Re: Declutter 2019: What have you purged today?

rnmom · ‎03-11-2010

@queendiva - Isn't it funny, you're missing the days of a spouse, kids and their clutter, and I'm looking forward to days without kids and their clutter. I guess it's hard to appreciate what you have when you have it huh? I'm sure I will miss it someday too, it's just hard to imagine right now.

I took a bit of advice from that article and did put a few items away from my bathroom counter that I normally just leave sitting out: my hairbrush and pick, headand for pulling my hairback when I wash my face, hairspray. I am very pleasantly surprised at how much better the counter looks having those few items out of sight. I have plenty of room in my drawers, it's just a matter of actually putting them away. All day yesterday, everytime I went into the bathroom I was pleased at how much cleaner the counter looked with just those few items gone.

Now I have to see if I can put hubby's things away on his side, his electric shaver, trimmer, etc. See if he will have too much of a fit not having those things sitting out. See, spouses and their clutter

queendiva · ‎03-12-2010

Today: saw a bin in the garage that has not been touched since moving here 6 months ago. I'm pretty sure I just dumped a bunch of random items in and put it in the POD to be dealt with later. Well, later was today. In the garage sale box went a power strip, outdoor extension cord for Christmas lights, an extra dog coat and a few other items I can't even recall. Just kept some new Caldrea cleaning sprays and a couple of dog toys ( I said the items were random!) The bin is broken so that will go in the trash this week.

Eager2Learn · ‎10-21-2011

@rnmom wrote:
@Eager2Learn - you are doing a really great job so far this year! Think how much lighter you'll be by the end of the year! Keep up the great job!

Thank you!

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

Threw away a couple of smoke detectors today.

This isn't as much about the purge, as it is about reminding everyone about keeping up with their detectors.

I know they say to replace the batteries when the time changes happen and yeah that is good advice, but really it so often gets overlooked.

Husband was at an auction and in a box of stuff he bought for recycling, he found two new in the package smoke detectors and we knew we had some that needed attention, so we got that done.

We had one in the family room that was here 25 years ago when we moved in, and it wasn't working at all anymore, so replaced it. found another one that had no batteries in it (we had a problem with them chirping last year, and couldn't determine exactly which ones were acting up, so we removed batteries one unit at a time until we figured it all out, and obviously we didn't get batteries back in that one) and replaced another one in the basement. One of the older ones we replaced still works, so it is going out in the garage, which I had never thought of before, but a very likely place for a fire to start.

Hopefully as we organize, purge and clean, we will remember to take a second look at things concerning safety in our homes as well.

Lisa Y · ‎09-07-2014

DH and I went through a kitchen cabinet where we keep RX medication and vitamins. Threw out most of them since the expiration dates were from 2008! (We had look up what the meds were used for because we couldn’t remember.)

Othereeeen · ‎03-13-2010

64 pages of posts and 600+ replies about tossing STUFF.

If I were QVC, I'd be concerned....people are buying LESS stuff today...

I know I am. In 2018,I began my "year of not purchasing anything" and decluttering at the same time...still going strong in month 3 of 2019.

WOW. What an eye opening experiece.

Now, I don't care how many colors, how "new" an itiem is, how much "less that you can spend at retail!!!', how soft, cool, warm, pretty, cute, and lastly "MUST HAVE!!!!"

My mind says NOPE.

I am talking about stuff I purchased on QVC mostly and Amazon secondly.

Too Much stuff. What was I THINKING?!?!??!?!?!

New rule? NOTHING is allowed down my basement steps or into a cupboard or closet. No more storage containers, boxes, racks, etc where "Stuff" can be "set down" until I need it.

I'm single age 63, live alone. What was I thinking when I bought:

A bowl lift Kitchen Aid mixer ( i think was 575 watt, largest they made for home at the time in 2000). Used it about 5 times, went to basement, bowl lift mechanism seized up. THere are dozens of YouTube videos on how to repair this defect, which seems common. Could not GIVE the thing away to handy neighbor guy. Went to Salvation Army. Along wih an unopened box of "all these attachments!!!!"...and an unopened box of wonderful turqoise "silicone something" kitchen gadgets.....

Duplicate dish sets. Pot and pan sets. Northern Nights stuff...sheets, down blankets, down throws. Dennis Basso throws, some with cute stuffed animals included. Northern Nights towel sets in different colors STILL unopened or used.

Kitchen "gadgets". Electric grills, broilers, pots, gimmicky items like rotiserries, counter top appliances that are a b**** to clean, coffee pot gimmicks that cost a fortune to make the coffee (pods, K-cups)...brand name and famous name endorsed Krap.

I can NOT live along enough to use a fraction of these duplicate items.

Then, my Mom (95) died in 2015, and I inherited HER "stuff". Sentimental "stuff" that is hard to throw out....lace items and doilies and tablecloths and DISHES ( OMG I will NEVER buy another plate, cup or dish. I don't care that the stuff is "good china" not for every day use. It it sitting in TWO china cabinets. One of them is mine..in addition to my own "Good" dishes, many many polish pottery, protuguese stuff, all from QVC.

I don't break dishes so I probably can't ever use up this stuff either...IF they break, they will be happy that they "died" being used and not left on a shelf.

Time to "let go"... I am donating MOST of it to Salvation Army. ( I will not do yard sales). I am tossing it in order of sentimentality. As the date of mom's death recedes into the past, her things become just MORE "stuff" . Nice, yes. Will I EVER use it? Probably not.

I have no kids or spouse. One sister remains, also no kids. She is also decluttering HER home.

I realized that when I die, my sis will call a local real estate broker and say "sell the place and send me a check" (we live 400 miles apart). NO ONE is going to sort thru this stuff again and pine over it's use or sentiment or anything.

I have several friends and acquaintances who are cleaining out big time too.

Look at this thread....hundreds of posts. Seems like us older people are waking up to the weight of all that "Stuff" and want to get rid of a lot of it while we are physically able.

And for me, it's freeing. No more clutter. No more "some day" I will use this. No more "Someone may NEED this and I will be here to give it to them!!!!" No more..."I paid good money.....it's valuable ( no it's not, not if someone doesn't want it, or if I don't want it)....no more But it was Mom's! Or Grandmoms!!!...guess what ....they had a lot of junk too!! That's why they put stuff in their closets or basements.....they were and are not treasures, just junk they didn't want to throw out!!!

Sheeesh.....I could've retired a year earlier than I did if I hadn't bought all this ******!

PS: Think about that when you buy an "Air fryer" the size of a 55 gallon drum, to put next to your heavy Vitamix that you've used five times, beside your "Auotmotive paint-jobbed" Kitchen Aid mixer that can make 500 cookies at once or 5 boxes of cake mix (...and you live alone!!!!)....and lastly, your Keurig brewer in candy apple red....that makes 2.00 a cup gimmcky coffee...

And don't forget the ten sets of Temptations, with the 9x13 bakers that MAY break in half as you're unloading the oven with 10 pounds of boiling hot lasanga in it....

I'm out.

Twins Mom · ‎04-03-2016

@ Tomgirl
You have taken the time to express very succinctly what bears reading and taking to heart- as difficult as it may be to act accordingly. Enjoy each unburdening day!

gidgetgh · ‎03-09-2010

@Othereeeen wrote:
64 pages of posts and 600+ replies about tossing STUFF.

If I were QVC, I'd be concerned....people are buying LESS stuff today...

I know I am. In 2018,I began my "year of not purchasing anything" and decluttering at the same time...still going strong in month 3 of 2019.

WOW. What an eye opening experiece.

Now, I don't care how many colors, how "new" an itiem is, how much "less that you can spend at retail!!!', how soft, cool, warm, pretty, cute, and lastly "MUST HAVE!!!!"

My mind says NOPE.

I am talking about stuff I purchased on QVC mostly and Amazon secondly.

Too Much stuff. What was I THINKING?!?!??!?!?!

New rule? NOTHING is allowed down my basement steps or into a cupboard or closet. No more storage containers, boxes, racks, etc where "Stuff" can be "set down" until I need it.

I'm single age 63, live alone. What was I thinking when I bought:

A bowl lift Kitchen Aid mixer ( i think was 575 watt, largest they made for home at the time in 2000). Used it about 5 times, went to basement, bowl lift mechanism seized up. THere are dozens of YouTube videos on how to repair this defect, which seems common. Could not GIVE the thing away to handy neighbor guy. Went to Salvation Army. Along wih an unopened box of "all these attachments!!!!"...and an unopened box of wonderful turqoise "silicone something" kitchen gadgets.....

Duplicate dish sets. Pot and pan sets. Northern Nights stuff...sheets, down blankets, down throws. Dennis Basso throws, some with cute stuffed animals included. Northern Nights towel sets in different colors STILL unopened or used.

Kitchen "gadgets". Electric grills, broilers, pots, gimmicky items like rotiserries, counter top appliances that are a b**** to clean, coffee pot gimmicks that cost a fortune to make the coffee (pods, K-cups)...brand name and famous name endorsed Krap.

I can NOT live along enough to use a fraction of these duplicate items.

Then, my Mom (95) died in 2015, and I inherited HER "stuff". Sentimental "stuff" that is hard to throw out....lace items and doilies and tablecloths and DISHES ( OMG I will NEVER buy another plate, cup or dish. I don't care that the stuff is "good china" not for every day use. It it sitting in TWO china cabinets. One of them is mine..in addition to my own "Good" dishes, many many polish pottery, protuguese stuff, all from QVC.

I don't break dishes so I probably can't ever use up this stuff either...IF they break, they will be happy that they "died" being used and not left on a shelf.

Time to "let go"... I am donating MOST of it to Salvation Army. ( I will not do yard sales). I am tossing it in order of sentimentality. As the date of mom's death recedes into the past, her things become just MORE "stuff" . Nice, yes. Will I EVER use it? Probably not.

I have no kids or spouse. One sister remains, also no kids. She is also decluttering HER home.

I realized that when I die, my sis will call a local real estate broker and say "sell the place and send me a check" (we live 400 miles apart). NO ONE is going to sort thru this stuff again and pine over it's use or sentiment or anything.

I have several friends and acquaintances who are cleaining out big time too.

Look at this thread....hundreds of posts. Seems like us older people are waking up to the weight of all that "Stuff" and want to get rid of a lot of it while we are physically able.

And for me, it's freeing. No more clutter. No more "some day" I will use this. No more "Someone may NEED this and I will be here to give it to them!!!!" No more..."I paid good money.....it's valuable ( no it's not, not if someone doesn't want it, or if I don't want it)....no more But it was Mom's! Or Grandmoms!!!...guess what ....they had a lot of junk too!! That's why they put stuff in their closets or basements.....they were and are not treasures, just junk they didn't want to throw out!!!

Sheeesh.....I could've retired a year earlier than I did if I hadn't bought all this ******!

PS: Think about that when you buy an "Air fryer" the size of a 55 gallon drum, to put next to your heavy Vitamix that you've used five times, beside your "Auotmotive paint-jobbed" Kitchen Aid mixer that can make 500 cookies at once or 5 boxes of cake mix (...and you live alone!!!!)....and lastly, your Keurig brewer in candy apple red....that makes 2.00 a cup gimmcky coffee...

And don't forget the ten sets of Temptations, with the 9x13 bakers that MAY break in half as you're unloading the oven with 10 pounds of boiling hot lasanga in it....

I'm out.