Not quite a horder - decluttering
Comments
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TokyoSing, that's so wonderfully streamlined to use your scanner!
faithroad, you can purchase "bankers boxes" (cardboard) that are the size if a file cabinet drawer to store your stuff. You can stack them, move them around and they hold lots of stuff. They are not expensive. They have pretty ones at IKEA and Office Max or you can just buy the white ones. They also sell magazine holders that will fit about 12 magazines upright. I used those for my son's Nintendo mags he didn't want to part with. Or just store the mags in a bankers box. Sometimes a trip to a place like Office Max or Staples to see what they offer storage-wise can give you ideas.
Another trick I learned: if you aren't sure you can part with somethings, put them in a box. Write the date on the outside. If, in a year, you haven't used the stuff, get rid of it. Sometimes if you just box stuff up and let it sit for awhile, next time you open the box and look at it, you may be more willing to part with it. I know this happens with me, DH and DS.
It may sound goofy, but I like to store stuff in cardboard boxes that are pretty. I try to stay away from the brown cardboard grocery store boxes. I found red cardboard boxes at IKEA a couple years ago that I stored Christmas decorations in. They weren't heavy like plastic containers and that made it easier to carry up and down stairs. It helped that they were the same color because I could see at a glance which boxes held the Christmas stuff. I got pretty blue flowered boxes to organize other stuff. Even tho at first I felt silly spending money on cardboard boxes, it helped sort out my stuff.
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I just caught up with this thread. What terrific ideas everyone is sharing. I can't wait til this weekend when I'll finally have some free time to do some of these suggestions.
I have hired my DIL as my professional organizer. I pay her $10 an hour, she's a stay at home mom and loves the extra cash and she LOVES doing this kind of work. I can't imagine liking it - she says it relaxes her. Anyway, she and I have gone through so much junk - we had two huge boxes of stuff to shred this weekend and my DH and DS had a huge bonfire so we took the opportunity to add to the bonfire and forego many hours of shredding.
Keep up the good work everyone.
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suwes,
I'm so envious. I would hire your DIL in a minute!
Too bad we're in different states.
A second pair of eyes looking at your stuff saves a lot of time.
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She's terrific and when my granddaughter starts school in a couple of years, I'm going to encourage her to open an organizing business!
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TokyoSing - Thank you for your ideas. My appartment is aprox 750 sq. ft. I've often thought about going electronic though I have never thought of scanning all my medical records. genius idea! This may sound like a dumb question....but when you buy Sony Reader or Kindle...are books any more expensive? And do you download them to your computer and have to back them up? Just curious how it all works. Maybe I should google it.
TheDivineMrsM - Thanks for your ideas too! I also like the idea of color coding boxes in my storage cage in our 4-plex basement. and maybe for now just using boxes as file cabinate until I decide what to do for the long-run. There is an IKEA 2 hours from me. But there is an Office Max in my town.
Hmm....now you have me thinking.
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Faithroad and others, make sure where you store the cardboard boxes will never be susceptible to water, like a pipe busting or flooding. Friend of mine had tons of "stuff" stored in cardboard boxes in her basement and, yep, lost most of it because of a flood.
I also love my Kindle. You buy on Amazon and it downloads directly to the Kindle. I believe everything purchased is stored on their servers - I should check that but I'm certain that if you have a problem and have to reset your Kindle that you can then just go to 'manage your kindle' on your account and download them all again. The prices for most books are usually several dollars less than paperback and they also have thousands of books you can download for free.
I'm really happy with electronic books because I don't like keeping a book once I've read it. I do worry about the demise of libraries though - might that be a casualty down the road?
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Patoo and Teka- Thank you for your the info on Kindles. They sound fun. I don't think I can get rid of all my paper books but maybe cut down on the quanity with a Kindle. Also, that's a good idea to think about water damage. I'll probably just use the paper boxes up stairs. I think I can get motivated to this. I'm getting there.
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Great - when you get there, please reach back and pull me along!
Night.
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Teka, I think the real book will become an antique in a few years with everything available on the ipad, i phone, blackberry, computer, kindle, etc. My job when i got married was at Carnegie Library in the periodical room - real newspapers, magazines and journals of all types. Anyone else old enough to remember going to the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature and "researching" info for those term papers? I was the person who helped you.... Some of the info was on microfilm and microfische back in those days, which I thought was very high tech.
Everyone in the US keep cool, Aussies keep warm, as I think you heading into your winter. season.
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Okay,
Are there any rules for throwing out/recycling all that stuff that accumulates under the bathroom sink cabinet? I hate to throw out rubbing alcohol and peroxide just because I haven't used it in three years. I think Oprah actually did a show on this once called, "What's under your bathroom sink?"
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Hydrogen peroxide is in a brown bottle on purpose - light tends to make it useless over time. If it no longer "foams", then it is useless. I do not think rubbing alcohol goes bad unless it has been contaminated - use a new, clean q tip or cotton ball each time you apply it to avoid contamination.
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Great discussion - I just found this website that lists items and their approximate shelf life. As for Hydrogen Peroxide and Rubbing Alcohol, there should be expiration dates on them and you shouldn't use them after the date.
My theory is that if I can't remember how long something has been on the shelf, then toss it. That's my THEORY, in practice, it doesn't always work that way. This is a good project for me this weekend, I'm going to go through the house and throw away all that stuff under the sinks and in my medicine cabinet that hasn't been used in a while.
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I went to Office Max tonight and bought three watertight file boxes!!! And hanging files!!!!
Wheh! One small step!!
GramE, I remember microfilm and microfische!!!
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I'm back to working in the garage this weekend. I have to rearrange and resort some of the stuff that keeps accumulating! My washer/dryer are in the garage so it has to stay as clean as I can keep it. So, guess I'll have to park the car outside and really give it a sweep down.
What does everyone do about the stuff that keeps accumulating on the counter tops, table tops, dresser tops, coffee table mess....? I feel like I need to take a basket and put everything in it and see if it's really valuable to keep. I come in the house and where do I put my mail... yep, on the kitchen counter.
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Samsue - my kitchen table is a "catch-all". Maybe when I get my files set up I can just put things away right away or shortly thereafter. One can dream!
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OK, this has been an exceptionally GREAT week for organizing for me!
First, my mother came to spend the week to help organize papers. She has a great filing system, took my year's accumulated papers and put them into files, labeled them, and now (theroretically) I should be able to find them. It took her a week, working 6-7 hours a day, but I have been able to toss 4 garbage bags of paper or shredded paper!
My mom is the best, and I can trust her with my personal sensitive information. And she is cheap - works for food and entertainment!
Secondly, I hired a woman to help organize and deep clean. She is a little expensive, but helped me toss another 3 garbage bags of trash, give away 3 latch-hook rug projects, 2 bags of knitting yarn (I had great ideas of crochetting each of my nieces and nephews a baby afghan, got 3 done, the last of 8 is now in high school - highly doubt I will get his done!), 6 bags of gently used clothing I no longer fit into, and 2 boxes of greeting cards and craft materials; she will deliver these to a preschool, two nursing homes, a senior center, and our local charity. She is coming back in a couple of weeks to do another 2 days of sessions. I can see my desk top and the floors!!!!!
(just can't quit smiling!)
In both cases, I am using clear storage boxes, grouping things together. I can now see that one box contains photos, one contains old 35 mm slides, one contains quilting supplies, one contains craft supplies, one contains greeting cards from friends that I will read and respond to, etc. Old files from banks, retirement accounts, and health-related go into a file cabinet if they are within the last year or so, otherwise go into clear filing boxes to be stored in the atic or basement (pastic boxes will protect papers in floods!).
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Samsue and others, yes, my kitchen table is a problem. What I have found is that this is where I work, so things gravitate to it, and never leave. I THINK this will be better now that my REAL desk has been found and my files are set up to easily file papers into when I am done. Everything has a real home now. Let's see if this is true in a few weeks - test the system, so to speak. I will let you know how it is working.
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n3ypb, I think it was an excellent idea to hire someone to organize and deep clean. It sounds like this person really helped you purge what you didn't need plus how wonderful that so much stuff can be recycled for someone else's use.
I'm a believer in furniture with drawers or doors. In my living room, I have a waist-high dresser that blends in nicely with the decor. The phone sits on top and a tiffany lamp. It has three long and three short drawers. One drawer holds paper, pencils and phone book. One drawer holds all school work from DS that I want to save. When the school year's up, I put the stuff in a box and start anew. One drawer holds extension cords.ect. And of course a miscellaneous drawer to sweep in any clutter that gets collected that I'm not sure what to do with. I have another small dresser at the entrance of my front door with two large drawers. DS uses it that to hold his miscellaneous stuff, car keys, wallet, school papers, ect.
I once had a beautiful hutch in my kitchen (have since remodelled). I never used it to display beautiful china--wasn't my style. I covered the glass doors with beautiful fabric on the inside, and used the hutch to store paperwork, envelopes, school supplies, ect. No one ever really knew, it just sat in the corner looking pretty, but it was so functional.
So think "outside the box" when looking for ways to store things.
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Youth group at my church is going to Costa Rica on a missions trip next month. To raise money they are having "rent a kid" day tomorrow so I have a teen coming over to pull stuff out of the storage space in my garage. Stuff has been in there for 8 years without seeing the light of day. So I won't be able to park in the garage for the next month until after the yard sale.
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I could sure use rent a kid too!
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Count me in! I'll take a kid too!!! :-)
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I am drowning in stuff. No way did i think I would be off work this long and be no furhter organized. Books, fabric and yarn are everywhere. Our town yard sale is tomorrow so I am putting out hundreds of books, bushels of the yarn and gosh knows how many pillow forms. PRICED TO SELL!!. If they aren't gone by the end of the day they are on their way to a yard sale donation sitefor the animal shelter.
At this point i am too embarassed to have a pro come in. I am overwhelmed but determineed to get it done. I am glad I found this thread-there is some good inspiration here!
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Lililady, you should NEVER be too embarassed to get a pro involved if you can afford it!!!! Look at www.napo.net for professional organizers, you can locate one in your area. I suggest looking for someone who has experience with older people, those who are ill, etc. I had a young lady a few years ago who was an OT assistant, so was really thinking in terms of addressing any disabilities I had at the time. Look at some before and after photos - you would be AMAZED at how the pros can really make a difference and in a much shorter time than you can on your own!
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lilylady - good luck with your yard sale!! Hope you sell a ton of books, fabric, and yarn!!! I have found motivation as well, from this site.
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