2012 in 2012 - Page 5

[PinkBlue]

I'm in for this as well.  I did a big clean out of my closet today.

For Sale:

1: Book on CD, 2: Necklace, 3: Headlamp, 4: Snow pants, 5: Tablecloth and napkins, 6: Down vest

Freecycle:

1: plastic drawer, 2: Four plastic drawers

Garbage:

1: Two grocery bags of garbage, 2: 50 wire hangers, 3: old mapbook, 4: 3 shirts, 5: duffel bag, 6: swim cap, 6: present with my name spelled wrong, 7: track pants, 8: curtains, 9: old jeans, 10: t-shirt, 11: old duvet

Donate:

1: 10 Books, 2: Smart car figurine, 3: binder, 4: 2 fleece jackets, 5: 6 sweaters, 6: jeans, 7: 4 blouses, 8: sweatshirt, 9: t-shirt, 10: velvet jacket, 11: skirt, 12: 2 fleece vests, 13: dress pants, 14: purse, 15: apron, 16: floormat, 17: wool socks

Gift:

1: notebook to record books read

By my count this is 60/2012

[erigeron]

I'm in! I don't think I'll make it up to 2012. I probably got rid of about 1000 items last year. But what the heck, I'll try. Got rid of 18 things today, including a couple of dryer balls I was attempting to make (subsequently bought dryer balls and realized I don't like them), some bags I never use, an envelope of photos of people I don't remember, a magnetic poetry kit (I didn't like magnetic poetry), a little ornamental box I never look at, and a pair of knitting needles in a size I don't like knitting in.

[cristeen]

I sorta lost track of the count, I had so many things going on this afternoon, but I know I made it to 19.  So that's 119/2012 for me today. 

[pixiemammy]

Cleared out DD's craft area:

binned/recycled:

10 random broken things

1 pile old markers

19 magazines/used colouring books

12 old gluesticks/glitter pots

bathroom:

14 items binned/recycled

around the house:

1 pile old stamps - sent to charity collector

10 little wooden trees - rehomed

15 old Christmas decorations - binned/recycled/donated

51 random socks/underwear - binned

=133 -> 60+133=193/2012

[IsaFrench]

+ 6 items this morning

(I write "what it is" on a page of lined paper which is in a folder, cannot have the computer open when decluttering, am too easily side tracked otherwise,

don't want to write it all over again, + some of it is half in french anyway ....)

am getting the hang of it, wish I had done it last year basically !!!!

75/2012

[LoveOurBabies]

Originally Posted by ~Adorkable~ 

ok i really want to be part of this, i need a cheering section. i am sure i have 5000 things to get rid of easy.  

so rules? i see folks are all a bit different.

• do you count things that are just clearly trash or just item that you could have held onto and decided to throw out (this is not to say that i haven't held on to things that are clearly trash, cause i have)

• like when it comes to food, I'm thinking it just counts when i clear out pantry items, not when i throw out bad milk?

• i dont think i get to count weekly recycling, i order too much on amazon, might be counter productive to give myself credit for all the shipping boxes!

so you subtract from the number when you buy non consumable things?  ouch

Just an idea of what I do:

* I count one bag of trash as one item. This does not include any daily trash at all, only items that are not recyclable or fit enough to be donated that have come about from purging.. Not last night's dinner scraps. Examples of items include: undies/socks that are no longer fit, shoes that are ripped.. Some might count these as seperate items, but if I pop them all into one bag, I don't bother. I just count it as one item.

* I only count unopened pantry items that I don't need AND can donate. Not expired items/half opened items that are thrown in the trash. This is just general trash.

* No weekly recycling. The boxes I have counted are toy boxes I held onto for future storage of the toys and I never did use them. So much free space in the cupboard now!

[lisamcq]

ok, I'm in.  I've been away from MDC for years and just found this thread!  I will get started asap!  YIPPEE!

[micah_mae_]

Me!! I feel like we don't have 2012 items to spare but maybe I'll surprise myself! I have a bag ready to go but I have to sort it out for the person picking it up, then I'll update. :)

[moonheart]

I'm joining! I have a TINY cottage and I'm loosing my mind with lack of space. I got rid of a lot of stuff before the holidays but I have so much more to go! My new year's resolution is actually to get rid of 5 things a week, but this will inspire me to do more than that.

[beanma]

I'm just going to lurk and be inspired by you people. I don't want to count items. I do want to declutter, though. This year I have cleaned out my Mom's house (she and my dad lived there 50+ years) and moved her into a retirement place and right after Christmas we had to move her into Assisted Living and had to downsize further. I've taken one full car load to the thrift store yesterday, but I have many, many more. I have a lot of her stuff, but plenty of our own stuff, too. I'm really okay with getting rid of much of it, but I just am overwhelmed by the chaos. Our garage is just a jumble and you can't even walk around in there. Some of it is furniture that I would like to keep. Some is antique furniture I would like to give away to my cousins who expressed some interest. Lots of boxes of stuff. The basement is just about as bad, too. 

[joeys_mom]

I'm in...I just finished reading "Simplicity Parenting" and highly recommend this book to anyone who needs inspiration! 

[erigeron]

I decluttered 6 more items this morning. (Including my wedding shoes, which requires me to acknowledge that I am never going to wear my wedding dress again. I used to think I'd wear it for kicks on my anniversary, but I no longer have a bra that works with it and it would be an ordeal to find another, so I don't think that's happening, and I'm going to get it preserved instead.) I've decided to play sort of liberal with this so I am counting items as decluttered if they are returned to the general circulation--so I found some razor blades of mine, and since I don't shave anymore they were clutter, but my husband is now going to try them, so they are no longer clutter but an item that will get used, and if he doesn't like them then we'll ditch them.

[Amanda Leigh]

I'm going to give it a go too! We moved in to our house 3 weeks before I was in the hospital in pre-term labor and we hadn't come close to un-packing. Fast forward to now: the boys are 6 months old and I still have boxes of stuff that we haven't unpacked from the move! I'm kind of tempted to just get rid of the boxes without even opening them, but DH would freak, so my goal is to get all of the boxes unpacked with the thought, "I haven't needed it in over 6 months, do I really need it now?" Thanks for the inspiration!

[JPiper]

**

[ParisAnne]

This is a great goal. I found this thread from the Frugal spending board. My mind has been chaotic and jumbled with the stress of bills, needing to cut back and the chaos that is my house right now. I was going to clean and ditch stuff from my room yesterday but got too depressed and only got the sheets changed. Maybe I can get to it today. I love the goal of keeping track of how much I get rid of. I'm onboard!

[mommy212]

I am decluttering the house of unused toys. Come warmer weather I will go through DS's clothes and get rid of ones that don't fit. I usually go through my own when i do this as well.

[nstewart]

Originally Posted by ~Adorkable~ 

ok i really want to be part of this, i need a cheering section. i am sure i have 5000 things to get rid of easy.  

so rules? i see folks are all a bit different.

• do you count things that are just clearly trash or just item that you could have held onto and decided to throw out (this is not to say that i haven't held on to things that are clearly trash, cause i have)

• like when it comes to food, I'm thinking it just counts when i clear out pantry items, not when i throw out bad milk?

• i dont think i get to count weekly recycling, i order too much on amazon, might be counter productive to give myself credit for all the shipping boxes!

so you subtract from the number when you buy non consumable things?  ouch

I think every one has different rules for themselves.

I am not counting general trash or recycling.  I am counting items that I recycle or throw away in the process of cleaning/decluttering a particular space/room/etc. 

I am not counting food items that I throw away, but I am going to try to "declutter" my deep freeze and pantries by using up items I already have.  I won't count use of items towards the total.

So far I'm counting most individual items I get rid of, as opposed to entire bags, because I actually don't have TONS of stuff to get rid of and know I'll be more motivated if I think I can reach the goal and also because I'm not counting getting things out of the house (such as decorations back to storage or putting baby clothes away for the next baby) as items on my list.

Here is a question for you ladies:

I have a bunch of clothes that are too big on me.  I've lost a ton of weight BFing DS and weigh about 20lbs less than I did pre-pregnancy.  I kept all the clothes thinking I'd likely gain back weight when I returned to work, which hasn't happened (so far anyway, but I'm also still BFing).  I also think they'll get used when I'm pregnant with no. 2 (hopefully later this year) and/or after that baby is born.  Should I get rid of all this stuff?  Some of it is work clothes, some is stuff like jeans.  I could also try to get some of the work clothes taken in (a few nice suits and dresses for example).  I don't know what to do, I don't want to spend $$ on new stuff down the road but I don't want to be a hoareder either!!

[KirstenO]

I totally need to be better about de-cluttering.  I need to remember this forum.  The trick is to actually do it.  But not do too many computery things...or you never de-clutter.  'Tis my problem at least.

[beanma]

I took another car-load to the thrift store today. Couldn't guess how many items, but books, blankets (two garbage bags full — how did we end up with so many?) and miscellaneous housewares.

[FillingMyQuiver]

-1 broken lid to a container- trash

-3 random broken toy pieces- trash

-10 piles of paper- recycled

-5 pkgs from toys/ board games- recycled/ trashed

-8 empty detergent & vinegar jugs that have been sitting in my utility room- rinsed, cut open, and moved to the shed for the spring garden

29/2012