Declutter #29 - Magnets

This isn't ALL I got rid of this week, but I've just spent waaaayy too much time looking for the title of a book and I need to move on.

Quite a while ago (1990s?), I taught a class at our church (Lydia Zion United Methodist) at the time. I cannot remember the name of the book! But I made these magnets for each couple in the church. There was a fifth one that was of a violin. That one represented the value you should have for your partner - as though that person were as rare, precious, and valuable as a Stradivarius violin.

These are what I'm tossing in the garbage. They are not the sturdiest and I have too much stuff! They were meant to be visual reminders of the concepts we talked about from the book.

 

I have gotten rid of some other magnets (when we replaced our fridge), but these were in my office space. I wish I could remember the name of the book! I'll update this if / when I find it. 

 

I do remember that the one on the far right is about not making a fist (hence the Stop sign shape). We can crush the spirit of our loved ones too easily.

Declutter #28 - This and That (Again)

 I don't have photos (or much to share) but I'm trying to keep some forward momentum going!

Over the past week, I dropped off some books to a local Little Free Library. (I had brought some free books home from work, so this was more of a trade than a true declutter.) We have so many books!

I gave my sister Ann one of my sleeveless T-shirts that I bought last summer. I don't like shirts to be too baggy; she's more comfortable with them. (I had purchased four new ones on clearance at Macy's . . . so again, not a declutter.)

I've worked on getting rid of some of my scraps of paper and following up on things on my home days. That helps my space feel less cluttered.

I bought a new ($3 clearance) spiral for jotting my lists. I have used the old one for almost four years, so that feels good. 

I put some other things into the "Goodwill" box under the stairs. I wait until the box(es) is/are full before I add that to my errand list.

All in all, not much to report. This has been a surprisingly busy summer. But it has also been a lot of fun! As we head toward fall, I hope to get more diligent about sorting through things and getting rid of excess.

Declutter #24 Update

 Since I'm getting caught up, I read through some of my posts and laughed.

The old pontoon, pontoon lift, and popup / project trailer are still sitting at the lake. I've had LOTS of inquiries about the popup and one guy MAY come out this weekend to look at it. I am super hopeful that he will buy it. The other items will probably sit until spring.

The baby walker went to Hands of Friendship. The wooden train pieces are in my Goodwill box.

I ended up using the portable DVD player while working as a PCA over a weekend. Louie found a power cord that I could plug into an outlet! I had a full season of the Great British Baking Show on DVD from the library and I needed to return them. It worked beautifully, so I've decided to keep it.

I'm going much slower than I'd like at getting rid of stuff, but at least I'm trying to move forward!

Declutter #27 - At the Lake

We have too much stuff. 

 

We are incredibly blessed! And we are trying to be frugal by not buying more than we need. But between gifts and what has simply accumulated over the last 57 - 64 years, we have a lot of stuff.

 

Since we're at the lake for the weekend, I have the opportunity to do some sorting, organizing, and cleaning while we're here. So here's what I plan to put into a donation box!

 

There are four cute signs that someone gave us. They are peel and stick . . . and not something we want to use on our walls. The thought was nice, but someone else can enjoy them. 

 

The two "twig" crayons are also super cute. But when we had mice, they thought they were splendid for chewing. I'm so sick of cleaning up mice messes!!! I have other cute things and other things for small children to play with. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but these are going to go.

 

At the top in the picture is a cute pad of paper holder.  I love jotting notes and using paper and pen, but I have had this for over a decade and it has just been sitting in a drawer. I typically use magnet pads on the fridge. Into the donation box!

I may get rid of more stuff, but since I'm trying to get back on track with my blogging, this entry is a wrap.

 

 

Declutter #26 - Other People's Stuff

I confess I haven't been doing a stellar job of sorting through and getting rid of my own junk. I'm not sure why life has felt so busy this summer, but at least I'm having fun! My lovely spouse does NOT like me blogging about him, but this story requires his part to be told. 

 

In helping out my older brother sometime in the past two years, I brought home parts of a broken-down upholstered recliner chair with the intention of throwing it away in our garbage can. My brother's garbage was full to overflowing and ours is typically only half full. When I got home, though, my husband helped unload it from the car and put it in our garage. Why?!?!? He had some idea about potentially using parts of it for some other projects. I was not happy.

Our garage is fairly cluttered, but it's his "turf," not mine. My only caveat is that I get to park indoors. I'm pretty adamant about that. (Our garage is just over two car size, but we haven't parked two cars in there for a long, long time.) I have occasionally commented on the chair carcass and how my only intention was to help my brother by getting rid of it.

Well this past week, my husband said I could take it apart and get rid of it! I spent a chunk of time in the garage yesterday dismantling it. He helped - not sure if it was because he saw me struggling or if it just seemed like fun - and we now have most of it in our garbage can. Some of the "good" (i.e. not plywood) wood he is setting aside for kindling. Some of the pieces of upholstery will have to wait until next week. (We have the smaller size garbage can.) 

It feels like a victory. I didn't take photos, but I am almost excited to go out into the garage and NOT see that chair piled up on other stuff!

Declutter #25 - Incoming and Outgoing

Ugh. I've been overbusy again . . . so this blog is three weeks' worth of not doing much. I'm trying to at least not bring more stuff INTO my house. Here are some quick "things" that fit:

 

• I dropped off a bag of sheets with one of my sisters-in-law since I have so many! (They had come to me from a different sister-in-law.)
  
• I did buy a pair of cheap flip-flops at Costco with the intention of throwing away the Nike ones that Titus had chewed up. Louie asked me not to throw them away because he has an idea to "fix' them . . . 
• My purse is getting a bit weathered. I'm resisting buying a new one because I don't NEED it and I'm trying to be thrifty as well as decreasing possessions.
• Some of the lovely short sleeve shirts that a friend had given me I've given to her sister-in-law. I just don't need that many clothes! I have a lot.
• I went through some of my jewelry and separated out some bracelets I'm okay with giving away. I meant to give them to the girls at the Akina camp I worked at this week, but it didn't happen.
• I have set aside two pillows to give to a friend for her son. We have so many! We have them up at the lake and at home in Jordan. We have them on our beds and on guest beds. I need to get to a laundromat to wash up the blankets for her . . . 
• Part of being too busy is not having time to go shopping!
   

Declutter #24 - I missed a month . . .

Today is Wednesday, July 12. I last did a declutter blog entry on June 5. Wow. June was a very, very busy month. I initially thought I'd come up with five entries for the five weeks that have passed. But then I thought I was being silly; if I'm already struggling with time, doing more doesn't make sense!

Here's what I had decided to get rid of five weeks ago:

The walker is one I had bought for $20 off Craigslist when Joshua was little. It was handy for using in the kitchen to keep him out of stuff and upright. Titus loved eating Cheerios off the tray, though! I've used it for Benjamin, but he much prefers to crawl around and get into stuff. I haven't decided if I'm going to try to sell it or just give it away.

The little wooden trains were in the car bin. I don't know where they came from and Joshua pulled them out and agreed we should get rid of them.

I don't have pictures of the portable DVD player, but I've had it for ages and haven't used it. Joshua tried it out and it works great! He liked having the headphones on and getting to control it. Morgan and Angela don't want it, though, so I'll probably try to sell it.

I also have three items on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace right now: the old pontoon boat, the old pontoon lift, and the old pop-up camper (to be a project trailer). I had hoped to sell them when we were at the lake for a week in June, but other than some inquiries, they're just sitting.

 

That's actually a pretty decent amount for five weeks! I don't know if it really counts as "decluttering," especially as I still have all this stuff, but it's what I've got lined up to go.