I dropped off two huge bags of clothes and shoes tonight. I did a very fast impulse purge and might miss a few items at some point, but I was doing the winter summer switch and really want less of everything.
^ @1214mom - if only we knew people who wore our sizes and would appreciate the items, I think I would easily part with many more things in a heartbeat.
@psychmomma It would certainly be easier to get rid of a lot of things if we knew someone would appreciate them. I can certainly see in my family though that itās a burden to keep trying to match things to specific people. My mom is always trying to give me or her grandkids very nice things but not always what we would pick to have at the moment. And at the same time, I get stuck saving things of my own because I donāt know who to give them to. I have to keep reassuring myself that they will probably find a home if I send them off to a reasonably appropriate donation center. I need to keep this in mind right now as my house is stuffed with stuff!
With Thanksgiving coming up, I am renewing my efforts at decluttering. It has not been going too well trying to get it ALL done so I think Iāll go back to thinking of a bag a week and then maybe I can just talk myself into a little bit more. Today I got a bag of books out the door. There are still way too many that we donāt need or really even want, but I feel good that I didnāt stop until I could find time to do the whole job (which would require consulting other family members). I just picked one cloth bagās worth of books that seemed really obviously ready to go. I sold them for a $15 credit at the local new and used bookstore and put the two books they didnāt want into a bag thatās going out tomorrow to a charity shop.
Oddly they didnāt take the books I would have thought most popular. They said they actually already have a couple of those titles in stock, but they took some less current things.
oh, and it was less than a bag, but I did get rid of some food yesterday that was just way too old! Itās weird how some things we used to eat all the time we just stopped wantingā¦Oldest one was ābest by 2014.ā
I hate throwing out food but all I can do is vow to be more careful about what we buy in the future.
Iāve had more than a few bags a week in the last couple weeks: The CA power outages forced me to get rid of refrigerator/freezer contents. While I hated to toss everything, in some ways is was somewhat refreshing to just toss that fish sauce that I used for one recipe, the olives from I canāt remember what, the bags of frozen strawberries that thawed, etcā¦a good cleanse is how Iām looking at it.
I, too, am vowing to be more mindful in my food shopping.
Went to a girls getaway weekend and we all took a bag of old costume jewelry. Repurposed into some lovely artā¦but much more of my jewelry went out than came back in.
While I was gone, H (Finally!) went thru his closet and purged two bags of clothes. I would have done much more, but itās a startā¦
Husband got a scanner yesterday morning and has gotten rid of a few pounds of papers already.
My cleaning young woman had asked me to clean my make up tray. I took everything out and only kept the items I use or should use. Those went into little straw baskets, each sorted by class. There were many eyeshadow kits, never used, probably given as gifts or part of a package. Also, lipsticks in red and darker colors. My cleaning woman was thrilled to fill a bag.
Knowing she was happy, it was easy to give her more items, like facial creams, etc. win, win
Needing to know the person you are giving stuff away to is a trap many of those who desperately need to declutter fall into. If you donāt want it, donāt know someone IMMEDIATELY who wants it, just give it to Goodwill or some equivalent service. Be done with it. Clear your home and your mind of it. Or have someone like my mother in laws cleaning lady who would enthusiastically thank her for offered things, load up her car with it and proceed post haste to Goodwill! We were very grateful for her playing this game with my MIL.
Iām re-discovering mid-century items, I stored long ago. Ok, defeats the purpose of this thread, but Iāve placed them out to be enjoyed again. Am I āhipā now? 
Iāve done an offset by a recent pantry cleanout. Anyone have a term equivilent to ācarbon offsetā applied to downsizing?
I call it āshop your homeā when you āredecorateā using things you already have in your home.
I agree that you cannot get stuck on the idea of giving your clothing, etc. to someone you know. Most likely more people you DONāT know need your donations than people you know. Itās just stuff - give it up! (hey, a new rhyme!!)
One thing I try to do this time of year that is not exactly āa bag a weekā material is a clean out of the cupboards and our FREEZER. So.Much.Food we accumulate sometimes! In preparation for the holidays and needing room in the freezer for December Christmas cookie storage, I use November as a time to NOT buy any groceries beyond produce and to use up all the items, half bags of food, etc in the cupboard and freezer. A few pieces of chicken or some frozen marinara can be turned into some type of dinner for us!
Donated two bags of winter clothes!
Got rid of SO many bags this week. Made the kids go through the basement area where they dumped things on college returns (both are done). Went through mostly clothing but also some decor and stuff. Got D down to one plastic storage bin and S to his one dresser! Me, too. Finally got rid of all the clothing i bought when I was heavy plus anything I was wishy washy about.
FEELS GREAT!
@bookworm, at Christmas, one of my presents to my step-daughter is a bunch of Clinique stuff I get in the bonuses that I donāt use, and various samples of perfume, makeup, etc. Itās one of her favorite presents.
Iām also working hard on the pre-holiday clean out of food by eating whatever is in the freezer, fridge, or pantry. It can almost feel like a game of trying to buy as little food as possible to make meals out of what we have. Some strange combinations have to happen though!
@gosmom Itās sad to lose good food from a power outage but yes, it is a way to have a clean sweep and a fresh start. You can throw out a bunch of things without feeling guilty about not using up those old condiments.
Another sweater just went in the consignment box, and a second one is teetering on the precipice.
I did a fall drawer/closet sweep today. Bag and a half of throw away stuff and another bag for donating.
Iāve started a new habit.
My laundry is in the basement, as are the tools. Everytime I go down to the basement for something or other, I bring up one useless item thatās been sitting there since we moved in and I get rid of it.
Thatās it ā just one item.
Great idea @veryhappy ! My last area to tackle is the basement non-clothing area. Grandmomās teacup collection, extra curtains and towels and sheets, old frames or art I donāt want anymore, that sort of thing. Some of it has to be done all at once but some of it would definitely work with the one at a time upstairs ideaā¦