Destash 2019 Time to Trash the Stash!

[comicguy]

Another slow week for decluttering but at least a few items left the house!

1 sleeve of paper sundae cups (left over from an event last year) - donated
1 old light fixture - trashed
2 T-shirts - To DS’s House
1 pullover - to DS’s House
1 pair of rain pants - to DS’s House
1 button up shirt - to DS’s House

7 items left the house

163 of 500 or 32.6% of goal

 

[yeahdisney]

Given to my mom, Today a shelf that I removed from my wall left and 4 knickknacks. Bag of books. But dang I forgot a basket.
DD brought home 3 grocery bags of stuff from her dorm. And today we are going to bring home a few more things from her dorm.

 

[OhMari]

First weekend in June our township will take extra large items that will not fit in or garbage bins. Recyclers have a field day, picking thru items and taking the medal (steel) items. My dh wouldn't Put them on the curb last year, he told me he would take them in, he never did.

One pizza pan I threw in garbage
2 old towels
I bought a key hook holder from Hobby Lobby and regifted to my son.

79/2019

 

[comicguy]

Was able to be a bit more productive this week!!

1 popcorn bucket - to DS’s house
1 surge protector - to DS’s house
1 Drill charger - to Ds’s house
1 phone case - donated
1 charger - donated
1 lanyard - donated
1 Head sock (too small) - donated
1 pair of gloves (too small) - donated
1 winter hat (too small) - donated
1 pricing gun - donated
3 pair of socks - trashed
1 Bath Mat - trashed
1 broken garbage can top - trashed
6 unmatched winter gloves (kept for 2 years their mates have never been found)
25 Towels - donated
10 wash clothes - donated
7 hand towels - donated
4 pair of curtains - donated
1 shower curtain (new) - donated
1 set of shower curtain hooks (new) - donated


69 items left the house

232 of 500 or 46.4% of goal

 

[miztressuz]

6 unmatched winter gloves (kept for 2 years their mates have never been found)

Now you will find their mates, never fails at my house!

I just lurk, I don't keep track of what leaves but you all inspire me to keep going when it seems impossible to finish. I just know my trashmen are much busier then had been before. Keep up the good work!

 

[OhMari]

I cleaned the entrance from our garage to the door into the house. I tended to just line up by winter boots and heavier shoes out there, since I did not want to track all the snow and wet into the house.
I got rid of 2 pair of heavier tennis shoes. Took everything else and stored all winter gear in its proper place in the basement.

My MIL and FIL did it again.
They bought me a ceramic pot that grows lettuce all season. For now it has to sit in the house, because Wisconsin weather is still to cold for outside plants.
And, they also brought me over a candy dish with a cover. It sort of looks like Cinderella's Carriage, it came from my husbands grandma. I do not think my MIL ever, ever used it.

I wish I could count paper towels. My grandson was at my house all day Saturday and I have a lot of "Window Art" to clean. Why do kids always go for the windows.

81/2019

 

[Superchikk]

Cleaned out my closet (again) over the weekend, switched some things out. Mainly put away bulky things to get them out of the way. In the process, I have a bag of clothes & a pair of boots to donate. I also ended up shifting some things around in the attic and have a rolling suitcase to donate as well. I've hated it since my husband insisted on buying it ("It's JEEP brand... it'll be awesome."), and am taking this opportunity to get rid of it. We travel all the time and literally never use it because it doesn't hold squat. So that's going to the donation center with prejudice. Ha!

 

[OhMari]

I have a daughter, along with her husband and 2 children that are moving in with us for a few months.
I need to clean out a kitchen area, since they have a lot of baby items, bottles, formula etc.
I cleaned out the food pantry-how the heck does food expire so quickly.
10-items that expired
1 knife set-my dh got when he worked for his company for 10 years
1 whiskey flask
1 plastic cover

94/2019​

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Here's my list from April

Gave Away
Visor

Tossed
Christmas tree stand
sunglass case
3 bags of junk from office closet
cooler

Only 7 things left the house in April. I don't count routine things I use up and toss the container though.
Total of 89 total items left the house. Goal of 400 this year, 311 to go.

 

[christineinvegas]

Had a yard sale last weekend & sold a lot of bulky stuff and made $600+ !

Off the top of my head, we sold:

Crib
Baby swing
Baby jumper
High chair
Hard top wagon
2 Elsa dolls
2 Afghans
18 receiving blankets
4 18 gallon totes
1 toy organizer
Over the door towel rack
Interactive unicorn toy
20+ books
9 cans of spray paint
Wii
Step stool
Large suitcase
7 towels

And a bunch of other misc junk.

We donated a load to Savers of stuff that can’t be consigned & donated all the clothes that we were going to give to Savers to a neighbor who is going on a mission trip to orphanages in Ukraine this June.

 

[comicguy]

Slow week this week

5 pair of socks - trashed
1 book - donated
2 old shampoo products - trashed
1 pair of pants - trashed

9 items left the house

241 of 500 or 48.2% of goal

 

[Simba22]

Hi everyone!

I'm just jumping on board because I need some motivation. My "New Years Resolution" this year was to declutter our apartment (just me and my husband plus pets), which is less than 1000sqft and we have way too much stuff. A lot of it is stuff that has been sitting in boxes since we moved in, which was 10 years ago now.

So I started off this year with a goal of cleaning, organizing, or decluttering ONE thing every day, to try and make it less overwhelming. I started off pretty good, managed to get both of our closets cleaned out and both of our dressers, as well. I've donated, I think, three bags of clothes and have another one ready to go, as well a box of books that our local library has said they will accept. I also cleaned out the miscellaneous utensils drawer in the kitchen and got rid of a bunch of cheap kitchen knives and some plastic cooking utensils that I never use. I also managed to convince my husband to go through his extensive collection of video games and get rid of the ones that are for old systems - he traded in a bunch of stuff to GameStop and ended up getting close to $200 for it all. Too bad nothing like that exists for all of my stuffed animals...I have so many I could probably make a huge dent in our next Disney trip!

I bought a couple of over-the-door racks for my cabinets to try and keep those organized. I got one for plastic bags, and then one for things like Ziplock bags and aluminum foil, and a third one for my cutting boards. I then cleaned out the "pots and pans" cabinet and got rid of mismatched pots and lids and anything that was warped, or just no longer useable. My biggest project so far has been cleaning out the cabinets where spices and jarred items were stored. Our cabinets are placed pretty high up but the shelves are very tall, so storage has been a huge problem. Getting into the cabinets to find things was a huge hassle and I would end up buying duplicates of things I already had just because attempting to find anything wasn't worth the trouble. But I finally broke down and got it done and I am so relieved now. I threw out things that had expired back in 2015, I found that I inexplicably have three jars of ground ginger, two jars each of ground mustard, cinnamon, and paprika, as well as three bottles of Adobo seasoning. So the way things are organized now is SO much easier, and I have been able to save so much money on groceries just because I'm not re-buying a bunch of stuff I already have.

But now I've hit a lull and I can't get motivated again. We are currently using two on-site storage spaces in our apartment building and before the end of the summer I want to get them both cleaned out and organized, as well as the closet in the guest room. I've found that cleaning when I'm home alone is FAR more productive than attempting to do it with my husband there and he is going to be working some overtime this Saturday so I'm hoping to be able to at least go through a box or two! I was thinking about maybe starting to do Before and After pics to try and keep me motivated... take a picture of what something looks like before I start, then take progress pictures every time I put some kind of effort into that particular project so I can see that my hard work is paying off. I know I've made a LOT of progress but I just need something to keep me going!

 

[momma2ethan]

But now I've hit a lull and I can't get motivated again.

Baby steps. Grab a few boxes from one of those storage spaces Saturday and go through them. I bet your motivation kicks back in once you start making progress on those.

I was thinking about maybe starting to do Before and After pics to try and keep me motivated... take a picture of what something looks like before I start, then take progress pictures every time I put some kind of effort into that particular project

This is a great idea and it can be a huge motivator. I did this when I cleared out and decluttered my big storage closet. It was packed floor to ceiling full of stuff that hadn't seen the light of day since pretty much 2012. It took me an entire weekend and my living and dining rooms were a complete disaster while I was in progress but by the time I was done and had put the closet back together I was able to add a couple larger items that had been taking up main living space for ages and still see the floor. It's great being able to actually walk in there now and only have one stack of storage totes, a handmade baby cradle and rocking horse, camping gear (stored in the cradle LOL), fan/space heater and our luggage.

Seeing photos of the space before I started, my disastrous living room during, and the living and closet after was so rewarding.

 

[Superchikk]

Hi everyone!

I've found that cleaning when I'm home alone is FAR more productive than attempting to do it with my husband there and he is going to be working some overtime this Saturday so I'm hoping to be able to at least go through a box or two!

I am so with you on this one. It's not like I get rid of things he's emotionally attached to, but I feel the need to justify everything, so it takes so much longer. He rarely cares, and I don't go through his comics, video games, computer parts, etc. so I don't know why I feel that way. He travels for work, and I can always get more done when he's gone (even though I'm the only parent on duty) than I can when he's home. I think it's just my own mentality about things.

I'm reading a book right now on digital minimalism - it will probably be the next Marie Kondo-like thing. He explains the trade-offs we make using Thoreau and Walden as an example - how he calculated exactly how much he had to work in order to maintain a simple lifestyle. Sure, he could have other things, but was the sacrifice of time it required worth the trade-off? I see clutter like that already. Is having this worth the trade-off of my happiness, peace, and restfulness? Usually not. It's a difficult transition to make and hard work to pare things down to that point. But I know for sure I am better off when things are simple.

 

[OhMari]

I am so with you on this one. It's not like I get rid of things he's emotionally attached to, but I feel the need to justify everything, so it takes so much longer. He rarely cares, and I don't go through his comics, video games, computer parts, etc. so I don't know why I feel that way. He travels for work, and I can always get more done when he's gone (even though I'm the only parent on duty) than I can when he's home. I think it's just my own mentality about things.

I'm reading a book right now on digital minimalism - it will probably be the next Marie Kondo-like thing. He explains the trade-offs we make using Thoreau and Walden as an example - how he calculated exactly how much he had to work in order to maintain a simple lifestyle. Sure, he could have other things, but was the sacrifice of time it required worth the trade-off? I see clutter like that already. Is having this worth the trade-off of my happiness, peace, and restfulness? Usually not. It's a difficult transition to make and hard work to pare things down to that point. But I know for sure I am better off when things are simple.

I live your Avatar, I pretend it is talking when I read your advice.

 

[OhMari]

1 sandbox given to me and I gave to my neighbor.
1 watering can cracked-trashed
1 under garment trashed
1 bag of corn kernels my in-laws gave me-donated to church youth group and I bought them an air pop corn popper.
Recycled 5 boxes

103/2019

 

[comicguy]

A few more items this week have left the house!

1 pair of pants - trashed
1 pair of socks - trashed
1 bag of grass seed (left over from last year) - used up
2 packages of corner brackets - used up for a robotics project
4 pieces of used trim boards - used up for a robotics project
5 pieces of used trim boards - used up for a project

14 items left the house

255 of 500 or 51% of goal

 

[Superchikk]

I live your Avatar, I pretend it is talking when I read your advice.

Haha! Thanks! E is one of my favorites ever.

Now, go clear the clutter, dah-ling.

 

[Simba22]

I am so with you on this one. It's not like I get rid of things he's emotionally attached to, but I feel the need to justify everything, so it takes so much longer. He rarely cares, and I don't go through his comics, video games, computer parts, etc. so I don't know why I feel that way. He travels for work, and I can always get more done when he's gone (even though I'm the only parent on duty) than I can when he's home. I think it's just my own mentality about things.

My husband is the opposite... He seems to have some kind of emotional attachment to every item he owns, and he has a steel-trap memory so he know exactly what he has, exactly where it came from and when, and exactly where it's currently stored. If I give him a box to go through, it takes him hours and he hardly ends up getting rid of anything. I have noticed though, that if he sees me sacrificing things to the donation bin he is far more willing to do the same. It just takes him forever and lately I've been so unmotivated. I'm kind of hoping that I can get back on track this coming weekend, since it's supposed to actually be good weather for the first time this entire year so far!

 

[Superchikk]

My husband is the opposite... He seems to have some kind of emotional attachment to every item he owns, and he has a steel-trap memory so he know exactly what he has, exactly where it came from and when, and exactly where it's currently stored. If I give him a box to go through, it takes him hours and he hardly ends up getting rid of anything. I have noticed though, that if he sees me sacrificing things to the donation bin he is far more willing to do the same. It just takes him forever and lately I've been so unmotivated. I'm kind of hoping that I can get back on track this coming weekend, since it's supposed to actually be good weather for the first time this entire year so far!

Oh, I do know how that is. He's pretty sentimental... as in still has the teddy bear his mother received at a baby shower for him. And is definitely emotionally attached to it. He's 45, so you can imagine the condition it's in. In one of our many moves, his cardboard box of "keepsakes" was falling apart, so I decided to transfer it to a plastic tub. Naturally, I had to sort through everything. I found things like receipts for gum from a gas station. Half of the box was literal trash. "Did we really just move this box across the country TWICE?" Yes, yes we had. That was probably the biggest fight of our first year of marriage. I got everything from those boxes put into plastic tubs and I haven't opened them since. We've moved approximately 784 times (or it feels that way, anyway), and I refuse to even look. I just move the tubs. We've been married 20 years now... some things just aren't worth the fight. Sometimes you just have to "Elsa" it... let it go.

As far as his clothes go, he is better about getting rid of things if I let him continue watching TV (or whatever else he happens to be doing) and I take two things at a time. I show him both items, and say "Keep or toss?" He will get rid of FAR more that way (one item at a time) than if I ask him to go through his closet. I think it's easier for him to make a decision on a smaller scale. Food for thought.

None of it is fun, though. Especially when there's a lot to go through.