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Post by mikklynn on Sept 19, 2021 13:11:41 GMT
refugeepea I think bringing up one box at a time for your DH is a good idea. I would start with the Christmas decorations, like you said, because he probably doesn't think of them as "his". Then you can work up to stuff that he needs to really decide on. Good luck!
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 19, 2021 14:01:30 GMT
I have cleaned out my sock drawer. Yay! I got rid of all the unmatched socks. And I am going through my underwear drawer. I am wearing each pair of underwear and if they are either uncomfortable or torn at all (sometimes lacy ones get torn) I am throwing away. I probably have 70 pairs of underwear.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Sept 19, 2021 16:59:06 GMT
I probably have 70 pairs of underwear. I'm pretty sure the last time I had that many panties was in college. Then my method was I didn't have to wash clothes until I ran out of panties, which was about 3 weeks! This week's project will be pulling out the fall clothes and starting to put away & purge summer clothes. We are getting an honest to goodness cool front on Wed and the temps will stick around for several days. However, I know we'll have some 90s again before "real fall" gets here so I will only be putting away the summer styles/colors for now. Shorts are definitely going to be purged. In the past 2 years I've gone from an XL short to a Medium. But because of Covid and not getting out much, I've just been putting darts in the waistline. Now the butt is so baggy in them they have to go! I only have 1 pair that fits - that I bought back in July. I also started putting together a quilt top that has been sitting in my UFO pile since Nov. 2015. It's been a difficult pattern, but I've finally got it figured out and plan to complete the top this week.
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Post by cmhs on Sept 19, 2021 21:07:25 GMT
I finally have something to contribute! I have been making a huge pile in the basement of things to get rid of. It's been a year in the making (hangs head in shame). This weekend was the weekend to clear it out and I did! I spent several hours yesterday and today clearing and cleaning. We're having town-wide yard sales in a few weeks so I toted everything up to the garage and organized it so the morning of the yard sale, I can just put it all out on the lawn and walk away. I give it all away for free. I did it last year and got rid of so much stuff.
I learned a couple hard lesson over the last two weeks. I thought I had everything that touches the basement floor in plastic bins. We got some water in the basement during hurricane Ida and while cleaning up, I found a cardboard box of fairly important papers mixed in with not-so-important papers on the floor and it did soak up some water. I was able to save the important stuff and trash the junk. Filed the important stuff where it belongs.
Lesson two: I was saving the boxes from the Wii and Wii U to sell on eBay because I read you can make $$ on them. Kept those stupid boxes for a decade or more. Had them on the basement floor in a large trash bag and it got wet and the boxes were ruined. Why was I holding onto empty boxes for so long when I knew I was never going to actually list them? Fantasy me vs. Reality me.
I cleared a huge area and it looks amazing now. So much empty space! Our basement is unfinished and not pretty but it's getting clean enough that I'm not embarrassed to have people see it (Furnace guy is coming on Friday).
I still have a few bins of papers to go through and I'll work on it a little bit each day this week after work. I'm so motivated to continue purging!
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Post by ntsf on Sept 19, 2021 23:08:48 GMT
I am posting this so I hopefully will follow through. I am going to try to go through my "spare room" (extra bedroom) and the basement with the goal of parking the car in the garage. this might take 6 months. but I want to be able to leave my car at my house when we go to our condo for a few months.. and I can't fit it in the driveway and on the street..I would get $80 street sweeping tickets.
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Post by alsomsknit on Sept 19, 2021 23:20:49 GMT
Over the couple of weeks, I have tossed some ratty wash cloths and a pair of pants I finally was able to fit into again.
The Boy has tossed socks. He has a couple of pairs of shoes which need to go, too.
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Post by Linda on Sept 19, 2021 23:52:26 GMT
I've been tossing duplicate photos = there are more to go but it's a start
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Post by Linda on Sept 19, 2021 23:55:11 GMT
Any suggestions on how to get my husband on board to get rid of things, sell, or donate? He's the type of person that is like we bought it, why do anything with it ever again? It's fine in the basement. That's about 500 square feet of unfinished basement and it would be really nice to do something with one side. We do not have a garage and have a small kitchen. I think we would be fine with just one side for storage.
I was thinking of bringing up one box at a time of misc. stuff for him to go through. Then have an honest discussion about decorations; especially Christmas because if I don't put anything up, nothing is put up for holidays. one box at a time might work. I would start with easy stuff he doesn't care much about before tackling harder sentimental stuff. But ultimately he has to be on board and that's not easy to accomplish (as I know so very well)
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luckyjune
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,685
Location: In the rainy, rainy WA
Jul 22, 2017 4:59:41 GMT
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Post by luckyjune on Sept 20, 2021 0:27:43 GMT
Joining in a bit late to the game. Big life changes=big moves!
I changed jobs in June, which means we'll be based out of our house that is 2.5 hours from our current location. Current location is 3000 sq ft and too big for two people, so we are putting it on the market. We have been decluttering and getting rid of things, but we still have so far to go.
We are also in the process of buying our family beach house from other family members (that in itself has been a looooong and painful process). We'll retire there in ten-ish years, so once our current house sells, we'll be able to gut that house and remodel it. It is a fully furnished home, so again, time to downsize and get rid of a lot. Luckily, out kids are taking some things, which helps.
So at some point, we'll be down from three houses to two, which feels much more manageable. My goal is uncluttered, minimalist living. I'm not attached to many material things. I'm moving towards a capsule wardrobe, which will make life so much easier. By the time we move to the beach, I want to own very little. It's good to have goals!
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Post by Linda on Sept 27, 2021 15:24:48 GMT
welcome luckyjuneI organised the box of house paperwork (manuals, home improvement receipts etc...) and tossed a couple that weren't relevant any longer. Actually DID the filing. Sorted out my desk drawer.
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Post by Linda on Sept 28, 2021 1:15:43 GMT
Dh worked on boxes in the garage after work - he emptied 2 totes and a box, he tossed a trash can worth of stuff (this is BIG) and put a few more things into the donation bin. He also moved three boxes of tools to the workshop (to be put away/organised later) and put a box of cables etc.. in a pile for electronic recycling.
He found a tote with a remote control race track that DS29 got for his 9th birthday, nearly 21 years ago...DS has said DONATE. The girls said DONATE to the soccer pop-up goals - yay.
we are making progress, it feels glacial at times but it IS progress
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Sept 28, 2021 3:09:41 GMT
This weekend I finally had enough of waiting for DH to go through his old CPAP machines and accessories, so I pulled them out and went through them. The man had 2 old sets of hoses and 3 old masks. Why? He said he was keeping them for backup. I pointed out that if they were old enough to replace (ie no longer use) then they were worthless as backups. I suggested that he just order doubles this next time so that he has a new extra on hand "in case". We trashed the 2 hose sets, the 3 face masks, 1 old CPAP machine, all the tiny individual filters that went with the old machine, old manuals and original plastic bags. The carrying case for the old one and the power cord went into the donation box. Now there is just the case for the current machine, with the manuals inside - and a lot more space under his bathroom sink. Went through the medicine cabinets and donated 3 diabetes testing monitors and several boxes of lancets. He uses a newer model now and the lancets don't work with it. Also trashed the empty soap box from his cabinet...the one that went with the bar of soap that he used up. Seriously? He kept that? Yesterday spent about 4 hrs at DD's helping her finish organizing her kitchen/dining area. She has an apartment with a million dollar view and a kitchen with almost non existent storage. I suggested she have a handyman install a shelf above the washer and dryer (opposite walls) and it really helped. I reorganized the cabinets above them so that food, dog treats/food and cleaning supplies aren't all mixed together. Looks so much better now and easier for her to get to things. My donation to the project was 5 baskets and bins I no longer needed and my old kitchen rug and pad. It's a 5' x 7'6" so will work for now in her dining area. Dh worked on boxes in the garage after work - he emptied 2 totes and a box, he tossed a trash can worth of stuff (this is BIG) and put a few more things into the donation bin. He also moved three boxes of tools to the workshop (to be put away/organised later) and put a box of cables etc.. in a pile for electronic recycling. He found a tote with a remote control race track that DS29 got for his 9th birthday, nearly 21 years ago...DS has said DONATE. The girls said DONATE to the soccer pop-up goals - yay. we are making progress, it feels glacial at times but it IS progress That is big. Glad ya'll are making progress. Hopefully you'll have your furniture all moved over soon.
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Post by Linda on Sept 28, 2021 3:18:12 GMT
well done **GypsyGirl** - that's a ton of progress and I know how hard it is to get DH's to give stuff up sometimes. I'm glad that DD has you to help. I'm happy we're making progress also. I set a hard deadline of before Christmas for the furniture but have made it clear that I really want it sooner
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Post by ntsf on Sept 28, 2021 3:51:22 GMT
I made a little progress on my spare room.. but cleared a hodge podge on top of stairs landing.. no progress yet on basement.
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PLurker
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,736
Location: Behind the Cheddar Curtain
Jun 28, 2014 3:48:49 GMT
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Post by PLurker on Sept 28, 2021 3:56:26 GMT
I've been tossing duplicate photos = there are more to go but it's a start this is my yet to complete and least favorite purging chore. I've done some but have so many from back in the day, when the kids were small. Some even pre digital (shock!) so many not necessarily great shots as you got all photos shot on roll (remember when?!). I have a hard time letting not so great shots go. Add to that, for many years the processors I used gave you duplicates of all. You get the picture. Way too many. I have gone through a lot before I moved but got easily bored, distracted etc so much more to go. I should literally schedule myself to go through xxx amount every week. but... squirrel!!!
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Post by mikklynn on Sept 28, 2021 11:18:26 GMT
I have worked on shredding DH's old medical bills, etc. I have a spreadsheet of major events, so there is no reason to keep years old records. I've cleared out a whole file drawer. linda You have far more patience with this move than I will have with ours!
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Sept 28, 2021 16:50:26 GMT
I am working on emptying my daughter's room (she's in the Navy) and turning it into a puppy room. It's overwhelming, so every day I go in and pack, toss, donate a couple items. It makes it much more doable even if it might take me a few weeks. The puppy won't be ready for the room for a couple months anyway.
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Post by MZF on Oct 6, 2021 21:47:22 GMT
Just want to share my excitement. My 30+ year old cheap wire racks finally died, and rather than cobble together over the counter items, we had custom roll out shelving built and installed in the kitchen cupboards--I love it! It's so much easier to reach items in the depths of the shelves--just pull out the shelf and there it is, no more taking all stuff in front out to get to the back. Bonus was I decided to pare down just a few things while putting things back, and now all feels so neat, organized and clean.
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Post by simplyparticular on Oct 9, 2021 2:44:14 GMT
We took a long break from purging after my father died. Too exhausting to make decisions, I think. But apparently I'm moving on because I used the power of the PMS nesting phase to do some major purging. It started with getting the recliner we ordered 6 months ago, and replacing our bed, and snowballed into re-arranging 4 rooms in the house, and major furniture and stuff purging.
To accommodate DH's new remote job, we moved both our desks out of the office we shared (dining room) into our living room for his work space. I replaced mine with a perfect modular L-shaped desk and filing cabinet with hutch off Facebook this weekend.
In the last two weeks we purged:
king mattress and frame (downsized to queen) couch side chair 2 end tables hand me down table, leaves and chair that needed major refinishing that we will never do 3 bookshelves of school supplies, old school papers and workbooks from remote school - good riddance! An entire van load of large indoor and outdoor games toys that have been in the basement for years. 2 old dog beds - I have replaced with one smaller memory foam one for our senior dog's comfort
Still trying to find home for the bounce house/water slide our kids are too big for it, but the littler nieces use it for our summer parties - my sister wants it but can't store it at my mom's house.
Debating what to do with the Dutalier glider I nursed both kids in. It's still really comfy but I don't have a home for it right now.
Also trying to talk DH into getting rid of some old dressers in the basement that aren't really working for storage down there. And we may get rid of the end tables and coffee table in the family room - now that It's our only couch room and we have a recliner added, they're taking up a lot of space.
My next project: scanning my father's estate paperwork so the originals can go to mom memorabilia purging. I plan to create a small craft area in my office, and I don't want to move everything around for the umpteenth time - so I'm purging in place before moving it downstairs.
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Post by Linda on Oct 9, 2021 4:08:27 GMT
(((Hugs))) simplyparticular - I'm glad that you're in a better spot and able to reorganise and purge again. Not a lot here but...DH put two towels into the donation bin - these were the towels we bought when we moved into not the last house but the one before that in 1999 - they weren't good quality and have been replaced for a long time but he kept them for camping (ask again the last time we camped?) I added a book I read and won't re-read. I organised my clear stamps and my dies - added the stamp binder to the donation bin and tossed a couple of stamps that were crumbling. But one thing here and there is adding up and after a solid decade of decluttering, I'm glad to be at the one thing stage finally (and for DH to finally start decluttering) There are a couple of areas I know I need to work on still (again) - the kitchen needs a bit of tweaking now we've been in the house for eight months, the garage needs some more decluttering and organising, I don't even want to think about the shed (but most of that isn't mine to deal with), and there's always something that needs doing in the craft room...
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Post by mikklynn on Oct 9, 2021 11:42:09 GMT
DH's sister and I tackled late MIL's craft room yesterday. She took 3 boxes of paper crafting items, mostly card making, and I took 2 boxes. I have one box of stuff to take to my sister for her school's art teacher, and 3 boxes for Goodwill.
I will purge some of the stuff I took, but didn't want to slow the process by sorting it all right there.
Small vent - DH's other sister told everyone she got rid of all her mom's clothing, either to Dress for Success or Goodwill. Typical of her, she did the entire closet, but not the dressers. It's typical of her to want accolades for doing things, but then we find out she half did them.
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Post by alsomsknit on Oct 9, 2021 12:12:04 GMT
We had to let our Lab go, yesterday. She was 15 years 8 months old. Thursday she was struggling to get breath when she would go outside. Yesterday, when we put her in the car, her tongue and gums were white. It took a good 10 minutes for them to pink back up. I knew then, without a doubt, she would not be coming home. The vet thought she had developed a tumor where the bottom lobe of one of her lungs should have been.
I had taken yesterday off from work to spend time with her. So glad I did. We were allowed to be with her through the process. The 3 of us were there…DH, the Boy, and myself. Ever so grateful we could all surround her with love at the very end.
Anyway, today Girlie’s love seat will be leaving the house. Her bed will be going to work with me for the office dog. Just needs to be laundered first. Have a few friends to offer her Interceptor and NSAID for their dogs. Do you think the local animal shelter could use the meds for the dogs in foster? Debating on the necessity of keeping the crate. No more big dogs for me. A medium sized dog is a possibility. Down the road. Still have Lil Bit and 2 cats.
Have a feeling there will be many of her things that I am not even thinking of that will need to go.
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Post by Linda on Oct 9, 2021 14:23:21 GMT
mikklynn - good job! Sorry about your SIL not finishing the job alsomsknit - I'm so sorry about your lab - I'm glad you had that time with her to say goodbye.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Oct 9, 2021 15:14:56 GMT
alsomsknit - I am so sorry to read about your lab. Having to let them go has to be one of the hardest things we ever have to do as pet owners. (((hugs))) Earlier this week I pulled out my fall clothes and put away most of the summer stuff (have to leave a few out since it's Texas!). My fall wardrobe purge was good as I only added 1 fall shirt to the donation box. Also put in 4 pair of shorts that are now too big. There is a stack of fall/winter pants I haven't tried on yet so there may be a few more things added. With how quickly this wardrobe swap went, I highly recommend doing the purge as you change out your seasonal wardrobes. Still working away on the sewing UFO stash. Have one quilt top nearly put together. Taking a break from that to sandwich and quilt a baby quilt. I need to wrap that up in the next few days so that I can gift it. With all the fabric purging and sewing I have emptied two of my storage bins - a 12"x12" one and a small SmartStore tote. Last night I used both to corral stacks of memorabilia for scrapbooking - both ziplocs full and loose). If anyone is looking for a good organization tool/system, I highly recommend the SmartStore system from Container Store. The boxes are sturdy, easy to open/close and stack well. Being clear, it's easy to see what you have stored where! Even better is that they sell several types of inserts to corral the stuff within the totes. I've been using mine for almost 10 years and they all still look fantastic.
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Post by mikklynn on Oct 10, 2021 11:17:33 GMT
alsomsknit I am so sorry for your loss. She was lucky to be in your family.
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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 Oct 17, 2021 1:25:17 GMT
I don't come back here to post very often, but I think about y'all every single day and I appreciate how motivated you're keeping me!
I am purging the entire house in 30 days but because I like to complicate things (and like to have a goal to work towards to keep me motivated) I'm also having an online yardsale on facebook.
I'm going through a box, room, group of things or whatever and deciding what we need to pack and then taking a picture of the other items and posting them for my friends to shop. I'm keeping a spreadsheet and either shipping to people if it's shippable or packaging it up for pickup from a tote on my porch.
It's rained EVERY weekend so yard saling has been out. This is a LOT of work, but it kind of fun and I love seeing things disappear and especially having people send me pics of how they're styling clothes and how they're using other things.
So far we're up to 419 items sold! We've also been able to pack 3 suitcases full of clothes for recent foster care placements that needed them. We donated 6 dog beds, a box of clothes, coats, meds, food, a whole years worth of bark box super chewer treats, and blankets (RIP Mick & Roscoe P) to a local shelter. I shoved a box full of kitchen stuff for a friend who just moved into their first house and we've been letting people kind of 'shop' the garage when they come to pickup. Basically I just talk them into just taking a dozen things while they're here. You bought a shirt? cool, here is a box...fill it up! It's been super fun and a good way to see people for a few minutes through the door or in the driveway before we move.
I wish my item count was exact but for example, I have a line that is 'blankets' that had 8 throw blankets in it but counts as one item and i'm not tracking the things that I shove on people, just the paid items. I would guess we're well over the 500 item mark but my goal is to actually sell enough items to pay for the movers, truck, and gas along the way. I think I'm going to aim for the deposits and first months rent too because it would surprise the shit out of dh and then we would have a good rainy day fund for the things we will need to maximize the new space.
Now, If I would just stop shopping or even remembering to return things in the time period would be helpful! ha.
I still have some furniture, two cars, I need to do another closet clean out and pack my suitcase for the next 2 weeks, and I haven't listed any jewelry or bathroom items yet so I think I'm going to make it to my goal if I keep it up. (the cars won't count in the surprise payoff though, that $ will go into the car replacement fund for when i'm ready to get another convertible)
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Post by ntsf on Oct 17, 2021 1:43:29 GMT
I made appt with local garbage company to do a bulk pickup on tuesday. it is supposed to rain sunday so wont put stuff out til monday.
out of the basement will go a long record cabinet (like 8 ft long) an old wringer washing tub, a 4 drawer file cabinet, and what ever else I can drag out of the basement.
we still have all the piles in dining room and living room of books and crafts. but I have someone lined up to paint my "study" when he can (on weekends) and new windows are coming in january. I am thinking of getting a new file cabinet and putting ugly metal one upstairs. I have to make some time this week to look at new colors. the study has many panels outlined by wood trim, with picture rails and high baseboards. and a coved ceiling.
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Oct 17, 2021 2:33:40 GMT
Some people will make the old wringer washer tub into a firepit. Check online to see if anyone is looking for a tub.
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Post by ntsf on Oct 17, 2021 3:06:05 GMT
It is a double tub.. that sits up about 2 ft off the floor. i just put stuff on the sidewalk and if it goes before the garbage.. it goes.
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Oct 17, 2021 3:11:34 GMT
I remember a tub like that
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