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So Much Stuff!

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Friday, February 26, 2021


I just completed 5 days of deep cleaning and decluttering my home. I don't know how I accumulated so much stuff! Over the years, I've been given and I have bought so many books, teaching enhancers, crafts, fabric, yarn nick knacks, hats and clothes. Most of them ended up in my closet or in the basement. I also have things that my son asked me to keep for him when he got married 12 years ago. It's time to move it out of the house! Letting go of old relics that bring back memories is hard, but it was time to let some of it go. I don't think that American Pickers will be coming along to offer us hundreds of dollars for our "good junk". I've put the elliptical, some curriculum books and a few pairs of snow shoes up for sale on a local virtual yard sale. The snow shoes sold, the elliptical is being given away, and no one really wants my old books.

My husband has a pick-up truck, and we have filled the back it twice with stuff for Good Will and the dump. There's still lots of things that could go. Today the realtor comes to look over the house. We are calling an end to the house purge, and enjoy the rest of our vacation. While we are thrilled at our clean home, we're not sure that we are ready to make the next step and downsize our lives. Moving will be a whole lot of work!
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Member Comments About This Blog Post
  • NANHBH
    Having recently downsized, I feel for you! It is hard to let go of our stuff. The closer it got to moving day, the easier it got to let go of stuff.
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    47 days ago
  • THINCPL2004
    Kudos on the decluttering, I am still working on mine!
    47 days ago
  • JPPERSELL
    I really need to purge things from my house and my disabled sons! I will be working on this in the spring! Good luck on your move. Are you going to try to sell your house in the winter?
    47 days ago
  • LGRIF22
    Oh, how I need to do what you're doing! I wish I could do it all by myself. The trouble is, my husband will never move, and he wants to keep everything. If I want to give it away, he thinks it's worth a fortune. He's finally starting to go through his books. I've never kept many of mine (other than my High school yearbook). I have started to collect more clothes than I can wear, so I could start there. With the pandemic, I don't wear much, and have to decide what I will wear when we finally go out.... emoticon
    I'm trying to re-do our main upstairs bath, but if I like one thing, he likes another. I just wish someone would come in and find the best vanity, tile, counter, sink, faucets, etc. for the best prices. It discourages me to get any bids on anything... At least hubby is willing to change our pink and blue bathroom after having lived here almost 52 years..... emoticon
    47 days ago
  • GLOYNBYW
    I do some purging but not ready to get rid of most of my books. Maybe when my daughter moves out and I see what she decides to take I will go through what is left. We may have to hire a mediator LOL since we both love our books. Having lots of them though has been great. I collected about 200 or so Doctor Who books about 30 years ago and started reading them over on January 1, been enjoying it so much.
    47 days ago
  • ELSCO55
    Im still trying to get decluttered
    47 days ago
  • DONNALEE-53
    It is unbelievable all the things we think we need to hang on to.
    I have been getting rid of stuff because I don't want to leave it to others. (the clutter I mean)
    Make it a clean sweep. emoticon
    47 days ago
  • ETHELMERZ
    We got rid of stuff, but are still enjoying new stuff, because we are still living. And so it goes.
    48 days ago
  • BECAUSEHELIVS
    I have just started following FlyLady..She has so many good ideas of cleaning and decluttering. Thanks for your inspiration..I need all I can get!
    48 days ago
  • MEROBERTS21
    That's great! Would you send me some motivation, please! lol emoticon
    48 days ago
  • TOMATOCAFEGAL
    Downsizing is hard to start. Need a detailed plan
    48 days ago
  • MARKSMOM3
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    48 days ago
  • no profile photo RACHNACH
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    48 days ago
  • SHERRI1BEE
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  • AZMOMXTWO
    I hope thet what ever you choose to do it will be the best for you I know that when I down size it will be awesome and hard at the same time
    48 days ago
  • HARRIETT14
    It gives me great pleasure to get things done in the house. I have donated a lot of different things during this pass three years and am looking to give more away.
    48 days ago
  • THINCPL2004
    Downsizing is good moving sucks!
    48 days ago
  • JANROLG
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    48 days ago
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    48 days ago
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  • KITTYHAWK1949
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  • VALORI9
    I really get a ‘lifted’ feeling after purging an area, closet or even a drawer. We are also looking to make a move and donating our unnecessary extras feels great! We have a local neighborhood website, and we posted a garage sale . . . Everything is free. We knew somebody would want or could use our furniture, kitchenware, etc. most of it went too. Some offered money, but we suggested they just enjoy their new treasures . . .
    48 days ago
  • TERRIJ7
    I started looking around my very large house with a critical eye when I began to consider that my own parents (divorced and single) are in their 80s and each live in large homes that are fully furnished and with storage sheds and barns that are filled with things. What am I going to do when one or both of them passes? We already have things we've inherited from DH's family...
    ...so I began to purge here. First, my closets of clothes I don't (or can't) wear--at least they should go to someone who can use them, right? Then other closets and dressers that held odd linens and sheets, old towels were turned into cleaning rags once and for all, plastic bags were donated to the the thrift store for their use, and it went from there. My new obsession is to purge rather than to collect and I'm liking the results. The kids have been given all of their things as they all have homes of their own now and I decided that they can keep their own memorabilia if it's important to them. Every once in a while, I'll come across some old school papers or report cards and will send them, along with a hand-written letter to the kid they belong to. They can keep them or toss them as they please. I figure that someone will do that when I'm gone anyway, so why not now? It's easier for all of us to do it in small bites and without the grief that would be involved for them if it was as a result of my passing.
    48 days ago
  • JUNETTA2002
    We have spent the last two weeks cleaning out my Father-in-laws apartment and getting rid of what needs to go. I know that when I get home I'm going to declutter big time. Thanks for sharing.
    48 days ago
  • THOMS1
    When we moved we had all of our children come and help. It worked out very well. Make the move , you will be very happy that you did. emoticon
    49 days ago
  • WANT2BTRIM
    I’m Still in the planning phase:)
    49 days ago
  • STELABELA61
    We downsized about 5 years ago and very happy with the decision. We sold our home of 30 years and moved into a two bedroom condo 55+ active adult community. We love it. No worries about the grass, pool, roof, and cleaning a house (which used to take me an entire day). The freedom is invigorating!

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    49 days ago

    Comment edited on: 2/27/2021 9:51:47 AM
  • DEE797
    Wow! You’ve gotten a lot done. Hope realtor gave you some good news. We are renters and the garage is full of boxes to be gone through. Keep saying we will get to them but haven’t. Dh, myself, our two adult kids and my dad are all collectors 😉 but the excess has been wearing on me since I had surgery and am off work. Time to tackle things a bit at a time.
    49 days ago
  • BONIFIANT
    We have downsized at least twice and after the initial hard work and disposing of things that I looked and decided "nobody in the family will want this or miss this when I am gone," I enjoy no longer having a 6 bed- room house to clean or looking at a sad flower garden that I can no longer weed. It is really hard work but I found it well worth the effort. Hope it goes well for you.

    Meanwhile enjoy the work of your hard work this pas emoticon t week.
    49 days ago
  • NJ_BEACHCOMBERS
    Downsizing seems to be a never ending thing with me.
    49 days ago
  • UPTOIT59
    Although we have downsized- it seemed I did the hard work- meaning the sorting of sentimental knickknacks. We are now in our new house and one of the rooms is filled with all the stuff he couldn't part with- I mean all over a couch and the floor. I am beside myself because he get annoyed if I suggest throwing any of it out- this is extraordinarily frustrating to me! lol emoticon
    49 days ago
  • RHOOK20047
    i know only too well what a job that is. I need to do the same thing at my house. I need to heal from my knee replacement before I embark on a journey like that.
    49 days ago
  • THROOPER62
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    49 days ago
  • JAZZEJR
    I’ve been what amounted to “playing at purging” for months. Maybe as motivation I just need to move to a smaller home!
    49 days ago
  • SUMMER33
    That is terrific...i need to do so much here..seems i move things from one place to the next but i did get rid of 8 to 10 bags and dropped things off at the rehome store ( habitat for humanity store)...but why i cling to some things is beyond me..
    49 days ago
  • MSLZZY
    Glad you cleaned as much as you did and now time to take
    stock and see how to move forward. No need to rush a move
    if it is not in the cards.
    49 days ago
  • CHERYLHURT
    I gave away so much stuff this year!
    49 days ago
  • PLCHAPPELL
    We all accumulate.
    49 days ago
  • IRISHEI
    Great job decluttering your home and all the things you do not need. I started this too when the pandemic began and got rid of many items, plus clothes that were too big on me. I also sorted photos and recipes into my books. I prepared lots of bags for my kids with their memories of our family when they were growing up. Lots of fun going through the photos.... emoticon emoticon
    I am trying to think too, if I move or downsize it will help me in the long run to get it prepared now. IF not, it will be easier for my kids if something happens to me too........hate to think of this, but it is something we all need to do eventually...... emoticon emoticon
    hugs, Irish Ei
    49 days ago
  • LIS193
    Moving across the pond made decluttering less hard, knowing it cost a fortune to have things shipped concentrates the mind!
    49 days ago
  • SHAKERATTLEROLL
    "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
    —Franklin D. Roosevelt

    “We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.”
    —Joseph Campbell

    "The soul’s joy lies in doing.”
    —Percy Bysshe Shelley
    49 days ago
  • REDROBIN47
    I'm in the proses of decluttering also. I took a huge bag to Goodwill today just from one closet. We are downsizing to move.
    49 days ago
  • ARNETTELEE
    You’re not the only one with so much stuff. I do too! We’ve been in our house since 1978 so I have all that paperwork in my file cabinet and plastic containers. Some are not so important but some are important. I’ve started scanning them so that I can get rid of the paper docs.

    Slowly but surely you are tackling yours as I am doing mine. Doing this daily in small chunks will make it easier in the long run. And of course, scanning the current docs and keeping up with that will make things easier.

    Have a great weekend!


    49 days ago
  • ROCKYCPA
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  • QUARTERMASTER3
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  • JAMER123
    Yes, moving is a huge job. We moved our kids with little help and one of the there were about 5 moves. Finally said no more. We are getting older and too much pain. Glad we downsized the stuff in our house but not moving. When we get back in the spring, I am going to start on the storage room which is the last room with lots of discards etc.
    We will be bringing things from our winter home to the northern one so this one will be cleared out as well.
    49 days ago
  • DOVESEYES
    Sounds like an adventure :)
    49 days ago
  • WOOFERCOALBOY
    LOVE the Maxine quote!!!!
    49 days ago
  • ARTJAC
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    49 days ago

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