View Full Version : October Purge
happystuff
10-12-19, 9:12am
I don't see this one already started... hope I'm not generating a duplicate!
We had our town wide yard sale last weekend and I managed to get rid of about 1/3 of the things I put out. Today will be sorting and packing up the remainder for a donation pickup coming this Tuesday. It will be nice to have my "donation corner" empty... at least for a little while. :)
Nice, I will definitely check in when I get rid of things, I am in that mode.
A pair of heeled boots. I am all about comfort now.
rosarugosa
10-17-19, 5:25pm
I culled another 3 bags from Mom's house: 1 trash and 2 fabric recycling. I also did the seasonal closet clean-out at our house and got rid of 1 DH item and 12 items of my own (DH had already gone though his t-shirts and pants at other times.
At the moment we are down 11 items for the year (11 more items out than in), which is not impressive compared to last year's 79. I assume we hit all the low-hanging fruit last year and also culled a lot of corporate wear as a new retiree.
I haven't tracked this as precisely, but I recall trying to get down to 150 shirts; I think it was last year. I'm at 116 now which still seems excessive. I like setting round-number goals for my excesses, so I'm going to shoot for 100 by the end of 2020. The wins tend to get harder over time (no more low-hanging fruit).
Teacher Terry
10-17-19, 6:15pm
Rosa, it does get harder as you declutter. I worked on our closet today and filled the garbage can. I also have a king size comforter, big dog bed and pictures that are going to friends. The comforter doesn’t fit in my washer and sick of taking it to the laundromat. I have one that fits in my washer and we don’t need more than one. I also am trying to sell the dog life jackets because they are expensive.
There's another recycling event coming up, so I will take cardboard, Styrofoam, miscellaneous scrap metal, shredded paper, and household goods next weekend. Leftover stuff will be donated.
This past week it was a pair of curtains, a pair of socks, a pair of surfwalkers, a cats paw tool, a t shirt, a box+ of books donated at the market that takes them, some metal trellises, and we donated a new magazine to the hospital when DH came home!
rosarugosa
10-18-19, 5:18am
This past week it was a pair of curtains, a pair of socks, a pair of surfwalkers, a cats paw tool, a t shirt, a box+ of books donated at the market that takes them, some metal trellises, and we donated a new magazine to the hospital when DH came home!
Funny - I just bought a cat's paw tool!
Somebody started a "little free library" at my workplace, and I donated 5 books.
Two boxes of magazines, a few books, the 2nd pair of surfwalkers, 3 shirts so far this week.
rosarugosa
10-30-19, 2:59pm
Three more shirts gone, so I'm down to 113.
October was a good month for me. I had a sudden, unexplained surge of energy and cleaned a bunch of stuff out. There is a recycling business in the city close to here that recycles CDs and their cases, VHS tapes, audio tapes. I sent 4 bags of stuff there! I went through several cabinets and got rid of lots of picture frames. I went through my kids' pictures from Sears and school and sent some to each child and saved some for us. Got rid of tons of decorative/useful glass jars. Felt really good! Now I'm hoping for another surge of energy to come soon. It feels soooo good to get rid of stuff.
rosarugosa
10-31-19, 9:49am
Good for you, Cathy! I know you've said you have a hard time letting go of items related to your kids, so this sounds like a major accomplishment!
JaneV2.0
10-31-19, 10:48am
October was a good month for me. I had a sudden, unexplained surge of energy and cleaned a bunch of stuff out. There is a recycling business in the city close to here that recycles CDs and their cases, VHS tapes, audio tapes. I sent 4 bags of stuff there! I went through several cabinets and got rid of lots of picture frames. I went through my kids' pictures from Sears and school and sent some to each child and saved some for us. Got rid of tons of decorative/useful glass jars. Felt really good! Now I'm hoping for another surge of energy to come soon. It feels soooo good to get rid of stuff.
Ooooh! Good work!
Hoping for a random energy surge--maybe they're going around...
Teacher Terry
10-31-19, 12:34pm
Great Cathy!
happystuff
10-31-19, 5:27pm
Nice job, Cathy! I'm needing a surge - lol.
I have been deleting 10 emails per day, more than I receive, and have cleared out pretty much everything I don't need to save.
rosarugosa
10-31-19, 7:57pm
Sister and I spent the day at Mom's working in the cellar and we accomplished amazing things. We took out 10 - 12 bags of trash, and 4 small containers of Saver's donations. We neatened and reorganized all kinds of stuff. The cellar hasn't looked this good in decades!
Right now Mom's whole house looks so good. I am excited because I think she will be really pleased when she gets home next week. Either that or she'll get a restraining order against us!
Three more shirts gone, so I'm down to 113.
Do you have a target number you want to get down to?
Teacher Terry
10-31-19, 9:08pm
Rosa, you guys did good:))
Rosa, I am fascinated by the number of shirts. Now I am curious and will go count my shirts tomorrow. I will then pick a number and get down to it. Will report back later!
rosarugosa
11-1-19, 5:52am
Yppej: Yes, 110 by then end of this year and 100 by the end of next year.
Thanks, TT!
Tybee: It's kind of fun actually and makes me realize what an overabundance I have. Let's face it, even if I get down to 100, that's more than enough by far.
Okay, just completed the count. 41 shirts, which kind of surprised me . I was at 46 but got rid of 5. I would like to get down to 30 maximum, so I need to cull 11.
That will be part 2 of the project and will report back if I can do it.
Okay, just completed the count. 41 shirts, which kind of surprised me . I was at 46 but got rid of 5. I would like to get down to 30 maximum, so I need to cull 11.
That will be part 2 of the project and will report back if I can do it.
Was only able to cull 5. So am now at 41 minus 5 or 36. Will revisit later, maybe if buy a new shirt get rid of two for a while.
Teacher Terry
11-1-19, 1:34pm
Are you guys just counting shirts and not sweaters and sweatshirts? If I only count shirts I have 30 which includes long sleeve and short sleeves.
Are you guys just counting shirts and not sweaters and sweatshirts? If I only count shirts I have 30 which includes long sleeve and short sleeves.
I was counting only shirts, but that includes dressy shirts for evening, button downs, and long and short sleeve t-shirts, so it runs the gamut from painting t-shirts up to evening shells.
I'd be curious about the number of jackets I own. I should count them while culling.
I was surprised and it helped to have a number in mind while culling.
I am going to do pants tomorrow.
mschrisgo2
11-1-19, 2:43pm
Ok, now I need to count my shirts, lol! I got rid of a bunch last year, and my gut feeling is that I don’t have enough! I have 8 shirts for warm weather, but it’s cold now, so I’m looking for my long sleeves and sweatshirts.
Teacher Terry
11-1-19, 3:29pm
I only have 8 pairs of pants and 3 jackets.
rosarugosa
11-1-19, 4:18pm
Jackets and hoodies are a whole different category for me anyway, and I have a lot of those too, but not as many as shirts.
Teacher Terry
11-1-19, 6:13pm
I have 4 hooded sweatshirts. I guess I don’t own a lot of clothes compared to others.
iris lilies
11-1-19, 6:27pm
Yppej: Yes, 110 by then end of this year and 100 by the end of next year.
Thanks, TT!
Tybee: It's kind of fun actually and makes me realize what an overabundance I have. Let's face it, even if I get down to 100, that's more than enough by far.
I could make fun of you, but I dont know how many shirts I have myself. I would have to count mine before setting out ridicule flag.:~)
I could make fun of you, but I dont know how many shirts I have myself. I would have to count mine before setting out ridicule flag.:~)
That's a good idea. I had exactly twice as many as I thought I did!
rosarugosa
11-1-19, 7:52pm
I could make fun of you, but I dont know how many shirts I have myself. I would have to count mine before setting out ridicule flag.:~)
Be my guest; I make fun of myself all the time. If you can't laugh at yourself, you are screwed! :laff:
I once helped a friend reorganize her closet. She owned 125 collared golf shirt. Just the golf shirts alone.
I’ve got 18-20 shirts, 9 bottoms, one coat, and one jacket. And 4 pairs of shoes. That includes scrubs for work. I guess I’m a true minimalist.
Teacher Terry
11-1-19, 8:02pm
16 sweaters and 5 regular sweatshirts. Tammy I thought I was winning until you posted:)). I only own 5 pairs of shoes.
You are funny with the lists of clothing. I cannot imagine that much clothing in my little walk-in.
That said, all your reports have inspired me to get more decluttering going. Ran into a problem though. I was able to unload a box of DH's electrical bits and pieces to the local Habitat for Humanity retail outlet and towels to the local humane society.
No one is able to accept the inflatable queen mattress with its built-in air pump. I may end up rolling it out to the end of my driveway with a free sign attached on a sunny day. I can understand not taking regular mattresses but the plastic inflatable I thought would be OK. If no takers, I will be paying a disposal fee to get rid of it.
flowerseverywhere
11-2-19, 2:43am
Big bag of books going to the library used bookstore today.
A stack of quilting books going to my guild meeting with me next week for the free table.
I have 24 tops/shirts/blouses. My closet is not a walk-in. Maybe that helps. Some of the 24 I could part with. I got them free at work and don't care for them but sometimes wear them. They may turn into yardwork and painting shirts eventually. I have two of those messy work tops already, one long sleeved and one short sleeved.
Besides the 24 I have I have three comfortable but stained or badly pilled tops I have downgraded to sleepwear.
If I don't count sleep and painting shirts, I am down to my 30 shirts.
Counted last night and all pants total 26 pairs, so it's a little better than shirts.
I end up demoting clothing to the "wear around house and garden category" rather than getting rid of them, since I spend most of my time around the house and gardening.
I have to sit with these numbers as they seem high to me, and we can do laundry any time we want, so maybe life would be better with lower numbers.
I have to sit with these numbers as they seem high to me, and we can do laundry any time we want, so maybe life would be better with lower numbers.
OTOH, if you keep them all you may never need to purchase pants again! You've already invested in them so discarding them and buying more in the future is buying twice.
I finally cleaned up my bicycles and posted them to sell. This was my number one procrastinated task for over a year :D
Teacher Terry
11-2-19, 12:48pm
Oak, hope you sell the bicycles.
I hate shopping. I don’t try to have few clothes. I simply despise the process of acquiring them. 😄
I think my thing is I don't get rid of them until they absolutely wear out. So yeah, I don't bother to purge, but then I will have nothing decent to wear out with other people, that is not stained and frayed. So I will buy a couple of shirts of same style, different color, if it works. Because I hate shopping, too.
Teacher Terry
11-2-19, 3:36pm
I don’t have any clothes that I cannot wear out but don’t have any messy hobbies. My husband has clothes for just home because of house repairs, etc.
I don’t have any clothes that I cannot wear out but don’t have any messy hobbies. My husband has clothes for just home because of house repairs, etc.
I sure do! Since retiring, my 3 piece suit is fleece pants, sweatshirts and fleece lined leather slippers:cool: hot weather is shorts and tshirts. And no, I would not go out in what I wear in.
Thanks, Teacher Terry! I think you brought me luck because I sold a bike and someone from Freecycle wants the chest of drawers I posted. Progress!
I used to have more shirts for work, but they were ones that were uncomfortable so I would always pass them over. Then I would have clothes in my drawer but nothing to wear to work. I donated all the uncomfy shirts and bought the one shirt I love in seven different colors. Simple, easy, not to mention more comfortable :)
Teacher Terry
11-2-19, 5:18pm
That’s great Oak! I got rid of anything that was uncomfortable. I had a lot more clothes when working.
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