Not quite a horder - decluttering

How much firewood do I really need? I live in Florida for crying out loud...

MexicoHeather: so sorry about the carport, but very glad no one and nothing was hurt. I hope the insurance settlement and rebuilding is not to much of a hassle. 

LOL, I now have the image of a "bonfire starter kit" stuck in my head!

Wren 44: Because there are no rocks in West Florida, I find them irresistible. This is how I display and store my rocks. Using them beneath pottery to accent colors or rotating them in a dish is working for me.

Interesting...I used to call my right breast the "box of rocks". Now I just have these nice rocks.

Jazzygirl - love it!!!

MexicoHeather- sorry to here a out the limb! Love what you did with your fireplace to! I'm in the mountains and have plenty of rocks!!

For years now I have told my children and grandchildren if there is anything they want - put their initials on it so they can have it after we die. My husband was cleaning old tires out from under our house and found our youngest son's initials on the foundation. Ops!

hapi2bee, ha ha, great story!

Happy 🐝: Smart son!

Visited with my Dad and my sister today. This is our first visit back to the state since Mom's funeral early March.

My Dad has his health problems. He was just back in the hospital Wednesday/Thursday for a scheduled procedure to improve blood flow in his legs. My sister continually reminds us of her heart issues and Hashimoto's disease. My older brother has edema in his legs, and possible heart issues.

Dad took my sister and me aside and gave us some of Mom's favorite jewelry pieces. He wanted us to have some of Mom's special things now that's he's had a chance to process her death a little. 

Sadly, the house is a wreck. It is cluttered, dusty, and falling apart.

I got my wedding dress and veil on my last visit. I am looking for the matching gloves from the wedding dress and the silk flowers. I think the gloves and flowers may be in the same plastic bag. However, that closet is full of plastic bags. Both hubby and I got bad cuts on our hands when we went through that closet last visit. 

I wanted to try again this visit. That closet was also full of a horrendous smell. I finally found the source of the smell: an old rug and three stained pillows. I bagged them up for the trash. Then I found a bag of lightbulbs, all broken, lots of sharp glass. I also took out two boxes of papers, one was label "newspaper clippings, 2014" and another was "medical records, 2013." Mom is dead, and Dad's doctors are doing a good job, so I don't think we need those medical records anymore. I know Mom was BRCA2 positive. I don't need to go through a box for some other scrap of information. 

After I got all that stuff out, I was able to reach Mom's special dresses. One was Mom's dress she wore to my wedding, another the dress she wore to my sister's first wedding, and about 8-12 dresses that she wore to other weddings. The dresses all  looked so dated and everything was dusty and filthy. My sister and I each took the dress from our weddings, I also took another dress that looked pretty. The rest are all going to charity.

I still didn't find the gloves and silk flowers. 

My sister did bag up some of Mom's clothes (although those may be the clothes she brought home from Hospital/Rehab/Hospice and just never unbagged. 

Edited to add that the source of the smell was the rug my older brother/squatter brought from his boarding house when that closed, not anything of my mother. Ditto the broken lightbulbs. She may have collected clutter, but my brother has the junk.

Mominator- wow on all the clean out you dealt with. I remember taking some of my mother's special dresses, later donated them because I realized they were special to her, not me. And so nice your dad was able to give you some jewelry, those are some of the nicest things I have from my mom. I know you may have more challenges ahead with your dad (and siblings who remind you why they won't help). Big hugs sister.

My consignment shop put out a call for jewelry this week, and I happened to be going through mine over the summer and took in some nicer things yesterday for consignment. I have lived here in NM for a couple decades and thus, have acquired a lot of southwestern silver/turq type things. She took everything, like 25 items. Today I am dropping off the costume jewelry, which they usually will just give me a flat rate on (that is okay too).

In the process of this though, I tried on a beautiful opal ring that has not fit for a few years with finger swelling on the AI meds. I came off the meds earlier this year, and I am now able to wear the ring again! Yay!

Muddling, baby steps work! A drawer, a shelf, a section, and item at a time!

Jazzy, interesting comment on your view of your mom’s dresses verses her view.

Mominator, your parents’ home sounds challenging to say the least. It sounds like there’s going to be surprise waiting you in just about every nook and cranny in the place.

Today was a paper throwing out day. A4 paper from when I had mail from Japan and Germany - recycled. 1/2 of files, recycled. Extra hanging folders -donated. Last year's health info- half thrown out and the rest removed from my active files.

wow, zogo, you do have a lot of cleaning out to do at two additional homes! My MIL passed away last year and so far my DH and his brother have done nothing about clearing out her things. BIL stays there several weeks a year and house is always clean and vacuumed and windows washed. DH makes sure it's maintained, grass mowed, etc. But they haven't taken one thing out! I was going to put my foot down but then I got sick. So, we'll see. Best of luck to you for the big jobs ahead.

p.s. MIL's house is in another city or I'd go for a few minutes at a time.

Miracles happen. DH got into a clearing mood and tossed lots and lots of stuff in his home office. We have separate offices because I can't even think in his mess. It looked so nice that I sent a photo to his sister. Our recycle container is almost full and it's another week until pickup.

I find it's easier to get rid of stuff if I think of the people who would appreciate having the things. If I feel generous it's much easier to donate. I shop in thrift stores as well and really appreciate when I find things I need. This summer I'm a size smaller than last summer so I went to a thrift shop and found capri pants that fit. A friend also sent me shorts and pants she wasn't able to wear and right now they're most of my wardrobe.

We hope to downsize in the next few years so we both want to get rid of stuff - though I am more motivated than he is.

Zogo- my daughter is an only-child and that motivates me to purge stuff because I don't want to leave too much for her to deal with.

Mominator - your mom's house sounds like quite the project. My parents "cleaned out" their house once, but there is still so much still there. My dad passed away 5 years ago and my mom is in assisted living, but I don't dare touch the house. Besides, I have two sisters who should help me. We shall see.

Mexico Heather - purging papers - one would think that would be easy and it is until I get to really personal stuff. I am fascinated with old tax returns, info on the places we used to live, old paystubs, and anything to do with our daughter when she was little. I can waste a ton of time trying to decide what to do with it all.

I also get caught up with trying to throw out "perfectly good stuff". But some of it is just not worth hauling to Good Will. Did I mention that I put out a box of scrap-booking supplies on the curb and put a notice on my neighborhood's facebook page? Someone did come by and take all of it.

Jazzy - so great that you can wear the ring again! It's also nice that you are able to consign so much jewelry and get a little money out of the deal.

Hi all

I'm working on decluttering and reducing stuff myself and it isn't going as well as I thought. Lots of childhood things,my late parents stuff , my giant purse and bag collection that had been growing for over 20 years until a few years ago when I got deeper into poverty and homemade crocheted  blankets and items I have made (I already donated more then half before I moved here,started crying and the poor guy doing the pickup had to console me by saying that many of people who would be getting them would love them more then others would because they knew someone donated them for those who need it to use. Helped a bit).

I'm having a hard time letting go and I suspect part of it is I'm still in that inbetween place in diagnosis. I don't know what the next twelve months are going to bring or even if I will survive them. I know it's mostly just stuff. But it's my stuff and I've already had too much taken from me or been forced to sacrifice.

Any suggestions if you have them on letting go of your "stuff" would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Blessed be.