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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Dec 31, 2015 19:15:04 GMT
I would LOVE to go full force and get lots done in one day, but I get overwhelmed. So, I'll have to do it in small steps. This is me too. I do better if I just snag a thing or two when I see it instead of trying to tackle a whole room or closet at once.
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knotlazy
Full Member
Posts: 275
Jun 26, 2014 18:00:51 GMT
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Post by knotlazy on Dec 31, 2015 19:36:19 GMT
This thread is awesome! Y'all are very inspiring. My Mom was a bit of a hoarder...not the nasty kind with dead cats but the kind that had more fabric/handwork than she could ever finish & she kept everything from her mother's home when she passed away as she just couldn't let go.
After Mom died in April, my sister and I hired a company to go into Mom's fairly large home and hold an estate sale after we had gone through everything. I was pretty strong while going through Mom's stuff and only kept what I could actually store....which isn't much as my house is small.
I have hauled many carloads of my own stuff from my attic and cabinets to the local thrift store in 2015. I need to go through my clothes, my DH's clothes (because he probably still has polyester shirts in there) and our garage. The garage is overwhelming because DH does not throw anything away. I will have to be cautious as he is also one of those who will drag something out of the trash because "I might need it". I'm planning to gather one black trash bag at a time to set out for the garbage truck.
I have several large items that will be donated when my 78 year old father passes away. That sounds harsh but he loves that I have great grandpa's roll top desk in my little sun room. Well, it's not very useful storage and it's really kinda in my way. But I'm going with it until Dad dies just for him. My kids have no interest in such old stuff.
I will be following this thread.
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knotlazy
Full Member
Posts: 275
Jun 26, 2014 18:00:51 GMT
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Post by knotlazy on Dec 31, 2015 19:39:09 GMT
One of the last things that I have to "de-clutter" are photos. I know that I have negatives & thumb drives & dvd's that have the pictures on them, BUT, the actual photos are difficult for me to shred or destroy. I have 2 big Rubbermaid totes full of photos and negatives. A lot of the pictures are of my dd (deceased) and I am having a very difficult (tearful & sorrow) time of the actual pictures. I don't have room for these totes as I would like to make my storage space in my condo a bit easier to move around in.
I have already taken pictures of all of her school projects stuff and have that on a thumb drive. I have a few special pieces that I have kept but the d@mmed photos are just about doing me in. A couple of years ago, I did put a bunch of them (duplicates) into a suitcase and left them at my x's place. He called and asked what he should do with this stuff and I told him to deal with it. She has been gone for 11 years, and yet, the actual photos, yes I have negatives & dvd's are torture to part with. They have been in these totes for 10 years. I need someone to simply take the totes and have the stuff shredded for me. I have downsized her clothing to her 4 favourite t-shirts, a sweater and 2 hoodies. This is so physically painful for me to do. She was so pretty & I miss her so much.
HELP!!!! Oh, your post hurt my heart for you. If I was your friend, I'd take those totes and store them for you for a few years. Then you might be able to let them go. Or not. And I'd still store them for you forever. I am sorry for your loss. She must have been a beautiful daughter.
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Post by scrapmomof2 on Dec 31, 2015 19:42:37 GMT
I need to purge things in my room. I just made my DD (15) purge her drawers, next is her closet.
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Post by Miss Lerins Momma on Dec 31, 2015 19:59:50 GMT
Marking my spot! With a new baby coming, I need to purge a ton!!! And now I have a deadline, so that helps!
I plan on getting rid of everything in the play room, in order to turn it into a nursery. And I'm hoping to purge our big entertainment center in the living room, so we can redo the whole living room.
Maybe even the bathroom closet, because we are planning to remodel the bathroom too!!
Lots of big changes for us this year and hopefully getting rid of a ton of clutter!
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Dec 31, 2015 20:05:14 GMT
One of the last things that I have to "de-clutter" are photos. I know that I have negatives & thumb drives & dvd's that have the pictures on them, BUT, the actual photos are difficult for me to shred or destroy. I have 2 big Rubbermaid totes full of photos and negatives. A lot of the pictures are of my dd (deceased) and I am having a very difficult (tearful & sorrow) time of the actual pictures. I don't have room for these totes as I would like to make my storage space in my condo a bit easier to move around in.
I have already taken pictures of all of her school projects stuff and have that on a thumb drive. I have a few special pieces that I have kept but the d@mmed photos are just about doing me in. A couple of years ago, I did put a bunch of them (duplicates) into a suitcase and left them at my x's place. He called and asked what he should do with this stuff and I told him to deal with it. She has been gone for 11 years, and yet, the actual photos, yes I have negatives & dvd's are torture to part with. They have been in these totes for 10 years. I need someone to simply take the totes and have the stuff shredded for me. I have downsized her clothing to her 4 favourite t-shirts, a sweater and 2 hoodies. This is so physically painful for me to do. She was so pretty & I miss her so much.
HELP!!!! (((hugs))) There is no time limit on pain. Can you take the photos and have them uploaded to a cloud? Or do you have someone you could trust just hold the lot for you so that you still have access to them, but don't have to store them yourself?
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Post by darkangel090260 on Jan 1, 2016 0:55:32 GMT
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 1, 2016 19:01:05 GMT
Okay! Today's the first day of the New year!
The tree is down & gone. All signs of Christmas are put away.
And the old calendar is in the trash (new one put up).
I happened on a box of half used toiletries (mostly cheap shampoo) that I had put in there in the first place because I didn't like the smell or the way it worked. I guess I kept it just in case. Tossed!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 12, 2024 23:17:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2016 19:40:09 GMT
My trunk is loaded and ready to go to goodwill. I got my Christmas decor stored in 3 boxes that fit in my tiny guestroom closet. Good on you, darkangel090260. That is A very dramatic change.
So very sorry for your loss, lostinspace. I won't attempt to give you advice since I have not lost child. I have lost a grandson and I know his mother has difficulty with photos now, also. For me,I love finding pictures of him accidently that I have not seen in a while. That always feels like a little visit from heaven and makes me smile.
She doesn't like family pics taken now and put a 3 year old family pic on her Christmas card this year. Grieving parents should be able to do what ever they want with no judgement.
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Post by jamielynn on Jan 1, 2016 20:58:02 GMT
Today we put away Christmas decor, boy does that feel great!
I went through our decor (which isn't much) and put several items in a donate bag. I have a few large items (unrelated to Christmas) going to the dump, and posted a large in size item on the local swap n shop.
Every bit that goes in the trash or gets at least reviewed and organized feels good.
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IAmUnoriginal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,894
Jun 25, 2014 23:27:45 GMT
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Post by IAmUnoriginal on Jan 1, 2016 21:13:19 GMT
On Wednesday, I took down, purged and organized Christmas decorations. In the effort of organizing, I made a big open area in the basement where I was able to lay out a big area rug to create a play area for YDS. I've been meaning to do that since April or so. Yesterday, I dropped YDS at daycare, snagged my free birthday Starbucks, and spent a couple hours gutting, purging, and reorganizing my walk-in pantry. It looks good! Next, on the list - my big desk.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 1, 2016 23:02:36 GMT
Every bit that goes in the trash or gets at least reviewed and organized feels good. So true! I tossed two thrift store shirts that I had bought, then realized that the one had a hole where the tag was stapled on it, and the other just wasn't flattering on me. I had "but I spent money on it" guilt. But it's been in the laundry area for months, just waiting for...?? I don't know what. I felt better the second it was in the trash. Like a burden was lifted.
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Post by lancermom on Jan 1, 2016 23:09:30 GMT
Booked!! Super excited to do this. Trying to get family on board.
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Nanner
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,968
Jun 25, 2014 23:13:23 GMT
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Post by Nanner on Jan 2, 2016 0:15:04 GMT
So I started my "get rid of 5 things per day" today. I got rid of:
1 bedsheet that the elastic had become non-elastic 4 shabby pillowcases 2 pairs of shoes that don't fit
So I started off getting rid of 7 things.
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,330
Member is Online
Jun 27, 2014 12:39:18 GMT
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Post by amom23 on Jan 2, 2016 0:36:53 GMT
I had the kids help purge their closets before Xmas so I've got several black garbage bags waiting to be donated. I still need to purge the hall closet where we keep extra coats and our luggage and the master bath linen closet.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 2, 2016 0:48:39 GMT
Just tossed the last of the Halloween candy. Blech! I didn't even know we still had Halloween candy!
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Post by scrapperal on Jan 2, 2016 0:55:52 GMT
It is so hard for me to purge...I'm guessing that the three pieces of paper I tossed today don't really count. But at least I straightened up that pile of paper and tossed what I didn't need.
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,475
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on Jan 2, 2016 1:10:15 GMT
I'm hoping to get through my whole house this year since I've reached that point where I feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I own.
I went through all my Christmas boxes as I packed up the decorations and have reduced the stash from three boxes to two.
I cleared out the cupboard under the stairs before I put any of the Christmas stuff away and found a few bulkier things to get rid of along with a bunch of those gift sets I always get given by people who don't know me well and don't realise I'll never use them.
I pulled about 1/3 of the books I own to get rid of. I haven't read these in years and don't see myself going back to read them now and if I do there's always the library. I boxed them up last night but I'm seriously thinking about doing a second pass on the bookshelves as I think there are more that could go.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 2, 2016 1:12:13 GMT
I'm guessing that the three pieces of paper I tossed today don't really count. Yes they do!! Every single thing counts. If it's out of your house, it's not holding you down.
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Post by jamielynn on Jan 2, 2016 1:12:59 GMT
We kept the momentum today and sent our toddler to the bedroom for a nap or play alone choice for about an hour.
DH got rid of 2 trash bags of stuff. I have no idea what it was but I'm happy to see it go.
We both cleaned out our night stands (tossing quite a bit) and I found 17 magazines to give our library. They have a box where you can slip a quarter per magazine donation. I always notice a lack of recent and decent magazines in it and these are all recent/popular titles.
I also pulled together a few more outgrown kid things for a friend to look through when she comes over this week to look at some other items.
Finally I grabbed a few more random items to donate on Monday when I run to the thrift shop.
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LeaP
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,939
Location: Los Angeles, CA where 405 meets 101
Jun 26, 2014 23:17:22 GMT
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Post by LeaP on Jan 2, 2016 1:53:25 GMT
I'm doing a reverse purge. All of our possessions are in storage while we wait for our tenants to move out of our house. There are 327 boxes @ around 7,000 lbs., one-third of the boxes contain my husbands' hobby. I am planning to stage everything outside and only bring in the things we love/use/have a place.
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Jan 2, 2016 1:58:47 GMT
I really need to clean out my garage. I have saved so many things that I might sell....I'm never gonna sell that crap. It needs to go, but I just can't let it go!
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Jan 2, 2016 3:58:52 GMT
Well, day 1 I got the Christmas decorations down and the tree is officially in the garbage. Half the lights decided to quit working this year. I couldn't get them working so I threw a string of lights on it and I will be getting a new tree next year.
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Post by karen on Jan 2, 2016 4:16:14 GMT
I cleaned out my son's closet. There was trash and laundry- clean and dirty in there. It's so much better now, but there is still stuff in the room that needs to be cleared. I donteant to put anything back in the closet, so it will probably go to goodwill.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jan 2, 2016 4:44:57 GMT
I put away the wooden Advent calendar, the Elves, stockings and tree skirt today and I decided the tree is coming down tomorrow. At that point, I'm going to pull out the boxes of toys and stuff that got shoved into that closet last summer and have DD go through it with me to decide what she wants to keep and what we can get rid of, and get the closet better organized. She has some boxes of blocks and stuff in there that I doubt very much she will really play with anymore, so we can bag it up and get it ready to price for the next consignment sale. (Space to hold it until the sale in April isn't an issue, but getting it sorted and organized to sell kind of is.) She likes getting the money for the outgrown toys so she can choose age appropriate things that she wants without hitting up the family wallet quite so hard.
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Post by Lexica on Jan 2, 2016 4:50:04 GMT
I had planned on doing some heavy-handed purging from now until I list my house. I have a lot of stuff that I just don't need anymore. I have been considering taking a picture of something that I really like, but just won't fit my lifestyle when I move. That should make selling it a bit easier on me. Better a photo on my computer than a box in the garage!
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Post by joylynaroundthebnd on Jan 2, 2016 4:50:07 GMT
I cleaned out some drawers and shelves in the master bath. Also, started the sorting process in my office/scrap room.
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128
Jun 29, 2014 12:11:41 GMT
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Post by M in Carolina on Jan 2, 2016 4:53:46 GMT
I've already started going through boxes and my clothes and items in my bedroom and bathroom in preparation for us moving later this year.
Dh is still waiting for his move to a new team to finalize and his new pay scale to start. We won't move until everything is finalized, and dh has a surgery that has been scheduled for the next couple of months. We can rent month to month where we are right now until we know for sure that we'll be moving to Boston. If the move to the new team did fall through, there's a couple of places here where we'd like to live.
I've already filled a big box and a couple of trash bags to donate to a local charity thrift store.
I'm going through all my clothes and am only keeping what I love and look great in. I do have some items that need a bit of tailoring, but I get $100 of free tailoring as part of the free Nordstrom's frequent shoppers' program.
I'm only packing up stuff that I really want, and I'm gathering all my craft supplies together so they don't get lost in all the boxes like they did my last two moves.
Our last move was local. We were both feeling horrible and didn't feel like going through our belongings and culling what we wouldn't use.
Now that we're planning a cross country move where weight will be a factor, we don't want to bring a bunch of crap. I want to pack everything I can up in boxes so the packers we hire will be able to easily box everything up and move it for us. Dh will be too busy to help move, and I just can't do it all. We had some people pack up our breakables and move everything out of our apartment the first time we moved cross country, so we're going to do it again.
It's so freeing to get rid of all the crap I don't like and won't use.
I also read the "Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" the Konmari Method. The book was a good read--even if some of the stuff was a bit kooky--like thanking your clothes, etc. everyday and touching all your belongings... I do agree that you should only keep what you love and find useful or beautiful.
Dh has put a lot of our computers/home entertainment stuff that we no longer need since we upgraded up for sale. He's got a lot of stuff that he needs to purge.
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MsKnit
Pearl Clutcher
RefuPea #1406
Posts: 2,648
Jun 26, 2014 19:06:42 GMT
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Post by MsKnit on Jan 2, 2016 4:56:24 GMT
Threw 16 items away this evening. Well, 2 went into recycling.
The rest was expired stuff from the medicine cabinet. Tomorrow I go through the drawer under the vanity. I just did that a few months ago. But, opened it this morning to find someone shoved stuff in there willy nilly. Grrrr!
Tomorrow I hope to get the recycling into town. The boxes are beginning to take over the garage.
Pie in the sky: I hope to tackle at least half of the mudroom. It's chock full.
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msliz
Drama Llama
The Procrastinator
Posts: 6,419
Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Jan 2, 2016 5:39:05 GMT
I took a whole lot of stuff to Goodwill on the 31st, and I have more ready to go. Today I got rid of a stack of paperwork. It feels so good to have it gone!
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