2014 - destash thread The Year of the Great Purge

[Katy Belle]

I am IN. DH and I started right after Christmas. Already took a huge trunk load to Good Will and have a partial load ready to go. I will load it up and take it when I pick him up for lunch today. Need to go buy huge trash bags so the trash guys will take away most of it tomorrow. We threw away bags and bags of stuff! I have a bag of books ready for DS18 to take to the used bookstore. Progress!

I have a SUPER hard time getting rid of books...but I have found that if I go through them, get rid of some, then go through them a few weeks later, I am more ready to let more go. I just can't do it all at once! I have convinced myself that five, six shelve bookshelves are ENOUGH, and I don't need to have boxes of books too!

Looking forward to everyone's progress!

 

[kinntj]

Peter Walsh: Day 1
Take 10 minutes and declutter one drawer. First 31 day challenge. DONE!

I'm following him too. I did my bed side table drawer last night.

 

[tinker*dust]

I'm in! I've been off work a little more with the holiday and used my time wisely. I challenged myself to getting rid of 100 things both last week and this week. Last week I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards, drawers, fridge and pantry. I had way more than 100 things that went away. (And a clean pantry helps with clean eating ) This week was my master bath. Who knew I could find 100 things I never use in the closets and cupboards?

I can't tell you how good it feels! Today I'm off again and want to tackle my closet.

 

[butterflygirl812]

I went through my drawers and closet last night and packed up everything I don't think I wore in the last year. With everything that was left in my closet, I hung the hangar from the back to the front instead of hanging it normally. After I wear something, it can be hung normally for the rest of the year. Next January 1st, anything that the hangar is still wrong will get donated since I obviously didn't wear it for a year.

 

[delmar411]

I went throu my desk area and filled a trash bag of stuff from there. It's not much but it feels better.

 

[Debbie]

Peter Walsh Day 2: Sweaters! I did mine in the summer, but I'm heading upstairs to recheck my own, and to do DH's.

 

[hrhejc]

Long time lurker...

Yesterday I turned all the hangers in my closet backwards. As I wear something I turn the hanger he right way. At the end of the year I get rid of anything that is still hung backwards. Only exception is formal ware but I tried it on to make sure it still fit.

 

[Deffenm]

I am in again this year. DH actually started on Jan. 1. He cleaned off his bookshelf and his dresser drawers.

My goal for January is to clean up our master bedroom, including closet and bath. As well as begin in the basement. The basement is going to take sometime. The two big areas for us is the basement and the garage. The other rooms I made great progress and it is just a matter of keeping them organized and if new things come in old stuff goes out.

 

[havaneselover]

I'm in! Heading to the dump tonight. Cleaned out my attic (junk left by the sellers).

Yesterday I sold my kids' power wheels mustang.

I still have about a dozen boxes to go through from moving and I'll make donate/sell/trash piles.

Excited to be making progress!

 

[dtr_angel]

Still need to take the Christmas tree down... I worked 7-3 yesterday and DH worked 3-11 so it didn't happen. It is something that has to be done while DS is sleeping because of the ornaments and hooks not being baby friendly. Hopefully tomorrow during nap time.

For January I'm working on "home office" stuff. I don't know why it just feels like a good place to start every year! Here are my goals for the month...

finish Christmas thank you notes and mail (2 left - need addressed, stamped, and mailed)
shred everything in shred bin
clean/organize/declutter desk (done)
clean/organize/declutter all the "office stuff" in the basement - done
sort through the filing cabinet - purge/shred/organize and label folders done
sort through fire safe box done
sort through Christmas cards - trash/recycle (done)

The goal to to work on this a little at a time each day this month. If I get done before the end of January, start the next project (kitchen) not sure what the next one will be yet

Today I didn't get much accomplished. I did go through a small plastic drawer with receipts in it and threw a bunch away. I also have a box for Goodwill and hope to add some more to it and get it out next week.

 

[dtr_angel]

Peter Walsh

Day 1 - decluttered receipt drawer in desk
Day 2 - sweaters did this last year, only have a few and I've been wearing them all this winter

 

[MAJPLO]

Love Peter Walsh. I didn't do yesterday's drawer challenge but I did the sweaters today. I found one brand new sweater and one I only wore once. They need to be washed but since DH does the laundry I guess I stashed them to make sure they didn't get put in the dryer. Getting rid of eight sweaters, two pairs of pants, and a pair of jeans. The pants were an extra find since they were on a shelf above the sweaters. Also reorganized my purse/scarf drawer and got rid of a bag and box that had been cluttering the closet. I feel so much better!

 

[dtr_angel]

This isn't exactly de-cluttering related but close...
I saw someone post (or I think I did) about being behind on laundry. I started doing this before Thanksgiving because I was so sick of always having laundry piled up.

http://www.organizinglifewithlittles.com/2013/09/09/conquering-the-laundry/

At first, I was still keeping the towels/wash cloths from the bathroom in the bathroom hamper until it was full (which takes about 10 days) and washing them all at once. Well I started throwing in the wash cloths and the towels (we reuse for a few days) with the rest of the laundry so it's even easier! I used to do so many separate loads - our clothes, DS clothes, DSs towels, our towels, my work scrubs, diapers.... now I just do one load of everything (except diapers) and sometimes I don't even have enough to do a load every day - its AMAZING! I bought Shout color catchers because some of DSs white onesies were looking a little blue. Last week I did a small load of the all white stuff and bleached it and just like new again! No other issues and I used to be ocd about sorting colors.


I have also seen school papers mentioned a few times... My DS is not in school yet, but this is what I plan on doing. There are a ton of ideas on Pinterest!

http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2010/11/school-paperwork-storage.html

 

[dtr_angel]

is someone going to post the Peter Walsh 31 day challenge every day? I don't know where it came from but so far I like it! (never heard of it but watched the 2 videos that were posted here) going to keep track of my progress on here!

 

[dtr_angel]

okay I'm being a chatty cathy today but trying to make myself be accountable to stay on top of all the things I want to accomplish this year!

I feel like a jerk returning gifts that were bought, but we have a small house with NO storage and DS has SO many toys. For anyone who asked what he wanted, I said no toys and what did we get.... We had a big first birthday party for him and he got a ton of toys. We said we weren't going to give them all to him but over the course of the last 6 months he ended up with most of them. I am very good about rotating toys. He has a toy organizer in the dining room and he can only have out what fits in there, and rotate them every month. He has a small toy box in his room but that is just soft toys like stuffed animals. We sent some toys to grandma and grandpas house last year for him to play with there and that has worked out awesome (since one of them is big and they have the room) anyway... for Christmas he got a ton of toys. We returned 2 to Walmart. I also put some away to re-gift to non-family members. We aren't complete grinches, we let him keep some! My family are all givers, and if we kept every toy he got for every birthday and Christmas we'd be up to our eyeballs in them already. The clothes he got are in his current size, so I am going to exchange them for the next size to have ready in the closet. Of course I write nice thank you notes and don't let the gift giver know I am returning/exchanging/re-gifting. Does anyone else do this?

 

[butterflygirl812]

okay I'm being a chatty cathy today but trying to make myself be accountable to stay on top of all the things I want to accomplish this year!

I feel like a jerk returning gifts that were bought, but we have a small house with NO storage and DS has SO many toys. For anyone who asked what he wanted, I said no toys and what did we get.... We had a big first birthday party for him and he got a ton of toys. We said we weren't going to give them all to him but over the course of the last 6 months he ended up with most of them. I am very good about rotating toys. He has a toy organizer in the dining room and he can only have out what fits in there, and rotate them every month. He has a small toy box in his room but that is just soft toys like stuffed animals. We sent some toys to grandma and grandpas house last year for him to play with there and that has worked out awesome (since one of them is big and they have the room) anyway... for Christmas he got a ton of toys. We returned 2 to Walmart. I also put some away to re-gift to non-family members. We aren't complete grinches, we let him keep some! My family are all givers, and if we kept every toy he got for every birthday and Christmas we'd be up to our eyeballs in them already. The clothes he got are in his current size, so I am going to exchange them for the next size to have ready in the closet. Of course I write nice thank you notes and don't let the gift giver know I am returning/exchanging/re-gifting. Does anyone else do this?

I did this when my kids were young enough not to realize that something was missing. It's much harder now. Now I have to go through their stuff little by little while they are at school so they don't realize I'm getting rid of stuff. And my daughter just got something for Christmas that we will regift. My niece just had to buy a gift for her when we were in disney in November. Turns out it was something I had already bought for her for Christmas, and I'm betting I got a much better price than my niece did! But how do you return something to the parks?

 

[dpswift]

I am IN. DH and I started right after Christmas. Already took a huge trunk load to Good Will and have a partial load ready to go. I will load it up and take it when I pick him up for lunch today. Need to go buy huge trash bags so the trash guys will take away most of it tomorrow. We threw away bags and bags of stuff! I have a bag of books ready for DS18 to take to the used bookstore. Progress!

I have a SUPER hard time getting rid of books...but I have found that if I go through them, get rid of some, then go through them a few weeks later, I am more ready to let more go. I just can't do it all at once! I have convinced myself that five, six shelve bookshelves are ENOUGH, and I don't need to have boxes of books too!

Looking forward to everyone's progress!

I have always collected books too. A few things that have helped me get rid of them.

1 My kids did not want the childrens books that I had saved from my youth.

2 With everything going digital will my children even want them for their children.

All that being said I plan to save several of the hardcovers that I bought for my kids. I have gotten rid of many adult books that I had bought myself.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Y'all are doing great!!

Today DS17 and got the dumpster filled in the hopes that it would be picked up before the big snow storm. Sadly that didn't happen so DH and DS17 covered it with a tarp. I don't want to pay for snow! Lol
We got rid of a broken dehumidifier, pieces of the boys old bunk beds. I can't get to the rest right now. DH balked a little at the bed pieces but I'm over hearing "I was going to use that". It's been sitting there for 2 years, what ever the project is, it just ain't gonna happen! Tossed an old manual treadmill. A bin of stuff that got eaten by mice ( I swear I'm not messy, we live on a farm).
I also purged a cabinet in my craft room. Got rid of projects I'm not going to get to. I also sorted a bin from the basement that had my cross stitch in it. That is all now in the cabinet I sorted earlier. Another bin gone!!
Bought Runners World magazine subscription on my kindle. Magazines are my downfall but I never take them anywhere, I take my iPad so I have the kindle app on that. So I'm purging all of my runners world magazines.

Now I'm cleaning off my craft table so DH can hang my new light fixture. Then I will have that box off the floor.

Peter Walsh:
Day 1 - emptied all the cabinets and drawers from the RV before we take it to winter storage
Day 2 - did all my clothes 2 days ago. I actually bought sweaters, I didn't have any that fit anymore, they were all to big.

 

[Jerseymomof2]

I am in! I am going to go at my own pace, But I am determined to clean out the basement & maybe by summer the garage and shed.

We are having a big snow storm here tomorrow so I will be going through some piles of stuff and either putting it up on ebay or in the trunk of my car for goodwill.

 

[butterflygirl812]

Master bath closet.....done!
Closet under the steps.....done!
Computer desk......done!
My drawers and closet space......done!
Storage closet.....done!

4 bags of clothes for goodwill.
4 boxes of household stuff for goodwill.
50+ articles for kids clothing sale.
Countless items into the dumpster.

Now I need a nap.