Ottakee Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I am in the midst of dejunking/cleaning 15dd's bedroom. So far it is FIVE trash bags of junk that dh is burning, 1 to the garbage, 1 load of laundry to do and 1 box of donations........and I am only about 1/2 done. Seriously, this child saves EVERYTHING and seems to collect all manner of EVERYTHING. I need to finish in another 2 hours so I just don't have a lot of time (took a quick break for lunch) so I am throwing away a lot of stuff that MIGHT have some sort of use---things like those 29 cent notebooks that still have 1/2 of the pages blank, pieces of various trinkets, short pencils, cheap crayons, etc. and on and on and on............... Do you ever feel guilty about throwing away something that might have some use left in it but you just don't have the time or mental energy to deal with it? This is a child who would honestly do best in a bedroom with 2 sets of clothes and 1 stuffed animal and a book............but at almost 16 (tomorrow) that just isn't going to happen. I am trying to pare things down quite a bit to make it managable but it seems like I am getting rid of "good" stuff. If it makes a difference, she does have some special needs and honestly, once the stuff is gone, she will never know what is gone. I have decided though that Christmas will be experiences, the travel suitcase I bought for each of the kids and then something very consumable :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I understand completely. Last year we hired professional organizers, so not only did we get rid of still useful stuff, we paid people to help us! (We also go rid of stuff no longer useful) It will look better and you will feel better when you are done. Best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Yes. Honestly I worry about feeling guilty and potential regret, this worry keeps me from decluttering. To be honest, when I get over those feelings and get work done I realize it usually isn't as difficult as I imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I used to feel guilty for the money I spent in the first place on things I got rid of. Now, I want it out, it feels so much better, and I don't spend nearly as much money on junk because I ask myself "where would I put it? how much will I actually use it?" I also gave at least one child many lectures of: it does not make me happy for you to tell me you like something to please me, then I buy it and it just sits in your closet. tell me the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Do you ever feel guilty about throwing away something that might have some use left in it but you just don't have the time or mental energy to deal with it? No. Never. Toss it all and don't look back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 No. Never. Toss it all and don't look back. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 It used to make me feel guilty, but not any more. I realized I was holding on to stuff because of its potential; once I started living more in reality/hereandnow, I stopped wasting so much time and $ on what might be. When I decluttered my basement storage area, for example, I got rid of a few nice preschool things--I had held on to them thinking I'd teach again or give them to people who might use them for their preschoolers. Wasn't happening. I decided my freedom and peace of mind was worth whatever use they may have gotten out of the stuff. Most of the time, people don't want what we consider valuable, anyway. Someone dear to me wants me to have things from her home (as she's aging, she's giving me things). It's all stuff I DON'T want. No one probably does. I don't want to do that to someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I do feel guilty, though we buy everything used in the first place, so that helps. I try to tell myself that I'm helping support the freegan lifestyle by throwing out things are are semi-usable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Think of it this way. All those things are going to be thrown away eventually. By you, your daughter, or whomever inherits your things after your die! Holding on to the clutter doesn't the fact they were made in the first place. Donate the good things, recycle the recyclables, then don't let unnecessary new stuff in the house. That is the only way to avoid the clutter and the guilt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Do you ever feel guilty about throwing away something that might have some use left in it but you just don't have the time or mental energy to deal with it? I feel more guilty about having too much clutter weighing me down, sucking away my time and energy. Just toss it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 I survived. I got rid of 6 boxes/big bags of TRASH, 1 box for donation, 1 box of summer stuff boxed up, and other stuff to other parts of the house and a stack of magazines for a friend to read. I rarely buy anything. I rarely shop but this dd seems to be able to attract things and her things multiply overnight. Her room looks SO good........at the moment. I could likely go through it again tomorrow or next week and eliminate even more..........if I get the energy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Oh, I do. It's the way I was raised. Depression Era Grandparents/parents (my parents were born in the 1930's and were frugal German/Mennonites to boot). "Wait, wait, don't throw out that piece of yarn, you may need it some day!" Our house is so cluttered and I feel horribly guilty throwing anything away. I we have so many stuffed animals that are basically used as ammunition, and our local thrift store doesn't take stuffed animals, but I feel bad about throwing them away. I feel bad throwing anything and everything away. I force myself, but it is hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 :hurray: Good for you! I do know where you're coming from with feeling guilty if it still could be used, but the rewards of simplifying far, far outweigh feeling bad about whatever was purchased in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Newp. Not at all. You'll feel so much better when it's all out of there! Don't let yourself get talked into hanging on to stuff for a yard sale "some day", either. Unless you are truly the type to have multiple yard sales every year and that's your thing... you'll never unload all of it. Wanted to add, too, that you don't need to be picky about what goes to local thrift stores. :) I know that thrift stores around here will take things that you wouldn't think they can sell. They turn around and donate them to shelters in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I only feel guilty for a short while. Then I get over it and realize my life is better off without all the junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I love reading the responses here. I'm working on decluttering today and I need all the inspiration I can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Go for it, ladies!! Just get rid of it, and then STOP BUYING STUFF. Seriously, it's really hard (coming from someone who just bought her dh a soda stream for christmas--buy hey, think of all the plastic bottles won't be using) but you just dont need it. everytime you are tempted to buy that one dollar pad of paper in the check out line because it has a cute design, just STOP. Put it down and back away. You really don't need it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Today I am up in the loft room which is now acting as 17dd's bedroom (minus the bed). NEVER EVER EVER let your kids get pellet guns. Somehow ds's pellet gun pellets ended up in that loft room spilled all over---think 1000s of tiny green pellets mixed in with 1000s of puzzle pieces and 1000s of tiny little beads and that is just the start. My girls have special needs and still play with some toys but I am sorting them, thinning them out and then boxing up several sets to rotate. I don't want to get rid of the playmobil, Little People, or Loving Family doll house stuff as we do foster care and could have kids of any ages at any time and I have neices and nephew that come to play. I just need to sort it and limit what is out at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I used to feel very guilty. After cleaning out my dad's study and his bedroom, I don't feel guilty anymore. Not even a little bit. I've ruthlessly cleaned out closets here. My hall closet is on the larger size. It used to be packed full. Now, half sits completely empty. Just for fun, here are some of the odder things we found in Dad's stuff. We keep looking up to heaven and asking, "Why, Dad, why?!" No fewer than 50 used manilla envelopes. A gallon zip lock back full of the cotton that comes out of pill bottles, no fewer than 10 large boxes filled with empty small boxes, my baby teeth, 43 years of tax returns, records of the homes he sold as a realtor in the late 70s-early 80s. I've always prided myself on being so much like my dad. He was kind, giving and understanding. But, this hoarding stuff?! I DO NOT want to be like him! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in TN Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I needed to read this thread today as I sit in my living room that has become a second playroom for my three little ones (4 and under). We have too much stuff, too many toys with tiny parts, too much knick knacks, too many books, too many clothes/shoes, too much of everything and none of it is organized! It is overwhelming since they are all useful "good" things that could be used by us later or someone else now. After reading all these comments I know I need to release myself from the guilt and just get off my duff to get to throwing out, sorting, donating, and storing our excess things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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