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Life_is_Simple
7-21-12, 11:26am
Did anyone start the July Decluttering thread? If not, here it is.

On July 15, I dropped off 6 bags of clothes at a drop box.

I organized my living room book shelves, and pulled out about 10 books for donation. There are a few other things ready for donation too. Earlier in the week, I found where the nearest Salvation Army thrift store is, and asked a few questions on what they do/don't accept, so that is where I will donate.

I also took out some old VHS tapes to see what was on them. Some were labeled, some were not. I tossed maybe 10. I found one with "Billy Squier on Saturday Night Live." Had to keep that one! :+1:

Last night I browsed through Don Aslett's "Lose 200 Pounds This Weekend," and as a result, have written out a decluttering plan by room. :cool:

Who else is decluttering? Any "good" finds? ;) Any horrendous tosses?

Life_is_Simple
7-21-12, 11:58am
Here are a few ideas that I plan to put into effect:

I can get rid of items from past bad jobs. For example, mugs with company logos if they give me bad feelings about working at that company, can go. I don't know why I never thought of this before
Ambivalence boxes work well for me. Another idea: "Get Rid of But Unsure How" Box. That is for things that I don't want, but don't know what to do with yet: old prescriptions, old mattress, old hard drives which I have yet to demolish with a hammer, etc.
I don't need to keep a lot of empty boxes in the basement "just in case." The last time I moved, a local Ace Hardware let me have their boxes. I can even BUY Uline boxes if needed.
Pens - I give myself permission to do the unthinkable with pens, which is toss.

Reading the Don Aslett books make it easier for me to part with things.

bunnys
7-21-12, 12:09pm
Old prescriptions really should go down the toilet.

I'm with you on the computer thing. I have three languishing in my closet and have NO IDEA how I'd get rid of them. I don't have the heart to take a hammer to them...

I never do any decluttering but I know I should start doing it because stuff is getting out of control and when it gets to be too much I just start indiscriminately tossing--not the same as decluttering.

Simpler at Fifty
7-21-12, 12:19pm
Old prescriptions should NOT go down the toilet. We have several Police depts in the area that are drop off points. Call your local dept and ask about it.

Life is Simple: Post the mattress on craigslist. I have seen them posted and I am sure people take them.

My goals this month is 150 items out. I met it today. I am bringing a load to the thrift store. Tossed about 30 items. Have a couple years of This Old House mags I am donating and about 8 women's mags I will bring to work on Monday. They go fast in the coffee station.

Life_is_Simple
7-21-12, 1:29pm
I'm with you on the computer thing. I have three languishing in my closet and have NO IDEA how I'd get rid of them. I don't have the heart to take a hammer to them...



I thought I had 3, but it turns out I have 7. A few years ago, I took a hammer to my sister's hard drives for her. So it is possible.:)

ApatheticNoMore
7-21-12, 1:31pm
Old prescriptions should NOT go down the toilet.

Yea I know I read this and I'm just :0! And we read all the time about how our water contains prescriptions etc., how animals are exposed to it etc.. I mean I'm sure some of this is just it coming out in the urine but talk about skipping the middleman, lets dump it in the ocean directly.

How would a sane society deal with old prescriptions? Well are they still usable (or have the degraded so much to I don't know, have changed in molecular structure?). I don't know, seems a lot of assumptions of the latter, but is it really so that they are that fragile? If they are still usable then in a sensible society they would be reused (given to others). Of course I would not give out two classes of drugs willy nilly: antibiotics (because of antibiotic resistence!) and addictive drugs (this is basically dealing :)).

Life_is_Simple
7-21-12, 1:45pm
Old prescriptions should NOT go down the toilet. We have several Police depts in the area that are drop off points. Call your local dept and ask about it.
Thanks! It looks like the police station in the next town has a drop box.


Life is Simple: Post the mattress on craigslist. I have seen them posted and I am sure people take them.

People will take it? It's 25 years old.


My goals this month is 150 items out. I met it today. I am bringing a load to the thrift store. Tossed about 30 items. Have a couple years of This Old House mags I am donating and about 8 women's mags I will bring to work on Monday. They go fast in the coffee station.
That's good work! :+1:

Simpler at Fifty
7-21-12, 3:03pm
Life is simple: Not sure about a 25 yr old mattress but it is worth a try. Let people know how old it is when you post the ad. Trying to figure out what else it could be used for. When we get a new one the store takes the old one. Not sure what they do with them. I cleaned out a hoarder home last year and posted on craiglist list that certain items would be on the curb. I included two mattresses and box springs and someone came and took them.

danna
7-21-12, 3:15pm
You could try taking the prescriptions to a pharmacy they all take them here, even if they are not theirs.

Life_is_Simple
7-21-12, 3:44pm
Simpler at Fifty - Is it really simpler at 50? I am 49. This may give me something to look forward to :thankyou:

SteveinMN
7-21-12, 6:02pm
How would a sane society deal with old prescriptions? Well are they still usable (or have the degraded so much to I don't know, have changed in molecular structure?). I don't know, seems a lot of assumptions of the latter, but is it really so that they are that fragile? If they are still usable then in a sensible society they would be reused (given to others).
Ahh, you are presuming America in 2012 is a sane society! :~) There is an issue with some pharmaceuticals/supplements losing their potency over time, so there would have to be some concrete way to determine how old the drugs are (the label on the bottle is not to be trusted here) and whether that particular formulation would be affected. Even that aside, pharmaceuticals are subject to tampering (Tylenol scare, anyone?). And I'm guessing our litigious society would make it more expensive to take on liability for redistributing unused pharmaceuticals than it would be to pay for the recipients to get new ones.

SteveinMN
7-21-12, 6:04pm
Life is simple: Not sure about a 25 yr old mattress but it is worth a try.
Some thrift stores and charitable organizations here have stopped accepting mattresses out of fear of bedbugs (yes, they can treat for them, but it's one more expense for them on top of quarantining the bedding before treatment). You could try an animal shelter. Some of them accept old mattresses for old dogs and cats who can't plop down on a hard floor anymore.

nswef
7-21-12, 8:10pm
Our Goodwill takes computers.

Life_is_Simple
7-22-12, 2:18pm
Here are things in my donate pile:

mugs with company logos of companies I don't like
wooden wall shelf
some christmas decorations
candles
kitchen knife set
organizer that drapes over a front car seat
metal organizing shelves
golf tees I had gotten free from a job I didn't like. I have enough good golf tees
1 box of books
1 plastic crate
bag of clothes
bag of towels, kitchen towels

cdttmm
7-22-12, 2:28pm
I did a big purge of stuff from our former business. We closed up shop two years ago, but for some reason I was still holding on to a whole bunch of office supplies. I guess at one point I thought we might start another business so it seemed logical to keep the stuff. But yesterday I decided was the day to purge. So I took about 10 boxes of plastic filing shelves, desk organizers, bookends, office supplies, etc. and stood them at the end of our driveway with a "FREE" sign on them. All gone except for a box of books, which are old educational titles and will likely just need to be recycled. There was even a little note written on the "FREE" sign that said: "Thank you! From a classroom teacher." That warmed my heart because I couldn't figure out who was possibly going to want what I considered a pile of junk, but, DUH, obviously public school teachers have limited funding for classroom supplies and organizational stuff so this probably felt like finding hidden treasure! :D

Life_is_Simple
7-22-12, 2:30pm
Threw in trash or recyling bin:

burnt electric blanket
some cardboard boxes from the basement
broken mirror
expired food & vitamins
misc clutter too numerous to mention - I should keep track of how many bags are going out, but I'm in too much of a cleaning frenzy ;)


I am realizing a few things: Don't keep stuff with negative associations, like in the previous post where I tossed golf tees and mugs from companies I did not like working for.

Another realization: Put similar things together. This enabled me to create a small bookshelf now called my "Mail Center," with packing tape, stamps, envelopes, etc. Also, I realized that my tall bookshelves had a lot of misc clutter instead of books. They now have mostly books.

In closets, I put Christmas stuff together, blankets/sheets/linens together

Then I finally hung the clock on the wall.:+1:

Life_is_Simple
7-22-12, 2:32pm
There was even a little note written on the "FREE" sign that said: "Thank you! From a classroom teacher." That warmed my heart because I couldn't figure out who was possibly going to want what I considered a pile of junk, but, DUH, obviously public school teachers have limited funding for classroom supplies and organizational stuff so this probably felt like finding hidden treasure! :D
That was AWESOME to get the note! I bet it made your day :)

leslieann
7-22-12, 4:06pm
Okay, July is nearly over but I'm in. Did two bathroom drawers today, plus donated a pile of clothes (small pile: I have few left) and actually PITCHED worn through socks. In my previous life (30 years ago) I would have saved them for preschool sock puppets but no longer.

Also donated an analog bathroom scale and bought a new one. Not sure that should count. But the old scale, quite accuraate, has tiny little numbers and I can't actually read it when I am standing up. Donated four items, plus the clothes; pitched hmmmm.....maybe 18 items?

Anyway, it feels good and I am wandering around looking for more.

Last weekend we had yard stuff out front with a free sign, and I also posted it on Kijiji for free. DH laughed at me because it was still there Saturday evening but by ten am on Sunday it was all gone. So there!

Keep up the great work. Summer is a good time; it will be lovely to have lots of space cleared before fall comes.

happystuff
7-22-12, 6:32pm
I haven't posted in the thead, but I HAVE been decluttering! I spent pretty much all day today going through cookbooks! I have been going through them and copying the recipes that I use/want. I am almost finished with my 13th cookbook! They are all being boxed for donation to the thrift store next week. There are a couple more I would like to go through. It was a task I was dreading, but I'm actually happy to be rid of them and to have been re-aquainted with recipes I've wanted to try or have forgotten about! This may actually lead to creating a weekly menu and a more purposeful grocery list... oh, my!!! ;-)

Stella
7-22-12, 7:14pm
I have done a massive toy decluttering. Just now I got rid of a garbage bag of toys from our living room toy stash. Earlier in the month I went throught the girls room and put everything that was on the floor in bins and took it downstairs. They can earn back toys by doing their chores. Once it starts to get hard for them to take care of again, that's it. The rest are gone. Also, anything not earned back in 6 months is gone. They are really not that concerned about most of it, so I think a lot of it is going to be gone. They are getting older (8 and 7) and are outgrowing a lot of stuff.

I am keeping classic favourites that work for the three younger kids. Blocks, Duplos, the play kitchen, puzzles, the dollhouse and assorted baby dolls and vehicles that will work for the younger kids but most of it is on it's way out the door. The kids like playing with each other as much as they like playing with stuff.

I am also doing a big clothing decluttering. I have several bags of outgrown clothes to take to Goodwill. I am not saving Cheyenne and Bella's clothes for Charlotte. We have neighborhood girls much closer in age to Lottie than her sisters are who are happy to get rid of clothes. It's just not necessary and it will take up too much space.

leslieann
7-23-12, 8:33am
I wanted to say that I opened the medicine cabinet today and found a....drum roll please......bare shelf! My work yesterday included my side of the cabinet and resulted in a bare shelf and three tidy ones.

WooHoo! Happy Monday. What else can I get out of here?

Amaranth
7-23-12, 8:42am
Life Is Simple, A lot of animal shelters can use towels of all sizes for comfy bedding.

Stella, does your neighborhood have a clothing swap for kids? I've lived in neighborhoods where very few items of kids clothing ever needed to be bought due to the great pass down system. Also have lived places were people brought all the clothes to a central location where they were sorted by size and gender. Then people took turns going through and getting 2-5 items per pass so everyone got the best items evenly.

If girls wear a leotard they can try things on in the open.

Some places have also tried to organize things so kids wind up with clothing of the correct color season for them. This also usually means their outfits work better in terms of being able to wear more tops with more bottoms thus having more outfits with fewer clothing items.

Also have lived places where a group of experienced menders would mend items or alter items (pants into shorts where knees were damaged, etc) prior to the swap. These were usually connected to churches or schools rather than at the neighborhood level though.

Simpler at Fifty
7-23-12, 9:36am
Simpler at Fifty - Is it really simpler at 50? I am 49. This may give me something to look forward to :thankyou:

I was 'Simpler at Forty' on the old forums and changed my name to reflect my age. Now at 51 3/4 I can say simplicity is our lifestyle. I started my decluttering / organizing journey in my forties and it will continue. There is always more that can go. There are still things I cannot find and my goal is to be able to find anything I need in our home within seconds. I did a lot of duplicate buying because I could never find anything and that has declined at least 85%.

Life is Simple - you are doing great at decluttering. I think it helps to make a list of what is gone/going. Life just becomes simpler with less things.

Amaranth
7-23-12, 1:30pm
Also for inspiration see Innermost House
http://www.innermosthouse.com/

and the
Friends of Innermost House blog:
http://www.innermosthouse.blogspot.com/

So far they have threads on the fireplace, natural decor and gifts, and music.

Gardenarian
7-23-12, 2:09pm
Got rid of several bags of books. I took them first to the used book shop, where I got $60 in credit (and purchased a couple of things that I know I've been wanting) and the ones the book shop wouldn't take went to the thrift store, and I got a receipt for the tax right-off. I've completely cleared one entire 72'x36' book shelf!

Stella
7-23-12, 6:16pm
Amaranth our neighborhood doesn't have anything like that, but it mgight be a good idea to get one started. This is the kind of neighborhood where that would go over well. I had never thought about having the kids wear leotards to try things on. Brilliant! Even when we go to the thrift store, where the dressing rooms often have a long wait, that would be a good idea.

Life_is_Simple
7-23-12, 8:13pm
I wanted to say that I opened the medicine cabinet today and found a....drum roll please......bare shelf!


:cool::)cow-hi:+1: Yippee! I love those wide open spaces ;)

Life_is_Simple
7-23-12, 8:14pm
I've completely cleared one entire 72'x36' book shelf!
Wow! :0!

How long did that take? And what mental processes did you use that allowed you to get rid of them?

Life_is_Simple
7-23-12, 8:24pm
There are still things I cannot find and my goal is to be able to find anything I need in our home within seconds. I did a lot of duplicate buying because I could never find anything and that has declined at least 85%.
I like that goal!

As far as the duplicate buying, I realized today that I have 7 pair of scissors and 10 rolls of tape in various stages of use.


Life is Simple - you are doing great at decluttering. I think it helps to make a list of what is gone/going. Life just becomes simpler with less things.
:+1:

Life_is_Simple
7-23-12, 8:26pm
Life Is Simple, A lot of animal shelters can use towels of all sizes for comfy bedding.

Oh, good to know!

That also reminds me, I am planning on volunteering at the local animal shelter, as soon as I get the volunteer training session.

Life_is_Simple
7-24-12, 10:40am
Yesterday I dropped all the Donation things off at the Salvation Army thrift store: 2 bags and 3 boxes

Also, I started on the Home Office!

Got rid of more negative association things: leather notebook portfolio to donate from a previous bad job, and other things from that job
Shredded 3 bags full of papers
Organized those computer pamphlets you get when you buy a new computer, monitor, etc, into a small accordion file. Tossed the useless associated papers
Tossed broken electronics: Old gps, old mangled cell phone, broken lamp

Also, I'm TRYING to arrange computer desk to have all the commonly used items in reach. :+1: Previously, it was too much storage of never-used things. This I'll tweak as I start to use that desk again ;)

This decluttering makes me realize the things I do in life that are really illogical.:doh:

try2bfrugal
7-24-12, 11:08am
Good work. I need to do all of that, too. Getting rid of the job items is a good idea.

Amaranth
7-24-12, 4:39pm
Happystuff, Mastercook is a really good program to store recipes in.

happystuff
7-24-12, 5:51pm
Happystuff, Mastercook is a really good program to store recipes in.

Thanks - good to know. However, so far I am still a "paper recipe" type cook. My computer isn't near the kitchen, anyway. I actually like taping my most-used recipes to the insides of my cabinet doors. Easy to reach and always at hand- LOL.

Life_is_Simple
7-25-12, 12:27pm
Yesterday I tossed out 4 bags of shredded paper.

Today I tossed out 4 bags of shredded paper. [On edit: As the day wore on, it turned out to be 12 bags of shredded paper! I'm simultaneously elated and disgusted]

I am finding some really nice things among the clutter. I found a job review from a favorite previous boss, where everything was "exceeds expectations." :+1: I remember when he showed it to me, I kept saying: "Are you kidding? I thought all managers were forced to put their employees down as 'AVERAGE' no matter what?" He has some really nice things written down on the paper.

So I am putting all the nice papers together, in case I ever need a boost :cool:

Life_is_Simple
7-28-12, 12:09pm
Last night I dropped off:
5 pounds of paper to be shredded at the local office supply store. Finally gave up shredding myself
a box of hangers at the laundromat


I shredded so many papers, that I now have a bookshelf shelf of empty folders and organizers. It's like having an office supply center in my home office.

I also put more empty boxes from the basement into the recycling bin. In doing so, I found a plastic storage bucket in the basement, which is now my "To Be Shredded" box. And I found some stackable shelves down there. I will put some to use, and some I may give on Freecycle.

I put 2 things up on Freecycle, but am waiting for the posts to be approved, since I am a new member

artist
7-28-12, 1:29pm
Just have dh's home office and the files to take care of. Every other drawer, cabinet, storage space, garage, attic, shelf etc.. has been taken care of. Unfortunatly dh has to do this as it's his stuff. That means lighting a fire under him. .... Wish me luck.

Mer05
7-28-12, 2:49pm
I'm giving away my dresser! I've never much liked it, and very quickly realized I didn't really need it...about seven years ago. But it came from family, and didn't entirely feel like 'mine' to dispose of. A situation just came up where it could have been of use, so I offered it back... and was told to pass it along instead!

I still need to empty it (I've had it seven years, the drawers did fill up), and physically get it out, but the biggest hurdle is gone!

Life_is_Simple
7-28-12, 3:30pm
I'm giving away my dresser! I've never much liked it, and very quickly realized I didn't really need it...about seven years ago. But it came from family, and didn't entirely feel like 'mine' to dispose of. A situation just came up where it could have been of use, so I offered it back... and was told to pass it along instead!

I still need to empty it (I've had it seven years, the drawers did fill up), and physically get it out, but the biggest hurdle is gone!

Mer05 - I have a similar dresser. If nothing else, keep 1 knob for sentimental value ;)

Life_is_Simple
7-28-12, 3:33pm
Just have dh's home office and the files to take care of. Every other drawer, cabinet, storage space, garage, attic, shelf etc.. has been taken care of. Unfortunatly dh has to do this as it's his stuff. That means lighting a fire under him. .... Wish me luck.
Tell DH that the home office decluttering went surprisingly fast for Life_is_Simple, your online buddy ;) Good luck!

Stacy
7-29-12, 11:56am
Can I jump in even though July is almost over? I've been reading Barbara Sher's book Live the Life You Love, and I'm at the part of the book where I'm supposed to declutter. Also, I've been very inspired by the Innermost House website, and have begun to imagine what my own Innermost House would look like. So I've been thinking about what I have been storing, either in plain sight or in my overstuffed closets, that really don't have anything to do with my ideal life.
I have this "To be filed" box in my office that I finally went through last weekend only to discover that most of the stuff in it could be filed in the recycling bin instead. I also emptied my In box just in time to find paperwork that I had to fill out and return to my son's school immediately! (It had been sitting in there for a month - oops.) I had loads of vegetables in my fridge from our CSA baskets that we were not going to eat right away, so I decluttered by taking an afternoon to chop and freeze many of them. They'll still be available to us, but now they take up a lot less room. I was not yet ready to give food away, but if we do end up with way too much food, I know of a homeless shelter nearby that could use it.
I have a day off from work tomorrow, and that will be the day I tackle my big decluttering jobs, including a whole room that is filled with unfinished projects.

Stacy

Stacy
7-30-12, 8:17pm
I didn't declutter as much as I was hoping. I have a room downstairs, the closet in that room, and the closet in my office that I just can't seem to get started on. These rooms are full of things that I kept procrastinating on, and now I have a hard time getting started. Several times today, I've opened the closet door, looked in, and closed it again. This is a mental barrier I'm going to have to break through!
On a more positive note, I did put several items by the door to give to Goodwill, including a bug zapper that I kept meaning to repurpose and never did (I actually posted last winter about that). Also, a bag of clothes that always looked wierd on me. I turned the clothes hangers backward in my closet, and everytime I wear something and hang it back up in there, I'll hang it up the right way. In a year I will throw out any clothes I didn't bother wearing, which I'll be able to identify because the hangers will still be backward. I don't remember where I got that idea, but it's something I've been meaning to try for a while.
Oh, and a big one-- I cancelled Dish Network. I'm shocked that my husband agreed to this. We just weren't getting $60 a month's worth of value out of it, and he finally saw that.

Life_is_Simple
7-30-12, 9:18pm
Stacy - Good job on the Goodwill items, your "to be filed" box, and your vegetables!

Oh, one of my friends told me about the reverse hanger thing, so I did it in one of my closets last week. We will see what ends up being worn :)

You'll get through your mental barrier. Those locations may need to simmer in your brain a while, until you are ready :)

fidgiegirl
7-30-12, 9:37pm
Stacy, score on Dish cancellation! $60 a month more in your pocket = $720 a year! That's a vacation right there! Awesome!

I rearranged the attic into groups. No decluttering of it, but I'm itching to do so. At least all the camping is together, Xmas, "memories," etc. That was a first step.

eBaying continues. Unfortunately most of it was bought to sell so not a net outflow. :)

Amaranth
7-31-12, 1:10am
Stacy. with closets like that it can help to divide it up into small slices. Try doing a foot of shelf space or a foot of hanging rod per day.

Stacy
7-31-12, 7:22pm
Thanks for the encouragement! My real problem is with my mind -- resisting the hard decision-making that will be required when I'm about to get to something that has sentimental value, like the board games that my son and I used to play when he was young but that he's outgrown. Or the keyboard that I meant to learn to play, but has remained packed in bubble wrap over the last three moves. That one is more like a guilt trip.
No decluttering so far today. Maybe later this evening.

fidgiegirl
7-31-12, 7:55pm
Maybe converting some of it into cash, as in the case of the keyboard, can alleviate some of your guilt. ;)

I used to hang onto all those unfulfilled wishes in the form of stuff, as well. Now I find it so liberating to just acknowledge a different direction and let it go. That said, I have been hanging onto two big huge boxes of interpreting study materials for about 8 years . . . maybe now's the time . . .

shadowmoss
8-1-12, 9:48am
Use the FlyLady method of just taking out 1 item a day/week and making a decision on that one item. She said she cleared out an entire junk room by just picking up one thing each day and making some kind of decision.