2016 Decluttering Thread

[msomnipotent]

I am almost done with the kitchen desk, aka the clutter magnet. I had it cleared before, and then dumped a bunch of junk from the basement on it and have to go through it again. The basement still doesn't look any better, and I have cleared a lot out. Getting frustrated.

I also had an incident with my sister's babysitter taking a lot of the stuff my sister was supposed to sell, including some things that were already sold but not picked up yet. So now I'm ticked off, even though I know I should be happy that my sister is trying to help me. Why someone who has a little boy would take all kinds of girl things is beyond me, except to sell them herself. I didn't expect a lot of money, but I did tell her that any money is going towards fixing up our house to sell. What gets me the most is that some of those things, especially the more expensive things, were already promised to my niece.

She told me before that she might offer a few things to her sitter because she thought she didn't have much money. I'm happy to help out other people, and I wouldn't accept money from someone who needed something. But I assumed the sitter had a girl, and I assumed my sister would have set aside specific things that she thought the sitter would need. It just rubs me the wrong way.

[disneysteve]

The basement still doesn't look any better, and I have cleared a lot out. Getting frustrated.

I totally know what you mean.

Here's my suggestion. Start taking pictures! Go around today and take pictures of all of the areas that are problems - the basement, the garage, closets, drawers, etc.

Then, after you've worked on those areas, look back at the "before" pictures. You may think things don't look better but once you see the old pictures you realize how much difference you've actually made.

Also, when you do rounds of decluttering, take photos of all of the stuff you get rid of.

I did that with our garage and it made me feel much better about what I've accomplished even though the space still looks like the crew from Hoarders is on it's way to film an episode.

[dawnwes]

My sister is some sort of manager (there are many) at a Walmart. I asked her about boxes and she said the night managers are in charge of boxes, so you would have to ask one of those. Walmart is weird about their garbage. I asked her for some pails from the bakery before because I needed to transport our large goldfish. She said they have to account for every single one because they are recycled, along with a lot of other things. I think they get paid to recycle and consider it stealing. But I guess they don't care about boxes. Maybe that worker was saving them, or just wanted to be bossy.

Thanks. I asked and they told me that they unpack boxes from 10pm-2am and if I happen to be there when they are empty and before they are smashed, I can have some, but they won't hold them for me.

Other Walmarts may be different. I am done dealing with Walmart.

I have gotten some boxes. A friend of a friend was moving and he got us some. It probably won't be enough, but it will get us to the point of having the house ready to show.

[dawnwes]

Boxed up 7 more boxes and loaded them in the car to go to the storage unit.

I also cleaned in my office. That room is just a disaster! It is the one room we still need to paint, so I need to wash down the walls and finish packing it up.

[disneysteve]

DW and DD did some work in the kitchen today in the pantry closet and one of the cabinets. They cleared out some stuff, got extras to the downstairs shelving, and neatly organized what remained so like items are together instead of randomly thrown in there.

[msomnipotent]

I didn't get much done because there has been repair work going on, but I did manage to get everything but one drawer cleared out of the clutter magnet and cleaned out my chest freezer and fridge freezer. I'm hoping to find someone willing to take about 1/4 cow of grass fed beef to feed their dogs. We bought 1/2 a cow 2 years ago and managed to choke down a lot, but we just can't eat it. We hate it, and it tastes nothing like the cow we bought from the rancher previously. But we will have an empty freezer once it is gone. Hate to throw it away, though.

Today I start work in my daughter's room. Lord help me. It is a disaster zone.

[disneysteve]

Today I start work in my daughter's room. Lord help me. It is a disaster zone.

How old is she? How are you involving her in the process of decluttering her room? I think it's important to have her be a part of the process assuming she's not a toddler. Even elementary school age kids can understand the need to keep things neat and orderly, not be wasteful, and donate things they no longer want or need to help others who are less fortunate.

[snafu]

All of us who are working through the ''life changing magic of tidying up' declutter process have learned to overcome our incredulity and involve our children over 4 y/o in the de-clutter process. Best of all, once they are engaged and become part of the process by having been allowed choices and their opinions heard, they remain engaged, co operative and helpful in putting stuff away and monitoring 'how much is enough.'

Most children are generous when they learn how little many less fortunate have to enjoy. They can explain why they want to keep certain items, what is favorite and what is uncomfortable or problematic in some way.I hope you'll impose a control mechanism for DD in your next home...unless she's 16 y/o This too will pass...

[msomnipotent]

She just turned 11. Most of the clutter is due to a gigantic growth spurt in the past year. She went from a kids size 8 to a juniors size 3. I had to buy a lot of clothes and shoes just to keep her covered, and I sold a lot of the barely used stuff already. I am taking her out to get a much needed jacket and more clothes in a few minutes because the jeans I bought 2 months ago no longer fit. And her tastes have changed dramatically all of the sudden. It is like she is 11 going on 20. It doesn't help that her birthday is 2 months from Christmas, so we get flooded with gifts in a short amount of time.

I used to just send her stuff to my sister because her daughters are not that far behind, but she grew so much suddenl, and my sister doesn't want to store that much for her kids to grow into it. I involve her a lot, but she wants to keep a lot of junk. I realize some things are sentimental, but her drawers are stuffed with clothes that don't fit and odds and ends, and I don't even want to get into her closet, mostly because there is so much junk on the floor that I simply can't get in.

[disneysteve]

She just turned 11. Most of the clutter is due to a gigantic growth spurt in the past year.

Outgrown clothing clutter is probably the easiest stuff to deal with.

but she wants to keep a lot of junk. I realize some things are sentimental

Do you mean clothing items? I understand some things having an emotional attachment. I still have a couple of shirts from college and that was nearly 30 years ago. I don't wear them anymore but can't bear to get rid of them.

Clear out as much as you can and let her hang onto a few things that she really feels strongly about. She's entering that age where things start changing a lot and having those items may really be important to her. She'll let them go when she's ready to.

[disneysteve]

Got rid of 22 keys this morning. They were gathered in the course of cleaning our bedroom closet and the kitchen drawers. We can't identify any of them or match them up to any of our current keys. One was for a car we no longer have. The rest are a combination of old house locks that have been replaced, my mom's old house, etc. Out they went.

I also did 2 minor home repairs. There was a small piece of wooden flooring that had come loose a long time ago and the piece was in a drawer so I finally replaced that. There was also a piece of wood that had broken off a door frame that has been sitting on my bedside table for ages. I repaired that, too.

Not major progress but it all counts.

DD goes back to college today after spring break so I'm hoping we'll get back on track with decluttering more regularly. I'm looking forward to some nicer weather to continue working in the garage. I'm still back and forth about having a garage sale vs. just giving the stuff away and being done with it. I know we can make a couple hundred dollars but I'm not sure the effort is worth the reward.

[msomnipotent]

Outgrown clothing clutter is probably the easiest stuff to deal with.


Do you mean clothing items? I understand some things having an emotional attachment. I still have a couple of shirts from college and that was nearly 30 years ago. I don't wear them anymore but can't bear to get rid of them.

Clear out as much as you can and let her hang onto a few things that she really feels strongly about. She's entering that age where things start changing a lot and having those items may really be important to her. She'll let them go when she's ready to.

I mean lots of "stuff". Our exchange students brings gifts. Many of them bring sweets for our daughter, and she doesn't eat much candy. I found several tins of unopened candies the last time I decluttered, along with an untouched Easter basket shoved behind books on a shelf. I found them in October, so the basket was sitting there for months. She also has several maps of France, trinkets galore, and probably 20 stuffed animals from the amusement park we visit. We have a cottage right by the park, so it isn't like we will never go there again. I'm pretty sure she has every birthday card ever given to her, along with a lot of toys she no longer plays with.

My biggest problem is what to do with all the gemstones and fossils. None of the fossils are of much value. I think the most expensive one was $40. I was going to make a shadowbox display for all of her teeth and claws, but I can't find a way to stick them without glue and that might ruin them. We have a large paper Macy's bag filled to the top with gemstones from our trips to the mines. They aren't good enough to make into jewelry but we don't feel right about throwing them away. I tried giving them away to her school for science and was refused. So we started gluing them to her art projects and I got a letter sent home asking to stop. I might clean them off really well and drop them in the fish tank as a conversation piece. I need to find out if they would be toxic or anything first, though. I really wouldn't know who to ask. Or maybe throw some in our planters, but I don't want people thinking that we are loaded beyond belief just because we have useless gemstones in our planters and aquarium. I'm expecting a lot of strangers when we put our house on the market and don't want to set us up to be targeted. They would be sorely disappointed with the haul unless they love cracked stones and magazines!

[dawnwes]

Today I am FINISHING the office. That means packing up anything we don't need for the next couple of months, wiping down the walls, and getting most of the junk OUT.

This may take most of the day. I don't care, it needs to be done.

[snafu]

msomnipotent, try Pinterest for ideas to use gemstones. Museum putty is another effective product to affix items.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/37365871880432949/

Gemstones glued to six pack containers makes them an interesting holder for cleaning products or hair products. Pretty, smaller gemstones would be interesting on hair bands for example. Our guys hot glued examples of minerals to shoe boxes which were used to hold 'treasurers' that youngsters collected.

[msomnipotent]

I never thought of putty. While looking at museum putty, I also found mineral putty. I will research them more. Thanks! We used Elmer's glue for her "100 Days of School" project and it only worked so-so. We had to glue 100 things to a poster for a school display. It turns out that teachers get upset when they have to hang a 10 lb poster on a wall. Who knew?

I only managed to get through my daughter's clothes drawers yesterday, but she was much more willing to remove things this time. Once again, I need to buy her more clothes. She only has 3 pairs of jeans and a few shirts that fit. I feel a little sick when I look at all the clothing she can't wear, but you can't blame her for a growth spurt.