming, plumber, appraiser, and realtor. All next week. Going to be Labor Weekend, alright
Oh wow ā thatās a lot of stress, @sryrstress!!
I discovered a drawer full of old video tapes from the pre-DVR times. Mr. did not want me to toss them in the garbage because maybe some of them contain video recordings of the kids, pets, the valuable stuff. Sigh. There were maybe 20-30 2-4 hr tapesā¦ all clearly labeled junk, so who is going to sit fast forwarding them while staring at the screen? in the end, I won. Into the trash they went.
Husband agreed to go through the basement shelves with me. That should generate lots of stuff (will give to the next local church rummage sale).