Simplify, simplify. ~ Thoreau

[socialjustice_fsu]

So as I am sorting through enough photographs to wallpaper the Lincoln Memorial and the stacks of books that would rival a small town library...I ponder...how did it get like this? This 'abundance' has moved from a blessing to a curse. So hence...this thread has been born. At 2 AM this Wednesday I am going to start my own process of simplifying my life...be it tangible or intangible.

Here's the jest...What two things can YOU do to simplify your life right now?

For example: Gather up all your old magazines (the one's you set aside for a year or so) and take them to an Assisted Living Facility just down the road.

Hang a magnetic list/pad on the frig. so when you run out of something you can write it down right away instead of making 4 extra trips to the grocery...

Okay...here is what I am doing:

1. I have sorted through all of my books and will be taking them (maybe close to 200 books sans my Butch-Femme erotica) to our independent bookstore so they can send them onto the Books for Prisoners Program.

2. I have compiled all my warranty paperwork on stuff I own and put it in a 3 ring binder for easy access.

Please share your ideas...

[Gentle Tiger]

Interesting timing for this thread. Thank you! One of my birthday goals has been to simplify my life and let go of the clutter. I am in the process of moving. I've decided to get rid of the excess weight, let go of the past and make room for my future. So for this move I am doing doing several things but two major steps are:

1. Sorting, filing and shredding/recycling three boxes (and counting) that just have just gone with me from place to place. Some things just do not need to be kept!

2. Donating 100 books (and counting). I will have to see who does the Books for Prisoners program where I live. That's a good idea. Thanks

I'm looking forward to reading what others are doing.

[Diva]

One thing that worked for me:

When I decided to finally get to my Dad's room and redo it, I emptied everything out of it...to the dining room/gathering space....THEN, I would be forced to deal with it. I redid the room ~ NOW called The Red Room (See Gallery for before & after shots) ~ and put the things in there I wanted.....sans clutter!

It was SO liberating!

And I'm whittling away at the crap in the dining/gathering space....it has wound up filed away, thrown away or given away, but not back in The Red Room!

[Stearns]

In keeping my clothes closet as minimal as possible, I'm pretty good with the adage, "If you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it." There's a Goodwill near my house, which makes it really convenient.

My outside storage closet, however, is a different matter. It needs a serious overhaul. I've let it get out of control with tools, car wash items, boxes, etc. I tend to pre-plan in my mind what to get rid of. I just need to do it.

[Gentle Tiger]

Another practice that is helping is to go paperless as much as possible. Do I really need the original or can I scan it and keep an electronic copy. Do I really need to keep the item at all? Really?

What's helped me get through these boxes of documents has been asking this question - did I even know it was in this box? Have I thought about this item in my hand? No? Out it goes.

Why didn't I think of this sooner?! :blink:

I'm sure no one else can relate. LOL

[Greco]

socialjustice_fsu,

This is an excellent thread. There are those that say that one
must change their beliefs to more productive, positive ones.

I have found that taking an action on change has worked best
for me. For example, I also have had many, many books, on
many subjects, so as I began to get them boxed for donating
to my local library, memories of all they contained came up
for me.

They reminded me that the knowledge I read in those books I
had in fact made choices about, that I agreed, or did not agree,
that I learned something new, and productive to carry me
forward. So, it was in the act of clearing, and boxing up that
I discovered that I no longer needed those books because
I had learned from them and no longer needed their physical
presence.

So, I say clutter. Begin to unclutter, and stay mindful of the
feelings that come up as one unclutters...that for me is where
the learning is, action. Great thread.

Greco

[Blade]

When my neighbor decided to rent his house out after his son got married and the untimely death of his wife, he made a plan.

He took one room at a time and made 3 piles....KEEP....DUMP...CHARITY aka Goodwill etc. It took him a while, the house is huge and Cindy was a decorator. You couldn't put your hand on a wall or the top of something that she didn't have something else right beside it. She must have had 200 chicken items and probably 500 squirrel items and I don't have a clue what all else. But it was all very clean and well organized, so at least he didn't have a mess to clean up and all the stuff to sort thru.

I'm thinking this through in my brain and haven't decided exactly where to start. I did start the kitchen this week on my day off. Call me ADD, I also started my bedroom and no I didn't finish either but hey they are started. I'll be back when I come up with a plan.

[Waldo]

I, as June and a few others can attest, live a very spartan life. I keep nothing in my home that doesn't dignificantly enrich my life. Friends, family and loved ones have all, at various times, complained that I'm the hardest personto shop for because there's nothing that I want. Which, strictly speaking, is not true.

But having lived in four different states in less than a year I got really good at determining what was important and what wasn't.

But the turning point for me really came years earlier while I was living in New Mexico and the Bosque was on fire. We were just blocks from the fire and they were evacuating everyone. They'd already come down out block on the bull horn and let us know that we were on evacuation alert. I started gathering all the things which would devastate me if I lost them. Fortunately they all fit in a single box.

The box may have changed to something a bit more decorative, but the conents haven't changed much at all. What's in the box is all of the "things" that really matter to me. Everything else is a matter of "do I really want to take this into the next chapter of my life?" or "will it cost me more to move/ship than it will to replace?"

It's a pretty awesome way to live.

[Nina]

I am a big collector...

I am very tidy and organized so, the things IN the house are in order...

I have two Big storage units in the back yard which I put in...it is they that hold the mystery items...I plan to get someone to haul all the stuff Out of the sheds, sort through and be ruthless...I donate things all the time, from the house that is, and will donate from the shed...part of the 'issue' is that much of the collections have value, as in can be sold, and I don't like the selling part...I did ebay for a while, and I sold stuff, but who has the time or effort for that?...

I have lots and lots of collectable plates, glass wear, and the like...

I have boxes and boxes of vintage children's books...

I have tons of sorted through, bagged, vintage costume jewelry...

and more...

I am still planning how to deal with it all...

today I am going to office depot and getting a shredder...I have papers which gotta go, but not as an unwelcome access to my personal info...

the whole sorting and purging is top of my list...I need to get to it before the rain starts...

but, I have to step up the sewing for the holiday shows...even typing this I feel overwhelmed...I need a sorting partner

oh dear!

[chefhottie25]

just a few days ago i went through my tshirts...4 dresser drawers of them. i managed to lose 2 drawers worth...donated to my sister and goodwill. i also went through a massive collection of cooking magazines that i haven't thrown out in 2 years. i donated them to the mental health clinic that i go to. i was tired of reading the same 1 year old sports illustrated while i waited for my appointments. it made me feel good too. the receptionists at the clinic were so grateful for the donation. it inspired me to buy the clinic a subscription to food and wine magazine. now they will be current on at least one periodical.

[Gemme]

I'm what I call a sentimentalist. Short of a hoarder but more than a minimalist, I have kept the things that remind me of good things/times and/or lessons I
need(ed) to learn. I keep family albums and my writing from high school, for example. I don't have a lot of tchotchkes though I do tend to acquire a lot of clothing in my life and I regularly purge so that it doesn't become completely overwhelming.

Right now, I'm in a studio, so even though I've purged quite a bit before my move, it's a little more than what is reasonable for the space Organic and I share. Is it more than I need, per say? Absolutely. Do the items I have contribute to my life in a meaningful way? Most of the time, yes. There are things that I can do without and a bunch of them are in a garbage bag in my trunk, awaiting a stop at the local Goodwill.

I'm very fortunate that Organic is not a big collector of things.

I can honestly say both Organic and I are looking forward to moving to a larger place next year, not so we can get more stuff to fill the space but so we can spread what we do have out, so it's more airy and open.

[Nat]

For example: Gather up all your old magazines (the one's you set aside for a year or so) and take them to an Assisted Living Facility just down the road.


Alternative suggestion: If any of your old magazines are feminist, gay or otherwise subversive, stop by your local hospital or clinic and leave them in the lobby/waiting areas along with the "Good Housekeeping" and "Reader's Digest". :)

[LipstickLola]

I work in a hospital, the waiting rooms are always needing current reading materials, I like to replace the worn, tattered magazines and paper back books with ones from home, or that have been given to me, keeps down the clutter. I love books, so it's very difficult for me to give them away, I keep hardbacks, maybe some day I can let them go as well.

Also? being the mom of a disabled child who works for Goodwill Industries, and seeing 'Goodwill' mentioned in this thread makes me smile. It's good folks like you, who keep people like her employed.

Lola

[Gentle Tiger]

One important thing is to remember how you got in the complicated mess that now requires you to simplify. It is so easy to replace the clutter after you've worked so hard to get rid the mess whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Sometimes we do it without even thinking!

Just thought I'd put that out there because I had to catch myself on a couple of things.

[Diva]

One important thing is to remember how you got in the complicated mess that now requires you to simplify. It is so easy to replace the clutter after you've worked so hard to get rid the mess whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Sometimes we do it without even thinking!

Just thought I'd put that out there because I had to catch myself on a couple of things.



I know exactly how it happened for me......

When I came out, my ex-husband kicked me out of the house with what I could fit in my car. I basically had nothing after having 2 children, a 4-bedroom home, and every luxury one could imagine. All of a sudden, I had nothing.

So when I relocated with nothing, I was in a studio apt. with some clothes, a Dollar Store frying pan & sauce pan, 3 wooden spoons, paper plates and plastic cups & cutlery.

When I received my settlement, I went a little crazy to try and create a sense of normalcy for myself. At the time, that meant 'things'.

And now, as I begin to simplify ~ the physical AND emotional ~ I'm finding out what is TRULY important in my life, and divorcing myself from the stuff that is not....it gets easier and easier.

[Bit]

Well, I know it doesn't quite fit the direction the thread is headed in right now--that "get rid of" direction--but the way we just simplified our lives was buying things at a moving sale.

1. File cabinet and book case so we can finally get all the boxes and tubs emptied, and tea carts so we can get the kitchen working better.

2. Tupperware and Pyrex so I can finally take things to potlucks and bake sales without a hassle.

One of the things I've learned over the years through divorces, moves, and floods, is that I *will* repeatedly replace the things which are important to me if I lose them in my life, and that says to me that they must be more than clutter... so since I'm not going to get rid of them, I might as well get the furniture that makes them work properly.

[AtLast]

In 2000, my LTR of 21 years ended, my Mom and a sister had recently died and I closed a business and moved to a place that I knew no one (even though it is close to my childhood home). I did become involved again, for 6 years. She also died.

My partner and I owned a house together which was mostly furnished with my stuff and I ended up with both my Mom's and sister's personal effects, plus all the furniture in my office. I moved from a 2600 square foot house into an 1100 square foot condo! I gave family members a lot of stuff, but I had so much stuff and was so depressed at the time, I just stored most of what was left.

It took years to face this and part with so many things. I did keep a couple of items like my Mom's bedroom suit, but I had enough extra furniture for 4 families! Plus, I am a collector of things.

Now, I am in a time of my life in which I just really don't want what I don't need and am in preliminary planning for re-location. I'm retired and have some severe arthritis and just need to be in a different climate. I also really want to have a more quiet life and am tired of the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area in CA. Also, this is just not a place to live as I want to on fixed retirement funds.

I am going to have to part with many of the items that do have sentimental value to me, but I just seem to be willing to do so. I think this is just part of falling in with the life stages I am in. Finally, making this decision and starting to plan out when I need to have my house ready to sell has helped. it takes a good six months to get a place ready to sell and it is best to have as little possible in it while being shown. I rented a studio I have to a friend, but she will only be here for about a year and that will fit in with my needing to have the place to myself to prepare for selling it. I will get my kid and a couple of nephews here to help me out with painting, repairs and staging for prospective buyers. My guess is that I will just stay in my RV while it is being shown because it is a pain to be living in a house when trying to sell it- you never know when an agent will be bring someone to look at it. And everything has to be spotless for showings and open-houses. Rather just be in my little house on wheels and not worry about it, plus I don’t want it to look cluttered with a bunch of furniture and stuff. So, the later date to have it sold is September of 2012, hopefully a few months sooner. If I can get all of the stuff out of it (will have to do some storage again, but nothing like before) by November-December of 2011, that would be great. Even with declines in home sales prices here, I have good equity in my place and I want to turn that into more of the life I want to be living. Hell, if I miss SF, I'll visit as a tourist! There are many other places I want to re-visit and others that I have never been to- just in the US! I have to have this phasing plan as I do have some disability issues that make doing all of this a much slower process for me. So, I need to just get it in motion!

Mainly, I want to simplify... that really is at the root of this! And explore more. There is so much that I used to think I needed that I just don't want anymore. I want to travel and do some of that leisure-time thing I hear about! Other areas have much better real estate prices. Perhaps meeting a woman in the same space might happen, but, who knows and I am just not really invested in doing so right now.

Yes, simplification! Interesting, I remember my Mom hitting this time in her life and didn't understand it fully. Now, I do!

[citybutch]

I have started to NOT listen to the radio as I drive around to see clients. Somehow it has helped to de-clutter my mind... less mental idiotic stimulation brings more peace...

When I DO listen to something I listen to Ekhart Tolle on CD...

[diamondrose]

Two things I am doing to simplify my life..


1. Shopping clearance to save money and buy more :D
2. Organizing my school schedule to get on a good routine.

[AtLast]

I have started to NOT listen to the radio as I drive around to see clients. Somehow it has helped to de-clutter my mind... less mental idiotic stimulation brings more peace...

When I DO listen to something I listen to Ekhart Tolle on CD...

I love this! I am a political person and have always thrived on current events, but, I have to say that due to so many left-wing, progressive talk radio hosts begining to sound just like the right-wingers (not content, the manner of speaking- no yelling), these shows just ramp me up to a steady state of anxiety and dred. Give me Charlie Rose and text to read! Thom Hartmann is OK, too.

Talk radio- no matter the political stance- has become nothing but loud noise to me.

I agree, less clutter while driving!

[Diva]

I am coming back to this thread because I needed to.

A couple of months ago, I had a significant event in my life which has changed me. It has not been a pleasant change. I have 3 very dear friends who tell me I am being too hard on myself, but it really pisses me off that it has changed me and my outlook on many things. I am struggling to find a way to cope and I keep coming back to a more minimalistic lifestyle.

So I turned to Google and found >> THIS (http://www.becomingminimalist.com/)<<

It is helping me get rid of a lot of clutter....and not just the physical stuff, either.

All I know is that SOMEthing has to change in me. I have placed too much importance on things and people and events and less on peace and calm, my spirit's survival and the earth itself.

[Gemme]

Yesterday and today have been and are being devoted to this theme. It's a long road but we're getting there.

[girl_dee]

Diva I love the link you posted, especially the cookbook!

for me, I lost material things in a Katrina. I lost all the things I thought I "Could not live without";

my Disney salt and pepper shakers
Boat (that was a hard one)
ceramic knick knack thing that lived by the door for 10 years
rock collection
CD's
softball gear
etc....



Of course I could live without them! I can't tell you how good it feels not really feeling connected to *things* anymore. I still have sentimental items that I hold close but the unimportant clutter is gone and I realized the memories are never lost.

What I hold dear now are people, and the memory of the one special friend that I lost in the storm, not knick knacks. The memory of a City I loved before the storm changed everything. The what nots just don't matter anymore. Simplifying feels great!

[Gráinne]

I'm glad I found this thread. Ever since I got back from Washington, I've been thinking about how much clutter is in my life-not just stuff, but mental habits and wrong beliefs just taking up rent space. I'm really feeling a need not only to clean out my house, but to clean out my inner house, too. Too much spiritual, mental and physical clutter (ie. fat) here.

Getting rid of things and donating stuff is a tangible way to do it :). That makes me feel good.

[girl_dee]

Freecycle is a great resource to clean out the clutter too!

It's been proven that cleaning out a closet is emotionally cleansing!

[DamselFly]

when i moved, i left behind most of my "stuff". the only things i brought w/me are some clothes, my teapots, my Taoist/Buddhist books (even though i can't read them at this time), and my altar. having little stuff gives a sense of freedom...as Lao-Tzu said,
to have little is to possess.
to have much is be perplexed.
a good blog to go to for writings on minimalism is zenhabits. i have it on my igoogle page. once at the end of every season, i do a "housecleaning" and donate the clothes i haven't worn that season. i figure if summer has gone by and i haven't worn something, i probably won't wear it next summer and don't need it. my objective is to get a week's worth of clothing for each season. that's it. always feminine, of course.
DamselFly:glasses:

[Kelt]

This little article landed in my inbox today, and I thought this might be a good place for it. I consider myself to be a moderate minimalist but this made me realize that I still need to organize...hmm..or not, a couple of areas in my home.

Organizing is often well-planned hoarding

http://theminimalists.com/about/

We need to start thinking of organizing as a dirty word. It is, in fact, a sneaky little profanity—a pernicious little booger—who keeps us from simplifying our lives.

Our televisions would have us believe that there’s a battle being fought on the consumption continuum, a battle between the organizers and the hoarders. And from our couches it’s hard to see who’s winning.

We’d like to posit to you, however, that these two sides are working together, colluding to achieve the same thing: the accumulation of more stuff. One side—the hoarders—does so overtly, leaving everything out in the open, making them easy targets to sneer at. But the other side—the sneaky organizers—are more covert, more systematic, more devious when it comes to the accumulation of stuff. Ultimately, though, organizing is nothing more than well-planned hoarding.

Sure, both sides go about their hoarding differently, but the end result is not appreciably different. Whether our homes are strewn with wall-to-wall material possessions or we have a complex ordinal item-dispersal system, color-coded and alphabetized, we’re still not dealing with the real problem.

No matter how organized we are, we must continue to care for the stuff we organize, cleaning and sorting our methodically structured belongings. When we get rid of the superfluous stuff, however, we can focus on life’s more important aspects. Said another way: We can spend the day focusing on our health, on our relationships, on pursuing what we’re passionate about. Or we could, of course, reorganize our basement again.

Once the excess stuff is out of the way, staying organized is much easier anyway.

[socialjustice_fsu]

Thank you for the link and the synopsis of the article. I have been perplexed from time to time about this 'opposing' shift of view. Personally, I tend to lean more toward having what I need with a dash of objects that fill my senses, my wants. Following a move from a large home to a two bedroom apartment I took note at how much lighter I felt. My energy was not tempered down with stuff. Albeit, I had to take a long, skeptical look at the objects that stayed with me. I was taken aback by the amount of stuff I produced for a huge (successful) estate sale prior to my move. It was then I felt as if I was an organized hoarder. In the past I could spend hours upon days sorting, filing, and packing in just the right decorative box that, yes, I had spent a number of hours shopping for...only to discover there were some major issues I had going on in my life that I simply could ignore by diving into the perpetual move of organizing a box, drawer, closet. Now that I have been in my apartment a couple of years with much less stuff and a lot more chi I feel lighter, not so burdened with the organizing and the upkeep of such a system. I have also discovered that life really does pass one by rather they overtly or covertly hoard. Call it what you will...but I know now that when I jump into that "I need to revise, re-do, reorganize mode" - I just might need to take a look at what I am avoiding and find a healthy means to cope with it.

[cinnamongrrl]

Let me start by saying I do prefer organization...i strive for it. With teenagers...its not always feasible. One thing i HAVE learned... its SO important to have a place for things. Whenever I'm shopping at thrift stores, I always look for baskets, containers and totes. If i cant find an immediate need for it then my girls typically do.

We are getting ready to move, so it's a perfect time to declutter our lives. I went through my closet and have gotten rid of things that dont fit, I dont like or wear etc. I went through papers and whatnot and recycled a whole lot of stuff that way too.

In closing.....I can see where y'all are coming from...but theres no way Im getting rid of my books! :P

[Kelt]

Digital clutter

Digital clutter is one of the last "clearing out" areas I have to deal with. Also one of the most insidious. It's one of those out of sight out of mind things for me. It's still kind of crazy making though. I can't really even figure out how bad it has gotten. Especially with all of the cloud storage available for free. With auto save set up, I know where it goes to live, can search to find whatever I want, and it's all safe and sound even it the house burns down.

Even so, it feels like I have a Fibber McGee closet somewhere and one day it will crash down and bury me.

h9FGC68YcwM


The joy of digital photography. Now, without the cost of film or developing I am free to take as many shots as I want. I can try different angles, lighting and focal distances to my hearts content.

The downside of digital photography; see above.

My photo 'organizing' software has a really handy way of grouping things by date and time so that like items tend to stay together. You can then go further and make specific types of albums and things, use keywords, rate them, map them, all kinds of interesting things when you get around to it. Until then, they are clumped in time chunks.

Well, about a year or two ago I started noticing that when I would go to look for a specific picture it would take a while to find it, but eventually I would. I figured I would get around to organizing them 'someday'. But, the whole out of sight, out of mind thing was working on me. Well, I'm putting my foot down and going to start on this. Of course it has taken a couple of days to bone up on how to best do this for the best outcome, and how best to use the tools at hand, batch sorting, that kind of thing. Sharpen the saw before cutting down the tree.

The irrefutable conclusion I have come to is that in one way or another this will involve individual attention to each separate photo in some way. Either delete (a lot of them), move, re-catagorize, name, etc. So, okay, open up the big fake box in the sky and look.

Seven years worth. Slightly over 9,000 images. :|

See you in about a year.

Then I can start on documents, email archives………….

[chakra]

Great Thread!!

I feel as though I am in an ongoing process of decluttering. I am perpetually finding things to take to the Salvation Army and to the shelter here in town. I have consciously ensure for every one thing I bring into my house, three things must leave. Despite that, I still own a lot.

I was laying in bed last night thinking of what my kids would want when I die. I think in those terms now. I was in a serious car accident that has made me completely re-evaluate EVERYTHING. I don't want to own anything. I no longer feel attached to life. Not in a "I am going to kill myself" way, not at all. But, when I came home from the hospital and looked around my house I wondered why on earth I own so much useless crap. And how did I ever attach any value to any of that 'junk'. So, the painful process of decluttering my life began.

I gave away my camera. If I can't remember it, who cares.
I gave away my cookbooks. If I can't make it, I can look it up on line.
I gave away my all my fiction books. I want to live here, now, not escape it.
I gave away all the clothes I had not worn in six months (except my super warm coat cause -40 and colder is not uncommon where I live)
I gave away all my china.
And the list goes on. I feel lighter when things leave my house.

What is important. That is the question I ask myself, truly ask myself, every day now.

Life is a blessing. My monetary holdovers, not so much.

[Greco]

Well, I am down to the most essential...my wife's kitchen things, my books, and things I use for creative "work"...all "things" I enjoy, love, find beautiful.

To say that life is a gift doesn't come close for me, and I am grateful beyond words to live with simplicity, economy, beauty (essential for me)...moving once again soon...and will keep it minimal, spacious, uncluttered, comfortable.

Greco

[tygr_grrl]

find myself moving and that tends to help me lighten my load. clothes that haven't been worn in over a year (or dont fit), long ignored household gadgets....they all get rounded up and bagged to Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Also, nothing quite like coming across a half unpacked box from the last time I moved. Hmmm....a couple cd-rom backups of scanned old photos (keeping after I download to my gmail), a SANDisk memory card to a LONG dead digital camera, a place mat, a picture of my mom (oops, what's that doing in there?), some random hardware from something requiring assembling, a spool of red and green holiday ribbon, an unsent card and a box of straight pins that opened up and needles everywhere.

[Sweet Bliss]

I am surprised that this thread has only two pages. I was looking forward to spending hours learning new pearls of wisdom.

Lol, then I laughed at myself, why spend hours avoiding the simple life I keep saying I want?

Instead of goofing off online why am I not filling bags with donations? Getting prepared for the next phase of my adventure. Hello ooo..... snap out of it....

Thanks y'all.

[Blaze]

Simplify, simplify,


The Purge:
Be it things of the past, present, it's a cleansing. Material or emotional. Trying to become the minimalist that I really am.


To give it to someone else who needs it more, or to eject it out of your life completely, it's end result is ridding yourself of things that are not as important as you once thought them to be...


For me. I was once told that I have expensive taste.
I see that to be true, only because I can't see wasting money on something that will break the first time I use it. But.. at my own dismay, there are many things that I spend money on that are not worth a damn and I should have got the bargain deal.


I am not a name brand kind of person, mostly due to be the last born and getting hand me downs, but mostly because in the work field. I’ve come to realize that the bigger the brand, the less attention is made to quality and more mind set on quantity.


A few years ago, I made my own promise to myself that for every piece of clothing I donate I will only then replace it. (unless it was a special occasion) but I still ended up donating after the fact.


For my Purge.
I have taken many items that I once thought important to a friend, that will dispense them to the less fortunate.

5 - new tee shirts
4 – shorts hardly used
smokey colored glassware
6 - Polo shirts
14 – Dress Shirts. I don't need, I don't go out and need not impress anyone
7 – bubble bath soaps bottles
Guitar and ukulele I am still debating about, but I don't need them.
house slippers, cowboy boots, new sneakers, hats
hygiene items that I don't use because I don't have periods anymore
A tea maker and tea because I don't really drink tea unless in the mood
some hanging decorations and other little trinkets
and a new bed that I actually don't like. I prefer firmer. As it's not being used anyway.

Fishing gear, I needed to downsize.

That's just for starters. I have other items that I need to retrieve, that I will need to go through later and decide what I keep and what can be someone else treasures

[Jesse]

I am going through my entire house, literally touching every single thing in it to see if I want to keep it, sell it, give it or toss it. I'll be back...

[Sweet Bliss]

Humm. Wonder if I can get down to a back pack? :koolaid: :rofl:

[Blaze]

I'm still finding things to purge.... at the moment there mostly emotional and spiritual dumps...But i gave towels and a night stand, kitchen items given to me that I can't use, so again.. A baker's rack that needs repair, and stools. Thank goodness they will be appreciated...

[Kelt]

Just ran across a great tip for sorting clothes. I know it's good because it makes me shudder to think of actually doing it.

When sorting, unless you wear it all the time, make yourself wear it for one day. That should be a good "decider", I could get rid of a lot just at the idea. :blink:

[Sweet Bliss]

I am going through my entire house, literally touching every single thing in it to see if I want to keep it, sell it, give it or toss it. I'll be back...

How is this going for you Jesse?? I'm faltering.

[cinnamongrrl]

This is an ongoing process for me. I'm getting better about eliminating STUFF and detaching from the unnecessary...

I'm also getting gooder at not bringing more stuff in...

And I paper purge bi weekly when I recycle...

Now if my kid would do the same

[Jesse]

I am still working on it. I have made some positive moves forward, but still have things I need to sort through and discard in one fashion or the other. I have a load of clothing heading out tomorrow.

How is this going for you Jesse?? I'm faltering.

[Gayandgray]

I got rid of ALOT of stuff when we moved last year. I told myself I wanted to downsize and simplify our life and I have done really good not bringing any more stuff in the new house. But some people tell me I'm over doing it because I don't even want all the pictures hanging on the walls here that we had at our old place...... I have them in a closet in the spare room. I just like the bare, uncluttered walls. I'm also doing a lot more reading online instead of buying books, even tho I prefer to hold a paperback book in my hands!! I don't really have the room for a bunch of books , so they are in a big storage bin in our shed. We do recycle, and I take stuff to Goodwill when I have it. We donated our old furniture to a shelter for homeless Veterans. I'm only hanging on to the pictures in the closet because my spouse won't let me toss them out! LOL!