Let it GO! Decluttering (simplifying) your life of (people, places or things) success stories?
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@NewLIFEstyle4ME its great to hear from you! You continue to inspire me by conquering the trials of everyday life. Well done!0
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Snowflake1968 wrote: »I downsized my Christmas decorations 2 years ago when we moved, I went from 9 totes to 6. I still miss some of my decorations, but my daughters got first dibs and then their friends chose some before I sold a bunch.
I need to get at my china cabinet, I want a smaller one and I will need to empty some out before I can do that.
I have a lot to do still, but am sort of waiting for nicer weather.
I keep planning to go through my decorations, but get distracted by the million other boxes I have. I'm trying to get through a box a day, successfully most of the time. We are planning to move in a couple years, and I don't plan to take anything we don't use.2 -
Well, the box dh brought in, for me to go through today, is apparently his stuff. He's going to go through some of it tonight, and bring another one in for me to go through tomorrow. Progress being made!4
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I inadvertently started spring cleaning yesterday. I had one cupboard that needed organized so I did that and then when I turned around and saw the crystal vases on top of my china cabinet I though they needed cleaned. I climbed up to take them down to clean and then looked at the inside. I ended up cleaning all the dishes in my china cabinet and pulling it out to wash the wall in behind it. I washed one mark off the wall and have ended up washing all the walls in the kitchen and dining room. Rearranged some pictures on the wall and have one reusable shopping bag of stuff to take to the thrift store.
Now I need to do the bedroom and craft room.
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Snowflake1968 wrote: »I inadvertently started spring cleaning yesterday. I had one cupboard that needed organized so I did that and then when I turned around and saw the crystal vases on top of my china cabinet I though they needed cleaned. I climbed up to take them down to clean and then looked at the inside. I ended up cleaning all the dishes in my china cabinet and pulling it out to wash the wall in behind it. I washed one mark off the wall and have ended up washing all the walls in the kitchen and dining room. Rearranged some pictures on the wall and have one reusable shopping bag of stuff to take to the thrift store.
Now I need to do the bedroom and craft room.
Good for you! The inadvertent cleaning is the best! I always love to get something unexpected done.1 -
Dh went through the box yesterday, he got rid of a lot more than I expected.
I have boxes of castle parts in the back room, and he brought 2 of them in. I've been dreading looking at these, expecting everything to be ruined. I was excited to find everything in pristine condition!
Needless to say, I didn't get rid of anything, but now I can stitch all the walls, floors, etc. together for the grandkids!3 -
My hubby & I are working on a plan to build our dream house which will be much smaller than the mobile home that we have lived in for 18 years. So at the end of the summer 2018 I started going through closets and cupboards selling, giving away, and tossing out everything that we did not need. We sold our mobile home at the end of September so I really had to kick it into high gear with the "downsizing"! We lived in a motor home from December 9, 2018 to March 1st, we have some items in storage but believe me, we rid ourselves of much more than we stored. Now we are living in our newly built 600 sq ft apartment (an addition to our shop) without a mortgage; we are saving the additional funds we need for the down payment on our house which will be a small 2 bedroom....ridding ourselves of all the unneeded odds & ends that we held onto for years was and is such a relief, if I couldn't imagine a spot for it in the new house, I got rid of it and it felt good!11
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Today I went though my kids clothes and packed away a lot of small clothes that they can't fit into anymore. They will be given away and out of my house. Some toys are going to be leaving too. They have too much stuff that they don't play with.6
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Went through another box today. Some of the things I'm finding in these boxes! I guess they we important to me at the time, but...5
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Hi gang!
Here's some "secrets" I follow/use to help me keep things neat and orderly on a daily basis:
1.) As soon as I get out of bed...I make it up immediately. Before I lived a decluttered lifestyle--when I was obese and
an
ANGRY and sad-sad sacking/nagging/ungrateful/unthankful/entitled/miserable/hard-hearted/self-righteous/bitter/self-pity partying "oh...beast", I rarely ever (okay...NEVER) made up my bed until it was time to go to sleep. This may sound like a teeny tiny deal, but it's far bigger than one may think. As you take less than 2 minutes to make your bed, the results are immediate (in your mind/sight). Just making your bed as soon as your up in the morning, will give you a "motivation" that is nothing less than fabulous (especially as thru-out the day, as you see your bed made), it inspires you to go ahead and sweep your bedroom floor and tidy up other areas. It will NOT take hardly any time, as you maintain your space, I promise. Also, places like Marshalls/Target has super CUTE small in-expensive broom and dust-pan combos in all kinds of patterns, that you can keep in your bedroom or other areas, so you'll always have access to sweep areas immediately and have FUN doing so as well.
2.) If you are a stay-at-home person, DON'T ALLOW THE TEMPTATION of lounging around in your pjs or sweats and keeping yourself unkempt...MAKE yourself take a shower/bath everyday, fix your hair (even if it's a cute ponytail or bun) and put on something CUTE but comfortable (everyday) as you're at home. As you pass mirrors and see yourself looking cute and feeling clean, it will inspire you much like making up your bed as soon as you get out of bed. For those of you who are homebody's as you see yourself looking cute and feeling clean, it will prompt/inspire you to get ooout and aboot, even if it's to the mailbox and around the block and take a nice walk and this will encourage you even more and get some fresh air and help your meditate on lovely things.
3.) MAKE yourself put stuff back as soon as you're done with it. Whatever you take out, put back. REFUSE to "allow" the "spirit" of offense take advantage of you another second. If you see something out of place that you didn't leave out...put it back in it's proper place without a word of nagging (even it's it "righteous nagging
) Just put it back with joy (start seeing joy as POWER, not happiness, but look at joy as your "friend" and sadness as your enemy), knowing you're getting stronger and stronger more each day to conquer these wicked enemies of your soul: SADNESS, OFFENSE, BITTERNESS, ANGER, FRUSTRATION, WRATH, SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND WRATHFULNESS. YUCK AND YUCKY THINKING, BEING,DOING AND SPEAKING/FEELING
Y'all...once you "see" the above yucks as enemies of yours and that you've "allowed" these yucks to deceive you into being comfortable/comfort/justified/everyone does it this way, something POWERFUL happens in/thru/to you...slowly but SURELY you will find yourself becoming more joyful, in control of yourself and more ummmmm, peace-filled.
Remember...Hurry is of the it took us YEARS to become what we are and it will take TIME to LET IT GO AND DON'T LOOK BACK in this "business" of weight blastification AND decluttering and "DEVELOPING" this new lifestyle.
Love y'all 
P.S. Here's some yummy "snacks" to chew on all day and night:
"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
"I don't usually lose my temper, but if I get angry, it's true - I'm scary."
"Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret"
"People won't have time for you if you are always angry or complaining."
"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger."
"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."
"The greatest remedy for anger is delay."
"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems -- not people; to focus your energies on answers -- not excuses. "
"Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves."
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Never spring cleaned before but am taking this as a challenge.5
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I'm loving the inspiration! I've gone through 3 more boxes. Washed some baby blankets and sweater sets that people made for my daughter (34 yrs ago). My neighbor's granddaughter is pregnant, so I'll pass them on.
Going to consolidate the castle into 1 plastic tub ( hopefully). After I get the bedroom set done, I'll start stitching the castle together for the grandkids.
In the meantime, I'm tweaking my cleaning schedule. I'm getting there slowly but surely.4 -
I emptied/consolidated 2 shoebox size bins from my hall closet of hygiene type stuff. Not gonna use, expired, pass on.4
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I'm loving the inspiration! I've gone through 3 more boxes. Washed some baby blankets and sweater sets that people made for my daughter (34 yrs ago). My neighbor's granddaughter is pregnant, so I'll pass them on.
Going to consolidate the castle into 1 plastic tub ( hopefully). After I get the bedroom set done, I'll start stitching the castle together for the grandkids.
In the meantime, I'm tweaking my cleaning schedule. I'm getting there slowly but surely.
What's the "castle"?1 -
I'm loving the inspiration! I've gone through 3 more boxes. Washed some baby blankets and sweater sets that people made for my daughter (34 yrs ago). My neighbor's granddaughter is pregnant, so I'll pass them on.
Going to consolidate the castle into 1 plastic tub ( hopefully). After I get the bedroom set done, I'll start stitching the castle together for the grandkids.
In the meantime, I'm tweaking my cleaning schedule. I'm getting there slowly but surely.
What's the "castle"?
Its like a doll house (Barbie), but is a castle. Its made of plastic canvas and yarn. Its 2 story, with 6 rooms, turrets, gray stone (looking) outside walls, and furniture for each room.
I have to stitch everything together. It'll be about 3 ft tall, the length of a kitchen table, and about half the width of the table.4 -
Hey all! Just thought I'd see how everyone is doing. Its been hectic here, hoping to get back to decluttering tomorrow. Hope you guys are doing ok!4
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I have two bags of clothes ready to drop off for donation (16’s, 14’s, and XL’s). I kept two pairs of oversized pants to remind myself of my progress, but I’m finally getting rid of most of it. I was holding on to dress pants that were too big and decided to order a new pair in a 12 and they fit perfectly, even though I thought they looked way too small to fit. The brain is weird! I’m a bit worried about regaining and not having anything to wear, but if that worst case scenario plays out, there will be plenty of stores ready to take my money to buy another pair.
I also did a super deep clean of my bathroom, which felt great to accomplish. I’m talking taking every single item out, cleaning top to bottom (even the walls), taking the drawers out and everything. I got rid of a lot, replaced a few items (hello new hairbrush!), and reorganized. Feels great to accomplish!
I need to tackle the kitchen next, as Easter is coming and the kids look for “eggs” on top of the kitchen cabinets (where currently the dust bunnies are breeding out of control). One of my least favorite places to clean, but it has to be done. Saw a YouTube video of a lady who put wax paper or parchment paper over the tops to catch dust and airborne grease (so no need to dust and scrub, just replace the paper sometimes). I need to do that!
Good luck to everyone with your decluttering and cleaning projects!2 -
IdLikeToLoseItLoseIt wrote: »I have two bags of clothes ready to drop off for donation (16’s, 14’s, and XL’s). I kept two pairs of oversized pants to remind myself of my progress, but I’m finally getting rid of most of it. I was holding on to dress pants that were too big and decided to order a new pair in a 12 and they fit perfectly, even though I thought they looked way too small to fit. The brain is weird! I’m a bit worried about regaining and not having anything to wear, but if that worst case scenario plays out, there will be plenty of stores ready to take my money to buy another pair.
I also did a super deep clean of my bathroom, which felt great to accomplish. I’m talking taking every single item out, cleaning top to bottom (even the walls), taking the drawers out and everything. I got rid of a lot, replaced a few items (hello new hairbrush!), and reorganized. Feels great to accomplish!
I need to tackle the kitchen next, as Easter is coming and the kids look for “eggs” on top of the kitchen cabinets (where currently the dust bunnies are breeding out of control). One of my least favorite places to clean, but it has to be done. Saw a YouTube video of a lady who put wax paper or parchment paper over the tops to catch dust and airborne grease (so no need to dust and scrub, just replace the paper sometimes). I need to do that!
Good luck to everyone with your decluttering and cleaning projects!
You've been busy! I love the wax/parchment paper tip!1 -
I've gone through a couple more boxes. Getting rid of a lot of things! I love that we are getting things sorted out. There are things that are going back into boxes, but we are planning to move within 2 years. If either of us aren't sure we want to give something up, we don't. No pressure! We are both clearing things out.
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You guys...Y'ALL are doing super GREAT--YAY YOU!!!!
I am having such a fabulous time changing my entire style. I feel so much younger and cuter! Of course, the changing style means getting rid of stuff as I replace stuff, so I'm in the process of cleaning out/downsizing) my collection of perfumes and bath products (which is HARD--cause I LOVE my perfume & bath products collection). Part of my style change is adding belts, scarfs and such like (which I NEVER wore, because I was just too BIG or just didn't look right on me (or so I thought) for them) and adding new different style jewelry to my wardrobe, so that's going to be a major project for me. But I'm going to make it FUN, period. YEAH, it's hard...but like my daddy used to say, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going", period.
Here's something to chew on gang:
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NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »You guys...Y'ALL are doing super GREAT--YAY YOU!!!!
I am having such a fabulous time changing my entire style. I feel so much younger and cuter! Of course, the changing style means getting rid of stuff as I replace stuff, so I'm in the process of cleaning out/downsizing) my collection of perfumes and bath products (which is HARD--cause I LOVE my perfume & bath products collection). Part of my style change is adding belts, scarfs and such like (which I NEVER wore, because I was just too BIG or just didn't look right on me (or so I thought) for them) and adding new different style jewelry to my wardrobe, so that's going to be a major project for me. But I'm going to make it FUN, period. YEAH, it's hard...but like my daddy used to say, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going", period.
Here's something to chew on gang:
Girl, I'm so happy for you! I'm impressed with everyone here, we are changing what we aren't happy with. We are getting there!
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NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »You guys...Y'ALL are doing super GREAT--YAY YOU!!!!
I am having such a fabulous time changing my entire style. I feel so much younger and cuter! Of course, the changing style means getting rid of stuff as I replace stuff, so I'm in the process of cleaning out/downsizing) my collection of perfumes and bath products (which is HARD--cause I LOVE my perfume & bath products collection). Part of my style change is adding belts, scarfs and such like (which I NEVER wore, because I was just too BIG or just didn't look right on me (or so I thought) for them) and adding new different style jewelry to my wardrobe, so that's going to be a major project for me. But I'm going to make it FUN, period. YEAH, it's hard...but like my daddy used to say, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going", period.
Here's something to chew on gang:
Girl, I'm so happy for you! I'm impressed with everyone here, we are changing what we aren't happy with. We are getting there!
Snoo, you are an amazing encourager. Something about you saying "we are changing what we're unhappy with" just brings me such inspiration and "hope" if you know what I mean. That we have the ability to CHANGE (especially what we aren't happy with) is so thrilling and doable. Fills me with JOY! Thanks friend/sister--you've helped more people with your contributions to this thread than you will ever know...including lil ole me. {{{ Hugs }}} 2 -
Snoo's post inspired me to post these "goodies" to CHEW and DO:
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Mum finally retired from the church 2 weeks ago aged 78. She moved to the next state. I helped her pack. Just realised it was a sort of "Swedish Death Cleaning" we talked about earlier in this thread. She loved it and has replaced some things and donated and sold heaps.
I found a bottle of her home made tomato sauce from 1996 in the back of a top cupboard!!
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@NewLIFEstyle4ME
Gossip! Definitely something to let go of!
It makes you feel bad when you do it, and can come back and make you feel bad again and again.
One of my "Absolute Nos" now.3 -
So, although I have not cleared anything out recently I have managed to keep my "cleared spaces" clear. Which is just massive, given that I have four messy children and an equally messy husband!7
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Madwife2009 wrote: »So, although I have not cleared anything out recently I have managed to keep my "cleared spaces" clear. Which is just massive, given that I have four messy children and an equally messy husband!
Congratulations!
I have also managed to maintain my cleared spaces. It feels wonderful!4
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