2018 Decluttering Thread

[creditcardfree]

Finally gave back my friend's outdoor furniture/table saw he stored at my place for a couple of years. Sold my mountain bike on CL.

Cleaned out my main tool box and donated extra mallets, sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, drill bits, plumbing/electrical parts no longer relevant.

Recycled 4 gal of used oil, and a broken grill, old screws, nuts, bolts. Tossed out beat up buckets no longer used, along with plastic car parts, and more scrap wood chunks.

Got my garage/shed basically where I want it for main items used or needed, and pretty bare for shelving.

You did awesome!! So many people store way too many things in their garage. Yours looks similar to ours. Nice work!!

[hazelp]

Hi,
Decluttering your house keeps out the negative energy from your house.
Thanks for sharing
cheers

[disneysteve]

I took a few items off the kitchen counters today and put them in the storage closets in the basement where they belong.

[aggie76]

Let me add some thoughts from a slightly different angle...as a " recent" retiree who is now in year TWO of downsizing....
Dear Lord how I wish we began the de-clutter 15 years ago.... Let me let you in on a little secret....there is a small and DYING market for a lot of stuff that for generations would have either been passed down or donated. Stuff like fine china, heavy solid wood " formal" type furniture, knickknacks ...etc..why? SO many many boomers ( like us) are downsizing and damn near NO ONE wants this stuff. Our kids and grandkids have ZERO desire or use for so much of the stuff that we inherited from our parents and grandparents. Example: fine china and flatware. For most younger families the gather at the grandparents ,sit around a huge formal table, eat off of Royal Imperial Grand Wedgwood Made by elves in secret caves in England China from the 18th century are NOT in the cards . Couple this with the fact that most of us ( boomers) have managed to collect about 17 sets of this stuff from multiple sets of parents, grandparents, spinster aunts, damn garage sales our dearest went to in 1987....on and on. Resale shops laugh at fine china. Hell a friend of mine takes his out to the country and uses the plates as targets.
Its even worse for the closets and display cases FULL of ceramic cows, angels, aztec gods WHATEVER..NOW that brings up the problem of DISPLAY cases, entertainment centers, lighted cabinets...Kids don't want that stuff and your new downsized retirement house has NO room ! Like china : there is much of a market for used heavy formal furniture.
We have found that the trash and the burn pile is our friend. I had an entire large closet full of my dads various awards and wall stuff Example..1958 Man of the Year from some Chamber, Past President of the Optimist Club in 196something TONS of stuff. He didn't want the crap when he was alive, never displayed them and also had a closet full of the stuff. I couldn't bring myself to throw the PILES of that family crap away so I bought a nice bottle of time whiskey and spent an evening at the burn pile..very cathartic .
Long and short....De-clutter NOW. Use a simple rule. Is the item of ANY use other than a closet filler or a garage filler? NO....trash or burn... Understand that the likelihood of your young-uns ever wanting the treasures of the past is VERY slim. Start your downsizing during your accumulation phase if possible. AND ....find a place for a good burn pile and a fine whiskey

[moneybags]

NOW that brings up the problem of DISPLAY cases, entertainment centers, lighted cabinets...Kids don't want that stuff and your new downsized retirement house has NO room ! Like china : there is much of a market for used heavy formal furniture.

I've been trying to sell a large 3 piece entertainment center for months (Facebook, craigslist, etc.). NO ONE wants it!

I did have a box of trophies from my kids sports (everyone gets a trophy generation) that I gave to a crafter that re-purposes them into wine stoppers. They are actually pretty cute and a fun way to use this clutter. I've seen ornaments made from them also.

[aggie76]

I've been trying to sell a large 3 piece entertainment center for months (Facebook, craigslist, etc.). NO ONE wants it!

I did have a box of trophies from my kids sports (everyone gets a trophy generation) that I gave to a crafter that re-purposes them into wine stoppers. They are actually pretty cute and a fun way to use this clutter. I've seen ornaments made from them also.

For a while guys were converting entertainment centers to really nice bars however ALL of the contacts I have made to " donate" mine have told me that they have YEARS worth of entertainment centers all stacked up to convert. Same with those big glass hutches that , for generations, were used to display all of that cut glass and china. I got my yard guys to take a couple of room full of stuff including a large hutch that really helped but they no longer want any of the stuff. Good luck. 1-800 JUNK is always an option.

[snafu]

Do you believe clutter adds to stress?

https://www.providr.com/clutter-mess-stress-anxiety/?utm_source=mysimplereminders&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=providr

[creditcardfree]

Do you believe clutter adds to stress?

https://www.providr.com/clutter-mess...mpaign=providr

Yes, I do. I think many people aren't tuned into where their stress comes fron though.

[disneysteve]

there is a small and DYING market for a lot of stuff that for generations would have either been passed down or donated.

Very true. Well, you can still donate the stuff. Once I give it to Goodwill, what happens to it from there isn't my concern. But you're definitely right about passing things down. I'm quite sure my daughter doesn't want our china, or my wife's grandmother's china.

My aunt died years ago and we took a bunch of crystal and other stuff when they were cleaning out her house. It was all really good quality stuff and we hated to see it given away. There are a few things that we've put to use but a couple of years ago, probably 10-15 years after she died, we realized that we were never going to use the rest of the items so we sold them all at our yard sale that year. Better for them to go to someone who will use and appreciate them rather than them sitting in our basement storage closet.

[Thrif-t]

Do you believe clutter adds to stress?

https://www.providr.com/clutter-mess...mpaign=providr

Yes it does for me! Clutter makes me anxious. I feel so happy when everything is neat and orderly and put away where it belongs.

I also feel happy when my house is clean! There is nothing better than walking in and smelling Murphy's Oil soap. I love that

[disneysteve]

We're going to be donating a bunch of stuff to a charity that we work with for their upcoming auction event. I already had a bunch of stuff packed up and spent a little time tonight adding to the stash. We're probably going to meet up with one of the organizers on Monday night to give her what we've got.

I also sold another of DD's textbooks yesterday and got it ready to ship today. I'll drop it in the mailbox tomorrow.

DW did a little more cleaning in our bedroom and got rid of a few things. And DD has done a lot since moving home from college last week. Quite a bit has gone into the Goodwill pile and today she went through a bunch of school papers and put a lot into the recycling pile.

[Gailete]

And DD has done a lot since moving home from college last week.

Does this mean she graduated? Congratulations to her!

[disneysteve]

Does this mean she graduated? Congratulations to her!

Thank you. Yes. Commencement was last Friday, 5/11. She graduated Magna Cum Laude. So she is done and back home. Starting to look for work now. I suspect she'll be with us for a while but as long as she's doing something to move forward, I'm okay with that.

[snafu]

Congratulations to DD, well done!

[james.hendrickson]

My wife and I went to Powells Books - a big bookstore here in Portland, Oregon. We sold back about 30-40 books and made 10 bucks.

Not a big haul, but we got some exercise, decluttered and built our savings a bit.