Just gifted a Google Home Mini an hour ago through Buy Nothing Project in our town (on Facebook). Love doing this 🙂 And we’ve been gifted bikes for our grandsons ❤️
I have been decluttering for a number of years, always with the idea that less is better. I clear my closet of things I haven’t worn in the past year or so at least once a year. And I try not to accumulate extras of anything, like kitchen utensils.
I have three rules I use: in order to keep something it must be useful (and I must actively use it), have true value (like a print) or have a sentimental value. If an item doesn’t fall into any of these categories, it’s gone.
And I stay away from things that need to be dusted because who needs more work? I offer these items to my kids, who rarely want them, then I box it all up and donate the rest to the thrift shop operated by the local domestic violence center. They give the women they serve first pick when things come in.
And my favorite two shirts came from their store. So I also patronize thrift stores.
I just gave quite a few boxes of plates, silverware and old coffee makers to the local thrift store for the local hospital, too. That's nice that you can help domestic violence survivors. :)
I still remember I would get into these modes of cleaning out closets when my sons were younger and going through clothes due to those teenage boy growth spurts. Stuff went to the community center or to shelters too. The hubby would joke to the boys, that they shouldn't stand still or else I might clean them out too....when I got going, I really got going.
Yes, it’s absolutely contagious. In the last few years I’ve been especially motivated by advancing age. I see friends coping with their deceased parents’ massive amounts of stuff, including file cabinets full of papers. I started by putting together the papers they will need in that case, then kept going.
My parents had so much stuff I had to hire people to get rid of everything in their home that we didn’t want. There was no way for me to handle that myself
Precisely. I have talked to my kids and asked them about the things they want, plus clued them in on items that have some worth they may not see (mostly prints and some things I collected). I don’t want them to dispose of items they don’t realize have value.
I have seen so many friends wading through all the stuff their parents kept and their growing frustration, and decided I could simplify that. I keep culling as I go.
It took me a year to go through my mother’s ephemera alone. She kept every piece of paper she touched. It was a daunting proposition.
Just gifted a Google Home Mini an hour ago through Buy Nothing Project in our town (on Facebook). Love doing this 🙂 And we’ve been gifted bikes for our grandsons ❤️
This is the best 💖
I have been decluttering for a number of years, always with the idea that less is better. I clear my closet of things I haven’t worn in the past year or so at least once a year. And I try not to accumulate extras of anything, like kitchen utensils.
I have three rules I use: in order to keep something it must be useful (and I must actively use it), have true value (like a print) or have a sentimental value. If an item doesn’t fall into any of these categories, it’s gone.
And I stay away from things that need to be dusted because who needs more work? I offer these items to my kids, who rarely want them, then I box it all up and donate the rest to the thrift shop operated by the local domestic violence center. They give the women they serve first pick when things come in.
And my favorite two shirts came from their store. So I also patronize thrift stores.
It’s a total win-win.
That is terrific advice. I like your rules.
I just gave quite a few boxes of plates, silverware and old coffee makers to the local thrift store for the local hospital, too. That's nice that you can help domestic violence survivors. :)
I still remember I would get into these modes of cleaning out closets when my sons were younger and going through clothes due to those teenage boy growth spurts. Stuff went to the community center or to shelters too. The hubby would joke to the boys, that they shouldn't stand still or else I might clean them out too....when I got going, I really got going.
Yes, it’s absolutely contagious. In the last few years I’ve been especially motivated by advancing age. I see friends coping with their deceased parents’ massive amounts of stuff, including file cabinets full of papers. I started by putting together the papers they will need in that case, then kept going.
I don’t hold onto much these days.
Also, I totally agree with you about us having too much stuff. We do.
My parents had so much stuff I had to hire people to get rid of everything in their home that we didn’t want. There was no way for me to handle that myself
Precisely. I have talked to my kids and asked them about the things they want, plus clued them in on items that have some worth they may not see (mostly prints and some things I collected). I don’t want them to dispose of items they don’t realize have value.
I have seen so many friends wading through all the stuff their parents kept and their growing frustration, and decided I could simplify that. I keep culling as I go.
It took me a year to go through my mother’s ephemera alone. She kept every piece of paper she touched. It was a daunting proposition.