2016 Destash - The more things you own, the more they own you

[SafferMom]

Remember that most moving/shipping companies charge by the pound now. When we were planning a move from the US to England we were going to leave all the electronics behind. It wasn't worth it to take them. We were also going to sell or store 99% of our furniture too.
Sadly we didn't get to move because of the timing of DD's birth but we are looking into it again.

Thanks for the feedback but all info I have from shipping companies moving between South Africa and Australia state that it is a set price for a 20ft container no matter how heavy the stuff inside is. But we are also not going to take appliances as most of ours are pretty old so would rather buy new, plus then we don't need to wait for appliances to arrive. We will be very careful what we take as I suspect we currently have enough stuff to fill a 40ft container plus leftovers so we are basically going to have to halve our possessions in the next few months - a daunting task!!

Do you still live in the UK - that was also an option for us but at this stage we are going to Australia.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Thanks for the feedback but all info I have from shipping companies moving between South Africa and Australia state that it is a set price for a 20ft container no matter how heavy the stuff inside is. But we are also not going to take appliances as most of ours are pretty old so would rather buy new, plus then we don't need to wait for appliances to arrive. We will be very careful what we take as I suspect we currently have enough stuff to fill a 40ft container plus leftovers so we are basically going to have to halve our possessions in the next few months - a daunting task!!

Do you still live in the UK - that was also an option for us but at this stage we are going to Australia.

Flat rate for an overseas move is a good deal!! 20Ft container isn't terrible, you will get really good at playing Tetris with boxes to use up every bit of available space. When Dh was military we moved ourselves except for Hawaii, it was easier to pack our own stuff and I knew where everything was. When we moved to Hawaii, it took me over a month to find stuff. There was no rhyme or reason to how things were put together.

No we ended up not going. The company dragged their feet on the relocation until I was to far pregnant with DD, then it was the end of the school year for the boys by the time she was cleared to fly. Then I couldn't fly because I had a medical emergency from having her. It took me about a year to recover. DH left that job but now he's back with them again so we are looking at possibly moving the the UK when DS14 graduates from High School. Our DD will be in 8th grade so she will finish out and we will look at our options.

 

[CheriePenguin]

Well we took a FULL van full of stuff to the baby & kids rummage drop off tonight! Hopefully most of it sells and we don't have to bring too much home (and that we don't buy too much at it ) Big items included: a play kitchen set, Crayola easel, tall preschool race track thing, outdoor coupe car, scooter, train play rug, Winnie the Pooh lamp, etc. Plus LOTS of toys and a bunch of clothing.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

we've been selling a fair amount on CL recently. I also joined 2 local FB buy sell trade groups and signed up for notifications for folks who posted "ISO" (in search of) - sold a few things that way too. Yesterday someone was looking for hand weights 10 lbs and up - we had a pair of 10 lb weights that we haven't used in ages - SOLD!

 

[comicguy]

Just a few items this morning:

Donated:
1 pair of pants

Yard Sale Pile:
9 books

Trashed:
3 pair of socks

 

[SafferMom]

Flat rate for an overseas move is a good deal!! 20Ft container isn't terrible, you will get really good at playing Tetris with boxes to use up every bit of available space. When Dh was military we moved ourselves except for Hawaii, it was easier to pack our own stuff and I knew where everything was. When we moved to Hawaii, it took me over a month to find stuff. There was no rhyme or reason to how things were put together.

No we ended up not going. The company dragged their feet on the relocation until I was to far pregnant with DD, then it was the end of the school year for the boys by the time she was cleared to fly. Then I couldn't fly because I had a medical emergency from having her. It took me about a year to recover. DH left that job but now he's back with them again so we are looking at possibly moving the the UK when DS14 graduates from High School. Our DD will be in 8th grade so she will finish out and we will look at our options.

Wow you are an experienced mover! Thanks for all the advice.

I have managed to get some stuff purged in the last 2 days (taking tomorrow off for mothers day )

1. Cleared a mountain of clothes out my closet - will all be donated
2. Started ripping my CDs so I can eventually get rid of the physical CDs
3. Finished the darning pile (Yay!)
4. Made a start on sorting through books
5. Put 18 months worth of photos into albums and labelled them - huge weight off my shoulders

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Not much to report again. Just trying to wade through the mountain of laundry that never seems to go away.

DS19 is done with school next week so we are planning to purge his clothes soon. Then the other boys will tackle theirs after school gets out.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Followed last years spread for inspiration. I usually go buy this website for her 15 minute daily missions: http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-your-home.html

The 15 minute method has been the most manageable with a toddler in the house. This year I need to get back on track...

Okay, I just discovered this thread, but I'm so in! Last year I had the goal of getting rid of three things a day. (Yes, I'm easily overwhelmed.) That didn't really make much of an impact, especially since I often selected tiny things that needed to be thrown out ages ago...but it was a start. And you have to start somewhere, right?

But then life got in the way, and I have slacked off. My new goal - inspired by all of you in this thread and your great work and ideas - is to tackle one area a day. Now area sounds large. I'm still doing small spaces, but one small space a day should add up. Today's clean up project - the top half of my computer desk. (The bottom half will take days at this rate, but the top half is visible and should serve as a positive sign of what can be done.

Here's to getting rid of the clutter that dominates my life! ;-)

Check out the link above and see if it helps you. One drawer or surface a day really adds up.

I am about halfway to being a hoarder and we have a rather small house so it is constantly driving DH crazy. That being said, I've been trying to get rid of stuff lately and I'm having a hard time. I feel like I'm emotionally attached to everything, even stupid stuff. We are having a yard sale on Saturday and we have a garage full of stuff to go. Whatever doesn't go will be donated somewhere. I've also been working on moving out all our baby stuff but that really has me emotional. I know we are done and the baby gear takes up soooo much space. I'm hoping a lot of the big stuff sells at the yard sale on Saturday because I'm not sure what plan B is for it. My biggest problem areas are the kids toys (they have one of the biggest rooms in the house overflowing with toys, plus some in the basement and some in the attic and I just can't get rid of them) and baby stuff (which I'm working on, very slowly).

For this, I've found that I do better giving things to people who I know can use them or to charities that I know will give them to homes that need them. You can also try to give yourself a tub for each kid to fill with his/her baby stuff and favorite toys. Make it a large tub so you won't feel like you are short changed, but you will find that if you cull through and find a couple of your favorites, it will help you get rid of the stuff you love less.

 

[dromio42]

I am about halfway to being a hoarder and we have a rather small house so it is constantly driving DH crazy. That being said, I've been trying to get rid of stuff lately and I'm having a hard time. I feel like I'm emotionally attached to everything, even stupid stuff. We are having a yard sale on Saturday and we have a garage full of stuff to go. Whatever doesn't go will be donated somewhere. I've also been working on moving out all our baby stuff but that really has me emotional. I know we are done and the baby gear takes up soooo much space. I'm hoping a lot of the big stuff sells at the yard sale on Saturday because I'm not sure what plan B is for it. My biggest problem areas are the kids toys (they have one of the biggest rooms in the house overflowing with toys, plus some in the basement and some in the attic and I just can't get rid of them) and baby stuff (which I'm working on, very slowly).

I found that reading "FLY Lady' website or emails has helped me learn how to let go of stuff. I no longer have emotional attachments to most things- it's a huge relief.

 

[toystoryduo]

Not much progress on the garage to report. Our schedules and the weather haven't been too cooperative in getting things done. I did manage to sell 2 more items that we de-cluttered from the house and listed 1 more item on eBay. We don't have specific plans for this weekend, so if the weather cooperates, we'll spend a few hours in the garage.

 

[SafferMom]

Yay one of the items I listed on Facebook has sold - actually two items as its 2 dining carver chairs, the new owner will come and collect on Friday after.

I also managed to drop off the 4 boxes of books I had collected for a library we have setup in a local school. Dh was so glad to get those out of our garage

 

[toystoryduo]

We didn't make any progress on the garage this weekend. It rained like crazy and even snowed yesterday.

We should be able to get a lot more done once school is out for the summer. Of course, the weather has to cooperate too.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

had a very good craigslist week last week! Also scheduled a bulky waste pickup for tomorrow and we are going to the dump this week (bulky waste only picks up certain things - dump run is mainly electronics where they have a recycling area, batteries and some larger boxes that need to be recycled and I don't want to fill up our recycling bin with them). Making major progress on the garage and feeling accomplished

 

[Alexle2007]

Went through most of my kitchen cabinets and pantry this morning! Lots of items are going to be donated and several bags of trash. I moved the pots so I need to make sure to tell DH since he gets upset when I start moving stuff and don't tell him. The pots have been in the same location for 12 years

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Working on cleaning out the front hall closet today. Holy cow, people were just tossing stuff in there all winter long and it's a hot mess!
I'm shuffling the summer toys down, tennis rackets, bows and arrows and spring jackets. Winter stuff is going up, coats, ski pants etc.
My DH and DS19 need to go through the coats, the amount they have is out of hand!!

Tomorrow is the linen closet as I switch out the winter and summer sheets.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Yesterday I pared down my gardening bag. It's amazing what was in there for no reason!

 

[pjlla]

Hey all! I've been totally MIA here! Life has been insanely busy with working 3 jobs, helping DD move from her spring dorm assignment to her summer apartment on campus, end-of-the-year stuff for DS (concerts, track meets, Expo night, post-season robotics, college visits) and I am SOOOOOOO behind, even with NORMAL cleaning, never mind any kind of decluttering! I spent most of my "free" time during April vacation hauling out DS's room and he STILL hasn't finished sorting the pile that got dragged into my bedroom.

Just this morning I remembered that I told the Epilepsy Foundation that I would leave a donation at the end of the driveway Friday morning..... so that will need to motivate me to find at least one box of stuff to put out! I've never had any sort of pick up here (we live really out in the boondocks) so I should be excited that I only have to get stuff to the end of the driveway and not drive it all the way to a donation site! But I've been just too busy to get anything done! I'm at school all day today and working at home 5-8 tonight and then DS's Senior Expo is 5-8 tomorrow night... somewhere in there I need to fill a box! Plus I have some stuff I really want to get listed on a FB yardsale (Coach purse and Vera Bradley bag) but I just have not had the time to get it done! That will need to be a priority in the next few days.

Good news though..... DH finally dismantled the pool last weekend. The winter of 2014-2015 did some big damage but we never took it down last summer (it just made me too sad).... but this winter finally did it in and DH got busy on it while I was away helping DD move. I think he knew it would be easier for me to not be there. I LOVED our pool... we got it in about 2001 or 2002 and the kids and I used it every summer for days on end! We had pool parties and just really enjoyed our pool. We even built a nice custom deck with it.... don't ask what the deck will be used for now... I have no idea! But of course, now we have a huge pile of pool parts that will need to go to the dump (and we will probably pay a fee for dumping some of it. We don't own a truck so we will probably have to cut everything into manageable pieces and put them in my CR-V and take multiple trips. But that is a HUGE "declutter" job!

Praying that I get some time soon to take back some control around the house! My stress level gets higher every time I walk in the door!........P

 

[toystoryduo]

Progress!

On Monday night, my DH put some empty boxes from the garage in to the recycling bin. He also got rid of a few things he no longer needs.

Today, he took several containers of old motor oil to an oil recycling center.

Later on this afternoon, I will go through one of the boxes that has been in our garage since we moved here.

Progress feels good!

 

[SafferMom]

We had a power cut yesterday so I used the time off work to start sorting through some books I want to get rid of before we move. I have a huge amount of high-end chick lit books I am going to try and sell on facebook with the proceeds going to a local no kill animal shelter

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I've been listing some stuff on Facebook yard sale/BST sites and I am finally feeling motivated to attack some of our paper clutter again. We still have a lot of papers that we really just don't need.