Reply to Success at downsizing/de-cluttering?

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[quote=Anonymous]I live in the city and we have 3 kids in a 3-bedroom house. There are times we're in collecting mode - but about every four months I collect all the drawings and art projects and have the kids go through to pick out their favorites to keep. I promptly whisk away what they didn't choose. Then I whip out their old favorites and encourage them to choose the favorites of the favorites. We take pics of the kids posing with things they love but need to move on from so they can look back on them.

When mail comes in, it all goes in one box. Once a week DH goes through the box, sitting in front of the shredder, recycling bin, and online checkbook. When the kids get new sneakers, the old sneakers promptly go in the hall closet to be worn when doing yardwork or on rainy days, and the prior old shoes are thrown away.

I don't care what the Joneses are doing. They are not my concern. I care that we're doing what's best for us. The kids have a beautiful playground one block away, so we don't need a backyard for them. So ours is a garden and I grow a lot of what we eat.

Could we afford to buy a bigger house? Sure. Could we afford a house where each child gets their own bedroom, plus there's an office plus there's a guest room? Sure. But the reality is, we don't need that.

In cleaning out closets and cabinets on a regular basis what I've realized is that if you do it often, it's not some huge multi-day project. It's a half hour project instead. If an older kid has a growth spurt, we pile up all the clothes that no longer fit and call in the younger kid to see if they'll wear them. If they say no, we bag it, and donate it either that day or the next day.

We don't let stuff sit around, and we don't let relatives go crazy giving the kids things. "What do the kids want for the holidays?" They want to go to the zoo with you. Last year the two grandmas took all three girls to see the Nutcracker for Hanukah. That was their gift. They bought each girl a new dress and shoes, and spent the entire day together. We framed a pic of all five of them and sent it to each granny for Valentines Day. We really push for experiences rather than tangible items.

Let me know if you need more. [/quote]

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