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LOL I did something like this last year and it was very effective but it was one ITEM each day for Lent - not one whole bag of stuff! I put a big black trash bag in my closet and every day I put something in it. At first it was super easy but it got challenging by the end of Lent.
And that's the cool part! You can modify this idea to whatever works for you. I don't have enough for 40 bags, but the idea of weeding out my closets and drawers, blessing others with the gently used items and getting rid of the clutter sounds like a great way to observe Lent.
I can't imagine 40 bags worth but I used to do a better job of meeting my own personal goal of 10 things gone (sold, donated or thrown out) per month. Need to get back to that.
LOL I did something like this last year and it was very effective but it was one ITEM each day for Lent - not one whole bag of stuff! I put a big black trash bag in my closet and every day I put something in it. At first it was super easy but it got challenging by the end of Lent.
I like that idea better. I had seen the 40 bags/40 days, but I feel that many bags would be just about everything I own. I had figured I could maybe do one a week for 6 weeks if I went through different portions of the house each week (bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, outside storage closet, linen closet, office).
We just moved a year ago, and got rid of a lot of stuff then, and I usually go through and donate clothes at the end of each season. I've seen people on social media say they did it last year, and they're doing it again this year. I just cannot see how people could have so much stuff that they could find 40 bags of stuff to get rid of every year.
I don't have enough clutter for one bag. I constantly reorganize and sell or donate old items. It's much easier to not let things pile up...but yes it is a good idea
We have had three of our four elderly parents pass away over the past two years, and then we moved my mom into a senior living apartment, so she really downsized. OMG. You know what - there are tons of sentimental odds and ends! Stuff you "hate to get rid of."
Since my husband and I are the only ones who lived near both sets of parents/inlaws, we ended up as sort of the gathering point. Between us we have five adult kids and three other siblings. I didn't WANT more "stuff" other than one small occasional table and one antique mirror and one antique firearm from the Civil War. My brothers and I went through everything first and "got" what was sentimental, and then we let the kids come through and "get" what they wanted but my gosh, there was still a lot of "nice stuff." I felt compelled not to just chunk it all or sell it all for pennies on the dollar.
Note the past tense of that last sentence.
Now, five months later - I'm over it.
Three boxes - BIG BOXES - of family genealogical stuff - check. In the attic.
Two large (at least they're pretty) wooden filing cabinets of estate stuff and business records from both sets of parents, cluttering up my home office - check. I want to be rid of this stuff.
Two medium sized boxes of "parent paraphernalia" - diaries, medals, pocket knives, costume jewelry, family bibles, old military uniforms - check. I'm sorry - maybe I'll go straight to hell for this, but I don't want all this stuff. Why should it end up in MY house? I mean, I have four adult kids, eight grandkids, and two brothers. If they don't want it now, they will probably never want it. Why am I charged with holding on to all this? I said, "Anyone who wants this needs to come get it," and they all said, "Well, we don't want it but one of the kids might want it one day - don't throw it away!" I'm giving them all till April 1 to either come get it or it's going out. Sorry.
I'm giving them all till April 1 to either come get it or it's going out. Sorry.
We need to have an estate sale.
Yes, be firm about that deadline! I had a similar situation and made it Memorial Weekend. Everyone had six months notice. No one came. On June 2, the truck came from Sally Army. Gone!
That was almost 5 years ago, and would you believe that I'm still getting some complaints about that? Idiots.
We have had three of our four elderly parents pass away over the past two years, and then we moved my mom into a senior living apartment, so she really downsized. OMG. You know what - there are tons of sentimental odds and ends! Stuff you "hate to get rid of."
I read your post with a great deal of interest. I have been in the middle of a "stuff" dilemma for a few years and can't seem to find my way out of it.
My mother had a huge china collection - all sorts, from vases to sets of china, to platters, teacups/saucers, Wedgwood this and that, 4 sets of sterling silver, needlepoint pictures done by her, etc.etc. Guess where it all is.
I am having a lot of trouble separating the sentimental value of all this from the practicality of needing to downsize. I was a bit of a collector myself in past years so some of the stuff is my fault, but is all in addition to that which I inherited.
The children don't want it, other than emotionally. I am still storing a set of Haviland china for my daughter, bequeathed to her by my mother but never having made it to her house (now she's thousands of miles away).
The size of the chore ahead is starting to get to me and I hardly know where to start. We are in a remote area with no antique, thrift, we-come-and-take-it, or other such avenues for the stuff. And I would have a hard time figuring out what to keep and what to do something else with anyway. I seem to be stuck in "full house" land with sentimental value clouding my mind as to what to do.
I emphasize.
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