Julienm1

Why did we do this? If we died tomorrow, kids would just thro the stuff out and plrobably not donate to Savers. Really was a liberating experience. Not to worry. I did NOT get rid of fab I can see. Only stuff that has been hiding in boxes for...I have no idea now long..lol

eparys

WOW! My DH and I have been talking about just this recently!! He is on a mission to throw something away each week lol.

Quiltwoman44

I have been cleaning out my sewing room too. Charity things always seem to be in my car. Did my closet yesterday. i got all my Christmas quilts into one tub. Scraps cleaned out, etc. MY son is already living with me and my youngest granddtr will be here when college is out for Holidays, etc. One must make room!

toverly

Congratulations! It is so liberating to get rid of stuff that is packed away. A few years ago, I got rid of all my Scrapbooking stuff. I realized I was never going to get into that again. It made room for more fabric!

Onebyone

If the thought of packing up and moving seems an impossible task then it is time to purge. I told the kids to take any items that meant something to them I wasn't using or needed. I was surprised at what they wanted. Nothing I thought they would. The rest I knew would be cleaned out the fastest way if left up to them to deal with. We moved twice in one year and it opened my eyes to how much stored clutter I did have.

quiltsfor

We did this when we were packing up to move. We got rid of a lot of items that we hadn't used in years. We called a privately owned company and for a small fee, they will take everything you don't want and then sort through it and sell some, fix what they can, donate items, and toss the unfixable or too worn items. The modest fee is for them to pick it up and dispose of what needs to be disposed of. They make up the rest of their income with what they sell in their resale place. They donate a lot as well, so it is good for all around. Saved us hauling to places. They donate a lot of the furniture items. We had a hospital bed from my MIL and they donated that and a bit of furniture before hauling all the smaller items that they needed to sort through.

quiltsfor

Another thing that helped declutter the attic storage, is that we told the three kids (all adults with half grown kids of their own) that they needed to get all of their childhood belongings and stored items from their later years and take it to their own homes. They himmed and hawed for a bit until we told them that what they hadn't removed by the end of the month, the place we called to get the things we (husband and I) were getting rid of, would be clearing the attic as well. So if they wanted it, best get it now. So they each took a weekend and went through their things and pretty much took everything that was theirs They grumped a little, because they didn't want to store it at their place but.... too bad. Their stuff/keep it or lose it! I think because we had stored it for so long, they were used to it being here. They had more than enough room at their houses to take it if they wanted it. And, it was time! Now I have room to store the Holiday decorations and seasonal clothes in the attic bins instead of stuffing them in a closet! Sometimes showing a little tough love, is a good thing!

sewbizgirl

Well done, Julie! It makes me feel so good to get bags of stuff out of the house.

IrishNY

I love to de-clutter! We've moved four times in the last five years (multiple houses that overlapped - not as bad as it sounds) but each was another opportunity to purge stuff. In normal times, I keep a laundry basket in a closet for Goodwill to put things in whenever I realize an item should go. It moves things out regularly without having to do major sortings, which is more efficient for me. I always feel so much lighter after dropping things off.

wesing

We moved in with Mom about a year ago and did a major purge then. Most of our things that we kept went into storage. Now that we’ve been without them for a year we realize most of that can go too. Mom passed away in April so we’ve been preparing the house for an estate sale. So now we have 2 households of too much stuff. When we start moving our stuff into the house we will be adding a lot of it into the sale. It does feel good to clean out the clutter!