Your tried-and-true decluttering strategies, please! (homestead, window, refinish, convert)
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I tend to hang on to a lot of stuff. First, I hate waste, and I always think, hmmm, that extra coffee maker / set of dishes could be given away, sold, saved for the studio/cottage or the kids when they leave home, lets move it over to this corner here. Second, I grew up as an army brat and we were forced to part with tons of stuff every two or three years. And instead of being 'trained' that way I longed to keep cherished things, books, records.
So every few years it's a battle... How do I decide what to take out the house which is bursting at the seams with junk that no-one has looked at in years. It's always painful, and it's always cathartic, to do these major purges. I find it easy to go through other peoples' stuff. lol.
This year I've discovered an interesting psychological game that helps me get rid of more junk: It's so simple. Decide what to KEEP. Don't decide what to throw away!
Example: Many bookcases full - books from over 30 years ago.. I put them all in a pile to throw out, then I ask myself which ones I'd like to rescue from that pile. If I do it the other way around, look through my book cases and ask myself which books to throw out, the quantity of books I keep, is MUCH larger.
How do you personally get rid of stuff, particularly if you've been one to fall into the hoarding habit?
Someone posted a similar question quite a while ago. Someone said that you don't own your possessions, they own you. The more things you have, the more you have to take care of them. There is something called "Messies Anonymous". They might be on youtube. They gave really practical, do-able advice which I heard on the radio from Focus on the Family. Hope this helps
Load everything that you haven't used in a year into cardboard boxes and stack them in a safe secure dry place.(no paid storage) Go back and dig through then whenever you want something or bored etc. I had boxes that made 3 moves with me before i ever looked in them again. I sure found some neat stuff.
Load everything that you haven't used in a year into cardboard boxes and stack them in a safe secure dry place.(no paid storage) Go back and dig through then whenever you want something or bored etc. I had boxes that made 3 moves with me before i ever looked in them again. I sure found some neat stuff.
Yep.
I've written elsewhere about my current project: renovating my 65+ year old greenhouse. In the process, I've found an amazing number of useful items stashed in my basement which fit right into my vision for my greenhouse, now a work in progress: a shabby old wicker rocking chair, plant stands, ceramic planters (a previously unrecognized collection: there are over twenty!), shelving, enamelware, and more. Other than new plants and potting soil, I will not need to purchase much at all.
My forebears survived the Great Depression, and the "make it do; wear it out" wisdom of that time is still worthy. Things were not thrown away because they were no longer trendy or in daily use - they were kept - stored - for later use when times, needs, and circumstances changed.
If I had cleaned out the basement last summer as I'd intended, I would not have those planters, shelves, wicker rocker, or plant stands. I use the basement only for storage and laundry at present - so having "stuff" down there does not impede my life, but in this case, enhanced it.
Of course, there IS still a lot of "stuff" down there that is yard sale fodder...to provide more $$$ for greenhouse restoration!
It's great to be able to keep stuff, then later use it. My parents grew up in the Depression, so I learned all about keeping stuff. Unfortunately, if I ever wear those clothes that I "might fit into again someday", I'll be 80 and wearing striped bellbottoms. LOL
The issue I have most trouble with is paper. When I get home from work (after looking at paperwork all day), I bring in the mail, and if I open it right away, I set it down to deal with later. I have mail that I throw away right away, but then there are things that I "have to think about" or will deal with "later". It generally happens at my dining room table - just like my mom. Rut-roh! I love my mom, but don't want to do THAT just like her. LOL
A thrift store sends a truck out to this area about every 6-8 weeks...I try to find some items to donate
each time..it's not as hard to do as trying to go through everything at once..
Example: Many bookcases full - books from over 30 years ago.. I put them all in a pile to throw out, then I ask myself which ones I'd like to rescue from that pile. If I do it the other way around, look through my book cases and ask myself which books to throw out, the quantity of books I keep, is MUCH larger.
How do you personally get rid of stuff, particularly if you've been one to fall into the hoarding habit?
I've had to do this, and it's still a work in progress, due to the fact that I was obligated to take a smaller house than I'd like. We've downsized twice, and there's just not enough room for everything. It's getting more and more difficult to figure out what to discard. I had a small storage unit for a while, and I sometimes contemplate getting one again, but I'm resistant to it. I'd rather just have less stuff - theoretically.
I reduced my books by probably about half. I love having books. I appreciate books on Kindle, but it's not the same. So, when I made the big reduction, I kept favorites and reference books and a few that had sentimental meaning. If I felt pretty sure I would read them again, I kept them. But many, I just had to consider whether they really had any worth for me anymore. If not, I sold some (dirt cheap to used bookstores) and donated the rest. When I want books now, I probably get roughly 50% from the library, 30% on Kindle (many of those also through the library) and 20% I actually buy - if that.
I read a lot of minimalist and decluttering books. Those help, but only so much. I don't feel like I have a lot of knick-knacks. But I do tend to keep useful things that I think I "might need later", and often later never happens.
I've given away kitchen items - small appliances that only get used once a year. Occasionally I regret it, but usually I can find something else that will suffice. Right now I'm debating whether to sell my KitchenAid stand mixer, which I always thought of as a top-notch necessary item, but I hardly ever use it. It is frustrating on those rare occasions when you sell something for pennies on the dollar and then end up buying another one.
For clothes, I got some inspiration reading Marie Kondo's 'tidying up' book. It's a bit silly, but it made me get rid of some things that I didn't really enjoy wearing anymore.
The hardest thing for me is sentimental items. I have lots of birthday cards, little things that belonged to deceased relatives, photos galore. The comments here about pictures have given me some things to think about. I definitely have way more than I need, of people and places that don't matter anymore (or to anyone but me). So going through pictures might be one of my next projects.
I get a room painted. Every time I get a room painted thoroughly, including the closet (although my house only has 2 closets, and even those are not original construction), I have to move everything out to accommodate the painters. I've had pretty much all the rooms painted over the last 3 years, so I've been decluttering each as they were done. The last one was the laundry room, and I'm almost done putting everything back in, but on new shelving units. (Had to wait for the new dryer to be installed.)
If you haven't used it in a year, you probably don't need it. Unless of course, it's a backup item, like an additional air conditioner.
If you put it in the attic or long term storage place, it means you don't need it. Re-evaluate and decide if it's better to give it away, or throw it away.
Limit things kept for sentimental reasons. If you never use it, don't like it, or it takes up too much space, re-evaluate and decide that maybe it's time to part with it.
I always wonder why people never seem to realize that when they die, most of their belongings will get donated or THROWN AWAY. Why leave a mess for everyone? Why keep a car that you can no longer drive? If you're in your late 80s, do you really expect your eyes/reflexes/neuropathy/dementia/nervousness to improve? Give it to someone who can use it, or sell it. It's one less major burden you'll place on the loved ones you leave behind.
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