Nanner
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,963
Jun 25, 2014 23:13:23 GMT
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Post by Nanner on Jan 1, 2017 3:28:15 GMT
@knot - You are at the same stage I am. My mom died in April and so much of the stuff in the dining room is hers. I was pretty ruthless when we emptied her house, but enough made it back to be a problem. Because of having to deal with that, I am now starting to get rid of things that I know DD isn't going to want. She really shouldn't have to deal with the guilt of tossing my old things just because I couldn't deal with it. I've been donating, trashing and some eBay listing. It's a lot of work! We have somewhat the same issue with belongings of a family member that has passed. BIL died in October, and he and DH were each others' only relatives other than a couple of cousins. So we filled a storage unit with stuff we wanted to keep when we cleaned out his house. It's still in the storage unit, but we'll have to bring it up to Canada at some point. We are going to wait until we move, as our current house is very small and we already have a storage unit here. I'm hoping that DH will agree to NOT bring some of BIL's belongings here, and to just donate it.
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Post by BlueDiamond on Jan 1, 2017 4:00:15 GMT
I'm in too!!
We've been in our house for about 22 years now, and our kids are 16 and 13, so we've been through a lot in this house! DH and I have only ever lived at our parents' houses before this, so no moves in our past!
That said, we STILL have some projects in the house that have never been finished!! (We remodeled/added on to the entire house about 16 years ago and did most of the work ourselves).
I'm thinking of dedicating a single month to each room in the house, doing any and all things in that room, while keeping up the rest of the house. We need to overhaul our laundry room closet, and re-think what we keep in our cabinets.
For the next few days, I will be going through all our Christmas decorations. We are now storing it back at our house, so I'll have time to go through it ALL and decide what I want to keep and what I want to donate.
I have copied everyone's ideas onto a Word document so I don't forget anything!! HAHA I like the idea though of getting everything done before spring so I can concentrate on the yard.
Lots to do, but I have a whole year to do it!!!
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Post by cmhs on Jan 1, 2017 5:48:01 GMT
Like many of you, I am working on sorting and purging the Christmas decorations. For the past couple of days, I've been working in the basement alternating between the Christmas decorations that didn't get used this year and my craft area. I'm making good progress and I'll be checking in here for motivation.
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Post by gillyp on Jan 1, 2017 9:21:47 GMT
Hurrah! I walked past a drawer then turned back to it, tipped it up and sorted through the contents. I have removed 7 bras that will never be worn again, 3 of those scraps that attach to bra straps to give an illusion of a higher neckline under a shirt and a pair of support underwear that used to leave me feeling like I would never breath again and left me looking like an overstuffed sausage. It took just 10 minutes!
I could not bring myself to get rid of two unworn camisoles. They are too pretty and occasionally I wear sheer tops that need something long line underneath. These would be ideal but I keep forgetting they are there and I have regained the 40 odd lb I lost 3 years ago so right now they are too small. However, that weight is going to go too. I managed before and I will manage again. Life went pear shaped and I could not focus on maintaining the loss. I'm hoping that this time I will be able to push through any difficulties that may arise in the future.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jan 1, 2017 12:14:26 GMT
Yeah well...guess what?? I lied. I started trying to get clothes in the closet tonight. The little bitty tiny apartment closet. That is about 1/8th size on my closet before. Oh my hell, it is so not going to happen. So I guess I am going to have to cull through my clothes in the next day or so as I try to shoe horn my life into a much smaller space. I probably should have done it before but didn't think I needed to. Well...yes. Yes I should have. (on another note: I have no life. New's Year Eve and I am unpacking boxes and going through clothes. Alone. ) See what happens you brag (said in my best 'mom' voice)? What is it with clothes? I am dreading dealing with my closet and dresser when we start the remodel. We will be moving to the guest room while our room is torn up. The guest room is where my clothes reside. I am going to have to share that space with DH. I see a major wardrobe purge coming up soon. The dresser is overfull and really needs a purge as well. As for no life, I am spending the evening listing a bunch of DH's stuff while dog sitting a neurotic dog. I did stock up on wine, so I should survive the evening! Happy New Year to you! SaveIt's karma in action for sure.
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Post by mrssmith on Jan 1, 2017 13:03:08 GMT
I decided that everyone should have to move every so often simply just because it forces you to face your clutter. Yes, I agree!
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 1, 2017 13:57:23 GMT
Hurrah! I walked past a drawer then turned back to it, tipped it up and sorted through the contents. That's my favorite way to do it!
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Nanner
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,963
Jun 25, 2014 23:13:23 GMT
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Post by Nanner on Jan 1, 2017 15:20:12 GMT
Yikes! I just cleared out the medicine cabinet.
I start out every year with great intentions. It generally lasts a few days. Last year, it lasted a bit longer, but I'm determined to get it all done this year.
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Post by bigbundt on Jan 1, 2017 16:29:08 GMT
Cleaned out a bunch of stuff in our attic, including emptying three huge bins of obsolete electronics from my DH. The dining room table is completely covered with things I will drop off at the thrift store tomorrow and a full car load of papers and cardboard to bring to the recycling center. Registration for the spring kids consignment sale opened today so I am signed up for that. There are a few things I need to list on FB sale groups but I am trying to decide if I should do it now or in a couple of months when people might not be decluttering?
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 1, 2017 20:44:27 GMT
There are a few things I need to list on FB sale groups but I am trying to decide if I should do it now or in a couple of months when people might not be decluttering? You have to look at how much more money you think you will make by waiting. Is it enough to hang on to the stuff, like at least double? If not, I'd go ahead and list it now and try to get it out of the house! I've been bad about hanging onto things thinking I'll list it on eBay. Or even worse, keep listing something several times. I am making a more conscious effort to let things go much more quickly. If an item isn't going to make me enough to cover my time, then I let it go. As for eBay, my new rule is is that if it doesn't sell the second time, it's most likely going to be donated. There are always exceptions, but those are few. Save
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 1, 2017 20:46:41 GMT
There are a few things I need to list on FB sale groups but I am trying to decide if I should do it now or in a couple of months when people might not be decluttering? Like **GypsyGirl** suggests -- do it now. It's probably not worth the difference to wait. Better to just get it gone while you are motivated!
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Post by jennrs on Jan 1, 2017 20:59:47 GMT
I'm pretty good at getting rid of things but it just never seems like enough!
At the beginning of last year I got rid of boxes and boxes of sentimental things like greeting cards and the kids' old school papers. I had so many of their old papers and they are now 30 and 21!
So today wasn't a planned day of purging but DH started in the garage. My mom's old tv was out there on a shelf and she passed away 6 years ago. It worked fine and I would turn it on maybe 3-4 times a year when I was out there working on a project. It was just so hard to get rid of, but I did!
We also loaded up a truck load of stuff to throw away. Off to a good start!
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jan 1, 2017 21:09:34 GMT
DH and I made a trip to the office to put those boxes of files in the Shred Bin. Also, the people who wanted our 4 boxes hinges/doorknobs, 2 boxes of ribbon and clarinet reeds FINALLY came today! Whew, my bench on our porch was getting crowded. Now to post some more stuff.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 10, 2024 9:14:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 21:17:35 GMT
I tossed a stack of knitting magazines into the recycle bin. I had not gone hunting for a pattern out of any of them during 2016. Out they went!
The goal is to sell, donate, toss something every week. Hopefully all three each week but I'll settle for at least one of the three.
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Post by micheley on Jan 1, 2017 22:14:12 GMT
Today's goal accomplished. Took all the ornaments off the tree and went through those plus unused ornaments. Ornaments with a piece broken off were thrown out. Hated to do it but if we haven't superglued the piece back on in 10-15 (!) years, clearly we never will. Got a small ornament organizer for each of the three kids. Divided up their ornaments and any I no longer wanted for when they have their own trees. If the kids don't want them; they are welcome to throw the ornaments out. Remaining ornaments put in their boxes or wrapped in tissue and put in the organizers.
Doesn't sound like much, but I am exhausted!
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Post by bigbundt on Jan 1, 2017 22:24:41 GMT
There are a few things I need to list on FB sale groups but I am trying to decide if I should do it now or in a couple of months when people might not be decluttering? You have to look at how much more money you think you will make by waiting. Is it enough to hang on to the stuff, like at least double? If not, I'd go ahead and list it now and try to get it out of the house! I've been bad about hanging onto things thinking I'll list it on eBay. Or even worse, keep listing something several times. I am making a more conscious effort to let things go much more quickly. If an item isn't going to make me enough to cover my time, then I let it go. As for eBay, my new rule is is that if it doesn't sell the second time, it's most likely going to be donated. There are always exceptions, but those are few. SaveThat is a good point. These are not things that would double in price if I wait, they are just some things left from our wedding: some nice vases, a white metal gazebo, brand new Pottery Barn easel, a bunch of crystal bowls/platters. So nothing huge or valuable but if I could get a little money for them I'd be happy.
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Post by bigbundt on Jan 1, 2017 23:23:10 GMT
I just looked on FB groups and those types of things are not selling. So looks like I'll be donating them!
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Post by kibble on Jan 1, 2017 23:25:33 GMT
I would like to get a handle on the photos this year. I want to buy a negative scanner. I want to take all the random boxes of photos and organize them. I completed organizing/purging my photos last year. Took me 4 years because I had large totes i inherited when my mom passed. Here are my tips for anyone trying to get their physical photos organized:-Go through first and toss any that are: blurry, too dark to make out, ones where everyone's heads are cut off, etc. duplicates that no one else would want. Also multiple scenery pics (for example vacation pics to the beach, one or 2 very good sunset ones is enough) It's hard at first because they are pictures, but the end result is worth it! -Next focus on getting rid of ones where you don't know anyone in them (I sat down with an aunt and had her help me with this. If she didn't know, I tossed them, whats the point of keeping pictures you don't know anyone in?) -If they aren't sorted by date or you are unsure of date, start by trying to sort by decade. Then subsort by year as close as possible. It's easier when you spread them out because you can match up ones. Once sorted by year, try to group my month in each year as much as possible. Obviously it's guesswork, but I found it easier as I went along. -Once sorting was complete, I went through again and took out ones I didn't want, but someone else might. I gave many to family members, and also donated some to my moms historical society since some where pics of houses and churches in the town she grew up in (I called them to ask if they were interested first) I went to one family reunion and handed out envelopes of photos to a bunch of different people. In addition, alot of older ones I didn't want to keep, but knew who was in them, I scanned in and uploaded to Ancestry.com for other to enjoy then gave the originals to family. -After all that was done, I Marie Kondo'd the heck out of them. I looked at each one left and if I didn't love it/have a good reaction, I got rid of it. For vacations, I kept very few scenery/building type ones. After all, when going through old photos, I usually focus on people. I labeled the back of every one that I kept. I scanned in anyone that weren't originally digital. I love that when I do want to look throught them now, they are ones I really enjoy looking at. It's also nice knowing I have everything backed up in case of a fire or flood.
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Post by stampinbetsy on Jan 1, 2017 23:32:37 GMT
Attachment DeletedI am so in on this this year! I decided the other day that I would like our house to be presentable (well, maybe more than presentable) so that we can not use that as an excuse for people to come over. The fact that my dog gets anxious and crazy is another story, but we can work on that. So I sat down with a legal pad and went through my house mentally, room by room, determining what needs to be done (I was at work at the time, so I couldn't actually go through each room). I read the list to DH later, and he agreed with me, and I came up with more things on the list. I figured out that I need to take are of about 4 things on the list every week to get done by my goal of Memorial Day. DS graduates from high school on June 2. I wrote 3 things on a post-it and stuck it in my calendar to take care of this week. I'm going to start in the more public areas of the house, and work my way back, I think. DH is going to have to do some of this, because some of this crap we need to go through is his crap! Some of the things on the list are thing we will hire someone to do (like replacing our entryway light fixture, because there's no way we're doing that), but most of it we need to do ourselves. Because the weather has been nice this weekend and we didn't have anything else to do this afternoon, DH and I went out in the garage and started pulling stuff out into the driveway. We got to a point where DH didn't want to pull anything else out, so I said we should go through what we already pulled out. The result is pictured below - somebody is going to be taking a trip to the dump in the near future! There's still a lot to do in the garage, but I feel really good about getting rid of all this crap. ETA: Ok, the picture ended up on the top. But that's all the crap on my driveway that is going away!
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Post by katlady on Jan 1, 2017 23:45:34 GMT
I would like to get a handle on the photos this year. I want to buy a negative scanner. I want to take all the random boxes of photos and organize them. I completed organizing/purging my photos last year. Took me 4 years because I had large totes i inherited when my mom passed. Here are my tips for anyone trying to get their physical photos organized:Do you have any tips for organizing digital photos? That is such a black hole for me and I have a hard time getting a handle on digital stuff, not just photos.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 10, 2024 9:14:42 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 23:49:00 GMT
I would like to get a handle on the photos this year. I want to buy a negative scanner. I want to take all the random boxes of photos and organize them. I completed organizing/purging my photos last year. Took me 4 years because I had large totes i inherited when my mom passed. Here are my tips for anyone trying to get their physical photos organized:-Go through first and toss any that are: blurry, too dark to make out, ones where everyone's heads are cut off, etc. duplicates that no one else would want. Also multiple scenery pics (for example vacation pics to the beach, one or 2 very good sunset ones is enough) It's hard at first because they are pictures, but the end result is worth it! -Next focus on getting rid of ones where you don't know anyone in them (I sat down with an aunt and had her help me with this. If she didn't know, I tossed them, whats the point of keeping pictures you don't know anyone in?) -If they aren't sorted by date or you are unsure of date, start by trying to sort by decade. Then subsort by year as close as possible. It's easier when you spread them out because you can match up ones. Once sorted by year, try to group my month in each year as much as possible. Obviously it's guesswork, but I found it easier as I went along. -Once sorting was complete, I went through again and took out ones I didn't want, but someone else might. I gave many to family members, and also donated some to my moms historical society since some where pics of houses and churches in the town she grew up in (I called them to ask if they were interested first) I went to one family reunion and handed out envelopes of photos to a bunch of different people. In addition, alot of older ones I didn't want to keep, but knew who was in them, I scanned in and uploaded to Ancestry.com for other to enjoy then gave the originals to family. -After all that was done, I Marie Kondo'd the heck out of them. I looked at each one left and if I didn't love it/have a good reaction, I got rid of it. For vacations, I kept very few scenery/building type ones. After all, when going through old photos, I usually focus on people. I labeled the back of every one that I kept. I scanned in anyone that weren't originally digital. I love that when I do want to look throught them now, they are ones I really enjoy looking at. It's also nice knowing I have everything backed up in case of a fire or flood. Photo organization is also one of my goals this year. You have good advice! Thanks!
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Post by kibble on Jan 2, 2017 0:29:53 GMT
I completed organizing/purging my photos last year. Took me 4 years because I had large totes i inherited when my mom passed. Here are my tips for anyone trying to get their physical photos organized:Do you have any tips for organizing digital photos? That is such a black hole for me and I have a hard time getting a handle on digital stuff, not just photos. I did my digital ones in a very similar way: -Deleted any that were blurry, duplicates, didn't know who was in them, etc. Also multiples that look super similar (you know the 20 pics you have of Mount Rushmore) You will be amazed how many that gets rid of. -Made lots of folders while I was sorting. I didn't want multiple folders in a year folder, but found it easier to sort that way. For example, when doing 2014, I'd have a folder for birthday, christmas, vacation, etc. When finished and labeled I moved them all into the main year folder. -I knew I had the most pics of my son, so I have individual folder for year 2001 and up, but I didn't have many for the 1970s for example, so just have one folder with all 1970s in it. -biggest things with digital photos is the labeling. Once I had semi sorted and deleted ones i didn't want, I group labeled. For example, for my sons 15th birthday, I would click on all photos from that event, right click and rename (if all chosen you can rename all together) then label with year first, then month, then day if I knew it then name/event. ALL of my digital photos are labeled like this; 2015-12-4 Name Birthday (1), 2015-12-4 Name Birthday (2), etc. If I didn't have the exact date I would do 2014-7 Family Picnic, etc. I do this so it will auto sort in the year files by date. I have all my photos uploaded to a cloud service (I use Amazon since it's included with Prime) and I also keep a flash drive backup in a fire safe in addition to the files on my computer. A big thing is don't feel bad about deleting ones you don't like. It is ingrained in us I think that photos are so important we must keep them all. We need to look at it the opposite ways. We want to spend our time looking at the photos that bring us happiness and great memories, not having having to skip over all the crappy ones. It's ok to hit delete!
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Laura
Full Member
Ruby Slippered Pea
Posts: 139
Jun 25, 2014 19:55:02 GMT
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Post by Laura on Jan 2, 2017 1:49:23 GMT
I haven't been around much lately because I've been pretty busy working a full time job but I am a longtime Pea so hopefully I'll be allowed to join this little group.
So last year my husband and I stumbled on a plan for our retirement. We learned about the full time RVing lifestyle and that there are people who travel around the country and live in a nice RV full time. The more research we did the more we fell in love with the idea and we realize that it will be a very cost effective way to live and stretch out our retirement savings.
So, at the earliest, we might be able to get on the road after our daughter retires from college in five or so years. I figure I should be using that time to declutter and get rid of as much of the unnecessary stuff as possible. My goal for this year is to declutter and start selling stuff. I plan on saving all the money I make and putting it into an RV fund to help pay for our RV. I'm excited about the idea of doing this but I tend to be hoarder-ish with my stuff so letting go of it will definitely be hard. Ultimately I don't want to have a lot of possessions that my kids will have to get rid of when I die, so that is another reason why I'm wanting to live a more minimalist lifestyle.
I'm just finishing up having two weeks of vacation and I'm very proud of the things I got done. I cleaned up my scrapbook/craft room and I finally cleaned out the freezer! I didn't get much done but I'm glad I got those two things done.
I look forward to participating in any decluttering challenges as time allows!
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Post by atomicdog on Jan 2, 2017 1:50:59 GMT
I'm in. Going to take a garbage bag in and ruthlessly dump all the old/outdated/too worn to keep stuff from the dresser drawers. "If in doubt, toss it out!" From there, I'd like to tackle the guest bedroom which has become a dumping ground for "stuff". Plus, I'd like to add that I'm trying to find time to work on some of my hobbies that I have ignored for too long. Too many "UFO's" hanging around!
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 2, 2017 12:41:54 GMT
kibble Those are great tips. Fortunately, I don't have quite that many! I will use your tips, so thank you.
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Post by gillyp on Jan 2, 2017 12:56:55 GMT
I got this little storage system the other day and yesterday made it into two smaller units, one of which now houses my shoes and the other my purses. I realise this will be much too small for many others but I don't have that many shoes or purses! Having said that, yesterday I threw out 13 pairs of shoes that I haven't worn for years, since I left my professional job and know I will never wear again. I like this unit so much I have ordered more as all the closets in this house have high, deep shelves where everything gets stacked up higgledy piggledy and it's difficult to get at anything without the whole lot tumbling down. I'm hoping the cubes will help to keep everything in place and easily accessible. Their only problem is I could do with more of the connectors. I also ordered a larger set with doors to go on the floor inside the hall closet. It desperately needs better storage in there. At the moment there is a narrow shelving unit which isn't big enough to set anything on properly so I'm hoping this will solve that problem. I'm raring to go today but it's back to work tomorrow and back to minding the DGDs through the week so I know my good intentions will fall back a bit.
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Post by auntkelly on Jan 2, 2017 15:16:00 GMT
I love this thread! I've already gotten a lot of great tips!
My husband retired last April and we have moved twice since then. We sold our house in Texas, put everything in storage and moved to our lake house for a few months while we looked for a permanent home in OK. I purged like crazy before we left Texas. I nearly filled a three car garage w/ boxes full of stuff to sell and give away. (Based on the recommendation of a friend, we hired a lady to sell our good stuff on EBay, but that was a total disaster).
We found a house in OK that we loved in October. The new house is almost exactly 1/2 the size of our house in Texas, but that's okay since both of our kids are grown now. When we got our stuff out of storage and moved in our new house, I could not believe how much stuff I still needed to purge. I found the trick was keeping everything together. In our old house, we had enough room to throw a couple of wine openers in the kitchen, a couple in the dining room, a couple in our junk drawer, etc. When I grouped all our wine openers together, I found we had about 20 wine openers! Same thing for pizza cutters, tape measures, pens, scotch tape, etc. I'm still very much in the decluttering and organizing stage.
I know the main thing I need to do is buy less stuff. I went to Dillard's yesterday and they were having a huge sale-additional 50% off sale prices. I grabbed a handful of clothes and thought "At these prices, I'll take all these clothes home, try everything on and bring back what I don't want." Then I thought again and realized half of it wouldn't fit right and I'd never get around to returning it in the three days allowed and I didn't really need any new clothes, so I tried on only the garments I really loved and ended up buying one dress for $15 and a nightshirt which I really needed.
I will definitely be following this thread throughout the year.
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Nanner
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,963
Jun 25, 2014 23:13:23 GMT
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Post by Nanner on Jan 2, 2017 15:33:51 GMT
Today, DS is coming over and he and DH are moving everything out of the guest room into our storage unit (in preparation for the new carpet being put in in a couple of weeks. Once the floor is done, all that will be coming back to that room are the bed, the night table and a dresser. All with nothing in them, as I have already tossed everything that was in the drawers. The luggage will be coming back to the floor of the closet in there as well.
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Post by Merge on Jan 2, 2017 21:20:46 GMT
We took an entire truck full of stuff to Goodwill today and threw away several bags as well. Much was from 13 yo dd's room - she was finally motivated to declutter and we are so happy with the results! But I also got rid of a bunch of clothes and reorganized my side of the closet.
And I got DH to put up a light fixture and a curtain rod that have been waiting for well over a year, and I got him to attempt to replace the master bathroom faucets. We both knew he wasn't going to be able to do it, but I wasn't allowed to call someone in until he had tried. So now that can go forward.
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Post by paperaddictedpea on Jan 2, 2017 21:25:26 GMT
My main goal for 2017 is to keep my house in a state where I feel fine about people dropping in unexpectedly. To accomplish this I'd like to get into a cleaning routine where I tackle one or two things each day, rather than spending large chunks of time of the weekend cleaning. Other goals include: -Continue purging clothes, shoes and housewares. I got rid of quite a bit last year but I know I can do more. -Decrease my stash of scrapbooking supplies by at least half. I'll still be able to scrap for a LONG time on what's left -Go through the storage tubs in the basement to see what I can get rid of. The tubs are are stored neatly on shelves but I'm planning to replace my furnace this spring and add central air, and I may lose some of the storage area if additional space is required for the upgraded unit.
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