2016 Decluttering Thread

[disneysteve]

Since my 2015 thread somehow got wiped out and we're only a few days from 2016 anyway, I figured it was time to start the next chapter.

I don't remember my last post. I know I shared about all of the work I did in the garage over the holiday. Yesterday, I spent a little time in the basement. I got into a box of old (like collectible old - 1950s and 60s) school books. At least a couple of them have sold for decent prices on ebay recently so I listed all 4 to start in 2 weeks so that they don't end while I'm out of town.

I found a little trash and some recycling while I was down there, too.

My daughter continued working on the shredding and got a lot more done. I also cleared out some old bills which got added to the shredding pile.

[creditcardfree]

Yea! Another year of decluttering has begun.

It seems we are still getting gifts in. I had one in the mail today. I made sure to recycle all the packaging, but now we have three more items in our home. I'll be looking for what else I can find to let go.

[disneysteve]

Most of you know that my wife and I collect Disney memorabilia. I've been doing it since the mid-70s. A lot of what remains in the garage is boxes of collectibles that we haven't had a place to display. I was talking to my wife last night and telling her some of the things I came across while cleaning. I'd like to get some of that stuff out of the garage and nicely displayed.

One thing we both agreed on is the wall unit in our family room is filled with various knick-knacks that aren't meaningful to us anymore so the plan is to get rid of them and replace them with some of the nicer Disney items currently in storage. We also have a bunch of collector plates that I want to hang in the family room up along the ceiling. I just need to get some plate hangars. If we do those things, we can probably get two or three boxes out of the garage.

[creditcardfree]

One thing we both agreed on is the wall unit in our family room is filled with various knick-knacks that aren't meaningful to us anymore so the plan is to get rid of them and replace them with some of the nicer Disney items currently in storage. We also have a bunch of collector plates that I want to hang in the family room up along the ceiling. I just need to get some plate hangars. If we do those things, we can probably get two or three boxes out of the garage.

This is the right way to handle clutter. Items that are meaningful and sentimental should not be clutter in your garage. They should be displayed!

I've always felt if I'm not using something (or displaying) that I say is sentimental or important that it probably isn't. However if I start to treat it as important and use it or display it then it is no longer clutter. I'm pretty sure I read this somewhere one time and it made perfect sense to me.

[disneysteve]

if I start to treat it as important and use it or display it then it is no longer clutter.

I like that a lot.

It fits this situation perfectly. I'm a little concerned that hanging the plates will make the room look cluttered, but if we really enjoy looking at them, I'm sure it won't seem like clutter.

[Wink]

I am planning on selling my house and downsizing to a small condo in spring. I have started going through all of my "stuff". Today I started in the basement and have 2 large trash bags full of donations that I put out in my car to drop off tomorrow.

[disneysteve]

I am planning on selling my house and downsizing to a small condo in spring. I have started going through all of my "stuff". Today I started in the basement and have 2 large trash bags full of donations that I put out in my car to drop off tomorrow.

That's great!

I've heard many times that the best way to clean your house is to move. Even then, though, so many people have told me that they moved the same boxes from house 1 to house 2 and then to house 3 before finally realizing they didn't need the stuff in those boxes.

My mindset is to do the "moving" cleaning now even though we have no plans to move. That way when we are ready to move, the hard work will already be done.

[snafu]

Smart to start your downsizing process well in advance of a planned move. I sold house, bought a condo, carefully measured spaces to help me figure out what I [thought] was needed and what would fit into condo space. Since we were nearly 'empty nesters,' I sold, re-gifted, donated and trashed slightly more than half the stuff before moving. You don't need yard, garden, outdoor equipment & supplies.

For two years following the move I dumped more stuff because our lifestyle had changed, large screen, wall hung TVs became affordable and the sofa started showing it's advanced age.

Most helpful was a written set of 'protocols.' No more than 12 hangers for each foot of closet rod, maximum 3 sets of bedding for each bed + winter quilts, use it or lose it [every item had to be used at minimum once a year] for example.

In spite of reviewing possessions at spring change-out... Fast forward 10 years and having read Marie Kondo's ...life changing magic... DH and I are following her suggested order and eliminating items that no longer 'spark joy.'

I'm motivated after reading Blogs. Should illness overtake us, I want home management as simple as possible. I vividly recall working with DB preparing mom's house to sell with 54 years of collected memorabilia.

[disneysteve]

No more than 12 hangers for each foot of closet rod, maximum 3 sets of bedding for each bed + winter quilts, use it or lose it [every item had to be used at minimum once a year] for example.

This is something we've really been trying to pay more attention to. You may have seen my threads about how many dress shirts most guys have.

A year or so ago, we got rid of all but a couple of sets of sheets. It was ridiculous how many we had. A few months ago, I splurged and bought 6 top quality wash cloths and got rid of a bunch of old worn out ones. I've gradually decreased the number of pairs of pants in my closet as pairs got worn out or damaged and not replaced. It's an ongoing process but it definitely helps to really pay attention to how many of each type of item you really need.

[Wink]

Back in the basement again today. I have a load of things that need to go to the dump or the proper drop off centers. A very old treadmill that no longer works, old paint cans, a large cracked mirror and some other odds and ends. I called a neighbor with a pick up truck and he and his son will haul it all away on Friday. And I dropped off the 2 trash bags of donations at the goodwill this morning. Progress!

[creditcardfree]

Having moved three times in the last 9 years, I can say that it is always best to declutter BEFORE moving, at least to the best of your ability. It is a lot of work to unpack and find homes for things in a new home. And the less you have the better.

Currently most of our memorabilia is stored in our master bedroom. In bins that I can see into. After six months of looking at them, I could see some obvious items that can probably go: a duplicate yearbook from when DH and I were both in school that year, a large professional welcome back sign from 10 years ago, letters from my daughters 3rd grade classmates to her dad when deployed, and my scrapbook from high school.

I will go through the letters and scrapbook and narrow things down. Having brochures from a vacation when you were 18 isn't as interesting long term. I will still find a way to keep those memories, but likely in a smaller form.

And I will say being pretty good at letting go of stuff that memorabilia is hard! It should really only be tackled after lots of experience. But in the present one can consider if something they are about to save from a recent experience will really mean that much two, five or ten years into the future.

[cypher1]

Xmas week was pretty productive for me. I donated a bunch of clothes and focused on the kitchen. Gave extra set of glassware and silverware to a friend. Tossed out old plastic containers, toaster, toaster oven, outdated food, and re-organized all cleaning products and kitchenware. Ended up getting a pullout tray for trash/recycling bins within a cabinet, and moved old trash can to laundry room.

My roommate moved out just over a week ago, and he left some remnant items within the hobbit-hole under the stairway. Donated his Lord of the Rings framed posters to a friend (which his wife was not happy about). Roommate also left his new dresser, which I moved to my room, and broke down my old one into the trash.

Today I recycled more older PC parts and desktop to Best Buy.

Next is figuring out what to do with older media like VHS/CDs/DVDs for donating or eBay.

[disneysteve]

Next is figuring out what to do with older media like VHS/CDs/DVDs for donating or eBay.

I've started just trashing VHS tapes. I don't think anybody wants them, including Goodwill.

As for CDs and DVDs, I would suggest listing those on half.com and Amazon.

[sonalitare]

good work

[creditcardfree]

I will go through the letters and scrapbook and narrow things down. Having brochures from a vacation when you were 18 isn't as interesting long term. I will still find a way to keep those memories, but likely in a smaller form.

I tore everything out of the scrapbook. So far more than half of it is in the recycling bin. I did find one brochure that might be worth a few dollars on eBay. I also found money in my scrapbook! A half dollar (given to me by my dad) and a 1 oz Silver Eagle dollar coin...which is probably worth $20. There were a lot of things that should never have been saved...which I won't mention since they are kind of gross! I hope to narrow the saved items down even further, but I'm happy with the progress so far.