Well the device return was a failure. We have always returned devices to Amazon with no problem. We set up a return for an old ipad with Apple instead. They estimated $70 trade in value. The device was in perfect condition (just old). The got it and evaluated it and claim the screen is damaged and will only give us $10. I said no thank you and they will be returning it. I guess I will now try trading it back to Amazon. Lesson learned!
I tried on every pair of pants in my closet and I am getting rid of about half of them (donāt fit, worn out, ridiculously out of style).
I also filled up a bag of documents for next weekās library shredding event.
Iām about to put on Freecycle my younger sonās viola that he played in elementary school.
(Did I mention that heās currently 31 years old?)
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Last week, I took care of something Iāve been meaning to do forever. Our family Apple ID got messed up, so we are finally separating to our own. And while doing that, I FINALLY deleted all my useless contacts. Years ago, the phone store guy did something so my contacts contained every single person my kids or I have ever texted, emailed, or had as a Facebook friend. I had over 1000 contacts. I had EIGHT entries for a kid who was last in my Sā class in 7th grade. (S is 22!) I had multiple entries for a guy who died years ago. Any coach I ever texted for a swim meet was there. I retired in 2013. But itās a PITA to delete contacts and I didnāt want to download a third party app (thatās how the AppleID got messed up in the first place). It took almost 2 hours, but itās all cleaned up now. Iām down to 100!
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Looking for ideas here. H is ā¦umā¦quite the pack rat when it comes to magazines. Specifically, car magazines. We have HUNDREDS. Lately heās been bitten by a decluttering bug and is close to admitting they need to go! (Well many of them anyway). Heās done some researchā¦knows he could probably sell them, but just doesnāt want the hassle. And it makes him feel bad to just throw them out.
Ideas, short of the neighborās fire pit?
@JustaMom5465 Iām a member of our townās āBuy Nothingā FB site. Do you have anything like that in your area? Itās amazing what people will take when itās free! Or since theyāre all car-specific, maybe check to see if there are any car clubs in your area. How about a nursing home? Call your library? Your high school?
The problem with magazines (and believe me I have the same husband --) is that anyone can get anything on line these days. Plus, with cars, things get out of date. Good luck.
Perhaps check with the local vocation school auto repair program?
ebay has listings for individual car mags, which would be a pain - https://www.ebay.com/b/Automobile-Magazines/280/bn_42425975
Maybe offer a batch of them for cost of media mail shipping(?)
In pre-covid days, my library would have taken them. Itās tougher now.
After looking at some prices I might try e-bay but batch them. Worth a try and if it is a true pain then dump them and be done.
@VeryHappy ā to a car enthusiast they never go out of date!
@gouf78 you got that right! Heās sorted through everything and is keeping most of the 60ās and 70ās magazines. But the 80ās through current, he just isnāt that attached to. I like the idea of batchingā¦and youāre right theyāre not worth ānothingā! But, time is money soā¦
Iām actually re-reading OLD magazines rather than getting new. Some are old enough (and my memory poor enough), that is like reading new. āThis Old Houseā articles donāt change much! OHā¦ then recycling this time.
Here is a question - what about Raggedy Ann & Andy? I have a set of these that my mother made for me when I was a child. They are large-ish - maybe 20ā long? I have them in a tub. Ds never used them. Do I hold onto them for possible grandchildren? Iāve had someone suggest just putting them on our guest bedroom bed, but that really doesnāt jive with my decor AT ALL. Another friend suggested having a seamstress remove their stuffing and put in zippers so they would pack smaller. Then I could re-stuff them in the future. That seems like a lot of effort to me. Is any future grandchild that might come along really going to want to play with a Raggedy Ann and Andy?
I have another large tub of tchotchkes that belonged to my mother. My parents traveled a lot, and there are some interesting items in there, but, honestly, they are never going to be displayed in my home. They are all small. I think grouping small collections of things is pretty out of style these days. I know there are a couple of items In there I would I want to keep but not many. Iām trying to decide if it is worth the effort to cull through the Raggedy Ann and Andy (there are a few other things in there) and tchotchkes tubs to see if I can get them down from two tubs to one. My dh says not to. They both live under our bed, and he says itās not āhurtingā anything to have them.
@hoggirl, what did you decide to do about Ragedy Ann and Andy?
Iāve been home since last Friday, but from today until January 4th is my real āvacation.ā I feel like I should be decluttering some. Hopefully I can fill up at least a trash can or donate box or two.
@1214mom - I kept them. I have room, and I have kept little. My mama did make them. 
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I made the same decision on my similar Raggedy Ann and Andy. My mom also made mine. I have too much from my childhood, thoughā¦
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I have very few things from my childhood.
I make Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for baby gifts. Still have the first ones I made in college as well as S1ās. Not getting rid of them, but Iām shamelessly sentimental.
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I started decluttering and donating last year. Once the pandemic hit, I took it to the next level after deciding to focus on one room at a time. Two bedrooms have been cleaned, painted, redecorated, and stripped of everything nonessential. Many bags hit the trash can. Others went off to charities. Iāll be heading into another room after the holidays. Thanks for the inspiration; keep it coming.
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Ds has been here for a few weeks. I had him go through baby/young child items with me today. We didnāt have a lot, but we were still able to get rid of a few things. He has these silly coin proof sets that my uncle gave him each year for his birthday as he was growing up. Googling shows they have some value but not a lot. I wish I knew of a good way to get a little cash out of them. Who decided proof sets were good gifts???
I have two tubs under the bed that I need to go through. Mostly knick knack items of my motherās My goal is to consolidate those down to only one tub.
I also plan to disassemble dhās and my matted, framed diplomas, certificates, and licenses. They are stashed under our guest bed. We will never hang them.
We had entirely too much art hanging in our main bedroom, so dh took three pieces to his just opened, remodeled office today. I am much happier having less in there, and he needed something on his walls.
My ongoing nemesis is physical photographs. They are all organized chronologically now, but I have too many. However, itās unclear to me how much ROI I will get out of spending my time culling them further. I know everyone says to scan, but I have too many for that, so a purge needs to happen first. And some are in boxes and some are in albums. I really think the albums take up too much space.
The new year always spurs me to get busy. Once ds leaves, I will do my clothing. That is always easy and always produces some bags for sure.
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A few months ago I had to totally clean out two closets as part of a flooring project. I got rid of SO much and what went back in was very neat and organized. Fast forward to when the kids were home and looking for some old ski gear and I knew they absolutely were not in those closets which saved us a lot of time finding them!
This past weekend we were going through a different closet and DH finally gave the Ok to donate an old faux fur jacket of his moms (she passed away over 10 years ago but it was his to dispose of, not mine). I matched his donation by getting rid of three or for formal dresses that I donāt need or fit into anymore.
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