2016 Destash - The more things you own, the more they own you

[Debbie]

A co-worker who just retired has been going through her stuff using the Konmari decluttering system. I checked it out and its motivated me. Anyone else use it?

I retired last summer after 40 years of teaching. I am (slowly) working through the KM method of decluttering. I've done all my clothes, linens, bath items, kitchen gadgets, cupboards, pantry, paper, and some books. I got derailed in May when my daughter came home from university, but she has headed to Finland for her masters today, so I'll be able to get back on track. Tomorrow-her books (she gave me a pile to get rid of-from early grade one chapter books to adult books) will be sorted to give to other teachers. A bonus...with all the work I've been doing with KM, I have lost 30+ pounds. I want to get serious again to get me to Onederland, and then another 30!

 

[dreamin_disney]

My DH has been making quite a bit of progress. He cleaned out his office over the weekend. Two garbage bags of junk are gone and with some organization, it looks much, much better!

He's also been working in the garage and has 2 or 3 boxes to take to recycling on Friday.

Today, I plan on going through our dresser drawers again, and I may list a couple of items on Craigslist as well.

Progress!

Isn't it great when the husbands get involved. I was shocked mine got rid of 4 boxes of shirts. He still has a lot to get rid of but baby steps. I'm hoping the more I declutter he and DD will join in. Well my DD has no choice I'm making her-lol!
I've posted some items on offer up..check it out for your area. I hope you make some $$. I sold lots on Craigs list, Fb sell groups and craigs list in the last 3 years but seems like its slowing down. I sold 5 tops for $20

I retired last summer after 40 years of teaching. I am (slowly) working through the KM method of decluttering. I've done all my clothes, linens, bath items, kitchen gadgets, cupboards, pantry, paper, and some books. I got derailed in May when my daughter came home from university, but she has headed to Finland for her masters today, so I'll be able to get back on track. Tomorrow-her books (she gave me a pile to get rid of-from early grade one chapter books to adult books) will be sorted to give to other teachers. A bonus...with all the work I've been doing with KM, I have lost 30+ pounds. I want to get serious again to get me to Onederland, and then another 30!

You've done a lot! Doesn't it feel good letting go and releasing stuff. Im feeling good releasing it like a healing taking place . Funny you mention losing weight since starting Konmari because last night I was breaking a sweat and told my daughter its a great workout-lol! I was bending, lifting, squatting etc lol!

I just finished my bedroom bathroom and filled a grocery bag size of over 40 misc bottles of hair care and misc. I lost track after 40. Hubby came home and just smiled. I feel good and full of energy, must be the starbucks java chip -lol!

ok, I'm back. Its 12:13am and I just finished another drawer in the kitchen, took out my clothes from dryer folded my laundry Konmari style usually I leave it in the basket for a few days I put in a load of towels. When I put the towels away I plan on hitting the hall closet but maybe tomorrow. I've been sick with sinus or cold but everytime I start decluttering I get hot and start sweating . not sure if I'm burning calories or fever

 

[comicguy]

Got rid of 2 dead computer monitors and 2 dead computer towers, plus 4 assorted computer cables. (This is in addition to the computer stuff from last week)

Does computer stuff just breed when you don't pay attention???

So total left today 8 items!!

 

[KarenAylwood]

Got rid of 2 dead computer monitors and 2 dead computer towers, plus 4 assorted computer cables. (This is in addition to the computer stuff from last week)

Does computer stuff just breed when you don't pay attention???

So total left today 8 items!!

I've got cables coming out my rear. I don't get it. I keep everything because I think I'll need it but through two moves the box has only gotten bigger... I should just get rid of it ALL. Great job!

 

[dreamin_disney]

My sinus infection/cold slowed me down but I did some decluttering tonight. Seems like night time is when I have the most energy to clean, declutter and organize. I was set and ready to go in my bedroom. I turned on the fan and the music. Emptied out my top drawer and had my trash bag ready. In walks bubby ready for bed...REALLY! I told him I'm on a roll to Konmari. He said, "Don't mind me,."
and pushed my pile to the side-ugh!

I worked on my 3/6 drawers. Got rid of 5-6 tops. Hopefully this weekend I work on my other 3 drawers.

I also told my DD she needed to start hitting her boxes and get off of her electronic!!. She wasn't happy and tried throwing a lil fit so I sat down with her and emptied out the first box. She said all of it was just get rid of and just wants to throw everything away(that's her way of trying to get out of it). I emptied out the box and told her to mark 3 empty boxes
1. Trash
2. Donate/Sell
3. Keep

She wasn't happy. She was throwing stuff in with attitude!-lol! We finishes the box and I went to my room to finish my drawers. I could hear her tossing stuff in the boxes and grunting. I stayed in my room. Then I hear her with her allergy/asthma cough(I'm sure from the dust) and yell take your inhaler!!! after 5-10 min I come out and she had gone through 2 boxes on her own. She had the donate/sell mostly filled. Happy Mom here! We still have more stuff to go through but Once her room is finished I told her she can't move anything in until she Konmari's it and I check everything she puts back in her room. Her keep box I will make her go through again before she puts it in her room.

Before hubby went to bed I told him I've been trying really hard to declutter and organize and I will be doing his stuff next(I was joking) He said I'm not touching his stuff and he will go through it nextweek when he is on vacation. Oh I hope he does

What I noticed again tonight was my body felt like it was burning calories big time. All I was doing was standing there folding tops, PJ tops, Pj bottoms. I wonder if by doing this my mind and body is releasing. It's almost like a healing..letting it go-lol! I feel lighter. Its like all this clutter is emotional baggage, holding us down and ready to move on, wanting change is a release. I know I don't like change but lately I want a change in every part of my life. Being healthier, losing weight

 

[eeyoreiscute]

I'm new here but we worked on our basement closet which is full of in-laws hand me downs, and we took out three yard size bags of clothes to charity. It felt good on one hand to regain space, but guilt on other for dumping what they gave us.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm falling behind in my decluttering lately. I just have no motivation in this heat, and I'm letting myself feel overwhelmed by the total amount of stuff instead of just chipping away at it a little at a time.

I think I need to do some more "obvious" mini-projects to remind myself how good it feels. (My last couple have been on things that were mostly out of view to begin with.)

 

[comicguy]

Well my decluttering hit a major roadblock this week. FIL died last week and we had to clean out his apartment by this Saturday and have it cleaned to turn in the keys. So everything ended up at our house. Either sold or donated all of his stuff with a few exceptions (2 small boxes of stuff that specific people asked for that they will pickup when in town). Wife is currently going through all of his paperwork (suspecting she will end of with a few file folders of stuff to keep for the next year or so). He did not have much contact with any of his kids so therefore no real attachment to his things. Wife kept a little lamp that she though looked nice, cleaning supplies as most of them were brands we use anyway. I have a car load to go to the humane society tomorrow morning when they open

 

[comicguy]

Got rid of:

1 Couch to the dump
5 pair of socks to the trash
1 grill to the curb for scrap
5 cardboard boxes recycled
1 book donated

Now to try and get the house in order before we leave for WDW in a couple of day

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Rummage sale is in full swing now. Next week is weekend 2 of the sale, then we box it all up and send it to the next place.
Things have slowed down here at home a bit but we are back at it again this week.
I'm rotating 15 minutes in each room every day to start pushing back the clutter and making piles to go to next years rummage sale.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Slowed down due to busy weekend. Today was busy too! Got a last minute call to Daughter eye appointment, Glad someone canceled so she didn't have to wait until the end of the month but threw my day off-lol!
-I didn't go through my pants drawer and folded using Konmari method. Drawers look much better and I have extra room. I got rid I one pair of pants to donate and might have a few more

Goal for this week
1. Hall closet

2. Front bathroom cabinets. My husband and daughter share it. I plan on taking everything out of the cabinets and setting everything on the sink counter. Then call them in and have then trash or keep. That's one way to get them to organize it-lol!

UPDATE-hubby and DD did it on their own!!!! They didn't want me involved so they did it while I was at work. Smart people

3. Work a lil in my spare room

4. undergarment drawer- 8/10 UPDATE-My drawer was such a mess that it was a hassle to open and close it. I had 3 plastic bins that fit in my drawer and some space on the side. I put my good underwear in one bin, monthly underwear in another(only women will understand this-lol), in the bigger bin I put all white socks in one roll, black sock in a roll, footie booties in one roll and the larger fuzzy warm sock in another roll. The socks fit perfect in the bins. One the open space on the side of the bins I put my bras. I swear its a workout doing Konmari
Got rid of= 10 pairs of old underwear, 1 pair of gloves and 5 -1/2 pairs of socks and 1
undergarment tank top.

8/10 UPDATE-Not on the list but I cleaned the HOT SPOT! Its the den coffee table. Everyone throws the sales ad, junk mail and whatever non important papers :/ Drives me crazy and they know it! Nice and clear. I told hubby to go through his pile and get rid of any papers, junk, he doesn't need and to not put anything back under my table

** Since doing konmari I've kept my bathroom clean and sink counter clear. I remind myself to put stuff away as soon as I finish using it. I'm even looking to get more organize and start a budget plan and keep finances organized and my household shopping organized too

 

[Debbie]

** Since doing konmari I've kept my bathroom clean and sink counter clear. I remind myself to put stuff away as soon as I finish using it. I'm even looking to get more organize and start a budget plan and keep finances organized and my household shopping organized too

I have done the same, and I find that just having that space so relaxing, is encouraging me through the other phases.

 

[ski_mom]

I'm making August my month to really tackle this! My 2 oldest are heading off to college this month and we have a lot to get done before they leave. A lot of it is on them, but some is on me too. My goal as far as decluttering is to do one area a day. Probably will be a small area most days, but I'm ok with that as long as it's something. Last night was the top of my dresser. It's the catch-all in our bedroom. I'm also going to post at least 2 things a day on our local facebook trading page. Last night I listed 7 pairs of shorts and capris that DD doesn't want anymore and I'm meeting someone this afternoon for 3 pairs of them!

Tonight my plan is the organize the hall closet. In our house it holds all the towels, etc for the bathroom and well as extra sheet sets, pillows and blankets, tp, games, etc, etc, etc. It ends up being a mess and I'm going to get it cleaned out tonight! It'll be easy to list things on facebook for awhile because DD purged her clothing and she has a lot that I can list.

I'll check in tomorrow to update my progress! Thanks for holding me accountable!

 

[KarenAylwood]

It's been hard but I've been trying to chip away at things, especially our toy room/office. DS is 3 and we're trying for another so most toys aren't going anywhere any time soon but the office stuff is insane. We have a lot of random things we hold on to- the boxes our cell phones came in. Why? We use them until they break. I found the box from every cell phone we've ever owned when we moved last time- and most of the phones. I gave my old Razr to my son to play with and recycled the rest and dumped the boxes. Yet I've kept these boxes for no real reason. Toss!

I got rid of a lot of "art" from daycare and files we were holding on to for no reason, all while playing with DS last night haha. The room has been feeling very overwhelming but I just keep reminding myself that if I even throw one sheet of paper out, I have made a difference.

 

[toystoryduo]

We've slowed down a lot with de-cluttering the past couple of weeks, but I want to get back on it before vacation and before school starts again. My plan is to go through all of our curriculum/school books tomorrow, and see if any of them are selling on eBay or not. If they are, I will list them, and if not, then I may post them on Craigslist for a couple of days before donating them.

I would also like my DH to go through the last few boxes of computer/electronic stuff in the garage. He has made a huge dent in our garage clutter, and I would love it if we can finish this project before we leave for vacation.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I sold $95 worth of stuff on Craigslist/Facebook over the weekend. 2 milk glass cake platters from our wedding, 4 sets of string lights and 7 paper lanterns. It feels so nice not to see these items sitting around the house anymore! I will be posting more items for sale this week. Just need to keep up the momentum to list things. All of the earning are going directly towards our debt dumping efforts, which feels amazing as well.

 

[SafferMom]

Haven't been on this thread for a while but am loving seeing all the progress everyone has made.

We have listed our house for sale this week so on Sunday we started the mammoth clean up and decluttering before the agent takes photos on Friday.

Today we accomplished tons - am so stiff and sore from all the scrubbing/bending and lifting. The biggest accomplishment was clearing out the kids playroom. managed to get 5 bags for donating and 2 bags to throw out. This decluttering thing does seem clearer when you have to pay for your possessions to be shipped across an ocean - definitely an incentive to throw things out.

Tomorrow I tackle the office and storeroom.

A few weeks ago I purged our books and dropped them at an animal shelter for their annual book sale - felt great to get some boxes out the house.

 

[mom2t]

I have not posted during the last month. I have been enjoying time with my son. I purged things in the kitchen junk drawer and my sock drawer this week. I moved my wireless printer into a walk-in closet. A friend is coming tomorrow to help me move our modems and unhook our 14 year old tower. Then, I can get rid of the huge computer cabinet in our living room and move some of our furniture around. I have an appointment to drop off my consignment clothes the end of the month. I want to can apples this fall so my first task when DS goes back to school is to clean out and arrange my canning supplies. I just retired from teaching after 34 years. I am very task oriented so I need a plan to keep myself focused with small tasks each month so I will not go crazy this fall when my friends return to work.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Vacation time is over and I'm trying to get back to my routine. I need to find motivation to get back into decluttering. Last night I did go Into my spare room and cleared/organized a small table space. I'm just feeling like I took 4 steps forwards and not I've taken 10 steps back. Where the heck does all this stuff come from!!!! I'm going to try and hit my bedroom tomorrow. I have 1 drawer I need to Konmari. Forgot to mention Hubby and DD did cleanout their bathroom drawers and WOW! They did a great job and have some free space

Goals for the week
Bedroom
1. Drawer
2. Organize my shoes (Thanks god I don't have many-lol)
Spare Room/office/Craft room
3. Table
4. Table Drawers
5. Closet
Clutter Hot spots
Den
6. Entertainment center

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've been a slacker lately while dealing with some other tasks, but my goal for today is the paper clutter on the fridge. - I want to see a nice clean expanse of white! (Well, a few pictures and a memo board will stay, but most of it right now is clutter.)

Yesterday, DS did his sock drawer. It doesn't sound like much, but you couldn't close it if they were all clean at once. Now all the too-small ones are gone.