Not quite a horder - decluttering

They remind me of rabbits with those 2 little stand-up petals.

Onco-Warrior - "Tapering Off" - love it! That's the only way I can get rid of stuff. Things that had sentimental value last year (that I wouldn't dream of giving away) went straight into the Donation box this year. Fortunately, DH understands. One year I whittled 100 boxes in the garage down to 30. (I had a lot of my Mom's stuff stored in there after she went into the nursing home.) Now it's time for another purge, since we added more crap valuable stuff.

Oh, Teka - I love any kind of blue flowers, but here in our drought-ridden, 100+ degree temps, nothing like that lasts very long. I do have a nice plumbago bush with blue flowers, but they're kind of pale and washed-out these days. I so envy those who live in areas where all those different flowers thrive!

Well I got up yesterday and cleaned out the cedar closet. It is at the top of the steps and I have mostly bedding in the chest part but the upper part had a ton of older sweat shirts. They were from when I lived in Cali and I have worn them out so I yanked em all and put them in a bag. They rae not ripped etc but I am just tired of them. The closet is almost empty. I have a dreesy pants suit in there I have never worn but will keep it just because. It is really too big but I may just get it altered. Next step my guest room closet. It has my fall/winter stuff in it I never wear anymore. I am going to pick 3 outfits just in case and that is all. 37 items is not so far off.

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If you have not used it in a year, ditch it! If it is broken but you will "fix it later" ditch it! If it no longer fits, ditch it! If you think "someone might be able to use it, ditch it! 

One old hint that I've used a number of times with clothes - if you haven't worn in a year, pack them in a box & put in the attic with a date on the box.  If you haven't missed them at the end of the next year - give the box away un-opened.  It helps when you aren't holding your "favorite" silk blouse when you have to make the final break.  I have friends who can do what NoonRider suggests, I'm just not that strong or ruthless or disciplined about what really needs to go.

Well, because I posted that I'd spend 20 minutes in my closet this weekend, and only because I posted, I did it!  In that time I was able to sort through all my T's and tops (found 10 black or navy T's--hadn't been able to locate more than three until now).  I half-filled a bin with things I won't wear until next summer, isolated a few (too few) items for the thrift shop, cleared off the pile on my chair, filled a laundry bin whose contents are already in the washing machine, and, in an additional five minutes, ran the vacuum around.  Have just taken a shower and am feeling pretty durned proud.

A major problem with ditching stuff is related to bc.

At time of dx at age 51, I was within BMI, eating like a horse and having no problems working it off with 2 to 3 measly 20-minute aerobic exercise sessions a week. I fit into a pleasantly limited wardrobe of fun things. By the time I got through working F/T throughout 6 sequential treatments that included plenty of nausea and intense vomiting and lots of steroids, I was 25 pounds heavier, with extremely  lower testosterone levels that are a strong barrier to building or maintaining muscle. While diet and exercise work better for those who are younger and/or are not truly menopausal, it took me 6 years to lose most (but not all) of that weight. And since then, I've bounced back up and then struggled back down. With aging and retirement, my income is more limited now and I can't afford to not have 2 wardrobes on hand for one person!

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