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Post by freecharlie on May 17, 2021 15:34:43 GMT
I warned the boy if his room wasn't cleaned by my summer break, I was cleaning it.
I'm about 1/3 of the way done.
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Post by freecharlie on May 17, 2021 16:47:46 GMT
The major part is clean now. I have 3 days worth of laundry still to do as well as a shelf unit he has
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on May 17, 2021 18:20:04 GMT
I warned the boy if his room wasn't cleaned by my summer break, I was cleaning it. Are you ruthless about getting rid of things? DD was awful when she was young. That organizational gene I seem to have totally skipped this kid. The first couple of days after she went away to summer camp I always spent cleaning, organizing and getting rid of stuff. Good luck to you!
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 17, 2021 18:57:09 GMT
I haven't done much-- I went through a couple dresser drawers and part of my closet, and pulled out a small stack of shirts and one pair of flip-flops. (the problem right now with clothes is that I'm currently at my heaviest weight but working on losing all of that, so there are many different sizes of clothes- and I don't want to get rid of clothes that might fit me later on.)
I've started collecting boxes and scheduled to have two vacation days over Memorial Day weekend. I want to tackle EITHER the garage OR my craft room. The craft room will be an emotional thing-- I haven't touched my scrapbook stuff since early last year (maybe since my dad died? or not long after) and am trying to decide if I want to let most of it go. I haven't even gone IN that room in at least 6 months; the door is shut and I just don't want to think about the $$ and amount of *stuff* that's in there. So if I procrastinate on the craft room, the garage will get spic and span, lol!! But I am thinking about it, which is a GOOD thing.
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Post by Linda on May 17, 2021 20:11:19 GMT
. (the problem right now with clothes is that I'm currently at my heaviest weight but working on losing all of that, so there are many different sizes of clothes- and I don't want to get rid of clothes that might fit me later on.) can you sort by size? and really think about are they in good shape? do you love them? will they fit properly when you're that size? (I don't know about you but my shape isn't what once was even at the same weight/size)? will they be in style (or your style)? The keepers from that - box up by size and set aside - no need to push past stuff that doesn't fit when you're getting dressed. And consider rewarding yourself with some new (or new to you) clothes as you go down in size.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on May 17, 2021 20:19:10 GMT
. (the problem right now with clothes is that I'm currently at my heaviest weight but working on losing all of that, so there are many different sizes of clothes- and I don't want to get rid of clothes that might fit me later on.) can you sort by size? and really think about are they in good shape? do you love them? will they fit properly when you're that size? (I don't know about you but my shape isn't what once was even at the same weight/size)? will they be in style (or your style)? The keepers from that - box up by size and set aside - no need to push past stuff that doesn't fit when you're getting dressed. And consider rewarding yourself with some new (or new to you) clothes as you go down in size. Excellent advice! I recently did a major purge of my wardrobe and have lost 20 lbs over the past 2 years. So many of the things that I kept from my current weight were either out of style or didn't fit properly (dang gravity!). Then there were the items that had mysterious stains or damage that I swear weren't there when I put them away in clean condition. I tried on every single item, stood in front of a full length mirror, as well as got feedback from others. Of the smaller sized clothes, I kept exactly 2 shirts, 1 dress and 2 pair of pants. There is another dress that is a bit too small that I am keeping, but it is strictly for a size guage. Once I can zip it up comfortably, it will most likely be donated as well.
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Post by freecharlie on May 17, 2021 20:39:08 GMT
I warned the boy if his room wasn't cleaned by my summer break, I was cleaning it. Are you ruthless about getting rid of things? DD was awful when she was young. That organizational gene I seem to have totally skipped this kid. The first couple of days after she went away to summer camp I always spent cleaning, organizing and getting rid of stuff. Good luck to you! His is clothes and video games and TRASH!!! I'm letting him go through his clothes as they are washed and folded. If he wants them, they get put away. If he doesn't, there is a box to donate
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Post by jen on May 18, 2021 0:00:47 GMT
This is my first post on this thread but I'm drawing a lot of inspiration from it.
My parents just moved houses, and their old house was/is full of 50 years of stuff that they are cleaning out. They are in the new house & had the past few weeks to get the old house cleaned out. They have a dumpster to just throw it all out. It's been crazy and exhausting and now I'm having hoarder nightmares.
I've had so much anxiety over the sheer amount, that its sent me into a cleaning frenzy at my own house. I'm pretty organized but today I threw out over 12 large garbage bags of stuff I don't need. I went through my craft supplies and got rid of anything I've been thinking I would use "someday". Luckily my future dil wanted all the craft supplies. Now my last goal is to downsize at least a dozen rubbermaid totes full of Christmas, by at least 50%.
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Post by ntsf on May 18, 2021 0:07:06 GMT
welcome jen. I also find sorting through someone else's stuff motivates me into dealing with my own piles. I figure everything I get rid of out of my dad's house (he is 94) is one less thing I have to get rid of later. today, I went over to my church--I have been the board clerk for 7 yrs.. turning it over to another. our past records are sort of a mess. and she and I started sorting out duplicates and emptied 10 binders and recycled papers. it felt great. we are continuing our project tomorrow.
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Post by MissBianca on May 18, 2021 2:34:04 GMT
Not a lot to report, still overwhelmed with where to start. But yesterday I did go through the Disney tote that stored all the stuff we take with us to Florida. Relocated the ponchos to camping and got rid of 3 child size ones, donated water bottle slings to goodwill (found lighter weight ones online), tossed the kids autograph clipboards, tossed personal fans that didn’t work anymore. Emptied the bin complete and put the 3 new space heaters in it. And I had DS take it back to the loft. I also relocated a birdhouse my oldest just had to have. It’s been sitting in my dining room for 5 years. I took it to the greenhouse. Today will be a goodwill run. I have a huge stack of craft stuff that needs to go. And it’s in my way of cleaning the dining room. Does anyone have any good solutions for storing donations until it’s time to take them? Right now they are in the dining room because every other place is full of stuff.[/b) could you put them in your trunk? Not really, sports equipment and reusable shopping bags take up a lot lot of space. Maybe after school gets out. The trials of downsizing cars.
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Post by MissBianca on May 18, 2021 2:35:53 GMT
I warned the boy if his room wasn't cleaned by my summer break, I was cleaning it. I'm about 1/3 of the way done. I threatened mine with a grain scoop and a trash barrel. I’ve done it once before so they know I will do it again.
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Post by tentoes on May 18, 2021 20:44:40 GMT
I brought in my summer clothes and took my winter clothes out, and in the process filled a huge garbage bag of stuff I don't like, or can't wear anymore. It will go to charity next week.
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Post by simplyparticular on May 19, 2021 3:21:26 GMT
Cleared out the front hall - closet and kid area where their coat/boot/backpacks hang.
Purged about 1/3 of the hats/gloves/scarves - mostly kid stuff, but a few things of mine. My hands are so small most gift gloves don’t fit. Also got rid of a pair of kid boots and two spring coats they outgrew.
Our donate piles accumulate at the bottom of the basement stairs, and we do a stop at Goodwill on the way to weekly grocery shop, Some Sunday purges I just load the car trunk as I go since I stop around 5:30 almost every week lately.
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Post by Linda on May 19, 2021 4:29:53 GMT
not decluttering really but organising.
Our new house has a coat closet under the stairs - it has a rod and then a low shelf at the back (low ceiling there). It's really deep and I'm not sure how best to utilise the space. Obviously we're hanging coats and right now umbrellas are hanging out on the floor (not ideal). It's also really dark - no closet light and the closet faces a very short hall rather than the foyer itself (and right now the foyer light doesn't work anyway - that whole circuit isn't working - once the electric company finishes their work, we will call the electricians back in if it still doesn't work - it worked, then the electric company did some work and it didn't, they did some more work, and it worked again, we had a bad storm, and it went out. This week the electric company is back working on the lines in the neighbourhood so I'm hopeful)
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Post by simplyparticular on May 20, 2021 23:55:27 GMT
Just got back from UPS store - shipped a 9 year old 27" iMac, and recycled 4 Canon laser cartridges that had become part of the clutter at the front entrance. Nice to get two huge boxes out of the house.
And DH just left with a car load to drop at Goodwill on his way to practice - mostly toys and games we've purged in the last couple weeks.
Next week our employer is hosting an electronic recycling event with Sunnking as a non profit fundraiser. Last year the bins filled up early so we are going on the first day!
The list of what they will take is amazing! We've already begun the pile of items in the garage waiting to go, but I've got a list going of everything that is leaving: broken Kuerig smoke damaged microwave HP printer that jams 55" flatscreen with two dead bulbs 32" CRT TV 13" CRT TV old 17" iMac 23" monitor with pink tinge old digital photo frames external hard drives galore - seriously at least 30 and they take cables! We have two huge boxes of random old cables.
I'm sure I will find more - we're going room by room for electronics.
Facebook Marketplace continues to be a bust for me - two large kid items haven't had so much as a contact, but they keep pushing me to add shipping.
Craigslist was just non-stop spammers so I took the listing down.
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,318
Jun 27, 2014 12:39:18 GMT
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Post by amom23 on May 21, 2021 0:13:46 GMT
I went through our coat closet and filled a black garbage bag of coats of mine and DH's to donate. I also did another pass through of my bedroom closet and added to my donate pile. The garage is going to look so good after I'm able to drop off the donate stuff LOL.
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Post by ntsf on May 24, 2021 1:44:19 GMT
I went through of 10 yrs of papers for a volunteer job.. threw out a lot and organized what I need til a meeting thursday.. and can get rid of most then. !!!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on May 24, 2021 2:27:48 GMT
It's been a slow week here on the decluttering front. I did spent time yesterday doing another pass through my spice drawer and baking drawer below it. I needed to make a list of spices I needed and one thing led to another! You know how that goes. After going through that drawer just a couple of months ago, I was still able to find several that had expired between 2016 and 2018. Emptied those 8 jars, soaked the labels off and ran them through the dishwasher. DD is wanting some more spice jars and these are the nice ones from Penzeys. There is actually space in both drawers now so that is nice.
Tonight I finally figured out how to fix the drawer glides on my silverware drawer. Thanks YouTube! Was a super simple fix, but it meant emptying the drawer and taking it out. The fix took a couple of minutes total. However, once I had it empty I realized it needed a good cleaning. How on earth so many crumbs get in there is beyond me. Now it's all fresh and clean. I keep opening/closing the drawer because I'm so thrilled I fixed it!
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Post by freecharlie on May 24, 2021 3:13:15 GMT
We jagged up 3 bags of clothes to donate and one to throw away. I also went through my medicine again and got rid of expired medications
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Post by Linda on May 24, 2021 4:41:05 GMT
DH went through a HUGE tote yesterday (probably 50 gallon or more)...he threw away a bag worth of trash, had a big pile of papers to shred, there's another pile of papers he wants to look through more closely, and there's some random stuff he needs to find places for and some stuff he'll end up donating. (there was a time when when he couldn't find something he needed, he 'cleaned' his office by tossing stuff into a tote as he searched...this is only ONE of those totes -there were four in the big shed and I'm not sure how many in his closet and office...too many for sure). But to his credit - he is working his way through them and tossing some stuff and shredding some stuff.
We also managed to weedwhack in front of our old shed...it's a metal shed that no one had been inside in probably 5 years and it's full. A bunch of gardening tools came home, 2 lidless trash cans (I need to see if the lids are also in there - if so, we'll keep, if not, then out they will go), some parts to DS's truck (that are now in his pile in the garage for his next trip home), some tools, a window box, and some planter critters. I need to go through the gardening tools - pretty sure we've replaced some of them in the past 5 years so perhaps DS would like the duplicates.
I re-purposed some lidless 5-gallon buckets into planters for clippings I'm trying to root (if I'm successful they'll be planted in the yard once big enough) - gardenia, dogwood, cleveland pear, something else I don't know what it is but it's pretty..
The boxed Christmas tree and the tote of wooden trains that have been in my foyer for a couple of months got moved to the attic - there's only a few more things in the foyer that need to be moved now.
I need to work my way through 2 boxes of photo cds and dvds that were my mum's - my computer doesn't have a drive so I need to use DH's and transfer the files to flashdrives - it'll be a project but I need to get started and try and do one at a time. That's MY next decluttering aim (along with continuing to dig through the two sheds at the old house.
Organising and decluttering that stuff (from the sheds) more deeply will have to wait until the new garage is finished -we have concrete but are waiting for the concrete contractors to clean up their mess and steel shortages have pushed out the actual construction into mid-late June. But once that's finished- the tools can go in there and we can hopefully weed out any duplicates (who am I kidding - there are plenty of duplicates) and offer them to DS and donate the rest. Then there will be room for me to actually organise the gardening tools/equipment and figure out what needs to be kept and what can leave. There are at least four weedwhackers for instance - two battery, one corded electric, and a gas. I think only two work....
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Post by mikklynn on May 24, 2021 11:51:55 GMT
I cleaned out the drawers in the master bathroom vanity yesterday. I tossed a ton of half-used product and put duplicates in the linen closet. I filled a trash bag with discards.
I have 2 boxes of random stuff and 2 bags of clothes to go to Goodwill.
If we ever get around to buying a townhouse, we'll be ready to move.
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Post by ntsf on May 24, 2021 23:44:31 GMT
so my living room is full of the contents of my study. and the junk truck is coming tomorrow and my new furniture is coming wed. my husband is running around the house looking for stuff to put on junk truck.. "lets get rid of this, and that and that" and is happy to be involved (which is a two edged sword)..I told him I wanted to hire a painter to paint room before putting stuff back.. and he offered to do it next week. even though I am going to sort as I put back, more stuff has gone to recycling and garbage. he call our son to come over and help move stuff for the truck. we found interesting things in cardboard tubes and some art we forgot about.
it will take me all summer before I get the whole thing back. but progress!!!
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,318
Jun 27, 2014 12:39:18 GMT
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Post by amom23 on May 25, 2021 0:02:00 GMT
so my living room is full of the contents of my study. and the junk truck is coming tomorrow and my new furniture is coming wed. my husband is running around the house looking for stuff to put on junk truck.. "lets get rid of this, and that and that" and is happy to be involved (which is a two edged sword)..I told him I wanted to hire a painter to paint room before putting stuff back.. and he offered to do it next week. even though I am going to sort as I put back, more stuff has gone to recycling and garbage. he call our son to come over and help move stuff for the truck. we found interesting things in cardboard tubes and some art we forgot about. it will take me all summer before I get the whole thing back. but progress!!! How exciting to have a junk truck coming and your DH is on board with letting stuff go. Fill that truck!
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PLurker
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,730
Location: Behind the Cheddar Curtain
Jun 28, 2014 3:48:49 GMT
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Post by PLurker on May 25, 2021 4:20:27 GMT
You guys have been busy. I got tired just reading of all the work and progress! It does help remind me to avoid accumulation in the future. The memory of moving also reinforces that.
Still have reorganizing and sorting to do in garage but life has been busy as of late with a bit of lazy mixed in.😉. I'm not stressed about it though as I know it's just been a temporary hold(s) after injury and life stuff. It's not overwhelming as in before the move and that is the difference. Doable. Lots of light at end of tunnel. Relief. Less stuff. It's nice.
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Post by ntsf on May 25, 2021 15:51:05 GMT
my husband would just get a dumpster and throw everything away without looking!!! I am the one saying let me deal with one thing at a time..we told our neighbor about getting rid of stuff.. she called a friend around the corner and last night, she and her daughter took the cedar chest, and a big roll of brand new indoor outdoor carpeting.
I'm making another run to goodwill too.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on May 25, 2021 15:58:45 GMT
she and her daughter took the cedar chest, I know lots of people are getting rid of their cedar chests, but those things go quickly when they hit the thrift stores around here. I suspect the younger generation is figuring out that they are handy to have. I had two (both inherited) and had offered one to DD for a long time. She refused...until the moths chewed the heck out of all her cashmere sweaters! I painted my grandmother's chest a pretty blue and it is now a bench at the foot of her bed - and not more holey sweaters!
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Post by ntsf on May 25, 2021 23:46:49 GMT
so my husband spent all day cleaning out 1/2 of garage/basement-- and there is a pile of junk 5 ft wide, and 10 ft long to be picked up with bookcases. I only had to rescue a few things like the extra tile I want to use in our bathroom. we had some arguments.. mostly cause I am tired and I didn't want to do it today, but it is much more clean in basement and he got rid of a lot of stuff. and my son took a box of his stuff that had been sitting for him for 3 months.
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Post by freecharlie on May 26, 2021 0:48:09 GMT
Took 3 bags and 2 boxes to Goodwill and filled our trash can with stuff from the garage.
Little by little...
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Gravity
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,229
Jun 27, 2014 0:29:55 GMT
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Post by Gravity on May 26, 2021 2:03:41 GMT
I cleaned out one of my spare closets yesterday. I currently wear a size 12. I got rid of the size 4, 6, and 8 clothes I had been hanging onto. If I’m ever that thin again, I deserve new clothes. There are lots of baby dolls and barbies in the closet that belong to DD who is currently expecting a baby girl. I told her to get ready because I will be dropping all of the dolls at her home in a few years.
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Post by deafpea on May 27, 2021 4:39:53 GMT
Hi declutter and organization peas! I haven't posted in a long while because my energy has been focused on school. I have done some projects here and there. About a month ago I got my garage cleaned up. Moved stuff that belonged to the shed to the shed, threw away/recycled a whole bunch of stuff, had another pile of stuff to give to charity, and reorganized the shelves. That mostly involved moving things around so they fit better and moving some things from cardboard boxes to plastic boxes, which allowed me to stack them and thus free up a bit more space. Swept the floor and the whole garage looks so much more tidy. I had the house to myself tonight for an hour and a half while DH and the boys were at church activities so I worked on the office. I cleaned up my desk. I gathered papers that need to be shredded into a canvas bin which will live next to the shredder and I will work on shredding here and there. They've been in a paper bag that was ripping so it's nice to have them in something more sturdy. Most of my effort was on emptying bins that I gather stuff into when I'm trying to clean up quickly. The office is looking much better and so is the family room where a lot of the bins that needed to be sorted were. Question for you all: I have lots of pencils and crayons--way more than I really need, especially since my boys are getting older and not into coloring as much. Any suggestions of what I can do with all these pencils and crayons? We're talking plastic shoeboxes full. Are there organizations who could use these things and don't mind if they're used? I will sort out the crayons and remove the tiny one-inch pieces, as well as pencil stubs. Thanks for any help! 5 more days of school then it's summer break for me! I have lots of things I want to do so hope to be more active on this thread over the summer. Merilee
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