2017 Decluttering thread

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

For some 20 years there has been a practice in home decorating that I have used as an excuse to be lazy: The practice of merely propping up framed artwork on a mantle or even on a floor. Every time I acquired a new piece of art I've taken months to actually hang it on a wall.

This weekend, I finally measured, leveled, spaced, marked, and drilled to hang three pieces. Ah! It looks so much better and the whole room less crowded to get them up on the wall.

[disneysteve]

There are a few things that have been "living" on my desk for a while. They are usually in one fairly neat pile but they really don't belong there. So I labeled 3 new files in the desk drawer and got those papers into the files. I still have easy access to them and they're off the desk.

[disneysteve]

Cleaned out the basement freezer today. It had gotten out of hand. I found a number of things in there that were ancient, as old as 2011, which is odd because I know it hasn't been that long since I last cleaned it out. Oh well, they're gone now.

My wife also cleaned out the kitchen pantry this morning so that got all straightened up.

[disneysteve]

Spent most of the 4th doing some more decluttering.

A few months ago, I did the Marie Kondo thing with my t-shirts and got rid of about 25 of them. Since then, I've noticed that I still have more than I need so I got rid of 6 more.

I cleaned out the pen/pencil holder on my desk.

I cleared out some bill and financial statement folders in the drawer.

I dumped a box full of recyclables that I've accumulated in the basement.

I did some other random cleaning and decluttering in our computer room and bedroom.

[msomnipotent]

Our exchange student is coming Friday and I thought it was to be Saturday, so now I am frantically decluttering the bathroom she will be using. My daughter practically moved into that bathroom and nested like a wild animal. I also put a few more things on bookoo. I'm really hoping they sell so I don't have to list them on ebay. I hate the post office.

[disneysteve]

Big Brothers is coming tomorrow so I packed up a large trash bag of clothing for them today. My wife also packed up a number of items, both clothing and other things, that we are donating to our synagogue rummage sale. She'll take those in tomorrow.

[disneysteve]

This didn't actually eliminate any clutter - yet - but I just went in and repriced all of the books in my Half.com inventory, marking some of them down pretty dramatically. I just want to get rid of them, even if I don't make that much in the process.

I'm also going to cross list them all to Amazon.

[ShawnaC123]

Half.com is closing on Aug 31st, so you'll probably want to list them on Amazon sooner than later.

[disneysteve]

Half.com is closing on Aug 31st, so you'll probably want to list them on Amazon sooner than later.

Yep. I had to reactivate my Amazon seller account as I hadn't used it lately and my credit card on file was expired. I took care of that last night.

[msomnipotent]

I was finally feeling up to doing more decluttering, so I started on the master closet. I set aside more than an entire rack of old clothing, which is about 5 ft of space. I'm just waiting for my husband to approve getting rid of his share, but I think he will be fine with it. The sad part is that I only went through the shirts, and only the shirts in the closet. I still have to go through all of the drawers. Sadder still, I now don't have enough clothes to get me through a week because most of my clothes had claw marks from the cat and/or light spots from stain removal. The saddest part is that you can't tell a difference because my closet is huge! And I just realized that my husband takes up 80% of the closet space and winter gear takes up another 10%.

I'm trying to work up the nerve to clean out my daughter's closet this weekend, but it is a nightmare again. I'm done selling and I never got the money from my sister the last time I gave her things, which I would have expected at least $300 for. I'm just going to chuck everything in boxes and call a charity.

[snafu]

I sold my car last Sunday and that resulted in finally going through all the boxes stored in the garage. I was able to trash or pack up all the items no longer used and therefore no longer needed. 8 boxes ready for donation! I expect DH to load his SUV tomorrow to drop off at the Mennonite Thrift I like to support.

[disneysteve]

I'm glad to hear some folks are still decluttering. Not much has been happening here between working a lot, summer temperatures, and DD still being home. She goes back to school next week and it's starting to cool off a bit. Plus in another month, my schedule will get much better and I'll be working at least 11 hours less each week, and as much as 19 or more hours less. I'm hoping all of that will allow DW and I to get back to focusing on the clutter.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Family was here for the eclipse which forced me to clean up the spare bedroom. An extra bedroom is a fine place to set "stuff" and walk away. I do that over and over. Get the room tidy; junk it up; repeat.

I made contact with a brand new third grade teacher who needed supplies. I was able to give her three big boxes worth. Plan to call her back to pass along some other things.

[msomnipotent]

So I finally got a charity pick up the other day. All told, 3 garbage bags full of clothes and two large boxes full of stuff are gone. One box was large enough for me to fit inside completely. Yeah, I hide in boxes to scare my dog and cats. So what?

I'm already starting another round. It seems that now that my husband sees how much stuff we can get rid of and still have a lot, he is more open to getting rid of things. He still kept one hideous 25 year old sweater, though. Next up is my daughter's room and the 2 spare bedrooms, and then the dreaded basement.

[disneysteve]

Thanks for bumping up this thread.

I was feeling blah Monday night. I was supposed to go to the gym and just wasn't in the mood so I went out and worked in the garage instead. I filled our trash can and our recycling can and got a few things set aside for Goodwill.

I also did a bunch of yard work but that's only temporary because it keeps on growing.