Category: Clearing out the clutter

KonMari: Kitchen Cleaning Supplies

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One of the benefits that I didn’t even consider when I started my 30 Simple Days at the beginning of January is:  TIME.  You gain time, you guys.  For all of you who do not live in the land of Tracie, I know that you already knew this, but now I know too.  I’ll update you in the next week, but I can tell you this, I am LOVING having my kitchen stay – relatively – clean.  But, that’s not what I’m here to tell you about today.

Earlier today, I was trying to find my bottle brush to clean out Liv’s tall travel coffee mug that she takes to school every morning and it was lost in the madness that is underneath my kitchen sink.  (Don’t mind the one you can actually see in the photo below, it’s old and gross and I would never use it to clean something, but we all know how hard it is for me to throw away actual trash.  Here’s how the conversation will go in my head – “Is it recyclable?  I don’t know!!!  It doesn’t have a recycle number on it anywhere, so what do I do, what do I do?!?”  Just throw the stupid thing away you maniac!  No, I believe I will just put it right back where it was, so I can have another mental screaming match with myself later.)  Anyway.

One of the things I am learning about myself repeatedly, is that what space I do have, I don’t use properly and to its best advantage.  It doesn’t matter how everyone else uses their space, I need to organize and use the spaces that I do have, in a way that is going to make sense to my brain.

So, I asked myself, “Why, why, why, am I keeping 372 bottles of cleaning supplies underneath my sink, when I only use a handful of them on a daily basis”?  Because that’s where I thought that everyone else keeps theirs.  And they might.  But, that doesn’t matter in my house.  I need to be able to find what I need in that moment quickly or I could decide that I should go take a break and pick up my current book.  Two hours later, I will finally remember that I was cleaning something.

I have a fairly large laundry room downstairs that I am usually only in twice a day, that I can store all of my overflow in.  Another benefit from this type of storage method for me is that I can see at a glance that I have NINE bottles of Mrs. Meyers cleaning spray and I don’t need to pick another four up when I am in Target the next time.  I also discovered that I own three gallons of white vinegar.  Sigh.  At least I won’t run out anytime soon.

It was also absolutely grimy down there.  So I removed every single thing inside the cabinet and gave it a very thorough vacuuming…..

Also, a butter knife works wonders for stuck on…..whatever that was.

I still love this padded shelf liner that I picked up at Wal-Mart (I think it’s actually cheaper on Amazon and I don’t have to put on real clothes and leave my house).  You can occasionally find it at the Dollar Tree, but it is very hit or miss there.  Wally world and Amazon always have some in stock in very lovely patterns.

I used up the last of this roll here.  I love this pattern.  It makes everything look new and clean.

I put back only what I know I will need on a daily basis and the rest goes downstairs into what will be the overflow section in my laundry room.  I’ll give you a rundown of what I need close at hand every day:

Mrs. Meyer’s Apple Cider multi-surface cleaner.  I like almost all of the Mrs. Meyer’s multi-surface cleaners, but I LOVE this one.  It smells amazing and it makes me want to clean something so that my house will smell like this scent.  It’s awesome.

Scented trash bags.  We don’t use these large trash bags for our actual trash cans, but I love having these on hand for when I do need a big bag for something.  They smell amazing, but it’s not overpowering.

Eraser Cleaning Sponges.  This is another staple at my house.  I have my Mama hooked on them too.  They are made of melamine which is exactly what Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are made of and they work like you wouldn’t believe.  I always have a stash on hand.

Dish Drying Mat.  My MIL bought me one of these and I love it.  It folds into a small square that I can stuff underneath the sink and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do.  Soaks up all the water until I get all of the things that don’t fit into the dishwasher washed.

Dishwashing detergent.  I was faithful to Finish Quantum Max as my dishwasher detergent for years, but I ran out one day and needed something immediately and Wal-Mart DID NOT HAVE ANY, so I tried something random and it worked just as well in our newish dishwasher (it’s about three years old now) so I haven’t gone back.  If you have an older dishwasher that is having problems cleaning your dishes though, try the Finish.  It was the only thing that cleaned my dishes in my old decrepit dishwasher.

Microfiber cloths.  I use these for so many different things.  I have just random ones that I’ve picked up over the years, but I keep hearing great things about certain brands so I may invest in some.

White vinegar.  I use this in my dishwasher instead of a rinse aid.  It works, so I don’t spend the extra money.

Lysol Wipes.  These are something else that I bulk order from Amazon.  It’s just more efficient, and cheaper.  They work amazingly well, so I always keep them on hand.

Stainless Steel Cleaner.  I found a bottle of Goo Gone Stainless Steel cleaner at a yard sale that had never been opened and I bought it for $0.25.  It is amazing.  But it costs $39.99! on Amazon right now, so I am going out on a limb and thinking that they don’t make it anymore, so when this is gone I will replace it with this, more than likely.  I’ve heard great things about it.  I have also heard that you can use Pledge or an equivalent, but I haven’t tried that yet.  I can see why it would work though, my cleaner is very oily just like a furniture polish.

Scratchers.  This is what they are called in my family.  I use them on my iron skillets and stainless steel pots and pans.  I usually pick them up at my Dollar Tree.

Last but not least…..my bottle brushes.  I use these on our water bottles, and travel mugs.  I usually buy these at the Dollar Tree too, but they have some that look like they would last a little longer on Amazon.  I’m all for something I don’t need to replace every month.

What do you need right at your fingertips in your kitchen?  Curious minds need to know.

What’s next?

I have so, so many areas of my house that need micro-organizing like this.  I know it’s not exactly the Marie Kondo way of doing things, but I like to break things into manageable chunks so that I’m not overwhelmed.  Otherwise, I would end up shoving the entire mess into a closet somewhere to be dealt with at a later date, which may never come.

Making up my own categories, that are small enough to be attainable, in a tiny window of time let’s me get things done.  And progress is always a good thing.

 

KonMari: Handbags

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As you know I have been on my decluttering journey for a LONG time now.  My normal method of decluttering is probably very different from everyone else’s.  I keep a tall wicker laundry basket in my bedroom (it used to be a small pink basket, but I stuffed it too full and broke it to smithereens) and anything that I come across that I know I no longer want or need – in it goes.  When it starts to overflow, I list it all down for the lord overseer’s who we shall not name and most of the time take photos for you guys, and off it goes to my local Salvation Army.

It’s a simple system that doesn’t overwhelm me.  I still have a lot of stuff in my house to go through and the thought of dragging EVERYTHING in one category out at a time, seriously gives me hives.  But.  While I have some areas of my house under control, the public spaces and the things people would see if they just randomly walk into rooms of my house, I can’t get into my closet.  No, I am not going to show it to you now.  The state that it’s in right now is unbearable.  I have taken photographic evidence of the catastrophe though, and will show you when I’m done.

There’s a reason that I try to be so strict with myself about everything in my house having a place.  Denton believes it stem’s from my control freak nature.  It actually doesn’t.  It’s because I need limits.  My great love of yard sales and thrift stores means I have access to a massive amount of things.  High quality and lovely things that even though I may have the space for them, I actually don’t need or use.  That then grow and multiply in the dark when I’m not looking.

I want to be able to walk into my walk-in closet and not feel stressed every day over the state of it.  I have too much STUFF.

I knew that all of the purses and bags hiding in the nether reaches of my closet would never fit into my wicker laundry basket.  So, I decided they all needed to come out and then I would decide what would get to stay.

Here’s the thing:  I LOVE handbags.  Clothes are things that I need to wear so that I won’t be naked.  I have a lot them too, by the way.  And we aren’t going to talk about shoes yet.  Sigh.  But, I really love purses.  They serve a purpose, they are beautiful, and there are so many to choose from!

I haven’t changed out my purse in over a year.  Which is astounding to me.  I have so many that I love and over the years, I would change out my purse at least once a week.  Maybe more.

I found a purse that I judge all handbags by now.  I stopped buying bags for myself altogether more than a year ago.  I hope that’s not a lie.  I don’t remember buying a new one.  I know for a fact that I haven’t changed it out.

Now, no matter how lovely, expensive or useful it is, I ask myself:  Am I going to give in and change to this new-to-me specimen over my current bag?  The answer is always no.

I decided to buckle down and get this thing done.  So, I waded into my closet and starting throwing all of the purses you see above onto my bed.  You guys.  I have a California King.  I know you can’t really see the scale of this.

I went through them all.  One by one.  Some of them I knew just by picking it up and flinging it onto the bed that it wasn’t staying at my house.  Other’s were harder.  I really love purses!  After all of the clearing, piling and thinking what did I decide could stay?

These.

And these.  The backpack is leather, and I love a backpack when we travel.  The red bag is what I call my car bag.  I keep everything in it that I need with me all the time – my planner, a notebook, books, extras of everything – the kitchen sink, essentially.  But I don’t want to carry this stuff into stores.  So, I keep it in my car or the house.  Wherever I am.

I’m actually hesitant to keep the Chanel bag and the yellow ostrich bag.  I haven’t used either one of them in over a year, but I really do love them both.  Justification:  I love them, I’ve already purchased them, and I’m getting rid of 46 others.  I can live with that.

I did cull out three other bags to keep in the back of my Pilot to use when I do Aldi run’s.  Hopefully this will keep me from yet again buying more throw away bags when I get there and remember that I forgot them again.  As always.

So what is my handbag that I judge all handbags by?

A bright green Kate Spade bag that I found in a thrift store in West Virginia for $15.00, still in the dust bag.  I absolutely LOVE this purse.  Let me tell you why.

First:  It stands up by itself.  No matter what I put into it, it doesn’t collapse when I set it down.  If you’ve never had a purse that does this, don’t buy one unless you are willing to give up all other handbags forever. 

2.  It’s the perfect size.  Not too big and not too small.  Side note:  Why, yes, that is a checkbook holder.  No, I do NOT write checks anymore.  Except when I have inadvertently stuck my debit card into my pants pocket and then forgotten that I did that until I am standing in line at Food Lion with $98.00 worth of groceries to pay for.  I never carry cash, so I keep this checkbook for the many times that I have left said debit card at home in the laundry hamper.  It’s a terrible habit I’m trying to break.  The end.

Last:  It’s so pretty.  I would never have sat down and thought it through and said “Yes, I need a bright green purse”.  But, as soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted it.  And after I carried it for a while, I don’t think I’ll ever want to have a handbag that isn’t made this way.  It just makes me happy every time I look at it.

Even though it’s not exactly the KonMari way of cleaning everything out, I’m glad that I did my handbags this way.

Luggage and all the paraphernalia that goes with it are next.  Or maybe shoes…..  I have a lot of both and use only a few of each.  I’ll let you know which I wade into next.

 

All the Things I NO Longer Need ~ 12.21.18

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This is the space that I am devoting to documenting my decluttering journey.  You can find all of the other posts here.

It’s been another little while, hasn’t it?  Things have been accumulating at my house again, so it’s time to make another donation.  And it’s Christmas.  You know what that means.  More things are coming INTO my house.  This stuff has got to go.

Let’s see what’s going to live with someone else this week.

Remember when I brought these beautiful green boxes home?  Yeah.  Oval shaped boxes don’t fit places very well.  At least, not at my house.  Do any of you like the silicone baking molds?  I really don’t like them.

Liv has been going through her stuffed animals again….

Clothes and curtains that no longer fit at our house.

More clothes that are no longer wanted or needed…

Glasses that will make their way to someone who needs them and lotions that we didn’t care for.  By the way, do you see that contact solution and jar at the top?  When I had my yearly eye exam, they handed me a goody bag and said “Here is a new type of solution system we want you to try!”.  When I got it home and opened it, I was stunned.  I used this type of solution over 20 YEARS ago and hated it.  Why in the world are we going back in time?  No thanks.

Liv has finally finished all of her core classes in her high school years – except for English – which she doesn’t need any help with, so these can go live with someone else!

I swear the jewelry boxes multiply at my house in the dark.  And ever since we put up the hanging jewelry boxes, we just don’t need them.  A one cup Keurig that is just not keeping up with everyone at my house.

Magazines that have been read.

More clothes….

Candles for the candle making lady.

Let me tell you something about traveling through large airports.  Be very selective about what you use as your carry-on personal item.  Backpacks.  Use a backpack, people.  I’ll do a proper post about it later.

More magazines, clothes and miscellaneous things.  Also, those soda racks take up a lot of room.  Now that they are out of my fridge, I can fit a LOT more Coca-Cola in there!

This lovely Sterlite drawer, rolly, thingy.  I just knew that this would be a perfect tool for my laundry room.  Well, it might possibly have been, if when you try to move it about, (which is what I wanted it for), it’s back wheel didn’t fly around the room and cause physical injury to people.  I’ll ask them if they want to try to pawn it off on someone else when I drop off everything else, and if they don’t, I’ll take it to the recycle center.

That’s it for this week.  I’ve already filled the back of my car and it’s headed to the Salvation Army tomorrow.  What have you hauled away recently?  Do tell.

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2 Questions for Decluttering

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I have been on my decluttering pilgrimage for over six years now.  You can read the first post I wrote about it here.  Part of my process is to limit what I actually bring into our home.  If I am careful about what comes in, I don’t have to ask myself hard questions later about whether or not I need to keep it.

I have found that I need firm boundaries when it comes to questioning myself about the things in our home.  There are so many questions that I could ask myself to determine if something needs to stay or go.  All you have to do is type declutter into a search engine and you’ll find a plethora of questions and answers to choose from.  Over 41,000,000 as of this morning when I checked.  That creates overwhelm for me.  I need focus.  Only then can I actually make a decision so that I won’t just stuff this thing back into a drawer to deal with later.

So now, when I declutter our house I literally only have two questions that I ask myself.

1.  Do I truly love this item?

I really make myself stop and honestly contemplate whatever the item is.  I want to make my house into a sanctuary,  a place where we are happy and comfortable.  If I am surrounding all of us with things that are just things  that isn’t going to happen.

Rule number 1:  if it’s going to stay, I have to love it.

2.  Do I love this item enough to clean it?

This is a big one you guys.  I don’t love to clean.  I know people who truly do, but I’m not one of them.  I am however, slowly changing my mindset so that I can enjoy the process of cleaning my home and the results; but it’s a sloooww process.  Side note:  I have found that if I use cleaning products that I actually enjoy smelling, I am MUCH more likely to clean.  But, that’s another story entirely.

Looking through my house, I noticed that I have more knick knacks now than I’ve ever had before and they are giving me serious anxiety.  No one is going to clean those things but me.  They are mine.  But, the mental cost of having all of those things is greater than my enjoyment of them.  Does that make sense to anyone but me?

I am slowly going through them all, deciding if they truly do bring about happiness, and does that happiness make me want to clean them every week.  I have to say, most of the time the answer is no.  I’ve culled my book collection way down and people, you know my love of books.  I bring a lot of them home each month, but those are what I like to call “readers”.  They are going to be read and passed on to someone else who can enjoy them.  There are very few that I add to my bookshelves to keep.

The next collection at my house that I’m going to go through is my collection of milk glass.  I have a deep passion for milk glass, but the more I seriously ask myself do I love every piece that I have, I already know the answer is going to be no.  There are some pieces that I know I’ll probably never part with – such as my vintage milk glass dental tray.  That thing makes me happy every time I look at it.  I have no idea why, but that doesn’t matter.  Psst:  I bought it at a yard sale for $10.00.  The woman said it was her Grandmother’s and it was in its original box!   Apparently she didn’t share her Grandmother’s and my passion for milk glass.

So.  What are your parameters?  How do you decide what stays and what has to go?

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Clean and Organize the….. Unknown Kitchen Drawer

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I call this the Unknown Kitchen Drawer for a reason.  It’s invisible.  No one knows it’s there.  No one uses it.  This is valuable real estate in my kitchen and it is completely going to waste.  I whine to myself all the time that I need more storage space in my kitchen, when the truth is, I have at least one space that is being completely squandered at the moment.

This is another perfect example of my blindness when it comes to my kitchen drawers.  Remember my spice drawer?  I LOVE my spice drawer now and I use it every day.  It’s the perfect setup and a wonderful use of space in my kitchen.

However, this is not a wonderful use of prime square footage in my kitchen.  I suppose you could call this a junk drawer, because it IS filled with junk.  Or rather, things that are never used.

The first thing I did was to empty everything out and clean, clean, clean.  It was absolutely filthy.  That, I have discovered, is what happens when you never clean something.  Even if you don’t use it.  Imagine that.

I bought this lovely liner paper at Wal-Mart, because my Dollar Tree doesn’t carry the stuff anymore.  WHY, Dollar Tree, Why?  It’s padded and non-slip, so whatever I place in here should stay put.  Anywho, this one is a lovely pattern, if I do say so myself.

Gorgeous.  Not perfect, but I never actually expect things to be perfect in my house.

The first thing I loaded up were the homeless k-cups that have been living on my dining room table for the past, oh, three months.  Also, the ground coffee from Aldi.  Have you tried it?  We like it.

Next, I put in the vitamins that various people in my house take.  I love having it all in one central location.  Make a coffee, take your vitamins.  By the way, if you have a vegetarian in your house, make sure they are getting enough Vitamin B.  Last year when we had our yearly physical’s, we discovered that Liv was dangerously low on Vitamin B and Vitamin D.  I suppose we shouldn’t live like vampires and avoid the sun completely, huh?

The crazy thing about this entire process, is that this project took less than 20 minutes from start to finish.  I have been putting it off for a small eternity.  I always build things up in my mind to gargantuan proportions when I just need to buckle down and get it done.

I’m so pleased with how this turned out.  Are you procrastinating a small, doable task?  I know that I can name at least 14 more projects that need my attention right now……

You can find all of my other projects here, here, here and here.

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All the Things I NO Longer Need ~ 10.14.18

Published on by TracieLeave a comment

This is the space that I am devoting to documenting my decluttering journey.  You can find all of the other posts here.

Wow!  I haven’t done a purge at my house in over three months and you can tell.  Many of the things that come into my house HAVE to be cleared out on a regular basis or they just take over.  Like magazines and books that I know after reading, that I’ll never pick up again.

We also have not been following the “one in one out” rule with clothing.  The biggest issue we have with clothes is that we have a ton of storage space at our house.  Yes, I know.  I’m not complaining.  But, it’s easy to fill that space and not really think about it.  But who has time to wear all of those clothes?  You’ll find all of us wearing the same things, all the time.  Please don’t be shocked when you see how many pieces of clothing that are going to live with someone else for the next month or so as I get our house back on track.

Also, I am loving the blank spaces in my house again.  For a long time, I felt this pull to fill those spaces with things.  There is nothing wrong with that in my opinion, as long as you LOVE those things.  But, if like me, you are just filling space because you found a Ming vase for $3.00 at a yard sale, no.  Surround yourself with things you love.

More and more though, I find that I am in a place in my life that makes me crave those clean and empty spaces.  First, they are easier to clean, and anything that makes that happen is great for me.  Second, I just like the way it makes me feel.  Lighter.  Happier.  Less stressed and better balanced.

Enough blathering, let’s see what is going to live with someone else this week!

Magazines

Even more magazines

A huge kitchen rug that I desperately wanted to work.  It just will not lay flat, which is dangerous on a good day, deadly on a bad one.  Kitchens, knives and rugs that jump up and move around are bad.

Clothes….

Rolling racks for under the bed….

A brown velvet bed skirt…..

Random objects….

Makeup…..

More randomness….

and more….

Jackets….

Winter coats…..

More clothes…..

Books that have been read…. You can read all about what books I’m reading here.More containers for the candle making lady…

Yet more magazines and a book I replaced with the hard cover edition…..

I had a brilliant idea to keep these trays filled with pebbles at my front door for our shoes.  We actually did put our shoes on it a few times, but I never filled it with pebbles and frankly I just didn’t like the space it was taking up.  So off they go.

Another winter coat.

That’s it for this week.  I’ve already filled the back of my car and it’s headed to the Salvation Army tomorrow.  What have you hauled away recently?

 

All the Things I NO Longer Need ~ 07.27.18

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I am gathering more items that no longer need to reside at our house.  Liv and I dropped all of these items off just before my entire immediate family came for a visit.  Let’s see what went to live at someone else’s house.

I’m letting go of my Michael Crichton books.  I’ve already read them and I know I probably won’t read them again anytime soon, because there are SO MANY BOOKS to read.  I need more hours in my day just to devote to reading.  I also picked up this copy of A Clash of Kings because it looked different from the copy we have in hardback.  Yeah.  This could possibly be why my house is full of things.  Someone else will be very happy to get this one.

I am trying very hard to weed out the things that I truly do NOT need.  This canister set is one of those things.  They’ve been sitting on my counter – empty – so they have to go.  Remember those bowls I sent away last time.  This one escaped, until now.

More candles for the candle making lady.  And a tiny planter.

A lid that doesn’t fit any of my pots.  Three stoneware ramekins bowls that I haven’t used in a year or more.  Three plastic tongs that I don’t use and a vase that I was using to hold my whisks.  I just stuffed my whisks in the drawer with the other utensils because I can’t stand all the stuff on my counters anymore.  This three-piece divided gallon jug with a wooden base.  It’s really cool, but I just don’t use it.  Can you tell from the dust on it?  My newly self-imposed rule is:  If I won’t clean it, it has to go.  It’s going.

Liv is giving up some of her books.  Glory be.

Another to go coffee mug that escaped the last culling.  A kaleidoscope.  A shower ring that I missed when I donated the set last week, hopefully they still have it.  A hair clip.  Spork’s still in the wrappers.  A book I’ve already read.  A wire hanger.  Does your thrift store bundle these and sell them?  Mine does.  A trash can that’s too small.  I am still trying to find the perfect trash can for the kitchen.

Hayden asked me, what was wrong with the old one?  Denton.  Denton is what was wrong with the old one.  It was the perfect size, but he absolutely HATED that thing, because it grabbed onto the trash bags and wouldn’t let go.  So now I’ve been trying out different ones that we already have in the house, and I’ve just about decided that I’m going to have to give in and just go buy one.

A book and more magazines……

When was the last time you wore panty hose?  I think it was 1989 for me.  The same for my hot rollers.

Another one of those bowls!  I tell you they are breeding in the dark.  A taco holder that Denton used one time.  My 24 holder for cupcakes.  It’s been in my laundry room for the past year, so I think it’s safe to send away now.

Things that are collecting dust in my house.  If I won’t clean them, they can’t stay.  I have no idea why we have so many litter boxes.  I found two more in the garage yesterday!

Random things Liv brought me that were hiding in a drawer in her bathroom.

Liv went through her old glasses.  They assured me that they will get where they need to go, so that someone somewhere can have a pair of glasses if they need them.

I am still replacing our old luggage.  There is nothing wrong with this suitcase, but it isn’t the best at rolling along.  We have a trip planned this winter and I definitely do not want to have rolling luggage mishaps in the airports.  And I think that was it for this trip!

What have you hauled away recently?

All the Things I NO Longer Need ~ 06.29.18

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I thought we were through donating for June, that’s why I posted my June recap.  But I finally, FINALLY, believe I have gotten to the bottom of Olivia’s get rid of spree.  I’m sure she will still have things to donate, but this was her biggest purge in years.  It was a lot.  Here’s what went to live with someone else.

Pajama’s and jeans. 

Camisoles and tank tops with more jeans and a shirt.

More tank tops, skirts and a pair of fingerless gloves from when she was TWELVE.

Bra’s.

And more bra’s.

What we call at our house “soft pants”.

Shirts, a belt and a hairbow.

Shorts and more shorts.

Oh look!  More lamp shades from my house.  And a dog bowl.  Where do these things come from?  That was a rhetorical question.  I know exactly where they came from, I just don’t understand why they are still in my house at this point.

A purse.

Random dishes that we DO NOT NEED.  Although, here’s a funny side note.  I told Denton a few weeks ago that if there is anything in the house that he definitely does not want to go away he needs to let me know.  (I’m not talking about his personal belonging like guitars, PlayStation’s or his clothes – I mean community things in the house)

I didn’t even get all of those words out of my mouth before he interrupted and said no.  Let it all go, he said. Literally the next day, he hollers down the hall at me and says “Where are the little plates?!?”

I knew exactly what he was asking about.  They were the saucers that came with the set of dishes we received when we got married.  And I donated them over six months ago, because they were the only things left from the set.  It took him six months to notice that they were gone.  Mind you, we have small plates.  Just not tiny saucers.  His complaint?  He didn’t need a small plate for what he was eating, he needed a saucer, because it’s easier to wash.  Never mind that he does not do the dishes.  These are the things that we used to argue about.  Just get another type of plate from the hoard I have collected, Dear and let me go about my day.

MORE random dishes that are never used.

ARGHHHHH, another tea kettle.  I seriously think Liv hid this one from me, because she said as we hauled it away, “But what if ours breaks?”.  Do not worry, there’s always Amazon.  Or Wal-mart.  Or the thrift store.  I just cannot take all the stuff anymore.

Oh look.  These are things I found in our garage.  Weights that I bought Denton, years and YEARS ago that do not fit his persnickety weight set, that have sat and rusted in our garage for all of this time.  I always ask if they will take something, so do not fear that I am dumping my garbage on my local Salvation Army. 

Another extra, sitting in my garage.

Here’s another example of something that most people would throw in the garbage.  They have a lady who will come into the Salvation Army specifically to buy bags of these empty containers for pennies on the dollar because she will reuse them to make her own candles.  Yay for keeping things out of the landfill.

Okay.  That truly is the last of it for June.  What have you hauled away recently?

All of the Things I NO Longer Need June 2018

Published on by Tracie2 Comments

Liv and I made multiple trips to our local Salvation Army during June and the whole house feels lighter.  It’s still full of So.Much.Stuff. but definitely lighter.

I went back and looked and I have been on this declutter journey since 2012.  That’s at least my starting point – the year that I decided we had too much stuff.  Over the last six years I have definitely brought things into our home, but it has been at a drastically reduced rate.  The point is we (my family) are still consumers.  We buy new clothes, phones – which reminds me I need to do something with all of our old phones!, sheets, dishes, all of the normal things that you use and change throughout everyday life.  It all just accumulates unless we make a conscious effort to let it go.

I told Denton the other night that I feel we are getting to where I want to be in certain parts of the house.  My criteria for letting something go for the past six years has been “Do I really like this thing”?  Not even do I LOVE this thing.  Was it something that I truly liked and wanted to have in my house?

Now, when I go through our spaces I stop and ask myself – “Do I LOVE this item”?  If the answer is no, it goes into the go-away pile.  And I make it actually go AWAY.  But lately, I’ve been asking myself an additional question.  If I actually do love it and want to keep it I ask myself if I love it enough to CLEAN it.  Or clean around it.  Because at this point in my life, if I’m not willing to spend my precious time to myself cleaning this item, it’s going to go live with someone else.

Time is precious and finite.  I do not want to spend my life CLEANING things.  Not even things that I truly do love and appreciate.  I realized the other day that I deliberately did not have nick nacks when my kids were small.  I just did not want to spend my time cleaning those things when Hayden and Liv were tiny, so I didn’t.

Hayden asked my Daddy what he was doing one day when he was about three.  Daddy looked surprised and said “I’m dusting the coffee table, I’m sure you’ve seen your Mommy do this”.  Hayden very solemnly said, “I’ve never seen my Mama do that, Papaw”.   I’m sure that some of you are cringing, but this still makes me laugh.  We sat in the big recliner and read books, or played on the swing set outside, or a multitude of other things when they were little and I would not go back and change one instant of it – dust and all.

Anywho!  Here’s what I hauled away in June:

My lovely comforter.  Denton absolutely hated this thing.  I loved it.  But let me tell you why it’s going to live with someone else.  If you live in the wilds of Alaska, you need one of these.  It’s a Nicole Miller king sized comforter.  And we couldn’t stand to sleep under it in the dead of winter.  It is SO hot.  Even if we turned the heat down to arctic temperatures we would wake up sweating like we had walked 30 miles in the Sahara.

It is so, so lovely, I hope that someone loves it and gives it a wonderful home.  On another note, it will not fit into my washing machine.  Every time I needed to wash it, I had to take it to our local laundromat and run it through their largest machine which cost me $4.75 each time.  Nope.  Goodbye lovely comforter, I have many others to replace you with that do not cause me angst each time I look at you.

More clothes from the never-ending donate pile from Liv’s room.

Boots and shoes from Liv’s closet.

I bought this shirt for Denton and he took one look at it and said “no way”.  I liked it.  It reminds me of  being in the stacks at the library.  Oh well.

I found these in a drawer no one ever opens.  They do not belong to us.  That means, that they have been in that drawer for over ten years, and no one noticed.

Surprise, surprise, surprise as Gomer would say.  Books and magazines that I am parting with.  Well, it’s no surprise about the magazines, I have no trouble whatsoever with donating them each month, but the cookbooks…..They just have to go.

Liv has started in on her toys now.  My mother may have to look away from this post.

I was ruthless when it came to the kitchen cabinet where we store the coffee mugs and to-go cups.

And my pots and pans drawers.  Remember my lovely Princess House pots that I love?  And that I broke one the little lovelies?  It pains me to admit, but I have managed to break ALL of the lids.  So before I do any more damage, these are going to live with someone who isn’t as destructive as me!

More random bits and bobs.

I bought myself a cordless vacuum and it has changed my life people!  And now I have Olivia hooked on the thing.  I will write a proper post about for you, because I am completely serious when I say that I LOVE that thing.  Denton told me that he does not love inanimate objects, but I believe that it’s because he doesn’t vacuum anymore, otherwise he would seriously love this thing too.  So it’s goodbye to Mr. Shark who has a cord.  Denton still will not part with his Dyson vacuum, which I was banned from using immediately after we got it.  It’s not my fault his vacuum couldn’t handle little men from the kids room’s, lol.

Also, please do not look at my filthy coat closet door.  Or the trim that needs to painted.  Or that red wall.  Have I told you how much I dislike painting?

Okay, that’s what I hauled away in June.  Are you getting rid of things you no longer need?   I would love to hear about it!

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May Recap: All the Things I NO Longer Need

Published on by Tracie2 Comments

Please excuse the sideways photos!  I somehow damaged them in the upload, and I can’t turn them.  My thoughts are – sideways photos are better than no photos.  Right?  Right.

I was about to do a post about all of the things that we donated this past weekend (that post will go up soon!) when I realized that I hadn’t done a post about all of the rest of the stuff that we donated in May.  Liv and I made multiple trips to and fro, to our local Salvation Army and it feels so good to unload all of the stuff that we don’t need cluttering up our house.  So here we go!

Two mismatched, random lamps from Liv’s room that we no longer need.  A trash basket that looks lovely, but it holds onto Wal-mart bags for dear life.  The original holder for the toilet brush and a lonely headband.  I’ll do a post about where I keep our toilet bowl brushes now.  By the way, can you see my $1.00 crocheted tablecloth in the background on the dining room table?  I LOVE that thing.

Those two lamps above got replaced with two new-to-us lamps for Liv’s room.  These were the original shades, so off they go to live in someone else’s house.

Two school bags that Liv no longer needs.  I keep finding more of these things.  They are multiplying in the closets at night!

A pair of curtains that I replaced in my bathroom…….

More clothes from the never-ending pile that Liv decluttered months ago.  We are nearing the end of that ginormous pile, I promise!

An extra tea kettle.  Why do I have so many extras of everything?!?  At least I’m FINALLY letting them go.  My beloved magazine pile that I’ve already read, and more random bits and bobs.

Books and magazines.  Have any of you read Twelve by Jasper Kent?  I tried, I truly did, but I could not get into this book.   I read over 100 pages and it still wasn’t drawing me in, so off it goes.

One lonely cookbook.  Pitiful.  I have decided that if I bring home another cookbook, I MUST get rid of at least ten in its place.  I am swimming in cookbooks.  But I love them so!

Annnnd more clothes.

And even more magazines.

And the dresses……

These are the things that we hauled away in May.  Are you getting rid of things you no longer need?  I would love to hear all about it!

Note:  This post may contain affiliate links.  Check out what that means to you here.