2015 destash - Purge Purge Purge, Purge is the word

[OhMari]

Oh I forgot to add, when DH took our load to the recycling center the other day they took all our batteries.

I have a couple random things that I don't know what to do with. An electric blanket that works we just don't use, and a box of brand new toys from happy meals/kids meals. Any ideas?

Does anyone tie dye? I have a few packs of dye powder if anyone can use them. I also have a paradise pier patch and a thick California adventure postcard. No clue how I ended up with them, I've never been to Disneyland, lol.

Do you Geo-cache? If you know of someone, give them the toys. I know my dd uses them.

 

[dtr_angel]

Do you Geo-cache? If you know of someone, give them the toys. I know my dd uses them.

No I don't but I've heard of it. I'll have to ask around and see if I know of anyone that does. That's a good idea thanks.

 

[hulagirl87]

Since I last checked in, I've cleaned out a few cupboards in my kitchen and got a whole box of stuff together to donate. Also a few shelves in my linen closet. Oh and the toy bins in DD's room. That one felt good to accomplish! DH cleaned out his closet and we got together some clothes to donate.

I'm getting together some of the kids clothes that they have outgrown and once I get a good amount together, I'll take them to Once Upon a Child.

 

[dpswift]

I have been working odd hours so I did not get much done. DD and I sold a few items on FB yard sale. I also threw away 2 towels one new because the dog got a hold of them and ripped them.

This week my work hours are better for cleaning so hopefully I qill make more progress. I will be tired since I will be working during my sleep time.

 

[pjlla]

I'm feeling "PARALYZED BY THE POSSIBILITIES" today! We had to cancel our plans to do some visiting, thanks to this snow storm. So now I have an unplanned day at home. Men are at robotics until noon. Laundry is caught up, dishwasher is running, vacuum cleaner is broken, house is reasonably clean, lunch is made and dinner is in the crockpot... so what to do!!??

I could scrapbook.... haven't really been working on it much for over a year and part of me misses it and part of me is indifferent. I could do some beading/jewelry making .... I don't do it much and would really like to use up the remaining supplies and be done with it. I could start the declutter process in the scrapping/crafting area (I made the committment to reduce my scrapping area by 33% this year), I could do an extra long workout (need to do at least 2 miles on the TM today to catch up to DD for our "race to the castle" challenge), I could do some MUCH NEEDED cleaning/decluttering in the basement (but it is chilly down there)..... as you can see I am pondering a LOT but doing NOTHING!

Time to make a decision! I'll report back later!..............P

 

[pjlla]

I have finally tackled the nightmare that is our laundry room. We had stacks of outgrown clothes and linens in baskets. I re-washed and folded everything. I filled 2 large bins of outgrown clothes from each of my older children. My youngest daughter won't need any clothes. I am also donating a stack of old, ratty towels to my son's school for a pet shelter. I am also going to donate nearly all of the old bed linens for the queen sized bed we are no longer using. Additionally, I am filling up garbage bags of old clothes and shoes to donate. I am tossing the really worn out things.

That should free up a lot of space!!

I also cleaned out several of my purses and backpacks. I found a $50 Disney gift card we forgot to use on our last trip, a $20 Starbucks gift card, and a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card, along with $6 cash.

Love, love, LOVE it when I find unexpected cash or gift cards~! Feels a bit like hitting the lottery!

My next two goals are to organize and de-clutter my bedroom (more stacks of clothes!) and set up the baby's room. She's 2.5 months old now and I think we will be moving her out of the bassinet soon.

Good luck with the next part of your plan!

2 weekends ago DH had a really really bad cold cough and it was -35 degrees so I tackled my walk in closet in the other room away from him. Took out one large trash bag of clothes to donate. One large bag of stuff I decided was trash. Also cleaned out two bathrooms and under the kitchen sink. We changed a cabinet unit in the kitchen and we lost five shelves/drawers so I paired those down too. DD 16 decided to clean her bedroom last weekend. She got rid of one big bag of clothes and one big bag of trash and then decided to vacuum it herself, you go girl.

Good for her!!

Hi, I'm new to the thread. But I wanted to join in.

I'm on a war path to clear out our crap. I just turned 32. Our family of five has 3 kids. We've moved, I dunno like 27 times and we still have boxes packed from like forever ago.

I'm getting to the point in my life where its times to clear out all the clutter and crap.

So far this year we have :

Mounted the living room TV on the wall and cleared out the entire TV console

Clean out the entire garage, organized the tool workshop, cleaned out all the Christmas decorations

Clean out the entry way coat closet

Clear out the entry way shoe organizers

Cleaned out and re-organized the master closet

Clean out and re-organized the master bathroom

Cleared out the kids bathroom vanity

A dozen or so miscellaneous chores that we really should do more often, clean the shelves above the fridge, take down and wash all the ceiling fan light globes, scrub clean all the window sills, cleaned out all the drawers on the buffet server, etc.

I've got a punch list of manageable tasks, rather than just having a big long list of " clean the house" stuff.

oh dang, forgot to add, we found an entire box of "shred" from like 4 years ago and put our 8 year old to work, he thought it was the best thing ever and has asked me everyday after school if I found anymore

Your "already done" list is impressive! And I'm chuckling about your 8 y/o loving the shredding!! Wish I could get my almost 17 y/o to love it, since it is a frequently assigned chore!

There were a lot of posts I wanted to quote and reply to but now that I'm actually on my PC and can I'm too lazy, so sorry!

Wednesday I ended up going to my parents house and working in my parents basement for 4 hours.

my parents are empty nesters with a huge 5 bedroom house, a full attic, garage & finished basement full of stuff. My dad has always been what I call a "pack rat" and will not get rid of anything. He's been sick for almost 3 years so the little things he used to do like taking recycling, etc is not getting done so it's piling up. They had water in their basement a few summers ago and had to rip out the carpet and walls in their nice finished basement. With my dad being sick and my brothers not living at home the work never got done. For some reason he started bringing boxes of stuff out of the attic and just sitting them in the basement so now there is all this stuff everywhere. The work to finish the floors and walls can't get done until all this stuff is out of the way. My mom has been depressed because of my dad being chronically ill so she hasn't done anything about it and my dad not only doesn't want to he's not feeling up to it. My one brother is OCD like me so when he's home he destashes. Since my house is pretty much done I decided I would start volunteering a few hours a week to helping them. The sooner the stuff is dealt with in the basement, the sooner the work can hopefully be done. It just makes me sad to see their nice house falling apart. When my mom got off work I was shocked but she got really into helping me! We made a lot of progress! I think me jumping in and starting was some motivation, hopefully she will keep at it little by little. I piled up a TON of recycling. My dad always says he will take trash to his dumpster at work and take the recycling but he hardly ever gets around to it (if hes not at work hes sleeping pretty much) so I told him we would be more than glad to take the recycling for him if he would let us, and he said we could as long as he was there to see it. The plan is to go tomorrow and load up as much of the recycling as we can while he is home and DH will take it to the recycling center. That will clear up so much space so we can sort through all the rest of the random boxes of stuff from the attic and the stuff that magically accumulated.

I brought about 6 boxes full of my old stuff home Wednesday night. Yesterday I sorted through all of it. I ended up with a bag & a half of trash and 3 bags and 2 boxes to donate. I only ended up with a few 'keep' things. There was a small bag of my baby clothes that washed up well so I'll hang on to them. Of course I have a son but these were some favorite outfits so I'm willing to hang on to them in case I have a daughter. I also found a bag that had my combat boots & dress shoes from when I was in the Air Force. I have no idea what to do with them. I really don't have a lot of sentiment attachment to things but I don't want to get rid of them but I haven't worn them since I got out. They aren't girly boots, maybe my son will want to wear them? I don't know, I put them in a bag to think about.

I went through all the 'get rid of' boxes in the laundry room and sorted ebay, donate, etc. I got all the donate stuff together with the stuff from my parents house and DH is out now dropping the stuff off for me.
I need to get back into the swing of listing things on ebay to get them out. I listed 2 things today!

I invited my MIL over the other night to see DS and get the baby stuff. It did not go well. You'd think in their situation (and I know I'm being judgy but she asks us for money on a regular basis and we give it to her and she is one of those people who complains non stop about how broke she is baby is due in about 2 months and they don't have a single thing bought) she would be a little grateful for all the practically brand new baby stuff I gave her for SIL but she was not. She did not say thank you and complained about how it wasn't 'girly'. Um, I have a son. What did she expect? We didn't know he was a boy before he was born so our travel system, pack n play, etc. is all gender neutral. She wouldn't take the brand new diaper genie or the brand new crib mattress (still in the plastic, we bought it for a crib my parents had at their house but we ended up not needing it ever) because SIL wants a round crib that requires a special mattress. SIL wants to cloth diaper. I hope she doesn't think that I'm giving her all of DS's cloth diapers because they are still on his butt, lol. I'm a nice person but she makes me crazy. I was about to say fine, I'll keep all this stuff then and you can go buy all brand new 'girly' stuff. I've been picking up packages of diapers for SIL but since she doesn't want them I'm taking them to the food bank next week. I also had a bunch of gender neutral clothes, blankets, towels, etc. that were brand new but I'll donate them too. Sorry to rant MIL just really upset me.

I cleaned out our vitamin/medicine shelf in the kitchen yesterday and was surprised to find a bunch of expired stuff. Looks so much better now!

Oh and all that raving I did about my awesome laundry system... I am so far behind lol. I think that is what I need to do today. I'll probably work some more on my scrapbook while DS is napping. I need to finish our 2014 photo book but I need to get some pictures from thanksgiving and Christmas from my mom's phone first. I haven't even started our October or December vacation photo books. Aye... back to work!

I hope everyone has a productive weekend!

Nice of you to help Mom and Dad with all of that. And sorry your donations to SIL aren't appreciated. Perhaps they are embarrassed by their need??

Oh I forgot to add, when DH took our load to the recycling center the other day they took all our batteries.

I have a couple random things that I don't know what to do with. An electric blanket that works we just don't use, and a box of brand new toys from happy meals/kids meals. Any ideas?

Does anyone tie dye? I have a few packs of dye powder if anyone can use them. I also have a paradise pier patch and a thick California adventure postcard. No clue how I ended up with them, I've never been to Disneyland, lol.

Perhaps you had a friend bring you the patch and postcard?? Try selling them on the Disney Garage Sale FB page.... you might make a few dollars, especially if their are considered "rare"................P

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

What did you pick to tackle first Pamela?
I'd probably start with the bead projects, then that could just be finished. And all the left overs can be sold, donated, etc.....

I hear you about the scrapbooking. I have a room full of supplies and no desire to touch any of it, but the kids want their albums to be traditional. All of the disney trips are going digital though.

 

[StephMK]

Oh I forgot to add, when DH took our load to the recycling center the other day they took all our batteries.

I have a couple random things that I don't know what to do with. An electric blanket that works we just don't use, and a box of brand new toys from happy meals/kids meals. Any ideas?

Does anyone tie dye? I have a few packs of dye powder if anyone can use them. I also have a paradise pier patch and a thick California adventure postcard. No clue how I ended up with them, I've never been to Disneyland, lol.

I would think an electric blanket could be used at an animal shelter for babies of some kind. Happy meal toys would be used in a prize box by a teacher or maybe a shelter. The tie dye would probably be used by Girl Scouts or some kind of daycare or after school club maybe? If you are comfortable with Craigslist, I'm sure someone would pick them up but I know it's more of a hassle.

I am getting ready to volunteer at DD's show choir competition today and tomorrow is DD21's bday. I won't get much done but hope to get back into it next weekend. I have not taken the donations this week but if I get really motivated, I could probably pack up the rest and drop it off later this afternoon. We'll see how fast I get moving, I am NOT a morning person.

Have a good weekend everyone!

 

[dsneprincess]

There were a lot of posts I wanted to quote and reply to but now that I'm actually on my PC and can I'm too lazy, so sorry!

Wednesday I ended up going to my parents house and working in my parents basement for 4 hours.

my parents are empty nesters with a huge 5 bedroom house, a full attic, garage & finished basement full of stuff. My dad has always been what I call a "pack rat" and will not get rid of anything. He's been sick for almost 3 years so the little things he used to do like taking recycling, etc is not getting done so it's piling up. They had water in their basement a few summers ago and had to rip out the carpet and walls in their nice finished basement. With my dad being sick and my brothers not living at home the work never got done. For some reason he started bringing boxes of stuff out of the attic and just sitting them in the basement so now there is all this stuff everywhere. The work to finish the floors and walls can't get done until all this stuff is out of the way. My mom has been depressed because of my dad being chronically ill so she hasn't done anything about it and my dad not only doesn't want to he's not feeling up to it. My one brother is OCD like me so when he's home he destashes. Since my house is pretty much done I decided I would start volunteering a few hours a week to helping them. The sooner the stuff is dealt with in the basement, the sooner the work can hopefully be done. It just makes me sad to see their nice house falling apart. When my mom got off work I was shocked but she got really into helping me! We made a lot of progress! I think me jumping in and starting was some motivation, hopefully she will keep at it little by little. I piled up a TON of recycling. My dad always says he will take trash to his dumpster at work and take the recycling but he hardly ever gets around to it (if hes not at work hes sleeping pretty much) so I told him we would be more than glad to take the recycling for him if he would let us, and he said we could as long as he was there to see it. The plan is to go tomorrow and load up as much of the recycling as we can while he is home and DH will take it to the recycling center. That will clear up so much space so we can sort through all the rest of the random boxes of stuff from the attic and the stuff that magically accumulated.

I brought about 6 boxes full of my old stuff home Wednesday night. Yesterday I sorted through all of it. I ended up with a bag & a half of trash and 3 bags and 2 boxes to donate. I only ended up with a few 'keep' things. There was a small bag of my baby clothes that washed up well so I'll hang on to them. Of course I have a son but these were some favorite outfits so I'm willing to hang on to them in case I have a daughter. I also found a bag that had my combat boots & dress shoes from when I was in the Air Force. I have no idea what to do with them. I really don't have a lot of sentiment attachment to things but I don't want to get rid of them but I haven't worn them since I got out. They aren't girly boots, maybe my son will want to wear them? I don't know, I put them in a bag to think about.

I went through all the 'get rid of' boxes in the laundry room and sorted ebay, donate, etc. I got all the donate stuff together with the stuff from my parents house and DH is out now dropping the stuff off for me.
I need to get back into the swing of listing things on ebay to get them out. I listed 2 things today!

I invited my MIL over the other night to see DS and get the baby stuff. It did not go well. You'd think in their situation (and I know I'm being judgy but she asks us for money on a regular basis and we give it to her and she is one of those people who complains non stop about how broke she is baby is due in about 2 months and they don't have a single thing bought) she would be a little grateful for all the practically brand new baby stuff I gave her for SIL but she was not. She did not say thank you and complained about how it wasn't 'girly'. Um, I have a son. What did she expect? We didn't know he was a boy before he was born so our travel system, pack n play, etc. is all gender neutral. She wouldn't take the brand new diaper genie or the brand new crib mattress (still in the plastic, we bought it for a crib my parents had at their house but we ended up not needing it ever) because SIL wants a round crib that requires a special mattress. SIL wants to cloth diaper. I hope she doesn't think that I'm giving her all of DS's cloth diapers because they are still on his butt, lol. I'm a nice person but she makes me crazy. I was about to say fine, I'll keep all this stuff then and you can go buy all brand new 'girly' stuff. I've been picking up packages of diapers for SIL but since she doesn't want them I'm taking them to the food bank next week. I also had a bunch of gender neutral clothes, blankets, towels, etc. that were brand new but I'll donate them too. Sorry to rant MIL just really upset me.

I cleaned out our vitamin/medicine shelf in the kitchen yesterday and was surprised to find a bunch of expired stuff. Looks so much better now!

Oh and all that raving I did about my awesome laundry system... I am so far behind lol. I think that is what I need to do today. I'll probably work some more on my scrapbook while DS is napping. I need to finish our 2014 photo book but I need to get some pictures from thanksgiving and Christmas from my mom's phone first. I haven't even started our October or December vacation photo books. Aye... back to work!

I hope everyone has a productive weekend!

I think you need to look at SIL as "champagne tastes on a beer budget". I have never heard of a round crib, would certainly not pay extra (& yes, fancy/special/different always equals $) and where on earth would you EVER find round sheets! OMG, now I am wondering if Prince George has a round crib....that would kind of Mae sense since he is PRINCE and supposedly special and difference. I really can't figure out the round, how big could it be? Both my boys slept in their cribs for a really long time and were quite big. Now I'm intrigued! I'm going to ave to google......

I am, in case anyone couldn't guess, looking for any and every distraction from destashing today! I HAVE to get going on Master Bedroom, but (whining like my teen here!) I DON'T WANNA!!!

I have to get moving as my cousin just planned her wedding for 3 weeks from now, which means I have a houseful coming since my parents & DS & DBIL will be saying here and using our house as a base even though we won't be here that weekend. Good news is, I don't need a cat sitter! Rofl, I've got to take control of my inner Amy, whiny teenager & get to work on this junk! Enjoy your Saturday!

 

[lauradis]

You got me going on the paper work. Got the shredder out, files boxes with hanging folders and dividers all ready to start the 2015 year too.
Love the video, lol.

Keep it up.

Im sick I need help, in the paper department.

Going thru all these boxes, I can see the progress of my paper hoarding illness. lol

There was a note book in one of the boxes, with daily to do list, from almost 15 years ago. Calendars from years past. Its like a trip down memory lane.

Tomorrow another 7 boxes from the hoard needs to come down.

 

[pjlla]

What did you pick to tackle first Pamela?
I'd probably start with the bead projects, then that could just be finished. And all the left overs can be sold, donated, etc.....

I hear you about the scrapbooking. I have a room full of supplies and no desire to touch any of it, but the kids want their albums to be traditional. All of the disney trips are going digital though.

Well.... here is how my day went.....

I decided to make my bed before I got on the treadmill.... but noticed my bottom sheet had a tear. I wanted to repair it before it got worse, so I stripped the bed and remade it with fresh sheets and made DS's bed. I hit the TM for 4 miles, then went outside to snowblow the driveway. Then I had lunch and made lunch for my men (and cleaned up said lunch mess) and then set up the sewing machine and sewed the sheet (plus a few other things in my sewing repair pile)..... and of course had to do ANOTHER load of laundry to wash the sheets! I FINALLY started sorting my scrapping area (going drawer by drawer) but then DD wanted to Skype and I got totally distracted! Honestly, it feels like I got VERY LITTLE DONE! And now dinner will be ready in 15 minutes and DD needs help with a few internship essays after dinner.

That being said, I DID get in a workout, sold a few things on FB, and posted my WW meetings on FB on a few sites that allow "Small Business Saturday" listings! I hope to get at least 4 more drawers sorted and organized before I hit the pillow tonight.

Keep it up.

Im sick I need help, in the paper department.

Going thru all these boxes, I can see the progress of my paper hoarding illness. lol

There was a note book in one of the boxes, with daily to do list, from almost 15 years ago. Calendars from years past. Its like a trip down memory lane.

Tomorrow another 7 boxes from the hoard needs to come down.

The Paper Tiger strikes again!! I am a keeper of paper.... but mostly personal stuff like calendars.... not junk mail or lists. But it is still more than enough! Good luck putting a "leash" on your Tiger!!

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

Hope everyone had a great day! TTYL......................P

 

[todzwife]

Can I join you? We've outgrown our house but we can't afford to move yet so the only option we have is to purge a LOT of unused stuff (which is great because I'm sick of cleaning it all up over and over!!) I did the girls' room Thursday and threw away 2 huge black trash bags of toys and TRASH! Gross! I started on our room (which is the worst) and got 1 corner conquered. I have SO much stuff to sell (if it's worth money I'm trying to sell it to fund our trip in December).

My son's room is scary with all the legos, I"ll have to hit that when I have a few weeks hahaha!

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

Today we :

mounted an organizer rack in the entry coat closet

assembled and put to use a shoe organizer for my dd14

cleaned out dd7 closet and entire bed room

after dinner were going to tackle dd8 bedroom

bye bye clutter and crap

 

[OhMari]

I went trough all my clothes and I sorted out things I truly have not worn and items that do not fit. I filled 2 large bags. Hopefully when we move, I can sort again and really get rid of things I can do without. It has totally helped that I was on a no buy clothes for a year. It is really liberating not even think about shopping.

I am having huge anxiety attacks. My dh started packing out his garage and sheds and he is packing it into a semi trailer we have to help us move. He literally is keeping 4 doors from his cars,he is restoring. He bought new doors for the cars and he never threw the old ones away. He told me he is saving them for parts he may need off of the doors. I was baffled, why doesn't he strip off what he needs and throw them out or take to a salvage yard.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Can I join you? We've outgrown our house but we can't afford to move yet so the only option we have is to purge a LOT of unused stuff (which is great because I'm sick of cleaning it all up over and over!!) I did the girls' room Thursday and threw away 2 huge black trash bags of toys and TRASH! Gross! I started on our room (which is the worst) and got 1 corner conquered. I have SO much stuff to sell (if it's worth money I'm trying to sell it to fund our trip in December). My son's room is scary with all the legos, I"ll have to hit that when I have a few weeks hahaha!

Welcome to the group!!
We have outgrown our house too but with one in college and one in high school and one right behind him, we are sticking it out until the kids move out.

 

[todzwife]

Welcome to the group!!
We have outgrown our house too but with one in college and one in high school and one right behind him, we are sticking it out until the kids move out.

Mine are all still small...oldest is 11 and the only boy. Currently trying to figure out the best way to fit 3 girls in one room.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I am having huge anxiety attacks. My dh started packing out his garage and sheds and he is packing it into a semi trailer we have to help us move. He literally is keeping 4 doors from his cars,he is restoring. He bought new doors for the cars and he never threw the old ones away. He told me he is saving them for parts he may need off of the doors. I was baffled, why doesn't he strip off what he needs and throw them out or take to a salvage yard.

I feel you!! DH kept garage door parts from a job he had 30+ years ago. I finally got him to toss most of it about 3 years ago. After 3 moves!!
I agree, he needs to strip the doors, box and label the parts, and take the doors to the scrap yard to get money

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Mine are all still small...oldest is 11 and the only boy. Currently trying to figure out the best way to fit 3 girls in one room.

My 3 boys are in one room. We got 2 sets of small bunk beds from Ikea. We lofted one for DS18 so he can have a desk underneath. There room looks a lot like a college dorm.

 

[Debbie]

Welcome to the group!!
We have outgrown our house too but with one in college and one in high school and one right behind him, we are sticking it out until the kids move out.

They keep coming back...with their STUFF! Our basement is loaded, not only with STUFF from the 5 kids, but also the STUFF of their friends. Not to mention son number 1 is back...again....as 'the boy in the basement'. Doesn't stay here a lot, but . . . .

 

[OhMari]

They keep coming back...with their STUFF! Our basement is loaded, not only with STUFF from the 5 kids, but also the STUFF of their friends. Not to mention son number 1 is back...again....as 'the boy in the basement'. Doesn't stay here a lot, but . . . .

Yep, I think we are too kind. I never would of went back to my parents house to live. My youngest and oldest are home this weekend. Both are helping us move. My other 2 will be home in 2 weeks, they need to take the rest of their belongings. My son better figure out where his Harley is going, I am not taking it to my new house.