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Post by getting started on Jan 3, 2017 1:03:17 GMT
that pile of things you're getting rid of is great stampinbetsy! I packed up the Christmas decorations and in the process got rid of (donate or garbage) 1 box full of decorations. Then we got rid of 4 more boxes of things from the basement. There's a lot more to go but this is a start. I have also packed up 3 bags of clothes to donate but they haven't left the house yet.
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Deleted
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May 9, 2024 23:55:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 1:16:51 GMT
I bagged up 3 queen sized quilts & a comforter to donate to our local thrift store. Those quilts are not handmade. I inherited a stack of beautiful quilts made by my grandmother and have been "saving" them. It suddenly occurred to me that my 2 kids are not interested in them so why am I saving them? Grandmother made them to be used. So I'm getting rid of the store bought ones & using my beautiful handmade quilts.
And I have an empty shelf in my linen closet.
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 3, 2017 1:58:24 GMT
I purged more Christmas decor. I have to admit, hang head, I didn't know I still had this bin! It was on the bottom shelf, kind of blocked in by carpet remnants. I got rid of all 5 village pieces, not Department 56, just random stuff, and two snow globes. It took up a full bin, so yay!
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 3, 2017 4:55:01 GMT
My husband redid the inside of my closet. He put large shelves on one end of the closet (tucked back behind the wall) and I can fit all of my out of season stuff on these as well as lesser used items. That left a whole lot more room for the in season clothes and shoes. My closet has two bars (ten feet of hangable space) and I got rid of about 10% of what was in there. This was after an entire closet purge 18 months ago (I donated an entire closet of work clothes), and six months ago pared it down again by about 25 items. I also cleaned out the laundry room two weeks ago. Oh, and I did the dog food pantry area. Go me.
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Post by jenjie on Jan 3, 2017 5:02:52 GMT
Misplacing something is great incentive to clean up! I couldn't find ds' detention slip for tomorrow. I tore apart the kitchen and the computer desk looking for it. Got rid of a bag full of paper clutter. And found the detention slip on the bulletin board where I left it for safekeeping. 😜
I bought two new sets of bath towels for when I redo my bathroom. My old towels are threadbare and falling apart and the new ones are in a bag cluttering up my bedroom. I decided I might as well start using them now. The others will go to the rag bag. I have an extra set that isn't a favorite (dh got them for the camper we no longer use but they are on the smaller side) that is going into the big bin I got for when we rent a house for vacation.
I have a big stack of paid bills and statements that need to get filed. I'm hoping to work on that this week.
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Post by Clair on Jan 3, 2017 5:07:05 GMT
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Post by jenjie on Jan 3, 2017 5:28:31 GMT
I found a podcast, "keeping you organized." I've listened to a few episodes while I'm working. It's a little like a personal trainer encouraging me to keep on going.
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MerryMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,538
Jul 24, 2014 19:51:57 GMT
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Post by MerryMom on Jan 3, 2017 15:19:38 GMT
Since my son has been away at college, I've been doing the "One drawer or shelf or closet at a time" method of decluttering. I keep up with things, and I do a pretty good job of keeping clothes purged from my closet. However, we've lived in our house for 19 years and some things are just put away, in containers or in the hutch, or in a closet, etc. and I just don't go through them very much. And they sit and sit and sit. I think the process is called "de-owning". “Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.”
link
The article in the above link really spoke to me. I am organized, my home is neat and tidy. But I need to get rid of items that are organized in containers and neatly labeled. So, since Christmas, I went through the dining room hutch and got rid of a set of green stoneware, taper candles, several serving dishes. About 4 boxes worth went to Goodwill. Then I went through an area where I keep seldom used serving dishes and got rid of another 4 boxes. The bowls etc. that I bought 25-30 years ago because they were cheap and now I have nicer stuff. So I got rid of the old. I went through all the left over disposable cups and plates, and plastic silverware, etc. left over from graduation and Eagle Scout Court of Honor. I'm donating it to the lady who hosts a 90 person crop twice a year at the local YMCA. I already sent her an email that I'm bringing it so she doesn't buy more. I went through the drawers in the living room where I've stashed old pictures in frames. I took out the pictures and I have a lot of frames to give the stepdaughters. I really didn't have a lot of Christmas stuff to get rid of as I do a pretty good job of that each year. I got rid of loads of stuff about 7 years ago. I did buy one new container so everything is out of cardboard boxes. I bought a $15 garment/wardrobe thing on wheels and I hung the wreaths on it so they don't get crushed. I threw an old sheet over the top of it to keep the dust off. My goal for this weekend is to finish up the basement (just sort some of the toys that I keep for when the grandkids come over). I put napkins in little shoebox containers. I've already told my husband that I'm throwing out all his stuff from fire science college from 1983 and 1985. It's gone!!! For January, I am going to tackle all the kitchen cabinets getting rid of lots of giveaway coffee mugs, I'll probably find more serving things, the food saver thing and any odd small appliance like the waffle iron>>> gone. All large plastic containers that I use only 2-5 times a year will go in the basement. We just got new appliances so then I am going to use that wood restorer product to freshen up the cabinets. Then I'm going to hit the linen closet. All those afghans my mom has crocheted through the years will be tough to get rid of, but I'm going to do it. So since Christmas, I've taken 18 boxes to Goodwill including about 50 DVD's. Before son goes back to college, I want my husband and son to get rid of the old couch in the basement along with those 2 really old huge TV's. Then maybe February will be the "computer/office" room. It might become the new scrapbook room.
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Post by fredfreddy on Jan 3, 2017 15:22:02 GMT
I've got 3 boxes to donate tomorrow. Since I am getting rid of it in 2017, I am counting it. Included are old Christmas wreaths and other décor, outgrown boy clothes, random books and décor taking up space and some kitchen items. 3 boxes adds up quickly.
We redid the floors in the kitchen and had to move a bunch of stuff out. We went through it before putting it back. Kind of a mini move. We are putting in carpet in a few rooms next so stuff will be thinned out as well.
Dh got rid of the fish. But the fish accessories went in the attic and the fish tank is still an eye sore in the garage. I must get on him about selling that.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 9, 2024 23:55:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 15:51:46 GMT
Tomorrow is trash day so I'm going through at least one drawer today to toss stuff. I want to turn my sock drawer into a drawer that will hold socks, underwear and bras (it's a big drawer). So tossing socks and underwear is the to-do this week.
Also on the list is to sell a box of fabric and a box of ribbons.
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
Jul 12, 2014 21:58:10 GMT
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Post by pridemom on Jan 3, 2017 16:06:34 GMT
We paid our fee to use the recycle center, so DH took in two truck loads. Went through the file cabinet, cleaned out files, and shredded. I went through my closet and have a section of clothes to list for sale. We went through the things we did not put back after painting and installing new floors in the main living areas. DH went through the Tupperware cabinet.
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Post by debmast on Jan 3, 2017 16:34:15 GMT
We too moved a lot for a while and that helped. But now we've been here in Houston for almost 11 years and the stuff has accumulated.
In 2017 I want to clear the clutter.
Sadly, New Years' Day brought a hose leak in our kitchen which caused some damage. Thankfully kitchen okay. But office flooring all had to be removed. And I think family room carpet is a goner.
So those two rooms will be my first goals for decluttering (the office is especially overloaded).
First we need to address the initial problem (still drying out and assessing damage).
As floors are replaced and we put rooms back together, I plan to go through and elimiate stuff we no longer need. Organize scrap stuff (and start using it DAMMIT!). Get rid of old DVDs and such.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 3, 2017 16:47:22 GMT
Wow! Everyone seems to be making great progress. MerryMom - thanks for the link to that article. It's a great way to look at clearing out our homes. You sound like you have made a huge dent in your clutter! I am trying to take the time to go through a drawer thoroughly when I get something out. So far I have gone through 2 large drawers of kitchen utensils and gadgets, the junk drawer in the mudroom, all my desk drawers and all the drawers/cabinets in my bathroom. Even though these are drawers I use regularly, I am amazed at how much I was able to toss or donate. Some of the kitchen things were put into a box in the guest room. DD and her roommate are getting separate places next month, so I am setting aside things she might want/need. Anything in the box she doesn't want will then be donated. I still need to go through all the dishes, serving pieces and pots to pull things for her, but will do that closer to moving day. Does it make me a bad mom that I'm almost gleeful at the stuff I'm getting out of here and giving to her? Another thing I am working on is unsubscribing to emails, especially the ones that are always selling me something. The best way to tame all this stuff is bring less in. I remind myself that even though I am saving 40%, I am still paying out the other 60% in cash as well as space to put the item. There is really very little that I truly need to purchase! When I do need something, I am pretty sure I will be able to track down a coupon to use. It's a short week for me as I have Jury Duty on Thursday. The rest of the week I will be working on the boxes of paper in my dining room/office and weeding out clothes. I also plan to get more things listed on eBay. It's nice to wake up in the morning to items sold which means something else out of the house and more money in my PayPal account!
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Post by gillyp on Jan 3, 2017 17:53:08 GMT
It's a hive of activity in Peadom!
DH saw my thrown shoes and at long last went through his own and pared them down. He started to clear the cloakroom and has made some inroads into getting that tidy but it needs different shelving to make full use of its potential and that's just not possible. DH refuses to believe that things that only need using maybe once a year are fine behind things that are used more frequently and insists every.single.thing. is immediately accessible. He has been like this all our lives and it drives me nuts as there is no way everything we need can be stored like that so, again, it looks like I will be making concessions and have to give up some of my own space.
eta his wanting immediate access to everything never works. That's partly how we end up in such a mess!
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Post by melanell on Jan 3, 2017 18:02:03 GMT
Wow, thanks for rounding up those links to share. We did some work on our crawl space on New Years' Day, but I wish we would have given more away than we did. (And 1 thing we set aside to give away, DS #2 saw and wanted to keep. You have to hide things quickly when you're de-cluttering with kids around. ) We threw away maybe 2 dozen small items that were no real use to anyone, and gave away about 20 small things. Save
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Post by melanell on Jan 3, 2017 18:07:20 GMT
Oooh, iamkristinl16, I am totally jealous of your game closet! I wish I had a game closet. We love games, but we are always trying to stick them here or there under the sofa, in cubes with other toys, etc. I'm going to add this to my future home wish list.
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Post by melanell on Jan 3, 2017 18:14:05 GMT
As always, we're just trying to keep up with the endless amount of stuff that enters our home via the kids. Oh my heck. Between school and the fact that people just love to give the kids stuff and the fact that they are endlessly outgrowing things, it's such a struggle. You give away 3 things and throw away 4 papers and one kid comes home with 10 more papers and the other brings home 3 new books, and hands you a pair of pants that don't fit anymore. One of our issues is that we don't have a convenient place to keep an ongoing donation box. Off and on we've kept one in the pantry, but it's often in the way there. And I hate how it looks to have one out in the open. So things always migrate to my room until my room looks like some sort of catastrophe occurred in there. So I'm thinking that perhaps a canvas tote or small fabric bin hung on a doorknob inside of some closets, or tucked into the corner of a bedroom might do the trick in a less visually off-putting way. Then I can just keep an empty crate in the car, and once a week I can check the bins/bags for anything that needs to go out to the crate.
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Post by heartland on Jan 3, 2017 19:55:25 GMT
I'm currently working on my clothes closet. I have the ubiquitous old fashioned sliding door kind with a hanging rod. I started by removing every single item and deciding to either toss or keep, then sorted by color. It's amazing what you find in a "clothes" closet that isn't even remotely clothing related. Namely an end table and a card table my parents got for a wedding gift 40+ years ago. I have one hanging rod - which sat about 10" from the top of the closet. Not enough room to add a shelf that would store much, so I had my dad raise the rod to just a few inches below the top of the closet. Now I have more usable space underneath my clothing. I bought one of those cube things (that can hold a basket or canvas tote) and this sits right underneath the clothes. It's a surprisingly great place to store my jeans and such. They were taking up too much room in the dresser drawer that I had them in. I put back most of the keep pile of clothes, with all the hangers turned backwards. I'll use that to help me weed through some more of the clothes I don't really wear. Need to make a quick stop tonight to pick up some more hangers (the nice kind) and finish putting away the clothes. Then to pack up the donate pile and drop them off this week. I will leave tackle-ing the dresser drawers and such for another time. One thing that I'm debating putting back in the closet is one of those plastic organizers with drawers that was recycled from some other use years ago and holds extra toiletries. My linen/bathroom closet is painfully small and awkward, so I started keeping the extras in the bedroom. It worked at the time, but they aren't really close in proximity, and that organizer won't fit as well into the closet since I've added the cube for my jeans. It would have to go behind the area where the two sliding doors overlap, and you couldn't really open the drawers to get stuff out. Unless you moved it to the side, which would involve scooting other stuff out to. Who invented those doors anyway? So I've been wondering if I can make it fit somehow in the linen closet. Gotta love the peas. Just by typing all that out I've realized how dumb that would be to put that in the bedroom closet now. I think my next project will have to be the linen closet and see I can make it work in there. So that's my next plan. Finish up the bedroom closet and move on to the linen closet.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,901
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Jan 3, 2017 20:12:49 GMT
I haven't really purged anything so far this year...but I did just reorganize my kitchen into zones. So all the stove top cooking stuff (spoons, spatulas potholders) are near the stove. All the measuring spoons, and cups (small and large) are together, the bread is near the toaster, the tea bags are near the tea pot, and the appliances that don't stay on the counter are stored with their lids/cords/crocks etc. I did the best I could anyway, we need just one more drawer to make it really work, and that's not happening so...
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Post by nysparkle on Jan 3, 2017 21:17:47 GMT
Hi all! I love reading how productive you all are. I just moved into a new home a month ago. Everything is all shiny and brand new I thought putting things away will be a breeze.Um yeah right. Moving in right before Christmas was a challenge.The tree went up pretty quickly thanks to my dh.We put away as much as we could in the kitchen and our clothes in the closet. Everything else had to wait. Now that Christmas is over and we are starting to unpack we find things that just won't work in this house and things we do not need. When we sold our previous home I had packed up the main floor of the home to make everything fresh and clean for the sale. The basement held a lot of boxes of who knows what. We figured the house would take 6 months to sell and we could purge the basement then. Well the house sold the first week on the market.We did the best we could purging and packing the basement but a lot of things were just thrown in a box because "we might need it" Ugh. So I am purging that now. So I will be joining you all in this endeavor to de-clutter. I have a bigger house now than my previous home but it does not have a basement. I view that as a plus. I want to simplify. I am making a rule for myself nothing goes in the guest room but the bedroom furniture. Today I unpacked all our bathroom toiletries.I was glad to have baskets to organize. One holds dental needs another shower needs etc..The baskets do help. Mine are rectangular and made of a fabric similar to seat belt material so they are sturdy. I originally got them from a company called Signature homestyles. I have seen some like them in Home goods. If you click on the link the baskets are shown on the bottom left. Link I am not a rep for the company. I just like the product.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 9, 2024 23:55:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 23:03:56 GMT
Since my son has been away at college, I've been doing the "One drawer or shelf or closet at a time" method of decluttering. I keep up with things, and I do a pretty good job of keeping clothes purged from my closet. However, we've lived in our house for 19 years and some things are just put away, in containers or in the hutch, or in a closet, etc. and I just don't go through them very much. And they sit and sit and sit. I think the process is called "de-owning". “Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.”
link
The article in the above link really spoke to me. I am organized, my home is neat and tidy. But I need to get rid of items that are organized in containers and neatly labeled. So, since Christmas, I went through the dining room hutch and got rid of a set of green stoneware, taper candles, several serving dishes. About 4 boxes worth went to Goodwill. Then I went through an area where I keep seldom used serving dishes and got rid of another 4 boxes. The bowls etc. that I bought 25-30 years ago because they were cheap and now I have nicer stuff. So I got rid of the old. I went through all the left over disposable cups and plates, and plastic silverware, etc. left over from graduation and Eagle Scout Court of Honor. I'm donating it to the lady who hosts a 90 person crop twice a year at the local YMCA. I already sent her an email that I'm bringing it so she doesn't buy more. I went through the drawers in the living room where I've stashed old pictures in frames. I took out the pictures and I have a lot of frames to give the stepdaughters. I really didn't have a lot of Christmas stuff to get rid of as I do a pretty good job of that each year. I got rid of loads of stuff about 7 years ago. I did buy one new container so everything is out of cardboard boxes. I bought a $15 garment/wardrobe thing on wheels and I hung the wreaths on it so they don't get crushed. I threw an old sheet over the top of it to keep the dust off. My goal for this weekend is to finish up the basement (just sort some of the toys that I keep for when the grandkids come over). I put napkins in little shoebox containers. I've already told my husband that I'm throwing out all his stuff from fire science college from 1983 and 1985. It's gone!!! For January, I am going to tackle all the kitchen cabinets getting rid of lots of giveaway coffee mugs, I'll probably find more serving things, the food saver thing and any odd small appliance like the waffle iron>>> gone. All large plastic containers that I use only 2-5 times a year will go in the basement. We just got new appliances so then I am going to use that wood restorer product to freshen up the cabinets. Then I'm going to hit the linen closet. All those afghans my mom has crocheted through the years will be tough to get rid of, but I'm going to do it. So since Christmas, I've taken 18 boxes to Goodwill including about 50 DVD's. Before son goes back to college, I want my husband and son to get rid of the old couch in the basement along with those 2 really old huge TV's. Then maybe February will be the "computer/office" room. It might become the new scrapbook room. Thanks for the article. Had to stop reading the replies.....so sad!
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Post by cannmom on Jan 4, 2017 0:30:33 GMT
I took down the tree and put away all the decorations. Pulled some out to donate and better organized what was left. I also cleaned out 2 drawers and a cabinet in the master bath. Threw out a bunch of stuff. I'm following along with the January Cure from Apartment Therapy. Thanks for the link **GypsyGirl**.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 4, 2017 1:25:17 GMT
“Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.” I like that saying. That's really exactly where my thoughts are right now... opening up space by choosing very carefully what I do keep means getting rid of a lot. Which in turns means less to organize. It's a win-win!
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Post by Scrapper100 on Jan 4, 2017 3:50:17 GMT
I want to do another purge here. We purged a lot of Christmas stuff last year so not much to purge there but the rest of the house is fair game we have been replacing things that are wearing out but seem to keep using the older version lol. So I plan to go through and actually get rid of the older items or things I don't love. We have been sick so not much progress yet but I think the first three areas will be the kitchen, garages and the guest room which has become a dumping ground. I have a few boxes of things to donate so I need to document them and get them out and then start filling more boxes.
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Post by AussieMeg on Jan 4, 2017 4:46:30 GMT
My goals for 2017: ~ Clean out my wardrobe and get rid of clothes I no longer wear (to make way for my new clothes when I meet my other goal of losing 15kg haha!) ~ Clean out my shed where I have dumped a whole ton of crap, mostly scrapbooking stuff and board games ~ Go through boxes of paperwork hiding in the cupboard in the study ~ Scan as much paperwork as I can and chuck the hard copies ~ Empty the filing cabinet of crap so I can file the documents I need to keep ~ Clean out the kitchen cupboards in preparation for our kitchen renovation Last year I bought some pretty coloured ring binders to put my recipes in. My plan was to go through of all my old cooking magazines, pull out the recipes that I wanted to keep and put them in the folders, then throw out the rest of the magazine. I got as far as pulling out the recipes and tossing the magazines, but I didn't get around to putting them in the folders. That is what I am going to work on over the next month or so. I have finally gotten rid of the last of my scrapbooking magazines. Or should I say, DSO got rid of them for me. Or should I say he got rid of them without my knowledge! (They were in an old filing cabinet in the garage. He'd been asking me for MONTHS if not years to get rid of the stuff in there. I guess he got sick of waiting! I did tell him that I was happy to get rid of the magazines, I just hadn't gotten around to taking them to the Op Shop yet.)
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FurryP
Drama Llama
To pea or not to pea...
Posts: 6,969
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 19:58:26 GMT
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Post by FurryP on Jan 4, 2017 5:56:13 GMT
I finished cleaning, re-lining the shelves, and purging my pantry on Sunday. It looks so much bigger now. That thing is the size of a small closet. Who knew so much stuff could fit in there? It took me all day (with a few breaks). I now have 3 small piles of stuff to go to GW.
Didn't get to the holiday stuff, but will be putting it away this week. I'm ok with that. This is not a race for me.
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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 4, 2017 13:08:02 GMT
I took a break last night. Tonight after work, I am going to be dealing with surfaces in the master bedroom, bathroom and the office. Stuff will be tossed out!!!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 4, 2017 16:18:18 GMT
Stuff will be tossed out!!! I love the conviction in your voice! Is anyone else finding that one drawer leads to another box to another shelf, etc? Monday I cleaned out the junk drawer and ended up with a pile of homeless keys. DH said to toss them but I thought I should try to match them up if possible. I love those clear boxes from Container Store and have tons of them, all labeled. The keys led to the box in the garage labeled "Locks". Turns out 2 of the keys were to a large padlock in that box. There were 2 small keys that said "Master" on them, so I added them to the box in case the locks ever turn up. Then one tiny key went to an old TravelPro suitcase lock. I paired those, donated them, and then tossed the rest of they keys. In going through the box of locks, I noticed that some of the travel convertor plugs were in the wrong box. That led to going through both of the "Plug Adapter" boxes. (We are long time expats and have them for many countries.) I wanted to toss them all in the donation box, but DH thought that I should keep a few as there is always the chance for another expat assignment in the next 5 years. What I ended up doing was tossing any that didn't look good, those with yellowed plastic, or had loose prongs. Some of those things were 30 years old! Now those boxes are organized and I emptied out one of the storage boxes. Took that empty storage box, put the small collection of golf balls and tees that DH had in an enormous box into the smaller box. Then the larger box went into the donation box. All that work from a pile of keys!
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Post by Linda on Jan 4, 2017 16:41:30 GMT
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 have a library set up on my computer (Win7) and then I have folders for each year - pre-marriage I have 2 folders per year (1970_me and 1970_dh). I also have folders for the various people who send me photos - my mum, my sister... and one each for vintage photos from my side and Dh's side. I temporarily rename the current year's folder 1_2017 from 2017 so it sorts first and then rename it back to 2017 when the next year arrives. Within each folder - I have folders for each event 2016_12_31 New Years Eve Gathering for instance - they sort chronologically. If I don't have the exact date (pre-digital scanned photos), then I do my best 1970_10 or 1970_10_or_11 I don't save blurry pictures - unless it's something very near and dear to my heart and the ONLY picture is blurry. I don't save those random pictures one takes to share with someone but that aren't meaningful past the moment. I don't save photos I only used to sell stuff. If I took 12 pictures trying to get the perfect shot - I don't save all 12. I typically download my camera frequently and it's where the majority of my photos are - I move directly into my folders and then go through and edit/delete. It's a much easier process when I only have ONE event to deal with not a year's worth I do take time every month or so, to download from my phone, to borrow from DH's phone, to check the download folder on my computer....and collect the photos I want to keep and sort them into the right folders. Periodically I go through a stack of printed photos (pre-digital) and scan them in using the same folder and naming protoccol. I also keep a spreadsheet of what has been ordered, printed, scrapbooked, and whether the layout has been scanned. I make notes as to what album the photos are going in etc... It has really helped prevent duplicate printing.
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
Jul 12, 2014 21:58:10 GMT
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Post by pridemom on Jan 4, 2017 16:51:25 GMT
Today I unsubscribed from email lists. It was freeing!
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