Have you de-cluttered/downsized successfully?

[mrsklamc]

As far as keeping lots of old cards, etc...

A couple years ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I'm fine now, but one thing that struck me was with all the papers, etc, that I had, if I had died, there was no way for my family to know what was, and was not, important in terms of keeping stuff.

I've also seen an story about how this old man died and all the papers he'd saved so diligently were put in the dumpster by the family then began blowing across the parking lot. Whoever was telling the story (I can't remember where I heard it) was struck by how much care this guy had put into saving all this stuff & that's where it ended up...

 

[mickimousemama]

OP you've already gotten a bunch of great ideas but thought I'd share the Blog post I just read last night I thought it had some great ideas including ways to just start!!

http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/04/4-weeks-to-a-more-organized-home-assignment-1.html

 

[mafibisha]

What kinds of things have you gotten rid of and had to buy again? Be careful about using that as an excuse to not get rid of things. I can't think of something I've donated that I've pined away for later. I try to think like Ma on Little House on the Prairie. What do we really need, I mean really? One pot to cook in, a few plates, a few chairs and 2 dresses. No really, they did it. Why do we feel like we need so much stuff?

After moving 3 times, I've gotten this down to a science. My house is clutter free and this is how I did it:

rules:
nothing on the floor except furniture. no piles. this goes for the stairs too.
everything has a place, and it's not in a pile on the counter.
clean off counters every night before bed
read mail over the garbage can. throw away junk, take bills immediately to computer and put in to online banking bill pay (you're not still using stamps and checks are you??). shred statement.

What we donate:
Clothes
puzzles, games (how many times are you gonna to that puzzle really?)
extras in the kitchen - don't need more mugs than people in your house, containers with no lids, 3 sets of dishes, every vase you've even gotten flowers in, that old frying pan that's torn up...
linen closet sheets/blankets for the bed you don't have any more, all those blankets - no, you're not going to have 30 people come stay with you and maybe need them someday
books are you really going to read that again? maybe someone else would. College books too. You're never going to read them again. If you need information on marketing or astronomy, it's online!
crafty stuff yes, I tried scrapbooking. Then I stopped. No reason to save, might as well donate to goodwill or a friend who will actually use it.

what we shred:
papers. all of them except taxes, mortgage papers, any loan documents or titles. I literally have 2 boxes of paperwork and that's it. 2 kids, 3 home purchases, umpteen years of taxes, a couple cars. Everything is online now. You can order old bank statements. No reason to save volumes of paper just incase you get another mortgage/loan. You only need the last few months anyway, and again, you can order online. My paystubs are online now too. You don't need your paystubs from when you were a waitress 20 years ago. really.

What we take to recycle center:
old paint cans. you're more likely to paint a new color in that room before you'd ever need to touch up something in there. Not worth the real estate on the basement floor to keep gallons of dried up old paint.

phone books they don't even come in the house. right from the front porch to the recycle bin

Don't forget all of this will help with taxes too. Document everything you donate and you will see a nice big write off (assuming you itemize)...:thumbsup2

This is a great post, THANK YOU!

Can you define *nice big write off*, or approximately what you or others are thinking? I know everyone's will be different.

I'm done with doing a garage sale and did donate, and write off alot. However, I wouldn't say it was a nice big write off, more like $150 ...I was sorta afraid we'd be audited

We did that part of it last minute so I didn't take the time to really investigate either. So I want to be ready for next year!Is there a maximum amount?

 

[mrsklamc]

I photograph what I donate in case we get audited. The IRS website should have a list of appropriate amounts by item.

 

[mafibisha]

I photograph what I donate in case we get audited. The IRS website should have a list of appropriate amounts by item.

Yes, we too photograph our items. And yes, I saw the list of appropriate amounts, which is how I filled them in; we claimed approximately $!50.

To clarify my question: What is the approximate amount in which y'all are deducting? Years ago they had a cap and so I'm still very leery. We likely donated lots more than I claimed. A PP mentioned a *nice big* write off and so I am curious; does a nice big write off mean $500? Thousands? $59.98 ?

Seriously, I'm wondering approximately how much y'all have been able to deduct.

(sorry if it seems nosey; compared to many things asked / answered here, I didn't think it was....)

 

[englishteacha]

Decluttering is on my to-do list. But my list is buried under clutter...crap.

Seriously. I have no idea where all this stuff comes from. At the moment I'm totally stuck because we just tore down our garage. All the stuff worth keeping got stashed either on our sun porch, on shelves in my dining room and hubby's office, and at my SIL's house in her barn. So now I have garage clutter added to house clutter. I feel like I live in a storage unit!

2 years ago I did a huge purge and got rid of so much stuff. Last summer we had a huge yard sale. The stuff that was left was immediately donated to the local Lion's club yard sale. And yet...still...so...much...stuff. Unfortunately our house has no storage space anywhere. We don't even have proper closets. So, when our new garage and addition is built, many things will have a proper home, finally. What's tough is that we have a lot of big items that we need only a few times a year, but we do actually need them. Like the camping gear, and the Christmas lights, and the gear we use for our volunteer work. They take up SO much room, but it's not practical or cost effective to get rid of them! Those things I can't wait to move into the new storage space above the garage. Then I'll have living space again!

 

[sarahk0204]

itsdeductible is a great web site for estimating value of donated items.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

This is a great post, THANK YOU!

Can you define *nice big write off*, or approximately what you or others are thinking? I know everyone's will be different.

I'm done with doing a garage sale and did donate, and write off alot. However, I wouldn't say it was a nice big write off, more like $150 ...I was sorta afraid we'd be audited

We did that part of it last minute so I didn't take the time to really investigate either. So I want to be ready for next year!Is there a maximum amount?

Personally, I donated about $1500 worth of stuff last year. This included furniture, lots of clothes, household items, kids' stuff, etc. I use itsdeductible as part of the turbotax software. You put in an item and it tells you how much it's worth. Write everything down on the receipt they give you at goodwill as you make each donation (3 pairs of pants, 10 books, etc.) it will make things easier at tax time. You are probably donating waaaay more than $150 worth of stuff!

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

Thank OP for starting this thread.
I really need to de-clutter my house.
My main problem is paper clutter - not keeping up with the mail gets totally out of hand.
What are other disers' thoughts on keeping birthday/Christmas/holiday cards and your children's schoolwork papers???
We have ample storage and I have kept so much stuff that I could have just thrown away.
I was getting ready to finish putting away the Easter decorations and ran across the Easter cards that my father had sent my DD & DS. I asked them if they wanted to keep them. My DS said it didn't matter and my DD said she really didn't need to but it was up to me.
That's when it hit me - why do we need to keep all these "things" we get.
I really need to weed though and maybe just keep the cards from immediate family.
Amy

Cards: I don't keep them. I display for the holiday then recycle. I do keep the pictures that came in them or picture cards and put on my fridge until I replace w/ next year's.

Kids' stuff: I save school papers in a drawer all year and then in June have the kids go thru the pile and see what they'd like to save. It's interesting what they have chosen over the years! They each have a rubbermaid bin the basement to take with them when they move out someday

Happy recycling!

 

[swilshire]

Can any of MIL's art go to a museum?

I was going to say the same thing. Most museums will take items on loan, so you still have ownership of them if you want them back. Others can enjoy the work in the meantime.

As for sending the VHS tapes home with the grandkids, they probably don't have VHS players any longer.

Sheila

 

[mrsklamc]

As for sending the VHS tapes home with the grandkids, they probably don't have VHS players any longer.

Sheila

Perfect! She can send hers home w/ them along w/ the tapes.

 

[yoopermom]

This is not exactly technologically forward, but for cards I only keep those from DH and DS. Each has its own cheapie 3 ring binder. As I get a card it goes into a cheap plastic sleeve (8X11), opened so you can read all 4 sides of it. I put a year divider in between each year. So for DS's from front to back I have year of his birth divider, then sleeves with cards in from Xmas, my bday, Valentine's Day, Mom's Day, Easter, etc. So, now that he's 17, I probably have 70 cards or so in there. Cards mean a lot to me, so DH and DS have always bought them and given them to me. It's fun to watch what was first DH's writing of DS's name turn into DS's printing, then DS's cursive, etc. The one thing I wish I would have done was take his picture and put it in there, as well. I'm now trying to at least put a yearly picture in for each one, so I can picture how cute he was when he was little when he's gone off to college .

Terri

 

[nunzia]

I was going to say the same thing. Most museums will take items on loan, so you still have ownership of them if you want them back. Others can enjoy the work in the meantime.

As for sending the VHS tapes home with the grandkids, they probably don't have VHS players any longer.

Sheila

Actually, the local museums, hospital, library, already have things that were purchased for them or donated to them. The issue is that DH will not let them go away I also enjoy them, but will say a great deal of our wall space is not available for anything else, so no way new stuff is coming in. Yes, the kids do have VHS players a home, but the stash I have at my house is for the grandkids to watch when they are with me which is often. Someone said I should condense the scrapbooking stuff to 1 box...no way! I acutally USE it all. And I love the family pictures on the walls and will one day go through the million or so books I got from my other job. Still..there are things that can go and I need to start doing that so many items a week out the door thing. I muck out pretty well all year, but DH really does not like to let things go so he needs work..anyone want like 12 years of Reptile Magazine???

 

[jenrose66]

I have really been assessing our finances and home and life and blah, blah, blah. I am one of those 'can't do it all' types and totally not a perfectionist, but I do see flaws and that bothers me.

I realized not long ago that I have too much stuff. It makes the home look messy and it is affecting my brain. I feel stressed because I have so many responsibilities (like any mom) and it's overwhelming me. So I've decided to de-clutter and live simpler. That alone will help me.

How did you do it? Any blogs/books that you read? I am hoping in the next month to gather everything in my home that I don't need/want and have a yard sale. And seriously, everything is going to be bargain basement price..not coming back into the house! So any tips for me? What are your experiences?

I LOVE "It's all too Much" by Peter Walsh. Excellent book and a quick read! I feel like clutter affects my brain too and DH doesn't get it...so this January I took measures into my own hands and got rid of tons of stuff! I would declutter the kids rooms while we were playing, when they were napping I would do other rooms in the house, at bedtime I'd be in the basement, I was a machine.

Even though I had a lot of stuff I could have garage saled or ebayed I just donated it. I had said for so long I wanted to have a garage sale, but it just never happened and I couldn't stand looking at the stuff anymore.

Good Luck

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I feel like clutter affects my brain too and DH doesn't get it...

Mine doesn't "get it" either. I have tried to talk to him about the idea of things having a home and similar things being together but he's just doesn't get it.

 

[sunshine girl]

This is a great thread, it's motivating me to go home and continue the de-cluttering/organizing/ebay-selling/craigslist project I started a month ago!

Really... how many mickey soaps do we need??? Oh yeah--none!

Uh oh, this one I have to disagree. I DO need my mickey soaps!

We moved into a giant house 10 years ago. My dh assured me we'd only use the upstairs until the kids were teenagers (they were babies when we moved in) but, of course, within 2years someone had given us a pool table and other people trying to de-clutter their lives had give us couches and chairs, etc.

Oh, I've had this happen with the "gifts" of used furniture. In fact, I do not allow people give me their old furniture anymore. Unless it is EXACTLY what I want, and would have bought on my own (which has happened maybe once), or I am in desperate need (which thankfully has never happened). I thank them for thinking of me and politely decline!

 

[Tarheel Tink]

I am so glad I read this thread, gave me some motivation to kick it up a notch! I had made a vow to toss something daily but see now that is too small of an attempt. That was a good point about the blankets; I am dropping off at least 2 at the animal hospital I work at while I am out dropping off some clothes at a church donation. While at work I am going to leave a baggie of jewelry and watches I am not going to use with a note to help yourselves!

I don't do yard sales any more after a man showed up at 9:00 pm wondering if we still had a pool cue available from our yard sale which was at least 18 MONTHS before! He was in flip flops and drove off in a Jaguar. That has soured me off Craigs List so I just donate or give away.

 

[EclecticWAHM]

Great thread! This has always been a challenge for me. Our last house, we had an unfinished basement which I called the "pit of despair" - that's where all the crap ended up. We got rid of a TON when we moved in August, and recently even more. Our new place, while WONDERFUL, has no real "storage" space. At first I thought that was bad, but now I realize it's a blessing. As we have been going through stuff it's clear that so much of what we kept was either really junk or years down the line didn't hold the same sentimental value. Some of it I took pictures of before I got rid of it. We've donated SO much stuff and now our house really feels more spacious and comfortable and we don't have to keep hauling around stuff we don't need and won't use.

 

[Tarheel Tink]

This thread got me to look into donating our old van to a Veterans association. We will be calling Monday to arrange it! DH is a disabled veteran and we are very pleased to have them benefit from it.

 

[mommadebbied]

I have moved more times than I can count over the last few years, so I'm constantly decluttering. Still somehow have stuff I don't need.

I'm sure you've heard it before, but if you haven't used/worn/looked at something in a year, its gone. Get a couple of boxes and label them garbage, donate, sell. And when you are done, get them out of the house. No looking through the boxes for a few weeks and debating. Start with one room at a time and don't get overwhelmed.

Also a thing I just started doing was having a "swap" with friends. this doesn't really get rid of the clutter, just sort of trades it. But you can do it with anything, clothes, accessories, kids stuff. I ended up trading out a lot of clothes for some household items that helped me organize better. I can't wait to plan another one.

Ziggystardust, do you happen to be around the Fort Drum area? I ask because I noticed on one of my facebook pages not too long ago one of the groups had "swap" similar to what you are talking about.