We put a large addition on our house 19 years ago. We moved some things to my office basement that never made it back home. H has not missed the years of weekly sports magazines or high school papers, most likely he forgot they were there. So this week, 10 banker boxes to the office dumpster and 2 SUV loads to Goodwill of seasonal decorations I haven’t used in 10 years, framed puzzles, lots of misc that isn’t total junk, and a large box of H’s pants from 1993 that he will never fit back into (he still has 8 pairs saved at home for when he loses weight). Office basement looks great, home basement not so much.
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My mother used to declutter a lot and have a pile of things for me on her couch when I visited … for “give away”, but sometimes I kept them . But she was also big on sorting out and discarding old papers. She would weigh and send me an email, “I went through xyz files and discarded 12 pounds of paper today”.
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@Colorado_mom paper is surprisingly heavy! I’ve got rid of a bunch lately. Never thought to weigh it though.
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Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be a Goodwill worker and have to sort through all the stuff we dump at their door? I mean, some is so worthwhile and sellable and maybe organized in some way. But so much is probably stuff that should have been trashed to begin with and or dirty/smelly and/or such a job to sort through.
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I watched once as Goodwill dumped brand new stuff of mine in a dumpster. I went and retrieved it. Not a fan. I still take some stuff there but look for other outlets.
Oh, I’m sure it is a PAIN to sort through the items. And I have dropped of a lot of stuff of mine and my mother’s - it was a godsend when I had to clean out her apartment. That’s why I intentionally throw in a few nice items that will be good finds (possibly easy to sell elsewhere), hopefully to be a win/win for purchaser and fundraising.
A friend’s developmentally disabled daughter works part time at ARC thrift. Her favorite job is to take the baby clothes and sort by color.
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My motto is: Paper is the enemy of clean. I allow almost none to come into my home.
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How do you manage account statements, health records, souvenirs? I am not making enough progress in reducing these types of paper.
S continues to clean out. I have another pickup scheduled for next week!
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Can you be more specific? My bank account statements are all only electronic. I don’t get paper copies. So are my health records other than my COVID vax card which I have tucked away with my passport. What sort of “ souvenirs?”
Ty, maps from trips, odd trinkets.
Accounts, good point, i could scan more and shred. Have a couple of bins of papers, letters, from single days.
Then there are some papers from kids’ school days, misc. medical records.
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I have one box. One. For r each kid where I put a few school things, artwork, first spelling test, stories written) . I have one box (ONE) for a few other things ( meaningful cards or notes). If the boxes gets full something has to go. These few boxes sit on a shelf of one closet. They don’t overtake my home.
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I kept way too much kid schoolwork etc. But as I cull it down, it has brought me great joy to walk down memory lane bit by bit. Still have too much. Thinking about taking the most precious items and putting in the hope chest. That way when we move someday, the other stuff can get quickly trashed.
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My brother bought a chest and had it personalized with my Mum’s WRAF nickname, Monty. He has mementos of her in that. I keep meaning to do the same. It’s very special.
May be something to do with kids mementos too.
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I was getting ready to give away a kid’s bookshelf (I gave away the matching one last year). My son called today and asked if we had something he can use, so off it goes to him. Happy to get another thing out of the house.
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I have a pickup scheduled for today. Mostly S’s stuff.
H, S and I emptied out the attic yesterday and I am putting some items on Buy Nothing. Already got rid of 2 items.
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I just wanted to come on here to be a cheerleader and encourage all of you to keep at it. I stayed with my college roommate in California last week, and the amount of, “stuff” she has is unbelievable to me. She is one of those people who has to buy stuff to organize her stuff. Her home is clean, and most things are organized quite well, but there is just so much of it. She still has her dress from our college winter formal from 35 years ago. And, no, it doesn’t fit her. Her dad is about to move into a nursing home back in our home state, and she is frantically letting her sister (who is the one on the ground prepping for that move in the home state) what stuff she wants from his house!! She will have to drive halfway across the country at some point to get it.
I do understand the emotional aspect. My parents have been deceased over 30 years. I know initially I wanted to hold on to things because they belonged to them. And, we actually used some of their furniture in our home as it was needed. I know this is kind of, “raw” for her right now, but your loved ones are not in those things. I now have maybe two or three small things that belonged to my mother and some of her jewelry (that I never wear). But this friend seems to have an emotional attachment to almost everything. It’s honestly a bit troubling.
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It wasn’t a bag but DD and SIL moved into a new apartment and I had them “shop the house” before they bought any new furniture. They took an entire bedroom set, old dining room set, sofa, recline chair with ottoman, coffee table and miscellaneous odds and ends 
Most was taking up space in the basement.
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Ha… me too! But I tried it on last month, and it actually does fit (maybe not as nicely as it did then, but it zipped up 
) I considered giving it away, but then I remembered my daughter used it once of a play. I’ll probably stash it with a box of my mother’s 1950s dresses because I found a BuyNothing contact that collects things for local theater groups.
Today I found a large shoe box with TONS of pens and pencils (traditional and mechanical in our daughter’s old room. Decided it was time for us to attack that along with the pen/pencil/etc drawer in the kitchen. Broken items are in trash, some things are set aside for giveaway (if I find a taker) … and happiness in my heart for the neater drawer. (But dang, then I saw a container of pen/pencils from my mom’s apartment cleanout - will attach that another day. ) The actual volume of declutter task was small, but it made me feel good to do it.
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Put a bunch of things on “Buy Nothing” yesterday and everything has been picked up except one item (someone will be coming by for it today). This was all stuff from our attic and it was mostly holiday stuff and kids stuff (sleds, a child size chair). Makes me feel good that someone else’s kids will use this stuff.
As for the college formal dress…I can beat that! I have VERY few clothing articles saved but I do have a dress I bought in 1976 for a fraternity formal. The dress was black and easily hemmed up or down. I wore it to multiple events as did friends from my dorm and sorority sisters. I wish that dress could talk. FWIW - it still fits!
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