2015 destash - Purge Purge Purge, Purge is the word

[StephMK]

Our household will be undergoing some major changes this year, as the husband has decided that he no longer wants to be one.... So.....I have told the kids that we need to start tackling small corners. Today I went through the cabinet where we keep all the games... decided on one that we want to get rid of, so it went in the box in the hall. I also realized that I NEVER use a couple pieces of Pampered Chef that I was convinced to buy at a party a few years ago, so I will try to peddle those on a FB yard sale site. Even if it is only 3 things today, it is 3 fewer things for me to worry about. On to the next corner...
(P.S. The ultimate goal is to get back on my feet and move to FL, so the less I have to move, the easier it will be!)

I'm sorry. I hope you are doing ok. Keep posted here, it is very motivating when you are trying to tackle big jobs. Good luck with your pre-move purging.

I worked on our bathroom yesterday and put away all the clean clothes that end up on the chest at the foot of our bed. Today, I spent an hour or two in the garage. I consolidated a bunch of small boxes and paper piles that need to be recycled. Then got the donations into 2 piles -one for Goodwill and one to save for the fill a truck next month. Threw out some trash and put some things away. The decorations are in boxes in the garage and in the house. Argh. I just want them stored and hope DH will help with that later today.

I used 3 bins to put in all the things that belong somewhere in the house. I don't know how all this stuff gets so piled up! Those bins will sit for a few days then hopefully I can start putting that stuff away.

One laundry basket got cleared out that was stuck out there with miscellaneous stuff. I may go around the house and just throw all the things that don't belong in it. Then take it back to the garage until I can sort it too.

Didn't someone post about having trouble finishing jobs? I don't know why I struggle with that too. Things will be mostly done but there will be a little pile or two of things that either 1) I don't know what to do with 2) belong somewhere else. Why is it so hard to finish a space?

 

[lauradis]

Now that I'm done cluttering up a whole page in this thread.

My progress as been good, All current papers are in a nice system.

Now all I have to do is pull down 7 boxes from the attic at a time and get rid of all the papers I have hoarded since 1988. Im guessing there is about 25-30 office storage boxes up there and two tall metal office filing cabinets in the garage.



I also cleared out my kitchen cabinets, except the junk drawn.

Got rid of all xmas stuff I don't love packed away and org in the attic.
Next to my hoard of papers

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

Now that I'm done cluttering up a whole page in this thread.

My progress as been good, All current papers are in a nice system.

Now all I have to do is pull down 7 boxes from the attic at a time and get rid of all the papers I have hoarded since 1988. Im guessing there is about 25-30 office storage boxes up there and two tall metal office filing cabinets in the garage.



I also cleared out my kitchen cabinets, except the junk drawn.

Got rid of all xmas stuff I don't love packed away and org in the attic.
Next to my hoard of papers

I could have written this,
I just sit with boxes of files in front of me. I wish we could still burn.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I think I posted at the end of the year that I was working on a bag, well finally its out at the curb and I hope it gets picked up tomm, as there is suppose to be rain,ice and snow etc.

Ds3, my partner in destashing, said I wasnt making much progress. Yes true. He doesnt understand I can usually do alot of it only when I am feeling well.

Paper stuff is easier and I think I will tackle another box of that in the near future.

Today I added 3 books and 5 clothing articles to the bag, so every little bit helps.

Its a never ending process, but progress none the less.

 

[MAJPLO]

I didn't get much done this week but I did manage to mostly maintain what I had done last weekend. I haven't started the Peter Walsh challenges yet. I did move a box of sell/donate stuff out to the garage. Took pictures and posted some things. I made $23 on Friday from fb posts so that was nice. Finished a couple sewing projects and put most of the stuff away. Hoping to get to the laundry and the kids' school papers tomorrow. And possibly take in some recycling.

 

[dpswift]

I didn't get much done this week but I did manage to mostly maintain what I had done last weekend. I haven't started the Peter Walsh challenges yet. I did move a box of sell/donate stuff out to the garage. Took pictures and posted some things. I made $23 on Friday from fb posts so that was nice. Finished a couple sewing projects and put most of the stuff away. Hoping to get to the laundry and the kids' school papers tomorrow. And possibly take in some recycling.

Good work. Maintaining is the key to getting where we all want to be. Finishing a second area and having the first area starting to fill up again is a major down fall.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Our household will be undergoing some major changes this year, as the husband has decided that he no longer wants to be one.... So.....I have told the kids that we need to start tackling small corners. Today I went through the cabinet where we keep all the games... decided on one that we want to get rid of, so it went in the box in the hall. I also realized that I NEVER use a couple pieces of Pampered Chef that I was convinced to buy at a party a few years ago, so I will try to peddle those on a FB yard sale site. Even if it is only 3 things today, it is 3 fewer things for me to worry about. On to the next corner...
(P.S. The ultimate goal is to get back on my feet and move to FL, so the less I have to move, the easier it will be!)

I'm sorry. I hope you are doing ok. Keep posted here, it is very motivating when you are trying to tackle big jobs. Good luck with your pre-move purging.

I'm sorry too. I wish you well with your plans.

-----------------------

I didn't make as much progress as I had planned this past weekend. I did take out a ton of recycle I had been collecting for a week (daily stuff + accumulation). Donated 1 large (outdoor, heavy duty) garbage bag full of items and a floor lamp we just haven't used. Took 2 bins to consignment. So I guess that's something.

I have a number of things to sell that I want to list somewhere. But it will have to wait.

Reading about the action everyone has taken is very motivating!

 

[dtr_angel]

DAY 8 - CLEAR OUT THE SPACE UNDER A SINK! This is one of the toughest but most rewarding challenges. Drag everything out from under any one sink in your home – kitchen, bathroom, laundry – you choose. Discard any old, never-used, damaged or not-wanted items. Gather like things together. Consider using a plastic tote for cleaning products and a spare baking tray or similar for keeping other items together and off the floor of the cupboard. Consider hanging a tension rod for squirt bottle storage too. Show that space who's boss!
‪#‎31Days2GetOrganized‬

 

[dtr_angel]

What's your system for laundry?

1 load of laundry from start to finish (wash, dry, fold AND put away) every day. Empty every dirty clothes basket/hamper in your house. I've been doing this for about a year I think. I've always separated laundry (towels, whites, darks) so I was convinced it would work so I've experimented and came up with what works for us. I usually separate out the whites from the darks but if I only have a few whites I'll use a color catcher sheet and throw them in together. I have a laundry sorter next to my washer so if I separate I just wait until the day I have enough whites to wash a whole load. I didn't like throwing towels in with our clothes because of lint so I have a plastic hamper for those and wait until it is full to wash them. When I wash sheets (usually just 1 set plus DS's crib sheet) I'll just throw them in with the whites. Some days I don't have enough dirty clothes to fill the washer up so I'll wait until the next day. I actually didn't have to do laundry on Saturday or Sunday! It probably helped that I hadn't worked and DH was off on Thursday and Friday so no dirty work clothes. On the days I don't have enough for a full load of clothes, if there are any odd ball things that need washed I'll do them, or the kitchen towels/wash cloths if there are enough of them to wash. It seems simple but it took doing this from start to finish to get a handle of the laundry for our family.

This is where I got the idea from, she is probably better at explaining it than me.

Conquering the Laundry

When I started I had probably 845,789 loads of laundry to do. I just did 1-2 loads from start to finish until all the baskets were empty. Eventually I was caught up! The hardest part is maintaining but once I made it a habit it was easier to do and now it feels like I barely do laundry because everything is always clean. It's awesome!

 

[dtr_angel]

I'm not sure what hit me yesterday but I was seriously butter (on a roll )

I organized the food storage cabinet in the kitchen. Managed to find a few small things to get rid of.

I thought my closet was done done done but I managed to move some more stuff around. I had a hanging shoe organizer with flip flops and slippers in it. I got rid of a bunch of flip flops I didn't need and re-organized my shoe area. If the organizer washes up nice then I'll use it for vacation, if not it's trash. I also came up with a few more pairs of shoes I can live without. I turned all my hangers backwards in the closet. Basically just moved stuff around and tossed some stuff. It looks so much better.

I exchanged the bad space bags at Walmart and spaced bagged 2 more bags of stuff and put in the closet to store. Now I have a large bag left to start on DS's outgrown stuff but I'll probably need another bag for that size.

I went through the desk, the filing cabinet, the TV stand, the stand in the dining room, and all the office/school supplies in the basement closet. Organized and got rid of stuff and came up with a big pile of school supplies to donate.

Moved some more stuff around the basement. This is an ongoing task.

Moved a lamp from the basement to the living room. I have a broken lamp that I was going to throw out that my dad said he could fix so I have it by the door since I'll see my parents later.

Not decluttering related but I dusted, swept, mopped & steamed all the downstairs floors. Vacuumed both sets of stairs and the basement.

I don't feel like I've done anything today compared to yesterday. The to-do list on the fridge is about empty though. I scheduled a bunch of appointments and made phone calls.

DS is napping so I think I'm going to get my Silhouette out and cut out some more card stock for my ongoing scrapbook project. On the to do list for the near future is to start shredding and get a load of electronics to the recycling center.

I have 2 old ipod nanos (one we think is brand new, DH found it in his closet and doesn't remember where it came from) and an old ipod touch that still work... also have a digital photo frame that is opened but I never used and a recorder thing that I used to record lectures in college... they work but I don't want to try to sell them, especially online and I doubt they would even be worth much on craigslist. I also have 2 ps2 systems, one slim & one regular console. Any idea of places I could donate them besides just dropping them at goodwill? I would love to give them to someone that can use them.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I'm onboard with decluttering, too!

I actually started in November and am blogging about our experience. I was really motivated by this story, Stockpiling Treasures in my Junk Closet in Christianity Today.


As we got out our Christmas decorations in Nov., I filled a box to sell some at a home decor resale shop. Just picked up that check: $18.50 in our Disney fund!

Our family goal is to give away/sell/throw away 2,000 items this year. We are currently at 359.

My personal goals:

• Do not buy any books in 2015. (This will be the hardest for me)
• Do not go shopping for 'fun' or out of boredom.
• No new Christmas decorations. (broke this one already)

We have each area of our house listed on a weekend, with some areas (basement) getting two weekends.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Cleaned off my night table and the shelf above it. It's a hot spot. Also pulled out everything in my night table and reorganized.
I made room for DD8's organizer for hairbands. It was always in her closet and that is always buried by hampers so it's better suited in my drawer. No more hunting for hairbands! She also went through it ( on her own, yay!) and purged the bands that either hurt her hair, were to small, or she didn't like. Purged 1/2!
I also sorted, folded and put away 7 loads of laundry!! Woot woot!
I still have 3 to wash and dry but I'm caught up.
DH went through his stack of clothes on our chair. And got 1/2 of it put away, he ran out of drawer space so that's the next battle. The tote with super heavy sweaters came off the chair and put above our wardrobe. Not a huge fan of it up there but it's better than on the chair.

I've decided that on top of the daily stuff like laundry and dishes, the major room projects for January are the master bedroom and the bathroom. The bathroom had been 95% remodeled for 3 years, it's time to finish it. I just need to paint the ceiling, paint the trim, put the new vent fan in and strip and repaint the door. The door will have to wait for warmer weather but I can do the rest now.
My bedroom is also 95% done for the last 2 years. I need to paint 1 wall, put DHs new night table together and hang the TV on the wall and get the old night stands out. I also need a new light fixture but I haven't found anything that has enough good light yet

 

[MAJPLO]

1 load of laundry from start to finish (wash, dry, fold AND put away) every day. Empty every dirty clothes basket/hamper in your house. I've been doing this for about a year I think. I've always separated laundry (towels, whites, darks) so I was convinced it would work so I've experimented and came up with what works for us. I usually separate out the whites from the darks but if I only have a few whites I'll use a color catcher sheet and throw them in together. I have a laundry sorter next to my washer so if I separate I just wait until the day I have enough whites to wash a whole load. I didn't like throwing towels in with our clothes because of lint so I have a plastic hamper for those and wait until it is full to wash them. When I wash sheets (usually just 1 set plus DS's crib sheet) I'll just throw them in with the whites. Some days I don't have enough dirty clothes to fill the washer up so I'll wait until the next day. I actually didn't have to do laundry on Saturday or Sunday! It probably helped that I hadn't worked and DH was off on Thursday and Friday so no dirty work clothes. On the days I don't have enough for a full load of clothes, if there are any odd ball things that need washed I'll do them, or the kitchen towels/wash cloths if there are enough of them to wash. It seems simple but it took doing this from start to finish to get a handle of the laundry for our family. This is where I got the idea from, she is probably better at explaining it than me. Conquering the Laundry When I started I had probably 845,789 loads of laundry to do. I just did 1-2 loads from start to finish until all the baskets were empty. Eventually I was caught up! The hardest part is maintaining but once I made it a habit it was easier to do and now it feels like I barely do laundry because everything is always clean. It's awesome!

Part of my problem is DH does most of the adult laundry in the house and I do most of the kid laundry. When DH folds he sets my clothes on my dresser and I almost never put them away anytime soon. I will start a load of kid laundry before I leave for work. When DH gets home he puts it in the dryer. When I get home there's always something else to do. Hey, it's clean! It is such a relief when it's all folded and put away but some weeks are better than others when it comes to that.

I'm sure I read your system on the boards before. It works well for me when I am not working full time. Still figuring that pesky work issue into the picture. :::

 

[OhMari]

I'm not sure what hit me yesterday but I was seriously butter (on a roll )

I organized the food storage cabinet in the kitchen. Managed to find a few small things to get rid of.

I thought my closet was done done done but I managed to move some more stuff around. I had a hanging shoe organizer with flip flops and slippers in it. I got rid of a bunch of flip flops I didn't need and re-organized my shoe area. If the organizer washes up nice then I'll use it for vacation, if not it's trash. I also came up with a few more pairs of shoes I can live without. I turned all my hangers backwards in the closet. Basically just moved stuff around and tossed some stuff. It looks so much better.

I exchanged the bad space bags at Walmart and spaced bagged 2 more bags of stuff and put in the closet to store. Now I have a large bag left to start on DS's outgrown stuff but I'll probably need another bag for that size.

I went through the desk, the filing cabinet, the TV stand, the stand in the dining room, and all the office/school supplies in the basement closet. Organized and got rid of stuff and came up with a big pile of school supplies to donate.

Moved some more stuff around the basement. This is an ongoing task.

Moved a lamp from the basement to the living room. I have a broken lamp that I was going to throw out that my dad said he could fix so I have it by the door since I'll see my parents later.

Not decluttering related but I dusted, swept, mopped & steamed all the downstairs floors. Vacuumed both sets of stairs and the basement.

I don't feel like I've done anything today compared to yesterday. The to-do list on the fridge is about empty though. I scheduled a bunch of appointments and made phone calls.

DS is napping so I think I'm going to get my Silhouette out and cut out some more card stock for my ongoing scrapbook project. On the to do list for the near future is to start shredding and get a load of electronics to the recycling center.

I have 2 old ipod nanos (one we think is brand new, DH found it in his closet and doesn't remember where it came from) and an old ipod touch that still work... also have a digital photo frame that is opened but I never used and a recorder thing that I used to record lectures in college... they work but I don't want to try to sell them, especially online and I doubt they would even be worth much on craigslist. I also have 2 ps2 systems, one slim & one regular console. Any idea of places I could donate them besides just dropping them at goodwill? I would love to give them to someone that can use them.

If you are on Facebook, sign up for a Buy, Sell and Trade board in your area. People want the Play Station 2 systems. People love the games anf they have burnt out their systoms. I sold my sons for $50. I had people fighting over it, and I had to take it down off the boards and I dealt with one person and we agreed on the price.

We sold our house. I am cleaning out closets and my son left a lot of clothes. I sold his 34x34 blue jeans, 7 pair for 10 dollars. I probably could have gotten more, but I just wanted them gone. I usually just give clothes to Good Will.

We have to be out of the house by Feb. 23. I am so glad I found this thread over a year ago. I have so much decluttering done. Only problem is, it is all totes in a storage shed. When we move, I have to look at everything again, and really get rid of it. I bet I have 10 storage bins of Christmas items. The Villages are going, I never liked them, but just kept buying them.

 

[powellrj]

While I know this isn't much, but I cleaned out my mail and email today. I had a huge pile of unopened mail that was just nagging at me, plus I had just too much email coming in.

I made arrangements to have an auction house pick up all of my parents household goods, plus took care of much of their banking today. I talked to my middle DS and made plans to clean out one room a day until everything is purged. Hopefully we can get it done before we have the auction for my parents and they can just take our stuff too and add it to my parents things.

 

[MAJPLO]

Yay. I did one of the piles of kids school papers that has been growing. I was much more selective about what I kept than I usually am. Since Friday I've made about $65 from fb swap sales! We still have more toys to post and probably some more clothes that I could post as well.

What price would you ask for a bag of 30 matchbox style cars? They aren't all matchbox/hot wheels and some random ones are a tiny bit bigger or are helicopters or motorcycles. Not sure how to price this but I know I want to sell all 30 as one.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Gutted DD's closet yesterday. It took most of the day but it's much more organized. She can now get to all her stuff but the hanging things, which is fine because I don't need a fashion show exploding all over the room.

She also came up with a solution on her own. We used to hang her next days clothes on her shoe organizer outside her closet but she found a fancy 3M hook that we put on the wall in the corner near the closet and window. Her uniform fits perfectly and the closet door can still open all the way. So now we can hang a completed outfit every Sunday in the closet and pull stuff out every night. It will streamline mornings even more.

Today is baking and finishing up the next round of plastic up on the windows. That has really helped with energy savings.

 

[pjlla]

Gutted DD's closet yesterday. It took most of the day but it's much more organized. She can now get to all her stuff but the hanging things, which is fine because I don't need a fashion show exploding all over the room.

She also came up with a solution on her own. We used to hang her next days clothes on her shoe organizer outside her closet but she found a fancy 3M hook that we put on the wall in the corner near the closet and window. Her uniform fits perfectly and the closet door can still open all the way. So now we can hang a completed outfit every Sunday in the closet and pull stuff out every night. It will streamline mornings even more.

Today is baking and finishing up the next round of plastic up on the windows. That has really helped with energy savings.

Funny you say that about the window plastic. I did 3 of our worst windows last night DH had mentioned in about early December that this should be done (as I do most years). I told him where the kits were (that I bought on clearance a few years ago) and left him to do it.... but of course, he did nothing. I was sick of sitting in a drafty room and watching our hard-earned money go out the window.... so I got a start on it last night. Better late than never. And in the office I also put up a window quilt (I made them a few years ago). It is a back window that isn't really seen by anyone unless you are in the office. I figure we can live without the sunshine in there for now.

I may do another 2 or 3 tonight but it is a time consuming task and I need to dash out for robotics by 5:15................P

 

[Ephany]

We used window film years ago when we lived in Virginia. I was really impressed at how much it cut the drafts around our old windows. It was a pain to put up, but worth it overall.

Sold 2 more lots on Craigslist. Total is now $257 since the new year started! Of course, it's the big lots that are mostly gone so I think future sales will be much smaller. I've cleaned out 5 30 gallon totes from the garage. Also, a local organization is collecting children's books for Head Start so I'm going to hunt down any random books hiding out. Feeling pretty good about progress so far, but the weather is cold and icky. Am hoping I can maintain this momentum.

 

[Dawnlight]

Cleaned out my kids game/puzzle shelves. Listed a bunch of them on ebay, some to trash, some to donate.

I also cleaned out the media cabinet and got rid of video tapes that will never be used (anyone remember video tapes?!). Relocated the games the kids play often into that space for easy access.

New furniture coming tomorrow, so will be getting rid of some ratty looking pillow covers (ordered new replacements) and waiting on a new rug to replace the kid-weathered one in our entryway.