Not quite a horder - decluttering

Thanks patoo~

Luckily the boxes that we did fill made their way to GoodWill this evening...

Wow, I should come to this thread more often...

My dear husband said he "did not see much difference."

Patoo, you are cracking me up!!! You are so right that men just don't see! My sister says that the Y chromosome is missing a whole bunch of stuff that we have on that X chromosome!

Welcome, Ang7! I agree about the moving - I have actually moved some "stuff" three times... ugh.

OK, so today I went to REI to buy ONE thing for yoga/dance classes (just some workout pants or capris because all I usually work out in is jeans or shorts, and actually wanted to LOOK better!) and came out with 3 capris, 2 tops, and also stopped to buy a pair of tap dance shoes. SOOOO... I need to discard some stuff!!!!

I DID put my 2 wigs (shampooed and clean), scarves, and all assorted paraphernalia into a box that I will be donating to the local cancer society, but missed the turn to the shop where the lady collects them.  So they are still in my car, but should be out by one day next week.

Linda

Hope the yard sale was a success, patoo!

I decluttered some drawers in the kitchen. Threw away food past expiry date or unlikely to be eaten before then.

Okay, I'm starting on the computer paraphernalia assembled over almost two decades. I threw out all the old computers, cables, etc. None of them worked. I even threw out computer stuff that I couldn't identify. I think I was keeping the broken computery things because they cost so much when they were new. That's a rationalization I guess a lot of people have.

I'm also going through all the dopey disks and showing no mercy. One of the benefits of removing stuff from your house is that you can actually see what you have under it. It's good to see how other people are doing this.

Teka, with you as inspiration I will get rid of any shoes with dust on them. There are so many piles I never even think about as clutter until someone here mentions it.

B-bye shoes.

I am preparing to teach a course on pharmacogenomics this fall, and wanted to confirm the Y chromosome thing: it has the fewest number of genes on it in the entire human chromosome: 70-200, and the lowest density of genes per million base pairs of DNA at 2. 3. The X chromosome has 900-1400 genes, and 7.4 genes per million base pairs of DNA.  I think that explains A LOT about men!!! 

Spent - er, invested - 12 hours with a paid helper this week, and I now have 3 rooms that are fully functional: studio/office, exercise room, guest room.  Got rid of tons of stuff, condensed some things into single boxes, and pulled some of my "memories" out of boxes and am actually displaying them as a decorating touch.  I have never been much on the Martha Stewart decorating, but it was kind of nice to see some of my most treasured possessions rather than just stashing them away in a box somewhere.

Also got rid of the hair/wig stuff - donated to the local cancer group.

About that outdated computer stuff.... well, that is another project for another day! Thanks for the reminders Pattoo and Lucy88!

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Sold more stuff at a flea market on Saturday so got rid of more things.  Was with a friend who was not happy that I was practically giving stuff away.  As far as I am concerned it's just stuff sitting around, cluttering up space and it has no sentimental value.  Much of it I also did not pay for as it came from my aunt's estate (QVC buys).  And there's still lots left over.  I've decided on maybe 2 more garage/yard sales or flea markets and then whatever is left gets packed up and off to Goodwill, the Salvation Army or some other charity..  My goal is to have it all gone by the end of October.

Nice going, Patoo!

My organizer helper is coming today for 4 hours.  We made good progress last week, are putting everything I need to "think about" or "consult with DH' on before moving it out into one room that is "in my face" so it will be the last area to get finished, and the one that will not get ignored!

Today we will tackle "my desk." Ugh. And maybe the kitchen and dining room.  How many sets of dishes is one person allowed to have???? I just LOVE my various sets, but cannot see why I "need" so many, but each really DOES have a purpose I tell myself!

Ya'll are all doing so well; I keep plugging away, one shelf, bag or box at a time. I still haven't tackled my shed.

One hint for the things you keep or want to pass on to your family someday, things that are of sentimental or familial "value" -- if you write a few lines about the object and put the note with the keeper-item, then those that come after you will get its meaning.  We have done this in my family for generations, so that some items now have several women's handwriting on their accompanying note/s as things pass through hands over the years. It has been one way to connect the generations with a sense of family history.  The youngsters are generally fascinated by "the old handwriting" if nothing else...

Patoo, you are so right! I do have holiday set that I just have for fun.  I have melmac set (from 1960) that my mom used every day, and it doesn't break if you drop it, so I use it for eating outdoors.   I have a sort of dual set for everyday, each has 4 place settings, and it seems we use all of them before I run the dishwasher! And I have one 4-place setting that is just plain pretty and I like it, it does NOT go into the dishwasher, and I use it about twice a year. And I have the set that we got as a wedding gift, not a pattern either of us would have chosen, but it was given to us by my DFI, and it is tough to part with because he chose it for us, and I use it about twice a year. And finally, I have the gorgeous china from my DH's grandmother - and I never use it.  So I either need to use all of these, rotate them or something, or find them a new home. *sigh* I truly KNOW what I should do, and cannot figure out why it is so hard for me to get rid of dishes.  I do much better with clothes and furniture.

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