The Ultimate Decluttering Thread

[sengsational]

I had taken-down a couple of FBMP / Craigslist offerings when I went on vacation, and put them back up yesterday. One of them is my home brewing equipment. Unfortunately, it seems that people aren't getting into the hobby lately, so zero interest. My theory is that the economy is good enough to buy beer rather than make it for yourself, lol! I could try to sell things piece meal (burners, tanks, pots, etc) but that's a lot more work and would send a lot of the kit into the trash. I engineered the system from inexpensive parts, so probably the cheapest way to make beer from grain, and it's priced at less than it would cost for someone to buy the components. Since more people seem to be leaving than entering the hobby, there's no market.

 

[disneysteve]

What sites are you using to check resale value? I used Ebay back in the dot bomb times, and I know it's still out there but is that even still in the top 3? I've gotten rid of stuff on FBM but it doesn't seem reliable for saleable pricing, only for pricing your stuff relative...

eBay is the third largest online retailer in the US after Amazon and Walmart. Technically Apple is ahead of them but I don’t count that since they aren’t a general merchandise retailer.

So yes, eBay is huge. The number one reselling site by far. However, only eBay sellers have access to Product Research which is their complete and accurate data base of sold comps. You can get a pretty good idea by doing a regular search and filtering for Sold listings but there are flaws and limitations to that method. Definitely don’t look at prices for active listings though.

 

[skyking1]

I posted a few times, on this thread, about my latest [successful] decluttering and strategy. I honestly believe that this time the clutter won't come back. The difference this time is that everything now has a single place, rather than scattershot on any horizontal surface. Only time will tell if my prediction holds. Of course, I make no guarantees about that one kitchen drawer

The dreaded HSD

 

[disneysteve]

Decluttering is tough, and it never really ends because stuff is always flowing through our lives.

A big piece of decluttering is focusing on what new items are coming in. We are much more selective about what we buy and bring into our home now as we see things more clearly as the future clutter they are. I think a big reason why we're finally making significant progress is that not only are we getting rid of old stuff but we're buying far less new stuff.

 

[ikonomore]

I engineered the system from inexpensive parts, so probably the cheapest way to make beer from grain, and it's priced at less than it would cost for someone to buy the components. Since more people seem to be leaving than entering the hobby, there's no market.

The price isn't low enough yet. I just keep dropping the price when something doesn't sell. What it cost for you to put it together isn't close to what you'll sell it for eventually.

 

[disneysteve]

The price isn't low enough yet. I just keep dropping the price when something doesn't sell. What it cost for you to put it together isn't close to what you'll sell it for eventually.

Price definitely matters. Listing quality also matters. Do you have plenty of clear, well-lit, close up photos? Do you have a detailed description that lists everything included? Do you give measurements where relevant? I see so many truly awful listings on ebay and FBMP, some so bad that I honestly don't know what it is they are selling.

But I totally agree that original cost is irrelevant. It's worth what someone is willing to pay and not a penny more.

 

[athena53]

Dishes that I had stored in the basement and haven't used since I moved here 11 years ago- donated. That charity also took all of my reusable cloth bags (minus a few I kept for my own use). They didn't want my clothes hangers but someone posted on the FB page of a town nearby saying they were starting a charity clothing closet and were in desperate need of hangers. Deal!

 

[OK EE]

One thing that has helped us tremendously is living in a small house. It's just the two of us but we have a 1200 sqft house and a 400 sqft garage. That tends to stop you from bringing home a lot of "stuff" because there's no room for it. I do have a very large outbuilding that has equipment in it and some stuff in storage that needs to be sold/donated/thrown away because it hasn't moved in the 10 years we've been here full time but it's rather limited at maybe a dozen boxes.

I go through the garage and outbuilding every year and clean up. Crap that's accumulated on horizontal surfaces gets tossed. The house we go through and clean up every few months although we could be more thorough there.

In short though, limiting your home to the amount of space you need is real useful in limiting the initial accumulation of clutter in the first place.

 

[TrvlBug]

We have an area in the guest bedroom closet for our travel stuff. We had to put back a couple of suitcases and carry-ons after coming home from a week away and I dragged DH, who has difficulty letting go, upstairs and we got rid of tons of stuff...I am so proud of him .

 

[disneysteve]

One thing that has helped us tremendously is living in a small house. It's just the two of us but we have a 1200 sqft house and a 400 sqft garage. That tends to stop you from bringing home a lot of "stuff" because there's no room for it.

You clearly aren't familiar with the ever-growing self-storage industry where people spend hundreds of dollars a month (or more) to fill garages with crap they don't want or need or have space for in their own homes.

 

[disneysteve]

We have an area in the guest bedroom closet for our travel stuff. We had to put back a couple of suitcases and carry-ons after coming home from a week away and I dragged DH, who has difficulty letting go, upstairs and we got rid of tons of stuff...I am so proud of him .

One thing I want to do in our garage, and I'm almost there, is to rearrange how our luggage is stored. Right now, some items are stacked so every time I need one of the pieces on the bottom, I need to move the pieces that are on top of it. I want to shift to a single level so I'll no longer need to do that.

 

[OK EE]

You clearly aren't familiar with the ever-growing self-storage industry where people spend hundreds of dollars a month (or more) to fill garages with crap they don't want or need or have space for in their own homes.

ROFL. Yeah I hadn't thought about that. My brother is that kind of guy. My personal "thriftiness" wouldn't allow it.

 

[skyking1]

I found some telephone gear tonight from my old business support days. It made it's way to the new house by hiding with some relevant network equipment. A stowaway from the 90's LOL. Buh-bye!

 

[sengsational]

The price isn't low enough yet. I just keep dropping the price when something doesn't sell. What it cost for you to put it together isn't close to what you'll sell it for eventually.

Price definitely matters. Listing quality also matters. Do you have plenty of clear, well-lit, close up photos? Do you have a detailed description that lists everything included? Do you give measurements where relevant? I see so many truly awful listings on ebay and FBMP, some so bad that I honestly don't know what it is they are selling.

But I totally agree that original cost is irrelevant. It's worth what someone is willing to pay and not a penny more.

I agree, what I paid has zero to do with the reselling price. That annoys me when I see that in other people's listings. What I paid had nothing to do with the price I set. What does have relevance is the amount they would pay if they bought the kit today. Not that there's a direct equivalency, but there is a relationship. The point I was trying to make was that the kit design used low cost components and so if they want to get into all grain brewing they won't find a better deal than this. But people don't always want cheap because bragging rights about how cool their all electric brewing system is counts for a lot.

 

[mystang52]

One thing I want to do in our garage, and I'm almost there, is to rearrange how our luggage is stored. Right now, some items are stacked so every time I need one of the pieces on the bottom, I need to move the pieces that are on top of it. I want to shift to a single level so I'll no longer need to do that.

We have a grand total of 4 pieces of luggage - 2 standard size suitcases and 2 spinner "carry-ons." The standard sizes are right next to the entrance to my attic. The carry-ons in the guest room closet. If you and spouse are empty nesters, how many luggage peices do you have, and do you need all of them?

 

[disneysteve]

We have a grand total of 4 pieces of luggage - 2 standard size suitcases and 2 spinner "carry-ons." The standard sizes are right next to the entrance to my attic. The carry-ons in the guest room closet. If you and spouse are empty nesters, how many luggage peices do you have, and do you need all of them?

Between the 3 of us (we aren’t empty nesters) we have 7. We each have a full size suitcase and a carry on and DD has an in-between size.

 

[Sunset]

I bought some cat litter, and am now hardening up some old paint cans I had saved for too long. Wouldn't trust the paint to work and will only buy paint when I'm about to paint from now on.

Probably 8 paint cans in total , at least it will free up a shelf.

 

[sengsational]

We have a grand total of 4 pieces of luggage - 2 standard size suitcases and 2 spinner "carry-ons." The standard sizes are right next to the entrance to my attic. The carry-ons in the guest room closet. If you and spouse are empty nesters, how many luggage peices do you have, and do you need all of them?

I'm torn on "dispositioning" old luggage; my attic has quite the stash!

The luggage we use routinely is in the closet. The old luggage set and the 22" rollers the kids used, plus duffles they used growing up are still in the attic.

I figure when it's time to move, I can fill them up and use them to help move (if it makes sense to use instead of a box), or just throw them out on moving day. Or after I'm gone and someone gets the "opportunity" to get rid of what's left, they can put stuff in the suitcases to get the stuff to the interested party (or just stuff all the clothes in there and drop it off at Goodwill).

But I AM trying to get rid of the 190 liter roller bag. Yep, that's not a typo. Anyone here into motocross

 

[athena53]

I bought some cat litter, and am now hardening up some old paint cans I had saved for too long. Wouldn't trust the paint to work and will only buy paint when I'm about to paint from now on.

Probably 8 paint cans in total , at least it will free up a shelf.

I've read that the environmentally safe way to get rid of paint is to let it dry first so I just leave it in my garage till it solidifies. Yes, watching paint dry IS slow and boring.

 

[Pointby2]

I've read that the environmentally safe way to get rid of paint is to let it dry first so I just leave it in my garage till it solidifies. Yes, watching paint dry IS slow and boring.

That's what we always did with latex paint in Minnesota and Nevada. In California, of course, that is strictly prohibited.

California Department of Toxic Substances Control regulations strictly prohibit spreading out latex paint to dry for disposal purposes

 

[athena53]

That's what we always did with latex paint in Minnesota and Nevada. In California, of course, that is strictly prohibited.

California Department of Toxic Substances Control regulations strictly prohibit spreading out latex paint to dry for disposal purposes

Wow. I didn't know that. Fortunately I don't live in CA. A quick AI search recommends either letting it dry or taking it to a place that will dispose of it responsibly- no mention of letting it dry being against the law in CA. Which shows that AI doesn't know everything.

An update on Craigslist: Three of the items left behind by the cherry-pickers were handmade ceramic items bought at various craft fairs- a honey jar, a teapot and a stand with holes in the flared top for holding toothbrushes and a well in the center for toothpaste. I put them out again and listed them as hand-crafted ceramic items, each signed by the maker. Gone in less than 2 hours. It's all in the marketing.

 

[disneysteve]

It's been in the 90s here so working in the garage is off the itinerary but today I did some impromptu decluttering in our computer room closet. I had some OTC medical supplies I needed to find a place for and decided to see if I could store them in there.

Sure enough, with not too much work, I was able to clear enough shelf space to neatly arrange them to easily access them when needed. In the process, I cleaned out a portable file box that held a bunch of paperwork dating back to when my cousin died in 2021. I held onto a few items that I still want for my records but everything else went in the recycling pile. I found a few collectible items that we don't need. I checked values on ebay and none are worth reselling so they want into the thrift shop donation box. A handful of things went in the trash. A large pile of paperwork for my ebay business (2022 sales records) got moved to the basement which is where the rest of those records are stored.

I can definitely do more in that closet but seeing as I wasn't planning to work in there at all, just doing what I did today was a nice little accomplishment.

 

[disneysteve]

I've continued to work in the computer room closet among other things. I have a lot of my old photos in there but realized that most are still in the envelopes from the processor with the negatives. There is truly no reason to keep negatives at this point since reproducing photos is as simple as popping them onto the scanner, or if top quality isn't a concern, just snapping a pic of a pic with my phone. I started going through and tossing the negatives. By the time I finish, I'll probably be able to condense the photos all into one box instead of two.

I also had a bag of old magazines in there that I had saved for certain articles. I still want the articles so I started going through them and cutting out just the few pages from each that I want and tossing the rest. A shopping bag full will end up being just a pile I can hold in my hand.

Tonight I cleared out two file folders in my desk drawer. A bunch of old statements from one IRA and purchase receipts from the china company I sell to. There's really no reason I need paper copies of any of that stuff.

 

[disneysteve]

More work in the computer room today. Tossed more old negatives. Labeled batches of photos and put them in a photo storage box, and ordered 2 more of those boxes on Amazon.

Cleaned out and sorted some packing supplies for my reselling business.

Started taking some old wall decor off. My plan is to hang some framed art that has been sitting collecting dust for years but is much nicer than what was on the walls all this time.

 

[treeofpain]

We go through the house twice each year - spring and fall - and ask, "Have we used this item this year?" If not, it is given away or thrown away (rarely sold, since values on stuff is usually pretty low).

We joke that if we needed to pack and move in three days, we could easily do it. We have been in the house 21 years.