I use a similar approach. As long as it results with stuff moving out the door weekly, it’s a good thing. Of course someday when I need to do serious downsizing it will be just the more cherished items that are left.
Part of my approach would horrify neat freaks. During some of the larger efforts I’ve made piles of potential give away items in the upstairs hallway (lots of floorspace, overlooks family room) or in the living room (a couch cuts it into sitting space and wide walkway to front door. Bit by bit many items go off to donations while others go to a logical location for use (or a grouping of similar items in the basement for future further culling).
I found our college yearbook online a few years ago; ours was tossed decades ago. It may be worthwhile to do a search for yours, too.
I saved the formal senior photos of H and me and emailed them to our kids. S got a kick out of looking through more pictures online with me during a visit. The hair and clothes drew a lot of comments. He’d never seen his dad with long hair and never imagined seeing me in hip-huggers, a midriff halter top and buffalo leather platform sandals (a candid shot taken during a spring term.) It was the '70s after all.
H took three boxes of books to a local thrift store on Friday and will have another one ready to go this week. The bigger items (bed, desks, chairs, lamps) we’ve passed along to some Ukrainian refugee families. By next week we should be ready to call the donation coordinator about a dining table and chairs, plus a few boxes of miscellaneous linens and housewares.
With the help of Google translate, H talked to a couple of people when they came to pick up. He told them they were doing him a favor so he didn’t have to haul stuff on his truck.
Colorado_mom - I do almost the same - put the give-away pile near the front door so I can’t miss it (sometimes there for a day or two) then load into trash bags (that I label “animal shelter” “goodwill”) and load inot my car. My motto -make it easy to do!
I have all of my yearbooks including the ones from college. Haven’t looked at them in ages but would never get rid of them.
Fun fact: in addition to my HS yearbooks from the early 1970’s, I have my Dad’s yearbooks from the same school (he graduated in 1950). My parents had my grandmother’s (dad’s mom) yearbooks from the same school (early 1920’s)! My grandmother’s yearbooks were the only thing I wanted from my parents house but were accidentally thrown away by my mom (who had Alzheimers).
My dad at one point was getting rid of his college yearbooks but I luckily was there and saved them. They are so neat. The humor and captioning was so fun (and SO different from other yearbooks over the years). Had a lot of history attached. Glad he hung on to them.
I have my dad’s yearbook - from probably 1935 or so??? But the thing is, it’s a soft cover, probably 40 pages or something. All mine, all 4 years of high school are hard cover a couple hundred pages! Much more to store.
I rarely look at mine. I don’t do reunions.
This weekend we were in the attic looking for something and we found a big plastic bins of the kids old “favorite” tshirts. 2 of my kids were home and they combed through that box. It was quite hilarious. They took pics of themselves wearing their fav tshirts from when they were like 8. My son and his tank tops he was addicted to because he was always hot and my daughter in her high school musical tshirt which is now a tight crop top!!!
I do this. I find the best way is to actually drag everything out, get rid of stuff and reorganize what’s left. It makes a big mess at the beginning but then I know what I’ve got and think I get rid of more for my efforts. I usually wait until H is GONE for a couple days so I can sort in peace.
gouf78 - I did watch some of Marie Kondo’s YouTube videos and adopted a few of her folding techniques. It does make sense - and I’m probably following a few of her guidelines while not thinking about it consciously.
I’m just v. motivated to clean out as a step toward next life stage (downsizing, etc.!).
My piles in the big recent cleanup (crawl space, kid bedroom closets) were out for a few weeks before vacation (growing over time) then a few weeks after vacation. Now some has been donated, some has been repurposed (yay - the 2 low book cases fit under a desk/counter, perfect for travel info), a few things back into rooms awaiting more attention …. and MANY empty storage bins gathered to same corner of the basement. I just needed time to think on things.
You are right. While I support using a room or hallway for sorting and maybe temporary (a couple of days) of wait time, this neatnik does NOT want to see stuff hanging out in used living areas!!! To me, if it’s sorted it goes out in the car - or garage next to the car - the car is the thoroughfare to the donation shop!!!
Sounds like my situation too. I think my mom threw away some stuff as her dementia progressed. I know she tried to get rid of a fig leaf platter I made in pottery class. Luckily I snagged that one. But there are some things that none of us seem to know where they are. My guess is she tossed them.
I do like having the old yearbooks and photos. But a lot of those are online, now, too. Still it is cool to hold the real thing in my hands. We had my parents’ yearbooks and I think my grandmother’s too.
The thing is, one can be a neatnik but live with someone who is not. Therefore “bag a week” thread still is pertinent in their lives.
This happened this weekend. I brought a light fixture down from the attic that I discovered when up there. I told H, we will never use this boob light in any house we own - I’d like to get rid of it. He said “sure, I’ll put that in my next box to go to the animal rescue thrift shop” - and then he promptly put the light back in the attic! Not ok! Out of sight out of mind! Put the light in the trunk of the car with the box of other stuff and it’s out of the house and more directly on a path to the thrift shop!
I did the thrift shop thing when getting serving items for a family wedding. Saved a ton of money – much cheaper than renting! Easy to re-donate, though I’ve kept some items for niece/nephew/son future celebrations
A staging area is SO useful! My H doesn’t get why a room is a mess, yet I’m making progress. Gotta sort through and cull effectively to really declutter!
