2016 Destash - The more things you own, the more they own you

[DisneyMandC]

Joining in! I got A LOT of decluttering done when DH and I were moving into our new house last month, but I'm finding little things here and there that need to go. We also have a very small house that's basically just one room downstairs, one room upstairs (plus bathrooms) so we don't have spare rooms to hide stuff. We also only have about three kitchen cabinets and one dresser-type item in our living room for storage, so we cannot add more clutter! We do have a very large, very nice shed though, and I am determined not to let that get filled up with junk. I'm already noticing some of the things we didn't unpack in there, including several items we received for our wedding last year. I feel bad getting rid of stuff people gave us, but they're things we did not register for, and frankly, how many cutting boards does a girl need?! Not 6!

I did finally convince DMIL to NOT buy us a lot of things for Christmas. She's the type that HAS to give you something you can unwrap. She did get me some socks and one book I requested, and got DH some underwear and a new coffee mug, but other than that she stuck to gift cards and cash. I'm committed to keeping clutter out of our tiny log cabin!

 

[tink9702]

I managed to get rid of about half a bin of Christmas stuff that I no longer liked along with a couple broken items. Probably won't get back to this until the kids are back in school next week but we'll see!

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

I'm in! I need all the support I can get...DH is a bit OCD with cleaning and our new year's resolution is to keep our small house more organized/cleaner with a toddler roaming around.

Goal 1- DD room needs to be tackled...too many toys and clothes...but it's a work in progress now

Goal 2- Organize our back room which is office/craft room/storage/junk pile...and somehow convince DH we no longer need that old Futon that's taking up too much space

 

[DisneyHardin]

I cleaned out the fridge today. I am embarrassed to say that I dumped out some condiments that had a sell by date in 2010!!!

We've really pared down our Christmas decorations, but I am going to try to get rid of some more ornaments when I take down the tree. I am thinking anything that I just bought because it was "cute" and doesn't have any sentimental value will be on the chopping block.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I'm in. We rented a dumpster this summer when our deck was being torn out. The deck filled half of it, the other half was filled with junk from the house.

We still have lots of clutter to get rid of though.

 

[Debbie]

I cleaned out the fridge today. I am embarrassed to say that I dumped out some condiments that had a sell by date in 2010!!!.

LOL Me, TOO! I couldn't believe that the salad dressing read 2009, but it did. Now, DH, might have added stuff to the bottle, but you never can tell. We also had some homemade meatloaf from early last week that hit the can!

 

[mom2t]

We cleaned out most of the upstairs toy closet today. I still need to purge some books on one shelf. Emptied 3 tubs and added a lot to my April yard sale pile and a bag of garbage went in the trash can. My goal is to price everything in February. My next step is to work on the den toy closet in a couple weeks over Martin Luther King weekend.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

So DH is off this week and he has hit the ground running! He's emptied about 5-6 boxes and condensed probably 4 more. He also emptied a shelving unit out of the dining room! That has been there for probably 3 years.
I have a small pile of stuff to sell on FB, hopefully that pile will grow some more by the end of the week.

The kids have also been pretty helpful on keeping up with dishes. This is a major issue with us. That and laundry. But all the laundry is caught up except for cold water, ran out of detergent. So I tackle that and sheets tomorrow.

 

[ten6mom]

Some of my friends posted a link to this website which I thought might help someone here. Or not. Take it for what it's worth....

http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-2015/

I guess it's for last year but it looks like it should be usable this year as well

I haven't done ANY decluttering but I need to! I have boxes I have not opened for years... and they have moved with me twice!

It occurs to me that I might get in trouble for posting that link. Is it considered a "referral"?

 

[hollybearsmom]

How do you advertise a fb yard sale page? Sounds better than eBay but I don't know much about it. Is it worth it to list on Craigslist too? New to getting rid of stuff so I just don't know how to best go about it. Thanks. And wishes to all for a Happy New Year!

 

[Nana2Callie]

I'm in and looking forward to the shared experiences.

 

[ski_mom]

How do you advertise a fb yard sale page? Sounds better than eBay but I don't know much about it. Is it worth it to list on Craigslist too? New to getting rid of stuff so I just don't know how to best go about it. Thanks. And wishes to all for a Happy New Year!

In our area we have a couple of facebook pages that have been set up for this. I had to "join" the group and then it allows you to post anything you have for sale. I've had some success with it. I usually list a couple of times and if it doesn't sell after that, I donate it.

Ours is called (our county name) trading post. Try searching for something similar in your area.

 

[kathleen27]

I am joining in, I really need some motivation to clear out stuff this year. I do great most years, but not this past year.
I have a 3 day weekend, so am hoping to fill a couple of donation bags, and do some reorganizing.

 

[Scrap4me]

Well, I guess I am stuck at 9 buckets for Christmas. But, I can deal with that. Maybe I will try again in a few months.
I was sidetracked the other day while in the garage, but it is now about 95% organized again. I do have many containers that I need to go through, but that can wait for a rainy day.
Rain flooding under my garage door is what drove me into there. Had to move things off the floor.
My purging is coming to a halt until Sunday, headed to the mountains of WV for some New Year's fun.
Happy New Year everyone! Party safely and get ready to make 2016 the best year ever!

 

[mom2t]

We cleaned out most of the upstairs toy closet today. I still need to purge some books on one shelf. Emptied 3 tubs and added a lot to my April yard sale pile and a bag of garbage went in the trash can. My goal is to price everything in February. My next step is to work on the den toy closet in a couple weeks over Martin Luther King weekend.

Final shelf cleaned out and DS went through video games and got rid of 6 DS games. Going to have him purge some of his PS3 and WII games Saturday.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I'm doing the Declutter 2016 items in 2016 Challenge at Nourishing Minimalism. I did manage to get rid of 2015 items this year using my own logging system, but I like her's better so I'm trying it for 2016.

Read Marie Kondo's book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up in the fall, and sorted/decluttered/got rid of stuff from my clothes category, and, because it was Christmas, we did the Christmas stuff, too, as it came up. I was pleased to donate many things to various charitable places. Today, since my bathroom drawer needed some fixing, I will complete my drawer and my medicine cabinet. Since it is in the same category, I will organize the kitchen cupboard were medications are stored, too. I am determined to work through the house, category by category, even if at a snail's pace.

I'm just finishing her book. I have learned a lot of new ideas. I love the practical aspects of her method so I'm going to definitely use them. I'm not going to be talking to my clothes or thanking my purse, though.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I'm here again. I took a break but I'm back. Still working on my spare room/craftroom. Hubby, dd and I went to walmart the day after xmas. I sually hit the Christmas Clearance sale and load up on stuff. They were shocked that I didn't want to buy anything and I didn't put one thing into the basket!! Hubby bought me 2 giftcards one to Mchaels for $50 and one to Hobby Lobby $50 and to be honest I don't want or need anymore craft stuff. Anyone know if they will refund the gift cards?? I just don't want anymore clutter. My spareroom/craftroom by this weekend should have about 1/2 the clothes donated

 

[sarahk0204]

I'm here again. I took a break but I'm back. Still working on my spare room/craftroom. Hubby, dd and I went to walmart the day after xmas. I sually hit the Christmas Clearance sale and load up on stuff. They were shocked that I didn't want to buy anything and I didn't put one thing into the basket!! Hubby bought me 2 giftcards one to Mchaels for $50 and one to Hobby Lobby $50 and to be honest I don't want or need anymore craft stuff. Anyone know if they will refund the gift cards?? I just don't want anymore clutter. My spareroom/craftroom by this weekend should have about 1/2 the clothes donated

Typically, gift cards are not returnable/refundable. I am a sewer who has a well supplied sewing room, so I understand. I do often get JoAnn gift cards for Christmas. I just use them throughout the year to replenish supplies when needed. So, you don't have to buy anything now, but if you are doing a project and need more tacky glue or red paint or St. Patrick's Day stickers, you can use your gift card to replenish. Store gift cards usually don't expire, so just ask DH for something different for Christmas next year.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Typically, gift cards are not returnable/refundable. I am a sewer who has a well supplied sewing room, so I understand. I do often get JoAnn gift cards for Christmas. I just use them throughout the year to replenish supplies when needed. So, you don't have to buy anything now, but if you are doing a project and need more tacky glue or red paint or St. Patrick's Day stickers, you can use your gift card to replenish. Store gift cards usually don't expire, so just ask DH for something different for Christmas next year.

I think once I get all the junk out I will hopefully start crafting again. I think I craft 1-2 a year now compared to being a craft addict lol!

 

[virge]

We took down & packed up our Christmas decorations today. I was overruled by my kids on several items I wanted to get rid of, but I was able to gather a small bag full of ornaments for this year's yard sale. Not as much as I hoped but every little bit is a step in the right direction!