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What do you find it difficult to get rid of? - Page 2

post #21 of 36
1/8/08 at 10:33am
We decluttered about a year ago, and it was easy to move most stuff out. My top 3hard things would have to be fabric, photos, and vases. You just never know when you'll want one of them.

I can't even delete bad digital photos, you know the ones that the person looks goofy or something silly is wrong. I love how off pictures capture part of the moment. So in the digital world, I'm cluttered. I have tons of pics and burned CDs, but thank goodness they store neatly and don't take up much space.

The fabric on the other hand takes of lots of space, but I've narrowed it down to 3 totes, stored on our summer porch, so I don't look at them daily.

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post #22 of 36
1/8/08 at 10:58am
It's so ironic that whenever I'm thinking about something it will show up on MDC for me to get some insight/opinions about it.
I was just thinking about this this morning.
I struggle. We have way way way way way too many clothes. I want to purge...but then I think I can't just get rid of them, the fit and there's nothing wrong with them. I'm slowly get of rid of things that don't fit or we don't wear...slowly so that it's not so painful and I'm trying to be conscious of what I bring in.
Books. I just recently purged 1 box of probably 40 books...but I have tons more.
That one box didn't really seem to make a dint.
We have a ton of dishes (dh and I both had a complete househould when we got married) I have so much tupperware and pot/pans that I want to purge...but again the frugal self and the simplifying self can't agree.
post #23 of 36
1/8/08 at 11:34am
For me, it's books and craft supplies & patterns.

DH and I want to have a superb home library for DD (we're not HS'ing now, but if we move to a country more accepting of it, i.e., not making it illegal, we'd have the resources). Yes, I know that libraries are a great resource but we still have that "well, it's better if it's right here" mentality I have to overcome

And for craft supplies & patterns, I just *know* I'm going to find a pattern for the supplies or find supplies for the pattern!

(new mantra) Work in progress, work in progress, my decluttering is a work in progress ...
post #24 of 36
1/8/08 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meg_s View Post
ok laughing at this one! I just did a major wardrobe purge and couldn't throw out the old black strappy nightie that I wore for both births/labours.
lol, just the other day i was very happy to be wearing my "labor undies".
post #25 of 36
1/8/08 at 12:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sabrinat View Post
We have a ton of dishes (dh and I both had a complete househould when we got married) I have so much tupperware and pot/pans that I want to purge...but again the frugal self and the simplifying self can't agree.
it seems like every year or so, around here, there is a house fire where the family loses everything and didn't have adequate insurance. maybe in your area, it's flooding, or tornadoes, or whatever . . . when you find someone who truly needs your extra household items, i bet it will be easy to let go.
post #26 of 36
1/8/08 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyPrincess View Post
Maybe your grandma didn't like all that stuff either?! Maybe someone gave it to her and she felt guilty getting rid of it? Are you going to keep it around, with no one really enjoying it, until it gets passed down to someone else who doesn't really want it but keeps it because it was yours?
that is a really great way to think about it. i know she enjoyed a few special items, but most of these things were wedding gifts (in 1943!), and while she took pride in caring for her home and the things in it, she valued her family above her possessions, certainly. besides, she would probably die, um, again? if she knew i was still using her table.

i think she would want me to get rid of "that old junk" and furnish my home with what makes me happy. (she briefly worked as an interior designer.)

thanks!
post #27 of 36
1/8/08 at 2:48pm
I was in a sorority in college (don't judge! It was non-discriminatory, anybody that pledged could join!) and I have a few things from those days that I can't get rid of: my sweatshirt with the greek letters on it (that I will never wear again), and some wall hangings my little sisters made for me (that will surely never grace my walls again). I graduated in 1992 and I still have this stuff floating around. Right now it's in a box in the attic, where I assume it will remain forever.
post #28 of 36
1/8/08 at 2:57pm
Clothes and books. I'm a pack rat.
post #29 of 36
1/8/08 at 3:32pm
Some books are hard for me to let go and my wedding dress. I still have it. eek
post #30 of 36
1/8/08 at 5:13pm
Crafty stuff...fabric, yarn, anything that I look at and want to make into something else. I got almost all of it all organized last weekend though, and it makes me SO happy to know I have a whole workshop at my fingertips. I'd say 75% of it I got second hand too, so I don't feel bad about keeping it.

I wish I could get rid of some of the clothes I keep and don't wear. Some of them are attached to memories, and some I really like to look at, but don't want to wear. Kind of like a museum of clothes. Vintage dresses, beautiful fabrics, stuff like that.

Also my DD's five bazillion stuffed animals. She swears that she loves every single one, and to be fair, she really does play with them everyday. There are just too many. I made a 1 in 1 out policy, but when she got a bunch for Christmas, it really didn't seem fair to make her get rid of 10 stuffed animals to make room for the new ones. I hate them!

ETA: concert t-shirts! I just can't part with them, BUT I recently cut them all up and am going to make a quilt out of them and use the backs and extra fabric to make cloth mama pads
post #31 of 36
1/8/08 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meg_s View Post
ok laughing at this one! I just did a major wardrobe purge and couldn't throw out the old black strappy nightie that I wore for both births/labours.
me neither!! But I've only worn my labor nightie a couple of times since.

My biggies right now are shoes (I probably have over 20 pairs!... and I don't consider myself a "shoe" person) and things that might fit me in the future. I am pretty ruthless with everything else. i guess it's a good thing my dh questions some of the things I get rid of because I want only to keep the essentials. He's a bit more practical than that and has saved me from getting rid of things I actually ended up using.

Fabric is also a biggie but I don't have too much of it. I don't know what to do with the scraps once I'm done with a project though.

And I still have my wedding dress too I just can't afford to have it dry cleaned so I can sell it. I'd like to keep my veil and wedding tiara though andthey don't take up much space.
post #32 of 36
1/8/08 at 7:33pm
Definitely the kids' books. For some reason, I just can't bring myself to get rid of any of their books, in spite of the fact their bookcase is FULL and some of them are falling apart. But, in my defense, they really do look at most, if not all of them, on a regular basis still.

I also have a whole bunch of clothes my mom made both kids that I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to part with (well, esp. now w/another one on the way). I think to myself, "OMG, I could sell these for a bundle online" but then I think "But they're so freakin' cute plus Mom made them." I think will be holding onto a quite a few of these ones to pass on to the kids when they have kids. If not, I have 2 nephews I can hand down DS's clothes mom made and hopefully I'll get another niece in the upcoming years to hand DD's stuff down to.

Most other stuff, I don't have a problem getting rid of. I'm not overly sentimental. DH is the one who has a hard time letting go of stuff but he totally gets that from the ILs (who STILL have the playpen from when he was a baby sitting in the corner in their garage among tons of other crap).
post #33 of 36
1/9/08 at 8:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by willemsmamma View Post
...Fabric is also a biggie but I don't have too much of it. I don't know what to do with the scraps once I'm done with a project though...
oooh I forgot about fabric. I have a ton, but everything has a plan so it's so hard to part with. I'm giving myself to the end of the summer (I don't work in the summer) & if I don't do something with it, it's getting donated.
post #34 of 36
1/9/08 at 10:02am
I find the little thigns we may need someday hard to get rid of. I have boxes and baskets of junk I can't bear to throw out for this reason.

Craft supplies. I have so often regretted getting rid of them that I hate to do it.

Books. Not my books!! They are taking over the house but I don't want to get rid of any!!

Toys. Even though I know the kids won't miss them, it's hard to get rid of them.
post #35 of 36
1/11/08 at 1:50am
Clothes - However, I have found that since I decided to allow myself a box labeled "Sentimental Clothing" that it has gotten a lot easier. I have a few fav things that I loved so much when they were in style and a few sentimental maternity things. To tell myself it is okay to keep a couple items has made it easier to get rid of the rest.

Toys - As much as I say I want to get rid of toys, it really pains me to do so when I look at something and remember how much they wanted it at one time or how much they used to play with it. Again, I have a few sentimental ones put away. Also, toys go into purgatory here in the attic waiting to be forgotten by me and the girls before moving on to their final resting place.

Art projects - Why oh why are kids such prolific artists?? And why is my dd's art teacher such a fan of making large 3D cardboard creations?? I've heard the "take a picture and trash" idea and the time limit one, but it is so hard to see something they were proud of go into the trash. Random coloring sheets or countless drawings of rainbows and sunshine are easier to put into the recycling bin, though. I try to only keep the true masterpieces.
post #36 of 36
1/11/08 at 1:58am
Books and clothes for me too. But I'm getting better.

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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Decluttering, Organizing, & Simplifying › What do you find it difficult to get rid of?