Something came over me about a month or two ago. I’m not exactly sure where it started. Maybe with cleaning out Elise’s closets before I painted them. Slowly, I started tackling one small space at a time. A drawer here, a box there. Removing anything expired, unnecessary, redundant. If something didn’t belong, I moved it to a better home.
And then, I intensified. I wasn’t just doing mini organizing projects. I was on a mission to rid the entire house of unnecessary things.
Like many people, I struggle to find balance between having stuff and having too much stuff. Keeping what we need to be prepared versus being paranoid.
It’s easy enough to remember to purge your clothes closet or the kids’ toy box or the pantry, but what about that kitchen gadget drawer? Or maybe the toolbox? (Mine seems to be the place where IKEA allen wrenches go to die.)
Do I need two pasta forks? Three bottle openers? Eleven sports water bottles?
What about three hammers? (I’m not even sure where the third one came from.)
Do I need three staplers when I probably staple something once every six months?
Or could someone else be using this stuff?
I’ve slowly been going through the house on small area at a time. It’s going to take a while to complete, but I think it’s worth it.
I’m not ready to go full tilt minimalism; I love stuff way too much. It makes a home feel cozy. But I am ready to simplify. I don’t want to hold onto things only for “just in case” moments anymore. I don’t need to hold hostage perfectly useful items just because I’m too lazy (or paranoid) to get rid of them.
I don’t want this house to turn into one of those old houses with the basement packed to the gills where everything comes in and nothing goes out. I want it to be lean and well organized. Efficient. I want to know what’s in every box, drawer and closet. And I want the things we are keeping to be things we actually need or want. No hidden crap.
So where did the stuff go?
We spent a few Saturdays on the donation circuit. I don’t have photos of all the things that have left this house. This process has been so gradual that it didn’t occur to me to document it bit by bit.
- We took old light fixtures and some drywall scraps to the Habitat Re-store. Plus some weird plumbing parts that were in the garage when we moved in.
- Books, CDs and DVDs not worth selling on Amazon went to a charity book fair donation box.
- An old computer, a printer, old cell phones, one very old and very dead iPod, and two huge bags of wires went to an electronic recycling event.
- A giant stack of junk CDs (outdated software, CD-Rs) and jewel cases got dropped off for recycling at Best Buy.
- We donated a barely used cat bed and other pet items to the humane society. And some old sheets and towels. (Never throw that stuff away!)
- A scratched non-stick skillet that I no longer used (but somehow couldn’t bring myself to get rid of) finally went into the recycle bin.
- I let a couple of magazine subscriptions lapse and blew through the nearly two-foot tall stack of back issues. So long, Elle Decor. I won’t miss your elitist tone. And Martha Stewart Living? I have a feeling we will meet again someday. I’m actually thinking of letting more of my subscriptions expire as I’m forever behind on reading.
- And there were more than a few trips to Goodwill.
And we were able to sell some things too!
- My husband took one of his old, unused tennis rackets and got cash for it at a sports resale store.
- I sold a few pieces of gold and silver jewelry I didn’t want anymore. (Nothing fancy, just some necklace charms.)
- And we sold a handful of random items on eBay. (Did you know you can list items for free now? Still have to pay fees at the end, but not if the item doesn’t sell.)
We also made an effort to use up gift cards and gift certificates. At this point, I think we only have a couple left, and while I guess logically that should make me sad, I think it’s a good thing. Because we used them and kept the cash in our wallets.
And we’re still purging.
I still have to go through much of the basement and the office. (Ugh, holiday storage. For someone who barely decorates for Christmas, I sure do have a lot of Christmas decorations.)
I’m going to purge many of the recycleables I’ve been saving (hoarding?) for future projects. I have to remind myself: there will always be more glass jars, there will always be more cardboard boxes.
I’m even going to venture out and put some things on craigslist. (And I’m a craigslist hater. Mainly from being repeatedly stood up by flakey buyers years ago.)
Incentives (trading the stuff for different stuff)
Eventually, I would love to turn some of our unfinished basement into finished space or at least pleasant-to-be-in space. You see that silver wall at the back of this photo? That’s a closed up metal garage door with a hodge podge of insulation on top of it. But really, it’s about as insulated as an open door. We’re hoping to finally take care of that in the coming months.
I also got the idea that if we could sell any of our excess, we would put the money toward new countertops and appliances for the kitchen. (Our appliances are at least 18 years old and are showing their age.) I don’t know when that will happen, but it’s an extra incentive. We like to play those little savings games around here. So far, we’ve accumulated around $250. (I guess the money could also go to repair the basement wall, but it’s more fun to thinking I’m working toward new countertops than cinderblocks.)
Anyone else living with too much stuff? How do you keep it all under control?
