In a post a couple of weeks ago that asked a range of question about your clutter issues and my blog. One of the readers asked for more information on how to get rid of the clutter that has been set aside for removal. I do have a list of ideas on a page here at 365 called Recycling/Donating Guide that you can find here. However it is an unfinished page and may not yield the information you are looking for and also may not be relevant to your location. It is worth taking a look at none the less during those times when you have hit a brick wall.

As I just mentioned, access to ways to sell, donate and recycle your decluttered items is individual to your location. Sometimes you just have to get imaginative. However the more knowledge of general options you have, the easier it is to expand on that knowledge in tricky situations.

The original purpose of this post is to suggest ways to send on the items mentioned in this weeks missions. However together, in the comments, we can expand on that and bring new options to light that many readers may not have thought of before. Not only for the items of the missions but for other items. Just throw in your query or suggestions and see what comes of it.

Monday – Declutter something made from paper.

• Books ~ Donate to a library, mini local or pop up libraries or thrift shop, nursing home, hospital. Sell on-line or at a garage sale, market stall or secondhand bookshop. Give to friends.
• Magazines ~ Donate to all places mentioned for Books, also schools or doctor and dental surgeries for use in their waiting rooms. Put them in the recycling. Sell on-line or at a garage sale, market stall or secondhand bookshop. Give to friends.
• Old paperwork ~ Shred and recycle. Or if you are the crafty type you could make recycled paper from them yourself.
• Letters, diaries ~ Shred and recycle. If there are any pages you wish to reread but don’t want to keep digitise them prior to destroying them.
• Greeting cards ~ Donate to schools or craft groups for upcycling. Digitise if desired and recycle.

Tuesday – Declutter something made from wood.

• Small wooden items (trinkets, boxes, toys) Donate to a thrift shop.
• Lopped trees etc ~ Use up as firewood. Advertise as fire wood to sell or give away. Take to a local waste and recycling site where it might be chipped for garden mulch.
• Building supplies ~ Advertise to sell or give away, the internet sites like Freecycle, ebay or local buy-swap-sell sites on Facebook are good for this. Donate to a local mens shed or woodworking group/club.
• Furniture ~ Sell via the internet sites like Freecycle, ebay or local buy-swap-sell sites on Facebook etc. Sell to a secondhand dealer. Or donate to charity. Most charities will pick up so you don’t have to worry about transporting the items. If you live in an apartment building you could place an ad on the building bulletin board. I have given away small furniture items by placing them on the footpath in front of my house until someone takes them away. I never leave them out in the rain and I bring them in at night. They usually disappear before this is necessary though. You might want to check it this is legal in your area.

Wednesday – Declutter something made from fabric.

• Clothing ~ Sell through the internet (see above ideas) or local consignment clothing stores. Donate to thrift shops or local charities who send to those less fortunate overseas. Local churches often run or have insight to these charities. Hand clothing on to friends or family. If too far gone use them as rags. Anything beyond that probably just needs to go in the trash.
• Sheets, towels & blankets ~ Donate as above. Also sheets can be used as weed matting in the garden. Towels, blankets and pillows can sometimes be donated to pet shelters, veterinary surgeries, pet day care centres and the like.
• Fabric cuts and scraps for crafting. Use them up by making them into something useful. They can also be donated to thrift shops. Schools will appreciate them for arts and craft projects. Local quilting groups would, no doubt, also be happy to take them off your hands.

Thursday – Declutter something plastic.

• Kitchen ware ~ Sell, donate or give away using various methods already mentioned above. If broken many plastic items can be recycled.
• Children’s toys ~ Donate to thrift shop or other charity, day care centre, any place with a waiting room where children attend. Hand down to family or friends. Or sell using methods already mentioned.
• Pens ~ Donate to a school or perhaps even to your work place if you have way too many.
• Storage containers ~ Hopefully you might have empties a few of these by now and have vowed never to need them again. Ofter them to family or friends or donate them to a charity or thrift shop.

Friday – Declutter something made from an animal product eg. leather, bone, wool…

• Woollen clothing ~ (Sweater, socks, trousers, underwear, scarf…)
• Leather Accessories ~ (Handbags, wallet, purse, jewellery…)
• Leather Wearables ~ (Shoes, jacket, gloves, belt…)

Most, if not all, of these items can be donated to thrift shops or other charities. Or sold if in good condition to individuals or via a clothing consignment store.

Saturday – Declutter something metal. That could also be precious metal.

• Kitchen Items (Pots, Pans, cutlery…) ~ All can be sold or donated like any of the other items above.
• Scrap metal in the yard ~ Sold to metal merchant or taken to recycling facility.
• Jewellery ~ Donated or sold same as kitchen items. Passed down to another member of the family or friends. Sold to precious metal merchants as scrap (I’m not a lover of this method as you are usually paid a pittance.).

You can also accumulate your items and hold a garage sale or participate in a car boot sale. This is a quick and effective way of getting rid of a lot of stuff on one occasion. However it does mean having the stuff hang around until you have enough to make the event worth the effort and the season has to be right for some climates. Once the sale is over the leftovers can be disposed of by one of the other options mentioned. I actually do enjoy this method, although the last time I did this was in 2007. With eBay, Freecycle and other online and offline methods I managed to sell most of the items I wanted to without the problem of having somewhere to store them.

Usually a quick google search with yield information about local charities in your area, also where you might find a consignment store, scrap metal merchants or any of the outlets mentioned above. That includes searching for local events such as flea markets/car boot sales and identifying online buy swap & sell sites.

Word of mouth is also a very good way to get rid of items you either want to give away or sell. I have parted with many an item this way. Simply ask anyone you know who you think might be interested in an item. It they aren’t interested they might know someone who could be. Telling people in your workplace, family or friends are some of the most likely options for offloading stuff this way.

If you work within a large workforce instigate a “free box” in the staff room where small items can be put for giving away. Staff bulletin boards are also good for giving away or selling items.

Hopefully this has given you some good ideas on how to offload your unwanted stuff. Please make sure items are clean and in good condition when donating, selling or giving them away.

So now lets see what other wonderful idea my wonderful readers can add to this discussion.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something plastic.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Consider online magazine subscription rather than wasting paper.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

I received the following comment from Kimberley to one of last week’s posts ~ Who Are You Now.

Kinberley wrote: “Your post should be titled, “Isn’t this how clutter begins?” 
We move from one phase of our life to another. We don’t or won’t let go of what used to serve us while at the same time adding things that now do. It’s as simple as doing the math.”

This is so true. The reason much of our clutter builds up is because life moves on for us. The problem with that is that life moves on but we don’t move on the resulting items that become clutter. We understandably hold on to things for a while just in case we revert to our previous life and then after a while we neglect to let go. Sometimes we pass through several stages of life not cleaning up after the last, and in the end we have a house full of unused stuff.

The key to avoiding this is maintenance decluttering. That is, letting go of our stuff from past lives within a reasonable time frame from when we stopped needing the items. I make that sound easy because physically it is. All it takes is identifying this stuff and using whatever means necessary and appropriate for us to pass it on.

The problem for many these days is that, in this fast paced world, we don’t have or don’t take the time to look back and clean up after ourselves. In essence, we complicate our lives so much trying to keep pace with a world gone mad, with earning, consuming, temptation and keeping up with ridiculous ideals, that something has to give. That something is often our time, our families, our friends and of course the state of our homes.

And yet we always seem to find the time to go out and acquire the new potential clutter. So why is it that we can find that time, which, due to comparison shopping, generally takes more time yet we can’t find the time to move the old stuff on. I would like to give you some sort of easy fix solution to this issue but, as you can probably guess, there isn’t one. The reality is that if you can find the time to shop for stuff but don’t find the time to declutter stuff then you are going to end up with a cluttered home. Once you come to terms with this and begin to practice maintenance decluttering then your problem of clutter build up will be gone.

The tips I can give to manage this are…

• …to stay informed about methods of disposal ~ Thrift shops, Sharing sites like Freecycle etc, other charity donation opportunities, garage sales, auction/selling sites like ebay, recycling collection days… ~ and take advantage of them when necessary.
• …sell donate of giveaway your children’s items as they grow out of them.
• …pay attention of your stuff and notice when items are no longer being used. These are the items you shuffle to the back of cupboards, garages, attics and basements.
• …when you find yourself out shopping for something new ask yourself, what is it replacing and let the other similar item go.

Personally I prefer to only replace things when they wear out not just because I feel like something new. This tip will not only helps avoid clutter but also help accumulate savings. And financial security gives as much piece of mind as un uncluttered home.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter any toiletry products you aren’t likely to use because you tried them but didn’t like them. Shampoos, conditioners, bady wash, moisturisers etc. Perhaps donate them to a women’s or men’s shelter.

Eco Tip

Don’t waste that lovely picking liquid that comes in jars of peppers etc. Use it to add a little extra zing to your next DIY salad dressing.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Here is a great comment from Kimberley that I didn’t want anyone to miss…

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some paper clutter ~ magazines, paperwork, old tax papers, expired warranties…

Eco Tip for the Day

Organise your weekly menu prior to grocery shopping. This will help avoid extra trips in the car to the store.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

One of the ebay items I am procrastination about.

Do you ever find yourself juggling with the decision whether to donate or sell certain items you have decided to declutter. For me the items I most want to sell are items I feel the need to recoup some monetary loss on. Items that were relatively costly but I never did get much use from. These are items I most definitely want to get out of my house but my thrifty side says ~ “Sell, sell, sell!”  ~ while my I can’t be bothered with all the selling nonsense side says ~ Donate it and just get it the heck out of here, quickly and painlessly.

I have several craft items that I am juggling with this decision about right now. And I have had many such experiences in the past. What do I usually end up doing? I think it is about 50/50 sell v donate. And then there are the times when I have listed an item on ebay and it didn’t sell so I donated it anyway.

You would be forgiven for wondering why it is that, after all this time, I still find myself struggling with this decision from time to time. The answer with that is that question is that my desire to make some money back is equal to the amount I dislike going to the trouble of listing items on ebay.

I have done the pros and cons list and they come out about even…

• Making some cash v feeling good about making a donation
• Not having to pack up the item v Using up some of those pre-used packaging materials lingering in the garage cage.
• Getting it out of here quickly v the tantalising anticipation of receiving bids and the joy of a successful sale.
• Having to go to the post office v The extra exercise and nice harbour side walk to the post office.
• All that bother v the cash in hand.

You know what I am going to do. Finish off this post and just list the darn things instead of wasting the next hour browsing Pinterest for more craft ideas when I have so many going on in my head already. Why waste my brain space procrastinating while I waste my precious time faffing about doing nothing important.

See you, I have work to do.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter plastic items, excess shopping bags, kitchen containers, broken toys…

Eco Tip for the Day

Try to replace at least a couple of meat meals a week with plant based offerings.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

I want you all to read this post by David @ Raptitude.com before going on.

Take from it what you will but this is how I applied the concept to decluttering.

Before doing any decluttering decide on your options for disposing of your clutter.

• Do some investigating and make a decision on where you can donate your clutter so you have this option in place prior to choosing which items are to go.
• Decide if eBay is an option for where you can do your selling.
• Check if Freecycle is available in your area and decide if that is another good option for you.
• Decide if putting your stuff aside for a yard sale would work for you and arrange the space required to store it before doing any decluttering of sellable items.
• Test the curb side decluttering method and decide whether that is also an option for you.
• Decide if a garbage skip is required to clear junk clutter and make the arrangements for one before you begin doing the dirty work.
• Decide on a staging area for storing your decluttered items prior to doing the selling, donating or giving them away. This way you can make your decisions then remove the items from their wasted space in your home until the next step is taken. You will feel like you are making progress even before they are totally gone.

Making the decisions on how and where you can offload your clutter will make the doing so much easier. With these arrangements made  you are left with plenty of mind space to make your choices of what you are prepared to let go. And if making those decisions still proves a little hard you can simplify your choices further by just following my mini missions.

Trying to decide, choose and do at the same time can be very frustrating and ultimately defeating. I had success with my decluttering process because I already had a donation site chosen, had sold the odd thing or two on eBay, was experienced at curb side decluttering and had a large garage for my staging area. And although I had plenty of successful garage sale experience I knew that, at one thing a day, I did not want to store things for months until I had enough for such a sale. So the decisions were made which just left me with the task of choosing what to part with. Disposing of them was a cinch making the process go smoothly. This gave me the confidence to stick to my task and achieve my goal.

So if you are in a pickle trying to decide, choose and dispose of things all at once. STOP. Then…

• Decide ~ (where and how to get rid of your clutter so you have a simple system in place to follow, then…
• Divide ~ choose, at your own pace, what no longer fits in your life and then…
• Conquer the clutter for good, by sending it on its way.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item of clothing that you no longer wear.

Eco Tip for the Day

Save a tree ~Stop junk mail. It mostly contains advertisements for stuff you don’t need anyway.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Cindy

We’ve had many discussions on 365 Less Things about Selling v. Giving Away. At various times, I’ve come down on both sides of the argument.  I’ve agreed that selling recoups some of your investments. I’ve argued that giving away shares your blessings with others and relieves you of your clutter with less work and fuss. In general, I sell my larger or more costly items and give away my smaller or less costly ones. However, I’ve sold things on Craigslist as cheaply as $5, and given away things I could get $50 or more for.

In general, I don’t consider selling to be too much of a hassle, and now I have verification. Since 2011, I started putting all the money I made from Craigslist and Ebay directly to my mortgage. In that time, I have paid down almost $2000; $1000 a year. That’s not an insignificant amount of money!

Having a specific goal for my extra cash definitely adds motivation. Experience helps too. I’ve been Ebaying since 1999, when I bought a Baby Bjorn baby carrier for my now 13 year old. Back then, there was no Paypal, and you sent a check (!) to the seller then waited for the merchandise. Today, you can “buy it now,” transfer the money via Paypal, and request overnight shipping. How things have changed.

What hasn’t changed is the eagerness of the marketplace to buy and exchange goods. If you haven’t given Ebay or Craigslist a try, use these previous posts to help you on your way.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something plastic in your home. Last week I gave to my daughter two measuring jugs and a large Tupperware container which I no longer use. She was happy to take them and I was happy to be rid of them. I have also emptied and set aside a three tiered set of plastic drawers which she specifically asked if I had any of that I wanted to declutter. I rearranged a few things under my kitchen sink to free up one and she will pick it up this week.

Eco Tip For The Day

Try growing plants from seeds or clippings rather than buying seedling in plastic pots at the nursery.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

I received an email from Clare last week asking me is ebaying was worth the effort? I considered this question for a minute and came up with this thought “I guess if it wasn’t I would stop.” There must be enough of a pay off for me  to think it worth my while or I wouldn’t bother. 

Yes it is time consuming doing the listing, estimating the postage, finding packaging materials and then having to package up and post the items, but I have the time. Time that could be spent in far less productive ways such as watching reruns or reality shows on television. Sure I am disappointed at times when things don’t sell or they don’t sell for as much as I would have liked but for every disappointment there are at least five times where I am satisfied or more than satisfied.

When it all boils down to it, just because something takes a little effort doesn’t mean it is too much bother. I would prefer to just enjoy the positive outcome rather than dwell on how much effort something took in the first place. 

This all got me thinking about things in general being worth the effort. There are so many good things in life that require effort, marriage, raising children, preparing family meals, clean clothes to wear, keeping ones living environment pleasant none of which earn money but are well worth the effort. Personal satisfaction, comfort, the joy of a job well done and a happy family are the pay-offs and they are worth more than money can buy.

So when you think “Decluttering is such hard work mentally and or physically.” think again. What is the pay-off. The pay off is knowing you are working your way to having a serene space in which to live and what could be more worth it than that. So if you are spending more then ten minutes a day feeling miserable about the clutter in your home try turning that misery into a positive and spend those ten minutes finding something to declutter.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you have an alternate for. I am finally getting rid of that artificial ivy I have mentioned here before. I own a glass fish bowl that I now fill with pruned greenery from the garden. With Spring on the way there will be no shortage of options to display in it. Thank you to whichever 365er gave me this idea.

Today’s Declutter Item

The photo on the left is the artificial ivy plant mentioned above and several other times in my post and now finally is today’s declutter item. Hopefully my greenery arranging skills will improve over time but I already feel better about have a natural arrangement than an artificial one.

Something I Am Grateful For Today

That regardless of having doubts at times, all my activities fell into some sort of order today and everything got done. It was more good luck than good management, either that or this whole time management thing comes so naturally to me that I just thought it was a fluke. Yeh, I think I’ll take the credit. 😉

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

My mother, as I have mentioned before, is VERY decluttered. She was a minimalist before I had any idea that there even was such a decorating style. (I thought is was called “bare.”)

Very recently, my parents moved back into their house after having it extensively remodeled. Before moving to Austin, Texas, my parents had lived in a very stylish, although not very large, custom-built house. The plain ranch that they purchased in order to live next door t me and my family never fit my mother’s idea of stylish.

Every remodel produces its share of furniture and accessories that no long work, no longer have a home, are no longer wanted, and my Mom’s remodel is certainly no exception. As a result, I have taught her how to use Craigslist, and she has had quite good luck selling her items. Her first round of selling were items that she sold during the remodel, knowing that they would not work with her new scheme. (My mother, interestingly, found a decorator who shops widely at thrift and consignment stores. Almost all my mother’s accessories were already second hand when they came to her.) Those items that hadn’t sold in a couple of months were painlessly donated to the garage sale at my daughters’ school.

Now that she and my father have been back in the house for a couple of months, more things are not making the cut – items that she’s thought might work, but didn’t. One of those was a sofa and loveseat set. These are the couches my parents have owned almost as long as I can remember. I know from photos that we had one sofa when I was quite little. I remember another when we lived in Houston for almost 10 years. Then my parents bought this set. It has been reupholstered twice, and it is a classic, well built piece of furniture. My own sofas were really worn out and tatty, so Mother’s sofas came over to my house for a trial. We didn’t really like the way they worked in our house, so I told my mother I would sell them on Craigslist for her. (Better than dragging them back to her house.) She kind of poo-pooed me and said that she didn’t think they were worth more than about $50, which I thought was completely absurd. We moved the loveseat into my husband’s office (he decluttered a whole desk to have room), and I listed the sofa for $200.

Two weeks passed, and the sofa hadn’t sold. I was having a party and having an extra sofa to maneuver around was starting to set my teeth on edge, so I contacted my favorite furniture consignment store, sent them a photo, and arranged to take the sofa to them to sell. They told me that they would like it from $100 to $300; my mother would receive 60% of the sale. Mom found out that I was taking it away, and insisted that I return the sofa to her. She would list it on Craigslist. When I asked her why in the world she would do that, she said that I had said that the value was $200 and “that figure was stuck in her mind.”

For my mother, this is just a quirky moment. For some people, this perhaps false idea about value could be a true stumbling block toward decluttering.

Things like Lego kits, Madame Alexander Dolls, books, James Avery jewelry, and automobiles have a fairly fixed, easily discernible resale value. There are plenty of identical items on the market and enough buyers to have established a fairly uniform price. Things like accessories, furniture, clothing (unless, perhaps it is a popular name brand), jewelry, and antiques have a more variable value – and often much, much less than their original purchase price. Don’t let the idea – possibly a false idea – of something’s value prevent you from decluttering it in a timely manner. 

Today’s Mini Mission

Round up all your stationery items ~ Keep a pen in each room of the house if that makes your life easy but the bulk of your stationary items will be more easily found if they are all stored together. If you don’t have a desk or set of drawers for this task why not use that spare shelf you have cleared in the linen closet during your last towel and sheet declutter.

Today’s Declutter Item

Some more bits and pieces decluttered out of my craft area. Aside from some items I have recently or am about to list on ebay I think  I may have finally come to the end of the craft items decluttered during the big craft area minimisation. That’s not to say that these will be the last craft items ever decluttered, there are still plenty of supplies left, but they are certainly greatly reduced from the quantity I used to own.

Craft Odds and Ends

Something to be grateful for today

The variation of the waves that break on the beach. I love it that every time I go down to the ocean where I live that it is different in some way from the time before. Different tides, different weather, different waves for the surfers to enjoy. Today was a surfers delight even though it was overcast the waves very ridable and so constant that the surfers had no sooner paddled out from the last ride and then were riding their way back in again.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

I received a comment form Moni on Tuesday lamenting about the downside to selling unwanted clutter. Here it is ~

Thanks for the encouragement Colleen – am at the point where heaps of stuff has been dumped, and heaps of stuff has gone to recycling/charity bins. I’m now at the point where I’m listing on auction sites stuff that is too valuable to throw out. Now I know that organised clutter is still clutter, but I’m suprised how down it has made me feel having stuff out all over the place again. Am packing it into laundry baskets or plastic bins after its been photographed and listed, but it is suprising how tempted I am to skip onto the next project and leave it all there. It is almost like instant gratification to see things going out quickly. Did anyone else feel like that at this point of things?

Now, I know I have bored you all before with my whining about selling my unwanted stuff on ebay but it is always worth revisiting. And yes, like Moni all that stuff hanging around while I wait in hope that someone will bid on it still drives me crazy to.  Once it has been chosen as clutter I just want it out of here but…

I am only generous to a point. I have given a lot of my stuff away to the thrift store and am happy to do so. More than happy really because it is a very quick and easy way to rid myself of still useful items someone else could enjoy. Plus the proceeds go to charity. But there are things that I am just not prepared to give away.

I like to make a little cash for my kids. I quite often list things on ebay that belong to them, were they mine I would just give them away. They are young adults and not so financially established as their parents or even truly financially independent for that matter. So if I can make them a little money on the side I will. It encourages them to declutter their unused stuff and is better than just giving them a handout. Although it would be a better lesson to have them do it for themselves.

I like to recoup my loses on some things that weren’t well utilised, cost a lot initially or were really stupid purchases that were simply a waste of money.

Aside from the hassle of photographing, listing and waiting there is also the disappointment when the item doesn’t sell. Then the decision as to whether to relist or get the thing the hell out of here so it can stop tormenting me. I really have to ask myself is it really all worth the hassle. I suppose the answer must be yes because I keep doing it. I have enough successes to make it worth the effort. But even as I write that I am not convinced.

So what I have done recently is simplify the process. Previously I used to wait to list my items so that the seven day auction would finish after dinner on a Sunday. This is supposed to be one of those optimal times to end an auction. The problem was I might end up busy on Sunday or simply just forget and then I would be waiting for another week. Not to mention that by Sunday I might have ten auctions to list at once which tends to take forever to do. Heaven forbid I should pay the 20c to set my own starting time.

Now I either pay the 20c or list items whenever I get around to it. I have found personally that the ending time seems to have absolutely no effect on the success of my auctions.

With the thirty listing fee free auctions we now have each month on ebay Australia I am more inclined to throw up things and see what happens. The ending fee is higher but you only pay it if the items sell. This takes away the gambling aspect for me. That is, risking the listing fee in the hope the item sells. This used to really put me off trying causing a lot of procrastination.

Moni has the right idea of putting the items aside neatly so they aren’t littering up the house. I often go one step further and find a box to mail them in once I have decided to list them. I usually have a selection on boxes in a plastic tub in the garage or else I can pick one up for free at the big hardware store nearby. See my earlier post on ebay packaging here & here. This helps me to be able to calculate the shipping accurately before listing.

Half way through writing this post I did some more decluttering with my daughter. There were a couple of things among the items she decided to declutter that were worth putting up on ebay so I took care of that immediately.

I suppose this really will always just be a love hate relationship for me. I love to recoup the cash but I hate the task, but more than anything else I hate the items hanging around for what seems like forever. I really just wish that I would be willing to let it all go for nothing. It would be so much quicker and easier. But I figure if I haven’t given up on that idea yet I am never going to. To make any relationship work there must be compromises and patience. I suppose when it all boils down to it I am more willing to compromise than to let go easily.

So Moni I have no solution for you really because you and I are in the same boat. I bet the other readers will have some helpful advice for you though. All I can say is you either give it away or suck it up when it comes to putting up with the stuff until it goes.

My Baby Girl

Today’s Declutter Item

Another day another declutter session with my daughter. She did well again and we managed to eliminate a whole box of stuff condensing two boxes down to one. The Build-A-Bear clothes in the photo are listed on ebay and also a collectors edition of Rolling Stone magazine. Fingers crossed she makes a few dollars.

More of B's Clutter

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Hubby will be home after spending three days out of town on business. I’ve been outnumbered by children for days and my bank account is suffering. I need back-up. 😆

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

A Simple Saturday Post by Cindy

The thrift store has been quite the topic of conversation this week, hasn’t it? Today I want to look at it from another perspective – completing the circle. If you only donate to the thrift store, and never shop there, you are not completing the circle. Now, for those of you who already like to shop in thrift stores, this is not permission to run out and purchase willy-nilly “because Cindy says it’s a good idea.” No, no, no! The idea behind my list is to give you an idea of all the really great stuff there is available in this world that you can purchase used, without calling on the earth’s resources to manufacture new, and you’ll save yourself a lot of money in the process, as well. Here is a partial list of non-new items in my house, and where I acquired them. As Colleen said earlier this week, I always look to buy used first.

• 90% of my clothing, 80% of my husband’s clothing, and almost 100% of the children’s clothing are second hand, except for their school uniforms, which are a mixture of new and used, depending on what’s available in the uniform closet. (Thrift stores, EBay, and my youngest gets hand-me-downs from her sister and from her sister’s friend.)
• Both girls’ bedroom sets, including dressers, beds, and nightstands. (Craigslist)
• Three upholstered chairs, sofa, love seat, coffee table, and living room art. (Craigslist, thrift store, purchased from neighbor)
• Tile for kitchen backsplash (never used). (Craigslist)
• 16 foot sliding door (never used). (Craigslist)
• Two Anderson sliding glass doors (never used). (Craigslist.)
• A truckload of wood, now the ceiling of my screen porch. (Craigslist)
• Two bathroom sinks with faucets. (Craigslist)
• Wooden desk. (Garage sale)
• Swing set. (Handed down from neighbor.)
• Porch chairs. (Found during bulky trash pick up.)
• Kitchen light fixture. (Habitat Restore, which sells new and used building materials)
• Window for stairwell. (Habitat Restore.)
• Rug, sofa, and side table. (Furniture consignment store.)
• Dining room table. (Top and legs purchased separately at Habitat Restore and assembled by my husband.)
• Dining room chairs. (Craigslist.)
• Silver jewelry. (EBay)

There’s more, but that’s enough of a sampling. Nearly every piece of clothing and piece of furniture in this house was purchased second hand. The terrific find of the 16 foot door saved me almost $4000 over the cost of the same door new. I have lived lighter on the environment by purchasing used and second-hand goods, some of which were no longer in their factory container but were, in fact, still new.

It’s important to complete the circle, but remember, you don’t have to do your part and the part of four other people, as well. If shopping at garage sales or thrift stores is a temptation for you, shop with a list, or avoid those stores all together until you are able to control your impulses. Follow this list to make wise buying decisions (starting with “Do I need this item”) and then complete the circle by purchasing used.