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Post by allison1954 on Jan 18, 2022 15:30:58 GMT
I think an important thing for me is not feeling like I NEED a new Fiesta color or all the cool things people put on their Xmas lists or such.
I am a major minimalist and go through things constantly , so bringing in lots of new stuff defeats my efforts.😀
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 19, 2022 13:27:39 GMT
Someone explain to me why I kept my old Mr Coffee for at least 10 years? I only use my Keurig. I wouldn't even have coffee to use in a drip coffee maker, should my Keurig give out.
It's in the donate box.
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Post by ntsf on Jan 19, 2022 16:38:08 GMT
I got the new windows in in my "study".. so now I have to sort through all the books and stuff all over my living room/dining room (stuff has been there 5 months.)
so my new bookcases will go into place, I will move back my china cabinet.. and see if I can make this a comfortable room.
I sort of dread the whole process cause it will be quite a task. and to add into the fun, my dh got a rowing machine.. it is supposed to go to our bedroom upstairs. it is currently .. yes.. in my new study!!! I am trying to get everyone to envision it not as a dump your crap room. another challenge is figuring out where to put the vacuum and cleaning stuff. I have a very small front hall closet. and no pantry, etc. 1927 house.
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Post by bunnyhug on Jan 19, 2022 19:22:01 GMT
I was thinking that I hadn't really done anything, but then when I started making a list in my head, I guess I have! So far this month, I've purged my closet and then refolded all the clothes and undies and put them back neatly. I came up with 2 big garbage bags of work clothes (I'm liking this retired thing and don't plan on unretiring any time soon!) that I passed on to a friend to look through, and then she'll drop them off at the donation bin when she's done. I also found another couple bags worth of 'stuff' around the house that I don't need ('gift with purchase' beach bag set from DSW from 2 years ago, for example! I hate the beach plus I live on the Canadian prairies, so there's not really an ocean around anyway.) and they are donated, too. I did my yearly-ish purge of the filing cabinet. I cleaned out the drawers of our night tables ... apparently that's where lotions I don't like and old crossword books go to die ... I ordered photos to do my 2021 scrapbook. It kinda feels like decluttering my Google Photo account when I delete stuff I don't need and put other stuff into albums on there! I sent the family room area rug to be cleaned. My middle child left to go back to the city for the university semester, so my job today will be to clean his room. He was only home for about 6 weeks, but I think there's probably 6 weeks worth of pop cans and dirty dishes in there ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) He's loveable, but not tidy, that's for sure! About a year ago, I rearranged some stuff in my kitchen to see if I liked it better than the system I had going. I don't, so next month I'm going to re-rearrange and hopefully downsize my kitchen stuff a bit more. My mom has always lived in small houses with tiny kitchens, so she is continually amazed that I have (and like having) cupboards that don't really have anything in them. I don't like to keep things that I don't love and use, even if I have room for them ...
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Post by Linda on Jan 19, 2022 19:28:33 GMT
I got the new windows in in my "study".. so now I have to sort through all the books and stuff all over my living room/dining room (stuff has been there 5 months.) so my new bookcases will go into place, I will move back my china cabinet.. and see if I can make this a comfortable room. I sort of dread the whole process cause it will be quite a task. and to add into the fun, my dh got a rowing machine.. it is supposed to go to our bedroom upstairs. it is currently .. yes.. in my new study!!! I am trying to get everyone to envision it not as a dump your crap room. another challenge is figuring out where to put the vacuum and cleaning stuff. I have a very small front hall closet. and no pantry, etc. 1927 house. good luck! My dh got a rowing machine too - he was so excited that it would be delivered before Christmas (and it was) but has he unboxed it and assembled it? NO my vacuum and broom etc... are in the attached garage - not the most convenient but...
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Post by Linda on Jan 19, 2022 19:30:14 GMT
my new spice rack arrived today - it came with jars so now I have the somewhat daunting task of decanting my spices into the jars and labelling them. BUT once I'm done, I'll no longer have to risk spices falling out of the cabinet everytime I reach one (they are on over-crowded stadium shelves currently in a mish mosh of jars and plastic bags)
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Post by ntsf on Jan 19, 2022 23:19:23 GMT
my garage is down a set of stairs inside the house. garage is under living room..I live on a hill. so I may find a bit of space on the landing. dh has used the rowing machine every day since it arrived, but now I have to somehow get rid of the packaging.. over time in the garbage/recycling.
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Post by tentoes on Jan 20, 2022 0:05:17 GMT
I've started another bag for donations. So far, it's about 1/2 full. Forgot--when I visited my daughter I took her my vacuum cleaner from my house, and when we got to her house, I took it to a guy that refurbished it for her, and it works like a charm now, so I got rid of that too. It needed a new roller I guess. They cleaned it all out, and it works great.
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Post by MissBianca on Jan 20, 2022 15:00:39 GMT
Finally getting around to posting. Sorting/organizing - We have started the great nuts and bolts sorting. So many containers everywhere! We finally have enough room in the workshop for a hardware room so I’ve been tasked with sorting by size and shape, DH and DS will then group the families together in an order than makes sense to them. I’ve been trying to tackle a box a day. Yesterday I moved all my camera equipment to the craft room. It had a closet that won’t get used for much so everything is up there for the time being. Once I get the room organized I’m going to have DH and DS25 help me go through the equipment and sell/donate anything we won’t use anymore. We don’t use big cameras much anymore. I don’t need 2 35mm and 5 digital bodies anymore.
I worked on my craft room this week. I have come to the realization that I need to get rid of 90% of it. I was going to scan my papers to make digital albums but to be honest, most of the time I just build a page in Shutterfly. I don’t even make my own pages anymore. DS20 actually wants this room for himself after he graduates college so I’m probably just going to ditch the craft stuff and what I keep will live in my closet. I also inherited all of my moms craft supplies. She was a master of half finished projects and unfulfilled ideas. I sorted 2 of her bins into 1 and tossed/donated the rest. I hope to tackle another box today.
Purging- Got a huge bin of random stuff out of the house last week. 2 luggage carts, a bunch of art work, a garbage bag full of coats, random Christmas stuff and a few other things. I started the next pile yesterday. A decorative umbrella from Disneyworld and 2 tank tops that are small and I will never fit into. No point in hanging on to them. Also threw out some window candles that my dad had spliced and added longer cords to. He is no electrician so I’d rather toss them. I bought battery ones for my house that are on timers. I hope to get rid of the non spliced corded ones but my brothers are giving me some resistance.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 20, 2022 15:37:34 GMT
All that has been added to the donation box this week is an old Chantal loaf pan. Was baking bread on Sat and realized the bottom was completely filled with crazing. I won't bake/cook with crazed items, so out it goes. I'll be replacing it with another Emile Henry when I can find the right color. Yesterday I picked up a small table & legs at IKEA for my sewing room, then built it as soon as I got home. The new arrangement was working, but I needed a bit more counter space for trimming, pressing, etc. This table is on wheels so can be moved around as needed. Told DH it will make a great puzzle table too. Going to do a little sewing this afternoon and see how it works out. Winter returned for the rest of the week with a vengeance so I hope to get a bit more decluttering work done. I hope to get rid of the non spliced corded ones but my brothers are giving me some resistance. Easy fix to that one. Box them up and drop them on their doorsteps! They don't want to get rid of them, they get to be the keeper of them! You have done an amazing amount of work! Way to go!
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Post by MissBianca on Jan 21, 2022 4:00:24 GMT
**GypsyGirl** ha I would if I could! One brother rents a room in a house 200+ miles away. The other couldn’t care less about Christmas but he’s so crazy about throwing things out, he’s Obsessive Compulsive about it. And he can not process getting rid of things so it’s like kicking the can down the road. When we packed up my parents house he took everything I didn’t want, all of it. I dread if anything happens to him before me, I will have to clean out his huge house. The lights will just gradually disappear. I’ll probably save one for the brother that lives far away, I’ll make some kind of shadow box or something with it and ornaments.
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Post by tentoes on Jan 21, 2022 19:57:41 GMT
I have a "junk" drawer I've been avoiding for the 2 years I've been here. I tackled it this morning. Threw out quite a bit of stuff. There were 4 bottles of hand sanitizer in there--I'm allergic to it, so can't use it. Got rid of them, and some old mail, and some empty gift boxes. It looks a lot better now, and is only about 1/2 full now. Yeah!
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Post by ntsf on Jan 21, 2022 23:31:35 GMT
the stuff that needed moving got moved!! yeah for my son. two bookcases are in place to be filled. the shades went up in my study.
two bags of stuff in hallway to go to goodwill.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 25, 2024 22:43:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2022 0:00:02 GMT
I have plans to hit every area of my house this year to tweak things, but my big goals are:
Our Storage Space under the house where most of our decore goes Make a good system for our counseling resources (DH and I are both counselors and have done a lot of conferences - I need to break up the notebooks and put things in topics that make sense) Completely gut and redo our filing system Burn my garage down (just kidding) and start over. LOL. That is the bane of my exhistence. I overhaul it and DH piles stuff again.
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,516
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on Jan 23, 2022 1:34:17 GMT
Everyone is making such great progress.
DH and I went through the games cupboard this morning and have a pile of games and puzzles to get rid of. I'm offering up to family first but if there are no takers today I'll list them on my local buy nothing group or drop them off at the op shop when I go past in a couple of weeks.
And in the biggest win, DH agreed to get rid of the last piece of exercise equipment that has just been moved from room to room but hasn't actually been used in the last five years. I'll get some photos taken of that and list it on marketplace to get it out of here.
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Post by ntsf on Jan 23, 2022 1:59:31 GMT
I got 6 suits to the cleaners.. going to put them in dust protecting covers. I pulled all of dh's old suits out, and he tried them on (the 1986 suits still fit). so he is going to keep them for funerals and weddings.
I have started moving books onto my new bookcases. I pass by the stairs.. and there is a bag there to collect books I am not keeping. as I shelve..I may get rid of some more.
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Post by Linda on Jan 23, 2022 2:37:12 GMT
DH found a bag of games that he had brought in to the office to offer up to coworkers - some were taken, some not. I've taken photos and offered to teacher friend for her classroom - whatever she doesn't take will go to donation.
He also went through another box and got it emptied. Mostly CDs which are now put away but he found a rubber stamp which he gave me - it was apparently in a bag of stamps he bought because some were Snoopy, he kept those ones.
And the recycling went to the drop-offs today - omgosh there was SO much but it's all dropped off - the bins of glass/plastic/tins/newspapers, the HUGE pile of cardboard, the big pile of plastic bags...
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Post by natscraps on Jan 23, 2022 15:27:19 GMT
Yesterday I finally went through the huge stack of mail and another huge stack of papers that have been sitting on the floor of my office/scraproom since before Christmas. I noticed during drop off that one of my students little brother had on hand me girl boots that were way too big. Asked mom if she’d like some smaller boy ones and she was thrilled. Passed off two huge bags of shoes, crocs and boots. I think I finally might have someone to take our crib. I have another student who’s parents are divorcing and they are moving into separate houses and will need a second crib for the baby. I just keep reminding myself that even the slightest bit of progress is better than nothing.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 24, 2022 10:02:12 GMT
This weekend I tossed several clothing items, including the shirt I was wearing the night my mom died. I've avoided that shirt ever since because I feel sad just thinking about it, so I thought it better to toss it.
I also tossed a 2" stack of school papers from the past couple of weeks. Just practice work, and nothing we need to reference.
Every little bit helps.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 25, 2024 22:43:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2022 14:36:38 GMT
Both of us WFH means that we often go days without ever leaving the house. I miss having a donation drop off spot less than a block away. Clothes that I no longer wear didn't stay here long. Now the closest donation drop off is a good ten minutes away by car and have weird hours. I'm waiting for warmer weather as I hate driving in the winter. In the meantime, clothes that we no longer wear are sitting in a pile downstairs along with two blankets, a couple of kitchen items, and some other stuff.
I have a banker's box full of papers that should be shredded due to identifying info on them. I'm hoping for a shred event soon so I could just hand over the box and be done with it. DH doesn't like shredders
Question: what to do with a puzzle that's missing a piece (it was given to us used) and has at least two pieces that are damaged? Recycle? Or trash?
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 24, 2022 15:17:54 GMT
Question: what to do with a puzzle that's missing a piece (it was given to us used) and has at least two pieces that are damaged? Recycle? Or trash? I would put a label on the front stating it has a missing piece, then donate. Some people will still buy them to work, while others will buy them to use in craft projects. This weekend I tossed several clothing items, including the shirt I was wearing the night my mom died. I've avoided that shirt ever since because I feel sad just thinking about it, so I thought it better to toss it. Isn't is amazing how much emotion and significance a simple piece of cloth can hold? Can't blame you at all for discarding that shirt. Now you can hopefully focus on the good memories of your mom. Not much decluttering going on around here lately. I still need to work on organizing a few shelves of nuts/bolts/screws in the garage, but the weather hasn't been cooperating. Did notice that I really need to replace one of the small drawer containers, so will see what I can find this week.
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Post by Linda on Jan 24, 2022 15:19:42 GMT
Question: what to do with a puzzle that's missing a piece (it was given to us used) and has at least two pieces that are damaged? Recycle? Or trash? I would toss
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Post by Linda on Jan 24, 2022 18:38:09 GMT
Dh installed my pull-out lid/pan rack in the cabinet last night and I re-organised that cabinet to put it to use.
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Post by natscraps on Jan 29, 2022 19:17:36 GMT
I finally made it through almost all of the kitchen cabinets and drawers this morning. A few things made it into the get rid of pile. Everything else is where it belongs. I told DH to take pictures so he doesn’t mess up my organization when he attempts to put dishes away. The only cabinets I didn’t do were the food ones but I had gone through those during the holiday break. I also wiped down all the cabinet fronts as they were pretty gross and I was already stuck down on the floor. All this while knocking out 6 loads of laundry. I feel accomplished today.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 30, 2022 17:34:25 GMT
It's very encouraging - and inspiring - to see what everyone has accomplished this month! Still pretty slow around here, but it's the calm before the storm. Hoping to start getting estimates this next week on doing the kitchen/dining room work. At minimum, the cabinets have to be repainted, so every cabinet will have to be emptied. What better chance to declutter is there?
I did go through the gift wrap drawer this week. Tossed some stuff, added some gift bags & gifts to the donation bag, then rearranged it. Hoping to sell that armoire when we do the work on that room, so it is my current focus. That means getting serious about the photos and scrapbooks because 3/4 of the contents relate to that.
DH went through is sock drawer this morning and donated at least 6 pairs. If he wears a pair of socks once and they don't feel right, he will never wear them again. They are clean and in new condition, so I don't mind donating them. He says next will be going through his workout shirts/t-shirts. Most of those will be trashed or rag bag I suspect.
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Post by Linda on Jan 30, 2022 18:47:58 GMT
I need to tackle the pantry again...I just don't understand why things can't be put back in the same place they came out of...sigh.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 30, 2022 19:40:37 GMT
I just don't understand why things can't be put back in the same place they came out of...sigh. Or why the paper towel someone just dried his hands on can't be placed IN the trash bin and not on top of the counter over the trash drawer. Spent a half hour outside with DH and moved the swing chair from the small patio to the large patio. All the nuts needed tightening so got that done. Good thing is in that time we came to an agreement on how we want to furnish the small patio. Now to just find the stuff in stock at a price I'm willing to pay. We are letting the expensive yard crew go and beginning this week we are in charge of sprinkler duty. DH was refreshing his knowledge of the newish system and discovered a leak. So will have to call the sprinkler company tomorrow to set up a repair.
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Post by Linda on Jan 30, 2022 20:26:06 GMT
Or why the paper towel someone just dried his hands on can't be placed IN the trash bin and not on top of the counter over the trash drawer. ![](http://stevengale.smugmug.com/Other/Peasmilies/i-FR7xJn2/0/O/crazy.gif) yes- or the empty cereal box on the counter NEXT to the bin...'I didn't know if you needed to clip anything off it first"....it's been a few YEARS since boxtops for education involved clipping ANYTHING and I've reminded him of that every time. Good luck with the patio supplies and the sprinkler. I've cleaned out and reorganised the fridge. Pantry is up next.
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Post by mikklynn on Feb 1, 2022 13:52:41 GMT
I tossed my really old George Foreman grill today. I never use it, DH did. It doesn't come apart for the plates to go in the dishwasher.
I'm still working on purging as I pack for our move.
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Post by Linda on Feb 1, 2022 14:23:18 GMT
I tossed my really old George Foreman grill today. I never use it, DH did. It doesn't come apart for the plates to go in the dishwasher. I'm still working on purging as I pack for our move. I was just looking at my GF-look-alike and thinking it needs to leave - I also no longer use and I HATE cleaning it
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