Community Chat

[Bri369]

I'm going to have to look up how to find something so it stands up.  I don't get that at all.  LOL

[sidsmom]

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@nomless wrote:

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@FlowerBear wrote:

If I got rid of everything that did not spark joy i would have a pretty empty place!!!

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...which is exactly the point, I believe.

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So true.

Giggled a little bit!

[esmerelda]

There was a post on FB where a woman said she is destined to be naked with all of her books, her husband “made the cut” but the kids were iffy. I’m paraphrasing re: the kids. Can’t remember exactly how she put that. 

[Blahblahvampemer]

I've never read her book, but I finished reading "The More of Less," and somewhere in my piles is the Swedish death cleaning book.  I'm working on box #24 of a possible 30 for the Salvation Army, and it's not that difficult to find quality items to donate.

I really do believe that an issue with decluttering is knowing how much you paid for something and seeing that money minimized if you sell it or gone outright if tossed or donated.  Even things you purchased recently are likely in the pile. Every last bit of Temptations is going to be boxed up, books I thought I'd keep are already packed...and on and on it goes.

It really isn't difficult to make a quick decision on something because I ask myself two questions--do I want to deal with this later, and do I want it in the small home of my dreams? Another question might be do I want to pay many times the stuff's cost to store it?  No, no and no. I also think it's cruel to leave a huge pile behind.

[occasionalrain]

The only things I'm downsizing are books. I seldom read a book twice and I buy and read a lot of books. I used to borrow books from the library but after watching that Seinfeld where George took a book with him to read in the bathroom, I downsized that borrowing thing.

[Karie2022]

Interesting, I’ve never heard of her, gonna check her out...I’m not a minimalist, but I hate clutter and too much stuff, obviously the idea of too much stuff is different for everyone.  But nothing clears my head better than organizing and de-cluttering, I can remember even as a kid going up to my room, totally cleaning it, changing around the furniture, and feeling so much better, it’s like therapy for me🤪

[NYC Susan]

I've moved a few times (including downsizing), so I've become pretty good at knowing what to keep and what to discard.  The "rule" I heard a long time ago was that you should assess each item - Do I need it?  Do I love it?  If the answer is no to both, then out it goes.  That's always worked for me, and IMO it's simpler and makes more sense than the "bringing joy" advice.

I have a lot (a LOT!) of sentimental items including boxes of letters and cards from many decades ago.  A lot of people might think they're junk, but I treasure them.  I would never consider them to be clutter.  

I don't know exactly what Marie Kondo suggests re coordinating colors in closets, but I've been organizing by color for a long time:  Blacks together, blues together, purples together, etc.  My closets look really pretty and organized, and choosing what I want to wear is easy.

So I think a lot of what she recommends is not all that hard to figure out.  I know she's supposedly a hot topic right now, but I think a lot of what she says has been said before in books re how to declutter, etc.  Whatever works for each of us is all good, though!