2025 Decluttering Thread

[disneysteve]

I just went through another file drawer and tossed another pile of papers into the recycling bin.

There was a thick file of stuff from my time on the board of trustees of our synagogue, a position I left in 2016.

There were two files of assorted paperwork from my professional career including prior licenses, continuing education program certificates, copies of documents like my diploma and residency certificates, and more. There were a few things I held onto like legal paperwork and such but most of it got recycled.

There were a few papers from my old car. I had tossed all of the maintenance records but still had some of the purchase paperwork. What do I possibly need that for? I sold the car 5 years ago.

On to the file drawer that holds all of our tax papers going back way too many years.

[disneysteve]

I've embarked on a new project - cleaning out our basement. We've talked about it forever. We've started the process numerous times and not kept up with it. We did a bunch prior to remodeling the kitchen earlier this year, and then didn't do any more. This time I'm serious about it.

I started Monday night and went through the pantry shelves. I dumped several open bottles of liquor that have been down there for years that we will never use. At least one bottle was left over from DD's Bat Mitzvah which was 17 years ago. I was then able to move our emergency water supply from the pantry, where it takes up valuable space, to the floor shelf where the liquor had been. I also got several other items out of the pantry.

I did more today. I brought all of my yearbooks up into the office and will get them situated there. I found 2 books that belong to DW and when she got home she said she doesn't need them so those will get donated. I also found a small box of sewing machine accessories that I asked her about. They belong to a machine that she no longer has so I will probably sell those on ebay.

I found a casserole travel carrier that had been MIA so that's back in the closet for when we need it. We were just looking for it recently when we had dinner at a friend's house.

I found multiple old cans of paint that I brought up to the garage and will dispose of appropriately.

My plan is to work down there at least once a week for the foreseeable future. That's how I've been doing the yard work since late August and the transformation out there is tremendous. I'm hoping for similar results in the basement with each passing week. Eventually, we will buy some new storage containers and shelving once we see what's left and needs to be stored.

[disneysteve]

Almost time for the 2026 thread, but we're not quite done 2025. We have been doing quite a bit of decluttering. My daughter has been cleaning out her room and getting rid of a lot of no longer wanted items. Some went for donation and a bunch have been listed on ebay.

I've been working on decluttering the basement, where I've gotten rid of quite a few things. I've also been focusing on the family room because now that both my daughter and I are selling on ebay, we need that to be more functional space. I've had a lot of merchandise piling up in there that needed to either be listed for sale or disposed of and I've done a good bit of both. I've been limiting my buying of new items until I work through the backlog.

Today, I emptied out an old cabinet of video tapes. I tossed out a bunch of them. A few are going on ebay. The rest are personal things that I am saving and will look into getting digitized. The cabinet is now empty and I listed it on Buy Nothing earlier. Someone is supposed to be coming for it tomorrow. In its place, I plan to put a shelving unit for DD to use for her ebay stock.

Lots of other stuff getting sorted through here and there along the way, too.

Onward into 2026 with ongoing decluttering.

[disneysteve]

I took advantage of the somewhat milder temp today in the 40s to get into the garage for a bit. As usual, the boxes and packing material had gotten a little out of hand since when it's super cold, I just throw things in there and periodically have to clean it up. I broke down all of the boxes and organized them. Any boxes I wasn't keeping went into the recycling bin which goes out tonight. I also combined a couple of bags of packing paper. And I packed two cartons of stuff to take to Goodwill. I'll probably take those over on Friday if I need to go to the post office.