2021 Decluttering Thread

[disneysteve]

7 ebay auctions just ended, each one for 12 issues of a particular magazine.
All 7 auctions sold to the same buyer.
So that's 84 issues of the magazine that will be going out once payment is made.
That's a nice bit of space that will be cleared out.

[disneysteve]

Shipped the 84 magazines sold the other day.

Just sold another item on ebay. Awaiting payment and will get that shipped out. It's packed and ready.

I haven't listed anything more for a few days. I need to do that.

[kork13]

I returned from my deployment less than a week ago. They gave me a couple weeks off, so I'm slowly working my way through the house room by room, ridding us of excess papers, cheap/worthless/unused toys, and generally just re-organizing the clutter (chaos) that developed while I was gone. Today's foray into the pantry was shockingly productive. I can almost get into my half of the closet again! (It became a second pantry/storage area while I was gone.... Lol). The going is slow, but progress is being made -- our recycle bin is nearly full. I've also "decluttered" (shut down) a couple of subscription services that weren't doing us any good, freeing up over $100/mo.

Not blaming DW at all, because I left her in a 3-on-1 game with 4&6 y/o boys and an infant, while she struggled to keep up in an accelerated DPT hybrid program. While I was gone, my default response to her needing help with something was to throw money at the problem... Cleaning service, lawn service, mail-order meal prep (one of the ones I stopped), random home/car repairs, childcare, etc. The benefit of living frugally is that we can turn it off on demand & spend money as required to make life work when things get stressful.

[disneysteve]

I returned from my deployment less than a week ago. They gave me a couple weeks off, so I'm slowly working my way through the house room by room, ridding us of excess papers, cheap/worthless/unused toys, and generally just re-organizing the clutter (chaos) that developed while I was gone. Today's foray into the pantry was shockingly productive. I can almost get into my half of the closet again! (It became a second pantry/storage area while I was gone.... Lol). The going is slow, but progress is being made -- our recycle bin is nearly full. I've also "decluttered" (shut down) a couple of subscription services that weren't doing us any good, freeing up over $100/mo.

Not blaming DW at all, because I left her in a 3-on-1 game with 4&6 y/o boys and an infant, while she struggled to keep up in an accelerated DPT hybrid program. While I was gone, my default response to her needing help with something was to throw money at the problem... Cleaning service, lawn service, mail-order meal prep (one of the ones I stopped), random home/car repairs, childcare, etc. The benefit of living frugally is that we can turn it off on demand & spend money as required to make life work when things get stressful.

Welcome home. Certainly DW had her hands full. Keeping the pantry tidy wasn't a priority. And it is great that you were able to offload some stuff from her with some hired help. It's equally nice that you can now cut that stuff out and free up the money again.

[disneysteve]

Cleaned off my dresser, a constant source of clutter for me. Recent travels had resulted in various things getting dumped there so I cleaned that all up.

[disneysteve]

Shipped the 84 magazines sold the other day.

The woman who bought them messaged me yesterday to let me know they arrived safely and to ask if I have more. I had just listed 96 more, which she saw. She said she'd be interested in buying all of those plus whatever else I may have. I'll get into the garage tomorrow and take inventory and send her a list. Sounds like I will hopefully be clearing out a few cartons of stuff shortly if she follows through.

I sold one item on ebay yesterday that will ship tomorrow.

I just saw that I got a bid on another item that ends tomorrow.

[kork13]

With DW doing a hybrid doctoral PT program (mostly online + periodic on-campus & local hands-on work), we decided to get her a walking desk treadmill thing to help her still stay more active while she's doing 8-9 hours of classwork every day. Problem is, it takes up alot of space in our living room, so we decided to sell our elliptical that's currently in a small exercise room in our garage. She rarely uses it, I use it a few times a month during bad weather, so we're okay with selling it to make space for the standing desk in the garage. Added bonus, it'll give her some physical separation from what's going on in the house, and hopefully help her to focus better on her work.

Aaaannyyywaaayyy..... Listed the elliptical online last week for a fair but higher-than-average price, and was about to drop the price on it for pack of interest... But yesterday we got a promising-looking bite from someone an hour out of town! She's been looking for this exact model, so she's going to drive our way on Sunday & hopefully take it away. Happy result for all of us, if this goes through!

[disneysteve]

I just saw that I got a bid on another item that ends tomorrow.

I originally listed this item for $10. Last week someone offered me $5 which I declined. A few days ago someone else offered me $6 which I also declined. It just sold for $10 which I'm perfectly satisfied with.

I really don't understand why "Accept offers" is even a thing. If I was willing to sell it for $5 or $6 then I would have listed it for that amount. The fact that I listed it for $10 means that's the least I was willing to sell it for.

[scfr]

A part of helping my mom with decluttering has been emphasizing the positive as a way to keep her motivated. Before most of you were born, my late grandmother knit matching sweaters for my siblings and me. I found one of them buried in a bag full of dirty stuff in the back of my mom's closet. A friend converted it to a couple of super cute decorative pillows that I'll be delivering to my mom tomorrow. I know she's going to be delighted! Converting no longer useful "sentimental clutter" into something that can be displayed and used is really rewarding.

[disneysteve]

A part of helping my mom with decluttering has been emphasizing the positive as a way to keep her motivated. Before most of you were born, my late grandmother knit matching sweaters for my siblings and me. I found one of them buried in a bag full of dirty stuff in the back of my mom's closet. A friend converted it to a couple of super cute decorative pillows that I'll be delivering to my mom tomorrow. I know she's going to be delighted! Converting no longer useful "sentimental clutter" into something that can be displayed and used is really rewarding.

That's great.

My wife makes and sells t-shirt quilts for just that reason. Lots of people have a drawer or closet or bag full of old t-shirts that they don't want to get rid of because they have a lot of memories attached. Making them into a quilt is a great way to repurpose them into something that you can actually use and enjoy. Same with making clothing into pillows. She has also done that, specifically making memory pillows when someone has died and she takes some of their shirts and makes them into pillows for the kids or grand-kids to have to remember them.

[disneysteve]

Listed a lot of 16 books/booklets on ebay.

Someone is coming shortly to pick up an item (set of car floor mats) that I listed on our Buy Nothing group.

This itself isn't decluttering but it goes toward it. Stopped at the post office last night and got several flat rate boxes and envelopes. I find that I'm using more of those lately so this saves me from having to go over there every time I need one.

[kork13]

Listed the elliptical online last week for a fair but higher-than-average price, and was about to drop the price on it for pack of interest... But yesterday we got a promising-looking bite from someone an hour out of town! She's been looking for this exact model, so she's going to drive our way on Sunday & hopefully take it away. Happy result for all of us, if this goes through!

Smooth, easy transaction and the elliptical is sold! The freed up space will be nice to have back (once we move the walking desk in there).

[disneysteve]

Smooth, easy transaction and the elliptical is sold! The freed up space will be nice to have back (once we move the walking desk in there).

That's great. It's so nice when you get rid of unwanted stuff and make some money in the process.

[disneysteve]

The woman who bought them messaged me yesterday to let me know they arrived safely and to ask if I have more. I had just listed 96 more, which she saw. She said she'd be interested in buying all of those plus whatever else I may have. I'll get into the garage tomorrow and take inventory and send her a list. Sounds like I will hopefully be clearing out a few cartons of stuff shortly if she follows through.

The buyer responded this evening.

She wants 15 years worth of the magazine, so 180 issues. I also have some duplicates that she might want as well. I sent her a list to check. As you can imagine, 180 magazines takes up a good chunk of space. It will be nice to move them out in one transaction.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

The buyer responded this evening.

She wants 15 years worth of the magazine, so 180 issues. I also have some duplicates that she might want as well. I sent her a list to check. As you can imagine, 180 magazines takes up a good chunk of space. It will be nice to move them out in one transaction.

That is crazy!