Its Simplifying Saturday!

Plumbers were here this week and I bit the bullet to throw out the now-useless bathtub stopper and a few other small things. I'm getting ready to paint in there so took some (now unused) decorative hatboxes off the wall. They were used for storage for a while and got forgotten. I couldn't bring myself to toss them, they are showing no water damage, one is now repurposed as a waste basket with top and rope handle; haven't decided the fate of the other very large one, have so much stuff I don't know where the other two are, probably storing unneeded papers. Continued tossing excess underwear and socks, so did lose seven items painlessly.

Downsizing seems to require figuring out who I am. Almost forgot i collect hat boxes, especially miniature ones, favorite is one made for a three-cornered hat, complete with a felt hat. One thing about retirement is that the old "escape the work attitude" hobbies may not be a good fit in retirement.
 
DH is gone for a couple of days. This might be the perfect time to declutter.....>:D
 
Our Epson Stylus CX4800 scanner/color inkjet printer appears to have finally died on printing. Magenta & yellow stopped working a year ago but this week the black & cyan quit too. It's the typical complaint-- ink drying up in the printheads and needing a solvent cleaning every few weeks.

The scanner still works but the printer is essentially a doorstop or trashcan ballast. "Making copies" would require scanning and printing on our HP color laser. I have another CX4800 in the computer-parts closet so I'll drag that one out and use it for a while. And when that one eventually dies too then I'll buy a scanner/fax machine.
 
The old wardrobe shown in post #129 was finally kicked to the curb today along with a bookcase, a chest of drawers and a credenza (?) with drawers. We happened to see who grabbed each item. Small chest (with some video tapes) went first, to a woman across the street; the credenza to three people with a pickup (pictured) who were making a delivery across the street. The wardrobe and bookcase to a pickup marked with the logo of a store which used to be a couple of blocks away; they used to be known for shabby chic but according to Yelp have gone upscale, who knew! Seriously pared down old clothes that were stored in this stuff, had to coach myself saying you can use only a few of them, there are too many duplicates, there are too many duplicates. Coming up on two years retired, I’m finally getting it, I don’t need the same stuff as a working stiff. Tomorrow I’ll call the garbage company to cancel their free pickup. Wonder if my neighbor is watching “Age of Innocence” as we speak.
 

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We are beginning to escalate the decluttering/downsizing efforts. Earlier this week we took two armchairs (his) and a big TV stand (mine) to GoodWill, by means of several SUV trips back and forth.

Today we acquired the phone numbers for scheduling a furniture pickup (by truck) from each of three major charities. We called one of these numbers and left a message, but no response yet.
 
Let us know how it goes with the charity pickups, W2R; we did it that way years ago but I had no luck with it this time. I found out about the free garbage company pickup when they included a brochure with the new composting procedures. Apparently, I'm allowed one free furniture pickup per year (up to five items).
 
CuppaJoe said:
Let us know how it goes with the charity pickups, W2R; we did it that way years ago but I had no luck with it this time. I found out about the free garbage company pickup when they included a brochure with the new composting procedures. Apparently, I'm allowed one free furniture pickup per year (up to five items).
Click to expand...

I have heard it is pretty hard to get a pickup these days, and I have no idea what to expect. Pickups were eliminated after Hurricane Katrina, and some of the charities left for years after the storm due to being flooded out themselves. But our hurricane recovery moves on, and it's hard not to hope. :)

Today we drove around and found these charities had returned and were open for business, at last. We got the phone number for pickups directly from workers at one charity (GoodWill, the one we left a message with today). Also we saw big furniture trucks parked by the other two, with phone numbers on the trucks which I jotted down.
 
Major decluttering efforts have ceased for the summer here. Have sold a few small items on ebay but am way too busy outside having fun and doing yard work. If this heat keeps up I may clean out a closet or something.
 
Thought those reading this thread would be interested in this blog post:

The Clean-Slate Guide to Simplicity | zen habits

I'm also interested in some other aspects of decluttering:

1. Is anyone decluttering other things in their lives besides their physical stuff? (Relationships, todo items, standing commitments that don't "fit" anymore, etc.)
2. Does the decluttering of physical stuff transfer to non-physical stuff or not?
3. Any tips for dealing with common decluttering but's?
a. But it was a gift
b. But I might need it someday
c. But...

2Cor521
 
I spent some time this past weekend on the "scan it and can it" detail. I have scads of magazine articles I've saved over the years, and I'm gradually getting them into my computer instead of taking up space. If it's too much bother to scan it, I toss it out! Guess it wasn't that interesting after all. All told, about half a paper grocery sack full of those that can go in the recycle bin now.
 
Decluttering is so freeing! This is a side note, but my parents are moving out of the home they have lived in for 16 years (the house before that was 24 years). Mom asked me to help her go through "some papers" to decide what she needed to keep and what could be shredded. She had phone bills from 1980!! When I realized the extent of the paperwork she kept, we arranged to take the stuff to an industrial shred place. There were boxes and boxes of statements and paperwork, going back to the 1970's! The good news is:

1. Mom is extremely organized, so once we identified what was in a box, we didn't have to go through every page, because we knew exactly what we were dealing with.
2. We were able to get rid of all this stuff NOW - I realized that this would be my job at some point in my life, so it was nice to get it all done.
3. Mom didn't care about getting rid of the stuff; some people have a hard time parting with paperwork that they are saving "just in case". It wasn't that with her; she just found it easier to file the papers than to "decide" not to save it.

Makes me REALLY want to keep things weeded out!
 
SecondCor521 said:
1. Is anyone decluttering other things in their lives besides their physical stuff? (Relationships, todo items, standing commitments that don't "fit" anymore, etc.)
2. Does the decluttering of physical stuff transfer to non-physical stuff or not?
3. Any tips for dealing with common decluttering but's?
a. But it was a gift
b. But I might need it someday
c. But...

2Cor521
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm trying, but DH won't leave! :D

Ahhh but seriously, I imagine at least a fourth of my stuff should go the wayside but I'm not able to let go yet. These things keep getting shuffled from one place to another....I imagine they'll be gone at some point.

As far as standing commitments go...I'm getting better. I'm learning to say 'no' and if my response is not received well on the other end, I'm able to let it go and not feel guilty.
 
SecondCor521 said:
Thought those reading this thread would be interested in this blog post:

The Clean-Slate Guide to Simplicity | zen habits

I'm also interested in some other aspects of decluttering:

1. Is anyone decluttering other things in their lives besides their physical stuff? (Relationships, todo items, standing commitments that don't "fit" anymore, etc.)
Click to expand...

I have dropped contact with all relatives. Have no commitments beyond paying for goods and services.

2. Does the decluttering of physical stuff transfer to non-physical stuff or not?
Click to expand...
non-physical is ahead of physical

3. Any tips for dealing with common decluttering but's?
a. But it was a gift
b. But I might need it someday
c. But...

2Cor521
Click to expand...
My main problem in physical decluttering is laziness.
 
I would be happy for everything that I will never need again to just disappear from my house (and basement).

It's just that I don't know "which" things those are...
 
spncity said:
I would be happy for everything that I will never need again to just disappear from my house (and basement).

It's just that I don't know "which" things those are...
Click to expand...

That's one way; I sometimes pretend I'm moving. "Three removes are as bad as a fire" B. Franklin

I put a lot of stuff into bags and made an appt. with Salvation Army to pick up in two weeks. If I don't need any of it by then, out it goes. After two years, I now know I don't need many of those w*rk clothes for special occasions, just two or three will do for a few more years and then, if necessary I can go shopping.

I've very inspired this week because I have a (rare) houseguest coming next week. When she leaves I'll dump the extra bed for its storage space.
 
Sent a box of clothes off to an internet friend.
 
I finally bought a new laptop, which means I can finally get rid of the old laptops.

Gazelle.com claims that a six-year-old Dell Inspiron D505 is worth $39 and a four-year-old Dell Inspiron 710m is worth $88. All I had to do was pack them up and ship them in. I've done the packing & shipping ("free shipping" on the Mainland, $12.95 from Hawaii), and now I'm waiting for Gazelle to cut a check.

I sorted through a three-inch binder of paper files, ending up with a quarter-inch stack of paper and nearly three inches of scrap paper. We use the blank side of our scrap paper for most of our laser-printing needs, so this should last us at least a year.

Our kid is in the final 15 days of frantically sorting through her possessions: "pack for college", "mail to college later", "storage", and "surplus". The first category is her problem, the middle two are going in Tupperware containers for her to request when ready, and whatever's left over is going to Goodwill.
 
This week I took a large microwave cart (with drawer and cabinets) to Good Will. One more albatross GONE.... :D
 
LOL, Nords - I checked my 7 year old Gateway on Gazelle.com and the response was, "Darn, this item has no cash value". LOL, what a piece of junk! :LOL:
 
Nords said:
I finally bought a new laptop, which means I can finally get rid of the old laptops.

Gazelle.com claims that a six-year-old Dell Inspiron D505 is worth $39 and a four-year-old Dell Inspiron 710m is worth $88. All I had to do was pack them up and ship them in. I've done the packing & shipping ("free shipping" on the Mainland, $12.95 from Hawaii), and now I'm waiting for Gazelle to cut a check.
Click to expand...

I did this through cashforlaptops. Their site indicated my Dell Inspiron was worth $95. Upon receiving it, they called with an offer of $70. After I told them to send it back to me (their website said they would return at no cost if you did not agree to their final offer), they decided $95 was a fair price after all. I am curious if you will have a similar experience.
 
Lakedog said:
After I told them to send it back to me (their website said they would return at no cost if you did not agree to their final offer), they decided $95 was a fair price after all. I am curious if you will have a similar experience.
Click to expand...
Me too.

It's not as if I have any negotiating power. The older laptop has a dying/dead DVD drive, and the "newer" laptop has a 50-minute battery. The most valuable items in the shipping box are probably the battery chargers. I'm just happy that they won't end up in a landfill, or at least not at my hands.

But I still paid an extra $2.75 to insure the box against going MIA.
 
Packed up a box of L and XL clothing (been in closet for years) to send to a
net friend who has lost a lot of weight.
 
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