Not quite a horder - decluttering
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Zills--great article, thanks for sharing! I have some of all of that kind of clutter.
Ruffled sox, definitely ruffled!
MinusTwo--The DSW program sounds great!
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I didn’t know about that program. I’ve got some cute shoes I’ll never be able to wear again. I’ll have to look into those HOKA shoes.
Big puppy chewed my Merles. Brain fog but you know the brand. I’ve been making do.
This afternoon the girls are going to try ontheir outfits and see if theres anything else they can wear.
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Organization in progress!
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NICE!!
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Wow! I’m avoiding my closet. The bigger the mess the easier to hide presents. Her bday is 3/17. I’m hoping my bathing suit is in there. How do you lose a suit?
She came away with three other outfits.
A nightgown with pantaloons. Where would I find a nightcap or make one? I’m not a seamstress. Duct tape is my friend
A 70 year old communion dress and she knew her.
A flower girl in the same shade and fabric as my baby blanket.
My ex came over and helped kids clean the garage. I didn’t even look in the bin.
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Hi. You gals are on fire with good ideas. I'm heading to the thrift store with extra dishes. I have recently turned my china cabinet into storage for my Inuit Art books. My husband calls it "The Arctic Shelf".
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Varga, great tidying!
Heather, years ago, I also repurposed my so-called china cabinet, what I referred to as a hutch. The upper part had three arched glass doors and two long shelves. I never came across any special dishware I liked to display in it, so using a hot glue gun, I pleated a red-berries-on-white fabric on the inside of the glass to look like curtains. Then I stashed old and new checks, photographs, cookbooks, stamps, envelopes and return address lables, birthday, sympathy and thank you cards, ect. I had a computer hutch nearby but it had little storage space, so the disguised hutch worked out well and no one knew what the heck was behind those glass doors!
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Now that is clever!
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Wow what a great reinforcing gift to do what you are doing!!!
I dropped off 3 big boxes and 3 large trash bags for donation. While it took over 2 months to collect it all and get it out of the house, still it is very satisfying.
Gumdoctor
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The school where my kids went, and where I now substitute is no longer taking boxes of books. However, some of the teachers said they will take bags of books if I bring the bags directly to them.
Art teacher takes the big bottles (like protein powder) directly. (Our town no longer accepts.)
Kindergarten teacher is taking clam shells for an art project. (I love stuffed clams and scallops.)
Local Whole Foods is taking books for a literacy project.
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Check with your county jail as a destination for paperback books. Often, they accept paperback books for their library for the inmates. Typically, no hardback books as they can become weapons
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When I was trying to get rid of lots of books the local National Kidney Foundation chapter was the only charity who collected in my neighborhood who would pick them up. I’m a voracious reader and my sister garage sales in a two college town, so I always have sacks & sacks of books that she picks up for a quarter a piece.
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Teka- deer is learning tips from you. Also looks hungry!
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Teka--nothing like having an audience while you are cleaning!
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My decluttering and organizing leads me to see old spaces with fresh eyes. Just got this new small rug to replace a very old one. Absolutely love it. I think my kitty, Baby Sydney, does too.
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i ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ this picture! The cat is a beaut!0
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Gumdoctor, that's a pretty reading nook! Does the cat let you sit there once in a while? 😊
I wish I could have a cuddly cat, but due to allergies, our cats have to be outdoor kitties. One of them is still very spoiled and loves to be with us when we're outside, but we don't have a lap cat.
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MuddlingThrough,
This chair is in our favorite room in the house, the sunroom. If I get to the chair first, they actually take turns for lap time with me in this chair. I have 5 and they all take turns. 2 of them will often share the same space. Hilarious. These kitties help me stay sane through MBC.
4 of 5 are shelter kitties. But I am very sure I need them more than they need me.
Gumdoctor
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Gumdoctor: that’s a lovely chair in a lovely room. Thank you for rescuing the kitties.
My family had cats when I was growing up but I’m now allergic to cats. I can only admire them from afar.
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Mominator,
Thank you for your kind words. I cannot imagine not being able to have my kitties due to allergies...I did have mild allergy to them years ago and did injections for 2 yrs. Tested years later and not allergic anymore
I have tackled a few things in the house since I last posted...this morning I went through all my belts...have been a belt collector (apparently) my whole life...who knew???
I am keeping 24 (for now)...and getting rid of over 50...huge pile...opens up more space for better things like clear space...more breathing room...whatever...
Feels like a great accomplishment.
Gumdoctor
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Gumdoctor--I giggled at your belt collector comment, then realized that I have just as many scarves! We all collect odd things, don't we?
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The sad thing about my belt collection is that none of them fit anymore as I really no longer have a waist. Scarves are better because they don't scold you.
My collection problem is handbags. It's not that I match them to anything, but that I'm always searching for the perfect one. I get one and use it for a while, then look for a better one. My current bag is the small 3 zipper vertical crossbody bag and I'm looking for something slightly larger so I can fit in a sketchbook and perhaps a small paint box. I have a 5 x 8 plastic bag that is large enough to hold everything I need for small paintings outdoors or in a coffee shop.
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“Scarves are better because they don't scold you.“
Great line, Wren!!
I have lots of clothes in my closet that are scolding me.
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Wren--I hear you about always looking for the "perfect" bag and I'm beginning to think that it doesn't exist! I want/need different things at different times, and that makes it hard. My current favorite bag doesn't really match anything, but that is part of what makes it fun for me. Love the scarves don't scold comment!
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Wrenn - I love purses. What about a small-ish messenger bag that would hold a sketch pad and paints as well as the other essentials? I used to carry the smallest purse possible, but since I need glasses for distance I am on the hunt for a slightly larger purse so that I can carry my glasses with me when we attend shows or sporting events.
So now that I have messenger bags in mind, I might look for one - something cool looking - thinking canvas because I am always searching for the "healthiest" product.
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That's a good idea Kale. In the summer I need a larger purse for my sunglasses. It is just too bright driving into the sun with only the clip on kind. Actually I have driven with the clip on sunglasses over the regular sunglasses. I'm far enough west that I'm always driving into the sun in the afternoon. I have a small messenger bag from Sherpani that I found at a consignment store. I also have a big quilted bag with pockets inside that might work.
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What in the world to do with all the pictures? My parent's wedding, my Mother growing up, my Dad's first Model T. I have one male child who has no children and isn't interested in the 10/12 albums of his own childhood, let alone all the pictures of my childhood. He might like one or two pictures. One brother is deceased (and I have all his pictures to deal with). The other brother isn't interested & has one son who has no children & doesn't even want one picture. It makes no sense to spend the time/money to convert to digital since no one but me even wants to look the pictures, but it just seems criminal to toss all these loved memories.
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MinusTwo--does the town where your Mom grew up have an historical society? Many small towns have an Historical Society or a person who acts as town historian, and they often love getting pics like that,especially if the pics can come with any info like about what year, or a family name. Amateur genealogists often go to such places and use pics like that in their research.
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Old pictures - I like Native Maine's idea about donating old pics to a historical society. If that doesn't work, I would pare down the number by going through them and choosing a sample of pics I wanted to keep for myself and tossing the rest. I have gone through some of our old photo albums from when I was a kid/teen and the first few years of marriage and saved a sampling. However, we still have tons more from the most recent 20 years. Eventually, we will throw out more pics because I do not think our daughter will want them.
I recently threw out old high school yearbooks. I saved my senior year, tore out a few pages from my junior and sophomore years and tucked them into my senior yearbook. I graduated 30+ years ago and have not looked at them much even in the last few years when trying to place a familiar name/face when perusing facebook. I saved my senior yearbook in case I go to another reunion and need to memorize names/faces to avoid embarrassing situations when I can't remember somebody.
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Kale, love your reasoning behind saving your senior yearbook!
I’m a big fan of using photo boxes. Each one holds well over 500 photos (4x6s or 3x5s), and they stack neatly in a small space. I even went to far as to divvy the pictures into four boxes this way: 1st box, photos of the years when dh and I were first married until ds was about 5 years old; 2nd box, pics from about ds’s 6th year till he became a teenager...all these pics include all the family gatherings, ect., 3rd box, the rest of the years till ds went to college. Since then, I take and print much fewer pictures due to the digital and social media age. My 4th box contains what I call archival photos, those black and white ones of parents, grandparents and even a few of dh and I back in the day.
I took a couple days to sift through and toss pictures into each box, (also,threw some away) but wasn’t looking for perfection. Just followed general guidelines, that way if I’m looking for the one of dh in the high school band, I know what box to start looking in, or if its one with ds wearing the I love Mommy bib, I look in the first box.
Photo Albums are harder to store since they are bulky and different shapes and sizes, so I went through most of them, took the pictures out, put them in the boxes and threw the albums away. I kept only a few albums in tack. I kept only a few 5x7 and 8x10s and they’re in a folder.
Here’s what it looks like. Over 2,000 photos take up only two shelves in this narrow red cabinet. Dh uses the upper two shelves for guitar books and other music miscellanea.
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