Halcyon Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 OMG. Today we spent six straight hours cleaning out our garage, going through boxes from our move 4 months ago that we have not opened. And guess what? At least half of it was stuff we didn't need or broken (FOUR BOXES OF CORDS, DH?? REALLY?? I think there was even a Palm Pilot in there somewhere) THe entire garage and storage shed are now completely organized, clutter--free (except for a couple of items we need to craigslist). The pool toys have been put away, knitting yarn sealed in plastic and stored in shed, all toys, bikes, scooters, helmets, rollerblades neatly placed in one section....I am exhausted, but I am in HEAVEN!!!! :) :) I mean, the garage is so open and clean it looks like a ballroom dance floor (okay, if a ballrooom dance floor had stained concrete)... There is no better feeling than cleaning out a long neglected shed or garage. I keep going in there just to admire how empty and organized it is. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 DH was shocked to discover about five years into our marriage that he'd been lugging around texts and notes from an old collegemate for at least 15 years. We made it our summer project that year to go through every box he's accumulated over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I had the hardest time getting rid of all papers from school. Floppy discs, remember those? Yep, floppys saved with school work. I was finally persuaded to let it go when my husband fished out rat droppings from those boxes :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somo_chickenlady Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Ugh. We have an 3 bay shop full of them from when we moved here two years ago, and we will be moving again soon. I would rather just pitch it all, but knowing my luck there is something sentimental in each box. :cursing: I'm not looking forward to going through all of them, especially since we'll probably only have a short time to move this time (DH is looking for a new job). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Awesome! For the past couple of years, I've been slowly emptying our house of stuff like that. It is fascinating how I can think I've finally gotten rid of everything I can, then I go back a few months later and find even more stuff. It's very liberating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrichor Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 A week or so ago, I went on a similar decluttering "rampage". Much more work is left to be done, but getting so much done can be oh so satisfying! Oh, and I made sure to do it WITHOUT DH's help. I was able to get rid of so much stuff that was weighing us down - stuff that DH was attached to, but didn't know it existed. And luckily, when I told him what I had done, he was fine with it :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Hurray! I just finished pulling out all the Christmas stuff. I had an empty box next to me and started putting in everything that I didn't love or that wasn't made by someone in the family. I had to get a second box! I've done all the closets. My ds12 got rid of nearly everything in his closet! One black trash bag and four box of toys. Dh has gone through his clothes (2 black trash bags) and I've gone through all the linens (1 large trash bag and 4 comforters). My next job is filing cabinet. I want to go from a 4 drawer to a 2. But I store a lot of homeschool stuff in there so we'll see. The garage was done earlier this fall with another quick run through this week. We're having a garage sale next weekend. I hope we sell lots. All of this got started because we found out Dad was a very sneaky hoarder. 5 boxes in the garage full of packing peanuts. Big boxes. And that was just the beginning. We've put so much out for the recycling guy that we're embarassed. Seriously. Plus, my MIL moved away and left us to clean up her foreclosed house and find a new place for my disabled BIL. At the same time my dad passed away. So, I freaked out. I mean, seriously freaked out. TOO MUCH STUFF! I was crazy! LOL I yelled at the kids, "Not one more thing from Papa's study! Not one more!" I'm much better now. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Kalah I too am working on my filing system! I have a Desk Apprentice and I am resorting everything in it. RIght now everything is in piles on the living room floor. I refuse to clean it up until every single piece of paper has been sorted and filed or thrown out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmaNadine Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Don't open the boxes, just chuck them. If you don't know what is in them, and they've been there since your last move, just throw them away. They obviously aren't important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Don't open the boxes, just chuck them. If you don't know what is in them, and they've been there since your last move, just throw them away. They obviously aren't important. I would recommend against this unless you're fastidious about keeping important papers organized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 :hurray: :hurray: Good for you! I just tackled my laundry room today. It looks so... naked now. I also keep going in there to look at it. I finally unpacked the box with cleaning tools in it that I had to keep digging through every time I wanted something. There was no place to put the stuff away before! I straightened up the garage last weekend, and it's already getting a little unkempt looking again. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillian Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 That's awesome! I'm scared of the garage. We spent the day re-doing DS's room and now need to do the guest room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachskittles Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I would recommend against this unless you're fastidious about keeping important papers organized. I completely agree with this. If I toss all my boxes, I will lose a lot of important stuff. I'm seriously disorganized and by the time the move happens, I still have piles of stuff unpacked so it gets tossed in boxes. I was sorting boxes last week and found my nephew's first Christmas picture. I would have been upset to have thrown it out, even though it was in a random box. I knew I had it, I just wasn't sure where. I have other stuff that I am missing as well, I know I need to sort boxes and find them. My sister tosses stuff because she doesn't like clutter. Then she lost a very important piece of paper and was a wreck until she could get a backup copy. I am on a box cleaning spree. I work through a box a day, no longer than an hour. I'm getting through them before we move again. I guarantee it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Don't open the boxes, just chuck them. If you don't know what is in them, and they've been there since your last move, just throw them away. They obviously aren't important. DH would never have allowed it LOL. Like I said, he spent 3 hours going through his cord boxes, checking every. single. one. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 DH would never have allowed it LOL. Like I said, he spent 3 hours going through his cord boxes, checking every. single. one. *sigh* :laugh: I just handed dh a bag for goodwill the other day and he asked me if I was sure about the cables (from dd's old vtech we don't even have anymore... the cables were pink! Is he really going to use them?). We have a couple boxes of cables in the garage. It is a sickness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I cleaned my garage today, too. :D And then I moved on the the kitchen cabinets (you know the kind with deep corners and you're not even sure what's back there any more?) I'm making a Goodwill trip tomorrow. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Great job, cleaning out your garage. :hurray: We have boxes that dh sent back to NZ when he first moved back in the early 70s. We've opened & closed them twice, but they are still in our garage, along with boxes from every move since! After we finish our renovations dh has promised that we will go through everything & get rid of what we don't need. No more keeping stuff "just in case." I have been getting ruthless about going through our books. It's so hard for me to let go of books, but I'm trying to see it as quality, not quanity that's my goal. My motto for 2013 will be "Less is More," but I realize that it may take me all 365 days of 2013 to achieve my goal. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Don't open the boxes, just chuck them. If you don't know what is in them, and they've been there since your last move, just throw them away. They obviously aren't important. This is exactly what we did. We moved then moved again a year later then moved again a year after that. I had boxes from each of those moves that never got opened so before we came here I sent them off to the Goodwill. I have no idea what was in them and I haven't missed anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 My DH's boxes like that got cleaned out by having a garage fire this year. :tongue_smilie: The house is getting much, much better. Replacing all of our windows helped, as I decluttered as we moved stuff around. I still need to tackle my sewing room... like now. I have some sewing that needs to get done (first GIRL grandbaby for my parents was born this summer, and I am making her dresses to wear next summer, but I want to give them to her for Christmas... a girl is a big deal, since out of soon to be 9 total grandchildren, she's the only girl!). I also keep Christmas presents in the sewing room, so I need to be able to get them in there. I've made progress. I can walk into the room now! I do like to go through boxes before throwing them out. There are sometimes things I've been wanting to use, but I didn't know where they were. Those things get removed from the box. If the box has things I've not even thought about in years, it can probably go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Well, it's nice to know I am not alone! I woke up this morning, walked straight into the garage and just smiled. Next, I want to tackle not just my papers which are spread out on the floor of the living room, but all the manuals that in the cupboard. Does anyone else's DH insist on keeping ALL MANUALS FOR ALL THINGS FOREVER AND EVER????? :lol: We have a manual for a GARBAGE CAN that we bought the first year of our marriage. I gotta say, honey, if you need a manual for a garbage can, you've got bigger problems......:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 LOL that is too funny. You are doing great w/your decluttering. I am going to be pleased if I just get the dishes and vacuuming and laundry and school planning done today. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Yep, we did this to open up the garage so we can park the van in there during the winter. Dh's parents dropped off some stuff when they moved, and I was not surprised at all to also find boxes of extension cables, and FIL even had an extra gas cap for a car! I asked DH if he thinks his dad kept that on purpose, and when he said yes, all of dh's extras of every little thing started making sense. Luckily, DH isn't super frugal, so I can convince him that it is better to just buy something if we have to replace it, then to move it over and over, and store it in a limited amount of space. My hardest thing to get rid of is old paperwork, especially bills, bank statements, and pay stubs. What if I get audited? :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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