Sounds like you need a firepit and some s’mores fixings, @psychmomma. We just burn our stuff.
^^ I wish we could!! We can get fined for burning stuff in our neighborhood.
We take important papers that need to be shredded to Office Depot and watch them shred all of it.
The papers are never out of our sight. As long as I actually see the shredding I am ok. They also offer
that you see them put them into a container that cannot be opened and when full automatically moves through a shredder. I still do any of my own office papers by hand for client privacy (just in case…)
That same estate I inherited part of - the father of the deceased was a well known psychiatrist. He had died many years ago, and his files (yes, I’m pretty sure they were patient records), were distributed among his kids to get rid of. Several of us involved took some portion to discard “appropriately.” We took the part we had to a free shred event. It’s kind of amazing the stuff that we used to just let float around with little concern for privacy.
I use a high-volume shredder every day, but I’m in love with the professional mobile truck events. You can stand and watch it be loaded and see it be shredded. Several banks and sometimes non-profits here have the trucks on “customer appreciation days” and for fundraisers.
I’m also a fan of burning, but not so much for papers, because one has to feed the fire papers fairly slowly or they don’t burn well.
We have a mobile truck service in our City, Vancouver. It’s great! not allowed to burn at ALL. in fact no new houses are allowed to be built with actual fireplaces just gas inserts
@mom60 - I’m not sure if there is a good response really. I mostly just live with it but every now and then it all bubbles over then I vent - having someone listen helps my sanity if not the situation.
This morning I did fill another big black sack and the remaining half of a white kitchen bag with stuff from the hallway closet, the bathroom closet and medicine cabinet (found betadine that expired 2004!), and a bunch of craft stuff and a couple of old pieces of clothing. I was thinking that starting on the closets may seem a bit odd but we have large closets filled with junk we have not used in years (decades maybe in some cases) while there is nowhere to put things we do actually use. It was very icy here this morning and I slipped while taking the 2 bags out and one finger and a knuckle are pretty bruised (can you sprain a finger?). Hoping it doesn’t hamper my bagging efforts while I’m on a roll! It certainly hampered my attempts to use chopsticks at the Shabu restaurant my SIL chose when we took them out tonight to celebrate his birthday!
I’ve filled 4 big black bags this week. One already in the bin, 2 going to work with me today to the dumpster, one to go. Hardly makes a dent but I am feeling like I’m making a start. I’m being a bit random and not methodically clearing an area at a time - maybe later. I do find I am becoming more ruthless about tossing things which is good.
I’ve actually come across a couple of things I completely forgot we even had that I do love and will now be put in use instead of being buried in a cupboard (I think a couple if paintings were shoved in a cupboard when we first moved here while we decided where to hang them and got forgotten and buried). One, a painting of an old English frigate on wood (not a crafty thing - hard to describe but it’s really lovely) , I was absolutely thrilled to find.
Opinions - when I started on the latest huge cupboard (may soon have a place to put the vacuum when not in use 
), I came across the old central vac and it’s huge tubing and accessories. I always hated that thing - so cumbersome - and haven’t used it in decades (I stopped using it long before it was interred under piles of “stuff”). My inclination is to dump it. But I’m hoping we might sell the house in a year or so. Do people still use those?
@swimcatsmom - Save the central vac parts. If you chuck them now, you can just about guarantee that the potential buyers will learn that the house is equipped for this, and wonder where the parts are.
Keep the central vac stuff. We have two central vac hoses…and the unit. It works just fine. But I use a Shark Rocket.
Nevertheless…I’m keeping yhe central vac stuff…and do use it occasionally.
Thanks so much - after my initial thoughts of chucking it I started kind of thinking along those lines which is why I came to the best place for advice. It just takes up so much space! I hate the thing - weighs a ton (even if I liked it, which I don’t, I can’t get to the receptacle in the garage to empty it). I will keep it though.
Thumper - I have a shark rocket I bought a few months ago - absolutely love it. So light and quite effective. I was shocked how much dirt was lurking in out carpets (thought that may have been cause I hated dragging out the heavy hoover). I vacuum a because it is so nice and light. May drag out the heavy duty for a deep clean sometime. It is actually going to have a place to store it out of sight pretty soon!
Welll…once you can can get to the canister in the garage, you may just USE that central vac yourself. Or at least, you can put up some hooks, and hang the hose out there…for the next owner!
oh, that’s a good idea! Doubt I will ever use it myself cause it is soo heavy but hanging it out by the canister get it out of the cupboard but make it still available if the next owner wants it.
My bag this week went to D, who was home for a rare visit and shopped in my closets and cabinets. Win win!
Through NextDoor I read about a family that gives collected items to the homeless every other weekend. Dropped off 2 sleeping bags, a blanket and some clothing. A stack of games, a box of office/art supplies and a bag of shoes (heels, etc. that won’t work for the homeless) all went to Good Will. Discovered two stacks of magazines dating back to 2010 so those went into the recycling bin. Feels so good when I get things OUT of the house!
The first church rummage sale of the year is coming up, so the boxes that have been sitting in the basement waiting to get donated will go this week! Also, a couple of husband’s old suits just got added to that pile.
I have been sorting winter hats/gloves/scarves today. Our local church has a spring sale but I can drop off anytime…may do that.
You are all so good with sorting and donating things. I’m just tossing things right now. Maybe when I feel like I’ve made some headway I’ll look more at donating things. My husband actually said something yesterday about taking the clothes I’ve bagged and listed in the last few years (only to find they never made it out the house and are buried under the rubble in the huge den that is his space). If he does I may start sorting.
I had not been very productive last week because of long hours at work but the thread popped up in parent café so this morning I stuffed the rest of one bag I had started on last week and filled another to bring to the work dumpster. The dumpster was full to overflowing! Turns out the boss bough a new dishwasher for the office kitchen area and the old dishwasher and it’s box were in the dumpster along with the normal weekly rubbish. I thought I was going to have to bring my stuff home but after taking the big box out and tearing it up and smushing it I managed to make space for my 2 bags. I arrived at my desk a little worn out I-)
@collage1 I love the idea of taking things like blankets and sleeping bags to somewhere they will actually be of use to someone.
My husband isn’t “eager” to donate clothes either…or toss them.
- For things that are really trash, I cut the sleeves off or whatever.
- For donations...I just don’t tell. The stuff goes into my car...and gets donated. No second chance looks.
I should add…my DH is not a hoarder…and usually this isn’t an issue. But I have found that the faster things get OUT of the house…the more likely they are to actually GET out of the house!