<p>I woke up this morning thinking of my dresser drawers, trying to decide which to start with today. Do any of you have a hard time getting rid of socks that have seen better days? I mean, how many pairs does a person need? Why a whole drawer just for socks? Trouser dress socks, casual pant socks, tennis socks, hiking socks, boot socks and tights. It gets a bit out of hand! :-)</p>
<p>And the old T-shirts. Every volunteer activity and vacation taken with the kids seems to have a t-shirt attached. Ugh. They can all go. They make good dust cloths, but I already have a cupboard full of too many of those, too.</p>
<p>You are quite right, VeryHappyâŠany amount of decluttering, whether large or small is still decluttering!</p>
<p>I was also the one to ask you âwhyâ a few years ago about selling your home and moving since I had planned to stay in my home forever and welcome grandchildren there! What a difference a few years make! Now H and I have a plan to move in a few years, to a different state. Not necessarily to a warmer state, just a new, fresh change weâve been needing.</p>
<p>So in my case, we are decluttering with a purpose to make a move in a few years, but you are rightâŠany bag whether large or small counts! :)</p>
<p>And since my H is a packrat, itâs taking nothing less than the largest bags to declutter this home! Mainly our basement area, which is quite large and has a few rooms of stuff.</p>
<p>chocchipcookie, as you may recall, we moved about 15 months ago. New house is only around five miles away from old house, but around 2/3 of the size of the old house. Weâre very happy here!!</p>
<p>I decided this AM to keep something I thought I was getting rid of: We have a tiny TV (tube-type, not flat screen) and I was going to give it away on Freecycle. It was on the counter in the kitchen of our old house but we have no need for it here. When I started to dust it, I realized it plays VCR tapes too, with no separate machine to set up. So I think weâll keep it for awhile, to play the occasional VCR tape that comes our way. Weâve got the space.</p>
<p>We have gobs of VHS tapes (kid) that we havenât parted with yet. Are they worthless at this point? We have one working vcr but after that stops, I donât know. I remember when we collected these, I thought some day I would have them to play for grandkids. I guess I thought our vcr would last forever. I think we went through 3.</p>
<p>You can probably stream the same movies over Netflix or something for them. Get rid of the VHS tapes. The only ones Iâm wondering about are the ones with our home movies on them. I need to get them into digital form.</p>
<p>^^Yes, home movies. We have numerous taped rugby games that the boys played in, including the one where S2 broke his arm close to the elbow. Weâve never been able to watch that one!</p>
<p>I actually threw out a bunch of old VHS movies from my kidsâ youthâlike Star Wars and stuff. Then S asked me if I still had them, cuz he knew a coffeehouse which played stuff on a VCR still. Whoops.</p>
<p>Take any old socks or just socks that you donât really wear and use them for rags. Just use once then throw away! </p>
<p>Bag out to the trash. Cleaned out the foyer coat closet, a desk/junk drawer area in the kitchen and a broom closet (that has many other things besides brooms in it!!!) Yeah!</p>
<p>Great book for dealing with clutter is âItâs All Too Muchâ by Peter Walsh. He used to have a show called Clean Sweep. I never saw his show, but I have watched old Hoarders shows for motivation to throw stuff out!</p>
<p>This morning I decided to âshopâ in the ârarely wornâ section of my closet. First thing I tried on, which EVERY TIME I purge I think should be kept, I tried on and hated and went immediately into the ârecycle pile.â A second sweater was iffy but I forced myself to wear it today with a never worn scarfâŠif I end up hating it into the pile it goes.</p>
<p>^^ I also wore an iffy sweater today, from my closet clean out - and I cannot wait to go home and throw it right in the wash and donate pile. It looks good but I am so hot! Canât wear this fabric any more.</p>
<p>Iâm going to take a picture on my cell and message it to my kids of anything Iâm throwing out that they might want. If they say no thanks, out it goes with no regret.</p>
<p>My Dd helped me yesterday when I was cleaning out my dresser. I came across a dozen headbands that I used to wear back when they were in fashion. I messaged my daughter if she thought theyâd ever come back in style (Hillary?) and she said, âJust keep two faves.â Great advice, so in the trash went the rest. </p>
<p>My closet is looking pretty good now, and I need to finish my dresser. I find that items like old scarves, if they are a beautiful silk or wool, are hard to part with even if I havenât worn them for years. I should, though, as thatâs the point. I usually wear a few favorites, and the rest just sit there.</p>
<p>moonchild, Iâll take your silk and wool scarves. I guess scarves are really an exception to my purging. I inherited some from my mother and I have others that I bought at least 40 years ago. Every once in a while, one of them works with something Iâm wearing, so Iâm glad I have them. And they donât take up that much space.</p>
<p>VeryHappy, now youâre making me crazy! If I lived in CT, Iâd hang on to every one, too. Being in SoCA, I only wear them part of the year. And weâre so casual, that even the silk ones only come out with a dressy jacket. Oh, dear. Now I need to put them in the âmaybeâ box.
No enabling allowed on this thread, lol! Iâm already keeping over a dozen- the warmer ones for the cold month(s) and the ones that can be worn as a shawl.</p>
<p>Iâve started in my kitchen. A few months ago, when we got a new faucet, I cleaned out the cabinets under the sink. Today I tackled 2 other cabinets and 2 drawers. Thereâs more space already (altho I donât plan to fill it with more junk). I found instruction manuals for small appliances we no longer have, old lunch boxes and thermoses my kids used in elementary school (did I think I was saving these for non-existent grandchildren), cheap florist vases I thought I might use sometime (not!), etc. Theyâre no longer cluttering my cabinets and drawers.</p>
<p>Good for you, shellfell. My kitchen is next on my list.
Maybe Iâll regret this, but Iâm in the mood to only keep things that I love and know Iâll use.
Iâm even planning to gift some of my better jewelry to family (if itâs welcome) that I donât wear. ( I will check with new DIL who lives in NorCal if she wants some of my scarves. You do have a point, VH. )
Dh and I are planning to downsize in a couple of years, when he retires. Thinking about living more simply will make the whole project easier. We will have to get rid of a lot of things and unfortunately, it doesnât seem like my kids will want much. Iâm kind of looking forward to lightening up, but I need to be careful that I donât get carried away as I tend to have a more minimalist mindset, anyway. Now my Dh, heâs going to have a tough time.</p>
I guess scarves are really an exception to my purging. I inherited some from my mother and I have others that I bought at least 40 years ago. Every once in a while, one of them works with something Iâm wearing, so Iâm glad I have them. And they donât take up that much space.</p>