I’ve been sort of on the decluttering thing for the last four years since D went to college and made a few improvements but it has frankly been a start/stop/fizzle thing, and something that’s more idea than action. I spend too much time trying to strategize just WHERE to start on any given day and then find reasons I MUST do something else first and then my ADD tendencies kick in. Or I get fixated by a barrage of new and awful news online I just can’t take my eyes off of. But I seriously want to be free of tnis burden, from attic to basement and cultivate better habits. I mean, I have all the free time in the world now. The stuff, no matter how potentially useful or sentimental, or difficult to haul out, or hard to figure out how to safely dispose (half-dry paint? Ancient electronics?) is a drag on the spirit. Plus, (post-divorce) I’m dying to to make this old house adorable, just the way I’ve always imagined….and that’s not gonna happen until the clutter is out.
SOOOOO, for inspiration I’ve been reading here today and then I jumped right up to peer into the worst closet of the house (which I’ve been avoiding for longer than I can say…you know, the one some of us (undisciplined people) use to shove random stuff into in a panic when the need arises? Only to conveniently forget all about it? that one. In about 40 minutes I actually separated most stuff into “theme piles” to be investigated later . But not too much later because it’s all crowding my bathroom/laundry room where it shall remain, tormenting my ankles as I walk by till the last thing is dealt with. I already have two big bags in the garbage and one bag of nicer stuff for our pet shelter thrift shop …more questionable stuff will go to goodwill. I discovered a bag of nice Talbot’s sweaters with the tags still on (rare splurge for me) that I must have bought at the outlet near my D’s college sometime in the last couple of years. Instant fall wardrobe should the temperature ever drop! These new things should make it easier to purge some saggy old things. And now, my journey begins!
I took a full garbage bag of clothing/shoes and a box of household things to Goodwill today. I know a lot of people don’t like the idea of giving to Goodwill. I may prefer other places too (and sometimes do choose them) but also sometimes I just need to go with the simplest solution to getting it GONE. Goodwill is open 7 days a week and it’s an easy drop off, no questions asked, never have they said no to anything.
We also have a pet rescue thrift but their schedule is very on/off and I feel like whenever I am ready to drop off, they are not open.
I little step backward today, but I think I can justify it.
I joined the Buy Nothing FB page for my neighborhood thinking I’d follow @beebee3‘s good example of posting once in a while. First few posts I read, just to see how it works? I find a hollywood bed frame for free and I scooped it up! I was going to buy one on Amazon but this one will work. The guest room bed, which is only used by siblings spending the night or my daughter last month, has just been a mattress/box spring on the floor for many years now and this will get it 10” or so off the floor. Good news is that it appears to be new or very gently used. The donor also had a box spring but I don’t need that.
But now I’m afraid to look at the BN page for fear of finding other things.
It has been ages since I posted on this thread. Having to redo my kitchen has inspired me to go through all of my pots and pans. A pick up is already arranged for this weekend for 7 or 8 boxes of books. now I’ll be adding kitchen items. How does one accumulate so many items over a lifetime?
I have been having thoughts in the middle of the night about getting rid of stuff.
Hopefully I will make significant progress between now and spring. I have SO MANY CLOTHES that I just don’t wear. And still have lots of kid stuff here, that the kids will never want.
I try to cull down the kid stuff (especially since not sure if we will even have grandkids) a little here and there. For stuff we opt to keep for now (examples - foldable doll house, the beloved Tupperware stencils), I’ve been moving them over time to an area under the L-shaped stairs to the unfinished basement. My thought is that it is good to have the kid stuff condensed and grouped together. WIsh I could say that this goal is accomplished. Tis really just a work in progress as I’m a sentimental old fool.
In a cleanup years ago we kept a good wood kids rocking horse and rocking chair. DH stored them so well I never thought about them again. Fast forward. I got an almost identical rocking horse on buy nothing for the grandkids not remembering it. DH found them recently
Similar to this (see link). Designed to fit under a bed when folded. But my husband’s aunt (a surrogate grandmother) sent the kids LOTS of accessories, so collection not so compact.
Breast cancer picked up 19 boxes and some furniture today. So nice. I have to replace almost all my floors and the kitchen, so I am packing up. My son told me to give away his books, which includes probably every book a high schooler or college kid would read. Most books were mine. I use to think I’d reread them some day, but that hasn’t happened.
I’m trying to get rid of an expensive flea and tick med for dogs that our pup no longer uses. Just emailed a friend; if she isn’t interested, I have other options. We’ve been in this house 13 years and things are starting to pile up!!
Ugh. Building materials! After disposing of a ton (as weighed by the dump scale, lol) of odds and ends, my husband now diligently returns all extras to the hardware stores! And did I mention it cost $50 per each truck run to the dump?
I’ve been watching a lovely youtube channel - Space Maker Method:
April is so encouraging and kind. Really motivating to watch her space maker video series with different people/families and their journeys to decluttering.
I’ve been reading her workbook, again really motivating.
At dinner the other night my sister was saying all the people in her neighborhood were raving about their dumpsters. Her son asked why anyone would need a dumpster? Um, for all the crap from second grade and the dozens of lacrosse sticks in the garage (that might not even be legal for play) and tarps and rugs and crap from the pool storage shed. Sister and another guest admitted they have their daughters’ debutante dresses in the daughters’ childhood bedroom closets. No one will ever wear those dresses. But oh no, not getting rid of them. If my niece got married tomorrow and immediately had a baby girl, it would still be 18 years until this new baby would wear the dress which has already been in the closet for 16 years.
Other guests are redoing their home (FOUR new bathrooms) said their contractor brought a dumpster and they (the couple) filled it up so fast that the construction company had to get another one immediately. He said they also had 19 boxes of books picked up by a used book seller.
I donated my daughter’s prom dress to a local charity (they were specifically collecting prom dresses). However, I did it while the dress was still in fashion, so hopefully another girl got good use of it.
