Not quite a horder - decluttering

Hot and Cold isn't it nice to know your neighbor isn't your friend?  

I have often wondered how people manage in AZ with minimal storage space in their homes. In the North we have many homes with basements that slowly fill over the years. Mine certinly did.  Which is better, I don't know? It does creep up on you in a basement where you don't have to see it everyday.  I use an extra room for seasonal storage now that I have no basement. I need somewhere to put the Christmas and boxes for certain items. 

Been AWOL from here for months, but need to come back.

I am surprices at your neighbor H&C!  I am afraid what our neighbors must be saying when they see our garage!  I still have two sons who don't have places to store all their stuff.  I still need to get some of my boxes sorted out from my series of moves when I had BC.

I really need to make some sort of a goal to get things honed down.  Here in CA we don't have basements so much.  It was one thing I wanted to have when we built the house but they just don't do it.  After Christmas this year, DH made an attic access so all the Christmas stuff could go up there.  Now I have a small storage shed that only houses the Christmas trees, so maybe I can clear up some boxes from the garage and put them in there.

I really miss not having a basement. We had one in Jew Jersey and in Idaho. Here in AZ there is no place to store anything except the garage. As for the attic, I did put a few things up there but with temperatures in the l00's and above the attic is too hot and some things have disintegrated and turned to dust. Even fabric gets yellowed and brittle. And plastic get brittle too.

The boxes are all stacked up against the wall again. Now I can pull the car in again. We do have a 2 1/2 car garage, but even with storage shelves I feel constrained. I don't have fewer boxes, but they are sorted out now as to who gets what. A couple of the boxes aren't full, but that was what needed to happen. I want to keep somethings for my daughters and they have indicated what they want to keep.  I just feel sad sometimes that I have to constantly get rid of things. 

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ginger: i know how you feel.. everything is replaceable to my son: but not to me!!!maybe its a generational gap!!i do have less than my mom had, he has way less than me.. guess he skipped a generation...

  my problem is, the only storage we have, is an enclosed " fla room" as i sort, ive color coordinated bins.. when we;re done, we plan to make a kind of window seat that the bins go in, and cover it, then a cushion on top.. but, the way we're going, that'll be 3 years from nowlol..

 i cant believe your neighbor was so rude!!! ple think in terms of hoarding now.. thats NOT the same !!

 i would love to put everything out under a tent, and go thru it, my condo would throw US out!!!so, the only way to do it is, put it all in the liv rm and go thru it... .. what a PIA; at least we can say we're doing it...3jays

We have a lot of those plastic bins with lids, and we keep things like xmas decorations, ski clothes, and things we only use once or twice a year packed in those.  The xmas decorations go up in the attic so they are out of sight.  We have cabinets along each side of the two car garage, so it is really only a one and a half car garage now with extra storage.  My DS parks his racing motorcycle in there as well because we have a gated community and it won't get stolen. 

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The only time I ever had a basement was when I lived in Michigan.  When I first saw it I thought...what will I ever do with this huge space...lol....by the time we moved it was wall to wall with stuff!

Before we moved to Florida we had a huge garage sale and got rid of it all!  Since then, I've kept it simple.  Moving a lot helps.  Over my lifetime I think we've moved about 25 times to different homes.  I was in real estate and couldn't resist a good deal.  Now I'm staying put! 

Kaara, I haven't moved in the last 21 years. I have read that to declutter you shold think like you were moving. We actually plan on retiring in this house. Maybe I can buid a huge closet in one of the bedrooms. I still wish I had a basement Teka, but clearing out space does feel refreshing. My parents  basement is full and my Mom is fussing about cleaning it out.  So many of my friends (50ish) I and have been talking about decluttering and freshening up the house.  I think it is indicative of our stage in life.  When we were younger we were in the acquisitions stage. Acquiring a house, furniture, stuff we thought would enhance our life and hobbies, kids, and kid stuff.   Now we are divesting our selves of the excess and pairing it down to make ourselves comfortable.I wish I would of acquired less and put some of that money in savings.     

     Taking 2 more bags to goodwill the weekend.  Here's to all of us living the life we dream of. 

One trick that I learned when I was getting ready to move with a toddler was to tackle one space per day and get that space in shape for moving.  Some days it was a drawer, and some days a whole piece of furniture, or closet, or a shelf. 

That way the days I had more time and energy, I could get more accomplished, but every day I was moving in the right direction. 

That was many years ago since both my kids are adults now, and there has been a good deal of clutter in my house over the years, but there is always at least  a small bit of the house that is clean and organized. 

Welcome chef127 - easier also when the brain is decluttered so vent away, it's part of the reason we are here.  I've stuck to my decision to delay any more decluttering until Spring (only a few weeks away, right?)

After getting frustrated going through my closet today, trying to find a pair of pants that fit since I've lost weight, I decided to take all the oversized pants and put them on the top shelf that isn't being used.  Now I have a lot of extra room in my little closet and some extra hangers.  Does this mean it's time to hit the sales again...no....because I haven't actually given them away.  I might grow back into them:(

Somehow, even with all the vitamins I'm taking, I caught a cold!  Ugh!  I was just starting to get my old energy back.  We'll see how long it lasts...think I got it from DGS who was over on Sunday. 

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patoo:  I'm really conflicted about that.  I gave away clothes that were too small for me and now I wish I had them back!  It's hard for me to believe I'm going to stay at this lower weight which I haven't seen for 20 plus years, but with the new rabbit food diet we're on, that's possible!  I'll give it a year.

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I turned my coat closet in the hall into a pantry. One shelf has canned goods, coffee, and beverages. The rest is clutter.

I barely put a dent in transferring my clutter to the first floor today. I moved 2 boxes. Then I took a nap.