Let it GO! Decluttering (simplifying) your life of (people, places or things) success stories?
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RubyRed427 wrote: »Good morning friends! ...
I know that several of us spoke about Flylady in the past. I do like her philosophies. I'll have to revisit her site for inspiration.
Who is / where do I find this "Flylady (and her philosophies)" of which you speak? Just got the news that (after 8 wks in) I can confidently expect to continue working from home for a minimum of another 3 months. So I thought I would start getting the "home-work" space switched from "make do" setup to "long term / semi-permanent" and am looking for ideas / approaches to take.
Beyond the obvious "Just plain throw out that first piece of unneeded paper, and repeat" ....4 -
RubyRed427 wrote: »Good morning friends! ...
I know that several of us spoke about Flylady in the past. I do like her philosophies. I'll have to revisit her site for inspiration.
Who is / where do I find this "Flylady (and her philosophies)" of which you speak? Just got the news that (after 8 wks in) I can confidently expect to continue working from home for a minimum of another 3 months. So I thought I would start getting the "home-work" space switched from "make do" setup to "long term / semi-permanent" and am looking for ideas / approaches to take.
Beyond the obvious "Just plain throw out that first piece of unneeded paper, and repeat" ....
I hope that this information is helpful:
FlyLady.net
www.flylady.net/c/lp.php
FlyLady - Sneak Peek for the Week, Detail Cleaning, Reminders, Flight Plan, Missions, and Zones.
FlyLady.net
signup.flylady.net
Have you been living in CHAOS? FlyLady is here to help you get your home organized! She teaches you to eliminate your clutter and establish simple routines for getting your home clean!
Videos of flylady website
bing.com/videos3 -
I will explore that (and other possibilities) I am familiar with "throw out 50 things" site (the trick is:
- those 57 back-issues of magazines (for example) only count as "one thing => magazines"
- "throw out" means "leave your custody" (shifting it to basement / attic / garage or shed / off-site storage doesn't cut it)
- "throw out" doesn't HAVE to mean "throw to the curb for trash-pickup / drop at the dump" Depending on the item, it can be recycled / regifted / donated / contributed to a charity sale / sold-consigned / part of a personal or street garage-sale event OR on its way to the dump if that IS the "proper place for it
needless to say, this was written / developed years ago, and some of the "potential new homes" options above might have to wait a bit for re-openings .... but that need not delay getting started.
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Hi all! Got home yesterday, after 7 weeks babysitting in NY. Today was a relax, get reaquainted with my house day. Hubby shampooed rugs, and kept the place in decent shape. He's wonderful. ! Not sure what I'm getting into this month that I'm home. There are many options! I just know that having to go through my parents' house, in a month, will inspire me to not leave a mess for my daughter to sort.8
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Made a good start yesterday in the "shifting here to there" initial manouver. Nothing actually tossed but a few easy-to-categorize papers .... BUT
- the spare bed is out of my "BMcC's Room"
- the stuff that WAS in the Box Room next door (most of which CAN'T be discarded for various important reasons) binned and moved elsewhere
- table from Box Room shifted to BMcC's Room - now I have a workable "home-office surface" in one corner and a "craft&hobbies surface" in the opposite corner.
- spare bed now in the box room; along with an attractive storage cube to act as a "bedside table" and stand for the only lamp in there so far.
- the Box Room is starting to evolve into "useable multi-purpose space" - details to be determined later.
The point is - DH is convinced I will end up using both rooms as "BMcC Space" and I am determined proper set-up I WON'T be. Being able to have the two "stations" in the same room go a very long way in the right direction.3 -
I have the opposite problem. Whenever I created my Hobbies Room, DH gradually invaded the space with his computer stuff, so I have hobby stations/office space elsewhere now. We do have a dedicated computer room which he NEVER uses 😂5
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I think you have hit on something very important by correlating clutter with obesity. I'm not a Horder, but I have noticed my mood will go dark when I feel overwhelmed with clutter and the need to keep my house neat and clean.When I get in these moods, I have found myself going to food instead of conquering the clutter. It's just a viscious cycle of madness.8
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I went through my "mending pile" and sorted what needs a stitch-or-two from things that I might conceiveably ATTEMPT to alter to fit my now on maintenance body - some of those WERE too small, but are now TOO BIG ...
First- was ruthless about "colour or style no longer suits who I am now" (straight to the "donate when they are collecting again pile")
- actually tried the remainder on - if items were pants / capris and too big for NOW - straight to donate pile (too hard for my sewing skills to alter)
- set three tops (too big for me, though I still love the colours) aside that my mom might like to adopt (eventually)
- put multiple other tops in donate pile as "WHY am I going to try to even guess how to alter?!?" WHY NOT START FRESH???" (sewing from altered-before-cutting-fabric relatively basic patterns is closer to my sewing ability - altering pre-made garments (even simply made ones) ain't that easy
Once I put the few stitches in each of the "truly need minor mending" pile, I will do the same sort-down and put a high proportion of them into the "donate when they are collecting again pile". They are good quality with plenty of wear in them - someone not-so-far into their journey will be able to feel very pleased at the finds - I know I did under similar circumstances as my wardrobe sizes evolved.4 -
DH is clearing out one of the sheds. He's got things in there from when he was carefree and without me. Stuff that he hasn't used since the year dot. Stuff that he doesn't need. I found a random door handle and I was, "What the heck?". Turns out that his lovely, lovely Dad, who died eight years ago, fitted said handle to a shed that DH owned (this would have been over 32 years ago, as that's when I met him). DH didn't want to get rid of it due to emotional ties. Which, I suppose is fair enough. Although I did say to him, that the memories of his Dad are primarily inside his head, they are not "things". His Dad also gave us a grandfather clock of which he engineered the entire mechanical section. I said that I felt that was memory enough, along with the photos we have of him. DH could see where I was coming from but still hung onto that handle.
I'll let him have that one as he has thrown away an awful lot of other junk.
I may have to try the "Does that item bring you joy?" method to try and condense the stuff. It's unfortunate that DH spends so much time reminiscing over this random and pretty well useless junk. But maybe that allows him to value the worth of the items...5 -
I'm doing a lot of mental work and recognizing that as I move (again, for I left a lot of stuff behind when I left my first husband) most of the stuff I want to take is small or non-physical. I don't need a memorial to my dad. The way that I am labeling and packing and organizing the move is a memorial to his organizational abilities. And, of course, I look very much like him.
At the same time, I'm thinking, "Who do I want to become?" When I have a waist, what styles will I like? What will I wear when I'm working round the house, going to the grocery store, going out with my partners? Hmmm..... All sorts of possibilities, and I realize there's room for these possibilities because I am not hanging on to stuff and feeling I need to get the wear or the use out of it.5 -
RubyRed427 wrote: »I grew up in a spotless house. My mom would stay up late cleaning many nights. I think it set an unrealistic expectation for me as an adult. My brain got wired to think it was the way you live .... with zero clutter.
My mom, grandmother, aunts... all have beautifully decorated homes. Where they hide their clutter, they've never passed on the secret! I am like your husband.... My mom says that even as an infant, before I could roll over, I could destroy a perfectly clean room during my sleep.
I wish I weren't like this because I know how distracting the clutter is to me and know that it places a deep emotional burden on my mind and can lead to financial and emotional distress which can lead to other things, like excess weight.
I'm not saying your husband is wrong in how he is, but I am curious - does he ever feel overwhelmed by all the "things" he has? I feel like all of it just gets in my way of enjoying life. I spend more time cleaning up after myself than anything!
I'll spend an entire day de-cluttering and scrubbing and enjoy a stress free / clean home for 1 day... then the cycle starts again.
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@BMcC9 I have a developed a system where I have a seasonal switch twice a year, and get rid of anything I haven’t worn that season, before it goes back into storage. I also vet what I’m going to wear, for the coming season. Both these practices have helped me whittle down quite a bit. It’s an ongoing process, but it’s good to create space.
Also, I started 2020 as a ‘buy essentials only’ experiment, which has been greatly assisted by lockdown, and has, incidentally, improved my bank balance considerably. Lockdown has had some advantages. 😂9 -
TerriRichardson112 wrote: »@BMcC9 I have a developed a system where I have a seasonal switch twice a year, and get rid of anything I haven’t worn that season, before it goes back into storage. I also vet what I’m going to wear, for the coming season. Both these practices have helped me whittle down quite a bit. It’s an ongoing process, but it’s good to create space.
Also, I started 2020 as a ‘buy essentials only’ experiment, which has been greatly assisted by lockdown, and has, incidentally, improved my bank balance considerably. Lockdown has had some advantages. 😂
This year's Light-Weight clothes seasonal switch included not only "now that I am in maintenance" stored-till-they-fit-again clothes (many of which were too BIG when I tried them on) but also a reality check on the contents of the "maybe I could alter it some day? " nearly-fit pile against what I KNOW my sewing limitations are. Now that I have reached the point where RELATIVELY minor alterations / adaptations (by a far better sewer than I) to fit a stable-going-forward silhouette could theoretically have taken place.2 -
The clutter in the house is effecting me mentally and emotionally. At the beginning of the year I was able to focus on getting rid of the excess around me. I want to get back to that. I am, starting today.
Now that I am 7 weeks into logging everything into MFP, I want to incorporate decluttering into my day. I definitely see a relationship between clutter and my weight. Shopping can be like binging...another way to avoid life.7 -
Last Friday I reached a healthy weight according to the BMI. While I still have weight to lose, my reward for this milestone was to go through my wardrobe and try EVERYTHING on, decluttering along the way. I had a blast! So many things fit well, and I was able to farewell some hardworking but now too-big items. I still have a couple of aspirational pieces in there (like the silk dress I wore on my first date with my partner...twelve years ago) but on the whole it's such a good feeling to open my closet and know not just that it almost all fits, but it's all things I love!
I find decluttering like this, going through and touching/holding/assessing items has a very strong psychological effect of reminding me that I actually have everything I need. Powerful stuff!13 -
Has anyone found that your spouse has so much stuff that it overwhelms you and you're powerless to do anything about it and he is too connected with it that he won't let it go?4
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Has anyone found that your spouse has so much stuff that it overwhelms you and you're powerless to do anything about it and he is too connected with it that he won't let it go?
Yes, I have. Mostly in our home- office where he keeps a lot of papers that should be discarded/shed, and also in the garage. The rest of the house is in perfect order because I exert a dictatorial control, and honestly, he doesn't like disorganization or mess in the rooms. I wish he had the same attitude for the office and the garage.
I have no recommendations or suggestions for you, sorry to say. But I wish you good luck!5 -
Yes, I am poor.2
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Has anyone found that your spouse has so much stuff that it overwhelms you and you're powerless to do anything about it and he is too connected with it that he won't let it go?
Yes. Eventually he hoarded so much that there was no room for me and I had to leave him. That was my first husband. We're still friends, and it broke my heart to do it, but I was suicidal, and that's not okay.
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Given that we moved at the beginning of July, we had large piles of deconstructed cardboard boxes in unused corners. They are now all either bagged or boxed and in one large pile in the garage, and I am researching recycling options. We're going to borrow a truck soon, so it makes sense to take them somewhere in one go when we have the truck.6
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