Oh I haven’t done that but I really should!! Maybe when I go home I will make that a task. Such a good idea.
3 Likes
I threw all my high school journals into a dumpster several moves ago. Maybe like 9 years ago? I have never regretted it. No one wants that much angst.
9 Likes
Am building a new box for auction bits, haven’t done that in a while. A local auction has auctions with “tray lots” of misc. stuff and that’s what I’m working on… a way to get rid of all the small junk that an antique dealer would want but that I don’t have enough of to put in the booth etc.
I got through an entire box of papers yesterday. Some of it did need to be kept, but > 1/2 of it didn’t, so it’s in the shred pile, while the receipts are set aside to be used in fire starters.
3 Likes
A kilt and corset made their way out of my house and to people who were very excited for them.
I need to put a box or something in the closet for easy identification of things that shall be leaving us. My piles are not honored when Husband tidies and then the clothes are washed and intermingled with everything else again.
13 Likes
We keep a box at the top of the steps - things to be donated go in there. It has to be in front of me or it gets forgotten
3 Likes
I have a box in the bottom of a hall closet. It’s right outside the bedroom door which makes it easy to add to, but isn’t in my way at any point.
2 Likes
Ugh I kind of want to quit Facebook but it’s my access to gifting groups. I like giving stuff to individuals rather than goodwill etc.
10 Likes
I’m not on fb so I use the Buy Nothing app. It may depend on your region what people use though.
3 Likes
Nextdoor? Platform technically sucks but thete is a small marketplace.
2 Likes
craigslist works well in my neighbourhood for gifting.
1 Like
I’ve done this for years. I keep a basket on the floor of the closet for this purpose. I also put them in my kids’ closets. Daughter uses it perfectly and every so often comes to me with a full basket and says, “These things need to go.” Son ends up with all his clothes on the floor and doesn’t remember he has a closet or drawers. So, you know.
7 Likes
I competely cleared the top of the small cart in the living room. I could have dismantled it and put it in the attic, but I have lots of other things to put in the attic. I made myself do another sort of the stuff (it had been sorted once recently), some books went into the potato bag, and some went on the stairs to be researched. A few (very few) went on the shelves as “keeps.”
4 Likes
Went through the linen closet and did a quick first cur to get rid of towels, washcloths, pillowcases, sheets, dog sweater, and S / ES toothbrushes from the dentist (hermetically sealed), and a big no-skid rug pad I never used (because the smaller pads didn’t work).
7 Likes
I was asked if I could help support an event where they were gathering/distributing clothing, shoes & accessories to people in treatment for addiction. I’m shocked at how much I was able to gather up and was pretty ruthless this time. When I retired 5 years ago I donated a bunch to Dress for Success so I didn’t think I had much to give but I was wrong. Lots of breathing space in all the closets and drawers now. And I’m really happy I let go of some very nice stuff that just didn’t work for me. Somehow that’s the stuff that’s hardest.
16 Likes
The toothbrushes are esp. needed with homeless/food pantries. Food stamps does NOT cover that!
3 Likes
I need … something. I"m 1/2 between the dehoarding (burned out/overwhelmed) and uncertain how to get myself going/excited about the apparently fictional future without the clutter. Videos of places where I used to be re-energized aren’t doing it. Books ditto. Just tired of the endless work. I want to get a dumpster and chuck it all in, DH doesn’t. I wanted to get a POD and put all the boxed stuff in it so that I could “see” the next phaze, DH doesn’t want to pay for it and we don’t have a good place to put it…
Overwhelmed. Tired of the endless slog… been doing this for 20+ years now… . I get it. I am giving myself grace. But still, tired, overwhelmed and SICK of this process!!!
Any ideas?
4 Likes
Man, that’s hard to respond to thoughtfully. Can you give an idea of what you’re dealing with? Are there a lot of boxes, bags and stuff that you would consider trash in your main living areas? I’d probably clear that out first so you can really see your stuff. Then I’d look at like things - pans, tupperware, baskets, etc. and weed out the stuff you don’t have room to keep. Having an uncluttered living room and kitchen so you can enjoy some breathing room might help give you some motivation to carry on? Also really think about donating and how much someone will love “finding” your things. Let them bring someone else some joy! Sending peaceful vibes your way…
2 Likes
I’d push this!
A pod seems like just reshuffling. But a dumpster seems great. You’ve rehomed so much valuable stuff and we are in a world of too much stuff. Get the quality of life back!
7 Likes
I agree with this. Don’t reshuffle and continue to store stuff you don’t have room for. Give it away…make someone happy!
3 Likes
Okay. First of all, I do NOT have piles o’ stuff that’s just garbage, it’s mostly piles of books and boxes of books and papers. I’m not saying that I wasn’t as bad in selected spots ever, but mostly not. However, at one point my living room wasn’t anything but a pathway through the tomato boxes of books, stacked 8 high. (Each box holds approx 50 books. I have NO idea how many boxes I had, a lot. So it isn’t just wade in with a trashbag and get rid of the garbage. Or, if it was, I’ve been workign on this 20+ years and I"ve gotten the easy stuff. If I could put it all in one place? Boxes about 5-8 high and yeah, there’s probably at least 100 of them. Let’s see. The desk I"m working on has 5 stacks of books and papers on the top layer 13, 5, 7, 8 books per stack. The drawer (open) has a magazine and 3 books. The floor to the right of my chair has 10 hardcovers, to the left there are piles ], 29 books total. And the foot well is also awash in books in paper, and there are 5 books on my keyboard tray and 4 behind me on my chair. Most of the books on the shelves are DH’s here, it’s his office, not mine. I have a Billy bookcase that’s in the attic to add, after we move the bed downstairs.
Since the bed is a king (DH is tall) neither of us want to wrangle a king size mattress, frame, etc. through a narrow passage before scooting it down the stairs. Thank you no. Not in our 70s!
However, it’s just that even if I make an effort and remove every single book on my desk, the effort will require the piles to be replaced with still more. (The stacks are 4 deep and 2’ tall (?) in the hallway. That’s not counting what’s in the attic, still in my office, or still in boxes in various other places.
Part of the reason I want to put them ALL in one place is because then I could notice the progress. People who’ve seen this house over a long period of time, including DH, say it’s vastly different. All I see are the piles of books I haven’t gotten done.
BTW, the first potato bag is 2/3 full. I expect to fill it AND the 2nd one before Weds. this week. There are also 3 tomato boxes here for the bookstore, the last one is about 1/2 full. There are 2 tomato oxes already in the storage for the bookstore. Assuming that I get the 3rd box done, that’s anther 250 out of here. And, if I could feel that actually made a difference? I’d feel pretty good about that!
The pototo bags hold approx 30 hardcovers/large paperbacks or 100 smaller paperbacks. My guess is right now there’s about 20 books in there?
1 Like