What are you proud of that you have recently achieved with decluttering or simplifying?

[clutterwarrior]

For me it is the realization that winter starts in a week, and I have not bought myself any new clothes for the new season at all!

In previous years I would have always bought at least one new thing, a coat or a scarf, etc.

I am determined to make the clothes I have last through winter. I do kind of need new jeans but I am challenging myself to make my old ones do.

Yes I am really proud of myself as I have realised how much I have changed, in the space of a year. It's amazing how much one can change one's outlook and mindset in that time. 

Anyone else proud of what they have achieved or how they have changed?

[IsaFrench]

yes ... this morning I was proud of myself for a different set of thinking .... I have lost my regular permanent marker for a few days so I was scambling in a drawer (in a hurry to mark something before getting the children to school) and came accross a box I had set aside .... well about 4 years ago, a present from someone nice but what I thought totally unsuitable at the time ( a large assortment of permanent shapie makers in nice colors) considering our children and the state of the house (sill nice and fresh wall surfaces ...) and THEN I thought, "great I can get rid of these now, we moved one continent away from the person who gave them to us, the children have forgotten the pens and they are a bit dry anyway" .... + put them back where I found them .... thinking I'll come back to it when the children won't be able to see me  getting rid of them ...

I know that it is very very tiny steps in the right direction (especially since I'm sitting at the computer thinking about decluttering instead of addressing that right now .... + not addressing either the totally covered dining room table + the computer chair that has been blocked by "to finish sorting" things for the last 2 months ....

at least am now reading "Buried in treasures" ... and I know that it's also the mind set I need to change

that 's why I follow posts here, to start understanding how other people are thinking about these matters (= thanks for posting !!!)

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Just last night, DH took all of our DVDs, put them in a binder, and tossed the boxes.  I never realized we had so many, but we filled a binder made for 264 discs with only 12 slots to spare.  The binder takes up just a bit of shelf space, and we now have a lot more room.  The boxes we recycled took up an entire yard waste-sized trash bag.

It's nothing huge, but at the same time, it's given us a lot of space back in our little basement family room.  It's also something of a milestone for DH.  This man loves movies, and he used to save the ticket stub from every.single.movie he ever saw.  I never, ever thought he'd part with the boxes.  I told him he could keep the "special" ones, like those from boxed sets, or special editions...  But he only saved 4.  I'm so impressed!

Now he's talking about doing the same for our CD collection!

[accountclosed15]

I had to downsize quickly and for a moment, I was in a slight panic but now I am very relaxed. I thought I was a minimalist before but after having to leave 75% of my things behind, it is very freeing. I am proud of myself that I have been able to keep it so simple and I can't believe how happy I am. I dreamed of getting to this point but I think being forced to it has helped me a lot. It definintely has been a change in attitude and I feel very focused now...been a long time since I have felt that. ; )

[IsaFrench]

since this morning, tossed the aforementioned felttip pens, reclaimed my computer chair, reorganised a bit too (a long way to go)

but definitely, reading about other people's experiences is doing me good !

[Serendipity]

Originally Posted by IsaFrench 

since this morning, tossed the aforementioned felttip pens, reclaimed my computer chair, reorganised a bit too (a long way to go)

but definitely, reading about other people's experiences is doing me good !

Good for you! I always leave this forum and go do something prouctive.

[Serendipity]

I'm proud of how my shopping habits have changed. I no longer wander around just to look at things which inevitably means I find things to buy. I go for what I need and that's it.

I'm proud of being able to keep the house clean, almost always.

I'm proud of how I always put things away now instead of putting them down somewhere to put away later. It's fun putting things exactly where they belong and seeing things in order.

[philomom]

We went to a clothing swap recently and I cleaned out all my drawers.. laid down scented paper and only put back the stuff I truly love and fit into. The rest went to the swap. It is so nice to pull out drawers that look good and smell sweet.

[*bejeweled*]

This is huge. Now, before I buy something, I first think about where it will go.

Originally Posted by Serendipity 

I'm proud of how my shopping habits have changed. I no longer wander around just to look at things which inevitably means I find things to buy. I go for what I need and that's it

[Serendipity]

Originally Posted by philomom 

We went to a clothing swap recently and I cleaned out all my drawers.. laid down scented paper and only put back the stuff I truly love and fit into. The rest went to the swap. It is so nice to pull out drawers that look good and smell sweet.

Aw, this sounds lovely. All my clothes are hanging but if I had drawers I would do it. :-)

[clutterwarrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity 

I'm proud of how my shopping habits have changed. I no longer wander around just to look at things which inevitably means I find things to buy. I go for what I need and that's it.

This is me now too...which of course goes hand in hand with my initial post, that I am not buying unecessary clothes anymore!

This is a huge change for me actually, as I used to be a compulsive shopper/buyer; I would bring home bags of stuff and just put them at the back of the closet, and hide my purchases in the basement.

So I can hardly believe that now I only go and buy what we need, no more absent minded wandering round the shops!

[sweetjasmine]

Good for you, clutterwarrior, that's great! I used to go to the mall every weekend. EVERY weekend and not necessarily always with an aim in mind. I liked to window shop but invariably I'd come home with a purchase or two. Then I read an article that challenged me with this very same issue. It spoke of breaking this common habit and seeing how long you could go without mindlessly spending. I took the challenge and was so proud of myself for staying away from the mall for weeks at a time. Now I had time to do other things. :)

[ChristyMarie]

I finally finished decluttering the flower/landscape beds!  No really, this is huge.  We had so much old, dead stuff that it took 3 summers to clear it all out.  The last of it went bye-bye this week.  Then, of course, I noticed 2 other bushes that are dying.  And they are (once again) too large for me to remove.  Grrrr.  I couldn't have noticed them at the beginning of the week before the others were removed?  Seriously?

Also cleaned out the third garage bay....yet again.  I swear, I don't have a junk drawer but I do have a junk garage stall.  *sigh*

Cleaned out my son's closet of old/too small clothes and got all his new ones hung up.

[Juvysen]

the surfaces in my living room only have the clutter that I actually want there (i.e. decorative - plants, a few photo frames) and not the piles that used to be there.  Other rooms?  uh, not there yet.  LOL  But moving in the right direction :)

[goinggreengirl]

I tossed all the clothes that I've had since high school/ college (almost 10 years of clothes!)- none of them fit me. But, I remember where I bought most of them, when I bought them and how much I paid (or saved) on them. I had two boxes of them! I knew there was no chance I was going to fit into them, the resale shop here doesn't take clothes older than 18 months and I've packed them through THREE moves! (one of those across three states!) So, I didn't even open the boxes, I donated them all. Then, I went through a suitcase full of clothes from just before I got pregnant and took out what I fit, donated what I probably wouldn't wear again or didn't like anymore and only have about three or four items that are just a little too small for me but I still really love. Hopefully I'll be in those in a few months and I won't have any stored clothing items!

Seriously, getting rid of all those clothes was so freeing. They were a reminder every day that I am bigger than I want to be but that my body has probably completely changed from pregnancy and nursing anyway and it will never fit into a size 2 again no matter how hard I work. Now, I only have clothes that fit me (or almost do) and it's so much nicer.

[clutterwarrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goinggreengirl 

Seriously, getting rid of all those clothes was so freeing. They were a reminder every day that I am bigger than I want to be but that my body has probably completely changed from pregnancy and nursing anyway and it will never fit into a size 2 again no matter how hard I work. Now, I only have clothes that fit me (or almost do) and it's so much nicer.

Well done! And you know what, now you have let go of them, you are probably more likely to lose weight: I really think that holding on to smaller clothes is such a pressure to lose weight and it actually stops you from achieving it. I threw out all my smaller clothes, and then found I lost weight! At first I thought "Oh no I could have worn those smaller jeans..", but I think that throwing them away was actually what helped me lose weight.

[Ruthiegirl]

We have been living abroad for 6 months and are starting to pack up to go home.  My biggest accomplishment is that I am going home with a mountain of pictures (digital) and memories and one small box of lovely wooden eggs for Easter.  No junk, no extra toys, no extra clothes, no stuff.  We have lived and loved and laughed completely and made wonderful friends and I find that I have no need to go home with stuff.  I am happy and healthy and better for this experience and I find that so rewarding.  

We did a massive purge of our house before we set out on our travels and I am thrilled to go home to my light, clean home without adding to the weight of owning more and more things.  Just such a terrific end to a terrific trip.  

[sweetjasmine]

Wonderful Ruthiegirl! Such an inspirational post.

[Ambivalent Dreams]

So happy to find this forum!

I recently read The 100 Thing Challange and shortly thereafter started purging.  I don't have a lot of time to declutter so I made a program for myself.  Since March I started getting rid of at least 1 item per day.  I started a twitter account (www.twitter.com/goodbyestuff) and I tweet everything I purge to help keep me accountable.  Some items go to friends or co-workers, others go to Goodwill or my garage sale boxes, and a very few things that are broken or otherwise useless go to the trash.  My garage sale is finally going to be this weekend and I am so excited to get rid of stuff.

[IsaFrench]

am happy that I finally got round to decluttering the top and the inside of the secretary that I mentionned in post 2 of this thread.

It has taken me more than 2 weeks to do it, but seeing a description of what needed doing and what was holding me back as well as reading other posts on the subject .... helped me moved forward, very slowly but still ....