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

One of our kitchen drawers was sticking, so My husband needed to take it out to fix it. This made me have to clear off that counter which always seems to revert to being a mail drop area. He then emptied the drawer itself, cleaned the sliders, and then reloaded the necessary items. I was able to discard or relocate a bunch of plastic silverware and other junk that had accumulated there and even found a few things to donate.

I also listed a few pieces of clothing on eBay. I plan to list more things today.

I have posted a few things on Marketplace and Postmark. So far, I am less than thrilled with response, but it has been less than 3 weeks, so still giving it a little time. I only kept the best stuff-designer names-to sell, and took other stuff to donate. The plan is to donate the "sell" items if they haven't sold in 4 weeks. It is not helping ME to store it for longer.

Anything even slightly damaged, I throw away. You see, I am one who always says, "This could be fixed, covered up, changed, and be awesome!" That positive and creative side has led me to more stuff than I can use. I toss it because I do not want to add to someone's tendencies to do the same.

Here, we can neatly place items curbside at our homes and people know it is free to take. Maybe this is an option for others to get extra stuff out of their own home and bless others with it. You can post curb stuff on Facebook or free groups, too. Any large items or boxes/bags will get picked up on trash day.

Wishing us all strength and discernment as we declutter!❤

Lots of inspiring and educational ideas posted recently and I appreciate them all. Just reading them gives me a "push" to do more. Unfortunately one of the things that holds me back is my husband. He doesn't like to get rid of things that are no longer needed (because he thinks that they would eventually be useful), so it is a battle that I seldom win or manage to compromise.

I did convince him to donate a bunch of shoes that he no longer wears last week. I got him a new pair of Sketchers that he wanted but he had to promise me to clean up his “shoe closet.” He did, not us much as needed, but something is better than nothing.

In general and because I am an organized person, the house is neat and without clutter, but there are things that I would love to further evaluate and probably give away. Something that I am doing on my own a little bit at the time. I used to collect stuffed animals, cute little things that I loved and that when the grandchildren were young enjoyed as well. The youngest one are now 12 and 14 so they don’t need or want anymore toys.

All these stuffed cuties have a meaning to me so it is hard to dispose of them, so I compromised with myself. They will be donated to a church that collect toys and other necessities for the migrant farm workers. I am sure that some of their children will enjoy these stuffed animals.

Thank you to all of you for posting your organizing achievements in great detail. I appreciate the ideas and effort. Have a Happy, Safe, and Blessed 4th of July!

July 5th - Today, we went through all the items we’ve collected for our dog over the years. My husband went to the animal shelter and donated an unwanted collar (too heavy and cumbersome), a harness he has outgrown, and a couple of clothes items that no longer fit. We also gave them a couple of worn out old blankets that they can use. I’m continuing to go through paper files and stacks of books, filling the recycle bin today. My son went through a bin of sports balls and put aside a bag of baseballs that I’ll give to the Little League coaches later this month. My cousin is visiting next week and her 12 year old son likes baseball so he might want to go across the street to the batting cages with my son, especially if he needs a short break from his younger siblings after his long trip. I’ll keep them until he leaves … or send them in the car with him if his mother approves. The process is slow but I’m seeing progress and I appreciate the way my family has been pitching in. I hope others are doing well.

Yesterday I recycled three IKEA catalogs I was holding on to (I just cut out one page of a kitchen I liked).

Today 7/7, I read through a journal and shredded pages to be recycled. It was liberating.

I'm going to purge something every day until I'm rid of all this baggage.

July 7 - I was planning to tackle the electronics today but just sorted the items into various categories for now. I donated some small appliances for today: one item that heats water for tea, something like an electric kettle … another item that keeps water hot that’s more like a big thermos that dispenses hot water … a couple of alarm clock radios … a small 2-slice toaster that we recently replaced with a better 4-slice option, etc.

By ‘we’, I mean my husband, who is the serial online shopper 😣, but I’m happy to report that he’s starting to appreciate the decluttering. I emphasized the importance of reducing by stopping at the point of purchase. So, we’ll see if the positive momentum continues. 🙏🏼🤞🙏🏼

I’ll get to the electronics another day this week. My older son came to visit for a week between summer semester classes. I didn’t want to bombard him with questions as soon as he arrived but that will be a good (and manageable) project that both sons can help with before he leaves on July 24th. My birthday is in a few days so that will be my gift request. 🎉 🎉 🎉

I also went through some books and donated quite a few but that’s also on my agenda for another day. I hope everyone is finding success in reaching your goal!

First week of July declutter challenge complete. I've got too much going on, so I'm just doing the one "thing" a day version.

Worn out coat; stack of old magazines; cleared out expired and empty meds and miscellaneous items from the medicine cabinet; old pet supplies, like meds and shampoos n stuff; culled a bunch of ancient, unwanted makeup; tossed all the nasty, unused colognes my husband has gotten as gifts from people over the years; broken pressure cooker has left the building...

Sixteen_Tons wrote: »

Below is a rambling post I did yesterday. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned one past guilt I was working on.
I've since moved this to the 'Things I can't change category'. I'm moving on, just trying to resolve the result. Ex- engineer, hate incongruities.

" Hi all,
I know this is completely not a weight loss issue, but, I need some perspective. As part of reaching out, today I had breakfast with an old girlfriend (it's very, very over.) My wife will always be my love, 40 years & counting.

I have to admit it was a real eye opener, when we were dating she was always a little risk adverse, to the point she wouldn't try new things because she might fail. I was working with her to try new "safe' things and it seemed to be working. Eventually after 4 years we broke up because she would not even discuss the possibility of having a family.

Scroll forward 40 years, she has had one relationship 30 years ago. Since then she has completely isolated herself, to the point of having no outside interests, except gong to work at a job she's over-qualified for. she lives with her father, and literally only goes out for work. She had breakfast with me because of our past, but, will not even consider a continuing friendship.

Can anybody help me understand this, I've never been a people person, but, I have a good life, a great family, some outside interests, and fond memories of the past, except this one.

I'm baffled by this. Can anybody make sense of this? I know I can't change things, but, for my own peace of mind I need to understand it.

I'm so sad for her, she had such potential and choose to become a hermit. Has anyone else seen this in someone close to them?"

I tend toward this, but I was lucky enough to score an amazing husband who balances out my isolating tendencies. Because of his support and encouragement, I have slowly grown more open to new experiences over the years. I do go out into the world, and I am friendly and kind, but I also need my space and time to decompress afterwards! It sounds like your ex has some massive, disabling social anxiety. Avoidance is the safest coping skill for her. It's hard to understand if you haven't felt it yourself. Without help, it's pretty hard to dig yourself out of that rut - it's kind of a choice, but it's kind of not, especially if it's all you know and the aversion is intense. It can be so strong, it becomes a physical sensation. But it's nothing you did, so don't blame yourself. 💙

Sixteen_Tons wrote: »

Below is a rambling post I did yesterday. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned one past guilt I was working on.
I've since moved this to the 'Things I can't change category'. I'm moving on, just trying to resolve the result. Ex- engineer, hate incongruities.

" Hi all,
I know this is completely not a weight loss issue, but, I need some perspective. As part of reaching out, today I had breakfast with an old girlfriend (it's very, very over.) My wife will always be my love, 40 years & counting.

I have to admit it was a real eye opener, when we were dating she was always a little risk adverse, to the point she wouldn't try new things because she might fail. I was working with her to try new "safe' things and it seemed to be working. Eventually after 4 years we broke up because she would not even discuss the possibility of having a family.

Scroll forward 40 years, she has had one relationship 30 years ago. Since then she has completely isolated herself, to the point of having no outside interests, except gong to work at a job she's over-qualified for. she lives with her father, and literally only goes out for work. She had breakfast with me because of our past, but, will not even consider a continuing friendship.

Can anybody help me understand this, I've never been a people person, but, I have a good life, a great family, some outside interests, and fond memories of the past, except this one.

I'm baffled by this. Can anybody make sense of this? I know I can't change things, but, for my own peace of mind I need to understand it.

I'm so sad for her, she had such potential and choose to become a hermit. Has anyone else seen this in someone close to them?"

There is a lot I could touch on with this post as it is a complex issue that presents differently for the people that struggle with it. I happen to be someone who has been isolated for the last 5 years, so I am intimately familiar with this. I don't want to hijack this thread but I wrote about it (superficially at least) in a thread I started that may give you some small measure of insight. Here is a link to that:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10836362/a-broken-man-but-better/p1

If you're just trying to understand, know that it is generally in response to traumatic events or forced social isolation (bullying, not fitting in with peer groups, disabilities that set you apart, higher or lower than normal IQ, etc.). A lot of times you will hear "I'm just not a people person", which is obvious but doesn't address the why of it and is rather a defensive mechanism to keep inquisitive people at bay.

If you're interested in helping her, you need to be both persistent and consistent. I don't mean anything forceful or stalkerish, rather just checking in and saying hello and asking how she's doing. She probably doesn't feel that she has anyone that cares about her or would care about her even if she put herself out there. You would have to show her that you do care and are willing to be there for her. That would take time and would be very frustrating but it's pretty much the only way.

She may be too far down the path to be willing to accept help but she may just need someone to step up. If you decide to try to help at a minimum there will be efforts to push you away and probably some baring of teeth to try to scare you off. That's up to you to decide how much of it you can take.

If you want to talk about this further you can feel free to send me a message or post on the thread I started so that it doesn't distract from the purpose of this thread. I am willing to help where I can but I can only speak about my situation specifically and other's generally, I can't tell you exactly what sent her down this road.

P.S. to all: Sorry for the lengthy response that didn't pertain to the main topic, de-cluttering can be hugely beneficial. A few years ago I managed to donate or throw away about half of my belongings and I felt much better afterward. I had put it off for years because it meant going through some boxes from my childhood that I was worried about triggering some traumas. I eventually forced myself to rip that band-aid off and while it wasn't easy, it was well worth it.

I recently sold three items on Poshmark. It's a website for rather fashionable or like new items. Anyway, there were two pairs of beautiful high heeled shoes I cannot wear anymore that sold. I was so happy to send them off to someone who could enjoy them. I packaged them neatly and wrote a nice card. I did make $50 on both pairs but the better thing was that someone is going to enjoy them.

The key is not to turn around and buy on Poshmark; otherwise you trade one thing for another.