at what point do you say " Ive had it" and start throwing everything out?

[eeyoreforever]

The problem at my house is that my dh and I differ on our opinion of what needs to be thrown out. I will try to throw out ragged t-shirts, socks, and towels. But he won't let me. Says they are good for cleaning up messes and for working on cars. We have bags of old rags. The really sad part is that if he uses one of them, I have to wash it so he can use it again. But to be honest, I probably have lots of trash around too that should be gotten rid of. It is just hard to part with some things that you have had for so long. My dd's have clothes in their closets that they outgrew 2 years ago. We have had a garage sale in that time, but just never got done going through the closets, so there it sits.

I guess today should be the day to start spring cleaning!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Do the closets first! That is what I do to get me going. I looked in our local paper and Garage Sales are starting this weekend...darn it!

Could I pull it off? hmmmm....

 

[JetMom]

I entered my "Clean Sweep" phase about a month ago. I never knew how liberating it could be to throw stuff away!

I sorted my books - not DH's, not 3 DS's - just mine. I had over 600 books! I did it just like they do on TV - for every book I kept, gave one away. The lady at the library's used book store almost fainted when I started unloading the van!

My room is so much neater and bigger now that I am not buried under books!

I have also done my clothes, kitchen cabinets, and the laundry room -- formerly known as the abyss!

I'm starting the kids' rooms this weekend!

 

[Tantor]

Clean Sweep. Time to get rid of all that clutter. It's amazing what you keep and never use.

 

[JESW]

Ah yes, that is what I have been going through for months! I have packed up MANY boxes of books and have given them to a local library - in their foyer they have an on-going book sale and all the $$$ goes to library events. (tickets to local museums, etc.)

I recently went thorugh both kids drawers and closets and took out clothes that don't fit anymore. I sell some of them to a resale shop - others I give to a friend who has younger children.

I am a magazineaholic. I have been going through YEARS of mags and have been giving them away to different people. My niece loves all the old Cooking Light, a woman at gymnastics takes all my old scrapbooking ones, a friend takes my old rubberstamping ones, and my family takes all the others and passes them on.

In our small 4th bedroom we stash all the stuff we pick up around the house. When the kids are not home I go in there with a black (non see-through) trash bag and I go through everything and sort the things we want to keep. Other things, like all those happy meal toys, gets tossed.

Old toys and videos get passed down to a younger cousin.

At my parents town-house I have been storing yard-sale type sellable items. When yard sale season starts I will give it all to a non-profitable place having a yard sale. (One year we gave a ton of stuff to a local realtor who was having a sale for Easter Seals) I don't want to have a yard sale.

Any clothes DH & I have outgrown or don't want gets bagged up and put in a salvation army box down the road.

I have even been going through the kitchen cabinets, closets, and even my craft room. We have WAY to much junk and it gets stiffling after a while. I have been feeling good about getting rid of things.

Once the weather warms up I'll be tackling the attic...

Good luck!!!

Jill

 

[believe]

I never do 'deep' cleaning when DH or the girls are around. About 2 months ago I went the DDs stuff animals when they were in the bath tub. They are hidden in my closet. They have not asked for them so they can now officially go in the donation pile. I will pack them up, put them in the van and not let either DH or the girls see them. Both girls now have clean closets. I now need to clean my closet. I probably do a closet/area a month. I am not a pack rat and can't wait to get stairs to the attic so I can start pitching.

 

[FINFAN]

I get overwhelmed daily with all our excess.....kids do NOT make it easy. I have a charity pick up scheduled for tomorrow and todays plan is to have plenty packed up for them. I think one of our main problems ia functionality. We never did put up proper storage in the basement, closets etc. everything has been low down as kids are short, and most of thee time it just hits the floor. I have been known to go balistic and toss....hopefully I will get rid of a lot today.
Pam

 

[danacara]

I LOVE throwing things away. My roommate keeps an eagle eye on me! She's afraid we'll wind up with nothing!

Very little makes me happier than zero clutter.

 

[pjlla]

Suggestion number one .....MOVE! Nothing makes you want to clean like the idea of having to pay someone to move all your junk! DH took a job assignment down South about two years ago and I spent the next six months gettting ready to move. With very little effort I filled over 26 boxes of "stuff". The company decided not to move him, but it was so nice to get rid of so much stuff. BTW, I wasn't up to yard saling and I wasn't into ebay at the time, so it went to the Goodwill.

Suggestion number two..... HIDE IT. I use this idea with DH and DD, both of whom hate to part with things. I pack stuff up in boxes and bags and put it in the basement or attic. If no one has looked for it in six months, away it goes to the Goodwill.

Suggestion number three.... FIND A WORTHY CAUSE. It was much easier to part with my baby stuff and maternity clothes when I found a christian crisis pregnancy center to give the stuff to. I knew the stuff was really needed and would be appreciated. My Mom and I have a Cancer Society yard sale coming up in early May. I have known about this for the last 4 weeks and I have so much stuff collected so far that I truly believe it will fill the back of my minivan (without the third row seat) THREE TIMES!!

Be sure to get a receipt for your taxes for any donations that you make.............................P

 

[OhMari]

Originally posted by Serena
I just know that the minute I pitch something I'll need it the very next week though. It happens all the time.

Yup,
My husband has been layed off since Oct. from Managing a Collision Repair Shop at a Dealership.

He got hired Friday and he is back to doing the actual repair of trucks and vehicles at a big Corporation in our area. Guess what he needed his steel toe boots.

I threw them out about a month ago, when I cleaned the closet. The steal was exposed. He didn't care cause he said they were confortable.

I bought him a new pair and he got them Half off, cause I made him buy new shoes which he really needed also. Plus his work will give him $50 bucs for the steal tips.