Not quite a horder - decluttering

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I ended up with a mountain of useless stuff after my mom passed away ... electric bills going back to 1946!  Why???  They were almost historical curiosities, but since I'm not a curator, out they went.  A notebook my grandfather took class notes in - I haven't saved my own, why should I save his? out they went.

So far so good, but then I married a man who definitely has a keeping problem.  Not quite hoarding - but way too much stuff.  All of it has some sort of sentimental attachment, so going through it is hard, but we're plugging away.  Meanwhile, we are paying fees, mortgage and taxes on a second condo that is not generating rent nor anywhere close to market-ready.  For going on two years now.  Burns me up!

When my grandmother was going through a big steamer trunk shortly before her death, there was a big bunch of cotton, well browned with age.  Rather than toss it, she said "It could come in handy some day."  I bet you that cotton was 60 years old if it was a day. 

My personal goal is not to leave a lot of junk behind me when I die, because I have seen how it can be a burden to those left behind.  I tell all my relatives no gifts, ever - my goal is to own less clutter with each year.  So that's another way to look at it all.

Patty Groves, consider using color to coordinate stuff.  I don't know what type business you have. But you could keep all bills in a red folder, all banking info could go in a blue folder, all tax information could go in yellow, receipts could go in purple, ect.  That way, even if you have a bunch of folders on a desk, you have an idea of what's what, and it's not just a big blur of manilla and white colored papers.

 When you toss papers into a folder, the oldest dated ones should be in the back.  Every time you file something new, put it in the front of the folder so they go from newest to oldest.

You can also use bankers boxes to toss stuff in and color coordinate that with your colored files.  Just cut the colored file in half, tape it to the front of the box and write what's in it.  For example, paid bills can go in a box with a red folder taped to the front of it saying "paid bills".  You don't have to have everything neatly in the box.  If you need something you will at least know where to start looking.  I have a bankers box with warranties thrown in it, we are always digging thru it to find something.  No, it's not neat, but it's in one place so we know where to look. 

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Hi Luci,

It's always easier to help with someone else's clutter, so this is no indication that I don't have my own to deal with, but I try to keep my bedside organized so that my sleep can be restful.  Here's a few thoughts for you:

1.  Do you actually take these meds at night?  Do you have water on your bedside table?  If not, move them to a more appropriate place.  

2.  How many of each of these items do you need?  For instance, you can't wear more than one sleepmask at a time...at most keep two (although one of those would usually be in the wash).  If you have more than one bottle of any one thing, combine them, or move the extra to another place.  Only one chapstick at a time (unless you've about finished one, then two, but finish the first before you open the second).  For any one battery type, only keep enough batteries to make a single replacement in one of your four remotes.  Then replace the extras the next day.  

3.  Consider adding organizer pieces to the drawers.  Small baskets, dividers so that those deep drawers are organized for the things you want in there (instead of being "enclosed piles--ask me how I know!): flashlight, remotes, reading material, tissues, meds/supplements (if you decide to keep them there), paper/pencil, lotion, chapstick (not more than two at a time--and only when you've about used one up--otherwise just one).  

I have a skirted table for my bedside, but I have a basket under the tablecloth for things I don't want to have visible there.

HTH, 

LisaAlissa 

Patty, my own brother had to point out the obvious to me-get shelving-so sometimes that's what it takes, another's observant eye to find a solution.  Years ago I took secretarial classes and picked up a few tips...the secretary at our elementary school color coordinates to keep first-grade teachers stuff separate from second, and kindergarten, ect.

Lisa, you offer great tips to declutter drawers.

I also make use of zip lock bags.  All my receipts for 2011 go in a zip lock bag and I used a big sharpie to mark "receipts 2011".  I keep coupons in a ziploc bag. The bags come in all sizes, so sometimes I use a tiny one for some miscellaneous stuff like paper clips, twist ties, thumb tacks, small nails and screws.  They're clear so you can see the contents at a glance.  

True confession:  sometimes it takes time:

Last April (2010), I finally tackled three rooms and a hallway that were FILLED with outdated stuff that me, my DH and DS had outgrown.Our house was big enough to hold this junk (at one time it was a duplex) without being in the way, we had plenty of other rooms. But it just wasn't right.  I had to face my old memories, clear the clutter, decide what to keep and what was junk. I began to go thru a box or section at a time, little by little. It took me 6 long weeks of spare time, 6 trips to Goodwill plus 6 weeks of very large trash piles left for the garbage man to get these rooms under control.

I managed to condense our memories to one room, using old shelving, an old desk and table, some pretty cardboard boxes. I kept the stuff that I felt was really important- childhood toys of my son, books, ect.  I got rid of actual junk that meant nothing but I was trying to hold on to the past. It was emotional but cleansing.  And I kept the right memories.

With that done, we were able to knock a wall down between the two other rooms to create a large room. In his spare time,it took the next year for DH to strip wall paper, repair plaster, add electric, paint.  Now we have a large, lovely carpeted room with some exercise equipment in it. Okay, I haven't exercised in it yet. But DH and DS have.

My moral of the story is that sometimes, even if you need an overhaul, just do it one drawer, one boxful at a time.  Even if you can only do something in your spare time, it can get accomplished a little at a time.     

Thanks for all the tips. I'm going through a suitcase full of papers and odds and ends that I found in the cellar. I'm halfway through disposing stuff. Took a break and cleaned my windows. Hopefully I'll be done with the suitcase and the windows by tomorrow.

I just stumbled on this thread today.  I live in a small appartment, it fills up so quickly.  I've had three surgeries since Oct. 2011 and I can't seem to get my little corner of the world presentable again.  I need a file cabinate and just don't buy one cuz I don't know where to put it or what size to get.  (I hate buying things I can't lift or move around.)  It's going to look big and out of place no matter where it goes.  But I have paper up the whazoo!  I have a box I've started putting all my medical stuff into. It could fill a file cabinate drawer.  I have magazines I want to read but haven't.  I hate to throw them.  They are trade magazines for Photoshop and graphic design.  Stuff I need to keep up on for work, but they are piling up.  Even my bookshelf is running out of room.  I hate to take them to Good Will, but maybe I'll have to.  Sad to get rid of some of those.  I think I need to have a big huge throw-fest and just start thowing stuff away.  Find the floor again, find the table top. And my closets....oh dear!!!  What has happened to me?