View Full Version : September Purge
Trying to trim the few bushes we have out front and neither of the electric hedge trimmers worked. They went straight to the Magic Sidewalk and were gone in less than 2 hours. Going to Home Depot today to get a less expensive pair of manual hedge shears. I could use the arm workout. LOL.
Teacher Terry
9-4-20, 1:28pm
I have a bag in the closet and intend to do more today.
Some books, a dresser scarf, a mailer, a basket, 2 vases, and a vintage ball jar.
9 books -- 7 sold, 2 to the swap shop. 2 mailers, 7 book sleeves, the last of the grass seed was used. Started using up the soil amendment we've had hanging around for years...
Bins of leaves and 3 wooden crates, which had been outside.
9/11 gave a box of books to the local bookstore. Gave a display piece to an antique shop.
9/14 starting using the china I already had that is lighter than the dinerware. Dinerware plates put aside to go to the antique shop. Two books sold.
I dropped a bag of unusable old clothing items in the fabric recycling bin down the street. I also gave away an area rug via our local FB giving group.
My husband broke a chair (I have no idea how, sat on it funny) and so that's out, along with a recycled phone and an old suitcase. Need to put a bunch of stuff out on the curb today since neighbor is having a yard sale.
early morning
9-5-20, 2:29pm
1 beer stein and 2 backpacks that have been hanging out in my car - to goodwill. 1 large plastic tub and a paperbox of stuff to one of our mall shops, to (hopefully) sell (at least it's out of the house for now!!). bag of paperwork shredded and dumped on the garden for mulch.
Have another batch of stuff for Habitat. My food processor died so it gets tossed. I did buy a replacement though. Some towels need to go to be replaced by extras in storage bag.
Two trips to the dump yesterday, three today. Yard waste mostly, but other odds and ends as well!
This probably doesn't really count as a purge, although it is stuff out the door. There's a woman in my town who raises chickens and I save egg cartons for her. She picked up 22 from me yesterday. It's nice to see them get another use, and I like being able to help someone out with something so easy and it costs me nothing but a tiny bit of time. This is the second time I gave her egg cartons and she picks up when she says she will, so I told her I'll keep saving them for her until she tells me to stop.
Teacher Terry
9-8-20, 1:33am
I have been on a roll lately and have 3 boxes for the thrift store. My step son was over and he wants me to help him make some decisions about some of his mom’s stuff and pictures. He is good at getting rid of stuff. He was telling his dad to do the same to his shed and garage and my husband got mad and left the room. He said that he has wanted to bring stuff to our house that he is throwing away but not letting him. I told him I was glad.
I have been on a roll lately and have 3 boxes for the thrift store. My step son was over and he wants me to help him make some decisions about some of his mom’s stuff and pictures. He is good at getting rid of stuff. He was telling his dad to do the same to his shed and garage and my husband got mad and left the room. He said that he has wanted to bring stuff to our house that he is throwing away but not letting him. I told him I was glad.
I'm lost. Was your step son bringing stuff over and asking your dad simultaneously to keep his mom's stuff but get rid of husband's own stuff? Was dad mad or step son?
Teacher Terry
9-8-20, 11:10am
My step son is inheriting his mom’s house. My husband has been keeping him company while he cleans out. My husband can’t help because of his broken ankle. My husband wanted to bring to our house some of the stuff his son is throwing away. My step son won’t let him. My step son told his dad to get rid of his junk at our house which pissed my husband off.
Oh, I get it. Sorry, I wrote "your dad" and not "his dad"!
So glad step son will not let him bring the stuff.
My brother in law tried twice to bring a barn full of stuff to our house. I told my husband no way, I would leave first.
He has also offered to "housesit" for us living in our house for free for some unspecified time if we move.
Huh??
iris lilies
9-8-20, 2:01pm
I can’t tell y’all how happy I am that my father-in-law‘S entire house and barns full of stuff has been liquidated and none of it came here. I had given DH warning for years that there will be no more swiss clocks no more Swiss tchotchkes coming into his house. No more. None of it is nice stuff, none of it is expensive or high-quality, It is all tourist level crap.
I was also fearing loads of tools and small farm equipment but that did not seem to enter here. If it’s sitting in my garage then I don’t know about it and that is fine.
A friend posted on FB Saturday that she was looking for pieces of fabric for some crafts she's doing. Boom - a bag of scraps out the door. As I'm painting my kitchen cabinets, I'm emptying them out and putting down fresh liner. I've been purging food that is WAY past it's best by date and consolidating some other stuff. Two more cabinets to go.
Nice progress with the cabinets, beckyliz. I enjoy passing on craft stuff and knowing they will actually be used versus sitting untouched in my house. lol.
I joined the Facebook no-buy group for my section of town. I have given away: compost bin w/lid, 6 houseplant pots, a near full bag of Iams catfood (Kylie started throwing it up every time she ate, since her brother crossed the Rainbow Bridge), 2 spider plant babies. Always curbside pickup. No one is giving away junk/garbage. Today? Free child's bike! Great group.
So happy to have found this group!
With our unexpected blast of cold weather, I had to get out the winter clothes. Putting summery clothes away, I decided it was time to get rid of some things I haven't worn in two summers so probably not going to. The Goodwill sack is almost full.
My town doesn’t have a buy nothing group. I’m right on the border with the next town. I tried to join that town’s group and wasn’t approved because I’m not in their zip code, even though my town doesn’t have a group. Crazy.
Have you tried Freecycle?
https://groups.freecycle.org/group/ChicagoIL/description
Thanks, Jane! I’ll investigate that later.
iris lilies
9-10-20, 7:12pm
My town doesn’t have a buy nothing group. I’m right on the border with the next town. I tried to join that town’s group and wasn’t approved because I’m not in their zip code, even though my town doesn’t have a group. Crazy.
Freecycle excluded me the one time I tried to use it because I had a “curb alert” announcement.
I used free cycle, once. Got yelled at by people I was giving Rose starts to that they weren’t bushes...never again.
happystuff
9-12-20, 9:56am
While I haven't used freecycle in a while, for the most part it worked well for those times I did. I had a few no-shows, but usually had a list of people interested. I never posted a follow-up until the item was actually gone.
This last week I've been strolling through my remaining books (hubster doesn't read on paper so they are all mine). I've reread a few and put in the thrift store basket. This morning I cleared 10 or so that I won't reread. Then I opened a kitchen cupboard: strainer never used (I had to buy a set of 3 to get the one I did actually need), tupperware container I haven't used in years (came from the thrift store that will get it back), large tupperware container I used for my workday big garden salads, a flower vase from a bouquet received in July from SIL, a little LED light that doesn't do the job I bought it for (attach to sewing machine), a cat leash (oh my hubster the funny one thought he'd train our 10yo cat!)....and I'll poke my head in a few more locations today.
This will all go to the thrift store this afternoon. I have to go pick up our CSA box so will do 3 errands enroute-I only leave the house once a week (and was doing that before Covid).
Doing a closet-drawer purge. One and 1/2 large grocery bag full. Hoping to fill the second one by the end of the week and donate on Saturday. I've really decided to go very basic with my wardrobe even though I've always loved clothes. I'm tired of the "too-muchness."
Looking at retirement in the next year, so not really caring much about looking fab at the job. No one sees me much anyway with most staying home. Who cares what I look like? I can wear the same thing twice in a row (horrors!) and no one notices.
Got rid of a pair of shoes because they are uncomfortable, and a bag of books.
Need to up my clear out game and clear out energy.
KayLR, That's what I discovered upon retiring...I needed no more dresses, less shoes, more jeans, more casual tops. In 31 years of teaching I never wore pants except on Jeans Friday. Once I retired I may have worn a dress, skirt, jumper less than 10 times a year. I've had to buy "wedding, special occasion ' dresses and wear them to every event for a couple years. Pretending it's my "signature look". Ha! I've been retired 10 years. With COVID, and the broken hip in 2019, and the broken arm in 2019- all fixed now! I don't care much how I look when I go out. So, keep pitching out things. I need to join you!!!
Teacher Terry
9-16-20, 1:51pm
Since I have a magic sidewalk I don’t bother with free cycle. I have been giving away pears. Contacted 2 local groups. One group sent one person that picked for 30 minutes and left. The other group was supposed to send someone yesterday who cancelled last minute. Asked if she could come tomorrow at 7 or 8. Are you kidding me??? Told her not before 9.
"Magic sidewalk"--LOL!!!
That's how I got rid of the pounds and pounds of Italian prunes my poor old tree produced in what appears to be its death throes.
Teacher Terry
9-16-20, 3:44pm
Happy I think came up with the term magic sidewalk:))
iris lilies
9-16-20, 5:00pm
We have the magic Alley. It’s like the river Gangez, there’s a constant stream of stuff going into it and coming out of it. In Previous decades I was a “picker” but I try not to do that anymore. I dont need more crap. But I do have a small table sitting in my living room from the alley, recently picked, that needs a coat of paint or something to make it cute. I had planned to doll it up to sell it at our park conservancy sale.
We have the magic Alley. It’s like the river Gangez, there’s a constant stream of stuff going into it and coming out of it. In Previous decades I was a “picker” but I try not to do that anymore. I dont need more crap. But I do have a small table sitting in my living room from the alley, recently picked, that needs a coat of paint or something to make it cute. I had planned to doll it up to sell it at our park conservancy sale.
Yeah, but you own three places now. It probably fits in somewhere.
iris lilies
9-16-20, 8:10pm
Yeah, but you own three places now. It probably fits in somewhere.
This table is not cute enough for me. It needs to go to someone else. It has a vaguely mid century modern look to it.
I wish I had a magic "anything!" We live on a little road; no magic spots here, sigh.
When we removed the 1/2 of a room of boxes of books from our bedroom, so we could add the bookcases, unknown to me at the time, DH filled his closet with boxes. The closet was blocked, and I went through all of those months ago. But a while back, I realized I'd missed about 4 boxes IN the closet. I've tackled 1/2 of them now. There's a partial box for the local bookstore. If I go to the college town where the shop is tomorrow, I may take it. (I did last week.) Or, I may wait until I fill it. Either way, there's one less box of books, about 50 in DH's closet!
Doing a closet-drawer purge. One and 1/2 large grocery bag full. Hoping to fill the second one by the end of the week and donate on Saturday. I've really decided to go very basic with my wardrobe even though I've always loved clothes. I'm tired of the "too-muchness."
Looking at retirement in the next year, so not really caring much about looking fab at the job. No one sees me much anyway with most staying home. Who cares what I look like? I can wear the same thing twice in a row (horrors!) and no one notices.
I have enough clothes to get through 30 years other than jeans-I buy 2 at a time and they last about 18 months. 1 new pair of walking shoes each year. That's about it!
I ruthlessly went through the bookcase in my quilting studio. Top shelf: textbooks from Nursing school. About 14 linear inches. Gone!
Bottom shelf: 12 linear inches of clothing patterns. Gone! Clothes are way too cheap today while fabric is expensive and time is a finite resource much more than it was 30 years ago!
Wohoo!!!!
Good for you on the nursing textbooks!
After a month of being too busy at work to do much, I took 36 items to Goodwill today. It felt great.
Teacher Terry
9-18-20, 4:13pm
great work you guys!
rosarugosa
9-18-20, 5:40pm
I am sharing this just so that Iris Lily can laugh at me. DH is completely overhauling our south garden bed (at a snail's pace). There was a lot of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Siberian irises that needed to go, so I posted on our local FB giving page. I think I had 6 pots of sedum and 2 pots or iris to begin with, but I got a great response and that lit a fire under me to pot up a total of 16 sedum and 4 iris based on requests. I still have 3 pots of iris and 2 pots of sedum that were requested and never picked up, including the woman who wanted to pick them up early last Sat morning, so I jumped up from coffee, threw on some clothes and got them out front for her, where they still sit a week later. An old friend requested one of each, didn't come when he said he would, came on a later day and couldn't find the plants (in pots right at the end of the driveway as stated), and we finally delivered them to his front door.
Would I do it again? Yes. Would I do it differently? Again, yes. I definitely erred on the side of being a bit too accommodating to people getting free stuff. But the sweet young woman down the street made it all worthwhile. She was very grateful, planted immediately and I can see the plants when DH and I walk the neighborhood. Maybe I'll offer her the unclaimed plants.
iris lilies
9-18-20, 6:24pm
I am sharing this just so that Iris Lily can laugh at me. DH is completely overhauling our south garden bed (at a snail's pace). There was a lot of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Siberian irises that needed to go, so I posted on our local FB giving page. I think I had 6 pots of sedum and 2 pots or iris to begin with, but I got a great response and that lit a fire under me to pot up a total of 16 sedum and 4 iris based on requests. I still have 3 pots of iris and 2 pots of sedum that were requested and never picked up, including the woman who wanted to pick them up early last Sat morning, so I jumped up from coffee, threw on some clothes and got them out front for her, where they still sit a week later. An old friend requested one of each, didn't come when he said he would, came on a later day and couldn't find the plants (in pots right at the end of the driveway as stated), and we finally delivered them to his front door.
Would I do it again? Yes. Would I do it differently? Again, yes. I definitely erred on the side of being a bit too accommodating to people getting free stuff. But the sweet young woman down the street made it all worthwhile. She was very grateful, planted immediately and I can see the plants when DH and I walk the neighborhood. Maybe I'll offer her the unclaimed plants.
It is enormous satisfaction when you see your giveaway plants In the ground blooming their heads off!
It is enormous satisfaction when you see your giveaway plants In the ground blooming their heads off!
Yes it is! I have Sedum Autumn Joy, Stella D'Ore daylilies and Shasta daisies all over town! I'm in desperate need of dividing again. Last year I couldn't find any takers. I may have to kill some this fall and divide anyway.
I had another binge of going through stuff.
Today so far: In my bookcase was a many inch stack of magazine articles torn out over the years and the remainder of the mag recycled. Well, out of the stack? I retained 6 pages. Most were workouts. Well hell, who is going to thumb through all that....besides I am an epic fail at workout since December when I started having significant knee pain that only stays away when I'm a slug >:(
So, quite a stack of paper into the recycle bin along with a few items hubster wouldn't let me toss last time I did this, but he's at the cabin and I am absolutely certain he's not been perusing them. He'll never miss them.
I am thoroughly enjoying my purging this week. The thrift store was happy to receive my half trunk full of stuff. Even the paint covered sweats which I pointed out as not wanting to dump trash on them. She assured me they would get used somewhere and it just might be an employee who takes them home-no charge. Ok!
Teacher Terry
9-19-20, 10:47pm
I was sick of the pictures in my kitchen and some in my dining room. I bought new ones so now have 4 for the thrift store plus a few decorative items.
September is a great month for purging. Hubby is more than half way thru selling his collections. He has made 3X the amount offered by the dealer. (it is all going directly from Ebay to our selected charities). Will be almost a whole room of stuff when done. I am taking two armloads of quilt tops to a friend to finish for donation as well as 10+ pillowcase kits and some cross stitch things she might like.
Cleaned out more books, dvds, cds and all going to library sale.
iris lilies
9-20-20, 10:02am
September is a great month for purging. Hubby is more than half way thru selling his collections. He has made 3X the amount offered by the dealer. (it is all going directly from Ebay to our selected charities). Will be almost a whole room of stuff when done. I am taking two armloads of quilt tops to a friend to finish for donation as well as 10+ pillowcase kits and some cross stitch things she might like.
Cleaned out more books, dvds, cds and all going to library sale.
Oh man you are making fabulous progress! I haven’t seriously started on my book collection that I have to get rid of.
In the past I never dreamed of trying to unload it on eBay, but yeah since we are all sitting here in downtime due to Covid, I’ll give it a try. But I doubt most of it will be worth selling on eBay, maybe 1 in 20?
Teacher Terry
9-20-20, 10:14am
I was at my friend’s house and I have helped her declutter numerous times. She has been going to garage sales without getting rid of stuff. It’s painful to watch the build up. They live in 1800 sq ft so plenty of space.
Late Saturday afternoon, I strolled through my quilt book collection (just 3/4 shelf in my bookcase). I had 6 on techniques I am NEVER going to do again. I put them on my FB Buy Nothing group. Picked up within the hour! If I paid full price-which is likely, I just saved her over $200.
Jane v2.0
9-20-20, 11:05am
I read, not for the first time, that you should declutter your "aspirational" items--exercise equipment, art and craft books and supplies, fancy clothes you'll never wear to soirees you'll never get invites to...And boy howdy, do I have aspirational stuff. I really think I'm in the ancient Egyptian mindset that I might need it in the afterlife or something. Fortunately, we have (or maybe had) an arts and crafts thrift store in these parts. I need to do a ruthless purge of things that just sit there looking at me accusingly, and admit that I'll never use those hiking boots, those bales of quilting cotton, or that 3rd sewing machine again.
I love that, "aspirational" clutter. I did some of that several years ago- I knew I would never make those cute cotton jumpers as I had one in the closet that I loved, wore often until I retired and realized I hadn't worn it for a year....thus the lovely fabric I had bought ahead of time....all went to my friend who makes quilts for Africa through her church and loved the 100 percent cotton, pretty and lightweight all one piece fabric. I also sent needlepoint, crewel and macrame projects to Good will that I had been saving "for when I'm in the home" . I've been retired nearly 20 years and hadn't touched them....It's a release!
sweetana3
9-20-20, 12:20pm
In order to do all this selling on ebay, my dining room is photo and mailing central and the living room is listing central. BUT, I am totally willing to just ignore it and walk around it to finally get rid of the stuff.
If my hubby had died, I would likely have given the things away. Neither of us really had any idea that there were so many people out there willing to buy these things. I am glad he is taking the initiative now.
Since my 88 year old mother in law got sick, she is committed to using up her yarn for things to donate. I have two big bags of hats and scarves to donate to a local homeless shelter for her.
sweetana3
9-20-20, 12:22pm
I am about ready to get rid of my rug hooking stuff. Got a huge guild locally that will have members who will want it. One of those aspirational thoughts.
I was sick of the pictures in my kitchen and some in my dining room. I bought new ones so now have 4 for the thrift store plus a few decorative items.
I think the reason I love our decor and don't tire of it, is that it is all made by me, family, friends or are pieces I purchased directly from the artist.
Teacher Terry
9-21-20, 12:20pm
G, I get sick of stuff after 10-20 years. If a artist did the painting I sell it. Otherwise I give stuff away. Even stuff my family and friends have made.
happystuff
9-22-20, 7:35am
Made some calls and there are currently no pickups being made in my area, so the donation pile grows. I did find out, however, that the annual fall Town Wide Yard Sale will be held! New motivation!
happystuff
9-23-20, 3:45pm
Had found a big plastic container of oil from the cars (way back when dh was actually changing the oil himself!) and a car battery from the old shed. My mechanic said he would take both for recycling/disposal. Yay!!!
That is alucky thing, happystuff!
We got rid of a lot this week, took it to the Goodwill--
2 speakers, a receiver, a bag full of records, three boxes of miscellaneous stuff that was nice but time for someone else to get excited about it.
The best part was we both went through all our records and saved what we wanted and had a great time exploring our record collection with some neat discoveries:
1. my husband found out I never threw out his old records as he has been claiming all these years, and he realized I saved all of them, and he had been unfairly accusing me of getting rid of them
2. I found I had two copies of Mame (Angela Lansbury) and Pyjama Game (Doris Day) so I will save one for my daughter-in-law, who also likes musicals
3. We managed to get rid of some, but we know what we have now, and it's fun to have them all in the same place.
4. I have a great Marianne Faithfull record that I didn't know I had, and I know my son will try to steal it.
We have been getting rid of stuff and it makes the stuff that you save that much more precious.
And who knew I had so many Dionne Warwick records-- too many, really.
iris lilies
9-30-20, 8:49pm
This year sales of vinyl beat sales of CDs by a large factor. That probably says more about CD market than anything, but I thought that was interesting.
I toO have a store of vinyl record albums on our third floor that will have to come down and go into the garbage. I don’t think they’re worth donating except maybe for one.
frugal-one
10-1-20, 2:00pm
This year sales of vinyl beat sales of CDs by a large factor. That probably says more about CD market than anything, but I thought that was interesting.
I toO have a store of vinyl record albums on our third floor that will have to come down and go into the garbage. I don’t think they’re worth donating except maybe for one.
I wouldn't throw anything out until you check.....
https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?format=Vinyl
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