Not quite a horder - decluttering
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Just got back from Thanksgiving with DS & DIL + 2 GS. DS says that DIL does not like to throw things away, so he periodically goes thru the cabinets and frig and tosses empty and expired food. He even goes thru her closet and throws away clothing with holes or is extremely worn. I warned DH that I would know instantly if he did that to my clothing.
I've been culling garments that are too large. If I love them, they go into storage. If I don't particularly like them, they go to Goodwill. I've lost 15lbs since DX, but I'm not confident they will stay off, so I keep the next size up. Two sizes up gets donated unless it has real sentimental value.0 -
So, I’ve been lurking your post and have decided to clean the kitchen cabinets. I’m trying to go through my clothes before the end of the year. I just don’t know how many to keep. I have heard 3 of each or 7 of each. Like 7-t-shirts, dress shirts, dress, etc. I have fat and thin clothes. I lost 30 lbs this last year and since TX begin have gain 13lbs back. I did find someone who can do quilts out of my favorite t-shirts. Any suggestions?0 -
I have gained so much weight since dx. It has been ten years now, but I was trying on clothes Sunday and really have to get serious about losing weight or I'm going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe.0 -
OK you ladies have been busy. I have done nothing much the last few weeks but did get rid of my dads MSU varsity jacket. My cousin came through on her way back to Atlanta and he son was covered in MSU stuff. So I went to the closet and pulled it out and it was just a tad big which is good. My dad would be happy and her son was crazy excited.
Got rid of all the extra dishes except my fiesta ware I use every day and my fancy stoneware that is discontinued I got in NM. One of a kind as far as I am concerned. Still have a ton of clothes I am going through slowly. They all fit but I am bored with them. 6 pair of the same style jeans is crazy. Isn't it?
I cleaned out my cupboards. They look really empty. There is space I did not know I had. I only have 2 or 3 of my usual 20 items each. Makes me see all the money I wasted STOCKPILING all these years. I always looked at this as my way of donating to the Food Pantrys once a year but there is a better way. There must be pills for this affliction!!!
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I am such a sucker. Last week I was bragging about cleaning out all my old spices in the kitchen cabinets. I was also thrilled that our Christmas decoration stash in the attic was reduced by 2/3 thanks to some strenuous donation motivation.
Then my SIL called last night. Her married daughter came over to help her clean and organize and ordered her to get rid of a bunch of sewing supplies. Apparently she has duplicates and triplicates of everything, including numerous machines... different makes and models.
Well, she offered to give me an Elna serger. For free. My friends have them, I'm not sure what I'll do with one, but I said yes. SUCKER!!!!!!
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I have been planning on a quilt for years and have a box of the cut t-shirts, then DS sends me a box of his for a quilt but I have just put it off. That would clear up two boxes from my sewing room. I should get it done.0 -
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FOR THIS TOPIC!And so timely for me. I can't seem to get motivated & failed the Fly Lady attempt. I did make myself a deal though:
For every new item that comes in, 3 old ones have to go.
This goes for clothes, office/craft supplies and makeup...3 of my worst clutter issues, though my BF/SO would disagree. He HATES "paper"...magazines, things to be filed, things to shred, etc.
He offered to help me clean up, so I took boxes and labeled them:
- Magazines
- Bills & correspondence
- Makeup / jewelry (smaller box with a divider in the middle)
- Clothes to keep
- Goodwill
- Sell
- Cat stuff
- To decide
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Meece, I have a wonderful friend (3x cancer survivor) who is a quilter & teaches classes. We got part-way through a quilt she coached me through when she moved out of state. I wonder if she does online classes...for fun...hmmmmm....
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Happy New Years dear cluttered friends.
Lookiing back on my year I think my resolutions must have been to catch up on every TV series made.
Have a lovely evening and a bright tomorrow.
Love Ginger
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Wishing all you a wonderful 2014 filled with health, happiness and decluttered houses.
Hugs!
Mandy
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We took a load of
craptreasures to the thrift store this morning (Dec 31st)... Does that count? Last minute tax deductions can be a great motivational tool....I am so proud of myself. We were looking for something in the Tuff Shed, when DH found boxes and boxes of old Martha Stewart, Cottage Living, Country Living, and Coastal Living magazines. Of course, I was saving them all for decorating ideas, recipes, craft ideas, etc. But now I have PINTEREST!
I looked at how much space they took up, and FOUR HUGE BOXES of magazines went straight into the recycling bin! WOOT!
Wishing all you Clutter-Busters a wonderful, clean, organized New Year!!!
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Speaking of decluttering. I lost all power and heat to my home for 5 days during the ice storm. Both my freezers and my fridge lost everything. All my frozen berries from the summer, all organic meats I had just purchased and tons of frozen veggies, ice creme etc. The estimate was about 800. I had to vacate my home and stay with a friend. When I returned to clean it was unreal how much I really had. Wake up call about food stockpiling. I have been so good at stopping the canned goods, boxed foods etc but neglected the freezers etc. Nature took care of that and I am now only using one freezer. I do not think I could have ever been able to eat all that food and forgot half of what was in there. New Years resolution. Done.
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Hahahahahaha!!! I so needed that. It is 1 here and it was -14b this morning. I usually feed the birds but they are not even out there.
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Teka, love your picture.
Hugs to all.
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That is hilarous!
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I failed to mention that during my stay (power outage) with the friend in her basement sleeping area I happened to look about. OMG she is a big hoarder. Clothes piled everywhere and books and stuff. Old furniture all over the place. Needless to say I could not breath well but it beat the power outage. She also had mice. Yup I set traps for her and killed 6. With all those hiding places she must have an army. She actually has a guest room but there is so much stuff in it you can not get the door open. Hoarders Buried Alive it is. When I got home and looked at all the decluttering I have done I was proud because it looked like that when I got here in 06. I still have more but wow was I pleased.
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Teka - Yup it made me come home and look at my basement rec room also called the storage room and want to declutter more. I have stuff down there in plastic bins and there are shelves that I have stacked with gadgets I have yet to use. Emeril Lagasse deep fryer, big ole roaster, green pans, crock pot...etc all new in boxes. I still have an extra set of cushions for my den sofa also. Maybe my plan to get a storage unit and put all that stuff in it is a good one. Just empty out what I want to keep. That is the room that gets damp with a few puddles. My contracter wants to gut it but I am more with the idea of cleaning it up. Washing the walls, removing old floor tiles etc and a good scrub. When I sell it I would not get any money extra for a finished basement. There is an old 3/4 bath down there I could fix up on the cheap and add a bathroom to my listing for this place. We will see. No mice thank God. Used to have centipedes like crazy but since the power outage and 35 degree temp in the house I have not seen one. Did they freeze?
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Hi Ladies!
Am new to this thread. Hoping to get support for a massive job.
I've lived where I am for 23 years and have to move!!! I am an artist and work with many media. So part of my "stuff" includes lots of materials for teaching, many boxes of paint, tile, tools.
I'm keeping those but have so many books, clothes in many sizes (always hoping I can get to my weight last year). Glad I didn't throw away my fat clothing, cause I'm in them now!
But seriously need to purge. Suggestions, please??? Ideas for making it easier. I found sorting through things hard because going through everything has so many memories that pop up. Haha... Then I get overwhelmed and stop. Think it is dealing with the past perhaps more than the actual sorting.
But decision making is hard! Spent so long debating about whether to throw away a beautiful vase that had a chip. I don't have any other vases. Could have fixed it as I have a glass saw and grinder. But eventually got rid of it. I managed to at least get everything off the floor in my storage room. Did get rid of a lot and it was great after it was finished. But still need to go through every shelf and container. I keep a lot of supplies because then I can donate projects to good causes.
I worry as soon as I get rid of something, I may need it. Think I inherited my mom's depression era saving.
Any suggestions welcome!
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Georgie - Moving is hard. It sounds like you are doing the right thing. Mine all started when my parents died close together and I was left with an inherited childhood house full of 45 years worth of stuff. Moving from Ca I had my own that was stored so I had to do the entire house. I could not even walk in the basement and all the rooms had piles of stuff everywhere.
I started with a room and worked on a corner. In the basement it was behind the bar. Full of stuff. I donated most and gave some to friends. Then I hit the other corner. Old TVs, tables etc. Old chipped lamps and vases. I kept a couple of things and donated or tossed the rest. I was really dissappointed because my mom had all these beautiful vases that were antiques and had value but they were all chipped or glued. Out they went. Then I went to the other corner and kept doing that till I could work myself in to the middle areas. If you only get a table cleared it is worth it. Others here will jump in with what worked for them too. Congrats on getting started.
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I was reading a minimalist website and had the thought that I could take all the things out of my closet that I neither like nor wear and put them in a container. Then if I don't go back to the container to get things, they go out the door. It would be interesting to only have clothes I like in my closet. I wouldn't need to buy anything new, just remove stuff. We'll see if I'm able to do this.
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So great to have found this thread!!! I bought a house today.... Wow.
Wren-Love the idea of minimalism. Feel good in clean simple spaces. I don't think I will ever get there, but I need a strategy. So like the idea of limiting what I keep by space of a container. Will empty a closet tomorrow and see how I do!
CCFW- Thanks for the welcome! And congrats for giving away some clothing. Yes, definitely celebrate any success!
Bunkie10- Sorry you had to go through that! I can't imagine grieving AND having to go through a house full of memories. How difficult for you. One of my biggest fears is if I die before my mom and she would see all my stuff that I have and sort through it. It will be great to start over in a new house and not bring most of my things!!! I already filled up 2 recycling bins:) going through papers. Now I need another garbage can. I have until the end of February to go through everything and move, so hopefully that is doable. Plus the less I have to move, the cheaper it will be.
Think I will start getting rid of my old clothing and cart off to Goodwill.
Thanks so much, everyone! Am going to try to go through one area each day, whether it is a shelf, corner or drawer.
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Georgie - congratulations on the new house!
Do you do itemized deductions on your tax return? DH and I found that on TurboTax, we got TONS of money deducted for items we donated throughout the year.
We have a three-car garage, and between stuff we brought over from my mom's house (she passed in 2009), and combining two households when we married, the garage became a mini-storage. Only one car can park in there. And oh, did I mention we have an attic in the garage filled with holiday decorations? And a Tuff Shed in the back yard filled with, uh, I don't know?
For me, purging takes time.... I pick something up, look at it, start to remember stories about it... and put it back in the box. But after I've done that several times, I find I'm sick of looking at it, and out it goes.
Another suggestion: pick out the things that you absolutely can't live without.... like what would you take if you had to evacuate your home? You may have to get a mini-storage for a month or so.
Then call in someone who does Estate Sales. They go through your stuff, categorize, price, and set up a weekend sale. They get way higher prices than you ever would at a yard sale. And when the sale is over, they take all the unsold stuff, itemize it, and donate it to charity, leaving your house completely empty. We did that when we sold our mountain house.... what a relief to not have to do it ourselves!
Wishing you luck!!!
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