Not quite a horder - decluttering

Wren44

Being invited up is the best part. Good deeds sometimes have good rewards.

mustlovepoodles

DH found a new home for two large ladders today.  We're having some work done at the house and he asked one of the workers if he wanted them.  We're both happy to see them go to a good home--they were given to us by an elderly neighbor, so I consider this paying it forward.  Still need to find a home for our small freezer--maybe we can send it home with the painter tomorrow. 

freshstarter

part of my problem getting rid of many clothes, (in good shape, cute, fit well...) is that I have been 'out of the loop' ...out of any loop for a year now. I face the crowded closet and my empty "week at a glance",and I don't know what lies a head, and what I will need for my next chapter, or even where to 'look'.

It's rather like 'who did it and ran?' I am 66 now, but as a struggling photographer an living in an exurban/rural area (about 75 miles outside of NYC) I am stymied about 'what's next'?

It's still to soon to even search for something part-time to help out with expenses, and not sure what duds I could use once I do figure something out....?

Looking in my closet I hear whispers of 'we are all your former lives, now go find a new one'

Jazzygirl

Freshstart- I found the key to letting go of the excess (even when things fit well, look good) is to find a place you really want to take them that you feel good about. Here is something I have used when needing to lighten my load with anything, including when moving, downsizing, purging, etc.

Maybe start with a "things I love pile" and then put everything else in another pile. This will at least help you to know the things you still love and want to keep. Those go back in the closet and drawers right away. Then go to the "everything else pile" and chances are, a lot of that will end up needing to go somewhere like donations or consignment.

If you have any decent consignment stores in your area, take the better things that are 5 years old or less and try to get some money back for them. You can use it towards new things for the new chapter in your life. Not every community has these though. We had them here for years, but only been in the past few years that consignment has become really hot where I live. It is worth visiting places first to get a sense of what they will take and if your items fit into their store.

I lost a bunch of weight this year and so I have some nicer things that just are too big (yay), and been taking them in to get credit for new duds.

Good luck!

Teka

freshstarter,

I am 68, but no place in particular to go. My closet has only a few everyday threadbare clothes.

I feel your comment was meant for me............

Looking in my closet I hear whispers of 'we are all your former lives, now go find a new one'

Teka

*Everyone* ;o))

MinusTwo

FreshStarter & Teka: Doubling down with you both. I took a really fun job after my formal retirement so I kept working until my cancer came back in 2013. 2-1/2 years of treatment then another year with a broken arm that ended up with a frozen shoulder & PT. That's more than four years ago but I'm still saying EXACTLY what FreshStarter posted. I don't know what I'll need in my 'next life'. Likely I will need another post retirement job. Part of my problem is I HATE to shop and the clothes I have fit well again & look good on me. I just don't go anywhere to wear them more than once a month. (caveat - it's so nice to live in levis).

Jazzy - you are so lucky to have the consignment shops. Most of them here only want designer clothes and that's not my wardrobe type. Anyway, I so admire your dedication to "recycling" and removing. I like the idea about making a pile of only what you really like. I always turn to the same few things when I want to look good & feel comfortable. And exactly the same things every time I travel.

I think I'll post the motto below on my bathroom mirror to help push me to action.

Looking in my closet I hear whispers of 'we are all your former lives, now go find a new one'

Wren44

I was able to wear jeans at my last job, so I have almost no 'good' clothes anymore. I volunteer at the senior center and try to wear nicer jeans there, but no one cares as long as I'm clean. I realized this year that I have a number of jeans and cords, but no tops. I tried on t-shirts in several stores and they aren't made for my body. I finally found a few at Macy's that fit and aren't outrageously expensive. I haven't had an office job since I was 68 and I'm 77 now. My summer shirts seem to last better than the winter ones. I bought one winter shirt recently and plan on getting a couple more. I can wear the old stuff at home. I shop consignment when I can - as do most of the other seniors.

Jazzygirl

I went to my consignment store to pick up some unsold items today and found the most fabulous red patent leather jacket (with tags still on it) I got with credit. Here is to trading in the old and coming away with something fab!

mistyeyes

jazzygirl,  I love your red patent leather jacket!!!

MinusTwo

Oh boy...me too!!!

Teka

Gram loved red. )

Wren44

Truly a great find!!

Vargadoll

Love it to!

NativeMainer

Great jacket!

DivineMrsM

It was about this time last year that dh and I began putting things in a spare room that We planned to sell in a garage sale the next spring. That gave us many months to do it gradually and gave us time to assess what we really wanted to keep and what we were fine parting with.

Then summer came and we had wonderful free time to swim at the local pool, dh went fishing a lot, I started walking routinely and lost weight, and dh's garden was the best one ever. Tho not very big, it produced quite a bit this year, and we spent the summer cooking up a storm with all the veggies.

I allowed myself to give little thought to decluttering during the summer. It was a wonderful gift I gave myself.

Now that cooler weather keeps me inside more, I am reassessing nooks and crannies to see what I can refine in terms of decluttering. I opened a drawer in the living room yesterday, taking two minutes to declutter it. I pulled a few more clothes out of the closet to send to Goodwill. I opened a catch all cupboard in the kitchen and tossed unecessary stuff. The major push to get rid of stuff was last year. Now I am taking a maintenance approach, making sure things stay cleared.

DivineMrsM

I am currently reading "Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui". I read it mostly for the inspiration to declutter, not necessarily the feng shui, which I learned about years ago.

I love learning new tips to help motivate myself, and here is one from this book:

"In this book, i'm not telling you that you "should" do this or "should" do that. My intention is to explain how keeping clutter can affect you so that you can make your own informed choices.

" Should" is one of the most disempowering words there is. When you use it, you feel guilty and obligated. My advice is to dump the word from your vocabulary forever. Use "could" not "should"from here on in.

Feel the difference: " I should start clearing my clutter today". Or "I could start clearing my clutter today". "Could" empowers you, gives you choice, and later allows you to take the credit for a job well done. "Should" depresses you, makes you feel at fault, and brings you little joy on the completion of the task.

I suggest you also dump "can't" and substitute "won't. " Then you'll really make some progress. Again feel the difference: " I can't decide whether to keep this or let it go." Or: "I won't decide whether to keep this or let it go." In the won't example, you are expressing your decision as a being of free choice, and if you ask yourself why you won't let it go, you will discover it comes down to some subconscious block you and never realized you had: "I won't decide whether to keep this or let it go because it brings up all the feelings to do with my mother/father/spouse ...". And so on. Well, you still have work to do, but at least you're being honest now."

***Ladies, these two changes in wording are something new I never tried before.

DivineMrsM

Another insightful Tip from the above book when decluttering:

" Wear something red

Just as red dancing shoes make your feet feel like moving, so does wearing red clothes make you feel like taking action. If you don't have anything red, then wear colors from the warm end of the spectrum (orange yellow, etc) rather than cool colors like blue. Many people keep clutter as a way of comforting themselves. Warm colors are more emotionally comforting then cool ones, so if you wear colors from the warmer end of the spectrum while sorting through your stuff, you'll probably find it easier to let stuff go.

Don't wear black or gray

Black attracts low level vibrations and will quickly make you feel tired when clearing clutter. Gray is also not a good color to wear because it can cause you to be indecisive about what stays and what goes. "

***Ladies, that color thing is interesting and I will have to try it!

Jazzygirl

Divine- I got into the whole feng shui thing 20 years ago and love the concept of moving the chi energy. The clutter can take away from that and have seen when I declutter, it opens up new things to happen in my life. In the book I read years ago, it asked you to stare at a pile of something in your house and see how you feel. Piles can be quite draining actually!

Also, my favorite color is red and it has always been a "power color" for me. Whenever I have important meetings with clients, I always wear red. Something about it gives me a good feeling, lots of confidence. Power of red does rock!

mistyeyes

Good tips DevineMrsM. On things I am not sure about keeping or getting rid of, I always have a 'maybe' box/pile to go through again on a different day. Sometimes if I am not in a get rid of stuff mood, I am wasting my time trying to get rid of stuff, all I can do then is organize some of the clutter to make it easier for when I can get rid of things.

DivineMrsM

Jazzy, I so agree, piles can be draining. I read something years ago about something other than declutterng, and it mentioned "remove energy drains". This meant look around and see what it is in your life that is zapping energy and figure a way to get rid of them.

At the time, I looked at a large pile of photos on a chair, pilng up for a year or two that needed my attention. I wanted to scan them and put them on my computer screen saver (obviously before digital) but never had time since My big copier/scanner was clunky and slow. To remove this energy drain, I bought a small hand-held photo scanner that I continuously fed photos into making the process much easier and so much faster. Worth the cost.

Then, I bought a few pretty photo boxes, put the photos in them and tucked them in a cabinet. The idea of putting them into albums drained my energy and seemed extremely tedious.

It was huge for me to move on from this project. And it felt soo good.

Misty, yep, it helps to be in the mood to declutter. Some times, tho, I allow myself to think, Oh, I don't want to do this, and then five seconds later, make myself at least start. Even ten minutes here or there helps.

NativeMainer

Mrs. M--Good for you! I've got a ways to go to get to maintenance, but am looking forward to it!. Love the should/could, can't/won't effect. Definitely going to use it! Fascinating about the color thing, too.

mustlovepoodles

What's better than finding over $80 worth of Macy's gift cards in a drawer?  Trying on pants at Macy's and realizing that you need to drop from a 2X to a 14~!!  Took me 2 hours, but I walked away with bunch of pants and tops that actually FIT. 

Wren44

Poodles, How exciting! I'll bet you look pulled together and attractive in your new wardrobe.

Jazzygirl

Mustlove- contracts on the weight loss. You go girl!

DivineMrsM

Poodles, my gosh. That is super impressive. Quite a dramatic drop in clothing size! It's as if the universe was congratulating you for all your effort by unveiling those hidden gift cards from Macy's!!!

NativeMainer

Poodles--WooHoo!!!!!!!

Teka

My one and only decluttering project during Fall......Daughter's side by side bedroom windows.

Husband removed the worn out air conditioner from the 1st window, but duct tape glue remained on the window panes. Daughter did keep the bugs out. I used a lot of rubbing alcohol and elbow grease.

The side by side windows sill with an extended plant sill under the 2nd window also needed cleaning.

The windows now look spiffy!!

HoneyBeaw

Ladies

I don't post much but I do read , while always trying to DE clutter I continue to bring more crap in as I carry stuff out

We had a sad story in our town yesterday and I guess its made me stop and think . a lady died in her home and the clutter was so bad the family had to go in and clear a path for the EMTS to get it. Now while Im a long ways from that form of clutter , people say how can that happen, how can you let your house get that bad.

Well its would be easy, she was ill and had been for years. With any illness comes depression. Her husband clearly had no issue living in that mess and her child didn't know any different as he grew up in it .

They say they found her still in her nightgown on top of 4 ft of filth she must have died right after her husband left for work , Im thinking that poor lady was so ill and depressed that she may never got out of her nightgown all day and had no clue how to control what she was living in..

I didn't know her , never meet her but my heart breaks for her. She was not a old lady mid 40's husband and child and I assume in laws. How awful to be ill and live like that , how could someone not see what was going on and get some help in there. you can bet the state will step in now and take that child out of that house

glennie19

Poodles: Congrats on the weight loss and the new wardrobe!

Divine: I like the feng shui decluttering advice and the power of words!

Honeybeaw: that is a sad story.

Being inside in the cooler weather and decluttering is great for all of you up north,, for me in FL,, NOW is the time of year I can work in the yard without dying of heat stroke! But I'm still cleaning out a little here and there. Got the shed out back cleaned out and organized with the paint cans and gardening stuff. Can easily walk in there now and find things.