What did you declutter today? Part II

[My English Castle]

Been Busy

but not busy decluttering! Happy to be back at least for a bit.
Today I mailed off four ebay sales, took a box of stuff to church for the Bazaar and for Operation Christmas Child. I'd been given a review copy of a book I'll never read, and gave it to a colleague who specializes in that topic. She was thrilled!

I also filed and sorted some papers--with some recycled.
I'd love to have a couple days at home to work on the house, but am off to Chicago for a conference tomorrow.

Could someone figure out why the NYT Book Reviews are so hard for me to throw away?

[marvholly]

Snafu
I am going to DD1. I will just load all her stuff in my car and let her deal w/it. I have asked before and gotten NOWHERE.

English
I live in metro Chicago. How long is your conference? Where is it? Do you have any free time?
Do you want any info? Feel free to PM me.

[Aleta]

Yesterday, I threw out all of the newspapers, store sale ads, and went through the mail. I deleted about 25 emails.

Today, I cleared off a lot of clutter from my kitchen counter/eating area. I deleted 60 emails. I started with a cabinet to the left of my sink that has 3 shelves but the lower one has a step glass shelf used for spices. The top shelf holds all of the medical stuff (cough medicines, pain relievers, prescriptions, etc. I took out any prescriptions that were expired. The shelf is half-empty now. The next shelf below it holds taller herbs and spices, coffee filters, etc. The lower shelf holds the smaller spices, salt & pepper, sugar bowl, etc. I couldn't believe how many items that I had in there. But it is now neat.

I also went outside on my screened porch and picked up any clutter on the table. Tomorrow is garbage so this works out great. I'm now working on the pantry. I have gone through the upper 3 shelves and I was amazed at how many items were expired or about to expire. Will start working on the lower shelves either tonight or tomorrow. These are areas that I use the most and need to get all of the excess out. I probably will check out the refrig tonight.

[disneysteve]

In addition to the usual every day stuff (mail, e-mail, papers at work), I spent 15-20 minutes in the basement tonight. I got into one of the back recesses that I honestly haven't been in for probably a couple of years. I threw out a bunch of stuff and tossed a few items in a box for Goodwill. Obviously, if it has been hidden back there this long, I have no need for it.

Little by little, item by item, things are really shaping up around here.

[marvholly]

Went into 3rd bedroom. I have packed 4 cartons of stuff to take to DD1 on Sunday (NOT counting pieces) & I am a GOOD packer. Stuff has been here since 1997. I can only guess how much will hit the trash at HER house (92%?).

I also reviewed what I already have for holiday gifts for the grandkids & I am VERY unlikely to buy anything else. Each of the 4 will get 2-3 items + a filled stocking from me. I suspect I am about half way into next Christmas and/or have all bdays covered but will see when I can actually lay it all out (after 4 ctns are gone).

[marvholly]

Finally getting back on track. Feels real good.

Late DH was a definite candidate for Hoarders.
Spent 40 minutes in the basement (didn’t make a dent or find ornaments for DD2).
Tossed:
Old undercabinet coffee maker
5 modern brass planters
10 pk of unused VCR tapes
detachable motorcycle radio
3 old cordless phones (replacement batteries NOY available)
Box from???
Ctn msc junk

Also sorted thru another box of medical supplies.

[disneysteve]

Stuff has been here since 1997.

What could possibly be there that she needs to keep after 13 years of not having it? Isn't it amazing the garbage we accumulate? The more I declutter and the deeper I get into the storage areas, the less and less useful is the stuff I'm finding.

[Aleta]

Steve: I'm a little like Maryholly. My stuff from my sons is far past where hers is. I think that it's more about us than them. It has been great having all those memory's on the walls. I wanted them to come home and be able to see part of their life there. My younger son loved showing his daughter all of his stuff. I know we should handle it but we don't. I always loved going home to my Aunt's house who helped raise me because it was like life stood still. Everything was the same and so were my photos and my stuff. It always was such a warm feeling to walk into that house and I guess that I wanted to do the same for my sons. Doing so does not let us move forward. I now have framed photos and drawings from my granddaughters and something has to give. That's why we end up with these things in our homes. Time to move on because those sons will not like having to go through those items when we go. Best to move them to their ownere homes now so that they can make rational decisions as to keep or discard them.

[disneysteve]

Aleta, I'm not suggesting we toss all of our memories. I, too, have pictures on the wall and things hung on the refrigerator. But how many of us have boxes of stuff packed away in the garage and attic that we never, ever look at? When my mom moved 4 years ago and I helped her clean out the house, she had every birthday card I had received starting at birth and up to about my 5th or 6th birthday. Why do we need that stuff? We found boxes in the garage with my notebooks from elementary school. I don't know why we ever saved that stuff in the first place. We have thousands of photo albums and slide files that we never look at. At this point, many if not most of the people in those old photos are deceased and I don't even know who most of them are. But still, they take up space in my garage.

As I get older, I find myself getting much more selective in what I keep. It isn't that I'm not sentimental but if I can't display the item or see it easily when I want to relive some old memories, why keep it? It does me no good packed away in a box buried in the back of the garage.

[Ima saver]

Well, it is not much, but everyday I am throwing away several old magazines. I have subscribed to Money magazine and Kiplinger for years and years and have saved them all. So, in every trash bag, I am throwing away as many as I can.

[snafu]

As we follow your de-clutter journey, I appreciate what you are teaching by example. I've changed my day-to-day routine by mentally asking...'will it morph into clutter in a year'? Do I need it, use it, love it? Does it have unhappy memories? Does it live up to it's hype? How long has it been damaged/broken? It's been easier to get things, there is less clutter to look at and there is less stress here as a result.

Hope you will sell, re-gift or bless others with items in good condition that no longer serve you. Someone else could enjoy items you don't use.

[disneysteve]

Well, it is not much, but everyday I am throwing away several old magazines. I have subscribed to Money magazine and Kiplinger for years and years and have saved them all. So, in every trash bag, I am throwing away as many as I can.

Please recycle them instead of trashing them.

[marvholly]

DS
I do NOT care if she needs stuff or not. I just want it GONE & she has put me off on picking it up/me dropping it NUMEROUS times. Now it can clutter up HER house/garage.

Plan on doing more woek in the basement today.

[disneysteve]

DS
I do NOT care if she needs stuff or not. I just want it GONE & she has put me off on picking it up/me dropping it NUMEROUS times. Now it can clutter up HER house/garage.

I agree with you. I hope I didn't sound like I was suggesting you do otherwise. Her stuff, her problem.

[Aleta]

Mayholly: I'm with you. I kept hearing the same excuses from my sons, "Oh the next time I'm down, I'll go through my stuff". There was always something. We should have boxed everything up drove a little over an hour and dropped it off. Then, he can do with it what he wants. Right now, I'm stuck with this stuff in my house. Not to mention the aggravation and expense in shipping it. If I wanted to move away tomorrow - I'd have his and some of his brothers stuff to deal with. So, you're doing right. There are a few items as DS says that I want to keep around.