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Post by bigbundt on May 26, 2018 21:58:05 GMT
What a wonderful thing to do! She has a friend who has always asked for items to donate to the humane society for his birthday and this year she asked if she was allowed to do something like that too. Uh... YEAH! It has been great because we didn't have tons of toys come into the house since we had something like thirty kids show up. Some did bring a present for her too but it was way more manageable than last year. She is very excited to bring it in. Everything is on our dining room table because their drop off hours are when she is in school so we are waiting until school lets out. I cleared out a box my parents brought to me a few months ago. Had all of my Barbie clothes and a kitchen playset with all the plates and foods. Still have to go through the clothes and wash them but I wiped down the playset and it is in her room waiting for her to come home from camp. Also took down curtains and washed them, need to go put them back up now.
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Deleted
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Jun 5, 2024 5:50:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2018 22:02:41 GMT
It feels so weird getting rid of it all. It also feels freeing. I know what you mean. I also experience that sensation of puzzling over WHY I kept some of the things. It must have meant something more to me *then* but it sure doesn't *now*. We bought a new piece of furniture for our dining room... which necessitated rearranging the dining room... which lead to a thorough cleaning including the carpet... resulted in some serious purging... and ended in getting rid of another piece of furniture and a bunch of small items. In other words, "if you give a mouse a cookie..." oh I know!! That is what always happens here too!! I start dusting and end up purging another area. But it's all good! Less to fret over. And have to share--we're having company this weekend, and we're all ready for them. I knew where everything I needed for all the beds was!! 6 pillows, pillow cases, flip out beds, sleeping bags, the big air bed, and all the blankets I needed!! I went right to the right storage containers in the shed, and in the newly reorganized garage! I didn't have to hunt!! So, all my work is paying off.
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Post by bigbundt on May 26, 2018 22:02:41 GMT
It feels so weird getting rid of it all. It also feels freeing. I wish I could do more to speed the process up. I'm glad it is freeing to get rid of it and it isn't weighing you down!
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on May 26, 2018 22:41:16 GMT
I went right to the right storage containers in the shed, and in the newly reorganized garage! I didn't have to hunt!! So, all my work is paying off. That's the best reward, isn't it?
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Deleted
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Jun 5, 2024 5:50:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2018 22:48:45 GMT
I went right to the right storage containers in the shed, and in the newly reorganized garage! I didn't have to hunt!! So, all my work is paying off. That's the best reward, isn't it? definitely!! I loved it!!
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Post by Linda on May 28, 2018 20:37:17 GMT
finally managed to make a Goodwill run - barely got it all in the car.
9 black lawn bags 1 white kitchen bag 1 suitcase 1 doll high chair 1 doll stroller 1 rolling cart
and I only came home with 2 books afterwards - feeling like that was an accomplishment as well.
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Post by bigbundt on Jun 1, 2018 13:29:08 GMT
Being able to find thing easily is such a reward of decluttering and reorganizing! And I'm proud of us guys for continuing at a steady pace through the year, almost halfway through! How much more will we get rid of?
We dropped off all the food donations yesterday so the dining room is cleared. Last night I spontaneously decided to go through my dresses, trying them on and everything. That ended up with me going through my entire closet and dresser and I now have two trash bags for donation and another to drop off for cloth recycling.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jun 10, 2018 2:34:55 GMT
Vacation is over, I'm over jet lag and it's time to get back to work on my nemesis - the guest room! Last weekend I cleared out the corner that had stacks of framed artwork and pictures, a couple of end tables and assorted other junk. Moved DH's recliner into that corner and freed up that side of the room. Progress, right? No! Because all the stuff just moved to the other side of the room. This week I sorted the artwork into piles to be dealt with. Today I got DH involved and we made tremendous progress. Several framed posters went into the donation pile, more things were taken out of frames for storage and the frames donated. Then he decided to donate 6 of the most obnoxious oil paintings he bought in Indonesia. They were huge, one was almost 3' x 4'. I refused to let him hang them (never mind we don't have the space for the anyway) and he was ready to part with them. Slowly but surely! The he finds another stash of artwork in the bottom of his office closet. A couple of those were donated, and several were taken out of the frames. He did put a few back, but that is his closet and I don't have to deal with it. He did pull out an awesome painting from the 1940's. His dad got it when he lived in Alaska in the 1940-50's. Dark, moody colors showing a guy fly fishing on a river. That thing just screamed 'man cave'. I talked him into hanging it in his office and it looks great! I pointed out that the counted cross stitch florals didn't have quite the same man cave effect! Loaded up the car and dropped everything off this afternoon. Total donation count: 6 giant framed hideous oil paintings 1 large framed poster 3 smaller framed pictures 20 empty frames, mostly wood 3 lamps 1 lamp shade Timbuk2 messenger bag 3 pairs of vintage Laura Ashley balloon shades from when DD was a pre-schooler 2 bags of assorted linens and kitchen items About half of the empty frames came from counted cross stitch pieces that family had made and framed. I was so thankful I took them out because the framing practices of the 80's and 90's were not the best. The worst were the 3 items that had been mounted on those sticky mat boards. Those left a layer of paper stuck to the fabric. Acid-free tape must not have been popular to use then because all of them showed discoloration on the fabric where it had been. Same for some of the mat boards. Everyone of these items had been professionally framed. Ugh. I am going to clean all the pieces then store them for now. Thinking I may need to reframe a few items from that time frame that I currently have hanging.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,183
Location: Western Illinois
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Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Jun 10, 2018 3:04:16 GMT
I've had a full week of summer break from school. So far, I have cleaned out and reorganized the kitchen cabinets, the pantry closet, the laundry room cabinets and the cabinets in all three bathrooms. Some things got tossed, some moved to the basement, and others will be donated.
I was planning to work on dresser drawers and the master bedroom closet next, but got sidetracked by some insurance issues that had to be dealt with. The upside of that is because of spending so much time on hold on the phone Friday morning, I was able to sort, highlight and file all the EOBs and health paperwork that have come in over the last few months, as well as all the papers from denials/appeals, which now have their own folder. I also, I think, with the help of a good rep at the insurance company, finally got the insurance company to pay for the PET scan my husband had back in December. Still need to deal with what I was planning to work on next, but the piles of insurance paperwork were on the list to get done too, so I am still pleased.
I love opening cabinets and seeing things organized and not a jumbled, crammed mess. And it's good to see what we already have, so I don't go out and buy more things that are duplicates.
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,881
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Jun 10, 2018 4:06:43 GMT
Hey everyone! It's been a pretty busy few month with our kids and work etc. (Isn't everyone! LOL!)
Finally had a chance to work with DH tonight on our outbuilding and clean up just a portion of it. Looks nice and feels even better! Here to more de-cluttering!
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Deleted
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Jun 5, 2024 5:50:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2018 4:19:43 GMT
Good going ladies. I'm on vacation this week, so no progress! I did use up a few of my scrapping supplies to make some cards before we left though.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jun 10, 2018 12:17:52 GMT
Seeing this thread always makes me happy. I talked my husband into tackling the space under the basement stairs with me last weekend. We put stuff there when we moved in seven years ago and haven't touched it since. We ended up listing four things from under there on eBay (two have sold already - yay!), setting two aside to go into an auction at the auction house I work in, and a pile for donation which have already been dropped off. The rest got reorganized with some going into two labeled tubs so now we KNOW what's there and can find it when needed. I also worked on my closet this week on a day off. I switch closets twice a year with summer to winter and vice-versa. So I completed that project and pulled out almost a whole trash bag full to donate. That included quickly going through the drawers in my highboy dresser, too. Lastly, I'll share a photo with you. As you probably remember, I work with friends that own an auction house. You would be surprised how many of the homes own any number of these books. And as you would expect, the more cluttered the home... the more de-cluttering books they are likely to have on their shelves. It cracks me up every time! We are not in this struggle alone. These books came out of a 4,500+ square foot home. It took our company three days of running two 26-foot truckloads plus a cargo van and trailer back and forth to move it all to our auction house. We've had two sales of their stuff so far and will finish with a third and final sale on June 23rd. To see these books come out of THAT house? Irony, much?
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Post by peasapie on Jun 10, 2018 13:28:17 GMT
I hadn’t gone through my closets fully in a couple of years, but I did it last weekend. I have two closets - one traditional and one walk-in with both shelves and rods.
I took every single thing out and considered whether it was a good wardrobe builder or whether I loved it but it had seen it’s day. I realized there were some things I’ve been keeping only because I once wore them a lot, with “once” being up to 10 years ago.
I got got rid of five 30-gallon trash bags full of clothes and shoes.
I’m determined to try to wear everything I kept at least once by December, and if I don’t, I’m getting rid of even more. What is the point of holding on to all these clothes?It’s not like they are irreplaceable.
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Post by peasapie on Jun 10, 2018 13:29:03 GMT
Seeing this thread always makes me happy. I talked my husband into tackling the space under the basement stairs with me last weekend. We put stuff there when we moved in seven years ago and haven't touched it since. We ended up listing four things from under there on eBay (two have sold already - yay!), setting two aside to go into an auction at the auction house I work in, and a pile for donation which have already been dropped off. The rest got reorganized with some going into two labeled tubs so now we KNOW what's there and can find it when needed. I also worked on my closet this week on a day off. I switch closets twice a year with summer to winter and vice-versa. So I completed that project and pulled out almost a whole trash bag full to donate. That included quickly going through the drawers in my highboy dresser, too. Lastly, I'll share a photo with you. As you probably remember, I work with friends that own an auction house. You would be surprised how many of the homes own any number of these books. And as you would expect, the more cluttered the home... the more de-cluttering books they are likely to have on their shelves. It cracks me up every time! We are not in this struggle alone. These books came out of a 4,500+ square foot home. It took our company three days of running two 26-foot truckloads plus a cargo van and trailer back and forth to move it all to our auction house. We've had two sales of their stuff so far and will finish with a third and final sale on June 23rd. To see these books come out of THAT house? Irony, much? We are on the same wavelength. Bet this all made you so happy!
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jun 10, 2018 13:32:26 GMT
I got got rid of five 30-gallon trash bags full of clothes and shoes. Wow. That's impressive.
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Post by peasapie on Jun 10, 2018 14:35:42 GMT
I got got rid of five 30-gallon trash bags full of clothes and shoes. Wow. That's impressive. Oh I can hear what you are really thinking. "How much stuff was Peasapie cramming into those closets to have that much to give away!" LOL They weren't completely full bags...maybe half full so they'd be light enough to lift into the dumpster. And I have pretty big closets...
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Post by peasapie on Jun 10, 2018 14:37:17 GMT
It feels so weird getting rid of it all. It also feels freeing. I wish I could do more to speed the process up. I'm glad it is freeing to get rid of it and it isn't weighing you down! It's funny how for a long time you think you need to keep something(s), and then one day the scene shifts for some reason, or no apparent reason, and you realize you've had it long enough and it's time to pass it along.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jun 10, 2018 14:49:28 GMT
It's funny how for a long time you think you need to keep something(s), and then one day the scene shifts for some reason, or no apparent reason, and you realize you've had it long enough and it's time to pass it along. This is so true! DH and I both have experienced this in the past year or so. I never realized how freeing it could be to let all this stuff go!
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Post by Linda on Jun 11, 2018 21:38:05 GMT
I have my girls (11 and 18) purging their rooms this summer. DD18 goes away to college in Aug and we're switching beds around - hopefully in two weeks-ish. DD11 will be getting rid of the loft bed that they used to share - she's getting too big for the top (our ceilings aren't as high as they could be) and will get the captain's bed that DD18 has been using (that used to be DS26's - we bought it the weekend DD18 was born). A friend is passing along a bed that will go in DD18's room which will double as a guest room for now.
So far DD11 got rid of nearly 100 books from her bedroom bookshelf (in addition to the books from the family room shelves up thread) and a handful of other stuff. DD18 got rid of a whole big (black) bag of clothes - I snagged a few to hand down to DD11 but most are leaving completely - they have different styles and different builds.
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Post by papersilly on Jun 11, 2018 22:47:22 GMT
It's funny how for a long time you think you need to keep something(s), and then one day the scene shifts for some reason, or no apparent reason, and you realize you've had it long enough and it's time to pass it along. This is so true! DH and I both have experienced this in the past year or so. I never realized how freeing it could be to let all this stuff go! yup! it makes me wonder why i coveted the item in the first place. this past weekend it was shoe purging time. oh so many shoes. but it felt good.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,183
Location: Western Illinois
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Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Jun 11, 2018 22:56:05 GMT
This is so true! DH and I both have experienced this in the past year or so. I never realized how freeing it could be to let all this stuff go! yup! it makes me wonder why i coveted the item in the first place. this past weekend it was shoe purging time. oh so many shoes. but it felt good. The closet, including shoes, is next for me. I need room for the newest shoes I've bought! I purged some clothing a couple months ago, but I can think of more that needs to go. And I need to see what fits and what I don't like and need to quit storing in there. I got both dressers done today. Amazing how many pairs of socks and underwear I have, even after purging some.
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Post by Linda on Jun 12, 2018 18:27:38 GMT
I'm bringing two bags of socks to the Girl Scout meeting tonight - the girls will turn them into cat toys and rice packs for the animal shelter AND they will leave my house. That's a win-win for me!
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,183
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Jun 13, 2018 1:09:07 GMT
Got the master bedroom closet done today: purged 20 pairs of shoes and two bags of clothing to donate and another huge bag to dispose of too.
I'm knocking a lot of the big jobs off my list, but probably won't get going on another big spot until next week sometime. Maybe I can keep my momentum going with some smaller areas while I've got other things going on for the next several days.
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Post by Linda on Jun 13, 2018 13:21:14 GMT
DD11 is still making progress on her room - yesterday she filled up a kitchen trash bag with rubbish and added her Rescue Heroes toys (fire truck, ambulance, figures) to the donation bin along with half of the viewmaster stuff.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jun 13, 2018 13:25:50 GMT
I've taken a break from the guest room to work on my garage sale stuff (at the crop I attend in July). Yesterday I went through my eBay cabinet and pulled out several things to add to the sale pile. I still need to go through my pattern drawer and a couple more shelves of fabrics. Now I need to start sorting it and deciding on pricing. They will send me the price stickers (they have it all computerized with UPC stickers!) once I determine the prices I want to charge. Really need to get that order in by the end of the week. DH is out of town today & tomorrow, so hopefully I can make some progress while he is gone!
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Post by brenda89 on Jun 13, 2018 16:08:15 GMT
I've been catching up on all of your progresses above, great job everyone!! I will add mine in, in the last couple of weeks we sorted through some things and had a garage sale this past weekend. We sold our dining table and chairs, that we never use. I always had to dust it and DH would pile his crap on it, so I sold it. If we do get to move soon, I'll just have to get a smaller table. We currently use our peninsula at our countertop, we have 4 stools there. And we sold some board games that we never used, kept our favorites. I had some other stuff to sell also, seemed like we sold a lot but there was still a lot left. I did get 2 paper boxes (the size a case of paper comes in) full for donation, so that was a plus. I'll try and have another garage sale soon at a different location. And I've sorted my Longaberger that I'm not using and don't want to keep. I didn't even put these in the garage sale, no point. I'll have to get these listed on a Longaberger Sale FB group/page. Ditto for Origami Owl jewelry and display items. Ditto for Stampin' Up! and scrapbook items. In the last couple of years I have put a lot of this stuff in a "garage sale" at a semi local scrapbook store. But you get store credit (minus a small % that they keep-and they do all the work-I just price stuff and add my seller number and take it to them), and I don't NEED anything else!!! Our house is on the market (has been for over a year), and we are hoping it sells soon. When it does we are making a life changing decision, so I'll need to try and downsize a lot of things. So this was a first go around with it. I purged some clothes a month or so ago when I switched my clothes for the season. I got rid of quite a bit, but could still get rid of more there. I have a problem with donating things that are worth something, it's one of my downfalls/issues.
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Post by Linda on Jun 13, 2018 17:23:00 GMT
I have a problem with donating things that are worth something, it's one of my downfalls/issues MY Dh has a similar issue - he wants to sell stuff or fix it up and sell it or ...but he has neither the time nor the interest in actually DOING so. I find he has an easier time letting go when it's going to a specific person or to someplace that'll actually USE it vs just sending to Goodwill.
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Post by Linda on Jun 13, 2018 17:25:42 GMT
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Post by Linda on Jun 15, 2018 12:33:40 GMT
DD11 sorted through her second drawer of paper yesterday -filled up another kitchen trash bag and all her papers now fit in her new file box. YAY
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Post by Linda on Jun 22, 2018 20:19:11 GMT
We are still working on DD11's room - almost everything has been taken out of the room -We still need to move one bookcase and one plastic drawer unit (and contents). I have probably 5 maybe 6 big black bags for donations and a white bag for trash FULL. Plus we're going to be getting rid of her bed (a HUGE loft bed/trundle with builtin desk and dresser and cabinet). It's been quite the job and she STILL has way too much stuff but I anticipate getting rid of a few more things when we re-set it up - I've told her anything that goes back INTO the room has to have a home and be put IN that home. I personally have NO idea where she is going to store all her stuffies - she has an awful lot and they were stored in the cabinet in the bed (full-length/half width of the twin bed) but the new-to-her bed is a captains bed and doesn't have that space.
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