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Post by Linda on Jan 10, 2018 23:37:12 GMT
One thing I am focusing on this year is bringing less stuff into the house. I swear that's half the battle! yes- definitely half the battle - possibly more.
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Post by dewryce on Jan 11, 2018 1:45:50 GMT
gypsygirl Maybe the short robe was more for his pleasure? Totally agree that not bring it in to the house is half the battle. Maybe make a rule no more buying stuff to resell until you've sold a certain percentage of what you have, or only enough that fits in a certain cabinet, etc?
We are in the midst of new floors and fixing ceilings and painting so I'm not getting much decluttering done myself. Yesterday my entire contribution was a box of fancy soaps 😂😂😂 I did get rid of a few things in the pantry this weekend and reorganize it a bit, but that's it. Can't wait until the work is done so I can move things back into the rooms they belong in and really start getting rid of things!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 11, 2018 2:18:39 GMT
gypsygirl Maybe the short robe was more for his pleasure? Totally agree that not bring it in to the house is half the battle. Maybe make a rule no more buying stuff to resell until you've sold a certain percentage of what you have, or only enough that fits in a certain cabinet, etc? Um, no! This robe was so far from being any kind of provocative it's funny. No, he went into a small store that sells things made from bamboo. He must have decided to wipe out all his shopping in one stop. My gifts this year were yoga capris, workout socks, a workout t-shirt, said robe, and....a set of bamboo sheets for our bed. Yes dear, I know we really need a new set of sheets. Just buy them if you want and don't put a bow and my name on them! There were some other small gifts, but that was the bulk of it. This Christmas was only second to the "Brookstone Christmas". He's usually such a good gift giver, so not sure where his mind was this year. It's all okay though. We went Saturday to upgrade his iPhone 5 that was dying. When we walked out I was the new owner of an iPhone X, as well as a new Apple Watch Series 3 plus a leather band. He redeemed himself. I like the idea of setting a selling goal on what I already have, before I add more stuff. I've been making a better effort at listing which is resulting in more sales which means more stuff out. Any of the craft/sewing stuff that doesn't sell is being set aside for my garage sale table at a crop this summer. I'll be adding a lot to that when I hit the sewing room and remaining scrapbook stuff for additional purging.
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Post by dewryce on Jan 11, 2018 3:05:30 GMT
That's awesome! But no way he thought it was sexy? DH likes me in t-shirts. Um, okay weirdo But he is like that too. Most of the time he is on point but every now and again I'm just totally confused as to wtf he was thinking. I'm with you, sheets are not a gift you give your wife. That's basically the grown up version of socks. Doing any fun stuff with the money you make? If I ever get my stuff together to sell the few boxes of things we have I think I'll earmark it for more organizational stuff.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 11, 2018 3:29:39 GMT
Doing any fun stuff with the money you make? If I ever get my stuff together to sell the few boxes of things we have I think I'll earmark it for more organizational stuff. I save it up to cover my spending money at quilt festival each year, as well as an annual 3 day crop I attend every July. It's nice to just have a little stash of mad money as I call it!
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Post by hockeymom4 on Jan 11, 2018 13:36:38 GMT
On the plus side my pantry/spice cupboard and fridge are still tidy.... I finally took down the tree (although all the boxes are still sitting in the living room), in the downside haven’t done anything else!!!!! I discovered Big Litte Lies.... so had a bit of a binge...... MUST work on the kitchen today
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 11, 2018 13:45:22 GMT
I'm happy I got the last of my holiday trash picked up yesterday. My recycling cart was overflowing, but I managed to get all the broken down cardboard boxes out of my garage, as well as the huge bag of trash that didn't fit in the trash cart. My garage looks so much better. Only you guys get it, ha ha.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 11, 2018 13:53:20 GMT
While cleaning out the kitchen cabinet, I found the cat feeder. We haven't had a cat in 3 years. I put it in the donate box. Meanwhile, dh is doing the garage and finds the cat carrier. He asks if I want it donated. I say, yes. Well, that donate box is still in the trunk of my car.....I want a cat! Go ahead and get the cat. Tell your husband it's our fault. We can take the heat.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 11, 2018 14:09:52 GMT
While cleaning out the kitchen cabinet, I found the cat feeder. We haven't had a cat in 3 years. I put it in the donate box. Meanwhile, dh is doing the garage and finds the cat carrier. He asks if I want it donated. I say, yes. Well, that donate box is still in the trunk of my car.....I want a cat! Go ahead and get the cat. Tell your husband it's our fault. We can take the heat. Get the cat! Spongemom Scrappants - speaking of cats, how are the antique store cat and your mother getting along?
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Post by Linda on Jan 11, 2018 15:04:53 GMT
re-organised and dusted my scrapbook shelves - put all the albums in chronological order - there's one set of shelves with non-chronological albums but the rest (family and trip and my childhood) are all in order. I did end up with one empty Iris box which I've set aside to see if DH needs it, if not I'll give it away/donate it.
so no purging but some good organising. I have a LOT of albums (actually I have a few albums and a lot of 3-ring binders masquerading as albums - I'm slowly moving them to actual albums, one album sale at a time, lol, and then giving the binders to a teacher friend for her school).
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 11, 2018 15:05:33 GMT
Spongemom Scrappants - speaking of cats, how are the antique store cat and your mother getting along? It's going great. Thanks for asking. I posted a picture on a pet photo thread recently, but here it is again. The cat loves to sit/ride on the tray of my mama's walker. They cruise through the house together - hilarious!
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Post by alsomsknit on Jan 11, 2018 15:29:15 GMT
While cleaning out the kitchen cabinet, I found the cat feeder. We haven't had a cat in 3 years. I put it in the donate box. Meanwhile, dh is doing the garage and finds the cat carrier. He asks if I want it donated. I say, yes. Well, that donate box is still in the trunk of my car.....I want a cat! Go ahead and get the cat. Tell your husband it's our fault. We can take the heat. Yes, get the cat elaynef! I am totally smitten with my two.
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Post by JoP on Jan 11, 2018 15:41:12 GMT
Another vote for getting the cat @elaynef
I lost a bunch of weight two years ago and dropped 3 dress sizes, but didn’t get rid of my larger clothing. I went through the wardrobe this week and donated all of the items in the largest 2 sizes. I’ve kept the next size up and if I stay the same weight they’re being donated in June. They’re all hanging together in one place to make donating easier.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 11, 2018 18:47:04 GMT
This is a post for those of you trying to downsize your wardrobes and get control of the closet once and for all! Last year I discovered The Vivienne Files (thanks to the Peas of course!). Today she asked the question - Could you fit your entire wardrobe for the current season in this armoire? If I got rid of the too small stuff (working on that), then I could answer yes. She has a formula to determine how many pieces of clothing you need, and I thought some might find it useful in their ongoing purging. Not sure I want to get that technical with my wardrobe, but I can attest to the fact that the rule of thumb is correct. The one that states "80% of the time you only wear 20% of your clothing". It really helps to keep that in mind when having trouble paring down the clothes. I've used every excuse in the book. I'll lose weight. I paid sooo much for this. It's still good. I might want to wear it someday. The fabric for this was expensive and I spent so much time making it. Yep, said them all. . Here's to trying to be better about letting things go and being able to fit all my clothing in an armoire like she pictured!
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pgmamaof3
Junior Member
Posts: 64
Jun 26, 2014 19:24:03 GMT
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Post by pgmamaof3 on Jan 11, 2018 19:04:50 GMT
Ended up donating 3 bags of stuff at the begining of the month, will have another 2 or so this weekend plus a bunch of stuff to take to the recycling depot.
Have to get my but in gear and get a few things listed on the local buy and sell!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 3, 2024 12:07:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2018 22:25:55 GMT
This weekend is a styrofoam collection. The big pieces from some package (I don't even know what now!) along with the ones from the meat department will be dropped off then. That will get a couple bags plus the big clunkers out of the house.
Whole looking for something, I found a box of dark room stuff. I need to toss the old stuff and put the rest in a donation box. The trash bin outside is empty so plenty of room to toss stuff!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 11, 2018 22:48:10 GMT
I've been flitting between my office and sewing room today. Sorted out my eBay armoire and combined some things now that space has opened up with several sales of larger items. The people in NH and ME must be snowed in with nothing to do because I have sent multiple quilt/craft related items up there this week! Added a few things that didn't sell to the garage sale box. Also organized the gift wrap drawer in the armoire. Donated all those old Scotch tape dispensers for the little tabs of tape, and added a big roll of ribbon to the garage sale box. Now all the empty gift boxes fit back in the drawer. Went through a small box of cookbooks of mom's. Found a stash of those old bank cash bags dad had from his produce stand. Filled one with my change to go to Coinstar and put the rest away. Also found 2 bluetooth Logitech mouse that had been mom's. They both work and sell well on eBay, so those get listed later.
In the sewing room, all I did was clean/organize one shelf. I added 2 journals (unused) to the eBay pile, put a partially used spiral notebook in donation and tossed some other notepads. Also moved a vintage gravy boat/saucer back to the collection in the dining room, though am thinking of donating it. I broke the saucer, and while I glued it back together it just doesn't look right. As soon as the housekeeper gets out of there I'll tackle the mending pile and put all that stuff where it belongs.
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artsydaisy
Full Member
Posts: 464
Jul 1, 2014 4:55:48 GMT
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Post by artsydaisy on Jan 12, 2018 1:54:36 GMT
Reporting in...I've been cruising along, mostly purging paperwork as I get ready to file taxes. I was feeling pretty good about my progress and thought I was way ahead of the game, but I just checked my spreadsheet and realized that I'm actually under the pace needed to get rid of 2020 things in 2018 (I rounded it up just for fun)! Waaaaaahhh. Today I was able to drop off a bag at the Salvation Army while I was out doing errands, so that's encouraging.
I tried to purge holiday decorations while we were taking down our tree last weekend but my family was HORRIFIED at all of my suggestions. We didn't have much when we first started putting up a tree, so apparently every ornament we've ever put on our tree has major significance to them.
As soon as taxes get filed, I will be working more methodically to get rid of things. Right now it's just whatever strikes my fancy, whenever I grab a chance, but there are endless opportunities here so that's OK.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 12, 2018 2:09:16 GMT
Yesterday and today I emptied all the shelves and lower cabinets in our family room (two walls are basically all built-ins). I wiped down all the woodwork, dusted all the books/items, purged a lot, and then redesigned the placement of what was kept. I have a huge stack of books to donate. I am donating almost all the DVDs (everything's available to stream now). And I filled a box with figurines, candles, and other decor items. We've been in this house six years and while I've tweaked the shelves a few times, this was the first complete overhaul of all of the storage in that room. Much needed. I am so deliriously happy with the results. I keep wandering into that room just to stand there grinning and admiring my handiwork.
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Post by deafpea on Jan 12, 2018 4:18:39 GMT
Hi Peas! I've been reading the thread, just haven't posted yet. I've been working on my house too. So far I've taken a box of odds and ends to my donation center and have another one ready. I've taken a few bags of clothes too. I have two garage bags of worn out blue jeans that I'm giving to a friend for her craft projects in my trunk that I hope to deliver to her tomorrow (she lives in another city but works in mine). My current project right now is matching lids to plastic containers. I have several different kinds of shoebox and sweater size and I'm checking to see how many lids I need to keep. I know several boxes of one type have broken and gotten recycled over the years, but the lids didn't get dumped too. So I'm working on that. The lids are all in one place but the boxes are everywhere (being used!) so that's probably about an hour's project. During the Christmas break, I cleared everything out of my bedroom that didn't belong in there and gave the room a good cleaning. All the furniture was dusted, as well as the decorative items I was keeping. I moved furniture and vacuumed, especially where the walls meet the floor. I bought a Swiffer duster and dusted the walls. Boy, my walls were much more dirty/dusty than I thought! I moved a rocking chair back in my room from the living room so I have a spot with my magnifier lamp to do cross stitching. I need to move the bed to clean out and vacuum under there, as well as move the stuff off the floor of my closet to vacuum there. Hope to do that tomorrow--we have a long weekend due to no school (end of semester) plus MLK day so I'll enlist my teenage son to help move the bed. Oh, I also need to clean the ceiling fan. Even with those few things to finish, my room looks and feels much better. Tomorrow I'm going to finish a project in the boys' room. (My two younger sons share). We have WAY too many short sleeve shirts so I'm going to have them choose their 10 favorite shirts and the rest are getting donated. I have a few coats and jackets that are outgrown or no longer needed that will go to donation too. Other projects I hope to work on this weekend: go through all my holding containers, one at a time, and get things sorted and put away or thrown away. I have a tendency to toss everything in a container (box, laundry basket, whatever I have handy) when I'm trying to clean up quickly and I have a whole bunch of them to go through. I have a bunch of my son's artwork from 3rd grade, I think, that I want to photograph so I can throw away all the big stuff. (He's a high school junior now so that tells you how long I've had that stuff). Merilee
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Post by dewryce on Jan 12, 2018 4:54:17 GMT
deafpea Welcome, sounds like you've gotten tons accomplished already!
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Post by dewryce on Jan 12, 2018 4:55:01 GMT
Yesterday and today I emptied all the shelves and lower cabinets in our family room (two walls are basically all built-ins). I wiped down all the woodwork, dusted all the books/items, purged a lot, and then redesigned the placement of what was kept. I have a huge stack of books to donate. I am donating almost all the DVDs (everything's available to stream now). And I filled a box with figurines, candles, and other decor items. We've been in this house six years and while I've tweaked the shelves a few times, this was the first complete overhaul of all of the storage in that room. Much needed. I am so deliriously happy with the results. I keep wandering into that room just to stand there grinning and admiring my handiwork. I do this all the time!
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Post by deafpea on Jan 13, 2018 17:45:03 GMT
Today I went through the basket that holds my Christmas story books. My mom started a tradition of giving each family (me and my siblings) a storybook for the children. My oldest is 18, so we had 18+ books from her. Some years she gave us two. I know which ones are from her because she would write the year and a note in the front cover. I also had a bunch of books that I'd picked up here and there. I went through the basket and pulled out the ones that didn't have any inscription inside and I plan to donate them to my school library. There were 15.
I had my boys go through their short sleeve shirts and pick their 10 favorite. My younger son's extras went into the donation bag. I think there were 10? My older son's shirts will go into the outgrown clothes box until his younger brother is ready for them (probably next year). I also went through the outgrown box and pulled out all the size 6 clothes for the younger son. Some of the pants and pajamas didn't fit right but they're in good shape so into the donation bag they went. Also some shirts that he didn't like.
I'm making good progress on going through all my holding containers. It's amazing how stuff gets scattered through my house.
Merilee
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 13, 2018 18:53:17 GMT
It's amazing how stuff gets scattered through my house. Isn't that the truth! DH is going to an event tonight that has a gift exchange. He mentioned he planned to pick up one of those stainless thermos bottles to give. Told him not to bother and pulled a brand new one, complete with tags/stickers out of the cabinet. It's already been put in a gift bag and ready to go! While I was at it, I gathered up all the thermos and water bottles that were in a few places and made him go through them with me. He went through a phase a couple of years ago where he was in search of the 'perfect' thermos. 4 went straight into the donation bag, 1 will go to DD and the rest fit perfectly on the open shelf I keep them on. I also told him we were going back to the rule of "something new comes in, something old goes out". I'm going to take a sewing break this afternoon, then work on some of the boxes of papers in my office. DH will be gone most of the afternoon and evening so there will be no distractions! ETA: I did get some sewing done, then sorted 2 of the shelves of fabric. I pulled 2 stacks of fabrics for the garage sale that are 15" high each - a total of 42 pieces of fabric, as well as about a dozen large showroom samples. A good bit of this is yardage. The worst part? Other than the shelves looking less cluttered, you really can't tell much is gone. Also bagged up all my quilt binding leftovers and rolls of that thin satin ribbon, as well as a large decorative tassel. All into the garage sale pile. I've also pulled 8 of mom's cookbooks to send my sister. I only kept 3 from the box (all family related), but am pulling 3 from my own collection to donate. Anyone else get any purging/organizing done today?
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artsydaisy
Full Member
Posts: 464
Jul 1, 2014 4:55:48 GMT
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Post by artsydaisy on Jan 14, 2018 2:04:27 GMT
Well, I can report some success this week! We were going through boxes of hand-me-down clothing for my youngest because he needed the next size up in pants. There is a big gap between my eldest and youngest. I was able to bully, I mean sweetly persuade, DH to let go of some things that were not worth holding onto until DS can wear them. I was motivated by my failure with the Christmas ornaments! Not gonna lose two battles in a row...
I also worked on clearing a path in my office and was able to get rid of a lot of stuff. Most of it was trash, but it put me back on track for my 2020 things this year. I'm actually pretty far ahead now, which is good because I'm going to be out of town next week so I won't be able to do anything. And, I can walk more freely in there to get in and purge more things, woohoo!
Keep it up everyone! This thread is really motivating for me, and it's nice to have some accountability.
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,663
Location: Ohio
Jul 5, 2014 1:53:49 GMT
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Post by StephDRebel on Jan 14, 2018 2:14:11 GMT
I'm jumping in! we cleaned out my closest today and packed up 6 bags of clothes. I literally cleaned out an entire closet worth of stuff I don't wear anymore or just don't love. We're going to have my team over next week, hang it all on racks in the living room, drink champagne and let them shop and have a fashion show. anything left after they go through it will go to the girls at the vocational school for job interviews and work attire. I'm thrilled that we also found a box of work pants that were quickly claimed by their automotive teacher. I'm going to drop them off Monday. next up, bathroom cabinets.
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 14, 2018 2:18:27 GMT
deafpea I bought a Christmas book every year, too. I purged most of them after Christmas. My kids are in their 30s, and the grands had no interest in them.
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Post by #notLauren on Jan 14, 2018 3:04:56 GMT
I decluttered my makeup and craft room today. I was ruthless. I tend to clean and declutter it twice a year but I always keep to much. Today, 13 gallon garbage bags full went and I have about 30 coloring books (most of them totally unused) to go to the local women's shelter..
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Post by deafpea on Jan 14, 2018 4:29:21 GMT
deafpea I bought a Christmas book every year, too. I purged most of them after Christmas. My kids are in their 30s, and the grands had no interest in them. My younger two kids are 9 and 6 so I figure I still have a few years before they'll be out of the storybook stage. Not sure yet if I'll hang onto them for the grands or give them to my children to give to their children or whatever. Merilee SaveSave
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Post by tracyarts on Jan 14, 2018 6:36:43 GMT
The bookshelves are packed, and I met my goal of getting rid of half the books. Tonight, I pulled 12 pair of worn once or never worn out of the house shoes to list on eBay tomorrow, along with some too big clothes that never got worn other than to try on, and a few Vera Bradley purses that are too small for my needs and got used once or twice.
Lesson learned: If it doesn't work for me when I buy it, it won't miraculously start working for me a year or two down the road.
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