<p>Just joining the club, although I thought about it–a LOT–on 1/1/14! I was “inspired” by the fact that I needed to find some paperwork. And find it I did, while amassing a gigantic garbage bag of clothes and shoes for the Salvation Army and a pretty big bag of paper recycling. We live in a very small Brooklyn, NYC space (well, not so small for an apartment here for mother and high school kid who will be in college in August) but I have 2 closets to purge and a pile of crap to go through. Wish me luck!</p>
<p>I got rid of a good-sized piece of furniture today, that’s been living in our garage for a year and a half. It’s from our old house and doesn’t fit in our new house. I put it on Freecycle and a nice young woman came and got it. Gone!!</p>
<p>fabulous!! fabulous!! all.
I am doing the 3 things a day as I started way before all of you many months ago. AND YET! I I did indeed find three things today. Also, a GF and I went to a nice jewelry store where she took her old broken stuff and made $1000 a few weeks ago. I did not take anything today but will in a bit. I did sell broken ear rings and such a few years ago and earned a few hundred dollars.</p>
<p>My HUSBAND actually cleaned out some stuff! So excited!..garbage cans are full, recycle bin full and stuff in my trunk to donate–great weekend!</p>
<p>We had a similar weekend - dh filled two large contractor bags with trash from the garages and plus two boxes of stuff worth donating. He dragged his feet at first, but now he’s doing great. Last night he hung a sheet of pegboard in the basement garage so he could start organizing tools. He’s feeling a little sheepish about the number of duplicates we have because he bought a new thingamabob when he couldn’t find his old one. Our kids will be asked if they need any of the extras and whatever is left he has agreed to donate.</p>
<p>Just wanted to bring this thread back toward the front page of the Parent Cafe, because it continues to be tremendously useful to me. Since I posted that I had run out of garbage bags, I have gone through an additional 135 bags (some with just regular household garbage, though).</p>
<p>Three cheers for QM. I wish you could post before and after shots. </p>
<p>It is fun for me to clean house with others and the fly lady web site became too chaotic for me to keep up with them. This week I went through all the linens. I got rid of two bags. One bag was pillows that needed to be replaced. I also took a bag of scented candles to goodwill. People give them to me as hostess gifts. Husband is allergic to most perfumes. I also took some other hostess gifts. I won’t tell what they were in case you gave them to me. I loved your gift.</p>
<p>I had to log in just so I could say WOW! QM!! AWESOME!!! That is a LOT of bags! I hope you are at a point that you can see your fantastic progress. </p>
<p>I had S clean out his closet this weekend, after he was found with 7 laundry baskets in his room. Who needs a closet and dresser when you can store all your clean and dirty clothes in baskets right by your bed? Anyway, we ended up with 3 bags of good clothes to pass to a cousin. </p>
<p>I bought some new pillows and had 2 to throw out and 2 to go in the wash. H took the throw away pillows and put them in the garage until garbage day. S’s favorite pillows that were to be washed, ended up in the - you guessed it - garbage, thanks to H. When I asked if the pillows were in the wash he got that look - - yeah, he didn’t think “those” pillows looked bad enough to throw out, but in the spirit of spring cleaning, he threw them out! And the throw out pillows are still in the garage.</p>
<p>I continue to declutter. I have two bags for goodwill in my car as we speak. </p>
<p>Wow, 135 bags must win some sort of propose! I am in awe!</p>
<p>Took two large black bags of old clothes to a charity thrift store. </p>
<p>Thanks for the good wishes! The master bedroom is starting to look pretty good, and it is possible to walk all the way to the back of the walk-in closet without stepping over or treading on things. I did take “before” pictures, primarily for my own encouragement. But “after” hasn’t happened yet! There are still quite a few rooms, boxes, and bags to go. I’m currently gathering the next set of donations to Goodwill.</p>
<p>Also, lol alh, about the hostess gifts. :)</p>
<p>QM: I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering about your hundreds of bags. Are you willing to tell us what you are letting go? Also, how long have you been in your house? Did you add some other household’s goods to your own at some point? for example through inheritances? Are you donating any books? Inquiring minds and so on…</p>
<p>I have my bag ready to go this weekend. Feel an “old files of paperwork” fit coming on.</p>
<p>What a timely thread! I’ve been shredding documents, old tax returns, bank and other financial statements. It will be great if I can thin it out enough to get rid of the big file cabinet. I still had kitchen appliance manuals from 20 years ago. The appliances were long gone. I am on my third kitchen since.</p>
<p>Does this count? I browsed around goodwill today,and didn’t buy anything! </p>
<p>^ I browsed around goodwill today and didn’t buy anything either! I did drop off a bag of donations while I was there. H bought 2 new pillows for the family room but we bagged 5 to get rid of so it’s a net gain of space. </p>
<p>Hi alh, in response to your questions: First off, I have to admit that quite a few of the bags are regular household garbage, newspapers, catalogs, magazines, etc., all of which we have been throwing out routinely in the past. (I don’t have that type of hoarding problem.) So quite a few of the bags should not count, in the current context. As far as what I am letting go: Clothing in good condition (but wrong sizes now), toys, holiday decorations (some in unopened boxes), kitchen oversupply, a few items of furniture, . . . boxes and boxes and boxes to Goodwill. I must admit that I have not yet sorted through the hand-held vacuum cleaners to donate. We are donating some books, split between the elementary school and Goodwill, depending on type. I think I have about 20-25 Goodwill donation receipts from 2013, and that’s continuing this year. How long we have been in our house: since QMP (now completing a graduate degree) was a young toddler, so a fairly long time. Acquisition through inheritance: Yes, about one entire household worth, combining both sides of our family. The oldest items that we have are from my great-great-great grandfather, and I am hanging on to all of those; they are not valuable in any monetary sense, but they are meaningful to us.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding, QM. It is nice to fill in the picture. How wonderful to have things from a great-great-great!</p>