View Full Version : Purge 2015 August Declutter 100 Items
Another month. Too hot and humid to work outside so working on the inside.
1-20 DS #1 did another run through of his clothes and got rid of 20 more items. We've started packing for his NM college.
21-30 I went through my pants and skirts. Passing along 10 items I haven't worn this summer.
31-34 4 pair of sandals I haven't worn this summer.
Made a stab at clearing out the DVDs yesterday (movies, TV shows, BBC stuff, etc.) and eliminated 37 (many were multi-disc). We also got rid of one Coleman water jug. Total: 38
mschrisgo2
8-15-15, 5:51pm
Donated a bunch of things to the church sale:
1- bookcase
1- backpack
4- pictures frames and mats
2 -pr pants
6- tops
10- blank books
6- bunches of artificial flowers
8- desk top accessories/holders
2- more picture frames
subtotal: 40
10- brushes, bowls, leash to dog rescue
12 spiral notebooks
12 pencils
12 pens
all to grandsons for school
New subtotal: 86
I've been a bit slow this month but I expect good things in decluttering next week. Move son#2 into his dorm next Thursday and son#1 the following Tuesday. They'll be going through their rooms this coming Monday and Tuesday.
This is what happens: I see a random sign for an estate sale and I go check it out - 50 years of accumulated mostly junk, furniture and dishes not my style at all. Bought a few weird random things; a corkscrew (I can finally open that bottle of wine that's been sitting in the fridge since X-mas), a handful of silk scarves, another handful of wooden rulers (think DIY art project here) and some rocks (for jewelry display purposes). I spent the grand sum of $3. So this is what happens next: I drag the stuff home and realize how cluttered MY house looks and that my decorative object collection needs winnowing and refreshing. I spend several hours rearranging objects, reconsidering objects, and then realizing some of them I can just plain finally let go of. I now have a small pile of stuff to take to the thrift store and my little makeover makes the rooms looks slightly different.
It also made me realize that after 19 years my place really, really needs some wall repair to fill in the nail holes from moving pictures around and a new paint job. It's pretty dingy. I sure like the idea of painting way better in theory than in practice...I'm am in no hurry to do it any time soon.
lessisbest
8-16-15, 11:24am
We had clean-up yesterday after the water heater mess this week. Before the plumber got here, I moved six 5-gallon jugs of emergency drinking water and the two stands they are stored on out of the storage area. I rolled two large storage racks out as well. Lucky we decided to put those stands on rollers since there were a total of fourteen 5-gallon jugs of water and three 3-gallon jugs I would have had to move by hand (my weight-lifting exercise for the day).
Displaced items like that make you realize just how much "stuff" you have and need to get rid of. So, after the floor was cleaned and had a chance to dry, we had time to assess the "stuff" displaced by the mini-disaster, and it got us in gear to reduce the number of items. I'm not sure how many items (total) we hauled to the Goodwill (but a LOT)! I reduced the number of FoodSaver Canisters I have by 8 (I use more canning jars than I do the plastic canisters), got rid of some clothing (both hubby and I have slowly been losing weight this summer), and we took 10 items to the household recycling center.
mschrisgo2
8-16-15, 8:04pm
Previous subtotal: 86
Out today: (I love when someone calls and asks, "do you have...")
7 jigsaw puzzles
4 decorative "shoeboxes"
New subtotal: 97
Perhaps it is the notion of the impending new room mate move-in, but the estate sale I went to over the weekend has really kicked up the urge to de-clutter and rearrange. It's not like I have a lot of useless stuff hanging around, but in reality, I do. It's the uncovering of yet another almost invisible layer to the journey of stripping away. For instance, yesterday I started looking at all the jewelry I have accumulated. I come from a family of jewelry lovers and fabricators; my grandmother was a silversmith, my great-aunt collected A LOT of really fine, fancy jewelry (a lot of which I inherited) and I followed in grandma's footsteps and got a degree in metal smithing and jewelry design.
So I am looking at all this stuff that I don't wear much because I can't wear it at work in a commercial kitchen, and I don't go out much anyway, and decided to play the "what if I could only keep half this stuff" game, and then started sorting things according to their emotional value to me. There is a good portion of things I will keep because I simply really like it style-wise and it has emotional value to me (grandma made it), and then there is stuff I am just keeping because I inherited it and that is what I am supposed to do, but in all liklihood am not going to wear because it is not my style and never has been...well, these are things I am going to separate out and think about for a bit. Things is, I need to purchase so many more tools for my metal studio; if I sold this stuff it's kind of like the gift that keeps on giving. I am turning a commodity (jewelery) into a vehicle/tool that I can use to purchase what I need for the right here and now. Then I could say "Great Aunt Flo helped me get my studio set up." Or actually, in my mind I have decided that some of the really good estate jewelry I have inherited CAN ONLY be used for a purchase of, for instance, some land in New Mexico or someplace when I decide to retire.
So this is the sort of metal (ha! Pun not really intended, just a mistype) process I use when I go through family things so I don't get caught in the trap of sentimentality for its own sake. It doesn't do ANYBODY any good just sitting boxed up in a drawer, never seeing the light of day. There are definitely layers to the cloak of sentimentality, and it is interesting to unwrap each layer and extract the meaning and value of it...
We got rid of some mostly big items today: A Pack and Play, stroller, music stand, a backpack for carrying a baby while hiking, and a little toddler scooter. Sigh. Our little baby is growing up. Total so far this month: 5.
Ultralight
8-17-15, 3:26pm
These purge threads are great! I wish I had been on here to read them when I was going through my big purges. haha
I think I'd have moved a little faster and more efficiently...
Hello everyone.
4 shirts, 2 sunglasses, 1 visor, 2 placemats 1 pr socks =10. I'm going to try 10 per day.
More later. It's a start.
happystuff
8-17-15, 4:50pm
I have an "area" set aside in the family room (under a table) for items selected to be gotten rid of. We often get calls from various organizations for donations and they will actually come and pick up, leaving a card for tax purposes. I have the Veteran's group coming next Monday, so am looking to fill two boxes. One already done! I've been doing this sporatically all year and I'm finally finding more EMPTY plastic storage bins around the house than stuff to put in them!!!
Great reading about everyone else's progress.
35. yet another pair of sandals I haven't worn all summer
36. purse
37-40. scarfs
41.-42. sweaters
43. a knife I've always hated using because if I'm not careful the blade hits the base of my thumb (wearing a bandage now)
44-48 packed 2 mugs for each of the boys to take with them
49-50 packed glass mugs for pencil/pen holders on their desks at college
51-52 sorted out 2 desk drawer organizers and sending those with them
53.-60. tossed old glue sticks, old white out, old odds and ends in those organizers
61. took apart a pair of jeans to patch another pair of jeans - tossed what was left
4 food items to trash
2 notebooks, piggy bank, mickie hand soap dish, extra pair of reading glasses, 2 metal water bottles, 2 Nalgene water bottles, 2 coffee cups, 3 water bottles to recycle,3 food items to give to food pantry. 3 food container to recycle = 24 That's 34 so far. It adds up quickly. Thanks for starting this thread Float On !
Also 4 water guns and 3 butterfly nets to Goodwill. Total=41
Thanks for starting this thread Float On !
It's been a fun challenge and I've made goal every month this year. I think if I make it to the end of the year then I'll copy each months list so I can see 1200 items in one place.
Wow you have done a lot of decluttering Float on !!!. It does seem to help to list it out and count it.
It's been a fun challenge and I've made goal every month this year. I think if I make it to the end of the year then I'll copy each months list so I can see 1200 items in one place.
That is so impressive, Float On. My original goal for the year was 1,200, but other things ended up having to take priority. As of the end of July, I only had a yearly total of 278, but I have a couple of weeks now to purge a bit, so I'm still hoping I can end up getting to 700 or so for the year. Considering that the first time I made a yearly decluttering goal, it was to get rid of 365 things, I still see this as progress.
We just put my daughter's high char out on the curb, which brings our total for this month to 6. It took us a while to get rid of it - she's four and a half!
Float On, I'd be curious about if you're noticing big changes in your home at that level of decluttering. Have you always been good at getting rid of stuff? What helped you get good at it?
I'm looking forward to the answers to EJChase's questions...Float On.
Unused container of Bath and Body Works lotion--gave it away at work. 1 stress ball.1 belt. 1 pair of shoes and 1 pair of capri pants that don't fit right Also went through 2 bags of papers and threw out a lot...I will count that as 2. 1 small notebook and 2 Guideposts magazines to give away at work. Emptied 3 food containers from fridge and put in recycles total =54
Float On, I'd be curious about if you're noticing big changes in your home at that level of decluttering. Have you always been good at getting rid of stuff? What helped you get good at it?
Random thoughts....
I have always been a tosser so it wasn't something I had to really work at. Growing up my mom would follow right behind me and take things out of the trash. She saved every rose or flower I was given during my 18 years at home. They were dried and placed in a box in a closet. Because someday I might want to remember. She still has a trunk full of my baby clothes and shoes. Meanwhile, I didn't even make baby books for my boys. I had the books (gifts of course) but never the desire to fill them so I donated the books. There is a small photo box with some items in it. I don't toss everything, that would be cruel.
Stuff just makes me nervous. We still have a lot of things but it is easier to clean and my rooms are pleasing and well put together. I'm happier with kitchen counters that are easy to clean instead of having to move 20 things. I'm happier opening the cabinets above the washer and dryer and seeing space on the shelves instead of things falling out on me. I'm happier that the hall closet door closes and isn't stuffed to overflowing with blankets and linens (I only have one set of sheets for each bed).
Its not perfect. It's a process in letting things go. Sometimes I'll take a photo of a room or area and put it on the computer and really look at it and ask "what 10 things can go that really aren't needed?"
It is easier to clean. Right now I need to take down everything that is above my kitchen cabinets and clean them - pottery teapot collection, pottery vessels, glass vessels, glass sculptures, glass vases. I'll probably decide to get rid of a few. The last time I did that I realized I had so many pieces up there that I really wasn't enjoying any of it; too many colors, too many pieces. I felt like it would all come crashing down on me. I reduced it by more than 1/2 and really found I enjoyed it more.
I've always been good at enjoying something for a time and not having guilt about moving on to something else. Collections can be small. Because you might collect elephant statues doesn't mean you buy every single one you see and accept another 200 as gifts from others because you collect them. I heard that a lot because we use to do a beautiful hot glass free hand elephant sculpture that was one of our best sellers (3 sizes). Every time someone bought one we'd hear "I collect elephants, I have 428 well now 429" or "aunt soandso collects elephants I'm giving this to her". Of the thousands and thousands of elephants we made...I have one.
Stuff just makes me nervous. At one time I though I had to have backstock of everything and it just became overwhelming trying to keep 6 bottles of shampoo under the counter, cases of TP stuffed everwhere I could place them, 12 tubes of toothpaste (which do expire and taste nasty by the way). It was just too much.
So in a decluttered environment I've noticed more peace, less worry that I might run out, and more enjoyment of what I have.
Is it perfect yet? No. Right now I'm in the living room and noticing things that have been dropped and not put in the proper place. I'm as guilty as the rest of the family. So I better spend 15 minutes tidying up, who knows I might add a few items to the thrift box or flea market box.
**Edited to add: Results of 15 minutes tidying the living room. 3 glasses to the sink and washed. 5 pieces of paper reviewed and recycled or tossed. A handfull of son #2's things put on the table just inside his door. Nothing for the thrift shop box or flea market box. And then while dusting I saw a movie sitting out that the boys watched last night and so I decided to watch it myself.
Thank you:thankyou:...you are very inspiring !!!
62.-65. cleaned out the file cabinet and organized the boys' college paperwork stuff. Have three grocery bags full of paper to take to the office and shred on Friday.
hair claw, night light to Goodwill.
To trash - facial serum, nail file, 4 hairbands, face lotion, hand lotion. Total=64
Ditto on thanks for the inspiration, Float On!
Got rid of one of my daughter's swimsuits - the plastic latch on the back broke. Total for month is 7.
I have books, three lamps, an air cleaner, a huge bag of clothes, and some miscellany ready to go out the door. Contemplating sending a carpet cleaner and a crystal ball(!) along. At this rate...
6 watches, 2 bracelets, 2 necklace, 17 pair earrings, 1 ring. Total for the month is 92 !!!
[SIZE=6]Onward to my bedroom closet and books !!#
Sold 26 books to Half Price Books made $ 20.50
Gave 1 book to library Total is 119 !!!!. I gave 1 book to the library because they need more travel books about Michigan
rosarugosa
8-23-15, 7:52am
Decluttered a small set of shelves in a high-visibility area so they are now more visually pleasing. Put one small vase in the Salvation Army box.
66. office chair
67 - 75 jackets, pants, dress shirts no longer wanted by son#1
76-80 son #2 found a few nicknacks he no longer wanted and added to donate pile
81-84 old swim trunks and swim suits that have seen better days (lake rocks can be hard)
85-90 baking sheets, cake pans, bowls (duplicates, I'll be doing less)
91-93 make-up powder, eyeshows (dropping them and having them break was kind of a no choice issue)
94-95 bag of hangers and bag of grocery bags
96-100 movie DVDs
Well....umm.....for dinner last night we emptied 3 partial bags of produce from our CSA. At least it's not becoming compost this week?:doh:
I was out of town for work Sunday thru Friday AM. DH is fabulous at doing dishes......cooking? Not so much.
Today, I got rid of a dresser, 2 pairs of torn underwear, a bra I don't like. New total for month: 11.
To Goodwill: 2 shirts I'm tired of wearing, coin purse, wall mirror set, cordless phone, 1 pr shoes, Mickie Mouse shower curtain, Mickie garden gnome. Total 127
I like seeing everyone's progress. It helps me keep going !!!:cool:
Sorry I don't do this by the actual numbers, but in the last week or so (ever since I went to an estate sale just to poke around), I have purged yet another layer of unneeded stuff cluttering up my house! So stoked, because in the last 24 hours I finally got myself to go through my file drawer of all the songs I have written! I have been putting this task off for YEARS! What if there is a hidden phrase, a hidden gem I forgot about? Never mind the fact that all of this stuff is on the computer anyway, I had the actual file folders and all the re-writes, scraps of paper, old napkins, etc. for every single song I have ever written! I've been having writer's block lately, so this feels very cathartic to just purge this stuff out of my life and get rid of old, dead weight. I'm so ready to move on with my music; I've been in a rut with it for quite awhile.
Three Trader Joes sacks of chock-full of papers to go into the recycling bin- YAY!
DH and I took 2 carloads of STUFF to a consignment sale on Monday night (The website where I entered the items listed 940 items, IIRC). I marked everything for Discount (on Friday) and Donate if it doesn't sell. I have my family room back (it's been piled there all summer waiting for the sale). I get 60% minus $10, plus, I never have to touch any of it again.
Found more files to shred! Tax returns from 2000- to 2007. I think I am well over 100 items this month. I have one more small load to take to the thrift shop. I decided it was time to let go of cassette tapes from the mid-80's - lots of Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Cure, etc. I don't even have a working CD player at the moment, let alone a cassette player. Even when I did I'm sure I have listened to these in the last 15 years, at least. I can always re-buy them used or get them from the library if I for some reason feel the need to. I've moved on musically, for sure...
mschrisgo2
8-27-15, 4:47pm
Previous subtotal: 97
2- trashed pairs of worn out sandals
New subtotal:99
I hope someone starts a September thread
Okay, here I go, off to one of the last bastions of STUFF to go through. The corner of my closet that holds my artistic life pertaining to my long-ago attained photography degree. I don't know how much of it I'll be able to let go though. I'll certainly keep all of my negatives and contact sheets, but I have large flat boxes of prints. Just SO MUCH STUFF... even if I don't de-clutter much of it, I need to pull it all out of there and clean around and behind it. In the process I WILL get lost looking at it all...if you don't hear from me in days, send out a search party.
mschrisgo2
9-1-15, 12:55am
Previous subtotal: 99
6 - clipboards to church, where they will actually be used
3 - electric pencil sharpener, old cell phone, small bag of batteries- to electronics recycling
Grand total: 108, 100 plus 8 for the 8th month of the year!
DH and I took 2 carloads of STUFF to a consignment sale on Monday night (The website where I entered the items listed 940 items, IIRC). I marked everything for Discount (on Friday) and Donate if it doesn't sell. I have my family room back (it's been piled there all summer waiting for the sale). I get 60% minus $10, plus, I never have to touch any of it again.
Reporting back to say we made $235 from the sale! all that didn't sell if being donated. win-win-win.
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