2014 - destash thread The Year of the Great Purge

[4 Ears]

In the "out pile". They are hand made and given to us this year. And just don't need more Christmas decorations!

 

[sarahk0204]

Took another load to the thrift shop on Friday. This cleared out a space so that I can shift some junk to a back room before the birthday parties. My main concern is keeping stuff off of the floor in the basement, as we are sure to flood, even the areas that have only flooded 2-3 times in the 15 years we've lived in the house. Too much snow, a deep frost line, and nowhere for the water to go as we thaw.

At least with the last round last summer? fall? I moved stuff off the floor.

And the spot where I took said junk is the spot that flooded, only the second time that the water has come in there.

We survived the cousin birthday party sleepover. I am now in better shape for the friend birthday parties in a couple of weeks. I will keep decluttering, though. I still want to put a lot in the church rummage sale, and I have 6 weeks before I can take items to church.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Ugh. Feeling defeated by the clutter! I really need to get to doing more, but haven't had much time. I should just do one little thing a day, but still find that difficult to do after work with the boys running around. Sorry...just venting.

Been there, done that!

Finally getting back into the swing of things after vacation. I spent about 15 minutes in my craft/crap room. I really need to dig in and get this room done but just walking in there gives me anxiety. It's such a mess! And DH has his own piles in here which doesn't help.
I did purge some old art I did in HS though, nothing I'd really miss. And I gave some drawing stuff to ds13. I can now see one little corner of my craft table. I have a long way to go, but it's a start. Tomorrow I am also going to get 4 different colored totes for the kids. I'm going to put all of their school pics, papers and greeting cards in a tote for each of them. Currently I have all that stuff in my craft room and it's just not working the way it's stored. Each year will get a file and then it will be easier for me to work in their scrapbooks for school, I can store the totes on the new shelves in the basement.
Starting tomorrow I will also be going back to sorting and purging a tote/box a day.
Tomorrow's task is reusable shopping bags. I have way to many and I have my go-to bags, so now it's time to purge the rest.

 

[4 Ears]

Ready to take to one of my jobs, 7 "company" shirts. I have given my notice and asked what to do with them.
Love this job, it carried us through when we needed it but now I am working 2jobs again and it is just too much.

So, 7 shirts and 2 extra name badges ready to be destashed from here

 

[4 Ears]

Minor destashing today while I am taking a sick/mental health day.
6 coat hangers, 3 Christmas mini picture frames, a dozen or so votive nonflame candles, 2 Disney Christmas door decorations and 2 all but gone chapsticks.

What you have destashed recently?

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

continuing to clean up the craft room a bit. No real purging going on.

Got the kids totes with color coded file folders. All of their school papers, school pics and art projects are in the totes. That cleared a shelf in one cabinet in my craft room which I promptly filled with scrapbook paper. ERGH!! I must do a major purge of that tomorrow.

 

[StephMK]

I'm on spring break this week! I have been working on a big to-do list the last few weeks and plan to tackle as many spring cleaning projects as possible. DH is skeptical about my lofty goals but I hope to at least get to most of them. I know I need to get them done this week or they will probably get pushed off until summer.

So far I have cleaned out the shredder. DH can take some of the backlog to work to put in their bin and I'm going to finish the rest. I cleaned off the piano and have started a pile of things to sell or donate. We did a big cleaning before DD's party on Friday so it's nice that the maintenance cleaning is done.

 

[sarahk0204]

I started the "40 bags in 40 days" this week. The site contains DH's new favorite word: "decrapify"

 

[dsneprincess]

I started the "40 bags in 40 days" this week. The site contains DH's new favorite word: "decrapify"

I got a kick out of "decrapify"!!! Now I've gotta look up "40 bags in 40 days" because I missed that.

I know I have a lot of crap to defy!!

 

[ferrytale]

Haha "decrapify", have to laugh b/c the one room that is my nemesis is technically the "craft room/office", but I often refer to it as the big room of crap.

My idea for trying to tackle it was to get big plastic bins and use them to sort into what seem to be the 5 biggest "things" taking up space - photos, games, paperwork, crafts, & girl scout stuff. I figure if I can sort a little bit every couple of days, that when I find time to really do a massive purge in there it will be a little easier to manage OR if I get enough sorted, I can sit at night and purge one bin at a time. Not sure if this is the best plan, but it's further than I've gotten in a while.

 

[writermommy6]

Haha "decrapify", have to laugh b/c the one room that is my nemesis is technically the "craft room/office", but I often refer to it as the big room of crap. My idea for trying to tackle it was to get big plastic bins and use them to sort into what seem to be the 5 biggest "things" taking up space - photos, games, paperwork, crafts, & girl scout stuff. I figure if I can sort a little bit every couple of days, that when I find time to really do a massive purge in there it will be a little easier to manage OR if I get enough sorted, I can sit at night and purge one bin at a time. Not sure if this is the best plan, but it's further than I've gotten in a while.

If it helps. I took a couple of hours and sorted through my fabric stash. I divided it into bins that included: to mend- to finish- to sew/create-to refashion(this is clothing I've acquired but the size and/or style is all wrong). This month I started spending one day a week working on the bins. The mending one sometimes will get my extra attention if I have 10 min free during my day.

 

[nluvwithdisney]

We are planning to put our townhouse on the market in a couple months so we have a lot to destash. So far in the last month, we cleaned out the pantry. There was stuff in there from 2004. No more buying food just because it was on sale. Also has cut down on the weekly grocery bill. Cleaned out the kitchen freezer. Again some unrecognizable things from 2006.

Have donated 8 hefty garbage bags of clothes to goodwill and still have more to go.

Rather have all the extra stuff gone now than have a realtor tell me it has to go!

 

[4 Ears]

Odds and ends of Christmas Cards. You know the ones that are left over and you don't want to send the same ones the next year.

Keys! Keys I have been holding on to for a neighbor but they sold the place. I just called and was like "hey"...

Those are a HUGE weight off my shoulders!

 

[StephMK]

I started the "40 bags in 40 days" this week. The site contains DH's new favorite word: "decrapify"

LOL, DH would love that word!

We are planning to put our townhouse on the market in a couple months so we have a lot to destash. So far in the last month, we cleaned out the pantry. There was stuff in there from 2004. No more buying food just because it was on sale. Also has cut down on the weekly grocery bill. Cleaned out the kitchen freezer. Again some unrecognizable things from 2006.

Have donated 8 hefty garbage bags of clothes to goodwill and still have more to go.

Rather have all the extra stuff gone now than have a realtor tell me it has to go!

Smart! It helps to sell a decluttered space plus it's cheaper to move if you're not dragging stuff you don't want to keep!

I shredded all the stuff I didn't want to send in to work with DH. I've paid bills, cleared some phone calls off my to-do list, and am in the process of moving all random items to the dining room. From there, I can sell, move to the basement, garage, etc. I figure if I funnel it all to a room, then I can get most of the rooms in shape then deal with the leftovers in one room. So far, not much in there because if I know it has a place, I am putting stuff away.

I was watching Hoarders last night to get motivated! Thankfully we are not hoarders but it always makes me want to pitch any little random pile.

 

[thebeesknees]

Yahoo! My niece is pregnant and said she wants all my baby stuff. My "baby" is 6 now, so it has been sitting in the crawl space for far too long. Will be nice to get all that stuff out of there. Crib, high chair, baby swing, play pens (x2) exersaucer, baby gates, etc. Can't wait to see how much space in the crawl space gets freed up when she comes to take it on Saturday! I pulled it all out this afternoon and am washing all the bedding that goes on it so she can have that, too. My SIL said she'd take some of it (a playpen, booster seat, etc) to keep at her house for the grandbaby, so I *think* it is ALL going to be gone!! The down side is that the crib came with a dresser that my daughter is still using...guess we'll be going shopping soon to get one to replace it so my niece can have the matching set and my daughter will have a spot for her socks!

 

[delmar411]

LOL, DH would love that word!

Smart! It helps to sell a decluttered space plus it's cheaper to move if you're not dragging stuff you don't want to keep!

I shredded all the stuff I didn't want to send in to work with DH. I've paid bills, cleared some phone calls off my to-do list, and am in the process of moving all random items to the dining room. From there, I can sell, move to the basement, garage, etc. I figure if I funnel it all to a room, then I can get most of the rooms in shape then deal with the leftovers in one room. So far, not much in there because if I know it has a place, I am putting stuff away.

I was watching Hoarders last night to get motivated! Thankfully we are not hoarders but it always makes me want to pitch any little random pile.

I love watching hoarders when I'm not feeling like cleaning up or decluttering. Works to motivate me, every single time!

I'm still working on liquidating my vinyls. I added in Disney pins to this project too. Unfortunately what started as a decluttering process now has to raise funds to bridge the gap as DH's new job pays a good bit less each week (thanks Disney...grrrr) and we were already on the edge so my motivation right now is to pay the mortgage each month.

 

[StephMK]

I love watching hoarders when I'm not feeling like cleaning up or decluttering. Works to motivate me, every single time!

I'm still working on liquidating my vinyls. I added in Disney pins to this project too. Unfortunately what started as a decluttering process now has to raise funds to bridge the gap as DH's new job pays a good bit less each week (thanks Disney...grrrr) and we were already on the edge so my motivation right now is to pay the mortgage each month.

Agreed, it's very motivating. Sorry for the reason of your decluttering and hope you are successful with the selling!

My week is up and I am not at all ready to go back to work tomorrow. It has been such a nice week at home.

The rooms look really good and I dusted the walls, ceilings, fans, etc. There are a few areas left I need to address. I need to tackle DD20's room since it's become a dumping ground when we need to put stuff upstairs. I'm still working on the basement in bits and pieces and have a few more areas to finish.

I worked on the garage this weekend and made some good progress. I pitched 2 bags of trash, collected a bunch of recycling, and went through a big pile of old teaching papers and tossed most of them. I put away a bunch of stuff, found a pile I need to bring inside and cleaned up an old glass jar that had been filled with plants once upon a time.

That was my best project this weekend. I soaked the filthy jar in hot water & vinegar and it came out so clean. I found a big box of shells we'd brought back from the beach 2 years ago and filled the jar. It's now sparkling and sitting on the bookcase.

I collected all the odds and ends in the dining room so now I need to take the piles to where they belong, donate, or sell them. I cleaned today so everything looks really good as long as I don't look in the dining room. That is my project for this week - finding homes for that table of stuff.

I sold a hair styling thing this week and listed DS's sparring gear. I have some other things to sell and plan to get those listed this week too.

What is everyone working on with spring hopefully coming soon?

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Can I just say that going to the flea market with the kids yesterday so DS17 could shop with a friend will motivate anyone to get rid of crap!! It was 3 floors in an old mill and I swear it was like walking into an episode of Hoarders.
Some people were really organized and clean-ish but others looked like they just rented space because it was cheaper than renting a storage unit! OMG I told DH that when we got home all I wanted to do was shower and get a dumpster.
That was a one and done for me. My mom usually takes the kids there, I've never been.
But it has really motivated me to keep moving forward. Plus I can't, for the life of me, find either staple gun and I needed them today. I will not go buy a new one!!!!!

 

[pjlla]

Glad to see that we are still moving along here, albeit a bit slower. I am still on the de-clutter express, but it has slowed to a crawl lately. And I was "forced" to move a pile of stuff back down to the basement. It is stuff I have listed for sale online, but we had company coming and the home office was looking a bit like a flea market, so I stashed the stuff in the basement. And if it isn't gone by Easter, then it will be sent to consignment or donated!

DH was searching for a computer part here the other day and was totally frustrated as he had to search through boxes and bins of his office debris. He is a total slob (although thankfully not a total hoarder) and was absolutely disgusted with himself for not being able to find this expensive part because he never put it back in the box. In his search he managed to FILL the paper recycling bin and the office trash basket and we ended up with a few empty spaces in the office shelves, plus a box of old cameras and chargers to either sell or donate. That being said.... he left a bunch of the CRAP sitting right on his desk and when I tried to help straighten it up, I was told to "NOT HELP" and leave it alone. oh well...

Off to get laundry done.... no decluttering time on my schedule today!....P

 

[thebeesknees]

Well, the good news is my niece came and took most of my baby gear on Saturday. The bad news is that she decided she didn't want either of our cribs because "aren't her style" (but she DOES want the mattress - um, OK?) so I guess I am going to make a dump run one of these days. I feel bad doing it because they are both in great shape and one of them is a super-pricey one someone gave us, but you can't donate them any more so I guess I will have to trash them. However, just getting the high chair, play pens and baby swing out of the crawl space freed up a bunch of room. My SIL was over on Saturday afternoon, and after my niece loaded up stuff, she was asking me how the de-cluttering was going. I told her how excited I was to have gotten rid of so much stuff the last few months and she looked around and said, "Really? I hadn't noticed anything different." So I guess I still have quite a way to go! To be fair, most of what I've cleared out was in the crawl spaces, so it wouldn't have been noticeable to most people. My next goad is to get the craft room organized. I've had my eye on some Ikea storage units for awhile now, so after I go through everything and figure out what I need, I will reward myself with a trip over there to pick up one or two. (And maybe a piece of their chocolate cake, too!)