Konmarie really works (decluttering content)

[CAJinBE]

14 hours ago, regentrude said:

Dvds culled. CDs culled. Board games culled. Car trunk full of boxes going to community thriftstore tomorrow morning.

We can totally rearrange storage in the living room now.

My dh has a huge collection of all of the above including VHS tapes. He always says we should watch something then can't find it or it doesn't work anymore in the case of VHS. One time we lost a piece to a board game and he went online and bought another whole game for the piece because it was an older, better quality piece. Now we have two one of which is missing a piece. Can't get rid of that because we might lose another piece. I don't think we've even played that game since. It sounds like your doing great regentrude! I'm feeling motivated to keep going. I think my quilting supplies should go since i haven't quilted since starting homeschooling. Now that my back has herniated, I don't think hobbies that require a lot of sitting will be good for me. It will be much better to spend free time walking. They say sitting is the new smoking.

[shawthorne44]

On 7/16/2018 at 8:58 PM, mlktwins said:

I loved the book and the method, but I struggle with just getting rid of stuff I paid good money for ?!  I'm not bringing new "stuff" into the house anymore, but I need to get rid of stuff I already have and feel like I should try and sell it or something.  I don't have time to do that though with homeschooling and other responsibilities.  I would feel so much better though if it was just out of my house.  How do ya'll deal with this?  

This is where I am.   I've had no trouble applying her method to stuff coming in.  Well, to be honest, I think I've always had that mindset on stuff coming in.   But, I still have too much stuff. 

For years I lived in a 3/2/2 home by myself.   At the time the house cost less than a small apartment where I lived.  But, your stuff accumulates to fill your space.  Then I got a live-in boyfriend that was a literal hoarder (he now known by the name Mistake).   Even with me throwing out stuff regularly, a case of wine was lost for several months.  It had been delivered while I wasn't there.  

I wonder if her book sold in a different ratio than a general book, i.e. much more e-book than physical book.   

[Hoggirl]

14 hours ago, G5052 said:

I had an interesting conversations with my realtor about 1980's houses with smaller rooms and less storage (the one I'm renting) and more modern "executive" houses with walk-in closets and full basements (the one we sold).

She observed that people have so much stuff now, that some see a large house as necessity. Some people of course enjoy the space, but she's had clients who (as an example) had a lots and lots of kitchen stuff so judged every house on the basis of wanting to house all of  it. But (dramatic pause), they rarely cook. Or they had large closets of clothing in the house they were putting on the market and wanted even bigger closets in the new house, even though they admitted to wearing only a fraction of those clothes.

I keep telling my young adults that the next house, whether rental or purchased, will be even smaller than this one. They help me keep it up, but the chances of both being with me in five years are very low because both are in college right now. At some point they're going to fly the coop. And I don't want a house this big full of stuff even though it's smaller than the one we sold. I'm going even smaller next time.

We did a major downsize from approx 3,500 sq ft to a 935 sq ft condo during ds’s senior year of college.  It is perfectly fine for the two of us.  It does have two bedrooms and two baths, and we have had company.  However, the guest bedroom has to be multi-purpose, so it has a sleeper sofa in there.  The designer and dh talked me out of getting a Murphy bed, and now I regret it.  The sleeper was expensive, has no bar in it, and does have a temperpedic “mattress,”. So, it’s comfortable, but it still bugs me that it is a sleeper sofa.  It was an expensive mistake.  There is certainly room here at our condo for a couple to stay, but I don’t know what we will do if and when ds ever marries AND he and his wife have any children. However, my dh’s point in wanting to do a major downsize was that he didn’t want to maintain a lot of space that we don’t ordinarily use. All that to say, I would encourage you to think about just how small you want to go.  I am committed to doing this for at least five years, but I think I would be happier if we had around 1,200 - 1,300 sq ft. I want ds to want to come here to visit.  I want others to want to come here and visit, and that won’t happen if they aren’t comfortable. 

I had gotten on the KonMarie bandwagon before we decided that we were doing this, and that made the BIG change/downsize much easier. I really am *over* stuff now.  My only remaining downfall is my love of clothing. I had lots and lots of kitchen storage and lots and lots of STUFF for entertaining.  Honestly, I haven’t missed a lick of it. People fill up the space they have.  I think folks in a certain age range are constantly wanting more and more stuff.  It takes a significant change of mindset to just get rid of it - especially is you have space for it. My dh absolutely wanted us to get out of our bigger house when there was still a demand for it.  He firmly believes that there will eventually be A LOT of McMansions on the market that no one will want.  Not that our house qualified as a McMansion.  The house we had before that was 4,300 sq ft.  Yes, for three people.  I should mention that we do have an offsite storage unit that is 5x5 to go along with or small condo.  There is simply nowhere in here to store Christmas or luggage.  We also have some things stored for ds. 

I do not want to burden ds with a bunch of stuff he doesn’t want. I had read this article and found it really inspiring:

https://www.nextavenue.org/nobody-wants-parents-stuff/ 
 

[Hoggirl]

21 hours ago, regentrude said:

Still going at it. Have a few things I don't know what to do with them:

Fragile items. I am afraid to donate breakables (like vases and crystal, not generic dishes) to the thriftstore. Do I need to package them as for a move? Seems slight overkill.

Books in foreign languages. What do I do with all the German books? Thriftstore probably throws them away.

Great Courses lectures. They were a major part of our homeschooling and are sooo hard to part with. I am afraid people locally won't be able to appreciate them for what they are. Listed some on the Classifies here on the board, but that seems to be pretty dead and not see a lot of traffic. 

argh. Clothes were sooo easy.

 

For my old law school books we finally wound up pulling all the “innards” out and recycling the paper and only throwing away the covers. Still not the most environmentally sound thing to do, but better than chucking them in their entirety.  If there are any interior designers in your area, you might ask if they want them.  Oftentimes they like incorporating books in to decor. 

[G5052]

1 hour ago, Hoggirl said:

We did a major downsize from approx 3,500 sq ft to a 935 sq ft condo during ds’s senior year of college.  It is perfectly fine for the two of us.  It does have two bedrooms and two baths, and we have had company.  However, the guest bedroom has to be multi-purpose, so it has a sleeper sofa in there.  The designer and dh talked me out of getting a Murphy bed, and now I regret it.  The sleeper was expensive, has no bar in it, and does have a temperpedic “mattress,”. So, it’s comfortable, but it still bugs me that it is a sleeper sofa.  It was an expensive mistake.  There is certainly room here at our condo for a couple to stay, but I don’t know what we will do if and when ds ever marries AND he and his wife have any children. However, my dh’s point in wanting to do a major downsize was that he didn’t want to maintain a lot of space that we don’t ordinarily use. All that to say, I would encourage you to think about just how small you want to go.  I am committed to doing this for at least five years, but I think I would be happier if we had around 1,200 - 1,300 sq ft. I want ds to want to come here to visit.  I want others to want to come here and visit, and that won’t happen if they aren’t comfortable. 

I had gotten on the KonMarie bandwagon before we decided that we were doing this, and that made the BIG change/downsize much easier. I really am *over* stuff now.  My only remaining downfall is my love of clothing. I had lots and lots of kitchen storage and lots and lots of STUFF for entertaining.  Honestly, I haven’t missed a lick of it. People fill up the space they have.  I think folks in a certain age range are constantly wanting more and more stuff.  It takes a significant change of mindset to just get rid of it - especially is you have space for it. My dh absolutely wanted us to get out of our bigger house when there was still a demand for it.  He firmly believes that there will eventually be A LOT of McMansions on the market that no one will want.  Not that our house qualified as a McMansion.  The house we had before that was 4,300 sq ft.  Yes, for three people.  I should mention that we do have an offsite storage unit that is 5x5 to go along with or small condo.  There is simply nowhere in here to store Christmas or luggage.  We also have some things stored for ds. 

I do not want to burden ds with a bunch of stuff he doesn’t want. I had read this article and found it really inspiring:

https://www.nextavenue.org/nobody-wants-parents-stuff/ 
 

 

That is inspiring.I think I'd like a single family house of around 1,500 sq ft, maybe a little more. I don't know if that will ever happen, but that's my target. We might even move at some point to a smaller rental if I could find one that meets my criteria (safe neighborhood off major roads, fenced yard, flat yard of less than 1/2 an acre with no complicated elements). I'm not a tiny house person. I need more than that.

I ran into a homeschooling friend while I was waiting for the van to be repaired who said that they downsized to her parents' in-law suite with just one kid that she is still homeschooling and rent out their house on AirBnB. It is on property that her parents gave them as a wedding present, and her parents live just down the road. At this point, they aren't ready to sell, but this brings in more than enough money to cover the mortgage. They nearly had to declare bankruptcy because of job loss, and this works for them. Having a smaller place allows her to focus more on the things that count for her on top of the financial benefits.

Our previous house was high-maintenance. On top of having a lot of stuff, we had a big yard that took a lot of time to deal with every week. I used to dread every summer because mowing and yard work would take most of a day to finish and deal with the garden, weeding, etc. Our current house takes an hour to mow and pick up and has far fewer areas to weed. If I can get all of our junk out, it will be very easy to maintain the inside of the house too.

And yes, I think a lot about what my kids would have to deal with if I was gone. I had an uncle who was a hoarder, and we had to hire a clean-out company that rotated out dumpsters to clean out his place. When it was all done, the only thing I wanted was a box of family pictures.

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Hoggirl said:

We did a major downsize from approx 3,500 sq ft to a 935 sq ft condo during ds’s senior year of college. 

 

 

 

Wow, that is quite a difference!! 

[shawthorne44]

1 hour ago, Hoggirl said:

... but I think I would be happier if we had around 1,200 - 1,300 sq ft. I want ds to want to come here to visit.  I want others to want to come here and visit, and that won’t happen if they aren’t comfortable. ....

 

 

One idea.    First some background, I go to a convention every year that is held on Thanksgiving weekend because hotels are dead then.   So, we get super good deals.   I have a friend who got a divorce.   I knew that his kids were all well into adulthood, and that their house probably had property taxes of 30K or greater.  He said that his wife wanted the house 'so the kids and their families could come for the holidays'.   I put the two together in my brain and pointed out that for a fraction of the property tax saving by downsizing, for every major holiday she could rent space in a hotel getting several rooms, a hospitality suite or two and pay for a banquet or two.  

Not that you'd want to do that precisely.   But, a bigger house costs more money to buy and more money in taxes, utilities, etc.  every year.  So, it might work out cheaper to rent a nice large house on a lake or tourist area nearby for a holiday.   Although, the small house is costing you the cost of a storage unit.  

[MysteryJen]

We downsized from about 3300 to 1350 a little over 2 years ago. It was shocking how much I got rid of when we moved and is still shocking that I need to get rid of more on a regular basis. 

I think of the house as flexible, sometimes we have 7 people here. Next year (for the most part) we will have 4 people. It is plenty of room for 4. It is really, really congested when everyone is home. But I was not prepared to rattle around in a big house for Christmas break, so we have a small house.

I have the garage to declutter and organize-I am finished homeschooling (my younger two are going to the neighborhood hs). And I have more things to get rid of (not just college-age kids-ha ha!).

Kon Mari is the absolute best book I have read for decluttering because she makes no judgment of what to keep. Does it spark joy, do you love it? Everyone's answer is different.

[Hoggirl]

36 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

 

One idea.    First some background, I go to a convention every year that is held on Thanksgiving weekend because hotels are dead then.   So, we get super good deals.   I have a friend who got a divorce.   I knew that his kids were all well into adulthood, and that their house probably had property taxes of 30K or greater.  He said that his wife wanted the house 'so the kids and their families could come for the holidays'.   I put the two together in my brain and pointed out that for a fraction of the property tax saving by downsizing, for every major holiday she could rent space in a hotel getting several rooms, a hospitality suite or two and pay for a banquet or two.  

Not that you'd want to do that precisely.   But, a bigger house costs more money to buy and more money in taxes, utilities, etc.  every year.  So, it might work out cheaper to rent a nice large house on a lake or tourist area nearby for a holiday.   Although, the small house is costing you the cost of a storage unit.  

 

Oh, this is absolutely my husband’s idea - that we would rent something for ds’s family if he ever has one.  This is exactly my husband’s mindset - why would we maintain space that we might need for 2-3 times per year?  But, there is something about having ds under our roof that is appealing to me. And, his future family.   It is totally fine now. He stayed with us for five nights in March.  It will be totally fine if he marries. Not luxurious, but fine.  It’s beyond that that isn’t workable. Though, I still don’t like the sleeper sofa.  No matter how comfortable it is, I feel like it has a stigma about it - lol.  The smart thing to do would probably be to sacrifice the cost of the mistake of it and replace it with a Murphy bed, so I’d be happier about it.  I have had one friend who has said she is too old for that, and if she comes to visit, she’ll rent something. I’d just like to be able to offer our guests a real bed. The other problem with sleeper sofas is the the need to have somewhere to put the cushions.  Only two will go underneath the one we have when it is opened up.  So, I have to leave empty space in my closet for the other two. Sorry, I’m getting too much off-topic with my own issues - ha ha! Our bathrooms are quite small.  I have to move furniture to exercise.  There are other reasons that I feel like I might want a bit more than 935 sq ft.  There is also the sense that I someday might want to be on the beach rather than on the intracoastal.  The storage unit is only about $60 per month - since it is only 5x5. 

My only suggestion for people downsizing is to consider the need for space for potential guests. We have no space issue for stuff since I purged so much of it. I just wish we had a bit more space for guests. 

As I said, I’ve committed to doing this for five years.  We will reassess the need for any changes after that. 

[Lady Florida.]

On 7/17/2018 at 12:01 AM, dirty ethel rackham said:

I've been afraid to read the book.  It just makes me feel inferior.  We do have clutter.  I am not super attached to stuff, but I struggle with how to get rid of things and not put them in a landfill.  I have several things on giveaway sites and have no takers.  If I used her method on my closet, I'd be naked.  My clothes don't bring me joy because I don't like how I look in anything.  I do get rid of things that are no longer useful to me (don't fit, don't need because I won't be going to an event like that, looking a little dated.)  We did a ton of decluttering when we did our house projects.  For the most part, things are not coming back in the house, but I do have to work on getting them out of my garage (see above quandry about how to get rid of them.)  

This is me to an extent. It isn't that I don't like the way I look (though I don't) but that to me clothes are just clothes. They neither bring me joy nor make me feel bad. I'm also so very much not a touchy feeley person about things. So that whole Do I love it? Does it bring me joy? Does it speak to me? What do I feel when I touch it? stuff just feels ridiculous to me (I said to me, if others like that kind of thing I don't think less of them). I feel the same way about dream boards and such. They do absolutely nothing for me.

Yes, I need to declutter. Yes, I agree it's better to let some things go even if you paid good money for them. Yes, I agree that sometimes it's better just to give something away than to go through the hassle of trying to sell it. No, I'm not going to touch everything I own and ask it to tell me whether or not it wants to stay or go. I. Just. Can't. 

[Lady Florida.]

43 minutes ago, MysteryJen said:

We downsized from about 3300 to 1350 a little over 2 years ago. It was shocking how much I got rid of when we moved and is still shocking that I need to get rid of more on a regular basis. 

 

The house we're in is half the size of the one we sold. We went from 3700 to just over 1800 in order for me to be a sahm. We renovated this house while living in it (with a 2-1/2 yo!) so there was a lot we kept in storage for more than a year. When we finally finished renovating there were some things I was thrilled to get out of storage. Mostly though, I realized if I could live without it for more than a year I didn't need it. Now, 18 years later we managed to fill this house with just stuff. We're getting it ready to sell so I'm having to go through the culling process all over again.

[Lady Florida.]

George Carlin's routine about stuff is timeless. He started doing it in the late 60s or early 70s and it's still true. There's only very mild language, which is actually shocking since it's George Carlin.

 

[regentrude]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is me to an extent. It isn't that I don't like the way I look (though I don't) but that to me clothes are just clothes. They neither bring me joy nor make me feel bad. I'm also so very much not a touchy feeley person about things. So that whole Do I love it? Does it bring me joy? Does it speak to me? What do I feel when I touch it? stuff just feels ridiculous to me (I said to me, if others like that kind of thing I don't think less of them). I feel the same way about dream boards and such. They do absolutely nothing for me.

Perhaps it would be helpful to rephrase the "spark joy" question so it doesn't sound so new agey to you? 

Even if you don't value clothes, surely a pair of jeans that actually fit must feel better to you than a pair that is too night? Are there colors you like and others you don't? Do you have a dress that hides the flaws and accents the assets, and does it feel different than the frumpy one that hangs like a sack?

I'm not touchy-feely. But I definitely like clothes that actually fit, that are my favorite colors, that make me look better.

ETA:  I don't think there is magic in the actual touching. I found the advantage of the "touch everything" to be that it forces a person to go through the things one by one and make a positive choice which items get to stay. I found that much more effective than looking at the shelves/closet and making the negative choice which items have to go. Faced with the question which things I really want to keep, as opposed to which I really want to cull, I ended up with fewer possessions of better (to me) quality.

[CAJinBE]

I went through my cool weather walking clothing today. I got rid of a few tops and tights that I don't like the feel of and therefore hadn't worn in a long time. I've noticed that I've kept a lot of things that I don't like and don't wear, but felt I should keep as a backup or something. I got rid of a couple fleeces that were pilled and worn out looking. I had been wearing those around the house in the winter to save the clothes I like for wearing out of the house. I decided that I can wear clothes I actually like in the house, too. In the process I found my bathing suit that was new last season in the back of the cubby looking very strange and stained from sea water or sunscreen. I thought it was washed before it got put away, but maybe not well enough. It just proved to me that clothes don't like to be neglected, something she said in the book. I washed it right away and I hope it is okay for our holiday in August. There is no way I want to go bathing suit shopping if I don't have to.

I don't think we will downsize our house. We are renting and because of the location and age of the house it is a good value. We have walking trails right out the door and it's good for the dogs. My parents downsized to an RV when my dad retired. They did that for ten years before settling down into a small house. It's something to think about.

[katilac]

Because I no longer run teen activities and thus no longer oversee bake sales, I'm forcing myself to get rid of a stack of bakery boxes and other supplies. Because I don't need them, no matter how nice they are and what potential they have for being useful 'someday.' 

I'm doing it. I just need to, y'know, take a deep breath and imagine how excited some bake sale parent is going to be at finding these at the thrift store. 

[Lady Florida.]

10 minutes ago, katilac said:

Because I no longer run teen activities and thus no longer oversee bake sales, I'm forcing myself to get rid of a stack of bakery boxes and other supplies. Because I don't need them, no matter how nice they are and what potential they have for being useful 'someday.' 

 

I only recently got rid of all our old craft stuff leftover from homeschool days. I kept a small amount for when our grandsons are here but gave most to my dil and niece who both have young children. The other day dh was working on some garage project and came in looking for a popsicle stick. "Didn't you used to have a whole bunch of popsicle sticks in that craft bin?" Um, yeah. Our youngest is  almost 21. I gave them away. ? 

[katilac]

1 minute ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

I only recently got rid of all our old craft stuff leftover from homeschool days. I kept a small amount for when our grandsons are here but gave most to my dil and niece who both have young children. The other day dh was working on some garage project and came in looking for a popsicle stick. "Didn't you used to have a whole bunch of popsicle sticks in that craft bin?" Um, yeah. Our youngest is  almost 21. I gave them away. ? 

 

THIS IS WHY I HAVE AN ENTIRE SHOEBOX FULL OF POPSICLE STICKS!! 

[Bluegoat]

20 hours ago, Pen said:

 

There is some strange thing about kitchen size and cooking. I have a pretty small kitchen in a 1930s bungalow cottage in a rural area. It is inefficient. It doesn’t have a dishwasher appliance. It doesn’t have an indoor refrigerator. It doesn’t even have a good counter for food prep. And yet I cook in it.  I’d really like an electric dishwasher, an indoor fridge, better counters. But, if I had them, would that actually improve the meals coming out of the kitchen?

Or is there something about making do that enhances creativity and cooking? Is too much just stultifying?

 

It is interesting.  My last house had a tiny kitchen, but it was pretty good to cook in.  More efficient than my mom's "executive" style kitchen.

My kitchen now is the worst I've cooked in, but - I can cook a meal for a big family in it.  Three times a day.

[Wildcat]

On 7/22/2018 at 10:20 AM, regentrude said:

Still going at it. Have a few things I don't know what to do with them:

Fragile items. I am afraid to donate breakables (like vases and crystal, not generic dishes) to the thriftstore. Do I need to package them as for a move? Seems slight overkill.

Books in foreign languages. What do I do with all the German books? Thriftstore probably throws them away.

Great Courses lectures. They were a major part of our homeschooling and are sooo hard to part with. I am afraid people locally won't be able to appreciate them for what they are. Listed some on the Classifies here on the board, but that seems to be pretty dead and not see a lot of traffic. 

argh. Clothes were sooo easy.

When I donate breakables, I grab one of those short, rectabgular Amazon boxes (I have a lot of those for just such times) and only put paper around the breakables as "spacers" and leave the box open so the workers can see what's in the box.

German books. Do you have a BetterWorldBooks drop box near you? https://services.betterworldbooks.com/individuals/ 

Check and see if your library would want them. You might be surprised.

Another idea is for you to bring them with you when you drive to a bigger city and donate them there or see if a well-traveled friend might do so for you. 

 

 

[Wildcat]

My biggest problem isn't that so-and-so gave this to me or the money I spent on something, but the money I could get by SELLING said item. I have quite a bit of stuff that I could sell on eBay and it would bring some decent money if it all sold, but I hate selling on eBay. So, in my closets it all sits.

I am probably going to participate in the neighborhood yard sale in the fall as we have a few big items in the garage that we want to sell, so I might stick some of the above items out there, priced at what I might get on eBay net of fees in order to 'bulk up' our offerings. I don't think a "yard sale" with only three or four big things would entice people to get out of their cars. I'll have to see. I'm definitely not sticking things out there with $1 on them, though, as I can't be bothered with that. Some of the things, though, I might have to bite the bullet and try eBay. Ugh. I haven't sold on there in about 17 years and I have no idea how to do it anymore. Adding pictures were a new feature when I stopped selling! LOL. And shipping.... calculating shipping scares me. And Paypal. When I sold, Paypal was a "newfangled thing" that very few trusted and now it looks like that's the preferred payment method.  Add in all the scam stores I hear about, and it terrifies me to sell things there and yet I can't bring myself to just donate my nice crystal glasses and china when I see them actually selling on eBay for a decent price...... it's like I'm just frozen on what to do. (sorry for that horrible sentence. That's a visual of what's going on in my mind. Haha!)

[Wildcat]

5 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

George Carlin's routine about stuff is timeless. He started doing it in the late 60s or early 70s and it's still true. There's only very mild language, which is actually shocking since it's George Carlin.

That is one of me all-time favorite skits of his; quite possibly my top favorite.

I miss his wit and humor.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[Lady Florida.]

49 minutes ago, Wildcat said:

My biggest problem isn't that so-and-so gave this to me or the money I spent on something, but the money I could get by SELLING said item. I have quite a bit of stuff that I could sell on eBay and it would bring some decent money if it all sold, but I hate selling on eBay. So, in my closets it all sits.

 

Yes, that's me! I do sell some higher priced items on eBay and lower ones on the local facebook yard sale page. I'm starting to get tired of that though and it's especially hard now with us trying to do a big declutter in order to get the house ready to show, I'll end up giving away things that I could have sold. I am coveting a new Nikon DSLR and that money I'd get from selling stuff would help me get it sooner rather than much, much later. 

[G5052]

4 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Yes, that's me! I do sell some higher priced items on eBay and lower ones on the local facebook yard sale page. I'm starting to get tired of that though and it's especially hard now with us trying to do a big declutter in order to get the house ready to show, I'll end up giving away things that I could have sold. I am coveting a new Nikon DSLR and that money I'd get from selling stuff would help me get it sooner rather than much, much later. 

I appreciate the recommendation in the book that you do the cleanout all at once, but I have to do it in spurts. It is time-consuming, especially if you are listing things.

I had to put it aside for awhile, but now that DS is home, I'm starting up again. I can send him to meet people in town and get the cash ?

January was a tough month financially, we bought groceries, gas, prescriptions, and incidentals then that I made selling things. I used my one paycheck to pay electric, gas, internet, car insurance, etc. Most of what I made that month came from local yard sale groups.

In August, I'll get only one paycheck again, so I'm listing one item or group of items a day. Today I enhanced an old listing for window wells. I don't know if they're ever going to sell, but I really cut the price. Tomorrow I'll do canning jars, and I have all kinds of things lined up ready to go.

[regentrude]

On 7/22/2018 at 11:40 AM, scholastica said:

Someone might surprise you!

And someone did! A lady came and got a large box of German books for her friend who had moved out of state and wanted them.

In other news: just for the fun of it, I put a few items on a local fb sale group. It's remarkable what people want. A boot puller with two hooks that had been sitting in my garage since DD's horseback riding days found a new home, and I can buy a coffee drink with the proceeds ? 

A package with Great Courses went to a boardie. Some books are on their way to a WTM mom (via the WTM fb sale page). Another box of donations is packed: crafts supplies, lunch boxes, a large bag of plastic Easter eggs.

Decluttering is contagious. I have the urge to clean out the basement closet.

 

 

[Junie]

I have been working on decluttering the house for a while now.

A few months ago I took a huge amount of stuff to Goodwill.

For things that are worth money, ds17 and I are selling items on ebay.  Ebaying takes more time than I would like to spend on it, but the money is kind of nice.  I teamed up with ds17 and we are splitting the profits 50/50.  For the first half of the year he earned several hundred dollars to put toward college.

When he goes to college I am expecting one of his sisters will want to pick up where he left off.

 

[Ottakee]

I haven't read the book yet.....waiting for it to come available through the library loan.

That said I am trying a MAJOR downsizing of stuff.   So far I have sold the horses, horse trailer, have a van for sale, and have taken loads and loads to donation.  Yesterday I sold an older sewing machine for $25 on FB marketplace.

  I also set 7 larger items out by the end of the driveway with free signs and they were all picked up quickly.  They were all larger items not worth selling but too good to trash.  

I might be moving in next 3-6 months and would love to move with 1/3 or less of our stuff.

 

 

[EMS83]

This thread sent me down a Youtube rabbit hole!  I may seriously get her book.  Our major issues are toys, clothing, media (books, movies, games), and insufficient storage.  The kitchen could use a little paring down, as well.  I choose to donate to just get it out of my house.  I guess the lost proceeds would sort of be like paying for convenience, in...reverse?  ??

[elegantlion]

My downsizing started when I moved in with my mom. We're still in a 2500 sf house, but most of it is her stuff, she previously had 4000 sf. I've been buying stuff for my college apartment with the mindset of it's going to get used for two years and donated or it will have to assimilated into my current home. I just bought a few IVAR shelves at IKEA. They'll replace the cheap Walmart bookcases at home after graduate school. My plan is that it must break down small enough to fit into the back of my SUV. 

I'm still in the process of purging from our move. Some of my books were packed until this summer. It's just an ongoing process. I have a pretty solid 1 in, 1 out rule for clothing and household items. My mom, however, does not. 

[Pen]

9 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

I think there is a sweet spot where the storage is thoughtful (like not too many upper cabinets for short people, but plenty of pantry/full wall cupboard storage), and an efficient layout where you can move but not TOO many steps.  

 

My new to me kitchen isnt done yet, but it’s already proving a real joy to cook in, though it is in a 1969 house.  We turned a peninsula along the side wall and removed upper cabinets.  All the lower cabinets have a shelf that pulls out so I can access the back of the middle shelves, and put bulky items in the bottom. The laundry room is becoming a pantry.  It flows so well and the storage is accessible.

 

Now my rental had a kitchen of a similar footprint but the layout was poor and it lacked usable cabinets (many were too narrow and shallow).  It also had a pantry around the corner and not conveniently accessible.  It was a much newer home (2004 I think?) but not nearly as smart and well done.

 

I can’t seem to picture what you mean by having a shelf that pulls out so you can access the back, but it sounds important.  Is it like a drawer instead of a cabinet?

 

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Pen said:

I can’t seem to picture what you mean by having a shelf that pulls out so you can access the back, but it sounds important.  Is it like a drawer instead of a cabinet?

 

Something like this, a pull out drawer in a cabinet.  I have some deep cabinets and was thinking of installing these. https://m.lowes.com/pd/Rev-A-Shelf-20-5-in-W-x-7-in-1-Tier-Pull-Out-Metal-Basket/3260349

[Paige]

I'm starting to Konmari my stuff as well. I'm starting with my clothes/stuff, then I'll move to the baby's, and then work with the older kids. DH is a lost cause but he may be inspired if we go along cheerfully. We have way too much stuff. Our house has plenty of storage but we've had years of not dealing with stuff.

I used to have a large dream kitchen with endless counter space and rows of beautiful cabinets. You can never convince me that it was too much. I loved cooking in there! Now I have a small kitchen and it makes me sad. I think people either cook or they don't and kitchen size doesn't matter. My MIL has the world's best kitchen and she doesn't ever cook. It's such a waste. She also has the most beautiful set of le creuset.....still doesn't cook. 

[Hannah]

I KonMari'd my closets a while back, but I kept too many accessories (scarves, necklaces and shoes).  I really love colorful scarves and beads, so the "spark joy" answer was yes to almost all of them! 

I spent the afternoon putting together outfits by starting with the accessories instead of the other way around.  I put all of my scarves, jewelry and shoes on piles, and then went through them one by one.  I built an outfit around the item/s and took a photograph of each.  I have a number of new combinations I have never thought of before, but the items that really don't go with anything else have been set aside. 

Having my own top to bottom 'look book' on my phone will make it very easy to get dressed for work in the early morning.

[Lady Florida.]

I had several posts quoted but something went wrong. I find this new format extremely difficult when it comes to code. It's very frustrating and I struggle not only with making it work but with understanding how this counts as an "upgrade". Anyway, that's a rant for another thread.

Re: Kitchens

I think if you like to cook you're going to find a way no matter what your kitchen is like, but imo a bigger, better kitchen is never a bad thing. I've lived in many places since I left home - efficiency apartment, regular apartment, mobile home, houses shared with roommates, etc. Since dh and I married I've lived in two houses, the first one being his house from his previous marriage. I've had small inefficient kitchens, large inefficient kitchens, small efficient kitchens, and large efficient kitchens. I prefer that last one hands down. I like a good size efficient kitchen. @Arctic Mama nailed it - miles of counter space, work triangle, good size pantry, and smart layout . Our previous house though literally twice the size of this one, had a kitchen with about the same square footage as our current one. The difference is our current one is more efficiently laid out. It feels so much better to cook in an efficiently laid out kitchen with enough work space, storage space, and enough room to move around while working. 

ETA: There's another frustrating thing - Sometimes tagging works, sometimes it doesn't.

[rdj2027]

Wow, your old kitchen looks just like the one we had in our original 1960's house in California.  Oh, the memories ?

[madteaparty]

On 7/23/2018 at 11:19 AM, Hoggirl said:

 

Oh, this is absolutely my husband’s idea - that we would rent something for ds’s family if he ever has one.  This is exactly my husband’s mindset - why would we maintain space that we might need for 2-3 times per year?  But, there is something about having ds under our roof that is appealing to me. And, his future family.   It is totally fine now. He stayed with us for five nights in March.  It will be totally fine if he marries. Not luxurious, but fine.  It’s beyond that that isn’t workable. Though, I still don’t like the sleeper sofa.  No matter how comfortable it is, I feel like it has a stigma about it - lol.  The smart thing to do would probably be to sacrifice the cost of the mistake of it and replace it with a Murphy bed, so I’d be happier about it.  I have had one friend who has said she is too old for that, and if she comes to visit, she’ll rent something. I’d just like to be able to offer our guests a real bed. The other problem with sleeper sofas is the the need to have somewhere to put the cushions.  Only two will go underneath the one we have when it is opened up.  So, I have to leave empty space in my closet for the other two. Sorry, I’m getting too much off-topic with my own issues - ha ha! Our bathrooms are quite small.  I have to move furniture to exercise.  There are other reasons that I feel like I might want a bit more than 935 sq ft.  There is also the sense that I someday might want to be on the beach rather than on the intracoastal.  The storage unit is only about $60 per month - since it is only 5x5. 

My only suggestion for people downsizing is to consider the need for space for potential guests. We have no space issue for stuff since I purged so much of it. I just wish we had a bit more space for guests. 

As I said, I’ve committed to doing this for five years.  We will reassess the need for any changes after that. 

Could you buy the condo next door, if it came to it? My friend in NYC has this super long apartment as she did just that. I think probably all our kids will live there at some point in young adulthood ?

my house is not too big now but I know we will have to move to the city for DD middle school (which is when DS goes off to college). It *is* too big for a weekend home and  taxes are more than my mortgage but I also like the family home idea since we’ve moved so much during poor DS’s childhood. I have years to think about it though. 

[Hoggirl]

10 hours ago, madteaparty said:

Could you buy the condo next door, if it came to it? My friend in NYC has this super long apartment as she did just that. I think probably all our kids will live there at some point in young adulthood ?

my house is not too big now but I know we will have to move to the city for DD middle school (which is when DS goes off to college). It *is* too big for a weekend home and  taxes are more than my mortgage but I also like the family home idea since we’ve moved so much during poor DS’s childhood. I have years to think about it though. 

I’ve mentioned this as a possibility.  Dh would only do it if we could cash flow it as a separate unit, which I don’t think we can.  Our condo only allows for 30-day minimum rentals.  Most people rent them for three - four months during the season.  Lots of snowbirds in the winter.  But, we couldn't’ cash flow it with just renting it out then. Plus, that would give us a combined total between the two units of close to 1,900 sq ft, which is more than I want to maintain.  Would double the association fees, etc. But, I certainly haven’t ruled it out!  We would NOT be allowed to combine them even if we could buy the adjacent one.  

We’ve got time.  I really am perfectly happy here as it is.  It’s just tight with company.