Egads! Some decluttering questions for you all!

[justmeandmybrood]

We are prepping for baby #3 (a huge bonus and wonderful surprise!) and since we do not have an extra bdrm (our 1st grade DS and 4-yr old DD each have their own rooms), baby will stay with us for the first 8 months until our rental lease is up/Army moves us again. I need to clear things out around the house, so here are my questions - answer all, one...any info is good info

1) Shoes: I have ~2 prs for warm weather I wear regularly; 3 prs for cold weather; then I have a few prs for dressy times/church, and a pr of ball shoes for Army balls, which will pop up every couple of years. I use these shoes, but still feel weighed down with seeing so many, in addition to my crocs for around the house, etc. Any suggestions? How do you handle it?

2) Holiday decorations - last year I moved everything out of cardboard boxes, which held more, and put it all into clear storage boxes. They take more room, but are better all the way around for us. I still feel like I have way too much decorative "stuff" (and is not helped since both kiddos have lots of kiddy decorations from various family members, their own Christmas decorations, etc.), though I donated/chunked a ton last year. What is your policy on this?

3) Purses - I have 4 purses, 2 totes (1 very large, 1 small), 2 diaper bags...too many, but I cannot bear to part with any! Help!

My goal is to lead our family to a more simplified life. I have done the big stuff, but am getting lost in the smaller things. Any tips would surely be appreciated - thank you so much!!

Tina

[catscharm74]

First...Congrats!!

I would say sit down and make up a priority list. What are your families goals and also, what is really bothering you about all the stuff?

I would have a yardsale and take the money and do something w/the family after the baby is born..even if it is a local trip or a day at the beach. : )

I have a medium size bin for winter stuff. We live in the South, so I just need to layer in the winter. I put all of this into a one corner of the garage. It is sealed up, water tight, bug tight and air tight. I keep only what I can fit in there. It frees up a lot of space in the my closet. I do the same with hubby's and DS's winter items, with the exception that DS's goes into his own closet.

I don't collect much anymore nor do I have a lot of decorative items. I prefer simple decore- I have my favorite pics blown up and frame, a select amout of metal stars, and use these to display and decorate instead of lots of little things on the wall. I try to avoid family members sending trinkets..if they do, honestly I donate them. I can't keep everything or else I would be overwhelmed. When people ask if we can use something for the holidays, I ask for gift cards. I then can purchase things we need and use, such as clothes, shoes and personal items.

I have 2 purses, 4 totes (for the store, travel and days out) and I used on of those Boat and Totes from LL Bean as a baby bag. I now use it as a bag for toting stuff around. They do last and I was not stuck with a typical baby bag.

Really, it's a matter of choice, if you want to continue to take care of these things, if you have the space and also, your own sanity. I took me 4 years to really get to where we are now, so work at it bit by bit. Good luck and keep us posted.

[RoundAbout]

I am not much of a holiday decorator but I really love classic simple stuff. I love those strings of small white lights because you can use them for Christmas, an elegant party, etc. I also try to use natural stuff and things I already own. I have a red table cloth that I use on the dining table with a few pine cones and some greenery to make it feel like Christmas. Then I can use the same table cloth for Valentine's piled with pink cupcakes and basic white candles. For Easter I bought fresh flowers and put baskets around with paper easter grass and real colored eggs and a white table cloth. Very elegant and everything can be recycled, reused, eaten, or composted!

I'm sure as my son gets older we'll do more holiday related art projects but I'm a big believer in taking a picture and tossing after one season.

[ArtsyMomma]

I think an hanging shoe organizer is in order! I don't think you have too many shoes or purses, but perhaps some organization would help? You could store your out of season and rarely worn shoes in the organizer, small purses would fit too. I have one, it's very handy.

http://www.target.com/Household-Esse...9&searchPage=1



For the holiday decorations, I think it's best to purge during the holiday decorating. I pared down quite a bit this year, finally got rid of broken ornaments I'd been meaning to fix for years.

[Usually Curious]

Originally Posted by ArtsyMomma

I think an hanging shoe organizer is in order! I don't think you have too many shoes or purses, but perhaps some organization would help? You could store your out of season and rarely worn shoes in the organizer, small purses would fit too. I have one, it's very handy.

http://www.target.com/Household-Esse...9&searchPage=1



For the holiday decorations, I think it's best to purge during the holiday decorating. I pared down quite a bit this year, finally got rid of broken ornaments I'd been meaning to fix for years.

I agree. It sounds like decorations are the only things you need to get rid of.

[justmeandmybrood]

Thanks so much for the warm welcome, and wonderful, helpful responses!

I love the idea of keeping fewer holiday pieces - the tablecloth idea is PERFECT (love multi-functional pieces)! We inherited all of our childhood household decor, some of which our children treasure now...I see I need to just get over the hump and clear out more than I was able to this year.

My other newer issue since finding out this baby is a boy (yay!), is that we already have a pretty masculine set of 3 storage pieces we picked up from a flea market while stationed overseas. They will be *perfect* for a boy! However, for the past year they have been my art/craft storage pieces. Not only do I need to determine how much/what pieces of craft supplies I really need to keep, but then need to find a new home for it all, aaaaah!

We also *may* be moving this summer...with a follow-on move next summer. Must. reduce. household. weight. and. clutter.

Thank you again for the wonderful responses!!!