I am a one-woman Goodwill shopping center!

[1ke]

my efforts to de-clutter are cluttering up the house.

That’s why I kept taking loads to town… too much “stuff” sitting in a big pile overwhelms you when you are trying to declutter. It has to be GONE for me to keep perspective on how much I’ve accomplished. If I just see piles of stuff, I get discouraged!

What a great feeling to start off 2009 with such an improvement at the house. There’s still a lot to do, but for today I think I’ll bask in the sunshine of the organization I have thusfar achieved!

 

[KCT]

That’s why I kept taking loads to town… too much “stuff” sitting in a big pile overwhelms you when you are trying to declutter. It has to be GONE for me to keep perspective on how much I’ve accomplished. If I just see piles of stuff, I get discouraged!

What a great feeling to start off 2009 with such an improvement at the house. There’s still a lot to do, but for today I think I’ll bask in the sunshine of the organization I have thusfar achieved!

Way to go!!

 

[Whit18]

I am decluttering like a mad woman! It feels really good to get rid of things I have been hanging onto and wondering…why? I’m now working on my home office. I gave a bunch of good but unwanted 3-ring binders and clipboards to my grandkids, who like to “play school”. I take my clothing to a Domestic Abuse Thrift shop. Books I no longer want I take to the local library for their book fair. I donated a bunch of crochet/knitting pamphlets to a local group who crochets and knits for the homeless, premature babies, etc. Duplicates or unwanted prayer pamphlets, and my outdated “Living WIth Christ” missaletes I put on the magazine rack at church—they’re usually gone before I leave mass! I’m currently formatting 3.25" floppy discs and will take them to the library too, as they sell them during the book fairs. Some people can use them and why let them go to waste.

When I am off this summer I will go through the rest of the house, probably starting with the kitchen. I have learned that you have to PURGE unnecessary or unwanted things in order to have space for what is meaningful to you. For me, a cleared, tidy room is psychologically restful. I’ve put “I might need it some day” out of my head…if I haven’t used it or wanted it in a year or so, out it goes. I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m getting there!

 

[mercygate]

It makes me feel fresh and free just to read these posts! Wheeeeeee!

 

[withwind]

I have realized I got more clothes than I thought. Cleaning up and have some clothes to bring to St. Vincent de Paul.

 

[gardenswithkids]

It’s gone! It’s gone! :extrahappy:

A big truck came and took our huge pile to a charity. We await the big trash truck next to pick up our overflowing trash.

On a sad note, I discovered that one of my children is a sentimental hoarder. :sad_bye: :crying: We retrieved a couple of things from the pile before the big truck took it away.

 

[gardenswithkids]

237 LPS to the Goodwill today!! But DH had an anxiety attack and will go to the shop on Monday to buy back a few he thinks he can’t live without. That still leaves us with about 700 . . . baby steps. Baby steps. A friend will transfer them to CDs for $1.00 a piece if we buy the CDS . . . . We NEED to spend $700 transferring records we haven’t listened to since 1986.

Mercygate–

Some thoughts on your husband’s albums.

I heard from someone that there’s the technology to convert records onto MP3 players. I don’t know the price, but if your thinking of spending $700 to convert them to CD’s you might see if it’s cheaper to do it onto a newer and smaller way to store&play music.

And… while I completely sympathize with you, some album cover art might be worth hanging onto for the sake of the album’s artwork, (rather than just for the music.) Here’s weird thought. I don’t know about your decorating taste or if your husband has a space of his own, but if records are something he enjoys, maybe some could be displayed tastefully rather than boxing them all away in storage. Then maybe he’ll agree to only keep a few for the purpose of display. (Yes, I realize that it might look like a teenager’s room from the 70’s–that’s not the look I’m suggesting. I’ve seen really interesting collections displayed in decorating magazines and books from the library on organization–that’s the look I’m suggesting.)

 

[1ke]

It’s gone! It’s gone! :extrahappy:

A big truck came and took our huge pile to a charity. We await the big trash truck next to pick up our overflowing trash.

YEA!!!

 

[mercygate]

Mercygate–

Some thoughts on your husband’s albums.

I heard from someone that there’s the technology to convert records onto MP3 players. I don’t know the price, but if your thinking of spending $700 to convert them to CD’s you might see if it’s cheaper to do it onto a newer and smaller way to store&play music.

And… while I completely sympathize with you, some album cover art might be worth hanging onto for the sake of the album’s artwork, (rather than just for the music.) Here’s weird thought. I don’t know about your decorating taste or if your husband has a space of his own, but if records are something he enjoys, maybe some could be displayed tastefully rather than boxing them all away in storage. Then maybe he’ll agree to only keep a few for the purpose of display. (Yes, I realize that it might look like a teenager’s room from the 70’s–that’s not the look I’m suggesting. I’ve seen really interesting collections displayed in decorating magazines and books from the library on organization–that’s the look I’m suggesting.)

Get thee behind me, Satan!

DH knows that MP3 technology is coming – we won’t copy 700 albums. We’ll start with the first 20 and see where that goes. I think we’ll spend 20 bucks and that will be the end of that. I know it’s against the rules, but I suspect some of those albums will magically disappear from the cupboard one by one . . .