Among Friends

[SeaMaiden]

I  have started to  get rid of a box of STUFF once a week.  I just pick a room and take a box  or bag and fill it up with stuff that has been there for a long time that I really do not need or use.  Yesterday I cleaned out a kitchen cupboard of dishes and cooking things that I NEVER USE.  I look at my shelfs now and they are so clean and just the things I use daily! Loving the new space.

I need to really do an overhaul of my closets..... that is my next big  STUFF  attack.

[devababy]

You go girl.  I’m 72, and I have decluttered a lot.  Given so much away to shelters, garage sale, holiday stuff.  All my blue porcelain collection, and it was room full, I gave to my daughters to divide up and decorate their homes with.  I even got rid of excess furniture, less to clean and more room.  I even decluttered toooooo many plants and gave away to some ladies that are starting out fixing their yards.  I could do more, but that will be a spring group garage sale.  It feels good to get things in order.

[Carmie]

Oh yes, you can do it.  I took the pledge to stop buying things I didn't need a few years ago.

it was difficult at first.  I spent a great deal of time looking and shopping on line.  I put stuff into my cart, then shut down my device before I actually completed the purchase. I stopped going into stores to look.

Now, it's like a second nature for me.  I very seldom buy something I don't need, but want.

I also am thrilled with all the extra cash I have in my account.

If I can do it, so can you.  

[jeanlake]

Kitty's right - It IS fun to challenge yourself - go for it. Have two pictures in your mind. Which do you want?

1. A space littered with clutter reflecting things you don't need
2. A clean space; lovely and peaceful with a wallet full of money on a pretty, mosaic table

Report back -- cheering you on

[OKPrincess]

We’ve been in the decluttering mode for a while now and so proud of the progress made. 

If we can’t wear something and it’s been sitting two or more years, out it goes. Put it in the garbage bag hanging on the bedroom door.

All of our photos are in one spot. We’ve gone through books and donated the ones we don’t want to keep. Same with CDs and video tapes. 

I feel so much better now knowing the kids won’t need to go through stuff. 

[Puppy Lips]

I hope so, because I need to do it too.

[ValuSkr]

I don't know you very well, but I think you can go cold turkey.  I've done it myself.  I like the things I have and don't want to be bothered making room for new things.  I buy new things only when old things need to be replaced.  And even then, sometimes they don't get replaced because after doing without for a bit, I find they weren't needed in the first place.

[Mominohio]

You absolutely can do it, if you really want to. 

Just a suggestion, but may help with the willpower.

Come over to the Home forum and we have a very long running thread about "what have you purged today". Great inspiration there.

If you begin to go through your home, and see how much of each category of things you have, and if you decide to unload some of them, it becomes very apparent just how much excess you have, and just how much money you may have spent on things you don't really use, or don't really like, or that didn't really live up to your expectations of what you thought they would be. It is great incentive to curb future purchases.

And while it might not work for everyone, when I start to save money, put it away and watch it grow, I get in the swing of it being easy to say no to many new purchases. I'd rather have the cash in the bank when I begin to consider purchasing something that I really don't need, or have to think about where I will put or store it when I get it home.

Keep us posted on how it goes for you.

[Alison Wonderland]

I do think you can do it. I did in July and August.

If you need help, you can check out a book called The No-Spend Challenge Guide: How to Stop Spending Money Impulsively, Pay off Debt Fast, & Make Your Finances Fit Your Dreams, by Jen Smith. She mostly looked at it as a financial thing, but I read a lot of it as a stuff thing.

I spent the summer asking myself if I really needed something and if I'd actually use it or if it was just going to gather dust like so many other things. I'm one of those people who goes all-in on a new hobby/craft (knitting, jewelry, candles, soap, etc.) and buys a ton of supplies only to get bored 2 months later and move on to something else, leaving drawers and cabinets full of stuff from my last new thing. I'm finally reexamining and donating.

[Group 5 minus 1]

I appreciate all your replies.Keeping my fingers crossed!