The annual maintenance is happening on the heat pump today. I was going to go and maybe buy a van, but the shop is closed. I’m really glad I called and made sure, because it’s a 2.5 hour drive to this place and I’d be MAD if I got all the way up there and it was closed…
Because of the minisplit maintenance, I sorted some books and tidied up the piles so that the fellow can get at the equipment. I’ll have a full bin to take to the dump Saturday, but I can’t get to the dump bin right now, the dining room table is pulled up in front of it to give the guy room.
Yeah- I think that is the idea of why he kept the boxes; but none of it is ‘vintage’, and now it’s just old. I don’t think anything would fetch much if it is sold.
I convinced him to get rid of the boxes; but set them out for him to decide and so far, they are still there… It’s in his office though, so whatever.
I have got to figure out my craftroom. I think I may need to go Dana White container method and really stick to it. If the fancy yarn doesn’t fit in the container, it goes on ebay. I don’t even knit anymore…
A while back, I realized I wasn’t using acrylic yarn any more, just cotton or wool and ruthlessly purged my yarn collection. Someone was delighted, I"m sure, but it cut the stash in 1/2!
I have been ditching a bunch of prefold diapers that are torn and shredded and have been through many babies. Plus a shirt with a small fix needed that i won’t do
Please give me permission to get rid of this.
It is smaller than a sheet of paper; a 7-year WIP knit shawl. It has been taken off the needles, it isn’t on stitch holders, I don’t even know if I was using a pattern.
Reasons to get rid of it:
It has been taken off the needles, and isn’t even on stitch holders.
I don’t know what size needles I was using, or if I was using a pattern.
I started it 7 years ago, and have barely knit at all in the past 5 years.
My doll collection is largely ignored and my daughter doesn’t play much with dolls. (See below)
I don’t really want to keep it, it is just clutter, and I probably won’t even remember I got rid of it, because I won’t come across it again to remember it was here.
Reasons to keep it:
The yarn is Wollmeise, which is expensive, and at least at the time was very hard to acquire.
Have enough yarn to finish it, as (see #4) didn’t use enough of the yarn up when I took it off the needles.
Maybe I could sew the edge and make it into a doll shawl?
Reasons…
Discusses baby loss
This was the scarf I was knitting when I was pregnant with my first. After the baby’s heart stopped, and my labor was being induced over 2-days, I realized he had no hat. You can’t hold a newborn baby without a hat. I took this off my needles and made him a hat with the yarn. I still have the hat. It is with my other baby’s hospital hats. I won’t get rid of that. But somehow, this feels like it is tied to that. It is hard to throw anything away because I can’t get it back. It won’t happen again. He will have no more new memories made.
It’s the size of a piece of paper so it doesn’t take up much space.
The yarn is Wollmeise, which is expensive, and at least at the time was very hard to acquire.
Holding onto things that no longer serve you is also expensive. It costs a lot in terms of attention and stress. And as for the other two reasons to keep it: it is ok to not produce. It’s ok to step away from things. It is actually incredibly productive to recognize when something is not adding to your life and dispense with it, and you can do it in a way that feels respectful to you. You could even wrap it in tissue paper before getting rid of it, and thank it for the moments that it was useful, but send it on its way.
You have permission to get rid of it. I had a piece that had bad connotations, and I did not repurpose the yarn, I just sent it on its way.
You also have permission to donate it (with what scraps you have of the rest of the yarn) and someone else who is a stranger can use it as a contrast in a beautiful new piece.
You also have permission to ask a knitter friend to make you something new with it to see if you want to wear it with happier memories.
Ok we’re moving in roughly 1.5 months and I want to get rid of as much as possible before that, so we don’t lug a bunch of stuff we don’t even want across town
I think given the timeline, the psychological part won’t be the most difficult part (although check in with me about Mr Darling’s hoarder tendencies in 2 weeks and see how I feel). It’s going to be actually getting the things out of the house in time. I’m back on Facebook just for the Buy Nothing group, and for Facebook marketplace, but: where do you get rid of your donatables?
I’ve given up on goodwill. They won’t take kids stuff, the line is always crazy long, etc. I recently learned our local humane society takes donations for their shop to sell, so I’m switching to that!
My mom has volunteered at a food pantry that also has clothing and housewares out for free. They take anything in good condition so I have donated a lot of things to them. Maybe you have something like that? I don’t even try to sell stuff anymore, it’s not worth the annoyance and I’d rather just gift things to people who can use it.
I’ve donated to Habitat for Humanity ReStores - check ahead for what they accept, but they’re usually good especially for getting rid of big/house stuff.
Little Free Libraries for books.
My work also has a buy/sell/donate Slack channel, and some offices (if you go in person) have a free table, but of course I don’t know if those apply to you.
Also may not apply, but one town I’ve lived in had a free donatables section in the recycling facility where people could take or leave stuff as wanted.
I’ve soured a bit on the Minimal Mom on youtube as it has become more of a personality channel, with lots of redecorating and RV trips, but she sent out an email today that really resonated.
“We don’t have time for all our stuff.”
A snippet of it
We don’t have time for all of our stuff.
This can be a bit of a sad or depressing thought OR it can be a huge weight off of our shoulders.
All the projects and activities that we thought we would get to someday…
– when the kids are a little older
– when the kids are out of the house
– when we’re retired
– when we’re not caring for a loved one
That time rarely comes.
There is no guilt or shame.
We had good intentions when we acquired these things – those craft supplies, holiday décor, exercise equipment, kitchen gadgets, books.
We sincerely thought we would get to a point where we’d use that stuff and have the bandwidth for it.
I’ve heard it said that the past is the best predictor of the future, but I don’t like hearing that!
I want to imagine a time when I can craft and read and garden and bake leisurely.
But time doesn’t slow down.
…
We can choose to beat ourselves up over the things that we’ve acquired and drag them into the next year with us or let ourselves off the hook and pass them on to someone who can use them now.
I feel like by the time I get to a lot of “personalities” they’ve kind of run their course in a lot of ways haha. Like, it’s their striving that’s inspiring, so once they arrive… kinda loses some weight I guess?
I have just posted a baby jumping thing, 2 adult sized capes for halloween costumes and some promotional mugs to buy nothing. If they dont go in 2 weeks, they will go on the verge where they will get picked up.
