Not quite a horder - decluttering
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Hi folks- got back to containers/paper purging/shredding activities after putting them on hold last week with some work things going on. I told myself this week I MUST finish going through everything that need to be look at in the remaining storage containers. I got through a bunch between yesterday and today, and think I have effectively gone through all the containers that have loose paper/files/storage now. I literally filled my recycling dumpster to the brim. I have another bucket to take to shredding too. I went into way old containers all the way back to the 1980s, and even found some fun things from childhood.
Here are some highlights as I took a trip down memory lane:
1) Used to raise rabbits and had all these great rabbit pictures I have not been able to locate. Today I found them!
2) I found an old journal from high school days (I started doing a diary/journal around age 15). This one was from 1976, and it is fun to read about the things that are bothersome to a teenage girl.
3) I used to write down my weight in my journal. I weighed 139 lbs in high school. Back when I thought I was fat then.....
4) I found an old Seventeen magazine from 1978. I am NEVER getting rid of that.
5) I used to have a scientific career and was quite a prolific publisher in my day. I am keeping all my papers and proceedings from the conferences I presented at.
6) As I looked through the boxes this afternoon, I found myself gasping in delight and smiling at some of the things I found today. I have had a good and interesting life so far.....
I also put a couple bags to the curb last week for pick up by one of the local charities that does a pass through once a month and does pick up. I had a skirt of my mothers that she bought here last visit to see me before she became ill. I tried that skirt on, said I would never wear it, and told myself to donate as there would be some woman here that would love it. But then I couldn't get myself to donate that bag, that skirt weighed heavily on me. I realized I really need to just keep that skirt, at least for now. I removed it and was able to easily donate the rest. Interesting experience. Don't let one sentimental item keep you from getting rid of the rest!
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Took a bag of better books to my local store that sells books, movies, CDS, etc. and they took most of the books and came away with some store credit. The rest of the books I will donate. I already got rid of some of the ones I knew would not be good for re-sale.
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I am still here trying to declutter. Have been dealing with the adjustment to going off HRT cold turkey. Not my best time.
What do I do with pillows? I have about 15 all nice and clean really that I found in my basement plastic bins. Since I cover all my stuff for dust mites they are actually in good shape. I was told the animal shelter does not take them.
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Bunkie - I'm surprised the animal shelter won't take them. Maybe because too many animals would tear them into shreds (or feathers). How about Salvation Army? In my area, they take everything. Last time I checked two years ago they even took used mattresses.
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Bunkie- bedding stuff is hard. I know a lot of places won't take mattreses. Pillows may fall into the same category, because pillows and mattresses can harbor bed bugs.
I was able to donate some of my excess sheets and comforters to a local shelter. Sometimes they can use things like that for their overnight clients, other times they can give things to families moving into new apts. I would call some of places and tell them what you have got and see if they would be interested?
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Consignment shop success. Last week I took some more things to a little boutique consignment place to regularly now and she takes some of my better clothing, shoes, scarves that need to be recycled. I have done very well there and discovered last week I had $150 in credit!
I also found the little consignment store where I took some household items. They all sold too! Going there to pick up a check and bring more stuff. Stuff, stuff, stuff!
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Jazzy, do tell. I am in NM too, are you in Albuquerque? What are your consignment places? I have cleaned out a lot of my clothing but have a ton of vintage clothing stored I really need to get rid of. Paying $250 a month for storage! Used to sell it online, but since mastectomy messed up my right side haven't dressed a mannequin. Anyway, could stand to get rid of some household items!
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Diana- yes, I will PM you! Got lots of good places to share to donate or sell.
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I forgot to boast on here. The blind picked up 11 bags from us last week! DH even contributed.
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Good job Wren!
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I got sidetracked with papers & pictures after a good friend died in December. One box led to another, to another. Really weird reading my HS diaries and tons of letters over the years from several friends 1960-2015. I've had to stop several times when I was overwhelmed by memories.
But I have gone through my pants. I lost 60 lbs w/chemo & finally gave in & bought some pants at the low end. But didn't know where I'd end up once I was back to a more normal me so I didn't get rid of anything. So I have size 6 - 16. I seem to be hanging around a 12. Sending 15 pair of the smaller sizes to my niece. Another 15 pair are ready for Salvation Army. Took 3 pair in to the tailor today. If these alterations work, I'll know which pants to keep & which to toss. At least they are in one nice folded pile in the top of the closet & no longer taking up space.
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MinusTwo, I am constantly putting aside pants to go to the tailor (can't find anything that fits both my big waist and narrow(ish!) hips and thighs), but so far have never quite gotten them out of the house. I guess I'm afraid my shape is hopeless. Please tell me a tailor really can make pants fit.
I just moved my office into my house and am having an absolutely terrible time organizing. Last evening the electricity went out around 8:00. The only thing I could find to do in that half light was to empty three boxes--a victory of sorts. Unfortunately, it got dark before I could put everything away. So now I have a new mess to deal with. Ugh!
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Brookside - yes, I've been pleased w/my new tailor. My BFF took in a bunch of dress pants two years ago and wondered why she hadn't done it earlier instead of slouching around never quite fitting right, so I gave it a try last year. My usual problem is I also have narrow thighs & hips so most pants look like I'm wearing riding jodhpurs. She will fix that. Also took some really wide leg pants that she'd going to try to narrow some.
This morning I had 2 hours before going to PT and started on a batch of snapshots. Oh these are hard to toss. I did put aside a few for my son, but most don't include him & since he has no children I'm trying not to flood him with stuff. My favorite brother is already dead with no children so there's really no one after me who would be interested in these TONS of pictures. Ten shots of almost the same scene w/the same people. Ten more of the same mountain. Etc. Silly but it makes me a bit weepy. Pants are safer.
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Good day. I picked up 3 pair of pants at the tailor and they fit like they were custom made. I'll go ahead and take 3 more in different colors. Jeans styling fits me better than dress pants, but I'll need some dress pants if I ever go back to work.
Bought a recliner today. I've been watching the paper for one specific chair for 2-1/2 years and finally decided to pull the trigger. Except when I got to the store, the one I'd planned to buy looked 'cheap', so I bought one sitting next to it. It's sort of a paisley, but I think the dominant color will blend. When I walked in the house, I immediately called Salvation Army to pick up TWO chairs. That's one in & two out.
Bought two pair of shoes. I'm still trying to follow the rule "one in,one out". I did even better. Two in 15 out. Yeah, I'm a shoe person - but still.... I'm pretty proud of this exchange. And Dress for Success will be extremely happy.
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BTW - I know many of you are enjoying the outdoors now that your winter is gone. Our summer is 98 degrees and 99% humidity, so my time to sort things in the house is summer. Hope I can keep the momentum going.
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Great work, Minus Two. I'm proud of you.
I read somewhere--here, maybe--that the trick to getting rid of stuff is to put it in your car. I picked up a bag of thrift store stuff that had been cluttering my bedroom for months, put it in the car, and dropped it off. Baby steps, but I'm feeling victorious. This is good, because I moved my office to my house a month ago. Piles and boxes are still all over the place. I am absolutely convinced that I'm missing some gene that facilitates organization.
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Brookside- I agree with putting them in the car once they are ready to go. Sometimes I do that and there is also an organization that comes through my neighborhood every other month. Sometimes I park things in a spot in my garage and label them for that org so I know they are ready to go when the pick up day comes. Getting them out of your house one way or another is the way to ensure
My latest decluttering has focused on the kitchen. I bought some new storage containers from IKEA and went through all my old tupperware, etc. and threw out a bunch where I have tops and bottoms that don't go together. Working on going through some other cabinets to donate some excess dishes, etc. It is a continual process!
I also have things already put aside from cleaning out closets earlier this year for my fall consignment. I was at that store the other day and will be ready to bring some of that beginning end of August!
Wishing everyone a good holiday weekend!
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Took two boxes of stuff, mostly dh clothing, to the local thrift shop that supports Dryhootch for veterans here in Milwaukee. Proud to support the vets with our castoffs. A little patriotic effort for the Independence Day!
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We can't forget, however, that he took his laundry home to Mom.
We visited Walden pond on a beautiful Oct afternoon with a blue sky and trees with autumn leaves. I'll never forget how beautiful it was.
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Great article. I wish I could learn to be more like the Europeans because they live in small spaces with less stuff! I lived in an apart for a long time before I ever owned a home, and found I certainly had more time as a renter, not just with maintenance issues, but also with having less "stuff" to deal with. Where did all this stuff come from anyways? LOL!
My new focus is the kitchen cabinets and dishes. When we cleaned out our parents house 10 years ago, I took a lot of dishes, crystal, etc. I have a big kitchen with a lot of stuff in it now and went through yesterday with a different eye and pulled out a number of things. Some things I bought, some things of my mom's but with no real sentimental value. Not ready to do anything with the crystal, but a lot of other things I can easily let go of. I am going to call the home consignment store today and need to go up that way tomorrow for a couple reason, but will see if the owner is there to take more STUFF! I have some things that I think are less saleable and will go to donations.
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Took some more women's summer clothing items to consignment last week and a whole bunch of things from the kitchen cabinets to a different consignment store this week. The purging continues......
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Decluttering magazines. Sounds small, but there are many. I'm a reader. I can't get rid of books w/o hurting inside. But i haven't read magazines in years except Bookmarks. Still, when I was in active treatment, I re-started subscriptions to several magazines since they were about all I could concentrate on or hold. Turned around the other day and realized I haven't read any since March. Oh oh. That's 4 months of 8 or 9 magazines and one is a weekly. I'm now working my way through them and passing them along to my neighborhood domino group as fast as i can. Not to mention when I found an article that I liked, I turned down the page & put the magazines aside to share with someone or other - and found a pile of those w/pages turned down. Gone to the recycle bin since all were more than a year old.
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MinusTwo- I have reduced my mags significantly, but I take the ones that are not too old and leave them at the doctors or dentists office when I go. Usually I have a book in tow when I go, but sometimes forget and the mags there are often not of interest or years old! You can just cross out your name on the address part and drop em off when you go next!
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Yes, I was leaving them at doc's offices, but fortunately I'm not going as often anymore. One of the other things I discovered during treatment was dominoes with a group of neighborhood ladies. Most of the ladies I play with are readers. We all bring books & magazines a couple of times a month & spread them on a table to trade. Once everyone who wants to has read them, magazines usually go to local nursing homes and books go to the library to be included in their used book sales to support new books. I'm trying to stick to the creed - for every one thing I bring home, I have to get rid of two.
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Minustwo- I agree about every one things, two goes out. When I go to consignment, sometimes I come away with "new things" for the home or self with credit earned. I will bring in anywhere from 10-20 items to consignment, and usually come away with one or two news things with the credit I have accumulated. We must get rid of more than we take in to remain de-cluttered. I love the idea of bringing mags to nursing homes too.
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Old magazines, especially those with photos, are useful in many different art therapy projects. If there is an art therapy group in your area, ask them if they want your old mags; they will probably thank you.
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Onco - thanks for the tip. I had considered a nearby elementary school since the little kids learn to cut & paste.
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Minus2, you're welcome. I know about this because I go to art therapy for cancer patients twice a month. I leafed through A LOT of magazines to find the right collection of pictures for my "cancer journey" collage! And we leaf through magazines for many other projects, also.
moo
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Great to see everyone's progress!I read The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and I highly recommend it. It is a different way of decluttering,, you focus on one type of stuff,,, say books,,, maybe even narrowing it down to fiction or mysteries, if you have a lot of books,,,and then declutter that subject. It gave me a different perspective on decluttering.
I had my bathroom remodeled,, tore out the tub and had a walk in shower put in. Tiled the floor, and then decided to tile and paint the walk-in closet right next to it. SO I had to take everything out of the closet. HUGE job,, but it is looking great now. I sold my high school piccolo for $75 (paid $100 for it back in the 70's so I thought that was a good deal) got $37 for some weight equipment. Donated a lot of clothes and other items. Now looking to sell some jewelry and a Nikon 35mm film camera. Still more cleaning out to do, but I do feel like I've made progress. The clothes in the dresser drawers are next. I've decided to paint all the bedroom furniture (yes, I'm crazy) so each piece will get cleaned out as it gets painted.
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