Darling daughter has decided to declutter her life by bringing it all here. 😟
She was most surprised when I told her my kitchen is as equipped as I need it to be and I don’t want her rejects. 😄
We were downsizing and moving, and so I called my then 25-year-old son to come and get his scuba gear out of our garage. He said," that is not mine it belongs to Steve I went to high school with." So I said, "Well call Steve and tell him to come and get his stuff." To which he replied, "Oh Steve moved to Europe four years ago." We donated Steve's stuff.
I can sympathise with that - my Mum refuses to learn how to drive a computer well enough to use ebay, and my nrother won't help her. So guess who gets all her crap to declutter - plus stuff that is apparently mine (the prize one being a "camera thing" - turned out to be a slide projector and also turned out to be said brother's), despite me never having actually lived there - and I'm sure I took all my stuff when my parents moved. What the hell do I want with all the letters I wrote from boarding school?
Currently I have all Dad's Old Glory magazines (steam engines, not some far-right US publication!) - or not - he took it from issue 2, and I bought him an issue 1, so there should be the entire set as I buy it myself now... but there's five years worth missing (it's been going since about 1989), so I can't sell the bloody things as a full set until I get back to Essex, get in the loft, and find the missing 60 or so. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
In better news, we've had a decent declutter here today. Have found some floor we didn't know existed... though not the tiny scrtew from a camera I dropped. Luckily it's not a vital one.
What the hell do I want with all the letters I wrote from boarding school?
See, that's the kind of decluttering I find really hard because it's family history and carries an emotional charge. My mum apparently had kept all the letters her mother ever wrote to her and my dad threw them away. I never saw them and would dearly like to have them now.
Currently I have all Dad's Old Glory magazines (steam engines, not some far-right US publication!) - or not - he took it from issue 2, and I bought him an issue 1, so there should be the entire set as I buy it myself now... but there's five years worth missing (it's been going since about 1989), so I can't sell the bloody things as a full set until I get back to Essex, get in the loft, and find the missing 60 or so. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
Mr Nen collects car magazines; no idea whether he has any full sets or not but it'll be a major task if it ever falls to me... along with the loft and garages full of cars and parts of cars...
I've just moved into a small flat, from what I thought was a small house, but not everything will fit. At the moment I'm sorrowfully considering a Hendrick's gin tea set with teapot, which is deliciously Steampunk, but I really do not have the space to display it.
Granddaughter arrives today to do the de-clutter support on the porch. At the same time her dad is going to put longer legs on my bed so I have storage room under it for box of out of season clothes. That should be the end of the move from a year ago into a small mobile home from a larger family home.
Storage for out-of-season clothes boxed and ready to go under the newly raised bed. I will test the dog on the higher bed tonight. I am sure she can still jump up. My granddaughter was a big help on the porch, I think a few more hours on my own, and all will, at last, be livable. She even helped me hang up a plant to hook I could not reach except on a step ladder and according to my doctor, my step ladder days are over. Only took a year and 6 months, but I am about to finally feel all moved into our mobile home.
Garage decluttered !
Mr Puzzler has four sections in the garage.
At the front and down one side are gardening tools and lawnmower for the front lawn. OK.
( There is a separate shed for the back lawn mower )
On the front right is a workbench, with shelves above full of paint, polishes, varnishes, various tools relating to various things I know not what. Never used. But they might be. Not neat or tidy.
In the middle is storage, including a larder cupboard and a second fridge-freezer, both in frequent use - and a mobility scooter, rarely used. And more boxes behind containing?
At the back is the much-loved electrics / electronics department. Lots of spares, both small parts and whole items, and numerous small tools. Occasional use, but for most of the year the garage is too cold to work in.
I am sorry to say I just think about how much trouble this will all cause me when he is no longer here, or unable to use any of it. Discussion of this is of course verboten. Sigh
I'm making a determined effort to declutter this summer. It's hard to get rid of stuff! I sent a message to a local charity offering a bunch of things, including a breast pump and baby bottles (my youngest is 8!) They said, yes that's great, please bring it on Donation Day - which is a date when we're away on holiday. Aarghh. I was hoping to get it all out of the house this week.
I had the same problem when moving, a google search and donations along with the name of our town, turned up a veterans group that I was not aware of and they even did curbside pick up. Good Luck Martha.
I sent a message back asking if there was another date I can drop the stuff off. If I don't hear back I'll investigate other alternatives. Fortunately no one is staying in our spare room in the next few weeks! Thanks for the suggestions.
Feeling very accomplished. I washed and dried a newly emptied very large glass jar with its lid. I did not keep it. I put it in the trash. However, today is only Monday and the trash pick-up is Wednesday. How often does one come across such a large jar? No, I can do this.
(or rather dragging out what passed for insulation way-back-when)
+ the removal of what passes for floor boards but look decidedly unreliable not to say disgusting…..
…..has necessitated the Complete removal of everything in the loft before MenWhatDoes arrive later on this week.
But wait
We cleared the loft last year!
Oh no we didn’t……..
Currently eyeing various pieces of obscure furniture and deciding whether to offer as up-cycling projects, reuse in various sheds or just chop and burn in woodburner this winter.
Chop and burn is looking likely.
In other news, I ve not been near shopping, cooking or dishwashing for a while now - so had not fully appreciated the number of bags and boxes of empty jars with lids that we owned.
Mercifully a nearby friend is right in the middle of a jamming session so has relieved us of a good 60% of the collection. She may yet return for the remaining 40%.
I had NO idea that every last jar since March had been kept!
I have discovered Freegle. It seems to be having some effect - someone is picking up the breast pump tomorrow, and I've had enquiries about a couple of other things. I'll just take the clothes to the clothes bank, so maybe my spare room will be magically empty by the end of the week!
@Boogie
As almost everything is on an app these days, Freegle / freecycle / green cycle/ trash nothing / and the other ones out there quite possibly are app based
But
They are also available online via your favourite search engine.
I ve been utterly amazed at the stuff that folk will drive twenty miles or more…. Just to take off my hands!
@Boogie
As almost everything is on an app these days, Freegle / freecycle / green cycle/ trash nothing / and the other ones out there quite possibly are app based
But
They are also available online via your favourite search engine.
I ve been utterly amazed at the stuff that folk will drive twenty miles or more…. Just to take off my hands!
Thank you.
British Heart Foundation have taken all our clutter and unwanted furniture. They’ve been amazing.
But, when we move I want to really keep on top of things so shall use those apps - in our tiny house we will no longer have cupboards to shove unneeded things in!
I was wandering around my neighbourhood yesterday and found a cardboard box with half a dozen of the small trays that are used to propagate seeds and some larger newly emptied pots with a notice saying, "Take what you want." It was great timing because I had just bought some lavender seeds. I took the trays and left the pots.
These last few days I have rationalised all the 'admin' type paperwork into four box files.
@Boogie (or anyone else) - how far back do you keep credit card statements? I have all ours going back to the start of 2014, which is almost a box file's worth.
I am sorting paperwork today, because we are about to get rid of our car. Once it's sold, can I shred all the annual certificates of insurance for that car? We've owned it for nine years, so not a box file's worth, but a centimetre thick file.
Also, when I hand over the full service history, is there anything I should scan and keep before selling it - it's going to the garage as a trade-in.
@Boogie (or anyone else) - how far back do you keep credit card statements? I have all ours going back to the start of 2014, which is almost a box file's worth.
I am sorting paperwork today, because we are about to get rid of our car. Once it's sold, can I shred all the annual certificates of insurance for that car? We've owned it for nine years, so not a box file's worth, but a centimetre thick file.
Also, when I hand over the full service history, is there anything I should scan and keep before selling it - it's going to the garage as a trade-in.
2014 is probably far enough - we keep them for the limitation period (which here is 6 years) plus a year.
What insurance is covered by the certificates - to cover personal injury claims against you, property damage claims or quite what? Again, I think I'd keep them for that period. With the service history, why are you keeping those records? Several possible reasons, chief of which is that there's something seriously wrong with the car. If that's a mechanical fault and the claim is for the cost of rectifying it. That's a good reason to keep the papers for the period during which you could be sued by the purchaser. Then there's something wrong with the work done, and any error gives rise to a claim against you - eg the brakes weren't not properly serviced and an accident occurs because the brakes were not working properly. Now what I've talked around may not be relevant where you are, or there may be other matters which do give rise a claim. Some advice from a community legal service, the local branch of your legal aid organisation or some such organisation would be worth getting.
There's a lot wrong with the car, but it is going to a garage as a trade-in. It's the garage which has carried out the annual MOT. Obviously they know its age and mileage, and have carried out the majority pf work on it, though we've had some minor repairs carried out by a more local garage. I thought it was obligatory to hand over a Full Service History when selling / trading in.
I have something funny to add to this thread - a backwards declutter, as, errrrm, a corporate body known to me has a re-organisational spasm and bins loads and loads of scientific equipment. In the past I have grabbed bits from the skip and sold them online to raise money for Christian Aid. This is going to take some time, given the volumes I am currently dealing with. I wonder if my WFH wife would like a new backdrop for her zoom meetings, consisting of a wall of late 80's electronics. Nothing motivates like success, so I'll have to overcome prevarication and list list list.
I wonder if my WFH wife would like a new backdrop for her zoom meetings, consisting of a wall of late 80's electronics. Nothing motivates like success, so I'll have to overcome prevarication and list list list.
Late 80s electronics consists of a mix of interestingly useful kit and complete garbage. Are you going to go through and test it all, or just list it as is?
These last few days I have rationalised all the 'admin' type paperwork into four box files.
@Boogie (or anyone else) - how far back do you keep credit card statements? I have all ours going back to the start of 2014, which is almost a box file's worth.
I am sorting paperwork today, because we are about to get rid of our car. Once it's sold, can I shred all the annual certificates of insurance for that car? We've owned it for nine years, so not a box file's worth, but a centimetre thick file.
Also, when I hand over the full service history, is there anything I should scan and keep before selling it - it's going to the garage as a trade-in.
I'd keep 6 yearsof financial stuff esp as HMRC can go back that far. I have a large binder per year with P60's, bank and insurance stuff in it. I also photocopy all cheques given as gifts - if HMRC come looking as they once did, I can prove these are gifts for birthdays not work related.
I wonder if my WFH wife would like a new backdrop for her zoom meetings, consisting of a wall of late 80's electronics. Nothing motivates like success, so I'll have to overcome prevarication and list list list.
Late 80s electronics consists of a mix of interestingly useful kit and complete garbage. Are you going to go through and test it all, or just list it as is?
I was fairly picky. Mostly Thurlby and Farnell stabilised PSUs, some Tektronix function generators, and a small bunch of interesting oddities including an older Advance RF sig gen with a really nice 2-speed dial (I might keep that one; my Dad worked on the same industrial estate in Essex). Last time this happened at work it was Hameg scopes, about 25 of the things. I think I'll be able to sell this stuff, tested, but it will take a while. At the moment I am knocking out lathe spares and accessories, which is lucrative but which makes for heavy trips to the parcel drop off shop!
Mark, the technology mentioned almost sounds like a different language to this technopeasant.
I hasten to add that I didn't mean that as a criticism of your post. It's the kind of thing my Dad might have posted if he had been around long enough, My youngest brother shared out some of the stuff from his garage with his mates after he died. I took the two foot wooden ruler that had 3 brass hinges so it could fold up and be put in a pocket as a memento of something I was allowed to play with (carefully) as a child.
I took the two foot wooden ruler that had 3 brass hinges so it could fold up and be put in a pocket as a memento of something I was allowed to play with (carefully) as a child.
My dad had one of those and I can remember being allowed to play with it carefully as well!
They're nice, aren't they. I use one from time to time, mostly from nostalgia! It's imperial, but surprisingly so are we, often, in work, where tooling was bought in the 60s and not updated here and there. So I'm getting better with my boxwood rule at thinking out (say) 3 and 3/16, less a 32nd etc etc.
As a child it always amazed me how my Dad who had worked in the engine room of ship before he was married, served his time as a fitter and turner, worked in factory maintenance, and as a boilerman, and passed his Stationary Engine Drivers' certification could pick up the correct sized spanner just by looking at it.
I know now that this ability wasn't rare among the men (as it always was in those days) who did this kind of work, but it always seemed like magic to me.
I have just had one of those difficult conversations with Mr Puzzler.
Prompted by recent life- changing downturns in the health of two church friends, both male, both in prominent roles in church life, I dared to broach the subject of preparing for the unknown future, as in, it can happen to anyone at any time and there are things we can do now to make life easier in the future.
It did not go down well. He soon reduces it to the extreme proposition of me wanting to get rid of everything that makes his life worthwhile.
I look round at what is mine and what is his in terms of “ stuff”, and there is no comparison and that is before we think about the loft and the garage.
Conversation ends with him in a huff, half the morning gone, and bad feeling between us.
That turns the decluttering into a minefield Puzzler.
I am fortunate in that I only need to negotiate with myself - and that causes as much conflict as I can handle.
I do needlework and finally sorted my cottons according to colour, which isn't as easy as it sounds, given the colour range of DMC (the make I use). My conclusion from this exercise is that I am not allowing myself to buy any more of the deep purple 550. I have enough to last the rest of my life and then some.
I have just had one of those difficult conversations with Mr Puzzler.
Prompted by recent life- changing downturns in the health of two church friends, both male, both in prominent roles in church life, I dared to broach the subject of preparing for the unknown future, as in, it can happen to anyone at any time and there are things we can do now to make life easier in the future.
It did not go down well. He soon reduces it to the extreme proposition of me wanting to get rid of everything that makes his life worthwhile.
I look round at what is mine and what is his in terms of “ stuff”, and there is no comparison and that is before we think about the loft and the garage.
Conversation ends with him in a huff, half the morning gone, and bad feeling between us.
I understand that, I think. If one enjoys the material side of things - making, mending, building and all that - then everything is either materials, or tools. The more you have, the more possibility there is (and the materials themselves suggest the project, quite often) - unless you can't move for it, and have to scale back or find more space. Those of us who grew up with a bit of a 'scarcity' mindset, probably have it even more strongly.
I have saved thousands, probably tens of thousands over the years by doing jobs myself mostly out of 'found' materials. I really like the non-uniform results - but not everyone does, and many people couldn't live with the clutter it implies. Many people would rather work hard for an income and buy stuff in 'just in time'. A 'married compromise' sometimes pleases no-one - too muddled and eclectic, and simultaneouly too empty and uniform.
Maybe Huia's self-negotioted solution is the way to go!
It seems from my own experience anyway that people who've been through extreme stress of being refugees, POWs, etc. often develop hoarder-ish tendencies. (in a not unrelated note, Mr Lamb has just come home with three more kumquat trees. Where will we put them, in this house?)
Mr. Image was finally willing to admit he is never going to wear many of his old clothes again. So he was okay with me making up donation bags. We are keeping several of his hats that he is never going to wear again, but is very fond of. The reason I wanted to do this was to make room in his closet for his medical supplies which are now taking up a lot of floor space. I have to admit it made me a bit sad as well.
GI, I find that donating things (and selling for charity) helps me too with the 'mustn't waste it' side of it all. And it's become something of a hobby, which is odd but has its own satisfactions.
Hopefully today the man will come for his big pile of 1980s computer gear (a last minute grab from an abandoned store cupboard). The slightly sad feeling that I may never see a 5.1/4 floppy (or 20, with 5 or 6 disk drives) again is tempered by the good feeling of raising some money and seeing a bit more of the floor in the back room. This latest move at work, which I think I mentioned upthread, is causing serious domestic-logistic indigestion!
And LC - how big does a kumquat tree get?? Stealth-plant them at the back of a local park?
Comments
My house is completely clear of clutter.
I’m not sure what to do with myself!
Before we move we need to donate a lot of furniture but that can’t happen yet as we are having visitors in a couple of weeks.
I wish we still had the Not Worthy emoji.
We were downsizing and moving, and so I called my then 25-year-old son to come and get his scuba gear out of our garage. He said," that is not mine it belongs to Steve I went to high school with." So I said, "Well call Steve and tell him to come and get his stuff." To which he replied, "Oh Steve moved to Europe four years ago." We donated Steve's stuff.
Currently I have all Dad's Old Glory magazines (steam engines, not some far-right US publication!) - or not - he took it from issue 2, and I bought him an issue 1, so there should be the entire set as I buy it myself now... but there's five years worth missing (it's been going since about 1989), so I can't sell the bloody things as a full set until I get back to Essex, get in the loft, and find the missing 60 or so. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
In better news, we've had a decent declutter here today. Have found some floor we didn't know existed... though not the tiny scrtew from a camera I dropped. Luckily it's not a vital one.
Mr Nen collects car magazines; no idea whether he has any full sets or not but it'll be a major task if it ever falls to me... along with the loft and garages full of cars and parts of cars...
Our garage is decluttered! We have floor space!
All we have to do now is decide whether we want to rearrange it.
Mr Puzzler has four sections in the garage.
At the front and down one side are gardening tools and lawnmower for the front lawn. OK.
( There is a separate shed for the back lawn mower )
On the front right is a workbench, with shelves above full of paint, polishes, varnishes, various tools relating to various things I know not what. Never used. But they might be. Not neat or tidy.
In the middle is storage, including a larder cupboard and a second fridge-freezer, both in frequent use - and a mobility scooter, rarely used. And more boxes behind containing?
At the back is the much-loved electrics / electronics department. Lots of spares, both small parts and whole items, and numerous small tools. Occasional use, but for most of the year the garage is too cold to work in.
I am sorry to say I just think about how much trouble this will all cause me when he is no longer here, or unable to use any of it. Discussion of this is of course verboten. Sigh
There are even professional declutterers, which I didn't know existed, such as these.
They sounded well organised - until I came across the note about future events - in autumn 2021!
(or rather dragging out what passed for insulation way-back-when)
+ the removal of what passes for floor boards but look decidedly unreliable not to say disgusting…..
…..has necessitated the Complete removal of everything in the loft before MenWhatDoes arrive later on this week.
But wait
We cleared the loft last year!
Oh no we didn’t……..
Currently eyeing various pieces of obscure furniture and deciding whether to offer as up-cycling projects, reuse in various sheds or just chop and burn in woodburner this winter.
Chop and burn is looking likely.
In other news, I ve not been near shopping, cooking or dishwashing for a while now - so had not fully appreciated the number of bags and boxes of empty jars with lids that we owned.
Mercifully a nearby friend is right in the middle of a jamming session so has relieved us of a good 60% of the collection. She may yet return for the remaining 40%.
I had NO idea that every last jar since March had been kept!
Now I’m shredding, shredding, shredding. I think it will take me until we move (a week on Friday) to get it all shredded!
Is it to be found on an app?
Can I hire you?
As almost everything is on an app these days, Freegle / freecycle / green cycle/ trash nothing / and the other ones out there quite possibly are app based
But
They are also available online via your favourite search engine.
I ve been utterly amazed at the stuff that folk will drive twenty miles or more…. Just to take off my hands!
Thank you.
British Heart Foundation have taken all our clutter and unwanted furniture. They’ve been amazing.
But, when we move I want to really keep on top of things so shall use those apps - in our tiny house we will no longer have cupboards to shove unneeded things in!
@Boogie (or anyone else) - how far back do you keep credit card statements? I have all ours going back to the start of 2014, which is almost a box file's worth.
I am sorting paperwork today, because we are about to get rid of our car. Once it's sold, can I shred all the annual certificates of insurance for that car? We've owned it for nine years, so not a box file's worth, but a centimetre thick file.
Also, when I hand over the full service history, is there anything I should scan and keep before selling it - it's going to the garage as a trade-in.
2014 is probably far enough - we keep them for the limitation period (which here is 6 years) plus a year.
What insurance is covered by the certificates - to cover personal injury claims against you, property damage claims or quite what? Again, I think I'd keep them for that period. With the service history, why are you keeping those records? Several possible reasons, chief of which is that there's something seriously wrong with the car. If that's a mechanical fault and the claim is for the cost of rectifying it. That's a good reason to keep the papers for the period during which you could be sued by the purchaser. Then there's something wrong with the work done, and any error gives rise to a claim against you - eg the brakes weren't not properly serviced and an accident occurs because the brakes were not working properly. Now what I've talked around may not be relevant where you are, or there may be other matters which do give rise a claim. Some advice from a community legal service, the local branch of your legal aid organisation or some such organisation would be worth getting.
Late 80s electronics consists of a mix of interestingly useful kit and complete garbage. Are you going to go through and test it all, or just list it as is?
I'd keep 6 yearsof financial stuff esp as HMRC can go back that far. I have a large binder per year with P60's, bank and insurance stuff in it. I also photocopy all cheques given as gifts - if HMRC come looking as they once did, I can prove these are gifts for birthdays not work related.
I was fairly picky. Mostly Thurlby and Farnell stabilised PSUs, some Tektronix function generators, and a small bunch of interesting oddities including an older Advance RF sig gen with a really nice 2-speed dial (I might keep that one; my Dad worked on the same industrial estate in Essex). Last time this happened at work it was Hameg scopes, about 25 of the things. I think I'll be able to sell this stuff, tested, but it will take a while. At the moment I am knocking out lathe spares and accessories, which is lucrative but which makes for heavy trips to the parcel drop off shop!
I hasten to add that I didn't mean that as a criticism of your post. It's the kind of thing my Dad might have posted if he had been around long enough, My youngest brother shared out some of the stuff from his garage with his mates after he died. I took the two foot wooden ruler that had 3 brass hinges so it could fold up and be put in a pocket as a memento of something I was allowed to play with (carefully) as a child.
I know now that this ability wasn't rare among the men (as it always was in those days) who did this kind of work, but it always seemed like magic to me.
Prompted by recent life- changing downturns in the health of two church friends, both male, both in prominent roles in church life, I dared to broach the subject of preparing for the unknown future, as in, it can happen to anyone at any time and there are things we can do now to make life easier in the future.
It did not go down well. He soon reduces it to the extreme proposition of me wanting to get rid of everything that makes his life worthwhile.
I look round at what is mine and what is his in terms of “ stuff”, and there is no comparison and that is before we think about the loft and the garage.
Conversation ends with him in a huff, half the morning gone, and bad feeling between us.
I am fortunate in that I only need to negotiate with myself - and that causes as much conflict as I can handle.
I do needlework and finally sorted my cottons according to colour, which isn't as easy as it sounds, given the colour range of DMC (the make I use). My conclusion from this exercise is that I am not allowing myself to buy any more of the deep purple 550. I have enough to last the rest of my life and then some.
I understand that, I think. If one enjoys the material side of things - making, mending, building and all that - then everything is either materials, or tools. The more you have, the more possibility there is (and the materials themselves suggest the project, quite often) - unless you can't move for it, and have to scale back or find more space. Those of us who grew up with a bit of a 'scarcity' mindset, probably have it even more strongly.
I have saved thousands, probably tens of thousands over the years by doing jobs myself mostly out of 'found' materials. I really like the non-uniform results - but not everyone does, and many people couldn't live with the clutter it implies. Many people would rather work hard for an income and buy stuff in 'just in time'. A 'married compromise' sometimes pleases no-one - too muddled and eclectic, and simultaneouly too empty and uniform.
Maybe Huia's self-negotioted solution is the way to go!
Hopefully today the man will come for his big pile of 1980s computer gear (a last minute grab from an abandoned store cupboard). The slightly sad feeling that I may never see a 5.1/4 floppy (or 20, with 5 or 6 disk drives) again is tempered by the good feeling of raising some money and seeing a bit more of the floor in the back room. This latest move at work, which I think I mentioned upthread, is causing serious domestic-logistic indigestion!
And LC - how big does a kumquat tree get?? Stealth-plant them at the back of a local park?