|
|
Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jul 4, 2023 13:56:00 GMT
I went through the Halloween costumes, & pulled all the too small stuff out for donation. Now the bin actually closes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Jul 5, 2023 1:50:27 GMT
I've gone through a 100-disc case of photo cds, saved anything that wasn't already on my computer and backed up - and TOSSED the discs. The case is going in the donation pile.
|
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Jul 8, 2023 14:01:45 GMT
I've gone through a 100-disc case of photo cds, saved anything that wasn't already on my computer and backed up - and TOSSED the discs. The case is going in the donation pile. went through the other 100-disc case and did the same and also a smaller 40-disc case. NO more photo cds here. update on photo project - 2000-2019 is now sorted and labelled and in boxes (and the digital version is also sorted and labelled) made more progress here as well - about half-way through 1997 now. I've been tossing duplicates. In non-photo areas- less progress but I tossed a pair of jeans that had worn through enough to be unwearable and added another pair that's simply too big to donations. In less postive news - my freezer got cleaned out due to someone leaving the door open - it's in the garage, we're in a heat wave, and by the time it was noticed, I was only able to salvage a few things. So much waste  DH has ordered a freezer alarm.
|
|
|
|
Post by alsomsknit on Jul 8, 2023 14:24:58 GMT
DH is trying to go through things he needs to keep his paws off of. So, I gave him the bucket of crap that is taking up space in the kitchen cabinet. All the stuff I keep removing from the counter top. Gah!
Today is chores. Did find a needed lint roller. Yay!
|
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on Jul 8, 2023 16:45:48 GMT
more success.. pulled out old sandals/shoes.. of dh's and he got rid of all of them. my child threw out two more bags of garbage from her stuff. and a bin that had sat for years in my spare room.. opened it up and it is dh's old tshirts and hoodies.. going through it today to see what to keep and what to get rid of. making progress clearing out spare room because my son is visiting next week for a week so I need it useable. got rid of two old throw pillows from couch.
|
|
|
|
Post by Delta Dawn on Jul 8, 2023 17:11:34 GMT
Hi I have done nothing until last night. I managed to throw out a lot of old makeup in a big plastic bag. That made me really happy to get rid of it. I didn’t know I could because it was all nice stuff. Somehow it’s gone! I am psyched for sure!
Back at it soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on Jul 9, 2023 1:23:25 GMT
it can be frustrating.. I told dh about the t shirt bin.. I had some scattered all over too.. as I took the bin apart. of course, he gets the bin out (not paying attention to scattered shirts) and goes through it.. and doesn't consult with me.. so part of the work is done, but now I have to get the scattered tshirts and get his attention again... so doable but geeze.. he could have just asked. he tends to respond to my requests to go through a small pile, or one bin to want to go through everything all at once!!! I'm the chip away a little at a time person as I don't have the energy or desire to tear everything apart.
|
|
|
|
Post by Delta Dawn on Jul 9, 2023 1:38:38 GMT
Today I weeded out some clothes and random crap that I don’t want. I am very happy. It’s not a lot but I am happy. I did good today!
|
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 10, 2023 3:07:30 GMT
In less postive news - my freezer got cleaned out due to someone leaving the door open - it's in the garage, we're in a heat wave, and by the time it was noticed, I was only able to salvage a few things. So much waste  DH has ordered a freezer alarm. Oh man. Been there, done that and it’s awful! We had a guy come in to install our Invisible Fence years ago. He unplugged our freezer to get back to the wall where the control box was being installed and never plugged it back in, then pushed the freezer back against the wall. By the time we realized it was unplugged two weeks had passed and we lost about $1500 worth of frozen beef, pork and venison. That was one nasty trash day! 🤢 The worst part was that the freezer wouldn’t turn back on after that and then we had to replace the freezer too. |
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Jul 10, 2023 3:35:21 GMT
Oh man. Been there, done that and it’s awful! We had a guy come in to install our Invisible Fence years ago. He unplugged our freezer to get back to the wall where the control box was being installed and never plugged it back in, then pushed the freezer back against the wall. By the time we realized it was unplugged two weeks had passed and we lost about $1500 worth of frozen beef, pork and venison. That was one nasty trash day! 🤢 The worst part was that the freezer wouldn’t turn back on after that and then we had to replace the freezer too. oh no - having to replace the freezer just makes that all the worse. |
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 10, 2023 3:38:02 GMT
We were at our cabin for a few days over the 4th and DD was having a friend over so she had to clear off the pile of clothes on the other bed in her room. Virtually none of it fit her anymore including a brand new with tags swimsuit. 😫 Sorted through all of that and was going to shove it in the closet for the time being. Except it was full of other junk! 😳 So I put it in there anyway until her friend left, then I pulled everything out of there.
Got rid of a ton of empty boxes, gave another one of her friends a huge pile of the clothes, and moved the rails and ladder for the currently unbunked beds down to the guest room closet where they wouldn’t be taking up closet space my kid can use. The clothes that are too small for her friend will be donated.
I organized all of the extra sheets and comforters in the closet, tossed all of the too small underwear and socks that no one will take and put away the rest of her clothes that fit. So.Much.Better!
I never did go through the hall closet at home, so I need to do that while I can still donate the summer clothes.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikklynn on Jul 10, 2023 12:26:19 GMT
linda An alarm is a good idea. I bought a child-proof lock on Amazon, not for children, but it keeps the door securely closed. I think my grandson slammed it shut when he grabbed a pizza and it bounced back open. It's similar to this: link
|
|
|
|
Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 10, 2023 14:59:52 GMT
So much great work, both large and small projects, happening amongst the declutter & organizing peas! My current process is to tackle smaller projects, in hopes that success on a small scale will spur me on to tackle the larger projects.
This weekend I finished off organizing all the .pdf quilt/sewing patterns I've purchased and ones I've printed off as inspiration. At the same time I went through all the files on my computer that are in two folders (one for Sewing & Needlework and one for Quilting). Got rid of duplicates as well as many of those free downloads that I thought I might want to do someday. Everything is now sorted in sub-folders and easy to find.
The actual printed patterns are now in 3 binders (a 3" and two 1" binders) that have been organized and labeled. Instead of spending more money on page dividers, I grabbed some solid cardstock, cut it down to size and hole punched it. Makes great project separators and the various colors make it easy to see. Now I can grab a notebook and find a pattern quickly or get inspiration for new projects. Many of the printouts for free downloads were trashed. My system now is if I print at all, then I just print the cover page and add it to a section of those cover sheets in the binders. Filled up an oversized wastebasket from that project. As hard as it was to do, all those 1"-2" wide strips of cardstock I trimmed off were trashed as well. In the past I would have saved every one of them "just in case" for future projects. Baby steps!
Still working on the dreaded guest room. Hoping to get the cameras and lenses dealt with this week. There is a camera store locally that purchases used equipment so hopefully they will take most, if not all, of them. Anything I get will go towards the iPhone 15 later this year. Also sorting through a box of vintage linens I collected over the years. I am downsizing that collection considerably as DD has no interest in and I rarely pull things out anymore. There is someone locally who buys them for her shop, so will see what she will take.
|
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 10, 2023 15:27:27 GMT
linda An alarm is a good idea. I bought a child-proof lock on Amazon, not for children, but it keeps the door securely closed. I think my grandson slammed it shut when he grabbed a pizza and it bounced back open. It's similar to this: link We had to get those too for our garage fridge. The seal stopped sealing tightly and none of the stuff in the freezer was staying frozen. So frustrating! |
|
|
|
Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 10, 2023 18:05:07 GMT
Good job everyone! We're all still plugging away at it.
I asked my husband to look at one section of hanging shirts in his closet yesterday. They are heavy cotton polo shirts, and he basically only wears those moisture-wicking fabrics now. He readily agreed to such a small chunk of work - yay! He pulled them out, took 2.2 seconds, and said they all could go. Double yay! I have really good luck with getting him on board with decluttering when I present him with small easily doable choices.
This weekend, I listed three larger items on local for-sale-or-trade pages online. A giant wrought iron wine rack got picked up today. A pair of armchairs are getting picked up tomorrow. Fingers crossed the last one sells.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sassy Sabrina SWZ on Jul 10, 2023 18:33:57 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by cecilia on Jul 14, 2023 4:45:15 GMT
Going to stock some stuff tomorrow in booths. Some of it is fall stuff. Need to pull out stuff to donate too
I got an extension (I guess?) for film reviews. I had messaged Operations head (aka the person the screeners answer to) to see if reviews needed to be in by a certain time Saturday. She told me since I am so dependable for her, it's okay if I take a few extra days. It gives me some more flexibility on getting other stuff done.
We did clean out inside fridge before the service employee got here on the 5th. After we get it fixed, we need to clean out deep freeze. We had put a bunch of stuff in it and the outside fridge. (Outside fridge is the one in the carport).
|
|
|
|
Post by dewryce on Jul 14, 2023 6:57:58 GMT
We are still maintaining by putting things in a donate box as we come across them and taking the donation in when it’s full. But I did finally go through my paper crafting supplies and pull out items I’m not in serious like with. Wasn’t as much as I hoped, but I also re-organized a bit so I’m super happy with the results. I asked my husband to look at one section of hanging shirts in his closet yesterday. They are heavy cotton polo shirts, and he basically only wears those moisture-wicking fabrics now. He readily agreed to such a small chunk of work - yay! He pulled them out, took 2.2 seconds, and said they all could go. Double yay! I have really good luck with getting him on board with decluttering when I present him with small easily doable choices. My DH is also super responsive to that, and I make sure and do it when he’s in a good mood and not a shopping mood. Speaking of, he has been lately and no clothes have made the leap to the donation box to follow the one in one out rule. I know where I’m encouraging his effort tomorrow! |
|
|
|
Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 14, 2023 11:47:15 GMT
I read that article a while back and it really resonated with me. I have a lot less emotional attachment to things than average so it’s often hard for me to understand why others do. I’m too busy trying to convert them to the freedom that comes with less. |
|
|
|
Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 14, 2023 14:11:30 GMT
Speaking of, he has been lately and no clothes have made the leap to the donation box to follow the one in one out rule. This is DH as well. Normally he's good about the one in, one out rule, but not lately. Need to work on him! He did recently let me totally redo his side of the bathroom. Bought a ton of organizers, set up a system and then walked him through it. Over a month later and it still works for him and looks good! Sometimes if you can get them onboard with the project, but do all the actual organizing, they will go along with you! |
|
|
|
Post by alsomsknit on Jul 14, 2023 16:59:21 GMT
DH is trying to go through things he needs to keep his paws off of. So, I gave him the bucket of crap that is taking up space in the kitchen cabinet. All the stuff I keep removing from the counter top. Gah! Today is chores. Did find a needed lint roller. Yay! So, this didn’t end well. All the shit he needs to see is now on the counter top. Next weekend, it’s all going back in the bucket and moved to his running room. Tell me it’s ok to donate mugs and the like from his races. Like 5 and 10Ks. I would not touch anything from marathons or ultras. He has the medals, which I would like to find some kind of display. The mugs are too many. I wouldn’t care if they were not taking up room in kitchen cabinets. Not even in the mug area to be used. Just taking up space in a lower cabinet he never accesses. I use it for the canned cat and dog food and their bowls, grooming utensils, etc… I would like to be able to store things I actually will use. |
|
|
|
Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 14, 2023 17:10:46 GMT
All the mugs should be donated. If you can't talk him into that right now, box them all up and put them in the garage/attic. Write a date on it and if he hasn't touched it by then, they get donated. Sometimes just having something gone from the cabinets, but still in storage will help them realize at some point the stuff isn't needed.
One thing I did for DH after the remodel is give him one of the deep drawers in the island. It's prime real estate and he even commented on that fact! That is where all of his mugs/bottles and protein powder containers live. If it didn't fit, he got rid of it. Freed up my other cabinets/pantry, but gives him a space of his own. Can you find a drawer/cabinet/shelf that can be for his stuff? Then put organizer bins/baskets to corral the stuff. Let him know if it encroaches on other space that it will be fair game for donation!
|
|
|
|
Post by dewryce on Jul 14, 2023 18:30:22 GMT
alsomsknit I like **GypsyGirl** ’s plan, as long as he agrees to the donation date. I know it drives you crazy, DH has also done tons of biking, running, and triathlon races and we had a ton of freebies from those. But they’re his things representing an accomplishment and I wouldn’t feel right getting rid of them. He eventually did get rid of most things (and all of the glasses, thank goodness) and now he he’s great about what he keeps. Maybe ask him what his top (# you have room for) mugs, and then box the rest and store them in some of his space. If he loves them all that much he can switch them out a couple of times a year, never taking more space than y’all agree to right now. eta: Does your DH also have a lot of those bags with strings over the shoulder? If so, something I did with DH’s was cut down the strings and tie off the ends. We use them for shoe bags when we travel, and it’s a fun little reminder for him. He went through those dang free t-shirts and kept only his favorites, maybe 2. But he’s a t-shirt collector, so we agreed upon a huge drawer to store his short sleeve and a smaller drawer to hold all of his long sleeve t-shirts, as well as a smallish box to keep his extras. If they didn’t fit in those spaces, out they went. Now we have a one in one out rule, but as I mentioned earlier that hasn’t happened this last month. He also had tons of sports bottles, including many from races. We decided how many were reasonable to keep for workouts and races, and fit in a certain space, and out his least favorites went. Since then he hasn’t been tempted to keep any.
|
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Jul 14, 2023 20:42:25 GMT
Tell me it’s ok to donate mugs and the like from his races. Like 5 and 10Ks. In my house, those would not be fair game for ME to donate as they are HIS not mine. I get it - Dh is a keeper of stuff and I like to have breathing space. We have a cabinet over the fridge which is super inconvenient for anyone to use and DH's random cups etc... that he doesn't actually use but didn't want to get rid of live up there. I think it's okay to say 'we have space for x of these in the kitchen, would you like to pick out x to store there and then did you want to donate the others or box them for storage or find another home for them' In my house, that would mean they end up in his bonus room and that's A-okay with me because that is HIS space and it has a door that stays shut. |
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Jul 14, 2023 20:44:37 GMT
I'm still plugging away at mum's photos. Tossing duplicates (although I'm sure I've missed some), labelling, and sorting into years. The current set I'm working on is 1990-1993 and they are all comingled and yeah...this is fun...I think once I get through these, I'm going to take a break from the photos and work on something else.
|
|
|
|
Post by dewryce on Jul 14, 2023 21:24:58 GMT
linda I think taking a break is a great idea, you’ll probably be much more efficient than you would be if you burn yourself out.
|
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 14, 2023 23:03:26 GMT
DH is trying to go through things he needs to keep his paws off of. So, I gave him the bucket of crap that is taking up space in the kitchen cabinet. All the stuff I keep removing from the counter top. Gah! Today is chores. Did find a needed lint roller. Yay! So, this didn’t end well. All the shit he needs to see is now on the counter top. Next weekend, it’s all going back in the bucket and moved to his running room. Tell me it’s ok to donate mugs and the like from his races. Like 5 and 10Ks. I would not touch anything from marathons or ultras. He has the medals, which I would like to find some kind of display. The mugs are too many. I wouldn’t care if they were not taking up room in kitchen cabinets. Not even in the mug area to be used. Just taking up space in a lower cabinet he never accesses. I use it for the canned cat and dog food and their bowls, grooming utensils, etc… I would like to be able to store things I actually will use. LOL, I didn’t know my DH had a long lost brother! Mine does the exact same thing. He clutters up the kitchen counter next to the coffee pot in front of the little “appliance garage” door with his random pocket junk. Some is stuff he puts back in his pocket the next day like his rechargeable flashlight and certain keys but most of it is random crap that I have no idea whether it should be kept (or where) or if it’s metal pieces that need to be kept for something, recycled or just plain trash. Business cards for random people or places, receipts for stuff, all kinds of miscellaneous stuff. It looks bad and I hate it because you see it right when you walk in. Every so often I’ll do the one arm sweep of all the junk into a box and leave it on his chair to go through, except he doesn’t do it. He moves the box to a corner somewhere where it sits until it’s buried under a pile of other crap. What drives me nuts is that it would literally take less than 15 minutes to go through what’s in the box and put it where it ought to go (and most of it should just go straight in the trash IMO). There’s another small counter across the room with two outlets where I told him to use as his drop zone because he can plug in his flashlight and credit card reader thing but he still dumps his pockets in front of the appliance garage rendering it unusable, sigh. |
|
|
|
Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 15, 2023 1:02:02 GMT
LOL, I didn’t know my DH had a long lost brother! Mine does the exact same thing. Maybe they are all related? My husband likes his little "piles" as I call them. His 'drop zone' pile on an end of a kitchen counter. His 'keep it handy' pile on the end table beside his leather chair. His 'empty his pockets' pile on top of his dresser. Honestly, I've made my peace with much of that. He's come so far in other areas, I feel I can give him that as a concession. We compromise when we're having a party or hosting family at the house -- he cleans it all up at least temporarily. |
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on Jul 15, 2023 1:19:55 GMT
my dh has so many tshirts. and we have a very small house.
I was going to spend more time today cleaning the spare room.. but a long lunch and a lot of traffic meant I don't have much time today.. so instead of completely cleaning out the spare room.. I have done most of it.. and did a little pile and shove into the closet. my son is staying for one week, and as long as he has a bed and somewhere for a suitcase, he won't care.
threw out another bag of trash, and my child moved all empty bins and other stuff to the basement.. some for goodwill, some for a dump run and 1 small bin to store.
just have to dust underbed and pick up the rest of the house tomorrow morning before he arrives. he doesn't judge.. so it will be ok.
|
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 15, 2023 4:32:22 GMT
LOL, I didn’t know my DH had a long lost brother! Mine does the exact same thing. Maybe they are all related? My husband likes his little "piles" as I call them. His 'drop zone' pile on an end of a kitchen counter. His 'keep it handy' pile on the end table beside his leather chair. His 'empty his pockets' pile on top of his dresser. Honestly, I've made my peace with much of that. He's come so far in other areas, I feel I can give him that as a concession. We compromise when we're having a party or hosting family at the house -- he cleans it all up at least temporarily. It doesn’t bother me that he has his piles. What bugs me is WHERE he chooses to have them, especially the one by the coffee pot because it blocks access to a storage space that could be useful. But because there’s constantly a pile of junk in front of that cabinet door, the entire corner cabinet can’t be used. 🥴 No matter how many times I’ve tried to relocate that one pile to another area that would be less problematic it doesn’t even last a day. He REALLY likes that one spot, LOL. |
|
DH has ordered a freezer alarm.
DH has ordered a freezer alarm.
. But I'm in the process (well, mostly the initial anticipation and self-energizing phase) of decluttering, and I just read a great article that I wanted to share with you, because it highlights the emotional aspects of discarding possessions. It's by Ann Patchett and was published in The New Yorker in 2021. There was a link to it on Facebook, so you might need to be on FB to access it: 
