View Full Version : April Purge
happystuff
4-1-25, 10:36am
I like starting the first day of the month on a good note. The magic sidewalk has proven itself again - gone is a moveable kitchen island/cabinet.
iris lilies
4-2-25, 8:39am
I like starting the first day of the month on a good note. The magic sidewalk has proven itself again - gone is a moveable kitchen island/cabinet.
Awwwww, I miss our magic alley.
Now we actually have to PLAN how to get rid of things. And our little municipality stopped having bulk pickup twice a year because people outside of our town were dumping crap.
Now we can haul stuff to the pick up site twice a year, and we have truck and manpower (DH) to do that but still it is a pain.
Two bras. One was literally falling apart (exposed underwire) and the other was just old.
Two big bags of clothes taken to our wonderful thrift shop that aids folks recovering from addictions. Love donating to them.
My beloved sister stopped by yesterday and took away several books I had been unable to rehome on Facebook to donate on her next thrift store run.
I had a little cache of things to donate or give away in the front room for so long, that the now empty space seems like a lovely sight to behold!
Unexpected declutter today. Was organizing the linen closet and saw a comforter that I didn't know where it came from. There is suppose to be only one in there but there were two. Turned out my oldest had bought a new comforter and stuck his old one in the closet. Problem was the comforter had some tears in it so I ended up just tossing it.
My beloved sister stopped by yesterday and took away several books I had been unable to rehome on Facebook to donate on her next thrift store run.
I had a little cache of things to donate or give away in the front room for so long, that the now empty space seems like a lovely sight to behold!
I find that when my donation corner is empty, I need to look around and fill it again! LOL.
A box of 50 plastic hangers... Amazon said to keep it and they'd issue a refund without me returning them. Well, I didn't need them so no need to keep them.
A sound bar and subwoofer... Got a new TV and it didn't have the necessary hook up on the back so the sound bar is now useless.
I am revamping my Easter decor. Never been a fan of all the pastels. A little is ok but what I currently have out is too much for my liking. Decided to go for more neutrals/browns and darker colors. Everything has been ordered and will show up this week or next.
Got a wreath for my coffee table to replace what I had so I ended up decluttering the pastel one and the table runner that was underneath it. We'll see what else gets decluttered as more items get delivered.
Had to return some Easter decor that arrived yesterday. I tried to make it work in two different spots but the longer I looked at it, the less I was liking it. Just wasn't what I was expecting. Some other decor that arrived with it ended up working out well so the purchase wasn't a total loss.
More old Easter decor out the door...
A wreath, a centerpiece, and a garland.
Officially spring cleaning time. Not waiting for the snow to melt to put away winter clothes and get rid of ratty turtlenecks and sweats. Mostly all thrift store stuff anyway. It drives DH crazy when I start decluttering. I wish I could get him to let go of things but it just doesn't bother him the way it does me.
happystuff
4-19-25, 7:03pm
Officially spring cleaning time. Not waiting for the snow to melt to put away winter clothes and get rid of ratty turtlenecks and sweats. Mostly all thrift store stuff anyway. It drives DH crazy when I start decluttering. I wish I could get him to let go of things but it just doesn't bother him the way it does me.
My dh is similar, I think. WHEN we actually downsize, I think he is going to be in for a rude awakening. Sigh...
We got rid of most everything when we moved here 7 years ago. Not surprisingly, most of it is all back and then some. I would like to move again just to get rid of things.
iris lilies
4-19-25, 10:22pm
I was shocked when DH got rid of the two suits in his closet when we moved.
Never in the 30+ years we were married did he ever wear those suits. But do you think he would get rid of them? Of course not.
Here in Hermann he has a normal size closet that is perfectly adequate for his needs as a retired person. Specialty clothes like a kilt and accompanying pieces as well as his Victorian dress up clothes are kept in containers under his bed.
I took all the flattened cardboard from several months of Amazon and other mail orders to the recycler. I must have done a lot of online shopping in the last year, as it seemed like quite a bit. They do single stream corrugated cardboard but not much else anymore. And also a big box of books. My book strategy is usually buy used via Amazon and most of them get sent around to others or donated at the recycler, who actually runs a brick and mortar used book store or recycles them as paper waste. The library or digital options just don't work for me, but I can do an occasional Audible.
I had a discussion with a friend about how many books a person should have in their permanent library for reference, re-read, or just because they are good to have on a shelf. A number of general agreement was about 30, not counting field guides. I've had trouble getting much below that, but keep trying.
I remember moving about 15 years ago and it was a good reality check on accumulation, but it does seem to wear off over the years.
rosarugosa
4-24-25, 7:07am
I took all the flattened cardboard from several months of Amazon and other mail orders to the recycler. I must have done a lot of online shopping in the last year, as it seemed like quite a bit. They do single stream corrugated cardboard but not much else anymore. And also a big box of books. My book strategy is usually buy used via Amazon and most of them get sent around to others or donated at the recycler, who actually runs a brick and mortar used book store or recycles them as paper waste. The library or digital options just don't work for me, but I can do an occasional Audible.
I had a discussion with a friend about how many books a person should have in their permanent library for reference, re-read, or just because they are good to have on a shelf. A number of general agreement was about 30, not counting field guides. I've had trouble getting much below that, but keep trying.
I remember moving about 15 years ago and it was a good reality check on accumulation, but it does seem to wear off over the years.
Wow, and I still have something like 500 in my little house.
Yes, I don't want to get down to 30 books, honestly. I need to recount mine.
I have one of those built in book shelves like you see people having in podcasts. At one time it was lined with books and I just couldn't see why I was keeping so many, plus I had some interesting family items I wanted to display in their place. A case of too many things and not enough space.
I have no problem re-reading or at least browsing through some favorites that I've kept two or even three times. I probably have just as many field guides for reptiles, flowers, birds, etc. that I've not ever counted and are not going anywhere anytime soon. However even my Sibley's guide for birds is rarely used since Cornell has such a great online bird site and their Merlin app on my phone and laptop.
I figured if I really wanted to read one that I sent away, I'd buy another used copy from Amazon. That's happened once.
iris lilies
4-24-25, 8:42am
Because I worked in libraries Imsworevwhen I was in my 20s that I would not collect big bunches of books because they’re so difficult to Display and shelves and to move .
Later I started a book collection that was really an art collection, picture books of an of a specific type,and I had around 600.
Getting ready to move to Hermann I purged 90% of them.
as far as my collection of adult books for actual reading, a few are accumulating here and there, but my total book collection not counting the picture books is probably less than 20.
Now I want to go count mine. I am a library person, but some books just stay with me, then I buy them.
happystuff
4-24-25, 11:25am
At the risk of repeating myself - dh is going to have a heck of a time if/when we move! He has sooooo many books. And I'm not really sure he references more than half of them. (giving him the benefit of the doubt here).
I tend to get my physical books from the "little libraries"... there is one at the local park and one by the church right across the street. I enjoy straightening up the boxes when I go to them. Give me a chance to make it easier for others, plus a good way to check out all the titles. LOL.
I do want to start using my Kindle more. I have found several texts that ended up being free, so there's always something to read.
At the risk of repeating myself - dh is going to have a heck of a time if/when we move! He has sooooo many books. And I'm not really sure he references more than half of them. (giving him the benefit of the doubt here).
I tend to get my physical books from the "little libraries"... there is one at the local park and one by the church right across the street. I enjoy straightening up the boxes when I go to them. Give me a chance to make it easier for others, plus a good way to check out all the titles. LOL.
I do want to start using my Kindle more. I have found several texts that ended up being free, so there's always something to read.
I’ve been buying Kindle books since 2009-2010 or somewhere in there. I have hundreds. I have one small bookcase and that’s it.
Just yesterday, I sold one box of vintage books for $10. They had been my father's but I had no interest in keeping them any longer. My way of looking at getting rid of "sentimental" things now is to imagine that the objects make the next owner happy.
Spare fridge door handle
Seven file folders
Bottle of Tabasco sauce
Bottle of sparkling water no one will drink
Four appliance bulbs that don't fit anything
Small bottle of vanilla extract
Jar of random seasoning
Container of corn starch
Bag of plastic Easter eggs
More pastel Easter decor got decluttered when I was putting all the Easter decor back in storage so I could put out the Spring decor. Two gnomes, more plastic eggs, little picture that was on the tiered tray.
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