2015 destash - Purge Purge Purge, Purge is the word

[OhMari]

Well, I am recently unemployed and just finished out the quarter at school (I'm a late in life college student). I basically have a week and a half with NOTHING to do! Almost unheard of! Hubs and kids are in school (except my youngest) and so I have decided to spend the next few days purging my home! So far, I have a garbage bag and a box full of donation stuff. But I still have a lot left to do. I plan to systematically go through the entire house room by room and start getting rid of stuff. I have been a packrat for years and, sadly, my children have inherited my pack rat tendencies. Over the years I have started to realize that I just don't need to hold on to all of this STUFF! Time to get started on simplifying our life and, hopefully, I will have a good handle on things by the time I find a new job and my life gets hectic again!

Today, my plan is to finish purging my son's room. He is only 3 and won't notice too much if his toys thin out a little bit. My girls though.. it is hard to get rid of their stuff because they end up noticing. I have to be sneaky about it! I also tackled a pile of papers I had on the desk because I was sitting here and the pile started to fall over. LOL!

Tomorrow, I will start on MY bedroom! I need to get rid of clothes and shoes as well and go through all that junk I've got stored under the bed!

The next day, I will do the bathroom. It isn't too bad, but I am pretty sure there are some expired meds and stuff up in the cabinets!

Good luck, sometimes we need to get our home life in order and have a new outlook. Good luck with your job search.

Been slowly working through mother in laws stuff that we inherited. Got a call from my dad yesterday. About 2 months ago he had estate sale and got rid of lots of stuff (my mom had passed away in 2014) especially knock knacks and such. Dad is giving me 20 boxes of stuff some attic that was forgotten about. So adding that to stuff to go through. Dad loaded 4 boxes in my car. Went over to friends and dropped off 1 box that had hanging light that she needed and also one of those tabletop fountains. I had called her as soon as I left dads house to see if she could use anything that I had just 'received'. So basically starting the process over.......small bites of an elephant

I think many of us will be dealing with the same issues. Both of our parents are living yet and they live in huge houses, plus my parents have a summer home on a lake. They both have so many things.

 

[powellrj]

For some reason, their things from college was hard for me to handle. They had their own space, living quarters at school and for some reason, when my kids moved their things back home in the summer, my house exploded. A storage shed is an excellent idea.

My middle DS graduated from college in May and our garage is still full of his stuff. As soon as the weather gets better, he is going out to clear it out so we can at least put a car back in!

Been slowly working through mother in laws stuff that we inherited. Got a call from my dad yesterday. About 2 months ago he had estate sale and got rid of lots of stuff (my mom had passed away in 2014) especially knock knacks and such. Dad is giving me 20 boxes of stuff some attic that was forgotten about. So adding that to stuff to go through. Dad loaded 4 boxes in my car. Went over to friends and dropped off 1 box that had hanging light that she needed and also one of those tabletop fountains. I had called her as soon as I left dads house to see if she could use anything that I had just 'received'. So basically starting the process over.......small bites of an elephant

We have been doing this too. DHs parents died 8 years ago and so their stuff has all been dealt with. My parents moved into assisted living in January so we are dealing with their stuff now. The problem I have with their stuff is everything has a memory. I remember when mom and I bought many of the items and its hard because I will drift off and daydream. My brother told me I get a tote of pictures this weekend. Oh joy...

What do you do with old pictures? I plan to make disks for everyone, and then I just hate to toss them, but not sure what else to do with them. Many are from the 1800's all the way to current.

 

[OhMari]

My middle DS graduated from college in May and our garage is still full of his stuff. As soon as the weather gets better, he is going out to clear it out so we can at least put a car back in!



We have been doing this too. DHs parents died 8 years ago and so their stuff has all been dealt with. My parents moved into assisted living in January so we are dealing with their stuff now. The problem I have with their stuff is everything has a memory. I remember when mom and I bought many of the items and its hard because I will drift off and daydream. My brother told me I get a tote of pictures this weekend. Oh joy...

What do you do with old pictures? I plan to make disks for everyone, and then I just hate to toss them, but not sure what else to do with them. Many are from the 1800's all the way to current.

I would pick a few out and try to get rid of the rest. Do you have other relatives that maybe would like pictures. There is a new program out, that will copy pictures, video's onto a DVD or Flash Drive.

 

[powellrj]

I would pick a few out and try to get rid of the rest. Do you have other relatives that maybe would like pictures. There is a new program out, that will copy pictures, video's onto a DVD or Flash Drive.

My brother and I are the only ones, I will look for the program now, thanks!

 

[pjlla]

Interesting that today's chatter has been about pictures, because I was coming on to brag that I just purged a drawer full of "extra" pictures! Mostly duplicates from the last 10 years. I don't always know when I order the photos exactly how many I will be using on a scrapbook page so I end up with extras..... or I order wallets to fit a lot on a page and they come in sets of 4 and I often only need 2 (one for each child's book).

I also tossed out original photos from my 1974 Girl Scout camping trip!! They were dark and other than myself, I didn't know a single person in them nor could I tell you where we were! Why, oh WHY, have I held onto those photos for 40 years!!???? Also tossed a bunch of other pictures... like why did my cousin think that I needed SIX copies of her oldest daughter's Senior picture??? The funny part is, I don't think I got a single copy of her other daughter's picture!

Also tossed out a bunch of duplicates from portrait sittings of my kiddos and nephews... I know that I have them in the scrapbooks plus my Mom has a copy.... so the rest can go!

I have a handful of old photos that are good for a chuckle that I will scan later today and share on FB (and probably embarrass the heck out of some folks ) and then they can disappear!

I have three shoe boxes of photos in my closet that are mostly duplicates as well ( mostlyleftovers from scrapping again) and I will go through those next and hopefully reduce it to NONE (or maybe just a few).

Good luck to the rest of you struggling with the photo issue! Scan them (front and back if they are written on), back up the digital file, and then TOSS the photos! It is very freeing! (That being said, if they are VERY OLD, be sure to preserve the original in an acid-free box/file!)

BBL to report!..........................P

 

[hsmamato2]

What do you do with old pictures? I plan to make disks for everyone, and then I just hate to toss them, but not sure what else to do with them. Many are from the 1800's all the way to current.

I am in the middle of purging my house from top to bottom (it's taking forever!) but those pictures,I hestitate on pictures. I have the discs with pics on them,yes, but there is nothing like the original family photos, esp.the old ones. And as we move farther into the digital age, I fear the 'real' pics will be less and less,till there are none. If I had a ton of old pics,I would go through them one by one,and get a nice plastic tote,with some acid free dividers in it, and put the 'keepers' in there. That way you are purging, but you are also able to save a reasonably sized box of memories/family history in a clean, easy to store way. I wish I had that many family history photos to choose from, most of mine were destroyed when a (hoarder) family member let them get destroyed by damp and mold in a basement.... Pictures are valuable to me. Not every one, but many are. And digital 'saving' just isn't the same.

 

[Debbie]

Finally! I have something to report! Got the call from the Canadian Diabetes Association that their truck would be around the end of the month. Yesterday, I set a goal of just ONE cupboard. We cleared out 2 (smallish/liquor) boxes of mugs and glasses-many, many Disney ones. But the cupboard kind of looks better. (note: I kept all of my square Disney glasses, my favourite mugs, and the kids' baseball mugs that no one will ever use again.)
On the school front, I have been weeding through my books. I brought my winter books home, and my DIL took some of my teaching resources the last time she was here.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

The donation truck pickup called yest. and asked if I could donate something on March 30th, so I said sure and then More progress was made and I did not even have to do it. Ds3 had a day off from work yest and he was bored so he cleaned up ds2 room. When ds2 came home he couldnt believe it, but I think we now have at least another 3 bags of trash and 1 1/2 bags of clothes to donate.

Dh is going on a week long business trip starting Monday so I will work on some clothes in our room some more. I also am going to start getting my donation stuff ready for the school chinese auction next month. I have a box of stuff I have already won during the year that will be donated so that will go in a few weeks.

I hear everybody about inheriting your parents stuff. Dh is an only child and I am the only surviving sibling, so we have so far cleaned out 2 houses and had to deal with stuff from his parents (2) and from my house my parents, sister and grandmas stuff (4 more). I tried to limit what I took back.
I have saved all the christmas ornaments which will be divided between the 3 ds. One thing I am deciding what to do with is my sisters precious moments collection. I see on e bay they are worth nothing. I am not having a garage sale again as that was a disaster the last time and maybe I will save a few but I am thinking of probably donating them to the school christmas store next year. She has the boxes, signs etc. that go with them. I just packed them up when I saw them because I was so upset and couldnt deal with it. I am not really into collecting things and I want to downsize stuff etc.
Dh and I are working our way to decluttering and then fixing up the house and selling it and retiring but that will be a while yet.

 

[OhMari]

I agree garage sales are hard. I never had a successful one. I am going to try again with my sister this June. I just have so much stuff, and I have to haul it back to her house.

Yesterday I tackled my closet again and was able to make another bag. I listed 8 shirts on a Plus size board and I listed a set of Corelle Dishes. I am going to give it a week, otherwise it is going to Goodwill.

 

[pjlla]

In my efforts to declutter today, I decided it was time to "fish or cut bait" with a set of china that my Mom gave me to sell. It's been listed on several area FB yardsale groups since January without a single nibble. I dropped the price twice already. I think I priced the set VERY reasonably (compared to Ebay prices). I contacted replacements.com today and got an offer but other than the dinner plates the prices for the few pieces they would buy is deplorably low.... especially compared to what they sell it for and what it goes for on Ebay (like they offer $2 for a salt and pepper set but it sells on replacements.com for $65 !!). And if I go ahead and sell the dinner plates to replacements.com, then I don't have a full set any more.

So I'm going to bite the bullet and list it all on Ebay (individually I think). Even after paying listing fees, etc, I think I will still make money. Honestly, at this point, even just selling the dinner plates to replacements.com I will make more money than what I have it listed for on FB!

And then, of course, I need to find another drawer/box/shelf to declutter today. It is still too cold to do the basement, garage, or playroom (the areas that really need the most work). Probably end up cleaning out a scrapbooking drawer or two. I did several drawers there last weekend and now have EMPTY drawers!

TTYL.........................P

 

[sarahk0204]

Well, the thrift store run hasn't happened yet, and now it has started to snow. At least I can organize the stuff and itemize it for the donation. DH is complaining about the extra boxes in the basement, as well as the stuff from my Dad's house in our garage. I won't deal with the unattached garage in snow, but I can get the basement stuff sorted out before work tomorrow.

 

[mrsabbott]

Okay, so yesterday (with the help of the kids) we cleaned out our old storage shed. There were a TON of broken toys and junk out there and it is all going to the curb tomorrow! What isn't broken will go back in there (it is where the kids keep their outdoor play stuff) and it leaves plenty of room for the kids to have a "clubhouse".
Today I am focusing on CLOTHES! Pulling out the clothing totes from our other shed in the back and going through everything. Also going to wash all the girls' clothes and school uniforms and go through stuff that is ratty or no longer fits or that they just don't care for and it is OUTTA HERE! Now, I have 4 children and my 3 girls share a bedroom. Storage space in our home is at a minimum. They have a TON of clothes. A TON!!! They get a lot of hand me downs plus family buys them stuff. It is more than they need and, really, more than we have space for. I did give 2 bags of too small stuff to a friend, but what about the stuff that technically still fits? Do my kids REALLY need 10 pairs of jeans EACH?? I don't even have 10 pairs! Has anyone here ever limited the number of jeans/outfits their child has? I've also noticed that clean clothes sometimes end up back in the laundry basket when it comes time to "clean their room". There isn't enough drawer space and they put it on the floor and I end up washing stuff that isn't really dirty. The madness has got to stop! So, how many pairs of jeans? How many pairs of shorts? Skirts? Shirts? Dresses?

Our sock basket is getting ready to be purged as well. Yes, we have a sock basket. Clean socks and tights go in there and the girls fend for themselves. I am thinking of buying JUST white socks that are all exactly the same. They all pretty much wear the same size socks anyways. Thoughts??

 

[pjlla]

Well, the thrift store run hasn't happened yet, and now it has started to snow. At least I can organize the stuff and itemize it for the donation. DH is complaining about the extra boxes in the basement, as well as the stuff from my Dad's house in our garage. I won't deal with the unattached garage in snow, but I can get the basement stuff sorted out before work tomorrow.

Sorry about the snow. I'm pretty sick of it myself here. I'm not ready to tackle the garage yet either, with the cold weather hanging on!

Okay, so yesterday (with the help of the kids) we cleaned out our old storage shed. There were a TON of broken toys and junk out there and it is all going to the curb tomorrow! What isn't broken will go back in there (it is where the kids keep their outdoor play stuff) and it leaves plenty of room for the kids to have a "clubhouse".
Today I am focusing on CLOTHES! Pulling out the clothing totes from our other shed in the back and going through everything. Also going to wash all the girls' clothes and school uniforms and go through stuff that is ratty or no longer fits or that they just don't care for and it is OUTTA HERE! Now, I have 4 children and my 3 girls share a bedroom. Storage space in our home is at a minimum. They have a TON of clothes. A TON!!! They get a lot of hand me downs plus family buys them stuff. It is more than they need and, really, more than we have space for. I did give 2 bags of too small stuff to a friend, but what about the stuff that technically still fits? Do my kids REALLY need 10 pairs of jeans EACH?? I don't even have 10 pairs! Has anyone here ever limited the number of jeans/outfits their child has? I've also noticed that clean clothes sometimes end up back in the laundry basket when it comes time to "clean their room". There isn't enough drawer space and they put it on the floor and I end up washing stuff that isn't really dirty. The madness has got to stop! So, how many pairs of jeans? How many pairs of shorts? Skirts? Shirts? Dresses?

Our sock basket is getting ready to be purged as well. Yes, we have a sock basket. Clean socks and tights go in there and the girls fend for themselves. I am thinking of buying JUST white socks that are all exactly the same. They all pretty much wear the same size socks anyways. Thoughts??

I think the answer depends on how often you do laundry (or are willing to do laundry). If your kiddos wear jeans every day and you only want to wash a load of jeans once a week, then I would say they need about 7 pairs of jeans each. It looks like your kids wear a school uniform. Can they wear it more than once before it needs to be washed (probably not if they are in grade school)? Unless you are ready to wash uniforms several times a week, I would say they need 5 uniforms (full set, top and bottom) each.

Dresses.... do they wear dresses a lot or just to church on the weekends? If it is just a church thing, I would say that each girl could be limited to just 4 dresses. Perhaps they are similar sizes and could share?

For things like underwear and sox, I would say have a two week supply on hand..... sometimes those things get lost, go missing, or get dirtied faster than other articles of clothing.

And of course, you could base this on drawer and closet space as well. If the sock drawer only holds 7 pairs of socks, then that is the limit!

Good luck!............P

 

[mrsabbott]

I do at minimum 1 load of laundry a day. Most days I do at least 2 loads. It is a never ending cycle..

Nearly all the girls' clothes have been sorted through. I filled a LARGE garbage bag of items to donate. While I still feel like the girls have too many clothes, I think I will do another purge as I finish up all their laundry and stuff. I need to see everything they have, if that makes sense. I made a pretty good dent though. Very proud of that garbage bag! Feels good to know that I am getting that out of the house! And all four of the kids have PLENTY of summer clothes so we don't need to buy anything new for them with the exception of some new flip flops and sandals. Oh, and one of my kids needs a new swimsuit. The rest are good to go!

I also got all the broken stuff in the shed out to the curb for trash day tomorrow!

 

[bcwife76]

I'm a selling machine lately!! My oldest daughter has to sell girl guide cookies (3 cases of them) so we've been bugging everyone we know or work with to buy some LOL Less than 1 case left, woohoo!! Too bad we're not getting all the darn cookie money.
However I've also finally started posting kids clothing and toys to Facebook swap sites again (stopped for a few months) and today alone I made $21! Make some money and get some stuff out of my house!!

 

[mrsabbott]

I have considered selling some stuff, but honestly.. I don't want to take the time. I have tried before and those facebook sites in our area are kind of a joke. People will try to talk you down on something that you are already selling crazy cheap, or they want YOU to bring it to them, or they say they will show up and then don't. But, awesome on making some cash though! Maybe put that $$ towards your upcoming cruise??

Trash guy came and all that junk from the shed is GONE! I'm loading up my SUV and will be dropping off a ton of stuff to Goodwill today. I went through a couple of kitchen cabinets this morning and got rid of some excess junk in there. I have to admit, it feels pretty good. I can't help but think that it will really be a freeing experience to simplify my life!

 

[OhMari]

I have considered selling some stuff, but honestly.. I don't want to take the time. I have tried before and those facebook sites in our area are kind of a joke. People will try to talk you down on something that you are already selling crazy cheap, or they want YOU to bring it to them, or they say they will show up and then don't. But, awesome on making some cash though! Maybe put that $$ towards your upcoming cruise??

Trash guy came and all that junk from the shed is GONE! I'm loading up my SUV and will be dropping off a ton of stuff to Goodwill today. I went through a couple of kitchen cabinets this morning and got rid of some excess junk in there. I have to admit, it feels pretty good. I can't help but think that it will really be a freeing experience to simplify my life!

I am trying to sell one item every day. Even that is a headache. Yesterday I posted a corner hutch. I had it appraised at $225. I was asking $150 a month a go. I lowered the price 3 times and I am down to $40. I had 3 people begging to buy it yesterday. In the end, all 3 backed out. Very frustrating. I did sell my Corelle Dishes for $10.

I listed a bunch of shirts on a Facebook group for Women's Plus sizes, no one responded, so most of the clothes I have bagged up is going to Good Will.

This morning I found a new blanket I bought for our bed, when our JCP closed their doors. Today was a easy day. Every day I am trying to go through a bag or a box and my motto is, "find a place for it", try selling it, give it to Good Will, or throw it in the dumpster.

 

[bcwife76]

I have considered selling some stuff, but honestly.. I don't want to take the time. I have tried before and those facebook sites in our area are kind of a joke. People will try to talk you down on something that you are already selling crazy cheap, or they want YOU to bring it to them, or they say they will show up and then don't. But, awesome on making some cash though! Maybe put that $$ towards your upcoming cruise??

Trash guy came and all that junk from the shed is GONE! I'm loading up my SUV and will be dropping off a ton of stuff to Goodwill today. I went through a couple of kitchen cabinets this morning and got rid of some excess junk in there. I have to admit, it feels pretty good. I can't help but think that it will really be a freeing experience to simplify my life!

I agree, that's why I gave up on the selling sites and didn't post anything for about 6 months. Then on a whim I decided to post a couple of items last week; started off badly with 2 people saying they wanted the item and neither of them showing. But then it sold so I posted a couple more items and they sold right away. I always get the price haggles out of the way over email - don't show up at my door with a $5 bill when the price says $10 because that crap don't fly with me!! LOL And yes every penny earned is going straight to our cruise account

 

[pjlla]

It sounds like many of you have had similar selling experiences to me..... list something at a VERY reasonable price and get either no takers or HORRIBLY low offers. But I figure, like me, these folks are bargain hunters and either I make a counter offer or just say no thanks. It depends on how desperately I want to get rid of the item and how much I need/want the money.

I sold a bunch of DS's Rescue Heroes recently. It was a LARGE lot, a big rescue ship, a rescue station and about 20+ Heroes all with different accessories.... probably original retail was in the range of $300 new. DS and I decided to ask $125 to give some wiggle room to negotiate. Got an offer almost immediately for $80 and countered with $90 and she agreed. Then she kept asking me if I could wait for her to get the money together. I honestly figured, after a few weeks of being patient, that I was out of luck. But lo and behold.... she got a hold of me and had the money and we met the next day and she was SUPER excited to get the toys for her kids AND super appreciative that I was willing to wait for a few weeks for her to save a bit from each paycheck. Win-win! And of course, DS was delighted with the profits! So patience is definitely part of the game!

I do find that the stuff I list tends to get an offer or sell within just a few days or never. And as far as folks not meeting me....that would make me NUTS, as I often have to drive at least 30 minutes to meet because I live in such a rural area. And then folks who post in my local small town group and then expect me to drive to their town which is sometimes an hour or more away.... NO WAY! The rules are that if you post in a certain town's site, you are supposed to be prepared to meet in that town. I am sick of folks getting mad at me for not being willing to drive an hour for a $5 item!

I've never had anyone lowball me upon meeting. ALL negotiations are done BEFORE the meet through a FB private message. I actually had a woman pay me MORE once, because the agreed-upon price was $8, she showed up with a $10 bill and I had no change.... so she just gave me the $10 !! Happened to me another time selling some shorts..... sold a big bag of young men's shorts for a really low price and when I meet the woman she was so happy with them that she gave me MORE than the agreed-upon price! But I realize that kind of thing is really rare.

Real yard sales don't tend to work out here where I am..... I am just too rural for folks to make the long drive. But I tend to end up involved in at least ONE community/fundraiser yard sale every year (usually for robotics or something else my kids are involved in) so I will often set aside my "good" stuff in the basement corner for that! Clothing and books I donate automatically, as most yard sales are over-run with them. But small pieces of furniture, dishes, decorative items that don't sell on the FB group, I am saving for this summer's robotics yard sale.

But honestly, nothing beats the feeling of a big drop-off at the Goodwill! It is a very liberating feeling!

Working again today, so nothing much happening at home on the purge front..... but I have Saturday at home to clean and I plan to hit it hard!..................P

 

[mrsabbott]

But honestly, nothing beats the feeling of a big drop-off at the Goodwill! It is a very liberating feeling!

Working again today, so nothing much happening at home on the purge front..... but I have Saturday at home to clean and I plan to hit it hard!..................P

Yes, it is very liberating! I now have the back of my SUV filled up again and am currently working on another large garbage bag of donations! I have also been throwing away lots of stuff. And I have found a few "treasures" too.. old pictures that triggered a nice walk down memory lane! My senior pic in high school, a small pic of our wedding day, and a pic on Hubs' AIT graduation day!

It is a cold and rainy day today. In some ways, this is a good thing as I am not tempted to be out in the sunshine! However, I am tempted to curl up under a blanket and be lazy.. No time for that though! I have to get the house cleaned up before my youngest DD's birthday party this weekend!