Get rid of stuff

I’m still working at this, and I think I’ve hit upon a good strategy for me. I get rid of little bits at a time – I go through one bookshelf looking for books I don’t use anymore, I go through one drawer, (e.g. shirts), etc. I set the items I’m cutting loose near my door where I can leave them on our building’s give/get table downstairs, where people leave things that others might want. Inch by inch…

Also am selling some old child-related things and other stuff on Craig’s list, and I’m really getting serious about curbing acquisition, even, (especially), about books.

I have to believe that every step forward, even the tiniest one, (got rid of a bag of newspapers), is progress.

these days, my efforts seem to be mostly directed at preventing stuff from coming in in the first place. Having just spent almost 6 mo digging out from the debris of my parents’ move, (all the stuff I ‘had’ to take, most of which eventually found new homes), and I realize that the Library is a wonderful thing, and I have a lot of the info I need on computer etc. so it’s a matter of paring down in the kids’ toys, kitchen gadgets, books and clothing departments. Also time to get real about what will and won’t sell on e-bay!! :-)

with the teaching year over, now is my chance to use my ‘extra’ time for clearing out stuff. My motto has been, ‘not more bookcases, less books!’, and I’ve been culling and straightening and re-ordering for better useablility. Have also made some adjustments in the Dining Room & Kitchen which improve workflow and increase whatever small space there is.

In the past week, I’ve brough about 8 bags of stuff for donation, and I have 3 boxes of books waiting to go, (one will be shipped to a friend, the other 2 donated),

also spent a lot of time in kids’ rooms trying to get rid of obvious garbage, and asking them to cull clothing and books as much as possible.

I know it’s an ongoing process which is never quite done, but I think I’m seeing some improvement around here. It would just help if DH didn’t ridicule my efforts. :-(

major backsliding this week, as my parents are moving across the country and I am the recipient of everything from some boxes of books I stored with them 20 years ago to a couch and bed linens, stationery, my old wedding dress, a bookcase….

I’m hoping that it will actually inspire me to go through and get rid of stuff that it can replace (e.g. replace worn out linens with nice newer ones that actually match), most of the books are going – if I’ve lived without them for 20 years, they probably aren’t necessary.

I’ve already gotten rid of the old couch in favor of the new import. So, in short, though it’s much more cluttered right at the moment, I’m hoping it will lead to a renewed push to streamline as we head for Spring and (dramatic organ music) PASSOVER (aghhhhh)

... but have made a bit of a recent push, setting aside some stuff for sale on ebay, and just donating another few bags. I’m also getting a little less frantic about it, realizing that as the kids grow up and go, and as the littlest one enters school, there will be less stuff, things will get donated, given or sold, and it still is a ‘every little bit helps’ sort of thing, whether taking out the papers & recycling that have accumulated, or finally donating some more clothing, or jettisoning books that I’ve got to admit, I almost never look at, and have easy alternate access to. I may soon enough be living in an even smaller space, and I need to keep paring down now.

(though, unfortunately, I’m about to receive a huge influx as my parents return to me all sorts of stuff I had stored with them, so I’m soon going to be feeling just as cluttered as I was a couple of months ago. Oh well, c’est la vie, as they say.)

had Big Bro’s come and pick up about 10 bags of old clothes and baby stuff, and I’m still putting stuff into bags and stashing them for another big run. Also working to edit/re-organize books one bookcase at a time, then sell/donate, (we’re talking about 15 bookcases scattered through a 4 room NY apt.!!).

On the other end of the spectrum, threw out 2 bags of newspaper and 2 bags of merely incidental daily trash – that helps, too.

donating several bags of clothing & books to a shelter today. The process of divesting of stuff has to be done slowly, and care taken not to accumulate replacement stuff. My principle right now is that we don’t need more storage space, we need less stuff. I want to make what we have fit into the space, possibly with room to spare. It always helps to remember that plenty of people live on far less than we have, and we aren’t needy by any stretch. I want space more than I want stuff!