Not quite a horder - decluttering

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  • Wonderland
    Wonderland Member Posts: 3,288
    edited May 2011

    bluewillowskys: what a wonderful idea for a yard sale and dog wash! Keep us posted on your results.

    Well, I did it. I went downstairs to The Basement and attacked it today. It took twice as long as I thought it would. I have a few boxes for dh to go through (he was away today).

    Two more major areas that need my attention are part of the garage and the small workshop area. They will be for another weekend!

    Keep working ladies. Getting rid of clutter means less stress.

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  • samsue
    samsue Member Posts: 757
    edited May 2011

    The rocking chair and neat green wing back chair are gone.... donated them. Didn't want to find the right person for them so I just dropped them off at our local charity. Whew, I was really procrastinating with that issue! Also went thru my closet and filled three shopping bags of clothes. I'm ready to get something else. The shirts/pants/sweaters are at least 3 years old and I don't think I wore them much in the last three years...Time for them to go.

    I'm going to go thru the linen closet and see if I can get rid of excess towels or "junk" I've been saving. I might be really tired of sheets that I haven't used in a while. I'm liking the 400 count sheets anyway. One really good pair is really all I need and maybe a pair for spare.

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited May 2011

    samsue, if there is a pet shelter or animal hospital nearby, you can donate linens - especially towels - as long as there are not loops or snaggy parts.   Even throw rugs that are not flaking off of the rubber backs.   

    Teka, too bad we can't get on that show " what not to wear " to help weed through the clothes.  But then I do not know if I could go to bingo in a designer outfit like they often end up with.   Ended with a preposition, but you get the drift...!!! LOL

       

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited May 2011

    I have certain clothing I would not want to give up.  Since I wear these items, they would catch me on the hidden camera so they would make me give them up for sure.

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  • samsue
    samsue Member Posts: 757
    edited May 2011

    Meece, like your new avatar... who's your friend?

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited May 2011

    Samsue, that's my pal "Chet"  you might know him as Chester Cheeta of Cheetos fame.  We were on the survivor's lap at RFL.  Well, I was, he just stepped out because he recognized me from the Middle Aged Women's thread.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited May 2011

    Well got rid of 3 large bags of clothes.  Let's hope this is the beginning of a 'decluttering relationship' between me and my townhouse.  I looked at Flylady.org - nicely done but way too organized for me (which is why I have so much clutter to begin with - lack of organization!).

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  • samsue
    samsue Member Posts: 757
    edited May 2011

    OK, I got the three bags of clothes, odd's and ends from the bathroom closets and a few thing I gathered from the garage into my car.... they've been riding around with me for a week now! I just can't seem to get them to the collection site. UGH. Every time I go around the corner one of the tin's hits against something else just to remind me they're still back there! I have a SUV so I can hear them playing back there....  Probably growing more, and more.... Now I have to de-clutter my car! Surprised

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • Linda-n3
    Linda-n3 Member Posts: 2,439
    edited May 2011

    suzwes, thanks for starting this thread!  You have motivated me to begin my own decluttering!  The 15 min. rule will probably work pretty well for me because I continue to have fatigue by the time I get home from work, and my neuropathy bothers me so that it's difficult to get a lot of hands-on things accomplished, but I can certainly do 15 min. at a time!

    I worked with a professional organizer before we moved last time, and it was exceedingly helpful.  You can check the NAPO website to see about professional organizers in your area.

    http://www.napo.net/referral/

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  • suzwes
    suzwes Member Posts: 1,740
    edited May 2011

    Welcome n3ypb!  I really like the 15 minute rule too, it also gets me moving rather than sitting on my bottom all night after work!  Thanks for sharing the professional organizer website.

    Good job Patoo!  Flylady is also way too organized for me but I do look at a couple of items and try to take baby steps!

    Samsue, did you get your stuff dropped off and out of your car yet?  That sounds like what I do!

    Good luck ladies, make it a productive decluttering week!

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited May 2011

    Yesterday I wore a pair of shoes to work that I have only worn twice before.  When I got home, I took them off and told DH that they will have to go, as I peeled bandaids from my feet.  He took the shoes from my hands and place them in the kitchen garbage can.  He is behind me on this!

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • Linda-n3
    Linda-n3 Member Posts: 2,439
    edited May 2011
    I finally put 2 pairs of slacks (previous favorites) in the donate bags yesterday.  I have had them for many years, hoping they would fit again one day.  Well, they sort of do now, actually are TOO large now (I need to gain a little weight back), but they are so baggy and I realized I would like new ones.  So out they go!!!  Smile
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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited May 2011

    I am a bit excited there is a bi weekly Flea Market and I can unload some of my excess.   There is not a lot, but if I can sell 3 tables, kind of antiques, I will get a barrister cabinet, I think.   I got each of them for very little and they had been perfect for my other apartment since it was larger.   One is like an end table with 3 shelves, other one is like a desk with one large drawer across the width and 2 smaller side drawers.  The 3rd one is a drop leaf table.   Then the wicker hope chest I had used as a coffee table with a tray on top.  And some odds and ends of dishes and serving pieces that I have not used in years but thought they might come in handy at a later time.   It is later now and I have no use for them. 

    I love the 15 minute rule and have passed it on to many.   Fly Lady does have a pretty rigid "schedule" and I am more laid back and basically lazy....      

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited May 2011

    I have been looking for a barrister cabinet for my recipe books in my kitchen.  No luck finding an afforadble one yet.  Maybe I just need to see about selling some stuff and using the money to up my budget.

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited May 2011

    meece, that was my thought - sell some stuff I don't want, don't like and use it for something I want or add it to my "budget".   

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited May 2011

    I need to just put that concept in action.  I need to figure out what I will sell though.

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  • Linda-n3
    Linda-n3 Member Posts: 2,439
    edited May 2011

    I consider "downsizing" and wonder how to do it.  We moved nearly 3 years ago, and I half-heartedly tried then to not move everything with us, was very attached to some very large furniture.  Now I would like to get rid of a lot of it, but know I will never get the $$ I put into it, and don't really know how best to get rid of it. Am a little paranoid about Craig's list and eBay because I don't really want strangers coming into my home.... any suggestions?  Thanks.

    (the pants were a major breakthrough for me, and I don't want to lose momentum!!) Wink

    Linda

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited May 2011

    I have a weaving loom I would like to sell, and Craig's list is probably the best place for it, but like you, I am nervous about having people come to my house.  It would be too big to put on ebay because I would have no idea how to ship it.

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited May 2011

    Linda, sometimes Antique stores, dealers will take items on consignment, even if it is not a genuine antique.   They will charge  commission, of course.   Another way to get rid of things is to donate them and take the tax write off - usual amount is 1/4 of the original cost.    And be sure to get a receipt from the place you donated and if a large item, take photo and attach to the receipt.    

    I also did not want anyone knowing what all I had as one would know if they came to look at an item advertised.   And they can get real sneaky asking if you work, live alone, etc --- burglary scouting.     Can't be too cautious these days.

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited May 2011

    Today's NY Times reports on children of hoarders and interviews Jessie Scholl, author of Dirty Secrets, about her life as a child of a hoarder.  Also included in the article is an excerpt of her book.  A few pages back on this thread I recommended her book.  It was a truly amazing book, written by a couragous woman.  Here's the link for the article...not sure if it works.  If it doesn't you could always do a search on the NY Times website:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/garden/children-of-hoarders-on-leaving-the-cluttered-nest.html

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  • samsue
    samsue Member Posts: 757
    edited May 2011
    Suzwes.... nope, the stuff is still riding around in the back of my SUV. Embarassed I've driven by the donation building a couple of times but haven't had time to do a drive thru.... now if it was Wendy's I make the effort!
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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    ^..^

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