Decluttering discussion thread: share your wins, ask for advice, inspire each other!

Hellooooo I am definitely not strange, probably, but I love looking at tidy cupboards.

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Well, I mean, it’s not a great pic as it’s hard to get it all in but… I’m super pleased! I can see the floor! We had a book case in there already which helped but now it’s perfect!

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I reread Marie Kondo yesterday and afterwards I just felt tired. Big sigh. I want my house to be clutter-free, but the process is so much effort - especially if you want to dispose of unwanted items responsibly.

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I feel you on this. I could throw everything out and it would be fantastic but the guilt would be too much!

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I think my biggest issue with the first Marie Kondo book (I haven’t read the second one) is how obvious it is that her clients are literally just throwing everything away… It is so fucking wasteful!

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Yep, that definitely annoyed me too. Soooo much waste!

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my friend shared this today which I thought was good. Though you are probably both pretty mindful with your purchases

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I enjoyed reading that! Thank you.

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I did read an interview with her where she was asked about throwing things out, and she basically said no, things like clothes and books are donated. But in the book she does try to remove the guilt of throwing stuff out. I don’t know where the truth lies

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Yeah, on her instagram she’s posted plenty of stuff about how to dispose of items correctly. But in the book it’s pretty yuk: she talks about clients getting excited for bin day and how many bags of stuff get thrown away… GROSS.

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Question: is an item more likely to be used if donated to a shelter vs a thrift store?

I feel guilty about throwing things out, but lately I’ve convinced myself just to toss something if it’s universally unsuitable (literally broken clothing or kitchen tools, for example) rather than just something I don’t love.

This is always the reason I’ve hated “spark joy” as the universal decluttering rule. Some things should - anything purely decorative, for example, keepsakes, etc. But my can opener doesn’t spark joy. It just… Works and doesn’t spark anger and frustration.

My rule I guess with trashing stuff is that if I know I couldn’t get someone to take it for free if I dropped it off at their convenience, that’s when I throw it out.

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Shelters can be good. Clothes donated to thrift stores can end up with fabric recyclers who can see if there is a use for it. Some used fabric items are taken by pet shelters as rags and crate lining. The spot next to my dumpster at the apartment building where we leave random shit… The trash pickers who come through will take stuff that I’d assumed would be garbage. And they are either making money off it or hoarding it.

I also keep an eye out for Kijiji ads from people who’ve been evicted or left a spouse and have literally nothing… They will use chipped plates and pots with no handle happily for months or years until they can afford to replace or repair.

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Partner and I found an Ikea 4x4 shelving unit in the street which was an inspiration to declutter books, since we had to take them off the old bookshelf to move in the new shelving unit to hold them. So far we have 2 big bags of books to go to the charity shop plus I have a bunch where I want to check if it’s worth putting them on Amazon before giving them away. I had to reactivate my Amazon account so still waiting to do that but hopefully most of the books will actually leave the house next weekend.

I have to get rid of a drum kit, any ideas? Was thinking of putting on Facebook as free to friends/good causes then maybe eBay as to be collected only? Having a drum kit is not great because people always want to borrow it which is a real hassle to arrange.

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You could always give it to the next person who tries to borrow it. Make it a requirement if you’re afraid they’ll be reluctant to take ownership. :slight_smile:

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Yes! Will definitely do this if asked to lend again before I can give it away. Thanks rural!

I think many others have stated or done this, but I’m working on not buying new shampoo or conditioners and using all the ones up in the closet first. This is a very slow process.

My other decluttering items- removing summerish shoes from the closet to make way for boots, and taking pictures and frames down that I have in the house. Some of the pictures are not as meaningful or important as they were, so they can either be replaced or fully removed.

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Using up toiletries really is a hard thing to do! :clap:

I am going through my shoes as I have to put together an outfit for a wedding on Friday, and there are several pairs of heels leaving my house.

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The extra vacuum cleaner we acquired when we moved is exiting via buy nothing today.

My buy nothing group is still frustrating. I got an enthusiastic yes to my offer to help admin it but I haven’t heard from the admin since, it has been almost three weeks now.

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Vacuum cleaner is gone :airplane:.

The toddler cried when the person came to take it away. She is ok and feeling positive about it now. It has been a great opportunity to talk with her about how we can end up with more than we need and when that happens it can be opportunity to help someone else. I am working towards her willingly donating some toys before Christmas. I think this experience will help us get there.

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