Not quite a horder - decluttering
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Photos are my favorite souvenier. It is nice to sort of document many of life's fun moments with a few snapshots. I fell into that category of having photos all over the house, too, tho I have no idea why. I eventually started piling them all up in the same location whenever I would come across a stack or album of them.
Last year I made a photo box for dh filled pretty much chronologically with all kinds of pictures of good times we had over the 25+ years of our marriage. All the pictures I included had him in them. I enjoyed assembling it over time.
I am finally getting ready to send my remaining video cassettes in to iMemories to have them transferred to digital. I will then be able to edit and order dvds of this stuff. It is 20 years worth of stuff. I have 44 tapes. Not all are filled. Some have different shows I recorded of my son in the marching band in high school, and some school plays. The plays I will probably not keep. It will be very time consuming to edit it all. But it must be done and not just recopied, or this stuff would be too tedious to watch.
It will also cost a pretty penny. I have a 20% off coupon on the tranfer to digital cost which is why I am doing it now. The cost should be about $400 with discount. Plus then the cost of about $10 for every dvd I order. But it will not be 44 tapes due cutting out things like ten minutes of fireworks, a boring speech by an unknown person at a graduation, goofy filming by ds when he was young of blades of grass or cat sleeping, ect.
I look at it like this, tho. My hobby was making videos of family fun and get togethers and events over 20 years. It is worth my time, attention and money to edit all of this raw footage into something more meaningful and more watchable. People spend lots of money on their hobbies, so I am not going to fret over the cost. And I will edit over time, maybe carving out an hour a day for the task.
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Mrs. M--what a wonderful and unique hobby! Your family will be very grateful for your doing all this, especially if you edit in names and relationships and dates.
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Jazzy, I am copying that meme. It's so true. I'm 60 and I am astonished at how much pure CRAP I have saved over the years. And I'm not even a collector of things. I regularly purge my stuff, but obviously I haven't purged ENOUGH. I can't wait for my adult children to come over and go through their stuff. I am happy to toss whatever they don't want or take it to thrift, but I just want it OUT OF MY HOUSE!
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Love Poodles, DS swore he had taken everything out of our house. A few years later, he spent the night and needed an extra quilt. I looked in the attic and found one - in a box of his belongings. We insisted they go with him. I guess it can go either way. I found a set of double sheets that fit my spare bed in the attic. I know I didn't buy them but no one else claims them either, so I use them.
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My daughters cleaned out their bureaus and closets over the summer. Together, they had 5 large bags for their younger cousins.
I just gave 5 large boxes of plastic bottles, cookie tins, and other useful containers to my teacher friend.
Some things are easy to purge. Some have sentimental attachments or will I need this anxiety?
I'm trying to purge the easy stuff first to build up strength and momentum to tackle the harder stuff.
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I think realizing you don't miss any of the things you purged will lend momentum. I have trouble remembering if I donated or just lost a particular item, so I keep a list of donations. Helps me estimate at tax time too.
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When we thought Hurricane Harvey was going to flood all of us, I moved boxes of pictures and letters from the floor of the closets up to the sofa. That was my concession so that I could go to sleep at nights. I was fortunate that my house didn't flood, but looking back now & realize I pretty much agreed with myself to write off everything else & let if go if I flooded. So I can take lots of clothes to the people who lost everything. Also tagging furniture & kitchen items to help them set up when they find a place. And once it cools down I will start tossing in earnest.
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Mominator--I'm starting to run up against the "will I need this" anxiety, too. It helps me to try to think of when I last used the item, how long it's been just collection dust/taking up space, and how hard would it be to find a substitute if I tossed it. Things I haven't used in a year or more get tossed. I did make an exception for the calligraphy equipment, haven't used it but still want to, put it all in one storage box, labeled and shelved in the sewing room. I'm also starting a box for things that I really have trouble tossing due to the "might need it" anxiety, when the box is full I will put a date on it. One year from the date it goes in the trash without being opened. If I truly need any of those items I will have taken them out by the "expiration" date. Sentimental items are harder. I'm trying to take pictures of those items and then toss them, if I really can't toss it, doing the 1 year box thing again. I figure I'll be able to let go of a bit more every year, and staying focused on getting through the whole house by the end of this year with a big declutter, clean and organize.Then I can schedule smaller, ongoing projects to keep up. Purging the easy stuff does develop a lot of momentum, so does helping a cousin clean out her mother's house after she died. So much stuff was kept by Aunty that has no value to us, that we have no knowledge of where it came from or why it was packed away so carefully. I'm trying to look at things from the point of view of whoever will have to clean out my house when I'm gone, too.
Wren--good idea about keeping a list of donated items for tax purposes!
MinusTwo--that is a really unexpected silver lining in the gray cloud of Harvey.
An embarrassing moment:I was cleaning out a corner of the living room where I have a plastic 3 drawer storage unit. Going to make it into an electronics charging stating since it has access to multiple outlets. The amount of dust on the unit was horrendous. Cleaning under the hot water baseboard heater and finding a mouse nest complete with mouse carcass was horrifying.
I'm still filling a 2 cubic yard dumpster every week. It's starting to take a little longer now that I'm getting into stuff that has to be looked at and sorted, but still only taking an hour or so in one day to do. Pretty sorry for a one person household! Thank the good Lord for the dumpster, though. No more holding trash in the basement waiting for trash pick up day and missing it!
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Ack, NM~! Dead mouse is a NO GO, for sure.
Wren, I am experiencing the same thing--don't remember what I donated and what I discarded. I think the two things that have helped me the most has been 1) dispensing with my mother's vast hoard (we found more 16 year old inconsequential papers this weekend) and 2) knowing that we will be moving into an RV in about a month.
We'll be signing with a real estate agent in the morning, so now the race is on. Thankfully, the temp dropped 25 degrees today, from 89 yesterday to 64 today. That means I can comfortably get outside and wale away at my overgrown bushes. I did yard work at my mother's house in Mobile, AL, this weekend in 95 degree heat and got heat exhaustion. Our rooms are pretty well clean and emptied of non-essential stuff. Just gotta tackle our 17ft x 8ft basement area. It's cluttered but not nearly as bad as it used to be. I think we can dispose of most of the stuff, or store it, in 2 days. The stager will be coming over this week to make suggestions for enhancing features and set up the photographer. The landscaper is coming over to touch up the yard and lay down pine straw. Needless to say, I want everything SPOTLESS before they take pictures.
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You're right. Spotless is what sells.
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Poodles--Isn't it amazing how much paper someone can hold on to? We found paperwork from the 1990's at my Aunt's, from when Uncle was driving a big rig. He died several years ago. We have no idea why she held on to that paperwork but did not have the title to the car she owned! Moving into an RV would be a huge motivator. Be careful working in heat like that, heat exhaustion can become heat stroke awfully quickly. Don't blame you for wanting spotlessness for the pics!
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I have so much trouble trying to figure out how long to keep papers. One time I asked a banker how long to keep my bank statements (this was back in the day when they mailed you a paper statement and your cancelled cheques) and he told me he still had his from junior high. I thought, well YOU'RE no help. Can I get rid of paperwork from when I sold my house 10 years ago? I guess I should scan and then shred them? And tax returns?
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pingpong, the paper work does get mind boggling. However, lots of good info is on line. Here is a list from the website of Dave Ramsey, financial guru.
Organizing Your Important Documents
New Year's is behind us and tax season is here. As you gather all the necessary documents for your taxes, why not take the extra steps to get your files organized? Look at it as a late New Year's resolution!
The task can seem overwhelming at first, but you will feel so much better once it's done—trust us. The main reason why people don't have their files organized is because they don't know what to keep and for how long. After you finish reading, you won't be able to use that excuse anymore!
First things first: You're going to need something to store your papers in. We recommend a filing cabinet, but you can also make do with a box. It doesn't have to be anything fancy—just something that will get the job done.
Now, gather all of your documents. Yes, we mean all of them. Put them into one large pile, roll up your sleeves, and get busy! As you work through the papers, create five different categories:
Keep for 1–3 Months
- Utility bills
- Sales receipts for minor purchases
- ATM and bank deposit slips
Keep for 1 Year
- Checkbook ledgers
- Paycheck stubs
- Monthly mortgage statements
- Expired insurance records
Keep for 7 Years
- Bank statements
- W-2 and 1099 forms
- Receipts for tax purposes
- Cancelled checks
- Disability records
- Unemployment income stubs
- Medical bills/claims
Keep Indefinitely
- Annual tax returns
- Deeds, mortgages and bills of sale
- Year-end statements for investments
- Legal documents (birth certificates, marriage license, divorce papers, passports)
- Home improvement documentation and receipts
- Receipts for major purchases—for warranty and insurance purposes
- Wills
- Living wills
- Power of attorney designation
- Medical and burial instructions
- Beneficiary directions
- Real estate certificates
- Automobile titles
- Current insurance policies
- Medical records
- Education records
- Pension plan records
- Retirement plan records
Trash
- Paycheck stubs after reconciling with W-2 form
- Expired warranties
- Coupons after expiration date
Next, file each category into a filing cabinet drawer or box. Clearly label what each file contains. Shred any papers that you don't keep. It may take a little while to go through all your documents, but it's worth it. Imagine how much less stress you'll experience thanks to your life becoming more organized!
Learn about the other documents you should keep and organize in your Legacy Drawer.
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Thanks, DivineMrsM. At least I'm not being neurotic about some of the stuff I've been saving! I'll start nibbling down the file drawers.
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We had records going way back which we've now destroyed. It was fun looking at cancelled checks and seeing how little things cost back then. Of course our salaries matched, so it was a lot at the time.
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Another option is to scan the forms and keep them digitally, while shredding the originals. I am moving all my important records to digital storage, on a flash drive and on my desktop, which is backed up automatically to an online back up system.
Of course, I am keeping the original/paper version of will, living wills,legal documents, but not the everyday stuff.
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Hang in there, Teka, sorting through papers is hard, brings up lots of memories and emotions.
I've been slowly working on the paper piles, and in the past couple of years have not once needed a paper I have thrown away. I even find that I don't look for paper copies of user's manuals for things anymore, I go straight to the computer and either open the digital copy or find a digital copy on the manufacturer website. It's easier and quicker than searching through papers!
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The two things that clutter in my house are paperwork and clothes. Thank you Divine Mrs.M for that list! I'm so sick of holding on to boxes of paper work when most of it can just be ditched. My DH wants to shred it all before tossing it, so that will be his job. Clothes are harder for me to part with and I don't know why. You would think once I get too big for something I would want to give it up to Good Will, but the opposite happens and I think if I keep it, it will motivate for me to lose weight. That hasn't worked in 20 something years so time to get rid of that mentality. I have no problems giving my children's or husband's clothes to Good Will. Funny how that works!
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I remember shredding a huge amount of paper work several years ago. Time consuming, I did it over a period of days, forget how many, but worth the piece of mind.
Well, guess what. About throwing out clothes that are too big. And how I read that book Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight, which I only read for the decluttering inspiration, not the lose weight part. Written by Peter Walsh, who I love, he said it was a pattern he saw where often people would declutter their homes and find they lost weight, too, sometimes without trying.
After my garage sale this past May, which in many ways was a culmination of several years of decluttering, giving away, donating, selling, throwing out, ect. so much unneeded stuff, I still weighed the same. I donated many clothes that I no longer fit in to. I bought shorts and shirts that fit the size I am now.
Then at the end of May, I had a routine check up and the nurse practitioner at my primary doctor office mentioned how I had gradually been gaining weight. She said it so softly and kindly and in the nicest concerned way, and suggested I find some form of exercise.
It is always hard for me to lose weight. Since chemo in 2011, I have only gained, going up several sizes.
In June, dh and I spent a few days in Ocean City, MD and walked the Boardwalk every day. I decided then that when I got home from vacation, I was going to put walking as a priority over everything. I would walk first, then do laundry or grocery shop or yard work or whatever I used to put before my own health.
Since the middle of June, I walk now about five days a week for about 45 minutes. I have lost over ten pounds! Some of my clothes are hanging on me. I can pull on jeans that I bought last year without even unzipping or unbuttoning them! So I will have to get at least a new pair of those. I keep a calendar and mark my weight every day and also mark the days that I walk, just to see the effort I put forth.
It feels good not to feel bloated. I have joint and foot pain from walking, but I press on. I cut back what I eat, but still allow for sweets, chips or a nice restaurant meal.
I think/know the weight loss has to do with the decluttering of my house! And of course, the kindness if the np. I do not know if I will lose more weight, but I will continue to walk. I dont regret getting rid of those smaller clothes. I am glad I purged them and moved forward. It was a lesson on how to accept me present day, whatever I weighed and not punishing myself by always seeing the clothes that no longer fit and feeling badly about it. If I want more clothes, I will shop sales.
Sharing my story and hope to inspire!
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I have to admit, putting all those clothes in the Good Will box felt liberating. Now I have tons more space in my closet. Time for me to do the same with the shoes.
It sounds like you have a great frame of mind! I have to definitely get out and walk more. I miss it because not only did it keep me in better shape, it was the best de-stresser! Now that the weather is cooler, I'm getting out my walking shoes.
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MrsM - Oh I needed to hear that you're not sorry about the smaller clothes. And bravo to you for making walking the priority.
I lost 60 lbs w/chemo & more chemo & rads - and finally had to buy smaller pants in different descending sizes as time went on, or risk my pants falling off. It was almost funny because NEVER in my life had I even dreamed of being too small for a Size 6 - nor ever wanted to be that small (I'm 5'9"). Over 18 months, I gradually put the weight back on, but have managed through diligent daily exercise to stay at the original size 12 that I was for most of my life - before I started gaining after menopause. So I had pants in Sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 & 16. What do I keep? Will the cancer come back & I'll need the smaller sizes? Will I gain again as I continue to age? I finally gave all the sixes & eights to my niece ( mostly jeans so she was ecstatic). I kept two pair of 10s - just in case. I'm wearing the 12s. I kept two pair of 14s. ALL of the 16s went to good will. I probably kept too much, but I felt the need to hedge my bets since I've already had one recurrence.
In addition to walking, the other thing I really like is water aerobics. Not so hard on the joints & feet. We had our last class in the outside pool today so I will have to find another venue.
I have a vacation coming up next week, then I plan to seriously start tearing apart closets & cupboards.
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I remember reading that if you get to that size again (whether up or down) your saved clothes will be out of style. I have spent the summer in size 14 capri pants and finally replaced them with 2 size 10's. I'm packing the 14's away. Not sure I'll stay this size. I got rid of the 16-18's. Some of those were for work, which I don't do any more and wouldn't need anyway.
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Yesterday was very productive. Got the living room decluttered. Seriously decluttered. It's not organized yet, and still needs more cleaning, but the junk in the living room filled half a dumpster. It was a bit more challenging in one way, the garage door is broken, can't open it, so had to bag junk up and toss it out the porch window and then go down and lug the bags to the dumpster. On the other hand, once something was out of the living room, it was OUT of the living room! I was tired and dreading that part, then it only took 5 minutes! I amaze myself at how I think things will take so much longer than they really do. Today's project is to do the same to the kitchen. The motivation is having people come in on Wednesday to fix the dishwasher, fix the garage door, and install internet. The public areas will look clean, if not organized, but not embarrassing,
Shells--I don't know what it is about clothes that make them hard to give up, but I have the same problem. Sometimes I look at an item of clothing and remember an event or something that happened when I was wearing it and it becomes a memento. So I try to think like the Fly Lady does and give it to Goodwill to bless someone else to honor that memory. Sometimes it works.
I've always been overweight, and have always had trouble finding clothes that fit AND fit my mother's idea of what a "fat girl" should wear. (OK, so it's taken me decades to learn that I don't have to do things the same way my Mom does, for so long doing something a different way felt disloyal. I had to learn that I can doing things differently and still love her tremendously!) So I've always had a love/hate relationship with clothes. Hated, hated, hated clothes shopping. Then I ran across a personal shopping service that caters to larger size women. I can get a box as often at once a month with 5 items of clothing, IN MY SIZE, that I have a week to try on and see if I like, can send back what I don't postage free. Yes I am paying more for each item of clothing than I ever used to, but the quality of clothing is making a huge difference, as well as trying things I would never have tried on my own. I now have clothes that I enjoy wearing, that make me feel good when I wear them, and letting go of the older stuff in the closet and drawers that does not fit is much easier.I really recommend getting good quality clothing to wear that you enjoy wearing to help with letting go of the stuff that doesn't fit, isn't right, or you just never wear.
Mrs. M--yeah, shredding is a tedious job. If you are a gardener, or know one who composts, a lot of that can go into a compost pile. Double the protection, that way! I can see where decluttering can lead to some weight loss. As I get more junk out of the house the more interested I am in cooking and making real meals and less dependent on take out and easy/fast but over processed foods. Also, my decluttering is getting my steps way up over what I was doing when I was working full time. I am truly moving more, as my aches and stiffness will attest to. You make a really, really important point that we have to put our health at as high a priority, or higher, than everything else. I used to walk 3 miles every day I wasn't working, can't do that right now but am doing baby steps and really working on meeting my step goal and doing the little things that help like parking further away from the door.You have done so well to lose 10 pounds! Don't diminish your weight loss accomplishment by only shopping sales for clothes.Get a couple of really nice, quality items that fit and make you feel good wearing them. Don't punish yourself (even if unconsciously) for losing weight!
Minus--I don't blame you for keeping a couple of 10s and 14s, that had to be a hard purge to manage! I've read somewhere that if getting rid of all the clothes at once can be too much to do at once, and that a strategy is to get rid of a percentage, or, like you did, all but a couple of items is easier. Later you may be able to let go of the last couple items. The "just-in-case" mentality is a hard one to work with, sometimes. That's why I have half a dozen staplers, enough markers to fill a drawer, and piles of notebooks, binders, printer paper and other office supply stuff. My current mini-project is to locate all the office supply stuff (it's in boxes, baskets and drawers all over the house) pile it up, sort it, and fill ONE 3 drawer organizer. What fits in the drawers stays, what doesn't goes away. Half the time I can't find an item when I want it, so I get another. Such a waste of money and space!
Wren--good point that saved clothes are likely to be out of style when you can wear them again, anyway!
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For years I subscribed to the theory of putting clothes you just couldn't part with into a box. Box goes in the attic. If you haven't missed anything in the box for a year, it goes directly to Salvation Army w/o opening. Interesting about memories & clothes though. I still have one or two items I could never part with. Now I'll pass them along with good wishes for someone else to have great memories.
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I agree, most clothes that we keep hoping to fit in them again will go out of style before that happens. I had two favorite shirts I saved for over seven years, they looked so nice on me and reminded me of carefree times. Tried one on the other day, it still did not fit and it was no longer "me". I put both shirts in the Goodwill pile.
NM, It is great to read how productive the decluttering is going for you. I am glad the personal shopping is working out, too. You make a good point about making sure I don't diminish my weight loss by only shopping sales. If I need something to add to my wardrobe, I will allow myself to spend what's necessary and leave the guilt behind. That being said, since its the end of the summer season, I found two pair of capris on sale and in my now one size smaller for $7.99 each, originally $36, and was very happy to scoop them up.
MinusTwo, dh and I spent time at the pool this year and a woman offered water aerobics which I enjoyed. She is a chatty, gossipy thing, tho, and she wasted time and was unfocused, so I didnt continue, But I loved the water weights. There is an indoor pool at a school less that 15 minutes from my home that permits adult swimming till 2:30 M-F so I am going to check it out this fall or winter. I heard they offer the aerobics, too.
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Mrs. M--good for you for deciding to add to the wardrobe as needed. AND good for scooping up the capris on sale! I'm all for sale shopping when the deal is really good, just not for the entire wardrobe.
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I used to be a travel agent and would plan my wardrobe for each trip. I usually only had carry-on luggage, so my wardrobe was well coordinated and everything worked with everything. Now it's a mishmash like most peoples'. I would really like to get a coordinated plan again. Going to work on it this winter. The problem is that so much stuff is really old and wearing out. I'm retired and there's not that much cash to replenish, but slowly and surely.
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Wren--getting back to a coordinated wardrobe is quite a project!
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You're right. The results would be awesome, however.
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