View Full Version : Purge 2015 June Declutter 100 Items
I'm going to keep this going because I'm determined to see the whole year through.
I don't have anything to add yet but have a few plans for the month. Both boys will go to college in August so I'd like them to start going through their rooms a time or two before it's actually time to pack up and go. I also intend to go through the studio another layer. DH is ready to sell a few more glassblowing tools and color. I also want to go through the upstairs library/my former office.
“It's interesting to see that people had so much clutter even thousands of years ago. The only way to get rid of it all was to bury it, and then some archaeologist went and dug it all up.” ― Karl Pilkington, An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington
When my parents bought our farm when I was a baby, the former owners used the old method of filling up ravines and ditches with their trash. 12 dumptruck loads were hauled out and as a small child I remember trips to the ravine for mom to look for things that might be used for flowerpots or "accents".
Things are back on track after Memorial Day weekend followed by a long distance wedding the next weekend. Saturday we made a much needed trip to the recycling center with some cardboard we accumulated. It's amazing how much of that stuff one gets. Took our first load for June to Goodwill.
3 w/tops
4 w/bottoms
1 w/housecoat
1 whisk
1 covered pie server
2 canisters
1 egg cup
16-pc. dessert set with demitasse cups/spoons
1 cloth basket
________________________
total: 30 items
TVRodriguez
6-7-15, 8:38pm
I just filled a bag with old work skirt suits. They might fit me and they're classics in great shape, but I haven't worn them in at least 9 years--since I got pregnant with my first child. I had been holding onto them for after I was finished being pregnant, and I just never got around to wearing them again. My youngest is 4, so I've been done being pregnant for a while now! So someone is going to love finding these suits, which still look almost new. And I am loving finding at least 10 inches of space in my closet. Also tossed a few other items into that bag--an old purse and some other work clothes that I no longer wear, including some really nice dresses. Hope whoever ends up with them loves them!
We sent two bags of clothes, a box of miscellaneous, and a like new bed pillow (very firm foam and not something we would use; I think Mom must have given it to us) to Salvation Army. We also threw away several pairs of DH's worn, torn and/or painted pants during the semi-annual closet clean out. We both bought some replacement items, but net outflow exceeded inflow :)
Going to the flea market booth
1-3 old metal watering cans
4 juicer
5 mini chopper
6 cake stand and cover
7-8 baking pans
9 small pair of handweights
10 oval metal washtub (with holes drilled to make a planter)
11-13 metal tomato cages (we built some wood ones I like better)
14-20 fence posts
21 metal bookworm garden sculpture
22-24 hanging metal/glass tea light lamps
25 windchime
26-35 bells
36-46 box of paperweights
To the thrift shop
47 notebook cover
48-50 notebooks/binders
51-61 shirts and 2 pair shoes
To the trash:
62 1 pair of work pants ruined by paint (I doubt they'll ask my son to paint again).
63 old cat bed
64 old dog bed
To the cat:
63 several old handtowels donated to her basket
To the dog:
64 giant beach towel stuffed with other old towels for his new bed
I went through several boxes yesterday of extra photos (ones that I didn't put into scrapbooks), old letters and cards. Got rid of 90% of it - most into the recycle bin. I've been meaning to do so for awhile and I'm glad it's done. I honestly didn't remember keeping all those greeting cards.
My June De-clutter:
- excess flower pots, kept just in case I find a use for them - but I have enough already so - donated
- office-type shirts, many given as gifts from parents. Haven't worn that type in years but kept them 'cause, you know, it's a gift from mom/dad - donated
- my adherence to some other people's expectations of what I can/should be. You know, this is tough. Letting go of bits of pottery and clothing is easy, but letting go of no-longer useful/fulfilling/truthful beliefs/emotions/habits is the really big kahuna. When you give old clothes to GoodWill they are gone forever and you feel good, but I sure wish I could as easily give away some old ways of thinking forever (cause they tend to come back). Maybe there's a Mental de-clutter thread somewhere...
gadder - you might want to do some research on the mindfulness movement. It seems to really help with priorities and being present and making decisions.
Gadder, I know what you mean. And somehow the mental clutter can lead back to the other kind. I'm amused to notice this pattern in my life: DH asks for something (typically a food item) and I sigh a little, because it's not something I'd buy, but he asked and I love him and I'm out shopping, so here it is. Then he eats one serving and leaves the rest, and I sigh and say well, I'm not throwing this out, that goes against my principles even more than consuming this item, so I guess I'll eat it. My diet is sometimes 75% things I don't want to eat, but, hello, I'm the one who's bringing this stuff into the house. And still, there seems to be this disconnect in my head between buying it and what's going to happen once it gets here. So I clean out the pantry and get all the "bad" little bits and pieces to go away ... and then a month later, there they are again. Mindfulness, yes Float On, we need mindfulness!!
TVRodriguez
6-9-15, 3:11pm
I'm trying to decide if I'm going to give away some old jackets. I have little need for jackets, living in South Florida. I have one nice rain jacket that's good for work and one casual rain jacket with a liner that works for coldish days. Those are the two I use. I also have:
-an older denim hooded jacket that I bought in 1993 (!) that I never wear but which reminds me of college
-a red rain jacket that is useless but which reminds me of our first year of marriage
-a blue rain jacket that I bought for work but which I don't wear b/c it has no hood or belt
-a red jacket that is too large that belonged to my mom
-a green fleece jacket that was a gift from an ex-boyfriend
-a black leather jacket that I can wear about 2x annually
-a black alpaca jacket that I can wear about once a year (or if I travel north in winter)
-and, I think, some others that don't come to mind off the top of my head.
I think it's well past time to get rid of the first 5 on this list. But I find it difficult somehow. Working on it.
I'm trying to decide if I'm going to give away some old jackets. I have little need for jackets, living in South Florida.
That was one thing I loved about doing art shows in S FL. I bought great fall/winter items there at the thrift shops for cheap.
I still gravitate toward jackets and sweaters when I go thrift shopping, and it's currently 100 degrees here. I think it has something to do with ... comfort? Being cuddled? Memories of a place where it actually got cold? Those two items have always been the hardest to get rid of, too.
TVRodriguez
6-11-15, 4:45pm
So far only one jacket has made its way to the give away pile...
TVRodriguez
6-15-15, 3:13pm
This weekend I did a fairly massive cleanout of my closet (after watching an interview with Marie Kondo!) and of several drawers of my dresser, and I filled up 4 reusable grocery bags with clothes that I no longer wear. I got rid of almost all the jackets I listed above and several very good skirt suits and high quality work wear. I just don't wear it anymore! Some of it I haven't worn since I started my first pregnancy in 2006. Since a couple friends came over yesterday, I let them root through the bags, and they each took some stuff for themselves (love that!). So I'm down to 3 bags to give away of my clothes, which include old underwear that I've not worn for years, either. My closet and my underwear drawer are so nice and organized now!
A bonus is that I "found" an old knit poncho (black white and grey) that had been sitting my closet for years. It was a gift that I couldn't part with but had no use for--until I realized it would be great to keep at work, where the a/c is always pumped up too high! So I brought it to work today and I'm happily wearing it at my desk. Sweet!
Did not need to watch the show or read the book. Went thru tshirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants and gave away or threw away two enormous garbage bags. Still have two totes of those things that hubby wants to keep just because or actually use for exercise class.
mschrisgo2
6-16-15, 5:08pm
My current goal is to clear one small category a day. So far in June I have cleared, and I'm counting as "10" each, even though there were many more small pieces:
10 - school/office supplies
10 - nail polish (etc)
10 - travel products
10 - "important car stuff"
subtotal: 40
My current dilemma is thinning out "our" stuff which in reality is mostly dh's stuff. Special category books, CDs, camera gear, clothes that live in our spaces rather than a designated man cave area - things he never uses anymore. We really need to do this in preparation for moving. Everytiime I bring it up though, he starts squirming. I need to find a chapter on how to motivate SO's to declutter because I need to take the right approach to be successful.
Pinkytoe, when you find the way to discuss with an SO, please share. I have done lots of culling in the last month +, but it's mostly "mine". The stuff that's dh's is so much more difficult to tackle - so much so that I've basically taken some of the empty boxes I've sorted out and begin to toss his stuff in. I did sort out his dresser, and stupidly left the discards in plain view in our room. He pulled out about a third and put them back! Yesterday I told him he was forbidden from looking into the trash can. Sigh!
Chicken lady
6-17-15, 8:31am
Hi, the hoarder pops in to weigh in on the spouses - it is a really bad idea to throw out someone else's stuff without their permission. If they aren't ok with it, it can make them not trust you, hide stuff and accumulate more. Would you like it if the spouse suddenly decided you should stop wearing some item of clothing or eating some type of food and threw them all out? I know you will say "that isn't the same as throwing out holey socks" or whatever, but it isn't about the socks. It's about autonomy and control and the other person has to make their own decisions. Unless the decision is " you do it." you can end up hurting the person and the relationship.
You have to talk a lot and be patient. And listen respectfully. Start by finding out why they don't want to clean out their stuff.
Teacher Terry
6-17-15, 10:47am
My hubby is a hoarder so I contain his junk to certain areas. His office, shed & garage. I so would love to clean it up but don't because he does not want me too. The rest of the house is neat.
Chicken lady
6-17-15, 11:17am
That is sort of the compromise we have come to. My space/his space/our space.
Dh bribes me to clean out our/my areas. (sort of) example - new windows in the end of the house that required me to make space in my areas for everything that needed to be moved out of the room during construction. He also rewards me with praise and things like cooking dinner because he can work in the kitchen, or sometimes stuff - I cleaned out a bunch of old dresses he hated and he bought me one really pretty new dress we both liked. (my clothing normally comes out of my paycheck, which is small)
He used to clean out his stuff from our areas, but I just filled the space. Now we have rules, like "this is dh shelf. If he chooses to put one mug on it, that's his choice. He still gets the whole shelf." I get the bottom shelves so things don't fall over.
mschrisgo2
6-19-15, 1:25am
Previous subtotal: 40
10 - stack of catalogs to recycle
10 - posters and other wall decorations to a summer school teacher
New subtotal: 60
ApatheticNoMore
6-19-15, 2:13am
I have kept track of ins and outs for the year mostly, as I thought it would be useful. But it's the more boring non-event I could post about. It's things like 105 outs, 71 ins for the year and stuff, so it's really just for me, did motivate me to get rid of stuff I really wanted gone is all.
lessisbest
6-20-15, 6:34am
A small town, just up the road, has opened a public library and they are seeking books. I culled 376 books from my (still sizeable) private library and hubby and I will deliver them Thursday night when they are open. BTW, for anyone who needs to transport LOTS of books, the best method I've found after having moved thousands of books several times now, is to pack them in large paper grocery sacks and tape the bags shut. This is an amount that is easy to hold, lift, and move. If you take them off the shelves in order, and sequentially number the bags, you will be able to put them back on the shelves in the same order.
frugal-one
6-20-15, 5:41pm
A small town, just up the road, has opened a public library and they are seeking books. I culled 376 books from my (still sizeable) private library and hubby and I will deliver them Thursday night when they are open. BTW, for anyone who needs to transport LOTS of books, the best method I've found after having moved thousands of books several times now, is to pack them in large paper grocery sacks and tape the bags shut. This is an amount that is easy to hold, lift, and move. If you take them off the shelves in order, and sequentially number the bags, you will be able to put them back on the shelves in the same order.
Thanks for this tip. We are planning on moving and I have lots of books. I will definitely use this tip!!!!
mschrisgo2
6-20-15, 10:30pm
Previous subtotal: 60 (just rounded numbers here)
10 - small "teacher" gifts
10 - books sold to resale store
New Total: 80
65-67 DS#1 ruined 2 pair of pants and 1 pair of shorts at his job over the last week. Granted they were old but they just couldn't hold out against go-carts and other amusement rides one more season.
68 - burnt half a plastic spatula while making a pan of rice krispy treats (I get side-tracked easly). Had to throw everything out since I didn't want to poison the family.
69 an entire paper grocery bag stuffed full of plastic shopping bags. I've forgotten my reusable bags way too often the last few months. Will drop those off at the thrift shop, they are always asking for them.
70-72 DS#2 belts
73 pair of shoes
Does it count when you declutter your grown offspring's stuff? He left the nest a few years ago now but left behind several boxes of papers and a big plastic box of miscellaneous. I had to see this in my garage every day, so the annoyance factor was growing. But since Phoenix is under a heat wave - and for us that's saying something - being indoors has inspired a review of this midden. I consolidated the boxes down to one, and kept the plastic box. So when I meet up with him tomorrow he's going to get this newly organized material to keep at his own house. Maybe his own review will inspire more of it to be tossed?
p.s. One set of records I kept concerned his student loans that have now been paid. He had said a while back that these files could be shredded, but knowing how badly some organizations keep records I persuaded him that he wants to retain these as proof of payment. Will probably never be needed but it's insurance against errors by a bank or Sallie Mae.
mschrisgo2
6-21-15, 3:25am
Lainey, sure it counts! It was "clutter" in your space, LOL!
Just think, now you can go into your garage without that annoyance, AND you have space for yourself. Great idea to deliver it to him. And don't be surprised or hurt if he immediately trashes it all... says a mom who has done the same thing with her daughter's stuff, that was important enough to keep at my house but not at her house!
(I agree, good idea to keep the loan payoff records)
rosarugosa
6-28-15, 7:29am
10 pairs of earrings and 6 other jewelry items brought to the consignment store. Also brought a pair of pants, but bought a pair of pants, so that was a wash. Pair of shoes, small jewelry box and another pair of earrings in the Salvation Army box.
iris lilies
6-28-15, 9:55am
Yes, my DH abhors an empty drawer, a spartan shelf, a clean closet with room to spare. Every square inch has to be filled.
he gets the entire double plus garage. In addition he has a shop in the basement, storage in the basement, and he stores crap in one of our spare houses. But I define clean areas of the house where he may not pile junk.
but you know what? I think about the worst case scenario and that calms me. In all likelihood I will die before he does and I won't have to worry about all of the crap. In case he dies before me, I'll simply open my house to neighbors and friends and say "come and get it" to get rid of stuff. Leftovers, I can just hire someone to haul away. If we move while both of us are still alive, I will pack the stuff I want fir the new place and get it there, leaving DH to sort his stuff. He is very productive and when faced with the inevitability of downsizing, he'd get it done in a week.
Having bouts of intertia as we prepare to move - it's hard to let go and I wish I knew why. However, yesterday a paper sack of books went to Half Price Books and yielded $20 which DH promoptly claimed to go towards a used BBQ pit - oh well. Trying to utilize the Kondo method of category decluttering and perhaps do one a week to make things easier. I am going through an inherited coin collection now and that will go next week to a coin shop for whatever it brings. I think I'll save the jar of old Peace silver dollars and call that my bag lady stash. What the heck do I do with lots of old buttons?
rosarugosa
6-28-15, 2:03pm
Pinkytoe: Lots of crafters do things with buttons, so you might have some luck with Craigslist.
An obvious thing occured to me - most of the things I'd like to purge weren't mine to start with. They belonged to other family members that left them to me or were purchased used or acquired from someone else, ie not new. Onward...
I've purged a bunch of stuff. About 25 books and a vintage manual typewriter (I loved it but it hurt my hands to use) went to the thrift store yesterday. A fully functional but 4 yo laptop went to a friend who has just started nursing school (she didn't have the funds for a laptop and her desktop is older). I'll be getting a new MacBook in a few months (doing just fine with my iPad for now). Two skirts went to another friend. I'm not baking anymore so I ditched a bunch of baking gear.
mschrisgo2
6-30-15, 11:05am
Previous subtotal: 80
Another box of paper out yesterday = plus 10, for a new subtotal of 90.
Have to do 10 more today!
My mom came to visit so that means I have 2 boxes full to pass along
74-76 cross stitch supplies
77-81 brown glass jugs (to flea market)
82-84 binders and planner supplies
85-90 various trinkets
91-92 wallets
93 purse
94-98 hardware bits and pieces
99-100 belts
I didn't even let her boxes in my house, sorted right into the back of my car.
mschrisgo2
6-30-15, 4:40pm
Good for you, Float On!!
One of our local dog rescues is having a "Christmas in July" sale, and is looking for more Christmas stuff to decorate the booths. So I pulled out my Christmas boxes, sorted through and removed 16 items!! I repacked everything into 3 boxes and even tucked in the couple of things I missed when I put Christmas away last year.
Grand total for June: 100 items, plus 6 for the 6th month of the year!!!
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