Who has clutter creep?

[skipro33]

We lost it all in a wild land fire in 2006. That morning I had taken photos of stuff I was going to post on eBay to declutter. Problem was solved for us!

Since then, I've had no problem decluttering, realizing it's all just stuff and can go up in flames at any time. My wife, however, was gifted a whole lot of crap from family to replace the destroyed crap we just got rid of. China from great grandma that her husband brought back from Japan during WWII. Old wedding dress, basically stuff that she is guilted into to keeping and that frustrates me to no end. If I outlive her, one of the first things I'm going to do is trash it all. I've warned her family I was going to as well in hopes they keep their own crap and quit using us for their storage.
Every year I go through our stuff. Stuff we didn't use last year gets a peel-n-stick color dot. If that item is used during the year, the dot gets removed. If, however, the dot is still there after another year, the item is pitched; sold, gifted, donated, trashed. I don't care.
Today we have a clean 'junk' drawer in the kitchen. We no longer have 2,000 ink pens, half of which won't work, or pencils that won't sharpen because the lead inside is broken into a million little pieces. The batteries all work and are sorted. Pins, paperclips, rubber bands all have their spots and are limited in quantities. Our pantry doesn't have expired foods or spices. The fridge doesn't have outdated foods either. We have just enough pots, pans, skillets. All our dishware matches. We don't have old jelly jars for glasses. I enjoy the purge, but DW doesn't. Everything to her has a sentimental story behind it. I recommend she take photos then, because it's outa here!

 

[Chuckanut]

Today we have a clean 'junk' drawer in the kitchen. We no longer have 2,000 ink pens, half of which won't work, or pencils that won't sharpen because the lead inside is broken into a million little pieces. The batteries all work and are sorted. Pins, paperclips, rubber bands all have their spots and are limited in quantities. Our pantry doesn't have expired foods or spices. The fridge doesn't have outdated foods either. We have just enough pots, pans, skillets. All our dishware matches. We don't have old jelly jars for glasses. I enjoy the purge, but DW doesn't. Everything to her has a sentimental story behind it. I recommend she take photos then, because it's outa here!

Mr. Skipro33, I am in awe of you and admit that you, sir, are the better man.

 

[youbet]

Not in this thread, but the tone of moral outrage to be found on Internet discussions of "death cleaning" etc. strikes me as bizaare. When did we suddenly grow almost incapable of dealing with parents' estates, as children have done since forever?

Agreed. I think the root cause is the kids feeling ripped off if they have a dumpster delivered and just "fill 'er up!" They're afraid they might be tossing a few bux worth of stuff away they could have sold, or think the deceased should have sold or that something is being wasted. They might feel guilty about emptying mom and dad's closets and just tossing everything into the dumpster and instead spend hours folding and bagging everything and taking it to Goodwill. Get over it. Understand what's valuable and just give the rest the ole heave-ho!

In my case, I've identified the 20% of so of the stuff that really would be a shame to toss or gift. The kevlar canoe with carbon fiber paddles retails for about $3.5k and folks from our paddling club would fight over getting one in great condition (as ours is) for $1.5k or $2k. So call the number of the canoe club president and he'll likely handle it for you. Etc. After those types of items, the bulk of the rest is low value kept because of its usefulness to us. Call one of those outfits that take piles of "stuff" and hauls it away free hoping to find enough value in it to make it profitable.

Clearing out mom and dad's house, even if loaded with stuff, doesn't have to be hard. Just stop worrying over small details and every possible penny of value. Heave-Ho and away she goes......... !

 

[RetMD21]

I have been working on the basement. I fond a box of vinyl LPs. I thought they were all gone long ago. Who knows what I'll find before I am done. Dealing with an elderly parent's downsize belongings didn't help. Those are almost all gone now. I bought a super 8 movie projector so I can go through the home movies before likely discarding all or most.

 

[Major Tom]

Not in this thread, but the tone of moral outrage to be found on Internet discussions of "death cleaning" etc. strikes me as bizaare. When did we suddenly grow almost incapable of dealing with parents' estates, as children have done since forever?

I'm not so sure that it has been a very long time since kids have been dealing with estates that contain a lot of "clutter and junk" though. I'm thinking that before the middle of the 20th century, the average person died leaving a much more modest number of possessions than they are inclined to do nowadays.

If you personally love to be uncluttered, get rid of your clutter. If you enjoy your possessions, enjoy them. Life is too short.

Absolutely agree. If you genuinely enjoy your stuff, keep it!

 

[Jerry1]

We’ve been engaged in a declutter program since we moved into this house about 4 years ago. There was the super purge that happened it the time of the move. We moved to a house that is about the same size, but no basement and only a two car garage. So basically gave up all our storage. Painful, but glade we did it. Since then, DW has been going through things and getting rid of them in batches. I only have one rule - that our car goes in the garage every night. So far so good. Truck stays outside. So, our two car garage is 1/2 storage. Good enough. Good news is, DW just unloaded a batch of stuff and the garage is noticeably more open. So generally, we haven’t suffered recluttering in this house.

Except, my biggest clutter issue is our kitchen counters. I really wish they could be cleared off completely. When we did our tile backsplash, we had to have the counters cleared off. It didn’t take a week before they were cluttered again. It was so nice looking when cleared off. Oh well. I’ll get a picture several years from now when we move out of here. That’s probably the next time the counters will be clear.

 

[Major Tom]

I'm a ham radio operator and have accumulated shelves of "extra stuff" over the years much of which has great sentimental value to me having built it myself. And on and on and on........

I very much identify with this. I'm one of the seemingly rare ham radio homebrewers who don't have a lot of stuff. I don't collect lots of radio gear, or large numbers of parts. I just buy the parts I need, and keep a modest stash of the ones I am most likely to need in the future. I do have a number of projects I built myself, like you, that I will never part with though. A few folk have expressed interest in acting as "custodian" for them after I've gone. They're going to have to wait a while for that! I hope I have the foresight to pass the more notable projects on to willing recipients, before I head up to the big radio shack in the sky. It would be a shame for them all to hit the landfill at the hands of an uninterested party. The thought of the National HRO radio dials, Hammarlund variable capacitors, custom laser-cut and anodized front panels etc etc, all going into the ground, could possibly bring me back from the dead!

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have greatly decluttered through the years. My husband is the opposite so his junk is limited to his office, one car garage and shed. Sometimes when he goes out of town the declutter elf strikes in his spaces).

 

[John Galt III]

My beloved girlfriend who lived with me went to her happily cluttered cloud up in heaven three and a half years ago. I have been decluttering her hoard ever since. She was a classic hoarder. And I admit I allowed it, reluctantly. And now that I have all the time in the world to declutter, I find it difficult to do so. I don't bring any new junk into my house, so that's good. But it is a struggle for me to get rid of her left behind stuff, even if it has no sentimental value. To date, I've sold off hundreds of mostly small sized objects at flea markets, and have sold some big items on Craigslist, and have recycled hundreds of pounds, maybe thousands of pounds, of paper clutter. Have donated hundreds of small things. Have thrown out hundreds of actual useless junk items. The place is way better looking than before, but has a long way to go.

 

[Walt34]

We knew the neighbors two doors up had a hoarding issue just from looking into their garage on the few occasions the doors were open. Two days ago a 30-cubic-yard dumpster was dropped off next to the driveway and was filled within four hours. I guess they might need another one. Yikes.

Evidently she's moving and the relatives are staging an "intervention" or something.

 

[mountainsoft]

Do you have clutter creep?

We went through a big declutter a few years ago. Loved living in the resulting "Less-ness."

But the stuff has been creeping back in. Not all from purchases. But relatives pass on and one "acquires." DH is in the process of liquidating his parents' estate.

I try to get rid of unwanted items on a regular basis, so I rarely need to do a big declutter. My wife tends to build up clutter over time, then does a major purge when it gets overwhelming.

She's pretty good about not buying stuff she doesn't need, but frequently helps her mom declutter her house. Unfortunately she takes an interest in many of those old items and brings them home. So her mom's clutter just becomes our clutter.

I'm the type who will just dump a whole box of junk, but my wife wants to go through each item in case there is something valuable in there. I figure something is not valuable if I didn't even know I had it. I dread the day when her mom dies, it's gonna take months to go through each and every item in her house. I'm sure a significant portion will find it's way into our home like some long lost treasure.

 

[grasshopper]

I think 2 months ago I got the "it goes or I go" message. Yesterday 50+ years of photo slides and field trip data cassettes, went there merry way. Also 3 sets of PC speakers found there way to a new home. 5 giant bags of packrat nests and junk went to the happy hunting grounds. My biggest problem is most of this stuff only has value (memories) to me. Sigh

 

[Andre1969]

My family's been working on a slow declutter for about 6 years now. It started back in 2014, when my Grandom got sick, at the age of 90, and had to go into the hospital. Initially, we thought she'd come out. But, while she was in there, we had the bathroom remodeled, and set up to be wheelchair accessible if needed. We rented a pretty big dumpster and sat it out front so the contractor could just throw the old debris over the porch railing, and also used that dumpster as an excuse to do some de-cluttering.

My grandparents had lived in that house since 1950, and had a hoarding mentality. At one point in the early 80's, Granddad built a storage room on the side of the garage, about 12x25 feet, and started using it for storage. So, over the years, they had accumulated quite a bit.

And to add fuel to the dumpster fire, I lived in the house across the street from Grandmom. That property had been in the family since before the Civil War, but the current house was a relatively new addition, being built in 1916 by Grandmom's Uncle Luther. There was also an old wooden garage, maybe 10x20 feet, behind the house, and a 12x16 workshop further back on the property. However, Uncle Luther had died in 1960. His wife, Aunt Carrie, signed the house over to Grandmom and Granddad, as they didn't have kids of their own. My grandparents used it as a rental property, and the old garage and workshop started filling up with stuff.

Apparently, Uncle Luther was a hoarder, as well. I had to tear the garage down a few years ago, because the insurance company said it was a hazard. It was packed pretty full with junk, and I don't think had been used to store a car since probably the early 50s. I think the problem is that it was so narrow, being built in an era where cars had narrow passenger cabins, small doors, and running boards, that it just wasn't suited to the bigger, wider cars of the 40's and especially the 50's. Well, I found some old carpentry trade magazines. One of them had a raffle contest in it. The prize? "Win a Buick Eight, or $800!"

I forget what year they were, but if you could get an 8-cyl Buick for $800, I'd say it was a pretty damn long time ago! Most of these magazines were water damaged, and brittle with age, but I kept some of the ones that were in good shape.

Anyway, between Grandmom's house, and stuff I could find around my house, we had that dumpster filled to the gills. And it barely made a dent, in all that stuff!

Anyway, fast forward to now. I bought another house in 2018, one that's big enough for my uncle to live with me, yet still not get on my nerves (in theory). We haven't sold the other two houses yet. The major holdup is that I need to get a garage built at the new place to store my antique cars. And right after I bought the house, the stock market tanked a bit, so I wanted to let the finances build up. Well, as soon as my investible assets got back to the point I wanted to get serious about it, I had trouble finding a contractor that would build what I wanted. Then winter set in and I thought I'd wait until spring of 2020. And then, COVID hit!

I did finally put down a deposit to get a garage built, but the permitting process has been like watching a glacier move.

Little by little, we've been trying to purge stuff from the other two houses, rather than just bring junk over to the new house and hoard it. But, it's been a slow process. And then, my hoarding mentality started kicking in again. When my Granddad, on Dad's side of the family, died, when they cleared the house out, my one uncle asked me if there was any furniture I wanted. I got three recliners that, while probably a good 20-30 years old, were in really good shape. Then, I had a friend who was living in the basement of his sister's house. She had moved out of state, but kept the house and rented it to him and his brother. My friend lost his job. After about 5 months, he said his sister wanted to sell the house, and needed them both out. I thought we were really good friends, so I let him move in with me for a bit, since I had just got the new house and all this extra space. Well, then I got suckered into essentially doing a "trash out" on the sister's house, because I have a pickup. I lost track of how many loads we took to the dump. Some of the stuff was kind of nice, like some end tables and such, so I kept a few things I thought might be useful. Oh, and then my house mate's mother had a dining room table and 4 chairs, a wardrobe, and a long, thin table with a mirror. I'm sure it has a real name, but I just call it an "entry foyer" table.

Oh well, so much for downsizing. Oh yeah, almost forgot. The previous owner of the new house had a few pieces of furniture left behind. She said I could have them if I wanted them, otherwise she'd haul it away. I told her, go ahead and leave it. The biggest thing was a big 3-piece entertainment center/wall unit that could hold a tv and such. And, earlier this year, one of my relatives, who's probably in her mid-70's by now, was starting to think about downsizing, herself. She had a big sectional sofa in her basement and asked me if I wanted it. I said sure. So, yeah, this downsizing isn't going so well!

 

[finnski1]

My family's been working on a slow declutter for about 6 years now. It started back in 2014, when my Grandom got sick, at the age of 90, and had to go into the hospital. Initially, we thought she'd come out. But, while she was in there, we had the bathroom remodeled, and set up to be wheelchair accessible if needed. We rented a pretty big dumpster and sat it out front so the contractor could just throw the old debris over the porch railing, and also used that dumpster as an excuse to do some de-cluttering.

My grandparents had lived in that house since 1950, and had a hoarding mentality. At one point in the early 80's, Granddad built a storage room on the side of the garage, about 12x25 feet, and started using it for storage. So, over the years, they had accumulated quite a bit.

And to add fuel to the dumpster fire, I lived in the house across the street from Grandmom. That property had been in the family since before the Civil War, but the current house was a relatively new addition, being built in 1916 by Grandmom's Uncle Luther. There was also an old wooden garage, maybe 10x20 feet, behind the house, and a 12x16 workshop further back on the property. However, Uncle Luther had died in 1960. His wife, Aunt Carrie, signed the house over to Grandmom and Granddad, as they didn't have kids of their own. My grandparents used it as a rental property, and the old garage and workshop started filling up with stuff.

Apparently, Uncle Luther was a hoarder, as well. I had to tear the garage down a few years ago, because the insurance company said it was a hazard. It was packed pretty full with junk, and I don't think had been used to store a car since probably the early 50s. I think the problem is that it was so narrow, being built in an era where cars had narrow passenger cabins, small doors, and running boards, that it just wasn't suited to the bigger, wider cars of the 40's and especially the 50's. Well, I found some old carpentry trade magazines. One of them had a raffle contest in it. The prize? "Win a Buick Eight, or $800!"

I forget what year they were, but if you could get an 8-cyl Buick for $800, I'd say it was a pretty damn long time ago! Most of these magazines were water damaged, and brittle with age, but I kept some of the ones that were in good shape.

Anyway, between Grandmom's house, and stuff I could find around my house, we had that dumpster filled to the gills. And it barely made a dent, in all that stuff!

Anyway, fast forward to now. I bought another house in 2018, one that's big enough for my uncle to live with me, yet still not get on my nerves (in theory). We haven't sold the other two houses yet. The major holdup is that I need to get a garage built at the new place to store my antique cars. And right after I bought the house, the stock market tanked a bit, so I wanted to let the finances build up. Well, as soon as my investible assets got back to the point I wanted to get serious about it, I had trouble finding a contractor that would build what I wanted. Then winter set in and I thought I'd wait until spring of 2020. And then, COVID hit!

I did finally put down a deposit to get a garage built, but the permitting process has been like watching a glacier move.

Little by little, we've been trying to purge stuff from the other two houses, rather than just bring junk over to the new house and hoard it. But, it's been a slow process. And then, my hoarding mentality started kicking in again. When my Granddad, on Dad's side of the family, died, when they cleared the house out, my one uncle asked me if there was any furniture I wanted. I got three recliners that, while probably a good 20-30 years old, were in really good shape. Then, I had a friend who was living in the basement of his sister's house. She had moved out of state, but kept the house and rented it to him and his brother. My friend lost his job. After about 5 months, he said his sister wanted to sell the house, and needed them both out. I thought we were really good friends, so I let him move in with me for a bit, since I had just got the new house and all this extra space. Well, then I got suckered into essentially doing a "trash out" on the sister's house, because I have a pickup. I lost track of how many loads we took to the dump. Some of the stuff was kind of nice, like some end tables and such, so I kept a few things I thought might be useful. Oh, and then my house mate's mother had a dining room table and 4 chairs, a wardrobe, and a long, thin table with a mirror. I'm sure it has a real name, but I just call it an "entry foyer" table.

Oh well, so much for downsizing. Oh yeah, almost forgot. The previous owner of the new house had a few pieces of furniture left behind. She said I could have them if I wanted them, otherwise she'd haul it away. I told her, go ahead and leave it. The biggest thing was a big 3-piece entertainment center/wall unit that could hold a tv and such. And, earlier this year, one of my relatives, who's probably in her mid-70's by now, was starting to think about downsizing, herself. She had a big sectional sofa in her basement and asked me if I wanted it. I said sure. So, yeah, this downsizing isn't going so well!

Well I'm tired just reading this never mind living it.

 

[Music Lover]

My girlfriend moved in last December so we had to go through her stuff and my stuff and get rid of more than half of both her stuff and mine as she went from a 1250 sq ft house to sharing a 1000 sq ft house. As it was winter most of her stuff was put in the garage and we went through a couple boxes every day until we had purged the excess.

Then this past summer her mother moved out of a 4 bedroom 4 bath house to a 1 bedroom assisted living apartment. I probably brought 20 pickup truck loads of stuff to my place. We've finally sorted and purged 90% of it.

But the one thing I hadn't tackled yet was a huge pile of wood. I'm an avid DIYer and over the years had amassed wood from renos, old decks, old fences, etc. I finally did something about it this summer. I had enough 2x8's to build an extension to GF's family cabin's deck that was 12' x 30" and still had enough leftover wood to build a 3 sided planter that was 20' x 20'...so 60' of planter 3' high.

So...we're mostly done with purging, just a few more things to go through. And I've reduced the massive pile of wood by 80%. I still have some wood that's sorted and stacked neatly for future projects and the wood that's too short or too crooked will be used in the firepit.

 

[Rianne]

Declutter is a matter of opinion. We have organized junk that we haven't touched in years. It sits there in nice boxes gathering dust, spider webs and homes for insect wildlife. I suspect it will all go to a dumpster when we die.

 

[Boho]

^^^ That's really the stage I want to reach, minus the insects. And if a box isn't totally full, there's no harm in adding something else that you'd probably throw away if it took up useful space. I used to have my steel shelves full of loose things, then several years ago I organized everything in boxes. I want to be all set to move without doing much packing and I want to make cleaning easier.

 

[Midpack]

We used to be guilty, but after serious (and profitable) decluttering a few years ago, we’ve conquered clutter! After decluttering and finding all sorts of things we’d forgotten we even had, we simply decided we wouldn’t buy anything without throwing out something in kind (or better yet 2-3 items), where we used to keep the old “just in case.”

We used to buy all sorts of single purpose specialty items like a left handed bagel cutter anymore. Now we’re always looking for more versatility in everything we buy, not less - single purpose items are a no go nowadays for us.

I have one full sized bookcase, and I won’t buy a book without throwing one out to make room. Similar with closets, cabinets, etc. throughout the house. I have X number of nice hangers, so if I buy a new clothes item, something else has to go. I had about 15 winter coats (for no reason), I pared it back to 5 - all I’d ever need. I have one file cabinet period. We have storage shelves for what we need, don’t expect to buy any more, we’re determined to fit within what we have.

As long as you maintain the discipline as you go instead of relying on periodic purges, it’s not hard to avoid clutter IME.

 

[idledancer]

I have a related, but also opposite, problem.

I both dislike clutter and dislike disposing of things, so I simply avoid acquiring things. I only buy something if really need it and can rationalize that I will make full use of it on a regular basis. The problem is that I avoid buying things that allow me to explore new interests out of fear that I may no use them long term and thus they will become clutter and I will have to dispose of them.

Lately I’ve been trying to make a plan for disposing of things before I buy them. For example, I recently bought a somewhat specialized power tool that will me try some experiments. I figure if those experiments fail, or are boring, or I lose interest, I can donate the tool to the local maker space.

I actually considered simply buying it and immediately donating it, but tools get broken pretty often there and I want to be able to use it for at least awhile.

 

[Kwirk]

I'm almost constantly on the look out for things that are not used and not needed. Occasionally, I'll go on a "crusade" (family description) against entropy. Unfortunately, my wife is tenacious and I often lose. Still, our clutter is much less than it might be.

 

[jam12]

I started probably 10 yrs ago getting RID of stuff, my 40 yrs of work clothes are gone, WHY, hold on to them....Circulate and others can have some new treasures...

I live inn 700 sq ft apt and got rid of a lot but still have a lot....

Even started giving my artwork to friends and even strangers who like my work....LET GO and give others some pleasure is what I say.....

 

[Brat]

Husband goes through stuff in our storeroom and lists on Craigslist. It is amazing what sells.

 

[unclemick]

2005 Katrina. Left with what would fit in a Chevy 1/2 ton.

2012 Hired a crew of five to empty my 3 bedroom 'leave it to Beaver' suburban ranch when I married no. 2.

2018 Had a everything goes Farm Auction after DW's older Brother passed.

Yet.

Clutter marches on! You can't win even though we try not to buy 'stuff.'

Heh heh heh - 'Resistance is futile' to use the Borg quote from the TV series.

 

[Poopycat]

I’d probably have clutter creep if I hadn’t relocated so often. It’s such a pain to move. Because I didn’t want to keep dragging old stuff with me everywhere, I have developed almost an anti-hoarder mentality. If I am in the middle of cleaning and/or moving, if I haven’t used something since my last move then it’s probably going to be tossed.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I've found time and time again that my junk is someones treasure so it's not to hard to get rid of stuff that's just taking up space I don't need. Having said that I have a lot of stuff that I don't use. I am planning to downsize and I sure as heck am not taking it with me. I'd be happy to walk out of my current home with nothing and get all new stuff, that's what i did last time I moved, I sold or gave almost everything away, it was very liberating. You can sell anything if you price it low enough on Facebook. I list the item with good pictures and I list it cheap. If there is no interest then I list it for free, that usually works. If still nothing then donation to Goodwill or finally the dump. I sold a dog house on Facebook for $10, i had over 100 messages within an hour on that one.