Friday check in

[yukonsally]

It's been a Week. Last night I finally realized it was Thursday and I hadn't heard from this wonderful group!

I put 2 things in the donation box. Eldest Child and I went through the closet and added 2 shirts to the handmedown box. This Child also added a shirt to the closet, one that I had been holding back to give away, as one to wear, now that it fits, I guess? I sent a thing to a friend (I've got 3 padded envelopes left! I'm pleased with this number).

What decluttering do you have in mind for the weekend? A quick pass through the junk drawer, a thorough cleaning of the medicine cabinet, or taking it easy to clear off one surface?

I'm probably going to take it easy and clear off one surface, to be decided.

Comments

[tanaqui]

Well done on your small wins. And it sounds like you really have the padded envelopes under control at the moment!

I went through my stored linens (I think it might actually be 3 years since I last did this, not 2) and made a huge difference:

-- About half a trash bag to throw out that's mostly some old pillows. (If I need more pillows, I should go buy nice new ones, not use those.)
-- About half a trash bag to go to the textiles recycling bank, mostly a blanket I didn't even remember I had (and don't need), and a few other things.
-- swapping out the bathroom towels I was using and replacing them with the in-very-good-condition, being-stored-for-guests ones. I should enjoy the nice towels myself and buy new ones if I ever do have more guests again.
-- the old towels plus some old sheets and duvet covers are going to be turned into dustsheets and wrapping/packing for some delicate items. So not going out, but actually being used for something.
-- some never-used pillowcases from a duvet set have gone into the material stash and will probably end up being used for patchwork.
-- a duvet and a few other items -- that wouldn't fill up even half a trash bag -- are being kept.

I can really see how much my attitude to stuff -- and what I need -- has changed in the past 3-4 years, and how much easier I find it to let things go that really do need to be gone. (And how much less prepared I am to store things for that annoying house-guest, Mr Justin Case.)

I also did a 10-minute session in the garage and pulled out some more things to go to the tip/out for trash, as well as identified a few things for donations, and then reorganised what's staying a little.

[yukonsally]

Wow! That's amazing!

Good for you, using the nice towels for yourself.

the change in attitude--I was just thinking about a post regarding this, sharing our stories, inspiring lurkers..

[tanaqui]

Yeah, I was a bit shocked at how much I didn't want to keep or was re-purposing -- and kinda horrified at my past self for what I'd kept. Although I don't think I was making completely irrational decisions, given what I knew about the shape of my life at that point. (And I'd also just got rid of probably three times as much as I'd kept, when I went through the things I inherited from my mother.)

I think a post on our changes in attitudes as we declutter more/repeatedly would be a fantastic idea -- I would love to see someone get that discussion going!

[redsixwing]

Well done you! Sounds like you made some great progress.

>>textiles recycling bank<<

Whoa! Is there any more information on this available?

[yukonsally]

Seconded.. like can we mail things to this textiles recycling bank??

[tanaqui]

It might be a UK thing? They're actual physical donation bins that are often located in public (council-owned) car parks and supermarket car parks (as well as at the council-run recycling centre). A lot of them only take clothes and shoes, but some of them take household linens as well.

Most of them are run by charities, who sell the good quality donations in their shops. Anything that's not suitable for the shops is sold to textile recyclers who shred it so it can be used to make things like the padding in car seats.

Here's a nice photo of what the donation bins typically look like: http://www.charitybags.org.uk/images/wikimedia-org-clothes-recycling-containers-rushmere-craigavon-co-armagh-ni.jpg

I'm very lucky in that I have easy access to both clothing/textile and book recycling bins (the book recycling bins are fairly similar in appearance).

[yukonsally]

Looks like Planet Aid does it in the US. I've seen their yellow bins in lots of places as I travel...
http://www.planetaid.org/get-involved/donate-clothes

[yukonsally]

I was able to gather a trash bag full of those stained clothes that I didn't want to make into rags--a person CAN have enough rags, you know--and put the bag in the car. Here's hoping it only gets a day or two of driving tour around town before I find a bin.

[tanaqui]

Yay! Good luck with finding a bin!

Maybe people will let us know of other places that take no-longer-wearable/usable textiles.

(And, hmm, maybe we need a general post where people can suggest places to dispose of various kinds of clutter, especially the trickier stuff?)

[redsixwing]

Ah, neat! I'm rather in the wrong part of the continent for those, but it's cool to know they exist. :D

[redsixwing]

That may be. How cool that you have programs like those.