Not quite a horder - decluttering

MinusTwo

I may be way off base, but I chuckling about Boy Toy.  Bunkie - hope you aren't offended.  Maybe BF - boy friend.

My sorting came to an abrupt end shortly after my son left.  Need to get back to it but I've been catching up on my reading and trying to get to water aerobics 3x a week. I did contact a local BSA troop about donating tons of scout/camping/outdoor/craft books, as well as gear - tents, cook kits, etc.  Also I have bags of patches that the boys should love for trading if the leaders don't get them first.  Scoutmaster suggested they might use the patches as "rewards".

BUNKIE10

BoyToy. My boyfriend is 43 and I am 61.

Teka

^..^

MinusTwo

You go girl !!!

BUNKIE10

I figured you all would get a laugh with that one. Yup he is a boyfriend. Good guy too. He calls me his old lady and I call him boy toy sometimes. Met him in 97 and we have been together off and on since then. When my mom was still alive she met him out in Ca and would refer to his as "that boy".

MinusTwo

Wow - 1997.  That's 17 years.  Sounds like a keeper.

Blessings2011

BUNKIE ROCKS!!!! 

BUNKIE10

How many clothes does a retired person really need? That is the question. I still have too many. I wear the same stuff all the time.

Wren44

There's a website that promotes picking 37 things from your wardrobe and wearing only those for 3 months. You get to have 4 seasons, so not as limiting as it sounds. I have a computer list of my clothes for our 2 seasons. When I picked 37 things I actually wear, I had space left over. In addition to the 37, you get 1 gym outfit and 1 outfit to wear while painting the house. When I was a travel agent, my clothes were picked to fit in one suitcase and coordinate. I'm trying to get back to that idea.

Teka

^..^

BUNKIE10

Wren and Teka - Thanks!!! I am doing it. 37 things and I will keep my bibs for the painting. 37 things....37 things.....

MinusTwo

Wren - Goodness, does that include underwear too?  37 sounds hard but I agree, I usually wear the same 2 or 3 pair of pants and the same 4 or 5 tops.  Probably much less than 25% of what's in my closets.  

I need to decide if I'm finally retired forever, and if so get rid of lots of jackets.  Same with shoes, although I can't decide about those until I see if this darn neuropathy ever gets any better 2 years PFC.  And it's easy to convince myself to keep the larger size clothes until I see where my weight resolves when treatment is totally done.  I lost 60 lbs last year that I really didn't need to lose, and have only gained back 20 so far.  At least I took all the 10/12/14/16 clothes that I still like and put them in another closet - by size.  It should be easier to give away if I stay 6/8.

Wren44

Doesn't include underwear. You can have all that you want. If you get rid of work clothes, check to see if your YWCA has a dress for success program. They accept work appropriate clothing and give it to unemployed women for job interviews. If they're hired, they can pick out enough clothes to wear for a while until paychecks start arriving. I think they especially appreciate larger sizes.

MinusTwo

We have a Dress for Success program here but not sponsored by the YMCA.  I took all my business suits there when I retired the first time.  I think it's a great program.  I usually take my things to the group that supports the home for battered women.  They have a shop where they sell gently used things but the resident women & children get first choice.  BTW - that's a good place to take all the toiletries that you get from the hotels.  They can really use the shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, etc.

noonrider

Hi! I just found this thread. My kids go back to school in a week and when they do, let the decluttering begin!!!!! 

A year ago I went through all the clothes. SEVEN, each person got seven of everything  (7 tshirts, 7 pants, 7 sweatshirts, etc.) Underwear and socks don't count. ;-) However, over the last year people have given us stuff and somehow we are packed to the gills again. I finally notice when I'm doing a TON of laundry that I shouldn't have to be doing. Elmininated unnecessary clothing is on the back to school to do list. (Oh…ok…after my surgery on the 12th. LOL) 

My biggest problem is paper. All 5 of my kids at home have Down syndrome. If you have even one child on an IEP at school then you understand the amount of paper involved. Now multiply by 5. Now throw in 20 or so medical specialists we see on a regular basis, county paper work, yada yada yada. I am completely overwhelmed by the paper. Has anyone paid to have an organizer come to your house? How expensive is it? My friend has offered but I really don't want my friend going through our personal papers. I'd rather have a total stranger. All I know is, I  have nowhere else left to hide the paper!

noonrider

Oh and I would also like to try the 40 bags in 40 days challenge! My good friend did it last year. She loved it so much she continued it to 60 days…then 80! LOL

MinusTwo

Lesspring - I don't know about that challenge.  Is it just fill a bag a day?

noonrider

Yep, every day fill a bag of either items to donate or trash. I know for me, I would have to also immediately move those bags of donated items to my car or I'd end up with a lot of bags stacked up in my basement. LOL

noonrider

Here's how an organized person does the 40 bags in 40 days. It includes printables. LOL
http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-2014/

BrooksideVT

About immediately moving things to the car, Noonrider, sometimes that's just not enough--I've been driving around with a box of decluttered donations for over a month!  Finally, last week, I stopped at the thrift shop, and she was engaged in decluttering to make room for fall stuff, and can't take my contributions until after Labor Day.  That box is still riding around with me everywhere I go.  As you might suspect, oodles of stuff didn't make it to the car. I have a laundry bin stuffed full of summer clothes that's sat in the middle of my bedroom all summer.  I wonder: Does it count as decluttering if you've sorted it out, piled it up, and abandoned it?

Oh.  And now it's time to sort through fall stuff again.  Ughhh!

noonrider

Yes, I have been known to carry some bags around in the back of my van! We have a Goodwill store near us that I drive by all the time. If I think about it, I can just pull into their drive through, they unload everything, and I drive away. My kids are fascinated by this process and like to put stuff in bags for the "Goodwill Guys". 

I am not a girly girl, and yet I seem to have a problem with bags. And luggage. Luggage in very bright colors because when I travel internationally I want it easy to spot. (and I did watch one of my bags sit out on the tarmac in Belgrade, Serbia while workers just kept driving around it!) 

Wren44

I have 4 summer shirts sitting in my closet. They must be really old because I haven't worn them in at least 4 years. Every time I start to donate them I think I may have an occasion to wear a button shirt (although I can't really think of one). I think, I could wear them open over a cami (which I don't ever wear). I need to figure out what's blocking my getting rid of these. 

OncoWarrior

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Wren44

Tapering is a great idea. I have a box labeled 'sentimental' which has the bedjacket my mother wore before her death and a pair of velvet patchwork palazzo pants that DH gave me for Christmas. I went on a strict diet and managed to wear them New Year's Eve which is our wedding anniversary. It's worth the space to remember that happy time.

OncoWarrior

 

Teka

^..^

Wren44

I decided to wear one of the shirts and see what I thought about it. It gaps a little when I sit, so I tacked that down. I washed it today and discovers it dries quickly without any wrinkles. I'm keeping this one for travel for sure.

OncoWarrior

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Teka

^..^

Wren44

Yes, that's what I thought also.