2014 - destash thread The Year of the Great Purge

[luvmarypoppins]

I was super busy with ds3 yest. He got us to look through so much stuff in the garage.

I think we ended up with 2 bags of papers to recycle. 3 bags of trash, and 3 donation bags. 1 of the donation bags are stuff we picked out for the operation christmas child shoeboxes. All new stuff and then 1 bag is for their old schools christmas store, so that wont go till later, but its done, none the less. The 3rd bag is going tues. with the donation truck.

I ended up saving 1/2 bag of important papers.

Also ds1 went through his clothes in his room and filled up anothr donation bag. It broke a little so I will have to tape it up or divide it into another bag.

Yay, stuff is going! A very productive weekend indeed.

 

[pjlla]

Well, for one thing, it took FOREVER to heat up, and then it would say it was running low on water, but when I refilled it, it would have only used a couple ounces instead of the 12 ounces it was supposed to hold. It didn't work nearly as well as I had hoped on sticky messes, and I ended up scrubbing stubborn (and even not-so-stubborn) stains off by hand, anyway. Then the floor took quite awhile to dry afterward, just like when I used a normal mop. So I am back to using my Rubbermaid Reveal mop (kind of like a wet swiffer) and I fill it with my homemade orange vinegar solution for natural cleaning without the wait for it to heat up. I can throw the pad in the wash after I use it, and I don't have to mess with the bucket of water.

Thanks for letting me know. I guess I'll give it some more thought. I did have a Swiffer Wet Jet for a while and I figured out how to make my own solution and fill it (but I still bought the pads). I was about to try making my own reusable/washable pads when the thing stopped working all together and I never replaced it. I'll have to look into that Rubbermaid mop.

The basement is finished! DH carried out a bookcase that got damaged, 2 rolls of carpet remnants, piece of shelf the repair guys had to remove and the trash bag. Thankful that he is my muscle.

I stacked all of my picture, kid, and scrapbook totes in the same closet so they are at least in one place. I need to go through 3 shelves in the closets but everything else has been put away and it looks soo much better! I would like DS to go through his video games because I think he has a ton that he doesn't play. Right now they are all stored in an old toy bin organizer so at least they are in one place.

We have one empty closet because that is where the water was coming in. I'm afraid to use it until we get a big rain and can be sure the repairs fixed all the problems.

On Sunday, I also cleared off a major hot spot in the kitchen at the desk area. It looks so much better but it seems to get cluttered so quickly.

My next project is figuring out how to store less on our kitchen counters. Even when clean, they seem cluttered. We have a big fruit bowl, another bowl with random granola bars, and a 3 bowl with mints, leftover snacks, etc. Plus 2 big containers of pretzels. I wish I had a pantry!!

Just a thought, but how about some sort of small drawer unit for a corner of the counter for the granola bars and mints.... and it were sturdy enough you could put the fruit bowl on top. Something like this....

http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-3...32#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=sterilite+drawers

Today was an unplanned destashing. - the pantry.

Youngest ds has 2 friends who were asked to leave their parents house immediately. The mom is bipolar, so they are going to live with an older brother but they are only making minimum wage in retail, dont have a car etc.

So we went to our church food pantry, got them some food from there and added some from our own pantry. We also got to throw away all our expired food etc. So this will be a blessing to them.

We asked if they would accept it and they said - thanks so much, we are Desperate!!! They have pawned their own musical instruments just to buy a shower curtain, hygiene items etc.

I am glad we can help them and I think it helps my ds to realize just how blessed they are too.

Oh my! How great of you to help that family during this crisis! Just reminds us ALL how important it is to donate locally!

Just got back from visiting the grandkids in Maine and while unpacking I tossed a small piece of luggage. Didn't realize it til now that it had a rip in it. Out it has gone.

What have you destashed over the last 2 weekends?

Well... I was away the last two weekends, but I'm getting back in gear!

I was super busy with ds3 yest. He got us to look through so much stuff in the garage.

I think we ended up with 2 bags of papers to recycle. 3 bags of trash, and 3 donation bags. 1 of the donation bags are stuff we picked out for the operation christmas child shoeboxes. All new stuff and then 1 bag is for their old schools christmas store, so that wont go till later, but its done, none the less. The 3rd bag is going tues. with the donation truck.

I ended up saving 1/2 bag of important papers.

Also ds1 went through his clothes in his room and filled up anothr donation bag. It broke a little so I will have to tape it up or divide it into another bag.

Yay, stuff is going! A very productive weekend indeed.

Sounds like real progress! My son had to try on every single pair of his nicer pants trying to find something other than jeans to wear to my DD's summer internship conference last Friday. Every pair was too tight.... so I have a bag ready to list for sale for those back to school FB yard sale shoppers! If they don't sell quick, they will get donated.

*****************
Happy Monday my decluttering friends!! I am back in the wagon, so to speak! DD's has moved her stuff home for a few weeks until school starts up again, but fortunately I had made space in the (never used) playroom for most of it, so I don't have to work around that huge pile! And I managed to give her room a HUGE cleaning before she moved her college stuff home (I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not). Dust bunnies the size of dogs were banished!

Now on to other spaces in the house....like back to the basement and onto the garage!

This morning I saw that someone had posted an "ISO" request on one of my FB yard sale groups. I remembered that we had one of these items (hot air popcorn popper) sitting gathering dust in the basement. So I pulled it out, washed it off, checked to make sure it worked properly and made myself a quick $8 this morning!! Wish everything sold that quickly!! I also took the time to "bump" a few of my "for sale" items that are languishing. I have given them two more weeks to sell before I give them away or donate them (other than one thing that I will keep and use!).

Feels good to be cleaning up around here again!..................P

 

[mdsouth]

Happy Monday to all too!

Today I am sorting through old papers and books. I have a large Rubbermaid tote of books to donate and have recycled and shredded papers. But there is tons more to go through! Ugg!

I am taking a quick break but now I need to get back at it!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well it was back out to the garage with my little cleaning buddy as ds2 calls ds3, lol.

I think today we ended up with the total donation for tomm. being 5 bags, 2 or 3 bags of trash, another bag for the christmas store and more stuff for the operation christmas child shoe boxes.

Also I was sorting through some of my fil old papers. I know there is another box up in the attic that I cringe to think about. I dont know why I have to do this. I already did it for my parents, sister etc. I am getting paperwork weary. But it must be done I guess.

And as a little incentive for all our good work ds3 and I are taking a mother/son trip to Disney World, yippee!! We are going Aug 28-Sept 4 I think. He is getting us the nurses rate at the dolphin for all but the last day and I am taking 25K of dh ff miles for the last day at the Swan, cashing in my southwest points for a free trip down one way, so its looking good. He is chipping in some for the trip too.

Its gonna rain tomm, so I will see what we will work on.

 

[thebeesknees]

Stuck home today because DH has my car, so I decided to do some extra destashing for the charity pickup tomorrow. I have 1 full box of books (yay! now the remaining ones all fit on the bookcase), 1 trash bag full of clothes, 1 bag from the living room full of toys and games the kids have outgrown, and I am going to tackle the play room this afternoon for more toys. We sorted through the toys in the living room and got them all back where they belong in their proper bins, decided to rotate out the train set bin for the Playmobil bin, and put away the Duplo boxes for now. Haven't decided whether to hold onto them or get rid of them. Duplos and legos are hard for me to part with because I know that between them, I could entertain kids of just about any age for quite awhile. They don't take up much room, so I may put them in the crawl space for now and come back to them later once I decide. At least it gets them out of my living room.

I wish I could convince DH to part with his MBA textbooks. They take up so much room, but he keeps saying one day the kids might use them. Uh, they will get their own textbooks for the proper courses (these are 20 years old!), does he think they are going to do derivatives for fun over the summer while they are in college?? I may see if I can't at least pack them away so they aren't taking up so much space on the bookshelves.

 

[dsneprincess]

I am plugging away in this house. The de-stash seems endless, KWIM? DS1 bedroom has managed to stay de-stashed & clean, so that is something. DS2 bedroom needs to be finished. Master was rearranged, picked up, furniture and carpets cleaned last weekend, but drawers/clothing need work. Kitchen and papers are back to needing work. I've been grilling/eating out and paying bills, but not filing. Bad Mom on summer vacation! Lol.

House has been painted, decks have been rebuilt, driveway was top coated, dryer died & was replaced so unexpected laundry room cleaning. Now the car started acting up because it always has to be something, right?

Vacation, high school orientation & school supplies are upcoming. School supply lists were published yesterday, by teacher, but we don't have our teachers or schedule, so just blindly guessing. I do think I will destashed some of the supplies, because we seem to do the basics of loose leaf, pens/pencils, comp books. It does look like I will be buying more binders as DS is lucky to make 1 last all year!

My only SAHM friend is moving away & DS2 is starting preschool in Sept. so hopefully loneliness & boredom will mean lots of de-stashing time!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well yest. after I went in the house to cook dinner, I told ds2 to take all the bags down front that ds3 and I did. He said he would.

Um, this morning, we find out that he didnt take them down. They never came all day to pick up the bags, so I am assuming they must have came by the time we didnt have them put down front in our yard. Usually they come around 3-5 pm.

So I am not happy and now 5 bags of stuff have to go back into the garage. The next pickup is not until Oct.,but another place is the middle of Sept. think, so we will have to put signs on all the bags and change the organization etc. Ugh.

Deciding what to destash next. Maybe the hall closet. We shall see. Ds has mentioned the attic, I cringe at that one.

Well we did get rid of a blanket and bedspread today. Gave them to the 2 girls who we gave the food to.

 

[sarahk0204]

Well, DS and DD were productive this weekend! I was gone at a conference for most of Sunday, and I came home to tons of toys and 2 shelving units out of DS's room. He kept the Legos, but several large items, including the Imaginext Bat Cave and several RC cars, went to the thrift shop this morning.

They do have an ulterior motive. DD won a goldfish at the fair, and of course we had to buy everything needed to keep a goldfish happy DS really wants hermit crabs, but there was NO room in his room to put them. Now, there is. DS also wants to get a new bed. We were looking at a full size capatain's bed (he has twin size bunk beds right now). Since the full size has a bigger footprint (and DS has the smallest bedroom), the decluttering is very helpful to free up some space.

 

[pjlla]

Well yest. after I went in the house to cook dinner, I told ds2 to take all the bags down front that ds3 and I did. He said he would.

Um, this morning, we find out that he didnt take them down. They never came all day to pick up the bags, so I am assuming they must have came by the time we didnt have them put down front in our yard. Usually they come around 3-5 pm.

So I am not happy and now 5 bags of stuff have to go back into the garage. The next pickup is not until Oct.,but another place is the middle of Sept. think, so we will have to put signs on all the bags and change the organization etc. Ugh.

Deciding what to destash next. Maybe the hall closet. We shall see. Ds has mentioned the attic, I cringe at that one.

Well we did get rid of a blanket and bedspread today. Gave them to the 2 girls who we gave the food to.

I feel your pain with the bags not making it to the curb. I've driven into town on multiple errands and forgotten to stop at the GW or SA and driven home again with a trunk full of donation bags!!

Good excuse to delay the attic if it is a HOT day where you are!! It is COOL here today, though, so it definitely makes me stop and think that my attic and/or playroom might get some attention today!

Well, DS and DD were productive this weekend! I was gone at a conference for most of Sunday, and I came home to tons of toys and 2 shelving units out of DS's room. He kept the Legos, but several large items, including the Imaginext Bat Cave and several RC cars, went to the thrift shop this morning.

They do have an ulterior motive. DD won a goldfish at the fair, and of course we had to buy everything needed to keep a goldfish happy DS really wants hermit crabs, but there was NO room in his room to put them. Now, there is. DS also wants to get a new bed. We were looking at a full size capatain's bed (he has twin size bunk beds right now). Since the full size has a bigger footprint (and DS has the smallest bedroom), the decluttering is very helpful to free up some space.

THat is a wonderful incentive! My DS wanted a new corner unit desk for his double-monitor gaming computer set up earlier this spring.... I was willing to buy the desk and help with the re-arranging, but the deal was that we had to go through EVERY SINGLE ITEM in his room. He hated it, but we did it and were able to get rid of stuff, pack up stuff to save, and donate stuff! Now if he would just put his clean laundry away regularly, the room would look great!

**********************

An unplanned day here and I'm not sure exactly what I will do. I had a hike planned, but after yesterday's torrential rains, I'm not going.... the hiking trail will be a mud bath! So I need something to do. I had thought about sitting at my scrapbook table. I haven't treated myself to a scrapping day in a loooong time. But I think something more active would be good.... and if I am going to declutter the playroom or attic, I will need help and input from DS so I should do it before school starts up again.

I'll report back on my progress later!..............P

 

[dpswift]

Add me too the list of moms whose DS wants to clean out his room for gaming purposes. I have the next 2 days off so hopefully we can get started on it.

 

[PatMcDuck]

New to this thread. But I have been going thru every single kitchen cabinet and drawer. We have lived here for 19 years. Now I have purged a bit here and there, this time I tried harder.... it is like peeling away the skin on an onion, layer by layer.

We want to sell this house next year, and I want to pain kitchen cabinets soon. I have too much crap on the counters, so I want to make space in the cabinets for some of the counter stuff.

Its hard work. Family complains about my re-organizing, they can't find anything now.

 

[pjlla]

Okay, so I got up into the attic and it was faaaar hotter than I anticipated.... but I pushed through. I did some cleaning/sorting up there earlier this summer, so I knew it wouldn't take too long. I got DS to sort through a few bags of plush with me and part with a few. I got everything else organized properly and labeled (and in some cases moved from plastic trash bags into sealed bins). I've got the remaining Christmas stuff together (although most of my Christmas stuff is in the basement), the Easter stuff together, the "keepsakes" mostly in one area (baby cradle, childhood rocker, my mom's wedding gown remains [after she chopped it up to make me a purse for my wedding day]). I brought up the broom and swept the errant bits of insulation back where they belonged, along with the dead ladybugs. I labeled the unlabeled bins and organized the suitcases into one area.

We only use a small part of our attic for storage (DH didn't want me to get carried away stashing stuff up there), so overall it didn't take long. I also brought down three "keepsake" pillows that belong to DS (I made them years ago). I am going to open up a seam and remove the stuffing and then store just the pillow casing.... much easier to pack and store! Plus I want to make DD a new pillow for her bed at school.... I can recycle the fluff into a new pillow! WIN-WIN!

Overall it took me a little over an hour and probably a gallon of sweat.... but so worth it!! And while I only have a few small stray items to donate, it was still a job well done! Next up.... the playroom (or at least DS's portion....DD is away and I won't sort her stuff without her).......................P

 

[4 Ears]

pjlla, sounds like you did a super job!

I got rid of 3 paints today...

I also retyped passwords and saved them to a shift drive. Not much destashing but more organized and put them into alphabetical order

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Deep cleaned the bathroom today and got rid of 6 bottles of lotion. They either smelled a bit rancid or were the ones that now give me a rash. Sadly there are less and less lotions and creams I can use, but on the up side I have more room under the cabinet.
Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the top 2 shelves in the linen closet.

 

[pjlla]

Deep cleaned the bathroom today and got rid of 6 bottles of lotion. They either smelled a bit rancid or were the ones that now give me a rash. Sadly there are less and less lotions and creams I can use, but on the up side I have more room under the cabinet.
Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the top 2 shelves in the linen closet.

Wanna come do my linen closet? I hate it! It is fairly organized, but overflowing and I can't seem to part with anything! I keep saying I am going to take the overflow that I want to keep and put it somewhere else....but I can't figure out another good place for it. It isn't really handy in the attic and if I put it in the basement it all ends up smelling like "basement", no matter how often I empty the dehumidifier!

And I hate getting rid of single sheets... even if they are starting to rip or get thread bare! It just seems like SO MUCH good useable material! So I keep them folded and stored for ......??????????? STUPID, I know. I guess I should just make them into rags!


First up today is a trip to the transfer station.... the cardboard for recycling is knee deep it seems!

Well... now I'm feeling inspired to go check the linen closet and see if I can make any headway there. BBL to report!..............P

 

[pjlla]

Well.... the linen closet has been purged and cleaned. I filled about half of a large black trashbag with table linens and rag rugs that I don't use.... those will be donated.

I moved some rarely-used bed linens up to the attic (6 extra bed pillows....not sure why I have so many!!, DD's Cinderella quilt and sham...and yes, she is 19 years old!! , two extra twin mattress covers and an extra twin blanket, a few pair of curtains I'm hanging onto for now, and some extra pillow cases). Most of them are in a plastic three drawer unit for easy access.... the pillows and mattress covers are tied up in plastic and labeled.

Since the attic was so nice and clean and empty-feeling, it was easy to put the drawer unit up there right near the door for easy access if I do need the items.

I found my winter duvet cover and put that in the trunk in my room with the down comforter, where it belongs. And I emptied about HALF of my table linens shelf! I NEVER use table cloths, except at holidays if I use a holiday-specific one. Those are all nicely stacked together (along with some random birthday tablecloths)... but the other cloths and table runners, some of which I've had since I got married, are GOING! Also donating a big stack of old rag rugs from when the kids were little and I was constantly trying to keep up with the flow of dirt and sand into the house (before we paved the driveway and added our mudroom).

My donation pile in the dining room is getting larger, so I may need to head out tomorrow to town to make a donation.

I did take some before/after pictures, but the change isn't terribly visibly dramatic. But I can now fit two small folding chairs and could even possibly put my vacuum cleaner in there. That was its home for a long time, but as the closet got fuller, the vacuum got booted out. I think it could fit again!

Off to tackle another spot before dinner!.................P

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Good job P!!!

If you feel bad about tossing torn sheets, I know that some animal shelters take blankets and towels. Ask them about the sheets.

DS12 managed to rip his 2 year old flannel sheets, I was not happy!! I think he snagged it on his cast.
I need to purge the kids sheets and get new. They've had the same cotton sheets for 12 years, and have held up surprisingly well. But I don't think they want Pirates of the Caribbean sheets anymore. LOL

 

[OhMari]

Tomorrow is day 21 that our house has been on the market and no offers.
Saturday, I am decluttering the mud room again. We have 2 built in closets up high in the mud room, plus the regular closet. Everything is going to be taken out, so I can paint all the walls, and inside the closet. I need to get rid of the shoe rack, since I was told it looked like clutter.

Someone give me some courage to conquer this room, I swear to God, I have been doing this since May, every weekend, plus I used two weeks of my vacation to paint and declutter. Would you throw away board games or donate them, I also have a milk crate of children's books.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Tomorrow is day 21 that our house has been on the market and no offers.
Saturday, I am decluttering the mud room again. We have 2 built in closets up high in the mud room, plus the regular closet. Everything is going to be taken out, so I can paint all the walls, and inside the closet. I need to get rid of the shoe rack, since I was told it looked like clutter.

Someone give me some courage to conquer this room, I swear to God, I have been doing this since May, every weekend, plus I used two weeks of my vacation to paint and declutter. Would you throw away board games or donate them, I also have a milk crate of children's books.

Board games are tough. Do they have all the pieces? If not, toss. If so maybe your local library will take them? Or school?
Kids books, we take those to the local used book store to sell (we either get credit or cash) or donate them to the library. They can either circulate them or use them for their local book sale.

 

[OhMari]

Board games are tough. Do they have all the pieces? If not, toss. If so maybe your local library will take them? Or school?
Kids books, we take those to the local used book store to sell (we either get credit or cash) or donate them to the library. They can either circulate them or use them for their local book sale.

Thanks for your suggestions.

We have put a lot of things in storage and not once this summer did we need to go to the unit and retrieve anything. The only missing item that I cannot find, is my Mickey Carry-on luggage I got as a gift from my kids. I think it got thrown away in a bigger piece of luggage that got wet when our basement flooded. That I am sad about. The rest of the items in our storage unit could all be taken away by the show Storage Wars. I know when we retrieve it, a lot of the items are going to be sold, donated or thrown in the dumpster.