Destash 2019 Time to Trash the Stash!

After clearing so much out the first few weeks of January I seem to be burnt out. I did gift a stuffed animal pillow thing to my nephew that I'd had stored for quite some time (years!) for his birthday. I bought it super cheap knowing eventually I'd need it for a gift. He loved it and it's out of my house, win-win.
Also threw away the toddler/preschooler size recliner that DS has had for 8 or 9 years. It's been broken for a long while and he outgrew it even before it broke, but he'd still pretzel himself into the thing. I've been wanting to trash it for a year but it would've taken up too much space in out dumpster. Property owner has had some improvements done to the property, new windows throughout all 6 units and new siding, so there's a giant construction dumpster taking up most of our parking. I didn't give DS a choice and made him help me dump it. Now I feel terrible that he doesn't have a chair in his room. He spends a lot of time in there and having his bed as his only seating kind of sucks, so I'll have to figure out a solution for that. I'm thinking one of those folding saucer type chairs would work well enough

1/7/19 - 55 items
1/13/19 - 81 items
1/14/19 - 55 items
1/15/19 - 53 items
1/16/19 - 72 items
1/20/19 - 150 items
1/24/19 - 8 items
2/5/19 - 2 items
running total - 476 items
 
After clearing so much out the first few weeks of January I seem to be burnt out. I did gift a stuffed animal pillow thing to my nephew that I'd had stored for quite some time (years!) for his birthday. I bought it super cheap knowing eventually I'd need it for a gift. He loved it and it's out of my house, win-win.
Also threw away the toddler/preschooler size recliner that DS has had for 8 or 9 years. It's been broken for a long while and he outgrew it even before it broke, but he'd still pretzel himself into the thing. I've been wanting to trash it for a year but it would've taken up too much space in out dumpster. Property owner has had some improvements done to the property, new windows throughout all 6 units and new siding, so there's a giant construction dumpster taking up most of our parking. I didn't give DS a choice and made him help me dump it. Now I feel terrible that he doesn't have a chair in his room. He spends a lot of time in there and having his bed as his only seating kind of sucks, so I'll have to figure out a solution for that. I'm thinking one of those folding saucer type chairs would work well enough

1/7/19 - 55 items
1/13/19 - 81 items
1/14/19 - 55 items
1/15/19 - 53 items
1/16/19 - 72 items
1/20/19 - 150 items
1/24/19 - 8 items
2/5/19 - 2 items
running total - 476 items

We had a folding saucer-like chair for our son's room for a while. It took up a lot of space, but it folded up pretty compact, which was nice. He now has a bean bag, which is super comfy and he loves it, but it takes up space all the time. He does sit in it a lot to read, though. It's just one of those things, I guess.
 
Depending on his age, I've heard of getting a beanbag chair cover and filling it up with the stuffed animals they aren't quite ready to give up, but also maybe they are "too grown up" to have out... alternately, along the lines of your saucer chair idea, have you seen the ones that are just elastic straps woven onto a circle frame? Super comfy, folds flat, and let's be honest, they love to bounce in and out (good for core muscles AND getting a little energy out!!!)
 
We had a folding saucer-like chair for our son's room for a while. It took up a lot of space, but it folded up pretty compact, which was nice. He now has a bean bag, which is super comfy and he loves it, but it takes up space all the time. He does sit in it a lot to read, though. It's just one of those things, I guess.

Depending on his age, I've heard of getting a beanbag chair cover and filling it up with the stuffed animals they aren't quite ready to give up, but also maybe they are "too grown up" to have out... alternately, along the lines of your saucer chair idea, have you seen the ones that are just elastic straps woven onto a circle frame? Super comfy, folds flat, and let's be honest, they love to bounce in and out (good for core muscles AND getting a little energy out!!!)
I went with the folding saucer chair. I happened to venture down the furniture area while I was at the store getting a money order last night and they were on sale 30% off so I snatched one up. He LOVES it already. and has the perfect little cubby in his closet to store it when not in use. We'd moved his dresser into his closet a couple weeks ago to give him more floor space and left a space between the end of it and the wall so his coat hook would still be usable. It slides right in there. He looked much more comfortable in it too. No more pretending to be a pretzel to cram himself into that space sucking too small recliner

I considered a bean bag or the one you fill with stuffed animals but he really only has a few stuffed animals, nowhere near enough to fill one and we wanted something that could be stored away. He doesn't have a very large room and has lots of furniture. A captains bed with bookcase type headboard, 9 cube organizer as his tv stand/movie storage, small folding shelf unit to display lego creations, 6' tall bookshelf, large handmade wooden toybox and dresser (in the closet). floor space is at a premium in his room since he spend nearly all his time in there.
 


A few more items out of the house

2 T-Shirts - donated
2 Magazines - recycled
3 CD’s - recycled
1 binder - donated
1 book - donated
1 dried up marker - trashed

10 items left the house

115 of 500 or 23.0% of goal
 
Well first log of stuff for 2019.....

Gave Away
Canon DSLR Camera
2 Lenses for camera
candle
4 packages fish
1 package protein powder

Toss
2 soaps (didn't like scent)
7 markers
3 packages cupcake sleeves
11 packages of snack food
running shoes
shave gel (Dh didn't like)
2 loaves of bread (didn't care for taste)
soda
Night eye mask
ear plugs
2 heat pads


Donated
cookbook
rice cooker
cooler
snowpants
5 cheese spreaders

50 items left the house. Goal of 400 this year, 350 to go
 
I can't seem to get motivated this year.

I did, however, toss out a broken vacuum and removed all the previous owners junk from the greenhouse. That filled up a lawnmower trailer. I tried to do this last year and found a snake. Found one this year, too but it was dead. I can't decide which is better, live snakes or dead snakes. At least I can throw something at a live one and it will remove itself. The dead one, I had to get rid of it myself. I'm leaning towards preferring live ones.
 


I can't seem to get motivated this year.

I did, however, toss out a broken vacuum and removed all the previous owners junk from the greenhouse. That filled up a lawnmower trailer. I tried to do this last year and found a snake. Found one this year, too but it was dead. I can't decide which is better, live snakes or dead snakes. At least I can throw something at a live one and it will remove itself. The dead one, I had to get rid of it myself. I'm leaning towards preferring live ones.
 
Another batch of stuff has left the house:

3 empty spray bottles - recycled
6 cans of old paint - recycled
1 leaky pen - trashed
1 can of shower cleaner - used up
2 refillable liquid hand soap packages(no longer have the dispenser) - gave away
1 bottle of Dishwasher liquid (new dishwasher does better job w/ pods)- gave away
1 book - donated
5 mason jars - returned to proper person
1 food container - returned to proper person
1 pair kids scissors (dull) - trashed


22 items left the house

137 of 500 or 27.4% of goal
 
Still haven't gotten much done but I did "Marie Kondo" the Christmas decorations this weekend. So, 1 decent sized tub of that will leave the house. I also pulled 4 suitcases out of the hall closet to make room for the the boxes of good ornaments instead of putting them in the attic. The suitcases will go to goodwill.

The spring consignment sale starts accepting kids items next week, my goal this week is to get all my son's outgrown summer stuff ready to go and to go through all the books and get rid of anything they've outgrown.
 
DD15 has been sick as a dog (bronchitis) for about 2 weeks now, so not much getting done around here, but today we did finally drop off the printer cartridges we had for recycling. I thought there were 10 in the bag, but the guy at staples said there were only 9, so there may still be one in the car, but oh well, at least they are not in the house!

I've also been trying to use stuff up from the freezer/pantry, but also buying more, so more "rotating" than "purging." Used 1 (of many, many) little sandwich-sized gift baggies to wrap a gift.

Oh, but one small-but-significant win... I got H to agree that we could throw out his silvery plastic storm trooper mug that was the freebie at the Star Wars Dessert Party he attended last year. Seriously, that thing was bulky and not at all useful.

Three decluttering "losses." I totally picked up the pretty earring off the sidewalk and added it to my craft stash, also I bought 2 pairs of new walking shoes, but I can't bring myself to throw away the old ones just yet, instead I put in (cheap) new insoles and will take them with me on my hikes, to wear in case of shoe-ruining levels of mud. I solemnly swear to let them go at the end of hiking season or when they get disgustingly muddy, whichever comes first. And lastly, DD15 has been not eating much, so we've been pouring as much Gatorade into her as we can, and I've been saving the 12oz bottles to use in lunch boxes. Temporary clutter until such time as they get lost, but better those than the $5/ea Rubbermaid drink bottles!

Minor win, I found a book I was wanting to read at the library, so I checked it out there instead of buying it and having to purge it later.
 
Just a few items this week


1 partial can of oven cleaner - used up
1 plastic pasta scoop (it broke while using it) - trashed
1 folder w assorted papers - recycled

3 items left the house

140 of 500 or 28.0% of goal
 
Just a few items this week


1 partial can of oven cleaner - used up
1 plastic pasta scoop (it broke while using it) - trashed
1 folder w assorted papers - recycled

3 items left the house

140 of 500 or 28.0% of goal

I have a question and I hope I don't come across as sounding nitpicky. When you count something like Oven Cleaner as leaving the house, don't you then need to add that to grocery list for next time? Therefore a new can comes in about as quickly as the used up one went out.
 
I have a question and I hope I don't come across as sounding nitpicky. When you count something like Oven Cleaner as leaving the house, don't you then need to add that to grocery list for next time? Therefore a new can comes in about as quickly as the used up one went out.

No problem, I am trying to use up existing cleaning supplies and find less store bought chemical ways to do the cleaning afterward.
 
i went through a couple of boxes of old thermoses, travel mugs (and refillable disney cups from AGES ago) and weeded out some to get rid of. that got me looking at the wealth of bar ware we have. we have enough glassware to stock a commercial bar so i'm going to start going through it and just keeping a reasonable amount. i think i will make some college students very happy by having dd list what ends up in the toss pile on the local 'cheap and free' facebook site.
 
I have a question and I hope I don't come across as sounding nitpicky. When you count something like Oven Cleaner as leaving the house, don't you then need to add that to grocery list for next time? Therefore a new can comes in about as quickly as the used up one went out.
Yes, I get what you are saying, but I think it is more of a mind set, that you actually used a product up.
My crock pot broke in half and I had to trash it. I ended up purchasing a smaller one and a larger one at Kohls.
So I am out one, but now have to store 2, but I do a lot of meal prepping that requires crock pots.

I donated 1 1/2 yards of a Minnie Mouse Fleece blanket to the CCD program at school, they are going to do tie blankets. I had that much material left over after I made my own Disney t-shirt blanket and used the fleece on the back side.

1 baby rocking mechanism chair, that we donated to a nurse that uses them in a place where she works for babies addicted to drugs.
My dd bought it used and threw out the material, and since it was deemed outdated, we could not get a replacement pad/cover. Luckily the nurse
told us, they had someone that was able to copy the pattern and they sewed a whole bunch of replacements, so they were glad to have the swivel, rocker baby seat.

Been slow cleaning with a new grandchild in the house. We bought a new refrigerator, I hated the one we had. The ice maker would freeze the ice in the door and it would jam up. My dd needed more room, since she stores a lot of her milk, plus we do a lot of food prepping on the weekends, so two refrigerators made sense.

52/2019
 
Anyone watch Marie Kondo, "The KonMari Method on Netflex?
Everyone is talking about it and I just heard on the radio this morning, that donations to Goodwill and other places are over whelmed with all the donations they are getting.

I watched a few of her episodes and it makes me cringe.
I related to a couple, especially the lady, she had to be about my age.
She wore the same style clothing, shoes, boots like I do. She had no idea how much clothes she really had.
I was the exact same way 4 years ago, when we moved to our new home.
I moved bags and bags of clothes. But I am proud to say I probably donated, sold, gave away, I am betting over 500 pieces of clothes if not more.

Since January, I start on one end of my closet rack and look at the next item to wear.
If I cringe and find no joy in wearing it, I put it in my donation pile. I probably have over 10 items in my bag.
So it is, or always will be a work in progress.
 
that donations to Goodwill and other places are over whelmed with all the donations they are getting.

there have been articles about how even before the big decluttering trend many of the goodwill/salvation army type places were refusing donations b/c of the massive amounts they were getting from boomers downsizing. items that traditionally people would pass down to their family members apparently hold no appeal to many younger people these days so much of it is ending up going to charities. i went into a charity store the other day and was amazed at how much crystal, china and NICE solid wood furniture was available-and it's going for cheap b/c they have a warehouse stuffed to the brim.
 
there have been articles about how even before the big decluttering trend many of the goodwill/salvation army type places were refusing donations b/c of the massive amounts they were getting from boomers downsizing. items that traditionally people would pass down to their family members apparently hold no appeal to many younger people these days so much of it is ending up going to charities. i went into a charity store the other day and was amazed at how much crystal, china and NICE solid wood furniture was available-and it's going for cheap b/c they have a warehouse stuffed to the brim.
I wonder how many years it is going to take for solid wood to make a come back. I have two pieces in my house that I want to paint a rustic white. My dh was flipping out. I had to remind him, we got the pieces from his grandma and both pieces were painted white and we stripped them down to wood. One was a baby bassinette my grand daughter is using and the other piece is a door that we use for a sliding barn door.
 
I had not heard of Marie Kondo until the Dis, so I looked into her and the KonMari method. I understand that it works for some people, but if I got rid of every piece of clothing that does not make me feel joy... I'd have only pajamas left! :) Even if I try to apply it to future purchases, not buying things that don't spark joy... well... I'll be needing a bigger budget... my mother used to say I had "champagne taste and a beer budget." I think it's more like a tapwater budget... but that's ok... :)

At any rate, the goodwill near here took our most recent donation without a fuss the other day, and that was mostly books, clothes, and shoes that my daughters had cleared out (it's a miracle!!!) DD15 got a wild hair and cleaned her room, I suspect she has been bodysnatched! In addition to the goodwill drop, she had a whole bag of children's books she walked down to the free little library in the neighborhood.

I went through our medicine drawers and cleaned out and consolidated, dropped 5 bottles of old prescriptions at a medicine return box at the local clinic so they aren't in the house and aren't in the river (which is what happens if you flush them...) and a bunch of empty containers went in the recycling.

I went through the "junk drawer" in the kitchen and pulled out all the little packets of sugar, salt, jelly, etc, and dropped those off in a donation box where long-distance trail hikers can take anything they want. They don't like to have to lug around anything heavy, but they'll eat the heck out of little packs of peanut butter, and little packs of hot sauce can help those dried trail meals be a little less bland... I also pulled out a zillion little pack of soy sauce that the Chinese place always throws in the bag and used those in a recipe, we had almost 1/4c just in packets!!!

And that's about it for this installment. Still haven't tackled the scary office/junk room, and so much of what I think is "clutter," H thinks is "décor," so there's only so much I can do. He does keep talking about putting more of his legos into boxes in the attic... but he hasn't done it yet, and that's still not the same as "getting rid of..." but I suppose it's a start...
 

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