Post Christmas PURGE! the race is on! - Page 4

[Ruthiegirl]

DH is cleaning out the garage today! : : : Goodness, I love that man.

I am having the best luck with Freecycle. I have posted a mountain of stuff -- odds and ends from the garage, stuff from the attic, a bunch of things that were left when the last homeowner moved out 5 years ago. And everything I have posted has been taken and picked up promptly. Awesome!!!

I am not bothering to count items -- I just want it all gone.

[kellykins]

I'm in!! I am starting with my desk as soon as I tackle the BILLS. :P :P

[pixiemammy]

me again, wanted to get to the 100 mark today so I did a little more...

declutter, decant and wash out old stuff in bathrooms = 6 bottles into recycling
and 1 more bag of generic trash from here & there....

95+7=102/1000

[wife&mommy]

Only 5 down so far. But I'll get there!

[Inanna_Mama]

Originally Posted by Momohmy

I'm in. I have so much paper to go through, I may get 1000 just off that!

I'm there with you! What?!? is up with all the paper? As much as I try, it piles up and up until I just shove it all into a storage box and hide it away. It's time to deal with it.

Originally Posted by pixiemammy

Hurrah! I was hoping some of you would be doing a big post-Christmas declutter, I started mine yesterday but am prone to losing motivation so this thread is excellent!

We've moved house a lot over the past few years so we have a big debris cloud that follows us around, time to go Mr. Debris Cloud! I'm opening old boxes and being ruthless with the contents.

We have that same Cloud too. We always seem to move in a flurry which means taking a pile of junk, shoving it in a box and moving it to the next location. Makes me ill. Still, we do it. Move after move. But this year will be different!

I have until the end of July. I thought I'd start off slow - pacing myself...one to three items per day. I've also downloaded the 2009 Decluttering Calendar from My Simpler Life in hopes it will help.

The hardest part is not deciding what to get ride of, but actually getting it off my property. Freecycle, Craigslist, Charity Thrift Shops, Consignment Stores, Giving to Friends, Dumping it, etc. So many avenues. I wish I could just bring myself to choose one place and truck it all there. But instead I create piles for the various sources then get overwhelmed when all the junk that had previously been hidden is now in plain sight as it awaits removal. It quickly spirals and my decluttering efforts come to a hault about one week in.

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you handle it?

Oh, here are my stats since the day after Christmas:

26 December 2008:

1 Toddler Bed (sold for pennies on Craigslist)

1 Book (mailed to Paperback Book Swapper)

27 December 2008:

1 First Years Toddler Chair with Tray (returned to neighbor who gave it so she can pass it on to another Mama in need)

1 2009 Calendar (Freecycled)

28 December 2008:

1 Children's Book (mailed to Paperback Book Swapper)

29 December 2008:

2 magazines (given to friend)

7...my! 1000 seems like a long way away...

[pixiemammy]

Originally Posted by Inanna_Mama

But instead I create piles for the various sources then get overwhelmed when all the junk that had previously been hidden is now in plain sight as it awaits removal. It quickly spirals and my decluttering efforts come to a hault about one week in.

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you handle it?

Inanna Mama, we do the same as we have no car so we wait until the charity shop does a collection. A tip I read somewhere was to start boxing and taping the boxes shut(!) as they fill. Mark them "charity shop", stack them somewhere neatly and never open them again!!!! When the day eventually arrives, put the unopened boxes in the charity bag/truck and wave goodbye! I cannot stress the importance of not reopening them once decluttered, if you open them you will instantly need everything in the box and your debris cloud will suck the box empty again, it's happened me many times

Good luck my dear!

[Inanna_Mama]

Excellent tip, as always! Thanks m'dear!

[Stephenie]

I don't know that I HAVE 1000 things that we don't need, but I am so up for trying to declutter after the onslaught of Christmas presents our son was given.... we need the space!

[mnr_mommy]

Count me in. 1000 seems like a lot until I think about all the unused junk we have

[mommabear207]

25 more!
so thats now 46+25 = 71
and i haven't even gotten to those spots that need deep cleaning. I think I'll be having to up my goal from 100. i don't know about 1000 though I've been deep cleaning for months so 1000 might be most of what I have left- that would really open things up more......lol

[kellykins]

Ive got a pile of paper clutter from my desk on the floor here.... theres alot, I'll count it as 10 though.

[wife&mommy]

Well I got rid of 4 sweaters and a bag. Oh and some items from my night stand, there were 6 of them So, I guess I'm up to 16. Long way to go!

[mommyofatoz]

I am so there...I have been clearing out toys and closets, etc. but right now it is all down in my basement. I have posted on a local forum telling people to come pick through my basement, and what isn't gone in the next couple of days will go to goodwill. We have at least three bags of toys, one bag of clothes from my closet, and a bunch of other big stuff...Plus, I threw in the recycling all my 2007 magazines. So, I really dont' know what that totals up to be, but it is a lot of stuff. And once I clear some stuff out of my basement, I'm sure I will be able to get to more stuff that I want to get rid of too!

[Tilia]

I cleaned out my closet and DD's dresser, and found 20 items of clothing to donate to Goodwill tomorrow. I'm up to 39/200!

[triscuitsmom]

Me too Me too!!!

A house that already had clutter + Christmas with a HUGE family giving presents to myself, my DP and our DS (who got as many toys for Christmas as he already owned I think ) + diapers and clothes and necessities for a baby coming in sixish weeks + gifts that are already being talked about for said baby and the big brother when the new arrival are actually here from family

equals one very overwhelmed Mama who needs to purge purge purge (thank goodness for nesting instinct!)

0/1000 and here we go!!!!!!

[Getz]

I know what you mean about finding a place for it all to go. We have a ton of wood/particle board scraps in our garage from the old owner. I so want to post it for free on craigslist, but I don't want strangers to come to my house and really don't want to load it in my truck to end up with a no-show at a meeting place. I am trying to figure out what the best avenue is for that.

I did find a thrift store run by a domestic violence shelter. Their clients shop there for free to set up their new apartments. I am really excited about donating there versus Goodwill. Figure my items may make a bigger impact. And because DH likes the idea of donating to a DV shelter he is much better about letting things go too. He usually puts up a stink about me getting rid of outdated toys that his family gave us. Like it is a personal attack on them to get rid of baby toys when we have toddlers.

[sunnysandiegan]

Well, right now, DD gets most of the credit for all the decluttering going on in our house! She rocks!!! At this point in time, I believe we have gone through 90% of everything she owns.

Clothes - She donated enough to get everything neatly into one dresser from two (different sizes, but still) and into half of her closet from 2/3rds.

Toys/play items - She donated oodles of stuff of her own free will. The quantity left is very reasonable.

Arts/crafts - She went through it all with a smile today and gave away an entire box full.

Misc - She has literally gone through every single item in her bedroom, her closet, her areas of the family office, her section in the extra room, and two of three areas in the living room. The only spot left is the games & puzzles area in the living room. Guess we'll do that tomorrow...

Meanwhile, DH quickly scanned his hanging clothes and did a THOROUGH purge of his areas in the family office a couple months ago and is doing a "quickie" (LOL) again as I type.

I have been mostly helping DD, or rather I've been cleaning up after the little tornado! LOL In between her decluttering, I have managed to go through all the family linens and all of our "product documentation" (paperwork - warranties, care & use instructions, etc. - on items we own). I also went through our fire-resistant box and sorted out the important papers that have piled up since the last time I did it (almost a year ago). This all on top of the major overhaul of our storage closet, including Christmas decor, that I previously mentioned.

The net result of all this, thus far, is a HUGE MESS on our master bedroom floor!!! I'm not counting, but I will take and share a picture of the massive pile that leaves our house on Friday, January 2!

[wife&mommy]

9 more in the night stand, so I'm up to 25.

[mnr_mommy]

Droped off a pretty big bag of clothes today, so I'm at about 20/1000

[MaterBum]

Is it too late for me to join? We did really well not getting an overwhelming amount at Christmas, but we have such a small house.

Here's what I've dropped off at Goodwill so far:

13 stuffed animals
6 pairs of DH's shoes (shhh, let's see if he even misses them, he's a terrible clothes horse. Thank goodness he only buys from Goodwill!)
12 DH's shirts
25 little junky toys my sister gives the kids from fast food chains
25 articles of kids' clothing
1 bag of old hamster supplies (Cage, ball, bedding, etc. I'll count as 5 items)
13 pieces of my clothing
_____________

Total: 95/1000

I plan to tackle the linen closet and bottom corner kitchen cabinet today. I haven't been in that cabinet in months, except to shove something into it.