Weekend Uncluttering

[fred_mouse]

How has your weekend uncluttering gone? Did you go all out, and achieve many things, or did you keep it slow and steady and just deal with the basics/one small thing?

Me, I spent yesterday taking kids to assorted training and giving two of them driving lessons, and if I had spare energy I don't remember doing anything with it, but today I have sorted small areas, such that there are several areas clean! I didn't find anything new to get rid of, but I did move several previously identified items to the box in the front hall that will be leaving Real Soon Now. These include coat hangers that don't match (How do these keep turning up? I've been throwing these out at least 5 years!), an IKEA zip up box that used to hold yarn (how good is it that I've used enough yarn to be able to reconcile the boxes to n-1), and umm, Stuff (I'm not going to look. That way leads to changing my mind). I also downloaded two digital cameras, discovering photos from 2-3 years ago. I've done about half the first pass through, deleting the really hopeless ones, and kind of grouping the others together. Still need to work out how to classify them so that I can find them (this is the first pass setting up of iPhoto on that account).

Comments

[hooloovoo_42]

I am currently undertaking the ultimate in uncluttering. Bro, SiL and I are attempting to clear Pa's house in order to sell it. He's currently living elsewhere, but has to move and we need to sell to raise capital.

He's owned this house for almost 17 years, but before that, lived in the house where I was born for years. During that time, we cleared out my grandparents house and a lot of family heirloom stuff arrived.

Pa is a hoarder. He also bought a whole bunch of stuff. And then forgot he had it and bought more of the same. The 3 bedroom house is basically absolutely stuffed. A whole load of it is just junk and can go to the tip. Some of it is saleable and is being boxed up for resale. Some can go to the charity shop and a small amount is stuff we want to keep - of which some is of family value. We have found assorted things that are up to 200 years old and belonged to various ancestors.

Bro and SiL have been at this for a couple of weeks, but I'm now available to help out. We have shifted possibly half the clutter, but there's still more than you can imagine left. In the last 2 days, we have taken 8 car loads to the tip, 3 car loads to a storage unit and 2 more carloads to the charity shop.

Sorting through things to find the 2 pieces of paper or small envelope of baby photos, or my uncle's birth certificate, or a letter from my father's headmaster, or an article from the student newsletter about Pa is massively time consuming. As is just emptying the seemingly endless boxes of electronic components, and moving the chests full of electronic equipment (Pa taught electronics, amomgst other things).

Bro & SiL are off to London for a couple of days and I will continue. On Tuesday I have a locksmith coming to sort out the back door, so we can get into the back garden. He will then cut off the lock on the garage, so we can see the extent of the junk in there. I can only imagine that most if it will be seriously affected by damp and will mostly just be fit for a skip.

One of the fun finds today was a notebook from around the time we were born that included lists of words that we had learned at various points and Ma's notes on teaching us to read. And a set of transparancies of Christmas with the grandparents the year Bro was a year old.

[tanaqui]

I went through my lingerie and threw out half a dozen items that were getting a little too well-worn.

I also set myself a mini-challenge today to find at least one thing to "improve" in every room. I didn't necessarily need to get rid of something entirely, but I think I have managed at least one item in every room (which includes stopping something being clutter in one room by taking it to the room where it should be!)

[yukonsally]

Spouse cleaned up the office a bit and threw out a few handfuls of things, then organized the kids' artwork and stowed that away. I have a large box of things headed to a second hand store today. Two facebook offerings were claimed quickly, one will be shipped this week and the other, we are going to try to meet up so it doesn't quite count as giving a thing away yet. I returned a thing to my mother this weekend. I finished the mending pile (and identified a few things for the next pile...). Threw out a broken toy.

Unfortunately, we got a few party favors this weekend, I bought a few books to read then give away, and I found a nice water table on the curb. We brought fewer things IN than we sent OUT, but it still feels like a wash.

OH! And I gave away a hat and ripped out 3 knitting projects to reclaim that yarn. I was going to rip out the hat, but it was nearly done and surely someone will appreciate it this winter.