Not quite a horder - decluttering

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Bunkie, i think you have even more stuff (I'm thinking clothes) than I do. So proud of you for downsizing. I keep taking things out and putting them back. Have probably a couple dozen near-as-new shoes that I'll never wear. Can't quite bear to part with them.

And if you're up to this purge-a-thon, I'm guessing you're feeling pretty good?

Bunkie, you are amazing and inspiration!

Brookside, try on each pair of those almost new shoes. I did that with mine and discovered that I will never wear most of them again--chemo did a number on my feet. So I have them bagged and ready to take to a charity shop. It may be easier to part with them if you realize you can't wear some of them.

Anyway, I am about to re-tackle the papers in my kitchen---they get higher and higher and it really is an ordeal.....wish me luck--I am giving myself 3 days for this task!

Have a nice day.

Mandy1313

Wren, your YWCA program sounds wonderful. I made a decision that although some items of mine could be consigned, that it would take me too long to make those decisions so there is one charity thrift shp that is receiving my bounty. I figure the tax deduction for donating is worth something too. One frustration is that even though I have given bags and bags of clothing away,my closets still are crowded (though they are beginning to look somewhat better so there is a light in the forest so to speak).

Back to my clutter clearing!

I appreciate the shoe discussion. Since chemo & neuropathy, I've gotten rid of all heels & most sandals. And they all went to a battered women's shelter. I still have WAY too many leather slip on or clog type shoes that I keep thinking I'll wear again when/if I go back to work. I wore one pair of navy Easy Spirit/Travel Time shoes almost every day for the entire two years of treatment. Hooray - I finally relegated them to the garage last week for gardening only. I know should toss them in the trash, but at least they won't come back in the house. I think I'll sprinkle them w/clorox to make sure. The work question seems to be holding up much of my cleaning. That seems to be the status of jackets & shells too. For now I'm still happy in jeans & a T-shirt or sweat shirt, but those won't work for an office. Just need to pull the trigger.

So happy BT is there, Bunkie!

You must be so proud of yourself after hiking all around the grocery store! Well, if you can do it once, I guess you can do it again. Rider carts can wait for your old age!

I "shovelled out" my dining room, polished the furniture, and have almost everything back in place. I was under the weather all summer and there must have been 100 pounds of paperwork that just landed where it landed and made monster piles on table, sideboard, and chairs. I'd been terrified someone would stop by and see how messy my inner (or maybe outer) child can be. No such fear now. All nicey-nice.

True confessions, Minus Two: I really just picked everything up and dumped it in my poor office. Shameful, huh? I'm truly hoping my spiffy dining room will encourage me to do something amazing in the office soon (certainly not going to invite any clients in there!).

Forgot to mention earlier-- I took one decrepit cookie sheet to the dump. Little steps.

Any horizontal space is at risk in my house!

I can totally relate to the paper piles! My mom used to do the same thing and I always said I would never be that way, too...but...guess what, the horizontal spaces in my house are like magnets, too! I made some progress in the kitchen today - got the small table looking good. Did some shredding and recycling. It's amazing to me how much junk mail I get. My goal is always to take care of it as soon as it comes in the house, but that can be challenging. MinusTwo - I also have some bags of receipts...I keep saying I'm going to balance my checkbook and then get rid of the receipts, but I haven't balanced it in probably close to two years!!! I've been telling myself lately that I just need to go back two months and get it as close as possible then just shred all the receipts, but that is kind of last on my to do list. My desk area has stayed pretty good since I worked on that a few weeks ago, so now I have to tackle the cabinet behind my desk. Good luck, everyone! And keep up the good work!

I had someone work with me in the kitchen on my papers---to my shock and surprise, we organized things fairly well. I am not finished but the kitchen table is once again visible and the kitchen counter is too. I think with two more days, my kitchen may actually return to being a kitchen! And I did it the right way--I went through the papers--did not just box them and move them. That is what took longer but having someone there to support this effort made all of the difference.

I have about 6 bags of stuff in my car and on Wednesday, I will drive to the thrift shop and deposit them there. Hopefully I'll have another bag of books to send off! There still is a long way to go, but I am feeing that maybe by Christmas, my house will look less like a storage unit and more like a home.

Hugs to all. Mandy1313

Mandy- good job and keep chipping away at it. I have been working on getting stuff out for a good 15 months now. It is for sure a process. You will suddenly notice more space and love it; a clean counter top, a chair without a pile of clothing, papers in folders in their filing spaces.

Cleaned out my messy pantry yesterday! Got rid of expired stuff and cleaned the shelves. Looks way better!

I'm not alone!!! The shoes! The monster piles! The unfinished crafts! But also, giving away to those in need, being able to repurpose things, recycling and tossing things out. My husband works with developmentally disabled adults, and there is always need there for shoes and clothing so I don't even second-guess. I get an inkling that I don't need something anymore, and away it goes!

I went to an estate sale w/a friend this morning. We both knew the lady who had died. I wanted to check out the procedure and get a business card. My son lives out of state & we have already agreed he will call in a company to hold a sale of all my "stuff" when I'm gone. My friends daughter told her we didn't have enough "fancy" stuff for an estate sale company to be interested. We were both interested to see that "estate" no longer means only high priced items & antiques. Lots of tchochkes, normal kitchen utensils, everyday furniture, a few old Life magazines, a couple of quilts, one or two large old wardrobes and stuff. Seemed more like a regular garage sale to me. Anyway, that will work for what my my son will need. Now I just have to get busy culling.

Well I had a bit of a setback. My pulse rate is jumping up to 135 when I start moving in the morning. Dr asked me to up the fluids and salt. I may have overdone the salt a bit because my ankles are a little swollen at night. So I still have not tackled the closet at the top of the stairs. A friend called and said they were having a church give away for clothes and I am determined to get that stuff to her for Christmas.

Brookside - I tried Sams today but ended up with a cart. I did however park it at the things I wanted and stood up to get them. I came home and I have that same 4 mos of paperwork on my table in the dining room. BT likes to hang his coat on the chair and I looked at 4 mos of magazines and stuff piled up. I bought the new Pioneer Woman Cookbook and so that means I need to toss out 3 others. Going to take them to the library. I went thru a time when I thought I had celiac so I have about 6 of those cookbooks. I will keep one and donate the rest. My problem is not the magazines that come in every month...20 to be exact but the special ones I pick up at the store....like Cast Iron Cooking etc. Then I do not want to toss them. So I bought 3 containers that will hold the recipies I tear out. The rest will get to the Drs ofc etc. What a mess. I am cooking a small bit again.