2017 Decluttering thread

[AJ444]

When my wife and I moved last year we got rid of over half of our belongings, either through donating or in the trash. Our new rule is any time we get something new something needs donated or discarded.

[creditcardfree]

We have the Salvation Army stopping by tomorrow to pick up a garage full of our stuff, all furniture we have decided to part with (that won't fit in our car) in our quest to become minimalists. I chose the Salvation Army because they allow you to schedule pickups online without ever needing to call them. Yay!

Online pickup scheduling isn't available in my area. I just checked as that would definitely be helpful. Of course, I can still call.

[Thrif-t]

Every year I start a new expandable folder to put all my old bills, credit card receipts and other misc papers in. Today I took the file from 2014 and threw it in my work shredder, does that count?

I can't stand clutter and routinely give things away. We have a church in our town that runs a shop that lets people come in and take 8 free items a week. They have everything from clothes, to household items to toys, anything you want to give they'll take. I love that I'm decluttering my house and helping the less fortunate.

[snafu]

HundredK Were you able to sell your Waterford Stems [glassware]? I've a lower level brand but had no calls when trying to sell groups of brand named crystal. I've finally concluded we'll donate regular stuff and use the good stuff as much as possible

[msomnipotent]

I misplaced $200 that I normally keep in my car for emergencies a few days ago, so I tore my car and house apart looking for it. I found 4 pairs of earrings, enough change to fill a sandwich bag, all the gift cards my daughter got for Christmas, and countless school papers in my car. My daughter is now required to clean the back seat every time she leaves the vehicle. I should look back there more often, but at least it is completely decluttered. I also found 4 phone books (didn't even know they made those anymore) and the dog muzzle we lost. My husband found the money right on the counter, where I had looked for it countless times. Things magically disappear and reappear here, just to make me look crazy.

I also sold 2 small things on bookoo and set aside a few more to list.

[FLA]

I sold the treadmill today! I'm in the mood to just pack everything up and give it away, but I also really want the money

I also sorted through a bunch of papers while negotiating with Sirius on the phone a few days ago. Before I knew it, I had a 3" stack of papers to shred.

I have a practically brand new treadmill to sell. How did you price yours?

[FLA]

When you get a real pest mouse in the house, you'll have to hunt it down with a can of pink spray paint before your cat will do it's feline duty!!

good one!

[rennigade]

We just donated 3 garbage bags full of clothes to the salvation army. We cancelled our comcast and reordered to get the promo rate. They refused to give us a discount over the phone. So this weekend we have less distractions.

Went through our dresser and closets. It looks like we barely made a dent with all the stuff we got rid of.

[StormRichards]

We just donated 3 garbage bags full of clothes to the salvation army. We cancelled our comcast and reordered to get the promo rate. They refused to give us a discount over the phone. So this weekend we have less distractions.

Went through our dresser and closets. It looks like we barely made a dent with all the stuff we got rid of.

So glad we decided to get Amazon Prime. Have been watching a lot shows that way. Will never get cable tv again

[rennigade]

So glad we decided to get Amazon Prime. Have been watching a lot shows that way. Will never get cable tv again

Are a lot of them free? I thought most you had to pay for? Also...whats your internet speed? Ours is only 25meg down...streaming kinda sucks at that speed.

[StormRichards]

Are a lot of them free? I thought most you had to pay for? Also...whats your internet speed? Ours is only 25meg down...streaming kinda sucks at that speed.

I know my DH said one of the shows he wanted to watch was $1.99 for the episode, but he just ended up watching it from CBS for free on the laptop. Not really sure what the speed is, but I know it is the lowest they offer. Haven't had any problems streaming anything.

[msomnipotent]

I have a practically brand new treadmill to sell. How did you price yours?

I only asked $35 for it because it was older than dirt and I paid $40 for it at a garage sale 5 years ago.

[HundredK]

We are still decluttering/minimizing our home. I've currently counted and logged everything we own in the kitchen, bathrooms, master bedroom, and master walk-in closet. We still have both the offices and a couple of closets to go. Thus far, we are donating and/or selling 687 items, which is equal to about $22,000 we spent on the discarded items when they were new. We already had the Salvation Army stop by, and we have made 4 trips to the goodwill so far.

[disneysteve]

we are donating and/or selling 687 items, which is equal to about $22,000 we spent on the discarded items when they were new.

That's an interesting way to look at the "cost" of clutter. Look how much you spent on stuff that you now realize you just don't need. Chances are you didn't need most of it even when you first got it.

Great job on the decluttering. We definitely need to do more here.

[disneysteve]

Had a busy week but I got on a binge today. I've decided that I want the new rule to be that nothing "lives" on the floor unless that's actually the appropriate place for it. So having a pair of shoes on the floor is fine. Having a framed picture that we've never bothered to hang up is not. Having a pile of clothes for Goodwill is fine. Having an old laptop that hasn't been used for 10 years is not.

I started in our bedroom where there are/were various things on the floor by my dresser. I got rid of numerous items that have just been hanging around way too long. This sweep also included the top of my dresser which is an ongoing problem area. I went through a stack of gift cards, store membership cards, business cards and such and was able to get rid of many of them that are either of no value or just not relevant anymore. I tossed a bunch of keys that I have no idea what they belong to. I packed 2 garbage bags of stuff for Goodwill. I threw out name tags from a couple of group events we've gone to over the past few months. The old laptop will get recycled (after I destroy the hard drive).

ETA: I just pulled the hard drive from the laptop so that is on the Goodwill pile now for recycling.