2014 - destash thread The Year of the Great Purge

[dpswift]

Subscribing...

I have a LOT of stuff to get rid of. My basement still has 30-35 boxes of packed up things from when we bought this house 11 years ago. That's not to mention the clutter in the main part of the house and garage. Up until now, I've been deficient on the time to do it because I have such a long commute to work. I just accepted an early retirement buyout from work though, so in just a few short days, I'll be a SAHM with more time to get things done around the house.

Today, I've been working on a huge laundry basket of paperwork in between doing laundry, and it's spread all over the kitchen table at the moment. I've been tossing out, shredding, and filing. So far, I filled up the kitchen garbage can, and shredded at least 150 sheets of paper. I'm making a promise to myself that after next week (when I'm no longer working), I will take care of the mail on a DAILY basis, and not allow it to reach this proportion again. Thank goodness all of my bills are on auto pay, or I would really have a serious problem.

Welcome it sounds like you are off to a great start.

 

[MAJPLO]

Yayayayyaay. I have NOT been very good at destashing this year but yesterday I cleaned up the kids' playroom and got a few things to sell. Today a friend and I had an impromptu yard sale! So I got rid of more stuff. I started posting on a local swap site and it has been kind of slow but I've gotten rid of a couple of big items. So exciting to be getting stuff out of the house, out of the garage, and adding up cash for our Disney cruise!!!! :: still more work to do in the playroom and I brought home plenty of stuff that didn't sell today but some gone is better than where I was yesterday!

 

[dreamin_disney]

I got rid of a huge pile of stuff to shred and a kids beach pail full of receipts. I had to empty the shredder 3 times. I'm going to go through my spare room again.

I'm also thinking about joining a Facebook group in my area that's for selling and getting rid of stuff.

I'm also hoping to cash in 2 large trash black trash bags of plastic water bottles

 

[dpswift]

Yayayayyaay. I have NOT been very good at destashing this year but yesterday I cleaned up the kids' playroom and got a few things to sell. Today a friend and I had an impromptu yard sale! So I got rid of more stuff. I started posting on a local swap site and it has been kind of slow but I've gotten rid of a couple of big items. So exciting to be getting stuff out of the house, out of the garage, and adding up cash for our Disney cruise!!!! :: still more work to do in the playroom and I brought home plenty of stuff that didn't sell today but some gone is better than where I was yesterday!

Good for you. DD got some work done in her room today. I am off tomarrow so hopefully I can get some more done.

 

[Minnie-Mickey]

Why is it, you can clean and declutter one weekend, turn around and the next weekend it seems to have returned? It seems to be a never ending battle in this house that I am not winning. I have reduced our possessions by at least 30% over the years if not more but now it seems to be in my way more. Going on vacation mid summer and was hoping to come home to a clean empty house upon return. I find it stressful to go on vacation and return to a dirty house. Strange I know but I like to have it cleaned before I leave.

 

[dpswift]

DD managed to get several boxes out of her room. It looks alot better.

 

[StephMK]

DS lost his retainer this week. Spent the morning cleaning every square inch of his room to find it or spend $200. Found it when I took the mattress out of his room. (I was desperate so I moved everything) Needless to say I took a 1/2 barrel of junk out of his room. Some seen and I have to confess some hidden. He is almost 17 and his room is bursting at the seams with junk/toys he has not touched since he was 10. There were dust bunnies the size of small dogs.

Isn't that crazy how they manage to lose stuff in the oddest places?! Glad you were able to find it.

Finally can fit all 3 cars in the garage! Still need to do some organizing of all of the stuff but at least we accomplished what we were trying to do. I now have extra storage in the pantry too so that is the next area to tackle. I need to get some coat rails so I can hang and label all of the bags that we keep ready so they have a proper home and are easier to locate. Plenty of work left in the shed and basement and few other rooms but at least all of the cars now have a home.

Nice work! Great to have the extra storage too! We had to make space in the garage in a hurry one night when a tornado warning came through.

Subscribing...

I have a LOT of stuff to get rid of. My basement still has 30-35 boxes of packed up things from when we bought this house 11 years ago. That's not to mention the clutter in the main part of the house and garage. Up until now, I've been deficient on the time to do it because I have such a long commute to work. I just accepted an early retirement buyout from work though, so in just a few short days, I'll be a SAHM with more time to get things done around the house.

Congrats & welcome!!!

Yayayayyaay. I have NOT been very good at destashing this year but yesterday I cleaned up the kids' playroom and got a few things to sell. Today a friend and I had an impromptu yard sale! So I got rid of more stuff. I started posting on a local swap site and it has been kind of slow but I've gotten rid of a couple of big items. So exciting to be getting stuff out of the house, out of the garage, and adding up cash for our Disney cruise!!!! :: still more work to do in the playroom and I brought home plenty of stuff that didn't sell today but some gone is better than where I was yesterday!

I got rid of a huge pile of stuff to shred and a kids beach pail full of receipts. I had to empty the shredder 3 times. I'm going to go through my spare room again.

Why is it, you can clean and declutter one weekend, turn around and the next weekend it seems to have returned? It seems to be a never ending battle in this house that I am not winning. I have reduced our possessions by at least 30% over the years if not more but now it seems to be in my way more. Going on vacation mid summer and was hoping to come home to a clean empty house upon return. I find it stressful to go on vacation and return to a dirty house. Strange I know but I like to have it cleaned before I leave.

DD managed to get several boxes out of her room. It looks alot better.

Way to go everyone!!


I have spent part of the last few weeks going through the garage cabinets/area. I organized most of my school stuff and recycled a bunch of unneeded papers. I went through most of the garage and now there is a pile to donate and another of recycling to take out this week.

I finally made it to the back of the garage and cleared some space for the bikes. There was a large box back there with only a talking 2000 toy and a box of Christmas cards we received 10 years ago. We also own TEN basketballs for the 5 of us. DH will have to figure out which ones can go then they are being donated to my school for recess.

Last weekend, I helped DD14 go through her room because she had been asking for a storage shelf to get organized. It turns out, she just needed to clean her room. She is a big packrat but finally got rid of some old toys. We got rid of a ton of stuff out of her closet and moved stuff around so she has plenty of space for her things.

I had to clean the house for an appraisal right before we went away for the weekend. It was so nice to come home to a clean house! Now I need to drop off the donations and take a load of DD's things to the consignment shop. Next up is DS's closet then painting his room.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I finally joined two online FB groups so I can sell some of dd's clothes. I know some if you have had great luck selling stuff. I hope I do too! Craig's List just isn't really working like it use to

 

[dsneprincess]

Why is it, you can clean and declutter one weekend, turn around and the next weekend it seems to have returned? It seems to be a never ending battle in this house that I am not winning. I have reduced our possessions by at least 30% over the years if not more but now it seems to be in my way more. Going on vacation mid summer and was hoping to come home to a clean empty house upon return. I find it stressful to go on vacation and return to a dirty house. Strange I know but I like to have it cleaned before I leave.

This is EXACTLY where I am!!! Add in discouraged because I feel like I spent all of May cleaning, decluttering and organizing to get ready for summer and DS birthday party. Had the party and thought hah, this year end of school into beginning of summer will be easy because house is ready to go. Today is the last 2 hours of school, 5 days before a family reunion & the house looks like no one has cleaned here in 5 years. Everywhere I look there is more to do and no time (or frankly, desire right now!) to do it all over again!!

 

[kinntj]

I'm back from vacation and ready to tackle this house again. I can understand how some of you are decluttering and it all comes back again later. Paper is our issue. It drives me nuts. I'm hoping to find a system that DH and I can both be happy with.

Our laundry room is looking so much better now. I keep the outgoing donations on the counter in one place and take them when it piles up.

I will go to drop off donations tomorrow, so I need to get a lot done today.

 

[mrsabbott]

My 3 girls share a small room and they have SO MUCH STUFF in such a small space.. Their idea of cleaning up is shoving it under the bed, I think. Anyhoo, they are with family this week and I took the opportunity to go through their room and give it a deep clean/declutter! 1 garbage bag of trash is gone. 2-3 bags of toys/blankets are being donated. They will not be happy about it, but considering some of the stuff I found while cleaning in there.. they are lucky I let them keep anything!! Also doing some reorganizing in there.

 

[MAJPLO]

My 3 girls share a small room and they have SO MUCH STUFF in such a small space.. Their idea of cleaning up is shoving it under the bed, I think. Anyhoo, they are with family this week and I took the opportunity to go through their room and give it a deep clean/declutter! 1 garbage bag of trash is gone. 2-3 bags of toys/blankets are being donated. They will not be happy about it, but considering some of the stuff I found while cleaning in there.. they are lucky I let them keep anything!! Also doing some reorganizing in there.

Lol. I know what you mean. I looked between the head of the bed and the wall in my kids' room and there was so much junk I am afraid to even try to clean it out. Besides that it's an area almost impossible to reach. ::: yuck!!! ::

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Pulled apart my front hall closet this week. I even painted it! I'm shopping for new bins to put on the shelves that are a little shorted than the ones up there now. Lots of wasted space because they are to tall for 2 bins stacked.
I got rid of a few coats but DH really needs an intervention. To many coats!!!

But still 4 coats/jackets x 6 people = to many for the closet so I need to come up with a solution for out of season coats.

All of the sports equipment is corralled in one hamper. I hope to eventually move all of this to the garage.

Today I am going to purge a shelf in my craft room.

 

[PoohbearMama]

I am in the middle of Thirty Bags - Thirty Days and it feels so good to be rid of the clutter. I just finished both boys' rooms today after spending 3 days on the various places in their room that needed to be decluttered. The next task on the list tomorrow is our Master Bedroom closet. Our local thrift store is loving me this month.

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

Started work in my closet last night. I worked for a couple hours and WOW it's so much better looking. I have a pile of trash I tossed and a bag if donate too! Whoo hoo!

 

[dreamin_disney]

Well I joined 2 FB group for selling items. I'm trying to get rid of dd's15 clothes. She's was a shopaholic!. Some stuff we paid, some things she paid with her own money from Bday and xmas. She has several items she didn't wear or use clothes ,wallets and purses. What upsets me is she bought everything while she was with me or her dad. I've finally started telling her "NO" even if she has her own money!
Yesterday I finally told her enough is enough I've given her several chances to clean her room and it hasn't been done, so her father and I will clean it today.I also told her she wont be allowed in her room as we clean it. I also told her she better clean her room unless she doesn't mind her dad going through her stuff, underwear and bras-lol! This time she knew I was serious and she ended up cleaning it up. We plan on taking our her book case and her lil tv stand . those two items are hot spots for thing piling up on them. I figure the less stuff she has in her room the better chance for it feeling less cluttered.
We plan on redoing her room and redoing the finish on her armoire and drawers. My goal was to get new flooring in the bedrooms but I doubt it will happen this summer :/

Question:
1. Anyone know the return policy to Ross ? Like how much time has passed?DD has the receipts , I know she wont be given cash but store credit is fine
Ross- dd has a pair of short she bought in March -has recipet
- she also has 3 wallets with tags and receipt she bought in Nov2013

I found several other stuff with tags still on that I bought her and a few things my sis bought her :/

I have her things organized by size and I've uploaded to FaceBOOK sell groups
75 of her items and 10 pairs of pants that nolonger fit me. Later I hope to upload a few more items each day. The sad thing is the 85 items aren't even the icing on the cake. I have A LOT MORE stuff!!!!!!

any tips on selling on face book. I made albums and tried categorizing

 

[sherry7]

Well I joined 2 FB group for selling items. I'm trying to get rid of dd's15 clothes. She's was a shopaholic!. Some stuff we paid, some things she paid with her own money from Bday and xmas. She has several items she didn't wear or use clothes ,wallets and purses. What upsets me is she bought everything while she was with me or her dad. I've finally started telling her "NO" even if she has her own money!
Yesterday I finally told her enough is enough I've given her several chances to clean her room and it hasn't been done, so her father and I will clean it today.I also told her she wont be allowed in her room as we clean it. I also told her she better clean her room unless she doesn't mind her dad going through her stuff, underwear and bras-lol! This time she knew I was serious and she ended up cleaning it up. We plan on taking our her book case and her lil tv stand . those two items are hot spots for thing piling up on them. I figure the less stuff she has in her room the better chance for it feeling less cluttered.
We plan on redoing her room and redoing the finish on her armoire and drawers. My goal was to get new flooring in the bedrooms but I doubt it will happen this summer :/

Question:
1. Anyone know the return policy to Ross ? Like how much time has passed?DD has the receipts , I know she wont be given cash but store credit is fine
Ross- dd has a pair of short she bought in March -has recipet
- she also has 3 wallets with tags and receipt she bought in Nov2013

I found several other stuff with tags still on that I bought her and a few things my sis bought her :/

I have her things organized by size and I've uploaded to FaceBOOK sell groups
75 of her items and 10 pairs of pants that nolonger fit me. Later I hope to upload a few more items each day. The sad thing is the 85 items aren't even the icing on the cake. I have A LOT MORE stuff!!!!!!

any tips on selling on face book. I made albums and tried categorizing

As far as selling on FB, keep your prices very reasonable. I've seen people trying to sell clothes for close to what you can buy them for on sale, and they don't get any response. Be detailed, describe the size and price, and post good photos. Sometimes things sell better as lots. This seems like common sense, but only post in groups close to where you live/work and can meet. I'm amazed at the amount of people who live 45 minutes away that post in out local group, and then they're offended when you back out of the sell because you don't want to drive that far to meet them.

Yesterday morning, I listed a new pack of Pull-Ups I found in the garage (already sold), a new hand mixer that I bought for $2, sold for $10 (pending pickup), and a crockpot I don't use (pending pickup). I love it when things sell the same day I post them on a FB sell group. I gathered up a big basket of DD's outgrown toys yesterday, and I'm going to post those as a lot I think.

 

[Marshay]

Busy Destash day today.

8 bags to donate. 6 for trash.

Now I'm tired but happy to have done the basement.

Back to playroom and kids rooms this afternoon. I'm sure there is more since Jan.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Finally got a bit of motivation.

Purged:
4 pairs of snow boots
4 clothing items
1 super large bag of paper recycling
Small pile of shred
One trash bag filled
Catalogued photos for my next scrapbook
Condensed 4 boxes to 1 1/2 boxes.
Found a tote for class night decorations. These will go back to school after the rummage sale. Don't need them getting sold by accident.
Moved various items to the right room, now to just put them away.

Oh and yesterday I did DD's closet. 6 uniform items to the school uniform closet. Tossed school shoes. Random toys, books, etc to donation piles. 2 costumes.
And everything is hung up or folded and looking good. Oh and upcycled 2 pairs up jeans with blown out knees to shorts.

 

[OhMari]

My dd came home this weekend and she took an exercise roller and all the Play Station 2 video games. She said her bf turns them in for cash at some video store. He is saving up for Play Station 4.

I have a stack of record albums, that I was going to put in storage or just toss, but my dh had a fit and the albums went back in his closet on the shelf. For the record, we don't even own a record player.