I find that even when I think I'm super "uncluttered", I still end up with a massive bag of items to bring to Goodwill. Where do all of these things come from? And the sad thing is that I know there are many more things that can go!
Is anyone else surprised at how many things they've been getting rid of lately?
(37 posts) (14 voices)
Overall Rating: 1 vote
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Posted 2 years ago #
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HA! My friends all complain that I am more organized than is healthy, yet look at my pile of stuff to donate... Now I just need to find a car somewhere to take care of this...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ok, I am laughing as 1) I am a professional organizer and still manage to find items to sell or donate every time I unclutter my home and 2) I started a blog last month when I decided to par down my belongings by 50%!
Each time I go through my home, I think, gosh, I have so little clear space and so much stuff! It's amazing, I've given away three or four carloads since December...and I clear out my closet and drawers multiple times a year!
To follow my progress (although I do not list every single item I eliminate), go to http://drawerbydrawer.wordpress.com/ and you'll hopefully relate to and laugh at my comments as I take on the challenge of returning to a less cluttered life style!
Posted 2 years ago # -
i live in a tiny shed and i'm not really a collector of anything....but it CONSTANTLY amazes me what gathers in the dark corners here.
for me, the other side of decluttering is NOT buying rubbish in the first place.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I still have a long way to go.
Bandicoot, not buying in the first place is key. I totally agree.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Where does it all come from? Maybe as we get rid of more and more stuff, we look more clearly at what's left and see it differently. I'm getting really picky about what I love and want to live with.
I feel bad about gifts I've received and things I've inherited. If they aren't "me" I don't want them.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm with Sky- with each round I clear out I see what's left with new eyes. Now with a possible move on the horizon I'm looking even more closely!
Posted 2 years ago # -
i realized i didn't really need an extra eleventy million coat hangers.
off to the op shop they go!Posted 2 years ago # -
I read somewhere that the average American woman owns 40 pairs of shoes! I have one primary purse (a Mische) where you change the shell to make it look different, have used that system for over a year. I keep three other purses, one is for formal events.
I donate hangers when I donate clothes, they seem to breed in the closet when no one is looking!
I began giving away rolls of wrapping paper as I am giving more gift cards.
I, too, look at my possessions with a "new" eye every time I return to unclutter. Someday I will have only what I love and need around me and can stop the uncluttering process!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Uncluttering is an ongoing thing, particularly if you have kids.
And as I do one round, I look again a few months later and think "I haven't used that since the last time I purged - time to get rid of it". I have learned that we forget about the maintenance of life and organization and that is a constant thing.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I think that you are all right - when we go back to unclutter a spot that was previously uncluttered, we see it with new eyes. It's just amazing to me that right now I have a trunk-full of stuff to bring to Goodwill... After the other many trips I made to Goodwill this year already!
And the hangers definitely breed in the closet, I totally agree. All of a sudden I will have 20 extras!
Posted 2 years ago # -
"Uncluttering is an ongoing thing, particularly if you have kids...I look again a few months later..." - zchristy
You get a few months? We're lucky if we get a few minutes!
Posted 2 years ago # -
I always have to declutter in layers (easy stuff first, then another pass, then another...). Every pass I find new stuff, some of it things I haven't really "seen" in years. Like, why do I have this ugly picture frame? It filled the need for a cheap frame when I bought it 20 years ago, but it really is ugly and doesn't suit my decor now, so why am I hanging on to it? Ugh.
MsDasha, a couple of the charities around here will pick up: Volunteers of America, maybe the Vietnam Veterans... Maybe call a couple and see if the ones near you do that?
Posted 2 years ago # -
stagepin: "You get a few months? We're lucky if we get a few minutes!"
If you're cleaning a few mins at a time, then it easily can take months to do your whole house. I have been at it 2 years and while my house is pretty minimal, I still find enough things in a month to take a box to the thrift store. Like I said, it's an ongoing pain...er, I mean project. lol
Posted 2 years ago # -
Lori, unfortunately here in NYC, no one picks up unless its furniture. Charities get too much stuff donated anyway. Thanks for the suggestion though :)
Posted 2 years ago # -
have you tried Freecycle.org
Posted 2 years ago # -
i am AMAZED at the stuff i've been decluttering.
since jan 1st, i've been on a mission to toss two things per day.
just two things.
and toss = recycle, donate, gift....just get it out of the house.committing to just two things per day got me into the mindset of LOOKING for stuff.
some days i am going WILD and tossing a lot lot more.
i had a purge of clothes today that shocked me a little.
i've been through my spices like a madwoman.i'm enjoying myself immensely.
Posted 2 years ago # -
LOL! You are a spicy madwoman!
Posted 2 years ago # -
I totally empathize with nellieb - I am also a professional organizer and even though I am SUPER careful with what comes into my house, I still find tons of things to shed when I do a declutter day or organize a drawer. I'm constantly purging, and it is sometimes hard to imagine where it all comes from, especially paper, since I strive to have an almost paper-less office. Amazing!
Luckily, I love that feeling of renewal when you clear out a space and feel that your belongings are going on to someone who needs them more, or being recycled into something useful!
Posted 2 years ago # -
claycat, yes i am!
i am now eyeing off two full length lined leather coats we own.
one bought on ebay for a song, one tailor-made in bali.
we live in the tropics and those coats hang there year after year.
i have faced the fact that we are never going to wear them.ebay here i come.
Posted 2 years ago #
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