Identify and Rid Myself of 43 Items of Überclutter

FFB has offered to take the folding chair off my hands. He still has the other one (though not the table), so we’re reuniting the couple.

I’ve also identified another possible: my Rubbermaid boxes. (“Tubbies,” as FFB calls them.) I have several, all mismatched, and they stack poorly. I’m thinking about investing in a matching set so I can bring some order to my closet. I’ll just need to find a new home for the misfit tubbies. (FFB does not want them, but he knows someone who might.)

(definite)

My “one in, one out” rule is working much better now that I’m hanging all the clothes that used to be in my dresser. When I run out of hangers, it’s time to get rid of something. Just added 4 sweaters and two fleece shirts to the Goodwill pile.

_{Will renumber the possibles as they become definites.}

24. Garland from my wedding. Was going to get rid of my bouquet and the last couple of table arrangements, but they’re too pretty to toss. (The garland looks like it’s been trampled on.)

25. Boxes. Some are to things I no longer own (my old cell, for one); some are to things I still own, but don’t see the point in keeping the box it came in. How many boxes were there? Let’s just say I can now fit my vacuum and my new shampooer in the office closet now.

Possible 26. My James Dean posters. Not sure how to get rid of them (I can’t bring myself to throw them away), but they’re just collecting dust in my closet.

Possible 27. My lone folding chair. Its mate, and the table they went with, were given to FFB eons ago. I kept this chair because I needed a computer chair. As I bought a real computer chair in 2000, and received furniture-like folding chairs for the dining room as a wedding present (2002), I really don’t have any use for this chair. I’m just not sure who would want one folding chair.

Possible 28. Literature anthologies. I weeded through these a few years back; because my wasband and I were English majors at about the same time, we had almost the exact same textbooks. I kept one copy and gave the other away. Still…I’m losing an entire shelf to books I rarely consult. Not sure if I want to continue giving them real estate.

Possible 29. HTML and Javascript books left here by the most recent ex. At one point, I considered learning these languages; however, now I’m not so sure I still care. Plus, I’m not sure if the books are even still relevant. Perhaps I should have FFB take a look at ‘em.

I was really ruthless and disposed/donated to charity so many items I have had in my possession far too long. A couple of notable items;

(42) A silk top which had several elements of being nice, but didn’t really look that great on. In fact, I can’t actually remember EVER wearing it, apart from trying it on!

(43) A pair of shoes in perfectly wearable condition. I had the mantra “if I haven’t used it in 12 months, I probably don’t need it” in my mind, so out they went!

That feels better now :)

I’ve spent the last couple of hours trying to cull some more of my stuff. When going through my bookshelf I was surprised to find things I thought I’d previously discarded! I’m about to take a large bag of books and magazines down to the charity shop. Here are some items I uncovered;

(15-18) A whole pile of paper clutter including;
*Old study notes
*5 yrs old mobile phone bill
*Old plane ticket
*Brochure for income protection insurance that I opted not to take. Not sure why I decided to keep it on the shelf after reading the fine print (Trailing commissions? Get lost!)In the recycling where it belongs

(19-21)I have sooo many bags. I managed to part with 3 of them that I don’t use. Off to charity

(22-27)Various magazines. I’m too busy to sit around reading magazines I have read before! Off to charity

(28-33)Various books including one short story collection I don’t expect I will ever read. A book about Indian Feng Shui. I never found the book particularly appealing, so it makes little sense to keep it

(34-40)Various clothes. Some items which I could imagine wearing again, but I own far too much. Some things have to go! One dress I’ve held on to for several years, but I’ve always thought, “not sure if this garment is very flattering”. I own many clothes that I do consider flattering, so really I should just wear them!

(41) A strange looking plastic massage device that I was given in a shopping centre promotion

A helpful rule in conquering the war on clutter is to discard things not used over the last 12 months. All the items I have discarded would belong to that category! Now I just have to train myself not to bring unnecessary things in.

er, whatever was “email and RSS feeds.”

Tiny dent. Minuscule. But you gotta start somewhere…

(Stopping now because I’ve just spent the past 4 hours on the computer and my butt’s going to sleep.)

but some great tips from one of my favorite blogs: http://www.happiness-project.com.

First, the secret to happiness is not organizing? What? Actually, she makes some excellent points.
http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/10/note-to-self-dont-get-organized.html

Then she discusses 27 tips to keeping your house in order (staying organized).
http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2006/08/the_twentyseven.html

I was pleased to find that I’ve already (mostly) taken the advice in the first one, and am pretty good about following the tips in the second. Where do I fall short?

Somewhere, keep an entirely empty shelf or drawer.
I’d love to, but right now? Not happening.

Know where to give things away.
Where does one get rid of a wedding dress that wasn’t fashionable 7 years ago and is smaller than most junior high girls could wear? Inquiring minds want to know!

Never accept anything for free, unless you’re thrilled with it.
I’m getting better about this, but still find myself falling into this trap occasionally. Luckily, it’s usually clothes – and I always have a Goodwill bag going. Where do I fall short? Tote/duffel bags. I have bags of bags in my closet. Maybe R will take them…

Have enough hangers in every closet.
This was a challenge when I decided to move all of my clothes out of the dresser into the closet, but luckily Mom’s not to the point where she can throw hangers away yet. :)

Make your bed every morning. Keep your keys in the same place each day. Every night before bed, do a tidy-up to put away everything that’s out of place.
I’m working on these. Some days are easier than others.

Also, I can’t recommend this tip highly enough:

If you can’t find something, clean up.

It really does work! (No, I’ve never had small children…but I’ve had a husband that made the mess of three.)

Dropped the paper in the recycling bin at work. Was too tired to go to the grocery store, though (plus, I haven’t made menus yet…doing that tonight), so the bags will have to wait. They’re in my car and ready to go, however.

My old crappy furniture that I got rid of in the move totally counts as Uberclutter, right? I really disliked all of it, and I really just kept it around until the move. I’m going to replace the obvious items with nicer things that are more of my particular taste and style.

33. Old Couch

Still in good enough shape for the Salvation Army to take, but not really my style. It was “donated” to me by my mother, who was going to throw it away a few years back. It was nice to sleep on, but not aesthetically pleasing at all.

34. Ugly Glass Coffee Table

Went with the couch.

35. 20-Year-Old Entertainment Center

I may have been able to spruce this up with a coat of paint, but would it really be worth the effort? I don’t even have a TV to put in it anymore! Oh, speaking of which:

36. Really Old Television

I haven’t turned this thing on in like 6 months. I don’t watch TV and when I watch movies, I usually use my computer now.

37. DVD Player

I left the TV/DVD player outside my old apartment. They were gone in 2 hours. Yay!

38. Guitar

Gave it to my ex-roommate, who will surely get more use out of it than I did.

Computer files are backed up, finally. Didn’t even take all that long, once I got started.