January Declutter & Organize

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed! I am on the 'mental' hunt for a way to store my holiday napkins and tablecloths. I keep veering back to a plastic boot box. Already have it - so it won't cost anything.

Why does anyone need more than one Christmas tablecloth?

The definitely do not.

I need at least two, because the grandchildren inevitably spill something. They are young, still learning manners, and have accidents. It's not a big deal. So one on the table and one in the washer/dryer, and one more just in case. Three in total.. Makes the holiday easier.

When I did the huge empty nesting decluttering 20 years ago, my goal was no plastic storage containers. Not completely successful but close: only keepsakes my children haven't yet taken stacked and stored in the attic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed! I am on the 'mental' hunt for a way to store my holiday napkins and tablecloths. I keep veering back to a plastic boot box. Already have it - so it won't cost anything.

Why does anyone need more than one Christmas tablecloth?

They have more than one table?

I use tablecloths every day. Christmas lasts at least four weeks in our house. I’m not using the same tablecloth every day for four weeks.

Interesting. I wasn’t aware people used tablecloths for normal days.

PP and I also use tablecloths (and cloth napkins) every day. My accommodation for young grandchildren is easy wash polyester instead of linen and inexpensive colored goblets instead of crystal stemware. No stress about spills or breakage. Children feel like it's a party. Hoping for goodvmemories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I follow a gal on instagram, and her big thing - it isn't YOU, it's your systems. So adjust your systems to your life.

For example, she is really big on mini trash cans. Where does trash pile up at your house? Maybe beside the sofa in the family room? Put a mini trash container (its like a small 4"x4" box) and leave it there. Now you can drop all your candy wrappers or whatever in there, and it still looks tidier and is easy to dump out.

Or if you have a landing zone at your front/back door where you leave everything. Instead of trying to train yourself to put it all away, just find a system that organizes it where you drop it. So a little system that has a hook for your keys, a container for your important mail, one for your junk mail, a basket with mitts/gloves, a place for your sunglasses, etc.

The trash thing is so weird. That isn't a "declutter and organize" thing. It's for people who can't be bothered to clean up after themselves.

I agree with strategies about naming and solving the actual issues. If there are candy wrappers all over the family room, reality is that person isn't getting up to carry their trash to the kitchen. It doesn't matter if it's because they're lazy, exhausted, or disabled. There's a reason it's hard for them, and if it was easy for them, there wouldn't be wrappers there. If it can be solved by a little trash can, they should stop judging themselves and get a little trash can.

I've found this general framework applies to a lot of things. If you take the judgment away, you can get to an actual solution.

[Anonymous]

I cleaned closets over winter break and finally came to peace with just tossing things—lots of things.

I threw some things into a box to be donated, but everything else was thrown into the garbage. It was liberating.

I’m starting death cleaning and it’s magical. My house is so organized and feels clean all the time.

[Anonymous]

My experience with hoarder relatives informs my decluttering practices. True hoarders. The sort who have trails through stacked floors, beg for help getting organized, but can't let go of ever of a single worn out toothbrush or nasty linens (might be good for cleaning one day) empty plastic food containers, glass bottles, etc which might have potential for art projects. The only items allowed to leave the house have to go to good homes.

It may be possible to find a good home for a dozen objects or less, but is the time out of your life really worth it? Just load boxes and take it to good will, salvation army, etc. And don't stress about whether it's a "correct" organization. Just get it out of your house where someone who might want it can find it. If it's not good enough to send to charity, throw it away. Don't make your home an annex of the town dump...where it will end up eventually anyway. If you're deaccessioning valuables, call an auction house to do a walk through and take what they want. And just be satisfied with whatever you make because it went to someone who wants it.... even if it's a dealer who sells it for a high percentage markup. Because you were never getting that price on eBay or craigslist.

If you have more objects than storage space, it's impossible to be really tidy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I follow a gal on instagram, and her big thing - it isn't YOU, it's your systems. So adjust your systems to your life.

For example, she is really big on mini trash cans. Where does trash pile up at your house? Maybe beside the sofa in the family room? Put a mini trash container (its like a small 4"x4" box) and leave it there. Now you can drop all your candy wrappers or whatever in there, and it still looks tidier and is easy to dump out.

Or if you have a landing zone at your front/back door where you leave everything. Instead of trying to train yourself to put it all away, just find a system that organizes it where you drop it. So a little system that has a hook for your keys, a container for your important mail, one for your junk mail, a basket with mitts/gloves, a place for your sunglasses, etc.

The trash thing is so weird. That isn't a "declutter and organize" thing. It's for people who can't be bothered to clean up after themselves.

I agree with strategies about naming and solving the actual issues. If there are candy wrappers all over the family room, reality is that person isn't getting up to carry their trash to the kitchen. It doesn't matter if it's because they're lazy, exhausted, or disabled. There's a reason it's hard for them, and if it was easy for them, there wouldn't be wrappers there. If it can be solved by a little trash can, they should stop judging themselves and get a little trash can.

I've found this general framework applies to a lot of things. If you take the judgment away, you can get to an actual solution.

I love this. No one is perfect. If we can find small solutions that help our lives, why wouldn't you encourage people to do that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I have been making great progress decluttering until yesterday when DH questioned me giving away a baby gift that my kid received 20 years ago: none of us can remember who gave it, not personalized but handmade by someone, my kid has never seen or used it, etc. etc. He has been fully supportive of my efforts--but also making comments that if it were up to him, he'd just get a dumpster and be ruthless. Also, he won't agree to get rid of any of his stuff, which I suspected, and that's fine, but I have kept a lot of baby gifts to pass on to my kids. This latest negative comment really irritated me. Trying to find my focus again today!

Ugh comments like that are so unhelpful. Good luck focusing! You can do it!

I've been trying to go through a bunch of boxes I inherited mixed with random stuff my husband stored away. In one box was a pair of grounded baby shoes. Whose? I have no idea. Not my kids. Maybe one of my parents? Their parents? They look very old. They feel weird too throw away.

I understand! I have boxes of my parents’ stuff that was meaningful to them, but they are gone now, and I just need to toss most of it.

You’re exactly right.

Be strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I have been making great progress decluttering until yesterday when DH questioned me giving away a baby gift that my kid received 20 years ago: none of us can remember who gave it, not personalized but handmade by someone, my kid has never seen or used it, etc. etc. He has been fully supportive of my efforts--but also making comments that if it were up to him, he'd just get a dumpster and be ruthless. Also, he won't agree to get rid of any of his stuff, which I suspected, and that's fine, but I have kept a lot of baby gifts to pass on to my kids. This latest negative comment really irritated me. Trying to find my focus again today!

So he'd get a dumpster and be ruthless but also won't agree to get rid of any of his stuff.

UGH. Times like these are when being single sounds wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anyone still working on this especially in this weather? Came across some old exercise dvds don't know if they're worth trying to sell or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone still working on this especially in this weather? Came across some old exercise dvds don't know if they're worth trying to sell or not.

'

no, no one wants to buy your exercise DVDs.
I wouldnt even donate to be honest. Throw away.

[Anonymous]

No, no one wants DVDs even if they were free.

[Anonymous]

The mail kills me. I know we should do the touch once, but it’s hard when different adults in our house need to look at and sometimes confer on things. Our kitchen counter winds up with piles. Please help!

[Anonymous]

The Netflix documentary ""Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy" was eye opening. More of everything is being produced. Useful items are purposefully made to have short lives and be unrepairable. The solution is to buy less, cutting off the incentive (money) for overproduction, much of which is simply trashed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Netflix documentary ""Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy" was eye opening. More of everything is being produced. Useful items are purposefully made to have short lives and be unrepairable. The solution is to buy less, cutting off the incentive (money) for overproduction, much of which is simply trashed.

I liked it too. Eye opening and depressing but still highly interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, no one wants DVDs even if they were free.

I do see them at thrift stores. We went back to DVDs from the library after cutting streaming services for job uncertainty so who knows. I'd throw them in the donate box