Question: Would getting a (SMALL) storage space to hold the baby stuff for the hypothetical #2 that #1 is outgrown completely antithetical to this mentality? I'd love to gain some storage space for stuff we actually use, and possibly actually utilize the closet in A's room for...you know, her stuff, but I'm not sure if that would turn into somewhere else to just house "stuff".
I would count this as okay. You're saving things that bring you joy via their functionality or however she explains keeping stuff like vacuum cleaners and crap. I know she's very against buying storage units, but I think that's more for when you're organizing your normal stuff, not so much for actual storage. Getting the old stuff out of her closet to make everything in her closet now spark joy would be worth it to me. I think the key would be to only store things that spark joy (or that you're actually definitely going to use again, so they spark functional joy or whatever), only keep things in her closet that spark joy, and then to discard the stuff that comes out of storage that doesn't spark joy when you're done with it instead of just putting it back into storage.
I'm far from an expert, though, since I definitely have a closet full of cheap jeans that do not spark joy because I just cannot bring myself to spend a bunch of money on jeans when I'm only 3 months post-partum and know I'll change sizes fairly rapidly over the next year.
Post by scribellesam on Aug 25, 2015 11:15:13 GMT -5
Going through the guest room closets today. I have at least a car load of things piled up to get rid of. Finally parting ways with my law school graduation briefcase that has never been used, seven years later. But I'm keeping my art supplies, hoping to one day pick up my old hobbies again.
Question: Would getting a (SMALL) storage space to hold the baby stuff for the hypothetical #2 that #1 is outgrown completely antithetical to this mentality? I'd love to gain some storage space for stuff we actually use, and possibly actually utilize the closet in A's room for...you know, her stuff, but I'm not sure if that would turn into somewhere else to just house "stuff".
Kid gear for hopeful #2 is one thing I am not going through and being ruthless with. I refuse to buy all new when the stuff is perfectly acceptable. I did go through some of the 0-12mo toys and purge some that DD didn't like or I didn't like (gifts) but otherwise it's staying. Luckily we have a utility room for storage, but I'd be OK with getting a storage space for that purpose if necessary.
Question: Would getting a (SMALL) storage space to hold the baby stuff for the hypothetical #2 that #1 is outgrown completely antithetical to this mentality? I'd love to gain some storage space for stuff we actually use, and possibly actually utilize the closet in A's room for...you know, her stuff, but I'm not sure if that would turn into somewhere else to just house "stuff".
Kid gear for hopeful #2 is one thing I am not going through and being ruthless with. I refuse to buy all new when the stuff is perfectly acceptable. I did go through some of the 0-12mo toys and purge some that DD didn't like or I didn't like (gifts) but otherwise it's staying. Luckily we have a utility room for storage, but I'd be OK with getting a storage space for that purpose if necessary.
This is my feeling as well. If I knew we were done, I'd be more than happy to get rid of it, but to get rid of a high chair just to turn around and buy another one in a year or two just pains me. And my parents have been willing to store stuff for us, but to lug it up to their house 8 hours away, and then to lug it back, just seems ridiculous.
I want to join you all as I'm drowning in stuff that hasn't been sorted/organized/etc.
But I'm constantly doing other house projects.
FWIW, this has helped me get in gear for other projects. Making room for this repair or getting stuff ready for that upgrade. It's not that bad
But your house projects may be bigger than mine! Did you ever finish the wainscoting?
Thanks - I'm in "finishing mode" since I have a lot of half started projects I need to get done. Some of them require organization (e.g., swapping desks in the study, cleaning the garage). I reaaalllly see the appeal of move in ready since 3+ years in I'm still not where most people are when they move into their homes.
I did finish! I painted the walls Benjamin Moore "Old Navy" after this pic.
I reaaalllly see the appeal of move in ready since 3+ years in I'm still not where most people are when they move into their homes.
We know this feeling well. We've been in our house 7.5 years, and we're just now really done with all of the renovations inside...except that now I want to repaint and get new decor, but our curb appeal still sucks, so we have to figure out what to do there, too.
Pseudo KM'd my older 2s clothes...so much so it all fits in the closet (now with Elfa system) & 2 bins under their bunk. I'm getting rid of the dresser. It's not brought us joy in ages (mid century I used to love but now has 2 drawers with broken rails).
Tell me about the weird stuff you've found while purging!!
Mine: I'm up to 11 Burt's Bees chapsticks and 6 cuticle creams. I buy some every time I can't find mine, and now I have a collection!
I wonder how many more I'll find? I don't even have a car to lose this stuff in!
panty liners, lol. they are often cheaper if you buy 3 boxes so it's not uncommon to have a small stash in my house, but i found 9 boxes. apparently i just bought another 3 every time they were on sale.
The gajillion gift bags are killing me, still. I've added three (from new gifts incoming to my house) to the pile on my doorstep that I'm begging someone to come take. I can't quite throw them away, but if I haven't rehomed them by recycling day, into the bin they'll go.
The gajillion gift bags are killing me, still. I've added three (from new gifts incoming to my house) to the pile on my doorstep that I'm begging someone to come take. I can't quite throw them away, but if I haven't rehomed them by recycling day, into the bin they'll go.
can you take them to work and put a free sign on them in the lunch room?
if they are in good shape you should be able to donate them to a thrift store. we sold gift bags for a quarter and they were a hot seller.
i finished editing pinterest. i went from ~800 pins to 50 exactly, 20+ boards to 6. it was oddly therapeutic. and it gave me new ideas as i look around my house. i have a very distinct style on pinterest and my house is moving in that direction, but i'm hanging onto a few odd things that don't fit. refocusing on my goal has motivated me to let them go.
speaking of house, i have wanted to pitch half of our living room furniture (couch, chair, and side tables) from day one, but i find joy in their functionality, blah blah blah. i stumbled upon a gorgeous chaise sofa on kijiji for a steal. i was several people down in line, really didn't think i'd get it, but everyone has backed out or no showed. we're going to look at it tomorrow morning!
My gift bags are gone! Off to be useful in someone else's house.
My next "kimono" category is office supplies and my pile of craft/hobby materials. I'm having a hard time getting motivated, as it's all in the basement and mostly out of sight, but I know I'd feel better if my laundry room and guest room actually looked nice.
I purged so much stuff on our bedroom bookshelf that I just decided it was better and easier to sell the bookcase and relocate the 2 things that mattered. So yay for one less piece of furniture to dust! And for making money (almost $200 to date). And this is only doing a preliminary pass through while I wait for the book.
I can't wait to see what she says about gift bags since I've been following tokenhoser's posts. I love my gift bag collection and I am hoping since it's neat and I use it regularly it'll be ok. Fingers crossed
I can't wait to see what she says about gift bags since I've been following tokenhoser's posts. I love my gift bag collection and I am hoping since it's neat and I use it regularly it'll be ok. Fingers crossed
If it brings you joy, you're good.
If it brings me chaos and a ridiculous amount of clutter to my little storage room (which has room to act as a gift wrapping station now!), time to purge. I only kept them out of guilt (I can't throw away something that's still usable - that's wasteful). I did keep a bunch, I just cut way back.
I can't wait to see what she says about gift bags since I've been following tokenhoser's posts. I love my gift bag collection and I am hoping since it's neat and I use it regularly it'll be ok. Fingers crossed
If it brings you joy, you're good.
If it brings me chaos and a ridiculous amount of clutter to my little storage room (which has room to act as a gift wrapping station now!), time to purge. I only kept them out of guilt (I can't throw away something that's still usable - that's wasteful). I did keep a bunch, I just cut way back.
I have an underbed storage container where I stick our gift bags and wrapping paper. It stays out of the way and is super easy to access. Brings me joy to not buy giftbags. I hate buying them and just reuse.
Keep the thread going!!! I'm done the book! Yesterday I tackled my underwear drawer. Got rid of all my old thongs and lots of lingerie (much to my DH's dismay). I found comfy underwear I forgot I had! How many pairs of underwear do you have? I still have about 25 pairs. I think as I wear them over the next few weeks I will get rid of some after I see them in action. A lot of these were accumulated when I was pregnant and I had an issue with underwear pulling down with maternity pants. I didn't get rid of any bras because I'm going to wait until I'm done nursing to figure that out.
Keep the thread going!!! I'm done the book! Yesterday I tackled my underwear drawer. Got rid of all my old thongs and lots of lingerie (much to my DH's dismay). I found comfy underwear I forgot I had! How many pairs of underwear do you have? I still have about 25 pairs. I think as I wear them over the next few weeks I will get rid of some after I see them in action. A lot of these were accumulated when I was pregnant and I had an issue with underwear pulling down with maternity pants. I didn't get rid of any bras because I'm going to wait until I'm done nursing to figure that out.
I didn't count my underwear, but it's probably at least 20 pairs. I'm okay with that. That gives us a little leeway when we have to pack for vacations, skip laundry day one week, etc.
Went through all of the kitchen cabinets/drawers and the drawers/cabinets of our china cabinet today. I have a whole Costco sized box full of donations including vases, water bottles, sippy cups and random crap.
I did find a Department 56 Snow Baby, which H said I should see if it's worth something before just donating. He also went through my donation box and pulled out some wine glasses and kitchen utensils to put in our RV. But at least it won't be in the house anymore!
Post by patbutcher on Aug 30, 2015 10:53:25 GMT -5
Haven't got the book from the library yet but still working through.
I am completely addicted to gift wrap so that will be an issue. I always stock up at the after Christmas sales and I probably have enough for every Chrostmas for the rest of my life.
I went to the drive through donation center yesterday with 4 bags of clothes, bedding and blankets and a box of kitchen stuff. Old serving dishes, baskets, 3 (!!!) blenders, and various crap gone.
Official tally to this point is $263 on stuff I've sold and a ton of stuff (clothes, decor, kids stuff) donated. Still have two more items listed for sale, then I'll move onto the next thing... which might be paper based on posts?
Went through our photos... got rid of 99% of them. Granted, I still have photo albums put together that I am keeping but we both had huge stacks (a lot of repeats or pictures we had on our computers) so it was great.
Also went through our filing cabinet and shredded a bunch of stuff that I have access to online. I could probably get away with one drawer now (with room to spare). Included in this was our manuals folders. Recycled a bunch that I didn't need or we'd gotten rid of and consolidated to three folders (baby, tools, electronics/household)
I also went through our electronics box... Which his basically where I keep all our cords and boxes for electronics that we might sell. Purged a ton and kept very little. Unfortunately H still wants me to keep a ton of cords that seem unnecessary to me, but they all fit in a gallon sized ziplock so it's not horrible.
Lastly (it's been a productive day for cleaning, not for steps) I did our gift bags. Tossed a bunch of ribbons that we've been reusing for years as well as some gift bags I just didn't like, reorganized our wrapping paper and bows and now it's all nice and pretty. I may look at ideas on how to store them because right now I have a bag of gift bags (sorted by occasion and size) and then a separate container for my four rolls of wrapping paper. I feel like it could be better.