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Post by justcindy on Jul 25, 2014 19:45:54 GMT
Such a great feeling when you getting areas purged....I have kinda been on a continual conscious effort to purge...if I don't wear it, use it, etc. off to goodwill it goes. How do you get that "great feeling"? I need to find that "great feeling" or I'm just going to be miserable about the whole thing. I don't want to be a minimalist (sounds miserable having nothing around you) but I don't want to move stuff if I don't have to. If I can just find a way to suck it up buttercup and get through this move, I don't have to think about purging ever again. It IS hard to get "pumped" about throwing stuff out, it sounds pretty contradictory! I think the great feeling comes at the end, the accomplishment, and for me, this sounds stupid, but it's easier for me to breathe, kind of...like *I* feel lighter. My mom was a clean person, and there was no visible clutter in the house I grew up in ( aside from my bedroom ) but, man, every closet, and under every bed, and in the kitchen, ho-lee CRAP. She grew up during the depression, and she had some buying habits that stemmed from her struggles growing up during that time. I inherited a ton of stuff....and I had SUCH guilt for not wanting it/having a place for it. It took my sister telling me that Mom didn't buy (X) for it to become a burden to me, it was just something she wanted at that moment. That gave me "permission" to let so much of that stuff go. As far as your situation, try to think about it like this: pretend you are "shopping" you stash ( sb term, but it works here!) for your new home. What do you want in it? What EXACTLY do you want in your kitchen cabinets? Grab a box, and shop your kitchen cabinets for the very best of your best, and what you can't live without in your new home. Do that with every kitchen cabinet. after those boxes are sealed and labeled, take a look at what's left. Grab another box and start round two - stuff you don't use all the time but still use. Serving pieces you only use for big get togethers, holidays, etc. Box and lable those. Plan on keeping that kind of stuff in some kind of longer term storage instead of in your every day cabinets where you'll have to dig through that to get to your most used every day stuff. ( A closet? Under a guest room bed? Basement?) Now, take a look at what's left in the cabinets - for me, it would probably be duplicates of stuff, broken stuff, crap that had no business in there to begin with that just got shoved in, etc. At least now, you know you have all the important stuff out of the way, and you can go through what's left with a clearer view of if you NEED it or not, since it didn't make the first cuts. And even if you don't have time to thoroughly go through it all, if you are running out of time, shove in into a box, label it with something like " Kitchen leftovers" and move on. WHen you get to your new home, and you have unpacked all the vital stuff from round 1, don't even open those leftover boxes. If the time comes that you are looking for something, and you end up having to bust one of them open, do it then. If not, toss the whole box. Maybe this can break down the whole "purge" AND packing job for you into more manageable chunks that won't be so overwhelming. Good luck with your move and all the crazyness that comes with it!
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Post by justcindy on Jul 25, 2014 19:50:43 GMT
Oh, and I agree with previous posters - I think "minimalist" is an extreme....clutter free is a whole other thing, and I think we all fall somewhere in between. We want to be surrounded by useful stuff, and stuff that warms our heart/makes us happy. The rest can just go. It's just hard to not let all the crap sneak up on us, suffocating all the useful and beautiful stuff! We all go through stages of ruthlessness and can purge anything we aren't' related to or not nailed down, but then there are times that we are really busy and the clutter procreates and sneaks up. Stupid freaking clutter.
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Post by AN on Jul 26, 2014 18:29:57 GMT
Can this be the official cleaning & organizing thread for the weekend? I looked and couldn't find another one. Gonna brag. Fair warning. I cleaned all my windows inside and out today, screens and all. Luckily it's only a 1 story house, and we have 20 windows. I did the first 4 by hand, and while they look quite lovely - yeah, that sucked. Then I bought some of this: Windex Outdoor Glass Cleaner and it is pretty sweet. I still took the screens out of most of the windows and rinsed them down separately, but this seriously sped up the process and make it much less intense. At least with our water, you do still have to wipe down with a microfiber cloth after washing to get them to dry totally spot-free, but it got the grime off nicely. The house is 4 years old and I don't think the previous owners really ever cleaned the windows (which, to be fair - I might not for another 4 years). But the difference it makes to have grime-free windows is quite impressive! DH and I are going out to dinner/drinks and a movie tonight, but I'm feeling quite motivated by my window cleaning. I've got some laundry going, I think I'll dust and vacuum, change the sheets, take a shower, and then enjoy a nice relaxing evening. My master closet it is still a total pit, it is the only area that isn't really unpacked since we moved 2.5 months ago, but oh well. It ain't going anywhere.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 6, 2024 6:36:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2014 22:29:48 GMT
I'm still working on my office. Going through old paperwork is my least favorite thing to go through.
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Post by salem on Jul 26, 2014 22:44:02 GMT
I am on vacation this week and one of my plans includes cleaning out all the toys my kids are too old for and clearing out all the crap piled up in the unfinished side of the basement. I'd like to add a bathroom downstairs and all that stuff will have to go so we can do it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 6, 2024 6:36:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2014 23:06:00 GMT
I could have written your post. I feel as though I'm constantly playing catchup around here. As I mentioned in a different post yesterday, part of that is the fact that I'm the only one cleaning up, but part of it is that we have way too much stuff in our house. We're a family of six in an 1800 sq ft house and in need of a serious purge.
My sister has generously offered to take my kids for alternating weeks in August so I can work uninterrupted. I'm hoping to make serious headway during that time.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,015
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Jul 26, 2014 23:10:57 GMT
I had to help clean out two households in the last year + I like to go to estate sales so I've seen first hand what it's like when someone else is left to clean up your mess. My biggest motivation is that I don't ever want to leave that kind of legacy - people having to figure out which papers are important and which knick knacks are family heirlooms and whether it's really okay to throw away all of those rubber bands and paperclips. I'm far from a minimalist but I just want the stuff I have to be organized and easy to deal with if it comes to that.
We moved four years ago so that was a great start in the process but I still felt it necessary to start going room by room this summer and look at things with a fresh eye. It's never a "great" feeling but more like an internal peacefulness that everything has a place and if I had to pack it all up again, I could do it quickly and easily. I have an ongoing list and just get to rooms/projects when I have time.
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Post by tampascrapper on Jul 26, 2014 23:16:48 GMT
Good for you and all the peas cleaning out and getting organized. I did a lot of that when I moved and I love having things organized. I am in the process of cleaning out my closet to get rid of clothes that I don't wear or that don't fit. I already have 3 small bags to donate.
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grinningcat
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,663
Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Jul 26, 2014 23:37:20 GMT
I had to help clean out two households in the last year + I like to go to estate sales so I've seen first hand what it's like when someone else is left to clean up your mess. My biggest motivation is that I don't ever want to leave that kind of legacy - people having to figure out which papers are important and which knick knacks are family heirlooms and whether it's really okay to throw away all of those rubber bands and paperclips. I'm far from a minimalist but I just want the stuff I have to be organized and easy to deal with if it comes to that. We moved four years ago so that was a great start in the process but I still felt it necessary to start going room by room this summer and look at things with a fresh eye. It's never a "great" feeling but more like an internal peacefulness that everything has a place and if I had to pack it all up again, I could do it quickly and easily. I have an ongoing list and just get to rooms/projects when I have time. I get not wanting to leave a legacy of stuff for people. I guess I've just never gotten a sense of peace from cleaning or putting things in their place. I've always felt during and after housecleaning that I've wasted my time that could have been spent on other, more important, more valuable things. But I need to find a way to change that attitude for this move so I don't strangle someone in the process.
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Post by flanz on Jul 26, 2014 23:51:03 GMT
I have been sick for the better part of two years and now that I feel well again, I'm of two minds. On one hand I really want to get our home in order and restore function to all of the rooms. On the other hand, after so much time living a painful and pretty solitary existence, tackling these tasks is about the last thing I feel like doing. Going out with friends is so very tempting.
I'm not a minimalist but I admire those who are. I'm also not a collector of lots of knickknacks.
There are no basements in the houses here, so storage space is at a premium. I have one tiny former bedroom as my home office (personal use, not a job)/ scrapbook room just overflowing with stuff. Lots of scrapbooking stuff and lots of other stuff that needed a home. Can barely walk in there and I haven't been able to use that desk in far too long. NEED to get it under control. I haven't scrapped in several years either and don't think I will again. Need to find a place/person that will really appreciate the supplies and get rid of most of the items I so carefully selected and organized once upon a time... I will prob keep a small amount for cardmaking.
DS's former bedroom is a sewing room and need major decluttering and organization, finding more efficient placement of furniture etc. It's very very difficult to be creative in there right now!
The kitchen, family room, living room and dining room are in pretty good shape. I do need to go through the cabinets in those rooms and get rid of some stuff, but I feel comfortable having guests over most of the time on short notice.
Our dd and her boyfriend are heading to Europe for 2-4 years next week, and we'll be storing some of their possessions here. They are busily repacking and stashing those items in her former bedroom. It will still function as a guest room but the closet and book case, as well as part of our attic space, will be filled with their things.
I sooo miss having a basement!
Good luck everyone!
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Post by perfectcircles on Jul 27, 2014 1:50:13 GMT
After almost 6 years of living here I finally got my decorating mojo back. This week I turned the kids' playroom into a study. This includes opening a previously blocked entrance from the kitchen so they can go straight to the study to hang their coats and bookbags. We don't have a mudroom or foyer so I'm really excited to get coats and shoes out of the kitchen and dining room.
I've also redone the kids' rooms this week. We're painting them this weekend. The biggest purge is coming from my oversized upstairs hallway/ craft space.
This week I donated and passed on 7 totes worth of clothes, a bag of shoes, a box of books and a tote of toys. I never thought I'd want to get rid of books, but I just don't have the room to keep so many! The kids still have a classroom library's worth.
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scrappington
Pearl Clutcher
in Canada
Posts: 3,139
Jun 26, 2014 14:43:10 GMT
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Post by scrappington on Jul 27, 2014 1:56:10 GMT
I just cleaned my fridge out. I mean everything. I was so shocked at how empty my fridge was after I finished. I was also amazed at how much a fridge disassembles. It wasn't a huge accomplishment but one that was on my hated list. Feel great its done.
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Post by salem on Jul 27, 2014 1:57:52 GMT
This is exactly what's driving us to get rid of a ton of stuff. My IL's both passed away last year and my dh and his siblings are in the middle of cleaning out their parents' house and getting it ready to sell. There's just so much STUFF and nobody knows what to do with it. It's making the job much bigger than it should be. I don't want my kids to be saddled with that kind of job. Better to get in the habit of organizing and cleaning out now.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Jul 27, 2014 2:02:42 GMT
I really feel sick though at how much money I've wasted over the years on stuff that served no purpose. I hear that! I just did a huge purge of craft stuff that I took to a consignment sale. I am satisfied with what I am getting back for the amount of work I had to put in, but let's not even talk about what I must have paid ORIGINALLY for all of it. I also have no idea where all that junk FIT in my space, because it took up so much real estate in my living room! (Although at least I only had to make one car trip!) There is another sale coming up in September, and I will likely purge some more-- I have a giant box of patterned paper that I didn't even touch for this sale. I am really trying to pare down just to the things I really like and really think/know I will use.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 6, 2024 6:36:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2014 12:35:48 GMT
Glad to see so many others working on cleaning out! I am still working on the office, but we aren't going to be home today, so not sure I'll finish. If not I will do it in the evening this week as I'm determined to stick to completely doing 1 room a week. I'm going to have so much paper to shred though, wish I could learn to keep up on mail better.
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