<p>Cleared a van load of stuff out of the house. Furniture, dishes, odds n ends to D for her new living quarters. Hopefully none of it will find its way back after college.</p>
<p>This week I got rid of the patio umbrella that was torn to shreds by weather, two end tables, a sofa table, a yard waste bag of weeds, a bunch of junk laying around the deck that was ruined, and several framed āartā pictures that used to hang in the house but no longer matches anything. Tomorrow is electronics recycling day at work and they are going to have a big truck in the parking lot so Iām getting rid of 3 monitors and two computers (hanging on to the hard drives- donāt trust them to destroy them properly). </p>
<p>^^I wish we had an electronics recycling program - have an old monitor (the huge type) and a couple of computers that have been sitting in the den for some time!</p>
<p>Filled 3 more bags of trash from the bathroom cabinets and drawers. One cabinet was pretty unpleasant - I think maybe a mouse had been in it because there was a ton of chewed up half disintegrated and powdery stuff - I breathed some in accidently when I was sweeping it out and had an awful coughing fit that made me almost throw up! Also put 4 curling irons and a set of electric curlers with the stuff to go to contributions. I never use them so why keep them. The bottomless pit that was the laundry basked has been emptied and only current clothing remains. Goal was to finish the bathroom this weekend but I need to go to work 
(really donāt want to but going to Houston tuesday for Hās 2 year checkup at M D ANderson and need to try& finish up some work stuff as I will miss 3 1/2 days). </p>
<p>New goal is to get bathroom finished on Memorial day. It will feel like such an achievement to get one room completely done, even if it is a small one. I am quite horrified at how bad I have let this get. What I could see was bad, but I had hidden a LOT away in those cabinets over the years - how some of it even ended up in the bathroom is a mystery (like a bunch of paperwork and old checks from 1991!!). Then it will be on to the master bedroom I think. That will be quite a chore. I am getting much more ruthless as this endeavor progresses. Iād like to get the master bed done before I go to the UK for my annual visit (toward the end of the 3rd week of june), but donāt think that is possible between work and having my some come visit for several days. Will try and at minimum do the bag a week though. My son is going to help his Dad haul some of the stuff in the yard to a junk yard so that will be just amazing. Plus while i am gone, they are hauling sonās old 50s truck to SC where a friend is going to help him do it up which he has wanted to for years. That will count for hundreds or thousands of bags!!</p>
<p>A scene from the garage last nightā¦</p>
<p>Me: Wow, so much crap! Look, an old snowman on a stick - why do we keep it?
MrB: It looks pretty good to me. We can put it by the front door when the time comesā¦
Me: Uhm, no. The stick is broken! Can I toss it in the garbage?
Mr B: Uh, we can fix it, but I will need to get a new stick from HD. Oh, well, OK. Too much crap, I agree.
Me - victoriously dumps the snowman into the trash can. </p>
<p>^^woohoo!!</p>
<p>Iāve been following this thread and feeling guilty for not participating. Finally joining and it feels good. Cleaned off the potting shelves in the side yard. Lots of worn out old pool toys and plastic pots and worn out garden gloves and tools are now at the curb. Then bagged up two big black bags of clothes for donation and put them on my back seat so I remember to drop them off tomorrow. This feels fantastic.</p>
<p>Must have been something in the air swimcatsmom. I tackled the vanity drawers in my part of the bathroom today and cleared out 2 bags of stuff. A whole bag of travel size shampoos, etc are going to the homeless shelter with the church collection. One whole bag of trash, some so old they dried out. Yesterday was jelwery box and another dresser drawer and nightstand. Donating a bunch of jewlery I do not wear and made room/reogranized those I do wear. DH finally got the old rusted swing set out of the yard, too. It does feel good but there is so much more to go.</p>
<p>We are going to get a dumpster this summer. Itās been about five years since we last had one. They are terrific. My husband figures if heās paying for it, he should fill it! Good!!</p>
<p>Thumper, that is a terrific idea. Meanwhile, Mr B has been looking at shedsā¦ Yikes. He has been obsessing wih the idea of building a shed with solar panel roof. </p>
<p>No! No shed!! Donāt let it happen. It will become the pit for all that just canāt be parted with!</p>
<p>Tell him to put solar panels on the house. Or tell him you are putting in a heated in ground pool to go with the shed!</p>
<p>Iām surprised and happy - dh voluntarily filled two boxes with stuff from the basement garage and put them in my trunk so I can drop them off tomorrow, along with two lamps and a bag of clothes. He mentioned yesterday how much nicer it is to walk through my garage to the house in the evening since I tidied up out there (and tossed a bunch of stuff.) Maybe that provided some motivation. Whatever prompted it, Iām delighted. </p>
<p>
I know. Sigh. </p>
<p>
I really want to do this. Husband would take some convincing (really HATES to throw stuff away). Once we get to the den, garage and outside I think it will be necessary to get a dumpster though. Every old mower, hot water tank, broken water pump, screw etc etc that we have replaced since we have lived here is out there. (did I mention he HATES to throw anything away?).</p>
<p>How does the dumpster thing work. DO you pay for a set period of time or by the number of times you fill it up? And do you have to pay each time to have it dumped? </p>
<p>Thumper - I know!!!
Wellā¦ My lucky stars. Today, we drove by a property that had a solar-panel roof GAZEBO. That looked nice and that I can live with. :)</p>
<p>Where I am you choose the size dumpster you would like. There is a fixed cost for the delivery and pick up of the thing. Usually, they leave them a week. Soā¦you have a fixed price for the size you chooseā¦May as well fill it up in the allotted time!</p>
<p>Lord, a week. That is not long for all the rubbish we have (and as old and decrepit as we are!). Iām going to look into it though. Probably NOT during the summer though - way too hot here.</p>
<p>We used to be very good about clearing things out - mainly because we used to move to another state about every 2 years. Weāve been in this house nearly 20 years, and it would be a bigger problem if we hadnāt had a plumbing failure/flood that required emptying the first floor and several months of reconstructing/remodeling. After the kitchen was done I only put back what we useā¦unfortunately,.DH caught his coffee mug collection before it went to the Goodwill, so thereās 2 shelves of mugs nobody uses!
Unfortunately there is a closet upstairs that is 6ā deep and 2ā wideā¦shelves in the back but 4ā of floor space with no way to use itā¦dumping ground for what should be bagged up and moved out. Thatās my goal, empty that puppy out before July 4thā¦</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom, Iām sure you can arrange to have a dumpster longerā¦for a fee. Honestly we found it very easy to fill a small one in a week. Itās just so easy!!</p>
<p>Itās unfortunate, but I am going to add myself to this thread. </p>
<p><em>takes hat off</em> Hi, Iām Niquii and I have pack-rat like tendencies and a shopping obsession. <em>put hat back on</em></p>
<p>When school was in session I had three closets to store my clothes in: my dorm closet, the guest room closet, and my bedroom closet. Now, that school out of session, I have essentially a closet and a dresser worth of clothes that cannot fit in their designated places. Clothes are everywhere. I lose shirts. I find shirts. Some pants I totally forgot aboutā¦others I canāt even find! </p>
<p>Iām off to take some notes from this thread. :)</p>
<p>I have two bags of old linens to donate tomorrow. My linen closets look great (we have three). </p>
<p>Next upā¦purses and shoes. </p>