How about confessions of our own clutter....?

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KCtheMommy

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Since we are having such a good laugh about the stuff our spouses will store, I thought maybe we could have a go at confessing our own “clutter set backs.”

Here’s mine: I have a collection of about 20 - 30 wood puzzles I have kept since I was a kid. They had all their pieces. I took care of them with such pride, and shared them with my kids. Well one day one of my two eldest had a friend over (I can’t remember which kid it was) and they dumped ALL the wood puzzle pieces out into a HUGE mess. My OG ones and the new ones I bought. I even had them out of reach – yeah not with two determined kids in the house!

So I put all the pieces in a basket to try and match them later. It got dumped out time and time again, and I kept trying to store them in the same little basket. NOW I am reduced to the pieces all over the bottom drawer of my son’s dresser. One of our dog likes to chew on them – and still I persist trying to hold onto them. I even tried to get my kids into a puzzle party where we would match them up again – yeah they got bored really quick. The puzzles aren’t even close to back together.

I have been coaching myself over the weekend to finally let them go. Lying in bed last night trying to convince myself to ditch the puzzles I realized I am 33 years old – the chances of the puzzles having lead paint are pretty high! :eek:

OK so I am going to go put them in the trash…

No really I am.

WAAAAH I really liked those puzzles when I was a kid…waaaah. :crying:
 
I confess…
I have a collection of lonely socks. I truly believe that one day their mates will show back up… A whole overflowing basket of the suckers!
 
BlestOne said:
I confess…
I have a collection of lonely socks. I truly believe that one day their mates will show back up… A whole overflowing basket of the suckers!
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Me too - well, I have a few, but my mom always had an entire basket of them when we were growing up! (with 5 kids, it was inevitable) I bet that basket is still full… :rotfl:
KCtheMommy said:
Here’s mine: I have a collection of about 20 - 30 wood puzzles I have kept since I was a kid.

WAAAAH I really liked those puzzles when I was a kid…waaaah. :crying:
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Sorry about your puzzles. It’s hard to let things with sentimental value go, but you’re probably right about the lead paint. :o

I’m blessed to have a room just for my crafts (scrapbooking, card making – I’m actually trying to start an invitation/card business to be home with my daughter.) Anyway, it’s a mess, yet I won’t throw out scraps of paper b/c I think maybe I can use them for some card in the future…

I also keep bills that I’ve paid to prove I’ve paid them (with receipts inside or payment information written on the envelopes). I probably don’t need to in today’s electronic world, but my mom always did it (and still does) so I do it too…what do you think, can I toss the bills once I pay them?

You guys are great. 😃
 
Belle10 said:
I also keep bills that I’ve paid to prove I’ve paid them (with receipts inside or payment information written on the envelopes). I probably don’t need to in today’s electronic world, but my mom always did it (and still does) so I do it too…what do you think, can I toss the bills once I pay them?
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I am not very virtuous in this department (organizing), but I do keep the bills with the information of how I paid them or a receipt in a file cabinet. I throw out the ads or extra unimportant information included, but I keep the main bill and write the confirmation code or method of payment with total paid. If its an online payment I don’t usually do it, though I do save the emails confirming my payment. More than once it has been useful to have that information handy (date, amount paid). Obviously I think one should throw it out after a certain amount of time (sooner or later, depending on what it is), but I always keep a record because it is an easy way to prove I have paid and how much, and in our case they are even be handy for tax time.
 
I have to admit that I’m an all around pig. No really- please laugh. I have to laugh at myself all the time. See, I grew up in a home with a COMPLETELY obesessive type A mom. She was neatness to the worse extreme. We couldn’t even sit on the furniture in most of the rooms for the longest time. She’s since really let her hair down. But both my brother and myself are not the tidiest of folks. I keep my house clean and dirt free and dust free, but I have piles of “stuff”. I have to constantly go through and do “deep” clean weekends. My friends joke at me that I’m constantly cleaning my house! I am. And I seem to NEVER get ahead. Just when one room gets straight, the next is dirty again. My daughter has a hard time cleaning up after herself because I have a hard time reminding her many times. We’re working on it together, but we could always use your prayers- and the Lord’s good sense of humor.twk:)
 
We live in the Library of Babel – our biggest problem is books. Stacks upon stacks of books. We have, let’s see… four huge bookcases crammed full (to the point where we wedge books in horizontally ON TOP of the others) but it’s nowhere near enough. There are well over a dozen – probably almost two dozen – large boxes FULL of books shoved against the wall of the spare room, and more books just lying around on every available flat surface! The kitchen counter, inside the silverware drawer, the bathroom sink, the scanner, the cabinets, the bed, closet floors, tables, chairs: you name it, there’s probably a book or a stack of books balanced on it.
 
Belle10 said:
I also keep bills that I’ve paid to prove I’ve paid them (with receipts inside or payment information written on the envelopes). I probably don’t need to in today’s electronic world, but my mom always did it (and still does) so I do it too…what do you think, can I toss the bills once I pay them?

You guys are great. 😃
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Yes, you can let them go. No reason to keep them. I have recently got over this particular paper clutter problem when I emptied a 20lb portable filing box full of marked-paid bills from 1994/95. Info on cars I no-longer own, pay stubs from even before then. So yeah, now I pay the bill, I toss the rest. Buh bye.

I too have a craft room, and it’s the most orgnaized room in the house. Anyone who goes in there and messes it up – they are DEAD MEAT! DH is only allowed in to iron. Even when it get’s messy I know where everything I need is…

Oh yeah I craft, embroider, sew, quilt, make my own cloth diapers, and make really cool catholic inspired rosary boxes and shadow boxes for the wall. You can imagine all the neat statues, stickers, ribbon and flowers drive my girls crazy to get at…but they leave it alone. They are all put away nicely in plastic bins or even tool organizer type things. Like I said – touch them and DIE! Or at least go to your room for the rest of the night…hee hee.
 
twk001 said:
I have to admit that I’m an all around pig. No really- please laugh. I have to laugh at myself all the time. See, I grew up in a home with a COMPLETELY obesessive type A mom. She was neatness to the worse extreme. We couldn’t even sit on the furniture in most of the rooms for the longest time. She’s since really let her hair down. But both my brother and myself are not the tidiest of folks. I keep my house clean and dirt free and dust free, but I have piles of “stuff”. I have to constantly go through and do “deep” clean weekends. My friends joke at me that I’m constantly cleaning my house! I am. And I seem to NEVER get ahead. Just when one room gets straight, the next is dirty again. My daughter has a hard time cleaning up after herself because I have a hard time reminding her many times. We’re working on it together, but we could always use your prayers- and the Lord’s good sense of humor.twk:)
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Try flylady.org

My g-ma was like your mom which resulted in one daughter obsessively clean (my aunt) and one daughter not so much (my mom.) We would clean on Saturdays but it wasn’t hard or anything, we didn’t have a lot of stuff. It’s the clutter that get’s you in the end I think. Now my mom and my aunt switched roles, mom’s house obnoxiously clean (she retired) amd aunts house a disaster (too much clutter). Weird. I don’t like being in either house! LOL I dont care for either one of them. (yes I am referring to my own mom, long story)

But gotta say, my g-ma once said “I wish I had spent more time with my kids and being a mom than worrying so much about cleaning. Maybe they wouldn’t have turned out so crazy?”

LOL True that grandma, true that!
 
You would have to go and post this while I’m cleaning out my office and our TV room. (Well, that’s what I say I’m doing.) In reality I’m moving things from one room to the other and then back again. And I guess if I’m here I’m not really decluttering…

I still have some of the stuffed animals I had as a child. Whoa to anyone who tries to get rid of my Snuffy, Yokie, Marcus. or any of the others!
 
You can throw out any ordinary bills, but make sure you keep any “final bill” that proves in writing that you closed an account.

Sometimes, company records get mixed up, and they’ll forget that you paid off your account and will send it to collections…several years after the fact. This can ruin your credit score if you don’t keep your final bill as proof.

(I read this in the news a while back…)
Belle10 said:
I also keep bills that I’ve paid to prove I’ve paid them (with receipts inside or payment information written on the envelopes). I probably don’t need to in today’s electronic world, but my mom always did it (and still does) so I do it too…what do you think, can I toss the bills once I pay them?

You guys are great. 😃
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Mirdath said:
four huge bookcases crammed full (to the point where we wedge books in horizontally ON TOP of the others) but it’s nowhere near enough.
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Ah, but do you also have a bookcase covering the entire wall (wall to wall, floor to ceiling) with books not only horizontally on top of each other, but with an entire ‘hidden’ bookcase of them BEHIND the ones that can be seen? 😃

And no, it’s still not enough. They’re in the drawers, in huge precarious stacks on the table, on the bedding case, on the floor… 😊
 
ack said:
You can throw out any ordinary bills, but make sure you keep any “final bill” that proves in writing that you closed an account.

Sometimes, company records get mixed up, and they’ll forget that you paid off your account and will send it to collections…several years after the fact. This can ruin your credit score if you don’t keep your final bill as proof.

(I read this in the news a while back…)
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Good point, I held those from the credit cards I have closed over the years! We are just about to prove one which is marking DH’s credit in a bad way. I hope I can find it. If I can’t find an entire bin of wires…you know…
 
OK…more collections… VCR tapes… a whole bookcase full, books in the garage, my bedroom, living room, front closet, computer room and those are just mine! DH and kids are big readers too…
Clothes! A big problem… I have so many that I have to use rubbermaid containers for the out of season stuff… and I hate when we go through season changes and you need stuff from summer and winter in a given week!

I am a bad housekeeper!
 
KCtheMommy said:
Here’s mine: I have a collection of about 20 - 30 wood puzzles I have kept since I was a kid. They had all their pieces. I took care of them with such pride, and shared them with my kids. Well one day one of my two eldest had a friend over (I can’t remember which kid it was) and they dumped ALL the wood puzzle pieces out into a HUGE mess. My OG ones and the new ones I bought. I even had them out of reach – yeah not with two determined kids in the house! …

I have been coaching myself over the weekend to finally let them go. Lying in bed last night trying to convince myself to ditch the puzzles I realized I am 33 years old – the chances of the puzzles having lead paint are pretty high! :eek:

OK so I am going to go put them in the trash…

No really I am.

WAAAAH I really liked those puzzles when I was a kid…waaaah. :crying:
Click to expand...
 
I just culled our bookshelves and I got about five boxes to sell to the used book store tomorrow after I see my midwife.

We have tons of books too, and I have to say one thing, at least it is books. Meaning, at least we READ right? LOL

I have to share this: at my son’s b-day party a few weeks ago a couple came into our living room (where all the bookshelves are) – took one look over at the shelves and said:

“So you guys like to read?”

ROFLMBO!!!

Nope, we just use em to hold up the walls!
 
Mirdath said:
We live in the Library of Babel – our biggest problem is books. Stacks upon stacks of books. We have, let’s see… four huge bookcases crammed full (to the point where we wedge books in horizontally ON TOP of the others) but it’s nowhere near enough. There are well over a dozen – probably almost two dozen – large boxes FULL of books shoved against the wall of the spare room, and more books just lying around on every available flat surface! The kitchen counter, inside the silverware drawer, the bathroom sink, the scanner, the cabinets, the bed, closet floors, tables, chairs: you name it, there’s probably a book or a stack of books balanced on it.
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Wow, does that ever sound like my home! 😛 My two sisters and I have an extensive collection of books between the three of us, my dad has a whole bookshelf to himself, and my mom has several as well. One of our (many) bookshelves has the books set two-deep in rows on the shelfs, more books horizontal on top of those, and then more piled on top of the bookshelf. There are book randomly scattered all over the house, too.

I’d like to say that I’m personally pretty clean. I never leave things sitting on the floor unless they are floor-type things (shoes, boxes). I tend to let things pile up on horizontal surfaces, like desks and the top of my dresser. So, every once in awhile, I clear everything off, toss the things I don’t want/need, and re-organize. Of course I end up repeating this again later, but I have a lot of fun going through piles and tossing stuff. ^^ Speaking of while, I have a pile of random papers that has accumulated on my desk I need to go through now… 😛
 
KCtheMommy said:
OK so I am going to go put them in the trash…

No really I am.

WAAAAH I really liked those puzzles when I was a kid…waaaah. :crying:
Click to expand...
How about taking a nice photo of all of the puzzles laid out before you throw them away? I know it’s not exactly the same, but when Rosemary outgrew all her newborn clothes and I went to store them (and who even knows if we’ll be blessed with another girl in winter?), I laid them all out on the bed and took a photo for her baby book 🙂 I did the same thing with Joey’s newborn clothing *before *he was born, but this time I wasn’t that “on top of things” by the time she came out.

OK, something I have way too many of but I keep adding onto my collection anyway is address labels! I get at least a sheet or two every week from some charity or another. I’m looking forward to throwing them all out when we move into another house 😃 But it is fun to browse through the incredible selection of them to find just the right one to match that birthday card! 😉 And the ones with the St. Benedict Medal on them or pro-life messages are awesome!
 
I never completely unpacked from the summer I worked as a camp counselor in 1983. There’s still a half-full paper bag of AC/DC t-shirts buried somewhere among my stuff.
 
I find it very interesting that the majority of us have incredible amounts of books.

👍

Catholicism=readers? Hmmmmmm

I read on average 4-5 books per WEEK. Just an hour here, an hour there, two hours after kids in bed. I have recently been really friendly with the library. I decided after having to cull so many of my own books it’s time to just “borrow.”

Saves mucho $$$ too!
 
My one word solution to clutter - move!

When we moved 2 yrs ago, we got rid of so much stuff. We have nothing in our attic now (old house had tons of things thrown up there!) and don’t plan to use it at all. My mom lives downstairs, so we can’t store anything in the lower level. We do have some boxes in the shed, but that’s it. No more keeping things. It’s just not worth it.

KCtheMommy, didn’t you move in the past year or so? Did you move all your ‘stuff’?? —KCT
 
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