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

deepwoodslady · February 12

I am having my bedroom and bathroom redone which includes moving a closet. I've had to move all the furnishings (drawers) out of the room as well as everything in the closet. Let me tell you, NOBODY needs this many clothes. I don't care how many seasons you have or how many sizes you go up and down on a regular basis. It's the perfect time to buy some totes and go through it all. I will begin that soon. I hope I can let go of as much as I need to. You all are so inspiring to me and I know it will help.

SbetaK · February 12

deepwoodslady wrote: »

I am having my bedroom and bathroom redone which includes moving a closet. I've had to move all the furnishings (drawers) out of the room as well as everything in the closet. Let me tell you, NOBODY needs this many clothes. I don't care how many seasons you have or how many sizes you go up and down on a regular basis. It's the perfect time to buy some totes and go through it all. I will begin that soon. I hope I can let go of as much as I need to. You all are so inspiring to me and I know it will help.

I can relate to this! I have an embarrassing amount of clothes, of varying sizes. I finally woke up and looked at myself, that of all these clothes I've bought over the years, most of them are not really flattering. I was trying to "hide" in them and hopefully look less fat. I am now going through them as I lose weight and reshape my body, and it's like shopping in my own bedroom. "New" clothes that are free, hahaha. Not only reducing the clutter in my bedroom, but looking deep into myself and the negative habits I need to change for a happier, less stressful life.

StayFITTer · February 13

@LoveyChar I am happy to report that my home no longer contains broken crayons! I asked a stay-at-home mom if she knew of anyone in her school co-op who would like to do a project making melted crayons, she said her daughter would! So now they are the proud owner of the silicone molds and crayon.

@Gisel2015 Welcome back and glad you got back home safe!

@SweetPeasMom55 Glad you found a technique that works for you! And the fact you gave up things you believed you couldn't is awesome!

@Sand_TIger I'm struggling with my electronics. I found place within our county that accepts them and I think I'm going to have to spend a day just doing that. I have a container filled with electronic related stuff PLUS I have a large boom box that is heavy, but is still useful/sounds great, but I rarely use it....and did I mention it's kinda big? I also have a wired headset that I use to use for my classes. Just want to dispose of everything properly.

@Celesteme You are a very strong and generous person. To give way sentimental items can be very hard, but I know it feels good to release when the time and situation is right. Super cool the new owner will teach his girlfriend. It feels like kismet!

@E43V15C Thank you for reviving our Decluttering feed! But sorry about your challenges with selling items online. I hope you find healthy alternatives and ways to overcome those internal and external things that activate you.

Decluttering Report
Since my last post my decluttering came to a crawl it feels. But I've done/been doing the following

I'm still reading books on decluttering AND applying the info or clean while I listen
I am trying to stay on top of doing "Daily Stuff Daily" (i.e. do dishes/run dishwasher daily etc)
I've had conversation about stuff I have and people showing interest then make sure they get it!
I found a person who wants our nursing chair I PRAY it'll be gone by month's end.

I've given way

(2) 20lb plastic kettlebells, punching mitts
A never used 13' laminator with laminator sheets
A large quantity of crayon and silicon molds
2 bags of kids clothes and 1 small bag of books with puzzle, (forgot to give bike maybe by 2/18)

I did have my family over for Super Bowl, I didn't make "goal" per se. A lot of "stash and dashing going on, but I felt like cleaning and preparing felt differently because thought things kind look chaotic, I know it's temporary and everything is grouped. I hope to have more progress to share within the next few weeks.

Also, the apt looks good and feels good when you first walk in and HOPEFULLY will show my husband that minimalism (visually simplicity and organizational abundance) IS POSSIBLE for us.

My Challenge:
I'm struggling with the old train table, but it might just find itself right by the dumpster. My goal is to glue one piece of plywood together and see if I can get away with dropping it off at the local thrift store. They typically don't take broken furniture, but I have a feeling I might be able to get away with it and some kid is gonna have a cool train table.

Rooting for us all!

Gisel2015 · February 13

@StayFITTer
Thank you for acknowledging all the efforts and success of the people posting in this forum, and congratulations on your own progress.
One word of caution, if you are going to recycle electronics, make sure that the phones and laptops have a clean hard drive/sim-card and that no left-over-data can be used in a negative way since most of those items are sent oversea.
I had my oldest son and his family visiting last week just two days after I returned from vacation so my plans of organization, de-cluttering, and/or extra cleaning have been put on hold. I had two extra rooms and bathrooms to clean up after they left (besides doing tons of washes), and I didn't need to add extra work to my schedule; but I hope that next week I will catch up.
Have a nice and a productive week everyone. G.

Gisel2015 · February 19

I haven't done too much organization yet, but I am slowly getting there.
I did find a couple of items of clothing inside my closet that I don't need/want any more so they are inside the donation box. I will wait until I get some more stuff before taking everything to the donation store.
In the last few days I found water on the floor next to the refrigerator every single morning. Besides calling the repair guy since this problem happened before, I decided to remove the bottom two binds from the freezer section and try to identify the root of the problem. I didn't solve the problem but I cleaned up the inside of those binds and even thru away frozen stuff that was way pass their expiration date. Since I was in the "clean refrigerator" mood, I also cleaned, organized, and changed the lining in the shelves in the fridge section too. One more thing accomplished this weekend and one less thing to worry about, at least for a few months.
I also decided to start making a list of all the cleaning and organizing that I would like to complete in each room of the house. I will start with the less time-consuming chores and progress to the more challenging ones, eventuality. Maybe this approach will allow me to procrastinate less.
I read that this is the best way to tackle de-cluttering and organizing and I had done it in the pass. Maybe success is in the horizon.
Wishing all of you a nice a productive week ahead. G.

StayFITTer · February 19

@Gisel2015 Thank you so much for the encouragement as well as sharing where you are in your journey!

You and I are on the same page as far as making plan to tackle the declutter, I was doing the same thing on Sunday night!

I feel as though the past 3 days has been productive for me in the cluttering department and I journaled about it--I'll share more hopefully by the end of the month.

Rooting for us all!

RubyRed427 · February 20

After reading several comments on here, I was inspired to go in my basement. Although I've only been in this house for four years (after decluttering my previous home after a divorce), I still accumulated a fair amount of holiday decorations.

I also was ruthless when it came to my "memories" which were old cards from former students who were so sweet. Cards from 20 years ago were nice to read, but I don't want to burden my own family with them, so I said "thank you" to each one and discarded them.

Some memories and cards (and letters) are so personal that they have meaning to me, a stranger would not find them as sentimental. Hope that makes sense. So, I pitched them.

Gisel2015 · February 20

Hi @ RubyRed427
Good job about the cards, and it does make a lot of sense!
I have 2 or 3 large boxes full of cards (birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and more). I ditched many of them during the pandemic but my ever-sentimental sweetheart that I have for a husband got attached to many of them, especially if they were sent by his mother or other family member now deceased, and he doesn't want me to ditch the cards.
I don't think that my children or their families would ever appreciate or relate to them either. But for the time being I am savings them; however, cards sent by friends get ditch quite often.
If possible, I save the front page of the cards and I mail them to St. Jude's Ranch for Children. I get satisfaction knowing that the cards will have a second life and a good purpose.

StayFITTer · February 20

Didn't even know this was a thing....

https://stjudesranch.org/recycled-card-program/

Thanks for sharing.

@Gisel2015
@RubyRed427

Gisel2015 wrote: »

Hi @ RubyRed427
Good job about the cards, and it does make a lot of sense!
I have 2 or 3 large boxes full of cards (birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and more). I ditched many of them during the pandemic but my ever-sentimental sweetheart that I have for a husband got attached to many of them, especially if they were sent by his mother or other family member now deceased, and he doesn't want me to ditch the cards.
I don't think that my children or their families would ever appreciate or relate to them either. But for the time being I am savings them; however, cards sent by friends get ditch quite often.
If possible, I save the front page of the cards and I mail them to St. Jude's Ranch for Children. I get satisfaction knowing that the cards will have a second life and a good purpose.

Gisel2015 · February 26

Greetings everyone!
I am taking a short break from organization, cleaning, and de-clutting plans and goals noted in my-to-do-list, in order to tackle other routine daily chores.
I selected this week some books that I will not read again for donation. I am planning to stop at the library in the gated community where I live tomorrow. If the library doesn't take them (they are picky…), I will drop them at the donation center because I am too lazy to make an especial trip to the Public Library.
I also reviewed a couple of baskets where I keep magazines and brochures, and I discarded the old ones in the recycle trash-bin. This is an ongoing project that I tackle every month and doesn't deserve special credit.
Last week I was checking inside my closet and I decided not to remove any more items at this time. I can keep wearing most of the clothing, and there is no need to spend money or time in new outfits right now. Many items had not been worn for a while (remember the pandemic?), so it is time to put them back in circulation.
Well, that's all for now folks. Wishing all of you a nice week ahead. G.

Sand_TIger · February 26

Gisel2015 wrote: »

Hi @ RubyRed427
Good job about the cards, and it does make a lot of sense!
I have 2 or 3 large boxes full of cards (birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and more). I ditched many of them during the pandemic but my ever-sentimental sweetheart that I have for a husband got attached to many of them, especially if they were sent by his mother or other family member now deceased, and he doesn't want me to ditch the cards.

Right now the cards have a good purpose if they give him happy memories - at least they can be neatly boxed and put away. Good thing he's not collecting motorcycles or something! I can't imagine having enough cards saved that I'd need even one box, that's amazing.

ElfBodGoals · February 26

The author of "Goodbye, things: The New Japanese Minimalism" also lost weight when he decluttered. His name is Fumio Sasaki. People who think Marie Kondo wanted them to get rid of literally everything they owned should read his book to see what that really looks like, lol.

I guess none of the trouble we get ourselves into is an isolated incident. Once I research the best ways to get rid of the stuff I've been clinging to, it's gooone. I hope it takes my weight with it!!

Gisel2015 · February 26

@Sand_TIger
It is more than one box neatly stored in my closet. Inside the boxes are also cards that we sent to each other in different occasions thru the years. We will be celebrating our 58th wedding anniversary in April, and that can give you an idea of how many cards were saved. Even if some were already discarded due to our several moves.
He is not collecting motorcycles (over my dead body), but he still has in the garage cabinet a box full of personal stuff that he packed when he retired back in 1996, clothing in his closet that has not be worn (and wouldn't fit anyway) in more than 10 years, plus electronics that we are no longer using. It is a lost battle with him. But he is a great husband and partner so I choose the battles that I can win very carefully.
However, since I control the inside of the house all the rooms are in perfect order. More power to me!!

Sand_TIger · February 26

Gisel2015 wrote: »

He is not collecting motorcycles (over my dead body), but he still has in the garage cabinet a box full of personal stuff that he packed when he retired back in 1996, clothing in his closet that has not be worn (and wouldn't fit anyway) in more than 10 years, plus electronics that we are no longer using. It is a lost battle with him. But he is a great husband and partner so I choose the battles that I can win very carefully.

I love that perspective and those priorities. :-) My own spouse has trouble letting go - we both came from histories of poverty and deprivation so I get it. But she's also pretty great!

Gisel2015 · February 27

@ElfBodGoals
Thank you for the information about that book from F. Sasaki. I will check it out.
I don't embrace everything that Marie Kondo practices and recommends, but I did learn few things from her that I already follow with good results. But I don't discard things that I haven't used in a year or two (especially if they still bring me happiness)

. Sometimes I don't wear a special clothing because the opportunity or the occasion didn't present itself. I have nice looking pants and tops, very classic that can be worn in special occasions, so I keep them until the occasion comes.
It is not easy for me to find something that fits me well, since I am short. When I find something that I like, a good price, and classic, I hold on to it for life.

Gisel2015 · February 29

Another "cleaning" done without planning it.
1) Looking for some information in my e-mail box, I found items that were old and not relevant. They went to the e-trash can.
2) Looking for something else in my night-table, I also found papers, receipts, and other stuff that I didn't know where they came from. I don't remember why I kept them or for how long they have been in the drawers. All went to the trash as well. Nothing was recyclable.
3) Looking for an envelope in the stationary closet in the office, I decided to go further and organize some of the shelves. I found too many unwanted empty envelopes that were used to send payments. All payments are done electronically now, so those envelopes went to the recycling bin.
I kind of like this approach. No fuzz, no pressure, no overwhelming lists to follow, and no more clutter.
G.

SbetaK · February 29

@Gisel2015 Hahaha, I read your post and entirely related to it. Yesterday I was looking for an item upstairs in my house, and seems there were LOTS of things in the way of getting to it. So, being the easily distracted person that I am, I started going through that stuff and wondering WHY I had all those things I'm not using, wearing, or what reason made me save them. Impromptu, unplanned cleaning and organizing!

Gisel2015 · February 29

@SbetaK
We rock, and "impromptu" is king!

Gisel2015 · March 4

Another cabinet organized today. Some stuff went to the recycling bin, others directly to the garbage can. This is actually and on going project that I do every couple of years or as needed. But I didn't in 2023 so I started 2024 with another accomplishment. It feels good

Hope that all of you have a nice week ahead.

Gisel2015 · March 11

I clean up/purged some folders in my PC that I don't need anymore and my computer lost a lot of weight

. Amazing the things that we (or at least "I") save thinking that we may needed them in the future. Delusional!

Gisel2015 · April 4

Bumping this thread while trying to inspire someone to post their organizing and/or de-clutting latest achievements.
I have been busy with the tax preparation and in the process I realized that many documents, un-necessarily accumulated thru the last few years, needed to be shredded.
Last weekend, including this past Monday, I worked on selecting what to keep and what not to keep and I shredded things that were no longer needed (with the blessing of my tax prepared person and keeping the IRS 7-years-rule). Three very large boxes kept in the garage cabinet are now empty. I also saved some money because I have a very good shredded that can take loads of papers so I didn't need to take all the papers to a shredding center.
I am not done yet, but this decision allowed me to start de-cluttering the cabinets in the garage and continuing the cleaning and organizing of the stationary closet in the office.
I found a box in the garage with a lot of things that not even my husband knew where they were coming from. Lots of nails, hooks, etc. that are going to Habitat for Humanity this week.
Last week I took two bags of clothing to the donation center and when I asked the manager if she knew of any organization doing "textile re-cycling" in town, she told me that they had their own recycling center where all the clothing that is not sold or clothing that is not good enough to put in hangers, get recycled. I am already preparing a box with these type of items that I will drop next week at the store. I was very happy to find this resource near me.
I hope to accomplish more in the coming weeks since I am really motivated, and hopefully getting my "de-clutting mojo," back in almost full force.

KeriA · July 3

My youngest who lives with us wanted to have a 30 year birthday party so we started really cleaning and de-cluttering. We got the basics by the party but we haven't stopped. I thought we had done the living room except for a built in bookshelf we could go through but last weekend we ended up going through a chest we hadn't gone through and we finished our hall closet which has towels linens, first-aid supplies and tools. We have 2 bedrooms upstairs to do before tackling the downstairs but we did some of that for the party. We have set up Mondays for continuing. My husband and I just turned 70 so there is a lot of years of build up. So glad my youngest is helping. So much recycling and many transfer station and good will trips.

I just retired and I plan to go through personal financial papers soon. Earlier this week I put my old computer in my /office studio and set up a surface pro upstairs because it is easy to put away and is newer. I had to transfer files into it.

Gisel2015 · July 3

It is good to see that this thread is still alive. I was planning to do some posting myself, so here I go. Thank you @KeriA for posting your accomplishments and plans.
I have taken to the local library several old books for recycling already and there are a few more to go. I didn't want to drop them in the recycling bin so I thought that the people at the library would make a better choice on how to dispose of them. Unwanted clothing went to the local donation place twice already, and I continue cleaning drawers and cabinets, as needed.
I know and wish that I could do more because there is much more to do, but my husband is still not helping out or even interested in de-cluttering. I do what I can.
Next step is to clean-up drawers in the office. Stay tuned, and happy and safe Fourth of July everyone!

Evamutt · July 3

I finally started cleaning out our old paperwork we no longer need. Some we've had for a lot of years. I've been putting them into plastic bags to be shredded. I have a small shredder at home but it's too much paper to shred it myself & have more to get rid of

babsrobinson517 · July 4

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one having an issue with clutter. Reading these posts keeps me moving in the right direction: "De-Clutter!" I've been on a shredder frenzy in my home office, breathing a sigh of relief as old, useless documents disappear. Happy Fourth of July!

Gisel2015 · July 4

Two office drawers cleaned-up/de-cluttered/organized yesterday afternoon in the spur of the moment.
They were in my list to-do this weekend, but I decided to start earlier. Many things went to the trash bin (including a phone-book from 30 years ago

), receipts and paper instructions from items no longer in use, etc., etc. The drawers look nice and items are easier to see and find. More paperwork to go thru still pending, and I may start doing something today.
Happy to see that others are also tackling the organization of their homes. I think that we get inspiration and motivation from each other. Let’s keep it up!

StayFITTer · July 4

@KeriA thank you for kicking this thread off again. Such a great idea to set a designated day to continue the momentum of Decluttering. LOVE….IT! And it’s super encouraging that you have help. Congrats on the work you’ve accomplished.

@babsrobinson517 @Evamutt Thank you all for sharing where you are in your process. Paper clutter is the worst 🤦🏾‍♀️

@Gisel2015 It’s always good to see you post! Such a faithful encouraging presence to this feed.

This thread is in my back of my mind. And it started to come to the forefront this month so I’m glad to see some activity.

Honestly I see July as “January” if you will because you realize you have 6 months to finish the year strong. Hopefully, better and not the same way you came in.

So trying to generate “New Years Vibes” and energy in this New Month. Looking forward to resetting the intention and finish what I’ve started this year.

Keep sharing your victories and challenges and I look forward to doing the same.

Evamutt · July 4

Gisel2015 wrote: »

Two office drawers cleaned-up/de-cluttered/organized yesterday afternoon in the spur of the moment.
They were in my list to-do this weekend, but I decided to start earlier. Many things went to the trash bin (including a phone-book from 30 years ago ), receipts and paper instructions from items no longer in use, etc., etc. The drawers look nice and items are easier to see and find. More paperwork to go thru still pending, and I may start doing something today.
Happy to see that others are also tackling the organization of their homes. I think that we get inspiration and motivation from each other. Let’s keep it up!

This group does inspire me, I need to get rid of magazines from 20yrs ago! Still have me pay stubs from work going back some years, why? I don't know lol

Gisel2015 · July 20

My organizing/de-clutting plans have came to a halt. I was in a car accident on 7/08 so I am recuperating at home and unable to do much. Two days in a trauma center and 7 days in a rehabilitation facility, plus the injuries and shock of the accident really knocked me down.
I hope that all of you continue with your plans, and I will be reading your progress as often as I can. MFP is not my priority right now. At my age every moment counts.
Good luck everyone.

RubyRed427 · July 21

Gisel2015 wrote: »

My organizing/de-clutting plans have came to a halt. I was in a car accident on 7/08 so I am recuperating at home and unable to do much. Two days in a trauma center and 7 days in a rehabilitation facility, plus the injuries and shock of the accident really knocked me down.
I hope that all of you continue with your plans, and I will be reading your progress as often as I can. MFP is not my priority right now. At my age every moment counts.
Good luck everyone.

Best wishes on your healing. That is terrible that you were in an accident. Sending you positive healing thoughts Gisel.

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

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