Let it GO! Decluttering (simplifying) your life of (people, places or things) success stories?

sargemarcori

RubyRed427 wrote: »

When I clean and organize, I use zones in my house. I focus on one zone at a time so I don't just flit around here to there. I learned this on a website from "fly lady".
http://www.flylady.net/d/br/2017/06/11/please-explain-the-zones-6/

We cleaned out our closet and I donated a ton of sheets that I just don't like or use. I donated towels. I do know that the local animal shelter uses old towels.

I also try to get books from the library instead of buy them. (for my book club)

Flylady saved me years ago. I'm having a heck of a time getting back on the system, but setting a timer for fifteen minutes, decluttering, and "Do it now" still keep me from utter CHAOS.

JessiBelleW

I've since made efforts to move things out of my life. While its slow going, it is going, and I feel better knowing its not been dumped in landfill but has gone where someone can use it

lizedupee

Yes! There's this song by Dave Matthews Band called "Too Much." Part of it goes, "I eat too much, drink too much, want too much, too much!" I call this song the theme to my life before this weight loss journey. I wanted it all! All the food, all the things, all the money, all the glory and success. I could not stop attaining! It was Ariel in the Little Mermaid with my little hordes of whos its and whats it, snacks and teas. I started with material minimalism, which led me to see I was eating like it was going out of style too! So cool to hear someone else make that connection between material goods and eating habits. I hope you continue to let go and let us know how it's going along the way.

RubyRed427

I recently went to a garage sale and they had hundreds of Precious Moments figurines for sale $3 each. I mean hundreds!!! I'm sure they brought someone joy but I also can't help but think how much clutter figurines are. Hard to dust around, etc. The lady passed away and they were selling all of her things. I also imagined the cost of each figurine back in the 80s. Anyway, I'm not judging her because I'm sure they brought her joy. But I also know as I grow older, I need to declutter for my family. I don't want them to have to deal with all of my things.

My friend who is a minimalist once told me "the more stuff you have, the more money you have to spend on containers to store them...."

Cozgirl40

I'm doing double the decluttering. My husband and I inherited the house he grew up in. We've been emptying it out for 2 years.(complicated by his sister who thinks everything is worth a fortune and has a hard time letting go). We are going to renovate the house and move there. So I also have to clean out MY house to prepare for the move. We've lived in this house for 40 years. That's a lot of life to downsize.

JessiBelleW

RubyRed427 wrote: »

My friend who is a minimalist once told me "the more stuff you have, the more money you have to spend on containers to store them...."

This is so true. The boyfriend works for a moving company, and the more stuff you own the more you pay to move it from house to house as well 😬

travelingmermaid25

I like to call it purging and I do it regularly. I've had a very busy spring and summer so I did not clean out as much as I usually do. I needed this post to remind me how much lighter and happier I feel when I have less things and they are organized. Best of luck to all you who are purging as well.

PAPYRUS3

Cozgirl40 wrote: »

I'm doing double the decluttering. My husband and I inherited the house he grew up in. We've been emptying it out for 2 years.(complicated by his sister who thinks everything is worth a fortune and has a hard time letting go). We are going to renovate the house and move there. So I also have to clean out MY house to prepare for the move. We've lived in this house for 40 years. That's a lot of life to downsize.

That does sound like quite the project! How long do you have to have it all done?

sargemarcori

lizedupee wrote: »

Yes! There's this song by Dave Matthews Band called "Too Much." Part of it goes, "I eat too much, drink too much, want too much, too much!" I call this song the theme to my life before this weight loss journey. I wanted it all! All the food, all the things, all the money, all the glory and success. I could not stop attaining! It was Ariel in the Little Mermaid with my little hordes of whos its and whats it, snacks and teas. I started with material minimalism, which led me to see I was eating like it was going out of style too! So cool to hear someone else make that connection between material goods and eating habits. I hope you continue to let go and let us know how it's going along the way.

oh my gosh, thank you for this. I think I've been getting glimmers that this is why I eat like I do (I'm much better with material stuff, or I'm getting there.) Thanks for stating it "out loud."

Another thing that gets me is trying to plan ahead and expecting lack. "better eat now, might not get the chance later" then later I eat too. Or "I'm not going to do fast food again for a while, so I should go for the fries and the shake too." Bar a zombie apocalypse, Burger King will still be there when I'm ready to come back!

Cozgirl40

PAPYRUS3 wrote: »

Cozgirl40 wrote: »

I'm doing double the decluttering. My husband and I inherited the house he grew up in. We've been emptying it out for 2 years.(complicated by his sister who thinks everything is worth a fortune and has a hard time letting go). We are going to renovate the house and move there. So I also have to clean out MY house to prepare for the move. We've lived in this house for 40 years. That's a lot of life to downsize.

That does sound like quite the project! How long do you have to have it all done?

At this time, I think we have until spring to get Mom's house empty. That's when construction will start on that house. Our daughter and her husband are buying our house and their construction will probably start late winter, early spring. We have a lot of balls in the air, lol.

JessiBelleW

JessiBelleW wrote: »

I've since made efforts to move things out of my life. While its slow going, it is going, and I feel better knowing its not been dumped in landfill but has gone where someone can use it

I made a big push this weekend past to get rid of some more stuff. Some for free and I utilised fb marketplace to sell some more. My wallet is a little heavier but golly the space I’ve made! Feels so so good to have cleared out some

GSPsnBees

We have a Purple Heart Society pickup scheduled for the 27th. We're cleaning out all closets this weekend. I've already got 5 boxes packed and at least 5 more to go. I can't wait to have all of that space back.

newHampshirite

Just writing to say thank you for this thread, both to the OP and to those who have kept it going. I am especially grateful to those that posted about FlyLady.com . I thought I could keep my weight in check by myself. I wasn't doing it. So, I turned to an on-line resource, MyFitnessPal, which does seem to be working. I thought we could keep the house organized by ourselves. But, we weren't doing it. I hadn't seriously considered turning to an on-line resource for that, but this thread has inspired me to do so. I'm now on day 2 of using FlyLady's methods. It remains to be seen whether it will make a real difference. We shall see. Thanks!

PKM0515

I think I may have posted in this thread a long time ago, but it's so long I can't quite remember!

I got rid of a bunch of recyclables this week, but I'm especially happy that I safely got rid of a lot of old medicine (prescription and over the counter). I had stuff of mine, family members, and my sweet cat. One of the local police departments has a medication disposal "mailbox" in their lobby. My local Walgreens has one too, but every time I've gone it's been full. I never have that problem at the police station!

Here's another site that I like for de-cluttering motivation (Diane in Denmark's YouTube Channel):

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbbm7p8Sk15fmeU0LWk7YwA

She references Flylady a lot, but other systems as well.

I know I'm a bit early, but I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sand_TIger

It is definitely a pain reducing clutter as an artist who is becoming active again. I'm taking care to have cases and such for everything now, consolidating when possible and it really helps. Self control is important too - I have to sometimes tell myself no on things, and I notice that has gotten a bit easier since I have learned self control in regards to food.

Gisel2015

I found this article online today and I thought that it was well written, quite helpful and appropriate for this thread. Even if we don't need to reduce clutter, we always need to organize and re-organize. Check it out.

The 12 Golden Rules of Decluttering and Organizing Your Home
https://housewifehowtos.com/get-organized/the-golden-rules-of-decluttering-and-organizing-your-home/

RubyRed427

Gisel2015 wrote: »

I found this article online today and I thought that it was well written, quite helpful and appropriate for this thread. Even if we don't need to reduce clutter, we always need to organize and re-organize. Check it out.

The 12 Golden Rules of Decluttering and Organizing Your Home
https://housewifehowtos.com/get-organized/the-golden-rules-of-decluttering-and-organizing-your-home/

I love this article! Thanks for sharing!!!

PKM0515

Great article, @Gisel2015! Thank you for sharing it.

SbetaK

I caught Covid after returning home from a 3 month absence but the upside is that I have never been home for this long of a stretch without leaving my house. All of my clutter is staring me in the face, years of accumulating things that became invisible to me because I was used to them. Starting to get more energy, and am attacking the piles, as they now frustrate me. Only bad part is I can't donate anything until I think it is not contaminated and a threat to anyone else. But yay, feels so good! And working on the overabundance of clothing, as I shrink they can go out the door. Turning a loss into a win.

GSPsnBees

GSPsnBees wrote: »

We have a Purple Heart Society pickup scheduled for the 27th. We're cleaning out all closets this weekend. I've already got 5 boxes packed and at least 5 more to go. I can't wait to have all of that space back.

13 boxes gone forever! I'm going to have to do another donation from my closet once I hit my healthy weight, but at least that's only going to be a few boxes.

PeacefulBalance

I’m in decluttering mode and loving this thread and following it for motivation! Thank you for a great and meaningful thread! ❤️

Gisel2015

Hello everyone!
I found this article online and I thought, as I did before, that it would be OK to post it in this thread.
It mostly applies to moving and downsizing, but some of the recommendations can be used for general organization and house/apartment de-clutting.
And if you don't care about the article, just drool looking at the picture of the house in the front page.
Enjoy! G.

https://www.homesandgardens.com/life-design/decluttering-habits-to-steal-from-professional-organizers-for-downsizing

cory17

Glass baking pans that I can't remember using - going. Knicknacks on top of the filing cabinet, so what if they're cute- going. Shirts that need to be ironed - going. The too large black Halloween shirt - going. My mother's wedding gift glass ashtray that was on our coffee table my entire life - going. When I can find something don't like about an item, so much easier to let go.

bobsburgersfan

@Gisel2015 I liked this article. It's definitely geared toward moving, but there are still some great tips in there even if you're not.

Gisel2015

@bobsburgersfan
You are correct. Most of the articles about organization and de-clutering apply to "perfect conditions." Which most of us don't encounter, but the general idea and some little tips in between lines, can be very helpful. Just like a recipe, I choose what ingredients I like and have available and change the rest.
Glad that you find the article helpful. I did too.

joans1976

This thread is great! I recently helped my parents move. My dad is a hoarder. I try to have patience with him, I know it’s an illness. Them moving and my weight loss caused me to clean out the 2 walk in closets in my apartment. I spent a whole weekend going through old taxes, pay stubs, etc then shredding which opened more space in the closet for storage of items that were out in the room. So much more floor space! The other closet yielded a pile of in great condition too big for me clothing, some new with tags, I am going to try to sell.
Next weekend, the bakers rack and Knick knacks 😱

BexB42

Update: Still decluttering. I had a few months to recover my exhausted body between jobs and I mostly rested. I did a few decluttering days. Now, I realize I have more stuff than I thought. As a mother, I kept a lot of the kids' artwork, schoolwork, etc. I have decided to put them in separate totes, take them out with the boys and sort them out. Perhaps they may want some of it back, who knows? I have a lot of ideas and zero motivation, unfortunately. My dresser is my first task. I ordered a new one, filled it and stopped progress. My follow up stinks. So, New goal? Finish one project at a time!

Anyone else overwhelmed with nostalgic stuff and want to let it go? I don't like letting the memories go, but the actual items are probably not as important as I think.

Gisel2015

@BexB42

Anyone else overwhelmed with nostalgic stuff and want to let it go? I don't like letting the memories go, but the actual items are probably not as important as I think.
Yes, I do!! but my husband is worse. If I am going to donate or give away something that it was/is important to me, I want to be to a person or place where they take good care of it. My kids and their families have a different taste so I know that they will just keep things in a box, and all of my friends are as old and nostalgic as I am and trying to get rid of their stuff too.

Maybe a consignment store that buys things will do.

IAmTheGlue

I am constantly decluttering and thinning things out. I have lost so much weight this past year… and thinned out my closet quite a bit. I come from a very poor childhood, despite being comfortable financially right now.

So I have had a bag of clothes in the garage, waiting to go for donation. Then it was two bags… and now three. I got rid of them all this morning and it’s freeing.

It’s weird how I have struggled with this because it does not fit, not even close. I was in a 3x at times and I’m in a medium now so I don’t understand the mental process of letting this clothes go. I don’t need it, I don’t want it to fit again…. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Brains are weird.

HelenWater

I’ve been decluttering for the past three months, and one thing that helped was going from a mindset of saving because I could see a future use for an item, to asking myself if I could do without the item.

I’ve tended to make the decisions as I’m putting things away or looking for things. If I can’t find what I’m looking for because other things are in the way I ask myself if I could give things away. I have a cardboard box by the door, and take what I can to the local community house weekly.

Picking off the easy items first reveals the next easiest items for me.

I’m some cases I’ve collected like items together. It works well for me.

As I go through the process, order is being restored and I’m able to be more ordered in how I eat, exercise, and generally live. Clutter has been a problem for me, but it’s freeing to let it go.