Rummaging through a box of home office supplies for a spiral notebook I found coloring markers from a job I held, 10 years previously.
(And they still worked! I resisted the urge to hoard these energizer bunnies of markers and donated them to a local kindergarten class).
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Have one to contribute?
Mid America Mom
...on packing for this last move I realised that I didn't need to buy the groovy Tupperware 2 cup measuring jug as I have a Pyrex 2 cup jug in a box.
(Actually, it was years before this move but this is a good case in point. And I've kept both jugs because the Tupperware one drips less and there are times when I've wished for two of them.)
... I found a 1 m (3,2 foot) inflatable gorilla! :oD
(I must have somehow packed that when moving out of my parents', but I bet they have a lot of weird stuff -- my father and his best friend have the fun tradition of giving the most useless, most tacky, most kitschy present for each other's birthdays. That gorilla was also one. I know there used to be a slime green Beethoven bust made of foam that you could wad up and it would slowly de-crumple, that would probably be the weirdest one to discover.)
PS. Do you know the FlyLady Weirdest Items Decluttered pages? People find the funniest things. Here are the links (sorry, it's a lot, and somehow I found them via google, but didn't find a content page that links them all):
Declutter Challenge Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6 and Page 7
i knew i had to declutter when my office-cum-dressing room made me want to weep and gnash my teeth.
it was partly clutter and partly horrible mismatched bits of furniture, none of which were working together or on their own.
when it all started to affect productivity....i took charge. decluttered and renovated and could not believe the difference in mental attitude.
and now i am working my way ruthlessly through the rest of the house.
I knew I had to declutter when I found I had ceased to enjoy some of the beautiful, meaningful things we have because they'd become "lost."
I've decided that this year, my primary housekeeping goal is to finish projects, get rid of things we don't use, fix things that are not working, and generally try to reach year-end surrounded by nothing but what we want to see and use in the coming year.
That said, it sure is tough to give up on some things.
@bandicoot, I have found that purposefully chosen furniture, even though it was not cheap, contributed immediately and substantially to our quality of life.
I knew I had to declutter when I started getting aggravated with hanging laundry in the Guest room, keeping the ironing board and sewing machine in the guest room, AND trying to finish cabinets (for two separate rooms!) in the guest room. The guest room was (actually still is, ATM) beginning to feel like the "junk room/workshop/laundry room" instead of the purpose we intended--the Guest Room! Meanwhile, we have an actual storage room down in the basement that would work nicely as a laundry room (we currently don't have one; just have the W/D out in the unfinished area of our basement)--except we would need to clear out all the stuff being stashed there before we could convert it. Just thinking about it makes me hyperventilate a little. My DH and I are trying to remodel our house bit-by-bit, doing the work ourselves (including building our own cabinets) as we have time and money, and the extra stuff we have everywhere is contributing to my stress level! I feel like I have no breathing room or area of refuge to escape from the clutter and/or half-finished projects when I need to relax. It clutters up my mind, and I just can't relax! It also scares me to think I have all this STUFF, and I have forgotten what a lot of it is, or where it resides--and some of it is very important to me! I should know where everything is, and have a place for it all, and right now I don't. Our house is pretty big, especially for just two people (built in the 1950's, which is why it needs fixing up), but it doesn't have a lot of good storage.
I have rid myself of a lot of clutter over the years, and am trying to fight my packrat tendencies (I come from a long line of pack rats) but there is still so much to go through.
Chacha1, you are right--it sure is tough to give up on some things! Every time I go through an area of my home, I feel I can release more of it, as I weigh it against the life I *want* to live, and realize this STUFF is getting in the way.
And bandicoot and chacha1, I LONG for beautiful furniture; our furniture is all hand-me-downs (unless we built it ourselves), and our sofa and love are even hand-me-downs of hand-me-downs. They are ugly and embarrassing, as the cats have scratched them up quite a bit, too. As soon as I get my student loan paid off (in 3 more years) I want to start putting that extra money towards buying some high-quality furniture!
Sorry for the long rant; all this stuff has been weighing on my mind recently; especially as I read Unclutterer and lurk on these forums...oh, and watch Hoarders!
Also, I mean to say our love SEAT is a hand-me-down, not our love. Oops! :P
I knew I had to declutter when we combined two houses into one about 18 months ago. The biggest problems were the numerous computers, printers, scanners, keyboards/mice, stereos, tvs, dvd players, vhs players, cell phones. We got rid of most of it, including 3 TVs, and the old computers, some we sold, some we gifted to others and some ended up in recycling.
So we now only have 1 of most things, though I admit we still have a way to go as there is the odd iron, kettle, toaster etc that we are keeping just in case they're needed!
@ninjanun, I think you needed to vent! Don't worry, that's what we're here for. :-)
About 10 years ago I was moving from one student room to one in another house. The guy helping me move picked up a box and quipped "You got rocks in here?". I amswered "yes!" Poor lad.
Now I am decluttering because I got my stuff back from storage in August, having lived abroad for a couple of years. Box after Box, of moving and the the 'joy' of opening them and exclaiming "What the heck is this rubbish?!?" I reckon at least a third of my stuff has gone since then.
badkitti, It's amazing what we store thinking it's important. I lived overseas for 5 years, and when I returned home my parents kindly brought out the boxes they had been storing for me. However, when I opened the boxes, most of the stuff got thrown out as it was mostly old and awful!
I knew I had to start decluttering when I was making room for a friend to move into my house and most everything I moved from the spare bedroom into my office was in the same box I had used when I moved into my house - five years ago! And on top of that, when I started opening up file cabinets I realized I hadn't made a new folder or added anything to the old folders from when I lived in a different city - 7 years ago! So, I bought a new shredder (after actually melting my older one from overuse) and have been making an entire new filing system. So far, I've emptied 4 bankers boxes and have 7 more to go. I've been drowning in paper, but I can see the difference (even if no one else can!).
I knew I had to declutter when I was shoving clothes in overcrowded drawers and closets, my desk drawers were overflowing with "extra" stuff I was saving just in case and I was afraid my ceiling was going to fall from too much crap in the attic. I don't miss anything I've gotten rid of!!
trillie LOL. Love the flylady posts too
ElizInAtlanta melted the shredder? That is quite an accomplishment!
Mid America Mom
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