Just one or two pieces at a time - Page 2

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

When our friends moved south neither of them seemed able to get rid of their stuff so their son suggested he pack her stuff and she pack his. It actually worked quite well for them. We did this too - to a degree. After we each thought we had sufficiently downsized I went thru his and he went thru mine. We each set aside what we thought was questionable and discussed it together.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@151949 wrote:
When our friends moved south neither of them seemed able to get rid of their stuff so their son suggested he pack her stuff and she pack his. It actually worked quite well for them. We did this too - to a degree. After we each thought we had sufficiently downsized I went thru his and he went thru mine. We each set aside what we thought was questionable and discussed it together.

This is a neat idea. It will let you know just how well you know each other, and care about each other's happiness.

It would be interesting to see just what each one would choose to keep for the other, and the reasons why.

flickerbulb · ‎03-09-2010

Well, I just finished purging one whole huge garbage bag full of old papers and receipts. I had shoved them onto my nice, covered patio and tried to ignore them.

They were papers that gave me bad memories and I am glad to rid them from my house. That is bad Feng Shui!

I was inspired to get out there on this beautiful day and get rid of them. They are bagged up and ready for garbage day.

As always, thinking about doing it is harder than the actual task. Now, to do the rest of the work! I am getting out my new steam cleaner from HSN and am going to try it out!

ms traditional · ‎03-09-2010

@Mominohio wrote:

And @Mary Bailey, I can't bring myself to go through my cedar chest. It holds lots of things from my kid's baby days and childhood. I know I should pare down what it in there, but I just can't bring myself to deal with that yet, still way attached to many of those things.

@Mominohio i don't know how old your kids are at this point, but a good friend took pics of special kid mementos, then put originals in album/shadow box and little trunk she decorated, gave as a special birthday present to each of her kids. she has the pictures to look at and remember, they have part of their history. she had fun doing it, reliving with them and transmitting history - and she knows they have a good home.

hoosieroriginal · ‎03-04-2012

I have purged nearly my entire house of things - but have a few more clothes to do because when it comes down to it - I never go anywhere to wear them and I seem to wear the same thing over and over again. Have a pile I always keep in my spareroom to go to Goodwill - if I see something, in the bedroom it goes until I have enough to take. My basement is pretty empty now and thank God I don't have a garage!

sandraskates · ‎06-26-2014

Whenever I think we have too much stuff I look around my neighborhood.

We can park 1 car in our 2 car garage. So many people have their garages stuffed to the gills with storage containers and boxes.

We do have a lot of stuff thought. Periodically we clear out older clothes, books, nick-nacks and the like and donate items to our favorite thrift store. But then I get this mental thought that "now I can buy something to replace what we donated" - usally a new clothing item - LOL!

Snicks1 · ‎07-28-2012

Hi all, I've been away from the forums for the most part, for a while and decided to check in just now to see what everyone has been up to, lol. Funny that this thread is what I noticed, as I have been working on this very thing when I have had some time lately.

Just last evening I had my hubby help me to take a large computer desk to donate. I already had a smaller desk which went in that space and looks much nicer.

Today, I took two nice oak bar height stools, along with 2 medium size boxes of assorted stuff to the donation center, along with our recyclables.

I believe there was something from every room in the house in those boxes I hauled out of here this morning.

I also went through all the drawers in my rolltop desk and a 4-drawer file cabinet, wow, there was a plethora of outdated paperwork there, which will be burned.

Like several of you have mentioned, it is a never ending task and it helps to look things over more often than I have been doing, to keep the clutter to a minimum.

"To each their own, in all things".

house_cat · ‎03-09-2010

I have a 1300 sq foot town home with no basement or attic space. We have one car garage and it has to fit a car in it. I'm not a minimalist, but I'm very selective about what I bring into the house. Clutter literally makes me anxious, so it's not an option.

My husband has a storage unit for his old business equipment and I refuse to put anything in it.

I had to empty my mom and dad's house five years ago and it was overwhelming. My mom was a very tidy person, but they had a lot of storage space in the house, so there was a lot of stuff to go through. I wound up hiring an estate sale organizer. It broke my heart to see some of their beloved things disappearing, but I had no choice. I try my best to surround myself only with things I really love. I have no room in my home, or in my heart, for things I don't truly love or really need.

~ house cat ~

Sweetbay magnolia · ‎04-14-2013

So today I cleaned up the key/mail holder in the entry hall. I can now easily find my primary set of keys.

I boxed up CDs that are collecting dust (I will keep them, but not in a visible spot in the living room).

Took about 10 minutes; a small step that goes for miles!

Thanks MIO - I generally think I am mindful of this stuff but it helps to hear from others.

Cogito ergo sum

GCR18 · ‎07-03-2013

What helps me is to pack the stuff going to goodwill and drive it there within a day. I usually don't change my mind, but I don't give myself the opportunity. I used to save stuff thinking my sister would like it, but I think I was fooling myself.

I haven't put away the Christmas stuff I bought after Christmas yet. Old stuff has to come out for it to go in. I'm not going to expand the area. Everything is piled on the floor in the spare bedroom. Not sure when I'll get on that. I just shut the door and forget about it. 😀