February Purge [Archive] - Simple Living Forums

Klunick

2-2-22, 3:19pm

Didn't see one already created...

Day 2 of February and a lot has left the house already. Went through youngest's drawers and closet and got rid of several pants and shorts that he either outgrew or never wore. Went through seasonal/holiday decor and got rid of a wreath, an outdoor flag, and several kitchen hand towels. Also got rid of several empty boxes that was supposed to store some of the decor but got put into bins instead.

iris lilies

2-2-22, 3:37pm

DH is taking advantage of a snowy day where we have to stay indoors to work,cleaning out the basement. Here are 5 buckets of coated electrical wires. When I said something like”good you are getting ride of that stuff!” he responded “not exactly, yet anyway. “ He has to “process” them.This means he will haul them to Hermann, burn them in the outdoor fire pit while polluting all of Hermann, and then haul the resulting copper back to the city to turn in to the metal scrap dealer. He said “it is all worth about $150!” And because he doesnt exagerate, I guess it is worth it. .?….?

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KayLR

2-2-22, 4:44pm

Yesterday I took to the thrift 3 bags of seldom-used items (shoes, hand towels, coffee mugs, etc) and two bags of craft items I am no longer interested in. DH also tossed in a golf bag umbrella he had won at a tournament. He already had one. Also took in a fleece blanket that my mom had started putting together years ago, one of those where you tie knots all around the edge. Well, she passed away almost 5 years ago. When we cleaned out her house I took it saying I'd finish it. So I finally did, and donated it.

iris lilies

2-2-22, 5:27pm

On Monday, because DH was here to lift a few of the heavier boxes, I took piles of flower show crap to St. Vincent De Paul and a friend just starting out in flower shows. I gave her the better stuff and sent the standard stuff to St.Vinnie.

I dropped a sack of vintage clothing on the home porch of someone who runs a vintage clothing shop. I have been trying for weeks now to drop this sack off at either her shop or another vintage place, but they are always closed and have no porch for a drop off.

Got rid of small box of necessary stuff to run the neighborhood block captain program since I am now FREE AT LAST from that chore.

Dropped off a small notebook of neighborhood historical files to our archivist.

Put three items on my porch for free pick up. Today listed two boxes full of like items.

took 5 five gallon buckets pull of flower show junk to the dumpster.

I am just about ready to see over the hump of flower show clean-out in my basement, so soon I will be in downhill slide.

KayLR

2-2-22, 8:03pm

nice, Iris...progress!

rosarugosa

2-3-22, 4:52pm

You guys are doing great!
From here, 3 crummy aluminum pans are gone, and a scratched up non-stick griddle pan will be departing next week when its replacement arrives.

Tradd

2-5-22, 11:11am

Passed along a spare pair of fins to a friend. They were beat up but she had wanted to try these anyway so was happy to get them.

Bunch of tank rigging and hose retainer straps going to another friend today.

Teacher Terry

2-5-22, 2:19pm

I have a bag for the thrift store.

iris lilies

2-8-22, 5:09pm

If I don’t show photos it didn’t happen, right? I am only 30 minutes away from completing Total Flower Show Crap Cleanup of 2022.

photos below show boxes and bins lined up ready to be transported to Hermann. Two truckloads have already gone there. 1.5 more loads to go.

middle two photos show empty boxes and empty bins. This demonstrates how smart I was to drive around alleys after Christmas Day, picking up empty boxes. I have plenty to complete this job. And then my dear old mom had tons of these plastic bins with lids and I inherited them. Then, I have been collecting bins from the dumpsters for 2 years, they seldom have lids but that is fine.

last photos show sacks and bins of stuff going to the dumpsters (bins not going into garbage.)

I was even able to do “fine sorting “ in this work, organizing every bin with tools, table clothes/napkins/placemats, etc. i even managed to get ALL Christmas ornaments into ONE bin. Yes, ONE. I am a goddess of purging and organization. Haha.

for your viewing pleasure behold it all:

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Tybee

2-8-22, 5:12pm

Wow, one Christmas ornament bin!! I am impressed. Last year I went from three to two and it is my dream to get down to one.

iris lilies

2-8-22, 5:57pm

Wow, one Christmas ornament bin!! I am impressed. Last year I went from three to two and it is my dream to get down to one.

See, I started out in the year 2019 cleaning out a very big closet something like 3‘ x 12‘, that was piled to the ceiling with Christmas stuff. I had multiple fake Christmas trees, a dozen garlands, 8 wreaths, and everything to go with them. I mean it was excessive. All of those trees and fake greenery found a home elsewhere but it took 2 years to settle it all in new homes.

I am telling myself I will, in Hermann, have fresh greenery that can all be chucked when the season is over, If I require ornaments of a specific color, I will make them myself out of colored paper. They can then be tossed.

Weirdly, I kept about a dozen pine cones With fake snow and fake berrie attatched because I could easily jam them into odd places in this big bin and I know I will use them. Even though I can always pick up pine cones outside.

Teacher Terry

2-8-22, 6:49pm

I went through my closet and ended up with 4 bags for the thrift store.

happystuff

2-9-22, 10:56am

Nicely done, IL. Congrats!!

Yppej

2-12-22, 8:22am

A sweater that is too deep a color and left me looking drained. More old business cards I found with my old phone number. Also found business cards from people I met while interviewing and networking five years ago but I haven't decided on them. I feel like I should never toss a potential conflict until I am able to retire. My lunch box that is coming apart at the seams.

Tybee

2-12-22, 10:29am

See, I started out in the year 2019 cleaning out a very big closet something like 3‘ x 12‘, that was piled to the ceiling with Christmas stuff. I had multiple fake Christmas trees, a dozen garlands, 8 wreaths, and everything to go with them. I mean it was excessive. All of those trees and fake greenery found a home elsewhere but it took 2 years to settle it all in new homes.

I am telling myself I will, in Hermann, have fresh greenery that can all be chucked when the season is over, If I require ornaments of a specific color, I will make them myself out of colored paper. They can then be tossed.

Weirdly, I kept about a dozen pine cones With fake snow and fake berrie attatched because I could easily jam them into odd places in this big bin and I know I will use them. Even though I can always pick up pine cones outside.

Very thoughtful. I realized this year that we only put a couple of strands of blue lights on a fence each year and I've been happy doing that for 10 years now. One of the three died this year so now I am down to two. If I were brave I would get rid of the white lights I have left.

Although we are in the land of real greenery, I really enjoy my fake tree that is about 9 years old, pre lit, and the perfect size for any house. I have just the amount of ornaments to decorate it, and am culling those to give to the granddaughters each year. I paid 79 dollars, so I'm at less than 10 dollars a year and going down by the year. You just pull it out and plug it in. Last year I bought a garland for 4.97 and should have bought two, but it will probably be available at the hardware store again next Christmas.

happystuff

2-12-22, 11:18am

Yppej

2-15-22, 5:52am

Continuing with decluttering 10 electronic items per day. Currently I am working on downloads.

happystuff

2-18-22, 11:10am

Donation pickup yesterday - two medium-size bags of clothes and a xerox box of misc. household stuff and books. Yay!

iris lilies

2-18-22, 11:23am

Several years ago I went down from 5 bins to 3 bins of Christmas stuff. One whole bin is the stuff from/for the kids, so rarely gets opened. We do have an artificial tree now, but I still have the stand for a live tree. Wondering if it is time to ditch that?

The one thingI have beside the single bin of .christmas ornaments is a sturdy tree stand. It wouldn't fit in the bin. I have to keep a tree stand because in future years if/when we have a tree, it will be fresh. And so many of the tree stands now are cheaper material.

happystuff

2-18-22, 11:26am

The one thingI have beside the single bin of .christmas ornaments is a sturdy tree stand. It wouldn't fit in the bin. I have to keep a tree stand because in future years when we have a tree, it will be fresh. And so many of the tree stands now are cheaper material.

I agree! Mine is one of those simple, older stands that you put together. Very close to this: https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Post-Artificial-Christmas-Stand-Steel/dp/B001498PZI/ref=asc_df_B001498PZI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167155520817&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2916604351482618893&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004037&hvtargid=pla-493446509712&psc=1

iris lilies

2-18-22, 1:40pm

I agree! Mine is one of those simple, older stands that you put together. Very close to this: https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Post-Artificial-Christmas-Stand-Steel/dp/B001498PZI/ref=asc_df_B001498PZI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167155520817&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2916604351482618893&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004037&hvtargid=pla-493446509712&psc=1

yep, that is mine.

KayLR

2-19-22, 3:01pm

Ha, I had a friend who was/is a hoarder (we've lost contact). Her family bought a new tree stand every year I knew her because they couldn't find the one they bought the year before. They must've had a dozen.

Yesterday I went through my jewelry box and bagged up items I no longer wear (costume, boho-style stuff) because I'm not working anymore and don't care about wearing such things. Will drop off at the charity shop next time I'm going by there.

Yppej

2-23-22, 7:06am

Had two containers for earrings and was able to consolidate it down to one.

Tybee

2-23-22, 6:29pm

I own this stand and honestly haven't used it in 9 years since we got the artificial tree but I can't bear to let it go in case we do a real tree next year

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcSBMBMBXj1bCeJ41UMZKY96cWJkFGu NRF3F9CLpWiYwCW07QN_BikXwUKUsqtGR_5lUCe4jeKbH3KCQC Xw694nGcx_ca3g4Q-sRURQ4TO74&usqp=CAc

But I do know where it is. How could you lose a tree stand?

JaneV2.0

2-23-22, 7:41pm

I unloaded a cellphone, a Chromebook, and a keyboard. More to come.

iris lilies

2-23-22, 8:51pm

pinkytoe

2-23-22, 9:02pm

I have an old I-Pad with a broken screen - wondering what to do with it since I don't even remember what's on it.

JaneV2.0

2-23-22, 9:30pm

I have an old I-Pad with a broken screen - wondering what to do with it since I don't even remember what's on it.

Re-set to factory settings and find a local electronics recycler.

iris lilies

2-24-22, 5:04pm

The one thingI have beside the single bin of .christmas ornaments is a sturdy tree stand. It wouldn't fit in the bin. I have to keep a tree stand because in future years if/when we have a tree, it will be fresh. And so many of the tree stands now are cheaper material.

well, this is what I get for being smug and self-satisfied about Christmas ornaments. I found several sacks full of fairy lights. I will of course test them to make sure they work, but after that I suppose I will keep them. So make that two Christmas bins I have which is now dangerous because that means I can accumulate more stuff.

rosarugosa

2-25-22, 6:54am

Fairy lights are fun. We put them up inside our house and light them every night during the dark months. It makes for a cozy vibe. They're going to come down on 3/13 when we set the clocks ahead.

ejchase

2-27-22, 11:10pm

I had a bunch of furniture I was dragging my feet on getting rid of, but my 25-year-old stepdaughter is moving into a house with friends, so I realized it was a good opportunity. She and a friend just came by with a truck and took 2 bookcases, a cabinet, and a bureau as well as two framed pictures. Yay!

Total for month: 6.

rosarugosa

2-28-22, 6:26am

ejchase

2-28-22, 10:24pm

That's great, EJ. It can be so much easier to give stuff up when it's going to someone who can really use it.

So true! That's what I love about my Buy Nothing Group too.

Today I also returned a pair of shoes. New total: 7.