<p>After I FINALLY let go of 80 percent of my Gourmet magazines they stopped publishing it! It was my fault!</p>
<p>Ahh. Magazines. H insists on buying and saving EVERY car magazine he can think of. Car & Driver, Hot Rod, Hemmings Classic Cars, Hemmings Muscle Machines, you name it. Heās even been known to go to ebay to find the ones āmissingā from his ācollectionā. So we have tons of those that I will NEVER be able to get rid of.</p>
<p>And to make matters worse he buys most of them off the magazine rack so pays full price for them! UGH heās lucky heās so adorable.</p>
<p>National Geosā¦years ago we had a garage sale with the seemingly million NG that had cluttered my space for YEARS. Think we sold 2. At the end of the sale, my sis and I took out the maps (the best part) and cut out all the old Coke ads (plus a few others) since I collect some of them and pitched the majority. We kept a fewābut probably threw those out eventuallyāIāll probably find them stuck in a boxā¦</p>
<p>QMāTake pictures BEFORE you start so you can SEE the difference and you can prove that something has changed. Donāt forget the AFTER pix. Hard to brag without proof!</p>
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<p>I took my bagā¦a large recyclable bagā¦filled today to my thrift store. I brought the bag home empty and will refill for Wednesdayā¦this time with books.</p>
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<p>Oh, National Geographics! Many years ago, a huge collection showed up mysteriously at a friendās familyās vacation home! She got there for a relaxing weekend, and noticed the bookshelves were FILLED with National Geographics! Turns out her sisterās boyfriend āthought the family might enjoy themā. Reminds me of the joke about locking your car doors during zucchini season!</p>
<p>gouf78āThanks, Iāve got the āBeforeā pictures! Actually, I took them a year ago, in conjunction with Oprahās challenge to donate items. The people at the local Goodwill drop-off spot all recognize me. The chaos in the house currently looks much the same as a year ago, but I know that itās actually been reduced.</p>
<p>The house sort of got away from me in the spring of QMPās second grade year. Considering that QMP is now in grad school . . . </p>
<p>We donāt qualify for āHoardersā! Itās not <em>that</em> bad. But there is a lot of room for improvement.</p>
<p>Took three bags of clothes (large white garbage bags) and three brown bags of books to our Goodwill drop-off.</p>
<p>I also emptied out several of my kitchen cabinets over the weekend and was able to fill about eight boxes with stuff I no longer want or need. My Dd took a few items, and the rest Iām going to try keep in boxes for awhile, as Iām going to set up a yard sale with the 10-year-old son of my cousin. Heās been involved in fund raisers for a doggie rescue group, and I thought he could be the āfront manā at my sale and use the proceeds for his rescue. His mom will donate some goods to the cause as well.
This inspires me to go through even more stuff before the sale date so my little relative can make a decent donation.</p>
<p>I dropped my bags off at the Goodwill truck parked across the street from the grocery store. A kind gentleman took my stuff and gave me a blank receipt. I previously that day purchased ten, ten dollar gift cards to Starbucks to send to my kids and some others for Valentineās Day. There was something about this Goodwill attendant that was so kind and special. I returned to my car and got one of the gift cards and gave it to him. He was so appreciative and it warmed my heart. I look forward to bringing more bags to him and surprising him with little gifts!</p>
<p>^^^random act of kindness Peaceful. :)</p>
<p>Someone who worked in a the thrift store business mentioned that National Geographics are called the āyellow plagueā. They were worth saving to cut up for school projects, and I do appreciate looking through the collection when traveling to certain destinations. But no moreā¦</p>
<p>Whoever started the marketing campaign that NG was actually worth saving is brilliant. </p>
<p>peacefulmom, thatās a lovely story.</p>
<p>gouf, there are times when I think I <em>canāt</em> take a picture of this mess because itās not at all something I want to remember. But having a before/after is very rewarding.</p>
<p>QM, The piles in this house donāt seem to go away here either. I could fit everything in my closet before; it was just more cramped in there than it is now. I suppose trying to make a dent is more obvious when I toss the big things. Itās the small stuff, those papers, that need to get out. Wish I owned Natl Geo. Theyāre so easy to toss and their absence is so welcome.</p>
<p>The pictures are quite rewarding. I took some before and after each weekend at my momās. I didnāt feel like there was much to show after the first couple of weekends- even though Iād filled a dumpster each time. But then the next weekend was the money shot. Huge difference in that last weekend.</p>
<p>I just refilled my big recyclable bagā¦with more clothes. My first goal is to make my walk in closet a bit more orderly. Today I went through some slacks, and sweaters. Iām going to have to do that again. I mean reallyā¦do I NEED 10 pairs of black slacks?</p>
<p>^ YES, you do indeed need 10 pairs of black slacks.</p>
<p>Heyā¦you arenāt exactly helping me get rid of the excess :)</p>
<p>thumper, it depends on the black slacks!! Letās see ā one heavy wool for the coldest days, one lighter wool, one velveteen, one with a faint pinstripe, one that goes to a suit you have, one thatās medium-weight cotton, one thatās very light-weight cotton, one thatās capri length ā thatās eight so far! </p>
<p>Oh wait ā thatās my closet!</p>
<p>Well, my 10 pair pants would goādress black, casual, one for flats, one for heels, wide leg, skinny leg, heavy fabric, lightweight, medium weight, and ONE that actually fits.</p>
<p>Do you wear black pants for work? I would probably keep my favorite 4.</p>
<p>Tonightās project was to throw away about 20 years of other familiesā picture Christmas cards. It felt a little weird, but it needed to be doneā¦</p>