Closets stuffed: help me let go!!!! (washer, sofa, paint, appliance)

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by andreaspercheron

Your new rule is that if you haven't used it in 10 - 20 years??!! Wow! I say if you haven't looked at it, touched it, worn it in 2 years then chances are looking pretty good that you aren't going to anytime soon, so let go

Well, yes. I was being a little facetious. But my basement does have some stuff from that long ago. The trouble is not wanting to hang onto it, it is having the sort and throw-away job burble up to the top of the long list of things to do. Right now, I'd rather spend my precious spare time in the garden.

For my next move in 3 years or so, I plan to really get rid of the accumulated stuff and pare it down. The cost of moving most of the stuff is not worth it. That decision point will be a lot more brutal - is the cost of replacing the thing less than the cost to move it?

[Miss Martha]

I have a great story about hoarders! My husband and I bought our home from his grandparents, who had lived there for 50 years. They moved, taking only the things that they need with them. They left us 50 years worth of stuff that they had accumulated over the 50 years in that home and over the 65 plus years that both of them had been alive.

I am not exaggerating when I say that my husband’s grandmother did not throw ANYTHING away. She kept straws, jam packets from restaurants, just about anything you could think of. A lot of it was junk and we rented a few huge dumpsters and threw out the old lamps and such that were too broken to restore to good use. We did donate a few truckloads of clothing and such to thrift stores. Once we got all of their stuff out of there, we also had to go through our own things.

I bought a book called “Mission Organization” and that has been a lifesaver for me! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to clear out things they don’t need and find attractive and functional ways to store things they do need! It has helped us a lot!

Right now we are storing some things for our family members in our basement and the book is helping me figure out how to store it without making my basement look like a storage unit. Let me know if this helps at all! I just find that I am not creative enough to come up with my own solutions and I absolutely love the ideas for the built-in storage benches and such!

[Boomerang]

I know the fastest and most effective way to de-clutter a house, but almost nobody will agree to do it. Here goes:

Each person living in the house goes through a pile of stuff and separates it into 3 categories: keep, toss, or donate.
Standard approach you say. What's the trick?

Here's the trick:
You don't let the person who owns the stuff go through it! Has to be a disinterested party. I know what happens when DH and I go through each other's stuff. "What in God's name do you need those old dishes for?" "Same thing you need your stuff for!" "Are you ever gonna actually read those old books?" "Dunno - are you ever gonna actually use those ancient tools?"
Ad infinitum.

[Ms. 01 Snake]

I had a friend come over and she pulled out all the stuff that needed to go. It was easier for her because she had no attachment to my stuff.

At the end of the day, I got rid of a bunch of stuff I didn't need or use.

[sskkc]

When you start getting rid of stuff, you'll find it's contagious. Now, we still have way too much stuff, but I get rid of things as we go. If I start a new hobby (scrapbooking this year) then something else has to go (2 giant tubs of fabric, another of yarn and my crocheting stuff). Some of it we donate and some I sell on craigslist... usually in lots of $25 or so. We don't "need" the $$, so it's a little extra for Disney savings or a night out. Usually, making one sale motivates me to make another. In Florida, we found a needy family, organized the other families from the ship to donate "anything". Then we brought it over and told them to sort through it and have a yard sale with anything they didn't need. It was great for them and for all of us. For a week I was finding more and more stuff. And what a relief it was to get rid of that storage unit!

Let's face it, I'm never going to get into the clothes I wore pre-children. So I gave those away. The clothes from before my youngest? Well, I'm never going back to work, so the work clothes went away (I just kept a couple outfits). The rest my dh helped me get rid of by promising me that if I ever do lose the weight (who am I kidding?), he will buy me an ENTIRE wardrobe. Like I don't have one now, right?! Anyway, I kept ONE pair of jeans, a couple of Grandpa's old shirts... like the kid's, my husband and I have ONE box each. Both storage and out of season clothing goes in there.

As to extra sheets, towels. I got rid of everything slightly worn. Each bed only needs one extra fitted sheet and a spare pillowcase for each pillow. I buy the same color sheets for us all the time, so we only need to keep a couple old flat ones (for "just in case") and the newest one. The rest get donated. 3 towels per person, my "turbie twists"(headtowels), a beach towel for everyone (plus 2) and 6 guest towels. Everything else goes away. When I buy new, the old ones go to Goodwill. I have way too many kitchen towels though. (I throw them out when they get worn, but I'm always buying more. The thing about those is though that I either have a drawerful, or none.)

2 blankets per person, 4 spare ones for guests, one comforter or quilt per bed.

You have to stay on top of this stuff though... blankets, pillows, sheets, etc tend to multiply. You have to COMMIT to yourself to go through this stuff once a year. Start small, at first, just tell yourself "Today I am cleaning out of this linen closet. I am going to be able to shut the door." Start by going through everythin, dump all the storage boxes on the floor, throw everything off the shelves... set aside your favorite stuff, put it away nicely. Then look at all the crap that's left. Look at your nicely cleared out closet... do you really want to screw that up? Okay, you do. Then take HALF the pile on the floor and put it directly into trash bags. Shove everything else in the closet, and take those bags out of your house immediately and put them in the car - very important step! Drop them off the next time you see a box and do not let them out of the car on your property, no matter what!

Each year when we pull out the out of season clothes, I go through them all. It's gives me perspective and then I notice the worn stuff, out of fashion, too small etc stuff. I do the same thing with the kids stuff... when I can't BEAR to part with it, I put it in the "For Keeps" box... got one for each kid. I go through it twice a year. Sometimes I add, sometimes I subtract. But it's always gotta fit in just one of those boxes each, including next year's stuff that I bought on clearance for them.

We do it with the kid's toys. We go through them twice a year... right before summer and right before Halloween. Anything broken and all "Happy Meal" toys get tossed. Anything missing pieces goes away... including games/puzzles. Then we pare down the toys by giving them choices and reminding the kids that if their toy boxes and containers are full, there won't be any room for the new stuff. In addition, throughout the year I pay attention to stuff they never really play with or refuse to pick up. Children pick up literally 100s of stuffed animals while they're little, girls pick up dolls and boys have 1000s of cars and trucks. These things get "thinned out" for children whose mommy and daddies can't buy them new... not every child has 3 sets of grandparents and a set of overindulgent parents!

Good luck!

[hcgCali]

Dear me. Maybe I should try stacking up rubber tubs in the garage. Anyone else do that?

Yes. No problems at all. Just use good tubs that seal tight. If you're worried about clothing items and linens you need to store, shrink them in Space Bags first. Stack the Space Bags inside the tubs then stack the tubs in the garage. The attic is another option, if it's accessable. You could at least move your tubs to the garage as a temporary fix to the "company coming" problem and tackle the bigger issue of sell-givaway-keep later when it's not so stressful.

Don't forget your local elementary school library if you have boxes of children's books no longer needed.

[Tesaje]

Vet hospitals often desperately need old linens and they don't care much what condition they are in.

[sgresident]

I am going to give myself the "pat on the back" for today! I took about a dozen or so pairs of my kids various specialty sports shoes to "Play it Again Sports" received $36 in store credit. needed a shot put and discus, so that is taken care of!and the shoes are gone. They would have given me $60 on consignment, but who knows when the shoes would sell! I feel better already.

[zanna vaida]

Do you need so much stuff?
Donate to your favorite charity, do a garage sale, get rid of junk.
As a Realtor, I wondering, why people buy and keep so much stuff they don't use?
Why do they have a garage filled with stuff and their cars are parked outside? Why can't they open or close closets? It all gets to one point:
why create a junk yard and then complain. Don't you have a better topic for discussion?
Get rid of all unnessasary stuff!! Your place will look more neet and presentable. You'll start loving yourself, your space and your saved money.

[Jaxson]

You have to be realistic if you "need" all that stuff. It is so freeing once you get use to ridding yourself of clutter. Nobody can organize clutter and too much stuff becomes clutter.

~~When you buy anything new (clothes, linens, dishes etc.) make it a rule the amount you just bought that same amount of like items have to be removed at home. So if you buy 2 new shirts 2 old shirts must be removed from home.

~~keep only 2 sets of sheets per bed. Store the clean set under the mattress of each bed while the other set is being used on the mattresses. When it is time to change the sheets pull out the clean set and wash the others storing them under the mattress, flattened out of course.

~~We use shower scrunchies that get replaced every few months so only really use the wash cloths on our faces. 2 bath towels & 2 wash cloths per person. Keep 4-6 extra for company; use your "space bags" to keep them clean and fresh with a dryer sheet enclosed with them. Make each family members towels a different color and they have to hang up and re-use the towels. Afterall we are wiping off clean bodies how dirty can they be? There were 3 of us girls growing up with hair down to our butts we got one beach towel each for our hair.

~~2 blankets per person; 1 lightweight & 1 heavier weight. 1 comforter for each bed try to buy one that is reversible so you can have a new look if you must. Keep 2 extra blankets for guests and have a sleeping bag for each one of your kids. If needed my kids will give up their beds and sleep on the floor in their sleeping bag when company comes. Sleeping bags can also be store laid out flat under each mattress, doesn't take up precious closet space.

~~for adults 7 daily outfits, 1-2 dress up clothes and for kids 14 daily outfits, they tend to out grow before wearing out dress up clothes so only keep a couple of outfits for them too. Store the out of season outfits to rotate when needed.

Animal shelters can always use towels, sheets and blankets and would love the donations. As well as men and women shelters so they can give them to people that come there and have those items to start over if need be.

Bottom line go around in each room and ask yourself if you would pay to move each item. If not sell it, donate it or trash it. Try to remember there are no storage units in heaven either.

Keep us posted and good luck!