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[luvasale]

I plan to attack my garage in Feb. also. I have to wait until my MIL leaves for a week. She lives with us and is the ultimate pack rat, not to mention, if she can't find something, which she never can, she re buys or if an item is on sale that she assumes we need, she buys multiple. I love her but my house cannot handle her generosity. If she is here when I purge, she will find a way to bring it back into the house and store it in her room. I just did the bonus room with kid toys and boy, did that feel good! Happy purging!

[qualitygal]

I did that when I retired too. Pass it along, get rid of it if you don't want it. If you think you might, hold on to it 6 mos. and in that time decide. Better than tosser's regret! LOL

[Lakk]

upsidedown,

One room at a time is a fine idea but I never stick to that, I go from room to room before finishing and it's a never ending task.

Someone on the boards suggested one time to throw out 27 things per day...it works. It can be simple things like old makeup, old used candle jars, magazines, cleaning out your file cabinet, old clothes, handbags, kitchen items, garden tools you no longer use, anything, it's easy. I still have a like new lawnmower in the barn I haven't used for 8 years, I pay to have my yard done now, so why do I have it? LOL

One of my sons and daughter-in-law gives everything to Goodwill that they have not used in ONE year, old or new, it goes! That system works for them, I just can't make myself do that right now.

I have been de-cluttering for several years. In the last 8 years I've lost a son, mother, brother and Dh so I have most of their belongings and I've lived here for over 40 yrs. This place began to look like a warehouse, I had a garage sale in '08 at mom's before selling her house, also gave a lot of mom's furniture to family members. A year or so later a friend that owned a Thrift Store came over with a van and I clean out my Spacemaker Barn. Then what did I do? I took things from the house and filled the barn again. I started with the attic because I have leg issues and should no longer get up there, got it cleared and some of it went to the barn. I'm now trying to get my house situated so if I needed to use a Jazzy or other motorized scooter I could navigate it in through the house. At the moment I'm getting rid of years of Christmas decorations. I had 5 boys and they wanted none of their things, toys, Boy Scout memories, school or sports things so this year I gave them one last chance, now they are all going, one way or the other.

Good Luck

[gidgetgh]

Yes, I did this exactly two years ago. I had been laid off from my job, had time on my hands. Our home was never "cluttery"- there's just two of us, but really, how much stuff do we need.

I started with the kitchen and put no pressure on myself. Some days I worked an hour or so. Other days, 15 minutes. I didn't want it to become like a job because it was actually a fun project for me. BUT, I did work at it every day. I started with the kitchen and worked left to right. I wanted to stay in one room because I knew if I went room to room, all over the place, I wouldn't stay organized. And I didn't skip over anything. No looking in a drawer and saying "I'll come back to this later".

So, it took me two months I think. And I was ruthless. Off to Goodwill or the Kidney Foundation it went. Or into the trash. Or papers into the shredder.

My bedroom closet was the easiest because I do it a few times a year. I'm working again- I work part time from home and I've found that I really need very few clothes. I had way too many.

Best of luck to you. I loved doing it. After I finished, I waited a few months and then went and did it again.

We still have a lot of things, don't we all, but we're really streamlined.

[denisemb]

On 1/22/2014 jackthebear said:

Freecycle is also good option, the group where I live is good. I have been working on moving out books.

Great suggestion! I used Freecycle when we moved from MI to FL and it worked great, especially for things that were "too good to throw out, but not suitable for a garage sale or thrift store". I.E., I had TONS of craft stuff: paint, beads, yarn, fabric, artificial flowers and so on. A girl scout leader eagerly came & picked it all up for her "girls". I'm usually concerned about strangers visiting my home, but we were moving, so it didn't bother me.

Now I just look at the "wanted" listing everyday to see if I can fulfill someone's wish list and meet them in a public place. Got rid of an inflatable queen size bed and some hand weights doing that. My NY's resolution is to start listing some stuff that hasn't been used for years. I'm pretty good about purging, but we all could do better, right?

(This reminds me, I have several old blankets I should donate to an animal shelter or our former vet's office...)

[sarpy]

We started last winter. Went thru 87 albums and each family member got pics pertaining to their family. Went thru all Xmas stuff and what I didn't put up, out it went. Clothes closets have been cleaned out. The rest of this winter the kitchen is getting cleaned out. This spring, the garage is going to get it. Feels so good to get rid of things.

[sue52]

I started doing this two weeks ago. Did the kitchen, bedrooms, closets. DH now working on the garage and we will go up into the attic next. Not too much in the attic, as we are a retired couple, but my goal is to have NOTHING up there. Why store it if we're not going to use it?

[VaBelle35]

I did my basement over the summer.

I had read this article in Experience Life Magazine about clutter and hoarding and while I am not like that, one line did speak to me. It talked about people who keep things "just in case." As in, "Just in case I have 12 people over for a party and I serve champagne, I will keep these glasses for the next 20 years."

I was that person.

I was even keeping the boxes for big ticket items I purchased "just in case I needed to send it back for repair" or "just in case I move."

I had some really nice outdoor furniture that I never used, I had exercise equipment from the Q. My neighborhood posts on Nextdoor, so I offerred it all up to my neighbors on garbage day. They could come get it from me, or get it from the garbage staging area.

They took it all.

I took a lot of household decor, appliances and things to the Salvation Army each day as I purged areas. I had to make room otherwise I was just pushing stuff from side to side.

I decided to go with low shelving as I don't want to have to get on a ladder to take a heavy box off of a high shelf. I also bought small boxes from Target becuase I don't want to lift heavy boxes anymore.

I bought some Origami shelves from HSN for the shelves I want to be able to move around (ones next to the Washer/Dryer in case I need to move them for repairs/replacement) and then Target for their regular stainless steel shelves.

I was able to take all of the luggage and household things that were in my bedroom closets and put them in my basement. Things I had in my kitchen that I use occasionally I was able to move to the basement.

After I was done with this, it opened my eyes to other things I would just walk by 100 times a day and not notice. I finally purged my box of pantyhose (I switched to tights so I never wear them anymore).

I then moved to eBay. I sold all my BE brushes that are still in the plastic wrapper from all the kits I bought. I was saving them in case I needed to replace my old ones but I never replace my brushes. They still work.

I also sold my doll house on eBay, piece by piece. Someone locally took the house itself, but the furniture I sold on eBay (except for one little area rug I couldn't sell for free).

In December I culled my Christmas closet. As I pulled every box out I put aside the stuff I was saving in case I decided to decorate the whole house or the back yard or if I moved to a bigger house. I took 4 trips to Salvation Army to drop stuff off.

After Christmas I put my 1983 Sears artificial tree out for the trash and someone took that home, too. Maybe they'll have better luck fixing some of the wires that were loose that I was unable to tighten so the branches stayed in place.

I have only come across 2 things I tossed that I wish I hadn't as I had to buy new ones. LOL Not bad, though.

[duclane]

Good for you!! It's a great feeling to downsize and see the clean drawers, cabinets etc.

[Sooner]

I'm probably 1/2 way through. I am ditching things I inherited and don't want, old Christmas things I will never use, and BOOKS. The books are hard to get rid of. I am selling some on Amazon and donating a lot of them to Salvation Army.

I have tons of china and glasses, and SOME of them are going. But not until I move will most of the be looked at to get rid of!

I have discovered the trash can is a fine thing. Not everything has to be dealt with, sold or donated. THROW IT AWAY and feel good about it!