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2011 in 2011

45K views 2K replies 105 participants last post by  PoetryLover 
#1 ·
I know it's a few days early but I am getting a head start on my 2011 purge. I just moved and am still unpacking and realizing how much stuff i really have. My kids have SOOOO much stuff it's unreal.

Anyone care to join me a few days early?

1. small box of baby toys

2. baby activity table

3. playpen

4. bag of small broken toys

5. old washer

6. old dryer

7. old refrigerator
 
#252 ·
Last night I was able to part with something I'd been trying to throw away for months! Dh had a couple of very old (and very dusty) grass/reed beach mats that I thought could use somehow in a craft project, but after they'd been sitting in the storage room for a couple of years, collecting more dust, I had to admit that the craft project was probably never going to happen. I'd tried to bin them a few times since then but just I couldn't do it. But I find this thread so inspiring that I finally built up the resolve to let them go!

binned:

2 beach mats

plastic handle/grabber thing

frankendoll (broken by dd, dh fixed it but put its legs on backward)

bunch of slides

very old roll of film

plastic document sleeve

expired calling card

packing material

recycled:

2 boxes

2 more 2011 calendars (all the shops here give them to regular customers and I find it so hard to say no)

organized:

messy piles of gift bags and wrapping paper scraps into a box

234/2011
 
#253 ·
9 bottles from fridge

crochet guide

lid to a pressure cooker

5 misc. cards from wallet

5 carboard boxes

26 bubble envelopes that i've apparently been saving since 2009 <!>

24 markers/pens

emory board

super glue

coffee can that was holding markers

sm skein leftover yarn

total today: 75

grand total 152/2011
 
#254 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by goinggreengirl View Post

We just found out we are moving at the end of the month so my decluttering is going to be amped up! Next up, my yarn stash. I'd like to get it down to two rubbermaid totes instead of four...

275/2011
I can't imagine touching my yarn stash, you are one brave girl! But then the whole thing is wool, other than maybe 4 skeins. I'm focusing on some knitting projects, I think that is decluttering, too, especially when they are gifts!

Quote:
Originally Posted by *farmergirl* View Post

Third year doing this and you'd think I'd have nothing left but I'm going strong! I don't subtract for things coming in -I'd never be able to keep track I can barely remember to write down the 10-15-20 items I get rid of at a time.I'm finally getting to the point of being able to have some areas cleared out it makes the in need areas more obvious. Maybe I'm just getting better at seeing what we really don't need.
I don't either, as long as they are things we want to keep! If I find that I've made a bad decision then I do reverse count. Besides, I think I'm entitled to new underwear every 4th or 5th year! And I did throw A BUNCH of holey ones away!

Quote:
Originally Posted by nmbutts View Post

Thanks for the email clean-up support!
Don't we all need it!!! Otherwise, we probably wouldn't be on this thread! :)

Tree came down day before yesterday, I'm glad to have my living room back! I was having technical issues with the vaccuum, so I didn't finish until last night, but it's done, and looks nice for the moment (until the toddler comes along and attacks it, he likes to dump all the blankets, throw pillows, and books on the floor). I need to clean the carpet, which maybe isn't anything about decluttering, but would make me feel good.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping and came home with lots of groceries, which got me motivated to clean out the stale food from the pantry. As I'm doing this, I'm following Flylady's idea that even if you don't do the whole thing, doing some of it is better than none (she says it better than that, but you know what I mean). I still have the cupboard/pantry above the washer to clean out, but I was happy with what I got done.

7 boxes of expired soup/gravey dumped and tetra packs recycled

10 boxes of hamburger helper (we don't eat hamburger helper?) tossed

1 box full of baggies from when I was making my own taco seasoning tossed

2 handfuls of paper, one burned one recycled (found some important bills in the process, sent one off, called on the other and they had written the charges off! Also found 2 slips from the previous EI meetings, added them to Charlie's Life Care binder, and now know when the next meeting is!)

1 empty lanolin spray container recycled

1 ugly blanket in new shape, thrifted

1 pair of 2T too small pants into pile for my friend

1 bag of half empty snacks, tossed

1 pair of too small slippers (oDS) thrifted

1 too small shirt of oDS tucked away for yDS (out of rotation is considered decluttering when oDS has too many clothes to fit in his drawers, if it's in good shape it gets put away for the little one, if not goodwilled or binned)

219/2011
 
#255 ·
Ugh. I can't imagine touching my yarn stash, either. Though, retrospectively, I think the time I started hoarding yarn was about the time our house started feeling cluttered.
 
#256 ·
16/2011

My dd20 moved out a week ago. Bagged up 6 items of her things to give to her when I took her grocery shopping yesterday to help her stock her fridge.

Today I set aside for her

1 laundry basket

4 measuring spoons

4 set measuring cups

Recycled::

8 jar lids - not sure why they were in the cabinet

Gave away:

5 canning jars & lids to a friends for her son's science project

New total:

44/2011

I am quite decluttered by most standards, but I still see clutter piling up if I am not on top of it regularly. Guess that means that I am not decluttered enough yet. Really hoping that 2011 things gets me there.
 
#257 ·
I want to join in too! Make that I need to join. We are drowning in junk/clutter and it's my own doing. My name is Stephanie and I am a pack-rat! Do we have 12 steps to do? ha ha ha

So far I have purged about 30 sweaters from my closet that even if I wanted to wear again, I really probably shouldn't. Some are as old as my DS #1. I keep thinking when I am not pg and lose weight I can wear them. Well in 2010 I lost the weight but finished the year by getting pg again. So I am sending these sweaters away.

Today we are clearing old toys so I should have a good number to report.

So as my initial count to join the group I am going with 30/2011.

Thanks!
 
#258 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by mags.bubble View Post

I am quite decluttered by most standards, but I still see clutter piling up if I am not on top of it regularly. Guess that means that I am not decluttered enough yet. Really hoping that 2011 things gets me there.
truedat.gif
thats how I feel my freinds think Im crazy but Im sure theres an extra 2011 items in here
 
#260 ·
53. bag of old toys

54. old snow boots

55.computer mouse

56. broken chair

57. barstool

58. old pieces of insulation

59. pieces of broken dresser

60. broken sink faucet

now to get started in the extra bedroom/crap collector/storage room....that should be a workout :)
 
#261 ·
Woo hoo, we put Christmas away today! And managed to go through a lot of old stuff in the meantime.

In the donate box:

2 Easter eggs and a rubber bunny toy (why were they in the Christmas stuff??)

1 miniature wooden guitar knicknack (DH finally agreed to part with it)

1 Minnie Mouse keychain

2 candles

1 weird candle holder with elephants on it (I think DH is glad to get rid of this)

1 old Christmas stocking with a cat on it

3 pairs earrings

1 strand Christmas lights

24 Christmas ornaments

1 decorative mirror

1 old horseshoe

1 painted whistle on a leather thong

1 very old New Testament

1 embroidered dishcloth

1 wooden bookmark

1 set of Chinese dexterity balls (whatever you call those)

1 artist's poseable human figure (I never was much of an artist, turns out)

1 porcelain knicknack saying "March"

Trashed:

3 hideous fake flowers (I was keeping them simply because they were hideous)

1 bag gift boxes and icky tissue paper that I was saving

1 stack of old Christmas cards and photos of my friends' kids (these were hard to get rid of, but really - do I need to hold on to photos of my friends' kids??)

Several years' worth of blessed palms collected from around the house to return to the church (I think they burn these for Ash Wednesday. Anybody know?)

And, Christmas decorations were reduced by 1 box by condensing stuff into other boxes and clearing stuff out.

So we'll call today's total 53! Not bad, esp. with DH following me around saying "are you sure we should get rid of that???"
 
#262 ·
I've been going through old papers I've had for more years than I'd like to admit.

Group of old tax records

2 Old journal entry

Packet

31 Poems

20 Cards

Song Book

Folder

26 Old Letters

6 Old School Papers

4 Report Cards

10 Drawings

3 Certidicates

Stack of Envelopes

2 Articles

3 Pens

Old Pjs

Lid

flyer

3 old bills

gift box

head band

gift bag

old receipt

Handout

Batch of old Check stubs

2 Pictures

Owner's Manual

2 Boxes

129/2011
 
#264 ·
Ok, here we go! 4 items today - that's a start!

1-2) 2 broken CDs

3) A pile of old crayons (mostly orange)

4) A stamp without ink

5) A plastic spoon

6) A chipped drinking glass

7) A bunch of old balloons

8) A bunch of plastic bags

9) A broken ice heart shape

10) A worn-out towel

11-12) Two worn-out pairs of woollen socks

13) A pen

14-17) A box of miscallaneous junk

18) A leaking, smelly therm flask

19) A stiff paintbrush

20) A worn-out pair of woollen tights

21) A cracked oven pot

22) A jumper with a hole in it

23) A pair of tights with lots of holes

24) A broken pair of swimming goggles

25) A pair of socks with holes

26-27) Two wheels that don't have a vehicle anymore

28) Another pen

29) A horrible old hairbrush

30) An old cloth

31) A plastic egg

32) Another plastic spoon (broken)

33) Another broken ice heart shape

34) Another woollen sock with holes

35-37) Donated 3 comic books

38-42) Threw away some broken objects

43-52) Tidied up DH's shelf and threw away 10 items

53-55) Broken kids' ornaments

56) Old horrible sofa

57-67) Electronics and batteries

68-69) Pens

70-76) Flannels (= rags)

77) An old sofa cover without a sofa

78) A broken homemade clay cat

79) Sold an old magazine

80) Sold a book

81-82) Donated two ancient medicine bottles to a museum

83-85) Threw away some of DH's old rags

86) A broken toy truck
 
#265 ·
...it's really like peeling back layers of an onion!
It so is! I was just thinking this today & how my approach to what to get rid of changes too. Like first I was just -look around and grab whatever is just really obvious like broken things I thought I might fix or knick knacks I don't even like. Then it was like Ok things are falling out of the cabinet let fix this etc. Lately I've been focusing on just making my life easier. I'm so tired of..... washing three sink loads of dishes cause we just keep using clean dishes till there aren't any left. Now we have a dish and bowl etc for everyone living here plus 2-3 extra for guests.....picking up a room full of toys.....doing a ton of laundry etc. I expect before too long the nesting urge will strike and this house will have a lot more space even though stuff for another person will be coming in.
 
#266 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graceie View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by mags.bubble View Post

I am quite decluttered by most standards, but I still see clutter piling up if I am not on top of it regularly. Guess that means that I am not decluttered enough yet. Really hoping that 2011 things gets me there.
truedat.gif
thats how I feel my freinds think Im crazy but Im sure theres an extra 2011 items in here
same here!

I've gotten rid of about 5000 things in the past 2 and a half years. I started doing a 500 item goal and thought I'd never make it. Then I did way too easily. I still have too much stuff (plus a small house) my MIL doesn't know I declutter like crazy and keeps giving me the helpful suggestion that "she'd just get rid of a couple items everyday even if its junk mail". Um yeah thanks- how about you take home those bags full of junk you just brought in before you get upset that I've gotten rid of it.
 
#268 ·
3 outgrown kid's clothes items

Our big 24" TV finally sold on craigslist and is picked up! 1 step closer to TV free I hope, or at least less TV :)

1 empty box - I got rid of a bunch of Christmas stuff as I put the decorations up in Nov. and so when I went to put it all away, there was 1 box left over. I am very happy about this.

1 stack of Christmas cards from this year- my daughter and I had fun cutting them up and making a few tags for gifts next year.

Does the 2010 calendar count? I almost feel like things I am going to replace with another item shouldn't count!

69/2011

Overall though.. I think an equal number of items has come into the house, I don't feel like that much space is getting cleared up. Still really need to work on reducing that.
 
#269 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by *farmergirl* View Post

...it's really like peeling back layers of an onion!
It so is! I was just thinking this today & how my approach to what to get rid of changes too. Like first I was just -look around and grab whatever is just really obvious like broken things I thought I might fix or knick knacks I don't even like. Then it was like Ok things are falling out of the cabinet let fix this etc. Lately I've been focusing on just making my life easier. I'm so tired of..... washing three sink loads of dishes cause we just keep using clean dishes till there aren't any left. Now we have a dish and bowl etc for everyone living here plus 2-3 extra for guests.....picking up a room full of toys.....doing a ton of laundry etc. I expect before too long the nesting urge will strike and this house will have a lot more space even though stuff for another person will be coming in.
Your dishes point is something we've been thinking about for awhile now. I don't know how many dishes we should keep. How many do you think you will end up keeping? 1 item of each per family member?
 
#272 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by *clutterwarrior* View Post

...it's really like peeling back layers of an onion!
It so is! I was just thinking this today & how my approach to what to get rid of changes too. Like first I was just -look around and grab whatever is just really obvious like broken things I thought I might fix or knick knacks I don't even like. Then it was like Ok things are falling out of the cabinet let fix this etc. Lately I've been focusing on just making my life easier. I'm so tired of..... washing three sink loads of dishes cause we just keep using clean dishes till there aren't any left.
Yes that is exactly why I feel its like layers...not just in the sense of the stuff itself, but in the wearing away of old habits. Also I might tackle one area at a certain time, (for example the sock drawer) and then do that same area all over again months later and remove even more.
 
#273 ·
SomethingAnonymous -for us one of each type dish each is a good number.like one plate, one bowl per person. we do have a couple large mugs that are like bowls with handles too. it might depend on your dish washing routine. I hand wash and do them in the morning and wash the breakfast ones then too.lunch is usually just me and my little ones so we may share a plate but I usually don't wash it so most, if not all, of the dishes are available for dinner.plus little ones don't really care if they eat off a plate or out of a bowl. I would try using the number of dishes you think sounds right before actually getting rid of the others just in case you find you really do need a couple more. oh and I keep 2-3 extra dinner plates for folks visiting I had forgotten about that but relatives came up at the time so I had to hurry and dig a few back out!
 
#274 ·
. Also I might tackle one area at a certain time, (for example the sock drawer) and then do that same area all over again months later and remove even more.
How did you know?! I got rid of 43 socks today. (yeah odd number & no idea where that missing sock is or actually whose it is) I re did the kids clothes today.... cause its so much easier than doing my own :)
 
#275 ·
haha well I felt so bad about things coming in the house, I actually counted those too, and it was only 6 things- so maybe it's not as bad as I thought!

1 jewelry box

12 pieces of costume jewelry

2 headbands

5 misc. pieces of junk from the kids playroom

2 more outgrown kids clothes items

4 VHS tapes - I haven't actually owned a VCR in over a year AND I already have them on DVD- lol

1 handful of hair rubber bands

1 autographed Heidi Klum picture from my partner's bachelor days
eyesroll.gif


1 DVD case

1 water filter system

1 power supply for a comp.

1 Nintendo DS

7 DS games

1 DS charger and accessories

1 paper organizer tray

1 big handful of twist ties.. we don't even use them

1 frog toy

2 thermometers

2 bag clip things

1 coffee table we have decided we can do without! More space for kids to run around in the living room :)

117/2011
 
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