Help! i cant get rid of my old stuff!?
Question:my closet, dresser and all of the litttle corners in my room are filled with useless knicknacks and other items. if theyre not in my room, theyre in my attic! can anyone please help me learn how to get rid of my stuff, i have this whole attatched thing to each item i own and before throwing it out, i always make myself believe that i own the item for a purpose. lately ive been annoyed by how cluttered my room and the attic are so i need to get rid of all the junk. anyone have tips on how to overcome the attatchment problem?
*tips on how to make cleaning more enjoyable get a better chance as being picked best answer ;)
thanks!
Answers:
Strike back at the clutter whenever you're in the mood, and don't let anything stop you, even the ultimate "but I won't get it all done, so why bother?"
You seem to intituively understand that cleaning will be (or should be) more pleasurable once you de-clutter. And I think you're right!
Tackle a room with plenty of trash bags available. Declare some stuff total crap... and get it into a trash bag. Find some treasures, and sort it aside to give to family & friends who might have a use for it. If a garage sale is not your thing, take the rest (including any treasures no-one would take!) to Goodwill or your favorite charitable thrift store. Just get it gone.
To learn how to enjoy cleaning and undertake a regular practice of de-cluttering, check out the Fly Lady. It is the most joyful, loving, happy web site imaginable, and all about cleaning! You don't need to buy anything from them to make use of the advice, but they offer some great, practical products.
Be sure to read about cleaning your sink... I found it did give me a sense of joy and purpose to keep my kitchen sink clean. It makes a nice place to start!
http://www.flylady.net/
Take all your useless stuff and toss it in the trash. I'm a terrible pack rat and the day I tossed the majority of my "stuff" in the trash was a very liberating event! I actually mourned a little for my "stuff", but it got easier as time went by. I still have the memories of my precious "stuff" and that's all that matters. Now I have room for my important "stuff", so just throw the things out that you don't use. It make take more than one cleaning session to get rid of all these things, but it gets easier AND makes you think before you save that next useless thing. Good luck!
Take pictures of the items to allow you to remember the good memories some bring and put them in an album. Then have a huge yard sale! It's a lot of work but getting $$ for the items makes it easier!
i know how u feel... i really do
but i've come to the point that I have to get rid of stuff... it's not good & it's not being used.
If there r things that u can buy a cabinet for to use for collections or senitmental items then do so but the stuff that u haven't used for yrs... guess. what u won't use them.
I have a craft room that everyone states looks like Hobby Lobby but every yr i go thru it & if it didn't get used... i donate to the Senior Citizen b/c they can always use them for craft ideas.
Same w/ my clothes... if i didn't wear them last winter... GONE.. if i didn't wear them last summer...GONE. shoes// belts...
U need to make 2 big bins. 1 to keep & 1 to junk... DONATE them or have a garage sale to earn some back then donate what does get sold to places that can use them. U'll feel better for u'rself.
U jst have to start...
Give a few of the items to good friends or family members, where you can go see your things when you visit. For the rest of your things you don't need seperate them into different categories. Trash, Donate, and Sell. Turn on your favorite music and get busy! :) Have a yard sale, and sell the items that are less important to you. As for the things that have more meaning try using them as decor in a nother room. What you can't use in your home, donate to a womans' shelter, or child crisiss center. You will feal good knowing that your special things have brought joy to a few people in need. :)
Hi! Okay, let's get started!
First, you need to have a lace for everything, and everything in it's place.
Next, got some good music to listen and maybe dance to while you do this? How about working on this 15 min. at a time, with a 5-10 min. break in between, for time to dance to some music, or just sit down and relax. Set the timer, if you have one, please.
Please, let's start with the knick knacks in your closet.
1) Please place them on your bed, or a table (even the dining table).
2) Look at them. Why do you have them? Were some given as gifts? Or did you buy all of them yourself?
3) Do you, quite honestly, have a place for them in your home, to be displayed? If so, where?
4) Which ones are more important to you than the others?
5) Please set aside the ones that are more important from the other ones.
6) Then, take the others that are in your room, do the same thing. When it comes to the attic ones, again, the same thing.
Now then, are the ones you REALLY want to keep, too many still? Well, first, box up the ones that aren't so important. Then, the ones you really want, that you have display places for, do so. If there are a few more (not all of them) you still w
ant to keep to display later, that you can change over from the ones you ave on display, if you can find a good spot that there is space for them, keep those FEW.
7) Let's go thru your place, at least your room. Please, go thru to each area-closet, dresser, etc. Put clean things away where they belong, dirty ones in a laundry basket/hamper. Dust and vacuum your room. Make your bed. Display some of those knick knacks.
8) Each room you want to place a knick knack, or more (where there is space) please declutter/dust ans straighten those surfaces. Put your things up where you want them. And yes, vacuum the room.
9) Please place those few extras in the cupboard where there is space, so you have them available when you want to change some of those knick knacks around. The rest, please put them in a box, to give away, or sell.
Peter Walsh, a professional organizer, was on Oprah within the past few months. He mentioned something of interest. Why we hold onto things. Two reasons: 1) We hold onto them, in case we may need them in the future, or for sentimental reasons.
I am a packrat. I have for some time now slowly gone thru pack-rat-itis, empty-out-house-is. So I understand where you are coming from.
I hope these tips help you. Take care.
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