Anyone fall cleaning this weekend?

[Anonymous]

I am trying so hard to just get rid of unnecessary stuff. Filling bags to go to the thrift store. Ugh. Dh is less than helpful with this kind of stuff. We're not hoarders in the least, but have a small apt, and I just really want to get down to basics.

PLEASE! Anyone have any words of inspiration?

[Anonymous]

Right there with you, PP. (Except that luckily DH is good at getting rid of stuff too.) I've been working on this for a while now and have just decided to work in stages. Low hanging fruit first, then building my way up to the tougher decisions. For me the biggest frustration is the constant inward flow of stuff thanks to birthday parties, holidays, etc. I feel like I'm on a gerbil wheel!

[Anonymous]

My words of inspiration are: set up your life so you never have to do this again, and let this be the last time.

We have very few things in our house. Everything does double duty. When something comes in, another thing goes out. Before buying new clothes, purge the old ones. At the end of each holiday season, look at how much wrapping paper you have and buy what you need on mega-sale. We actually don't buy holiday-specific wrapping paper at all though - we use brown paper bags decorated in red/green or blue/silver. Before you go food shopping, clean out the fridge.

[Anonymous]

I also operate like the PP. It's liberating and makes life so much easier. Be ruthless about everything that comes into your house, and don't be afraid to pitch/freecycle. Every once in a while I go on to freecycle and see if anyone needs something that I might.

[Anonymous]

Pick a room and spend some time in it. Don't try to do everything at once. To me quick wins are things like purging my bookshelves of old novels that I know I'll never read again, outdated travel guides, etc.

Warm weather season is over. Take a long look at all your warm weather clothes and identify any that you didn't wear at all this summer. Give them away. Don't think about it, just do it.

[Anonymous]

We're doing the windows now. I'm just taking a break from it. Washing down the windows and clearing the sills of dust. It's basically the whole day. We also to that hairdryer plastic sealant stuff so kill the draft.

I put down carpets on our hardwood floors this time of the year as well. Old house. Small things like this make a big difference in my heating bills.

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to live by the mantra "if we moved tomorrow, do I love this enough to pack it, move it, and find a new home for it in our new house?" If I don't, then it needs to go!

[Anonymous]

I love all these! Thank you pps! I do try to do like you all do. My problem is that we've had an influx of stuff from recent deaths in the family, so it gets sticky there, but I've been ruthless. Been looking a lot at apartment therapy photos and pictures of efficiently organized stuff on Pinterest.

[Anonymous]

Keep the momentum going.

Know that for everything you give away, there's probably someone who really needs it.

[Anonymous]

Be ruthless. If you haven't worn it or used it in a year, take it to the Goodwill store.