Home

[Sooner]

Get rid of FIVE things a day! It works!

[Sweetbay magnolia]

It's liberating to declutter! Maybe that's why men don't understand. We've recently moved and oh boy I cracked the whip to get him to get rid of stuff (and we didn't have much to begin with because that is part of my philosophy).

So yes, sometimes I wish I had kept something, but really, the things I keep are important and I have them where I can see them. That includes the garage. We don't have a basement, nor did we want one - though the crawl space is something I avoid!

Now I am having fun making new spaces with the things I love, local consignment shop stuff, and, oh heavens! some Temp-tations ware.

I hope you have a wonderful day, all.

[Sunnyfield]

I can sympathize! DH is definitely a packrat (old church bulletins stacked up, for example!! and college textbooks ....the man is 67!!)

Anyway - I admit I have gotten rid of things and not told him...mostly he never asks about them either...the worst is several boxes of color slides (I'm talking packing boxes from moving) that he won't get rid of and won't throw away - I just leave them alone and we move them from place to place!!

Garage cleaning is on my agenda for tomorrow!!!

[casuallady]

On 8/31/2014 ckr1147 said:

I can sympathize! DH is definitely a packrat (old church bulletins stacked up, for example!! and college textbooks ....the man is 67!!)

Anyway - I admit I have gotten rid of things and not told him...mostly he never asks about them either...the worst is several boxes of color slides (I'm talking packing boxes from moving) that he won't get rid of and won't throw away - I just leave them alone and we move them from place to place!!

Garage cleaning is on my agenda for tomorrow!!!

I am laughing as I read these posts. I can relate to all of them. The college textbooks and slides, and yes scorebooks from his coaching days. He was a middleschool teacher and a baseball coach.

[casuallady]

Thanks for all the encouragement, and yes we have made progress in decluttering.

I am really proud of my husband redoing our garage. He is decluttering, and also painted the cabinets a light taupe, and also painted a metal cabinet. It looks new. There is still more there, and then back to the basement. We are probably going to discard an old headboard, pool table, and door. Want to sell an antique bike.

[debcakes]

Go biking. Summer is almost over. Have fun!

[Mominohio]

Why is it that some people think that hard work, that produces much desired results isn't fun? Also, just because someone is working (and worrying) through a big project, doesn't mean they aren't taking time to enjoy the moment as well. Whenever someone posts something like this, even though they don't mean to be, they come off sounding condescending to me.

edited for spelling

[Mindy D]

I FOUND THAT THE LONGER YOU WORK ON GETTING RID OF STUFF, THE MORE YOU BECOME WILLING TO TOSS. IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD-GATED, PEOPLE JUST SET STUFF OUTSIDE ON A TABLE, WITH A SIGN THAT SAYS "FREE". NEIGHBORS HELP THEMSELVES. CAUTION WITH ITEMS THAT COULD HURT KIDS. THE WINDOW CANDLES, WITH BULBS, ARE THE PERFECT THING FOR THIS.

I HAVE ALSO SET UP A TABLE IN MY HOUSE WITH STUFF, AND WHEN FRIENDS COME BY, THEY JUST PICK AND TAKE HOME. YEARS BACK, I DID THIS AND HAD PRICES ON STUFF. THEY BOUGHT STUFF. NOW, I WOULD NOT CHARGE THEM.

YOU ARE MAKING HEADWAY.

[JamicaJammer]

Please just worry about purging and pitching YOUR stuff. It's his home, too, right? If he wants to keep his stuff, please, let him.

[Mominohio]

On 9/5/2014 JamicaJammer said:

Please just worry about purging and pitching YOUR stuff. It's his home, too, right? If he wants to keep his stuff, please, let him.

I certainly have never been to OP's house, and don't know the specifics of her situation, but based on previous postings on this topic, I get a sense that she deals with something similar to what I have experienced with my husband.

Everyone has things that their spouse (or kids or parents) don't think they need to hang on to. They think you never use it, or it holds no value. But to you it does, or you enjoy it. As long as that "stuff" is kept organized, clean, stored or displayed in an acceptable manner then we have to make a place in our lives for the things our housemates consider valuable, even if we don't see it that way.

If those things get out of control, make rooms impossible to get through, spill over into the yard and driveway, make closets, drawers, and storage areas like garages, basements attics unusable for their original purpose (like parking a car in the garage, or so much stuff in the kitchen cabinets there is no room for dishes or food storage), then we that declutter start to have a problem. It is more than "their" stuff now. It is becoming a real problem. There is often a fine line between allowing someone to "keep his stuff" and it being a chronic problem that borders hording.

I'm not saying OP has a hording husband!!! I'm just saying that when people make blanket statements about letting the other person in your life alone with their stuff, the situation MAY be more involved that just a picky wife wanting to get rid of all hubby's fishing gear.