CD- I like that -sending it to “Chuck”.
D came home last week with several bags of clothing that she and her fiance are getting rid of. They are in NYC and it is harder to get rid of stuff there without hauling it around on public transportation. A pickup is scheduled for the 15th so I just need to organize/sort things.
Yesterday I went through the two bags of family documents that BIL gave me at Passover last year (and from which I have found useful genealogical research tidbits!). In the bottom of one of the bags was an edition of Hustler Magazine from 1981. I don’t EVEN want to know. Didn’t even take it out of the bag – wrapped the grocery bag around it and tossed it into the trash. Sorry I didn’t recycle! 
Nearly a bag a day this week! I got rid of a lot of clothes by using the Marie Kondo method. I could not actually put all my things on the floor, but I did take everything out and put it on the bed. I couldn’t do all my clothes at once, but I did do each category all at once–i.e. one day I did all socks/undies/pj’s swimsuits, then another day I did all pants/shorts/skirts. The question, does it spark joy? is pretty useful. Certainly some things seem a little below joy but more like “satisfying” or “reassuring” to have something decent to wear to work. But many many things felt so far from joyous that it was easy to put them in the giveaway pile. Anxiety, guilt, dismay were some of the less happy emotions some items inspired!
This thread is good inspiration. Each day, I force myself to put “at least one thing” aside for giveaway. Most goes to a big bag in the front closet. Books go with the pile of magazines for the next library run. It’s a slow process, but it gets me in the right mindset to give away more than I bring home.
Some days I only find one thing. Other days I get on a roll and gather up more. Today I got DH to sort thorugh shirts I had moved to another closet, and he gave 5 for give-away. I’ll try to Freecycle them because in the past I’ve found lots of takers for XL/Tall clothes.
I took 7 bags of clothes and 3 boxes of books to the Salvation Army on Thursday. It is always kind of depressing to see how much they simply bundle up to recycle as rag content. It depresses me to think of how much money I have wasted on clothing and things that have cluttered my life through the years. I haven’t read the Marie Kondo book, but my DIL has and has told me about it. Asking yourself if something sparks joy does seem to help in answering the “keep or discard” question.
Some things I spent money on were worth it at the time. Then you outgrow certain hobbies, or your decor seems outdated, or your kids outgrow things. Last Christmas, tho, I asked for very little. Wireless headphones that I use all the time. A lighted makeup mirror that I use every day. But no more piddly stuff that collects. No clothes, scarves, gloves. I am done buying into the commercialism of the holiday.
I also try to train myself to repurpose things rather than buy something first. Large Rubbermaid food containers hold dish towels. An small porch bench repainted and used for an end table. Once we took an sturdy old end table and bolted my son’s wooden sand box to the top, making it a sand ‘table’ since he was growing taller. He and the neighborhood kids loved standing around it playing and talking.
Miller - The sand table idea was brilliant. I used to hate all the sand in shoes and clothes.
I used to be embarrassed by how many bags I could accumulate to put out for trash collection once I started cleaning. Then I realized the church I serve has a dumpster that is emptied once a month and is usually nearly empty. So now I am taking the day before collection as a day off. Getting rid of junk and making sure the church’s dumpster fee is well spent :))
Working on dog toys and stuffed animals this week. Our last dog never destroyed a single toy or stuffed animal she was given; she used to mother them. We have bags and bags of them, all with sentimental value, according to D. Anyway, we started to sort through the bags yesterday–some we kept, some we gave to our new dog, and some we are donating. Lots of memories.
After 2 bags to Salvation Army and 2 boxes to Public Library last weekend, I am closing shop for this year. Have to leave things to throw away for the next year tax return. It does not take my H. of his “hook”. He has to take lots to the curb for the pickers every single week, no escape and that is AFTER our friends pick up the stuff in our garage. H. can do it continuously, no financial benefits for leaving his garbage for the following years.
H and I are on a HUGE get rid of move.
Many pieces of white melamine storage units are to leave and H is finally getting it that “if you do not know it is there then it might as well not be”.
MY Mantra. Does not matter how many hammers or how many cool kitchen tools you own --if they are buried then they may as well not be there.
So now he has a small tool storage unit and another nice but not huge storage unit. So this next few days we will purge and reconfigure. Our biggest problem is getting rid of the old stuff.
Have never done Freecycle but need to learn. Good enough stuff and very useable.
3 full bags to donate, 3 bags for trash. Probably should have culled out more, but now that the closets are clean, it’ll be a whole lot easier to go through them again to pull out more stuff to get rid of. Once the kids are back in college, I am going to make another sweep through the main part of the house. Still need to tackle the big projects of basement and garage.
We do curbcycle: put a larger item on the side of the street with a sign “free.” If it does not disappear within several hours, we take it back and deal with it. Usually if no one wants it, it goes to Chuck. 
Chuck clearly has a well-appointed house!
B, we are the last house on the end of a lane of 3 houses. I have done the “free sign” at my office (a couch took 1 hour to dissapear)
H! finally is on board to get rid of 5 large melamine units that have been our garage storage for 12 years.
I looked into Freecycle but am thinking putting a $15 on each will make them dissapear faster.
Our rehab place makes donations too difficult.
Freecycle is awesome. I got rid of 13 interior doors that, had I had more patience, I might have been able to sell. However posting them on Craigslist repeatedly was getting annoying, and I really just wanted them out of my house. (Well, garage.) When I put them on Freecycle, I had at least 10 inquiries.
gearing up to use either Freecycle or Craigslist (free items) to get rid of garage storage units. It will take someone 2 truck loads. Need to rally H and get them ready.
OK, a load to Goodwill that filled my car to the brim. Could not even take the dog to the local park as there was no
room for her. I see at least a few more loads as we clean out the garage.
We bought H a new rolling tool cabinet and another free standing one.
I looked in a drawer and found 4 measuring tapes with another 3 in the house. And then 2 sanders exactly the same and another 3 in a pile waiting to be sorted. Funny thing is that if one day I took some of these items and gave them away he would never remember a thing about them.
That is what I plan on doing if he does not step up…but in a few weeks.
I need to purge and renew our earthquake unit. It takes a lot of space in the garage. I hate how dusty it gets so splurged for a cover (think free standing closet but this is shelves) and hope to "beautify’ the garage. LOL
@oregon101 - What’s an earthquake unit? Inquiring minds want to know.
Gosh, a huge free standing metal shelf unit with many bins filled with food, flashlights, toilet paper, medications, shoes and blankets and everything that you might need to survive outside in bad weather for at least a week.
It is a lot. I have food from the army surplus (that needs to be renewed now) and dehydrated food, and water (you can now buy on Amazon, in little pouches). 4 sleeping bags and pads, a stove and a heater with propane. hmmm…
batteries and a handcrank cell phone charger. A tent. bungie cords, tarps to tape over the big windows if they break and it is rainy or cold and we can get into the house. The list is huge. Plus stuff in each car. I have failed with having things in my office, though.
I voluntered in the first wave of Katrina with the Red Cross. I never want to go to a center (also how do you get there?) and it is advised to be self supporting for your family and 2 neighbors for at least one week and so I have had it done about 90% for the last decade. But it needs to be purged and repacked and so on every few years.
The worse thing in that I do not know anyone’s cell phone #'s! I just cannot seem to remember them!
Also, really not a fun thing to have to focus on. I do have H watching that no car gets below 1/2 gas.
And cash in small bills in each car. We had $60 in $1.00 bills in the wheel well of a car we sold and forgot about…
I really do not worry but just figure we need to do what we can and hope for the best.