Decluttering and moving

[MacMadame]

what if someone gathers them and uses the images for some ad or some other use?

Ad agencies don't go through people's garbage looking for photos to use in their ads.

But, as was mentioned, if you are worried about photos falling into the wrong hands, you can shred them.

I think that will be my deciding factor with memorabilia - when I die would anyone want it?

That's an excellent criteria! These days, I just don't collect it to being with if I can. I don't ask for autographs, collect tchotchkes, etc. I only accept things that I'm willing to use or display. Anything that goes in a drawer doesn't enter the house.

We are in the process of downsizing and it can be intimidating. Our garage has: 1 enormous rear projection tv that actually still works, 1 enormous entertainment center made of oak (think 80s), an enormous corner desk made of oak, a loft bed with a desk underneath, a loft bed that has a sliding board and drapes to make it look like a castle, a complete bedroom set of kids furniture (bed, dresser, desk), plus other random stuff that started out in bedrooms.

All of this stuff is perfectly serviceable so I feel like we should try to sell it. But honestly, no one wants it. We can't even donate it because no thrift shop near us takes furniture. We are thinking of putting it out in the driveway, 1 piece at a time, and see if someone takes them.

 

[Japanfan]

I've hung on to all the FS DVDs I made starting from 1988 and going all the way to a few years ago - I stopped because skating is so widely available on the Internet and because I just got tired of it.

I intend on keeping them, and keeping a DVD player on hand as well, because I imagine one day I might be old and in hospital or a nursing home, and those DVDs will give me endless hours of pleasure and memories.

 

[Coco]

I worked with a professional organizer prior to a recent move. Best money I ever spent.

http://topshelfhomeorganizing.com/

It helps to have someone with you if you tend to get distracted by uncovering something you haven't seen for years. It's helpful to organize/prune all your clothes at once, all your office stuff at once, then all the books, etc.

If you can't through things out, consider boxing them up, writing the date on the box and tossing it or donating it if you haven't touched it in 6 months.

 

[missing]

A year or so ago I decided to change dining room tables, leaving me with a table and six chairs in excellent condition that I no longer wanted.

The Salvation Army was willing to pick them up. Habitat for Humanity was willing to if it passed inspection. So I sent them pictures and they agreed to take them. Both organizations should be contacted if you have large usable furniture you no longer want. The Vietnam Vets, I've been told, will pick up cartons of things.

This summer I rid myself of some old pieces of now shabby furniture and various boxes of things I clearly wasn't using through 1-800-Got Junk. I had to pay them (although it didn't seem like an outrageous amount) and their website is all warm and fuzzy and cuts down on the guilt substantially.

 

[JasperBoy]

I used Kijiji to get rid of some furniture I no longer needed. There are other online sites that post free items.
I took photos and described the items in the "Free Stuff" listings. Supplied my phone number of course.
Within 24 hours the items had gone to new homes of people who were just starting out and could not afford to buy furniture. Happiness all round.

 

[MacMadame]

This summer I rid myself of some old pieces of now shabby furniture and various boxes of things I clearly wasn't using through 1-800-Got Junk. I had to pay them (although it didn't seem like an outrageous amount) and their website is all warm and fuzzy and cuts down on the guilt substantially.

We used them to get rid of our old couch. It was an enormous sectional (with ottoman) and it was stained and smelled like cat piss. Definitely, no one wanted that one. It cost $250 though which seems like a lot to me. Renting the dumpster is going to cost twice that but it will hold so much more stuff.

I am not one to hang onto old stuff that I never use. I'm actually kind of ruthless about that sort of thing. My husband isn't as ruthless but that's not our problem. Our problem is putting stuff in the garage or drawers in case we need it someday. We have two drawers full of cables most of which we have no idea what they do!

Going to check out the Salvation Army and a few other places. We have looked around but stopped after too many Nos.

 

[annie720]

We are in the process of downsizing and it can be intimidating. Our garage has: 1 enormous rear projection tv that actually still works, 1 enormous entertainment center made of oak (think 80s), an enormous corner desk made of oak, a loft bed with a desk underneath, a loft bed that has a sliding board and drapes to make it look like a castle, a complete bedroom set of kids furniture (bed, dresser, desk), plus other random stuff that started out in bedrooms.

All of this stuff is perfectly serviceable so I feel like we should try to sell it. But honestly, no one wants it. We can't even donate it because no thrift shop near us takes furniture. We are thinking of putting it out in the driveway, 1 piece at a time, and see if someone takes them.

When we moved across the country 3 years ago, we were able to sell/give away a lot of things on Craigslist that I thought nobody would want. We had two well-worn kids bedroom sets, the very heavy crate furniture style (beds, toy chests, desks), and two very heavy & worn sofa beds, one the buyers even carried down from the second floor. We may have given away the sofa beds because the fabric was shot and we just wanted them gone, but we got something for the kids furniture. Another option is the Nextdoor online community discussion groups if you have them. In our neighborhood, people are constantly buying and selling on there, and the stuff moves, especially if it's well priced or free.

Also, when we cleaned out my mom's house a few years ago, there was a Habitat for Humanity store that came out with a truck and took a lot of her furniture.

 

[hanca]

Why don’t you put the items on amazon or ebay and say that you give them free or for some small price e.g. £20 but they have to collect it? That way you get rid of it and don’t have to pay for skip.

 

[quartz]

We tend to use a lot of our stuff until there is no use for them anymore, so we rarely have anything worth selling. We got rid of a 25 year old fridge and a 15 year old water heater by calling the scrap metal guy. Thirty minutes later, they were gone and we were happy to be rid of them and he was happy to get whatever money he can.
We also have a pickup truck, so are able to take stuff to the dump ourselves, and there is a small tipping fee. I always have a Goodwill box on the go and we add various household items, books and clothing on a regular basis. When its full I drop it off.
I purge on a regular basis as I am a collector and have a very small home, and am always bring new acquisitions home. To control the clutter, I collect other things to put my collections in - antique trays, cake stands, old glass bottles, and Depression glass - to display rocks, beach glass, feathers, seed pods, shells, etc.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Last night had dinner with the relatives. Asked my nephew if I moved is there anything he needs as last year he moved out of home into a unit on his own. He said he needed a new couch. So the plan is for him to take the couch I have in the spare room (which I had been thinking about getting rid of anyone because it is quite large). And then my mum asked if I wanted a chair for the room which I have agreed to take. So win/win for everyone.

 

[KCC]

When we moved last summer, we gave an old sofa and a recliner to college students for their first apartment. The students were not picky, but I cleaned them up the best I could using spray-on/vacuum-off fabric cleaner (multiple times). We also gave away another pull-out sofa bed, an old chest freezer, a dresser and a king bed frame to some new, underpaid teachers at our rural school district. I found everyone by emailing a list of stuff to the school superintendent and he sent it out to the staff and some college students. I felt good downsizing our furniture, but the getting rid of some of my kitchen stuff has me flummoxed because I still want the functionality of all of those gadgets/supplies but I don't want to pay for new, more compact stuff.

 

[Bunny Hop]

Veteran of two overseas moves here. It’s a great excuse to get rid of a lot of unwanted gifts - no way I was hauling arond stuff I didn’t need in the first place. Apart from a couple of pieces of furniture I really liked and would have found difficult to replace, we ditched everything large.

My approach was to tackle one room at a time and identify stuff to cull. Don’t get too caught up in the ‘you have to have a use for things’ decluttering approach - I think it’s fine to hold onto things with sentimental meaning or if you collect things. I had to be pretty ruthless with books, although we still ended up with many boxes of them!

My best tip is to hire movers who will pack for you. Yes, it costs more, but if moving interstate or overseas you need things packed properly, particularly if you want to insure them for the move (which you should).

 

[MacMadame]

We started yesterday. We did the master bedroom, the linen closet and the medicine closet (yes, we have a whole closet with narrow shelves that is good for that sort of thing and nothing else -- don't ask me why it's there). Because I had already gone through my own stuff in the bedroom, I didn't think we'd have much. BOY WAS I WRONG. We ended up with 4 boxes to donate, 1 enormous black trash bag filled to the brim, and one box of stuff we are going to move but don't need now.

The dumpster comes tomorrow and Mr. Mac will start on the garage. Hopefully it will be mostly empty by the weekend.

Then next weekend we will do all the bookcases and filing cabinets. Our goal is to throw out as much as possible, consolidate the rest and pack up things we want to keep but won't need for a few months. Then all the bookcases and one of the filing cabinets are going in the garage until we know where we're moving and how much space we'll have. That will free up major space in the dining room and front hallway, which I am sure will make the realtor happy.

If we can do all that this week/weekend, we just have the kitchen and game room to go through on our side. Our kids have one bathroom and their rooms to do as well but we're hoping we can get them to do it all themselves. (This may be a vain hope.)

 

[LilJen]

When we were de-cluttering some years ago, we set up a special pile of things that my husband didn't want to get rid of because it had sentimental value. When going through that pile, I told him to tell me a story about each item (i.e., the person or event it reminded him about). If he could tell me a story, we kept it; if not, we got rid of it. Very slow, but worth it because we did not get rid of those things that were genuine reminders.

For books and DVDs I use the 5/5 rule. Have I read it/watched it in the past 5 years and can I imagine myself reading it/watching it in the next five?

I think that will be my deciding factor with memorabilia - when I die would anyone want it?

Thank you all for this good guidance. dh is a TERRIBLE collector of stuff, super sentimental about everything ("that's the first t-shirt I got at a rock concert, when I was 12") and has the "it might be useful someday" excuse for damn near everything, so it's so hard for him to ditch stuff. He's done admirably from time to time but I fear when 2020 comes around and dd is off to college--at which point we plan on reassessing and making a move somewhere nearer to family--I will simply have to sneakily throw things away that he doesn't even know exist. We have so many things that have just SAT in boxes for years and years.

Also, I'm pretty bad about books. . . actually, both of us are.

 

[MacMadame]

Start putting that stuff in boxes now. If he doesn't remember they exist between now and the time you move, just throw the box away. If he asks were something in a box is, take it out and realize it's moving with you.

I think it's interesting that a lot of us have said that our husbands are worse about throwing stuff away than we are. It kind of breaks the stereotype of "women are sentimental and men are practical." OTOH, I wonder what they'd say about us if they were posting on one of their SportsBall forums. (Or whatever their hobby is.) Maybe they think it's the way around?

 

[lurvylurker]

A friend of mine recommended freecycle.org - from their website: "It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and neighborhoods. It's all about reusing and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers. Membership is free."

She said it's a network where you list things you want to give away (like on ebay or kijiji) and if someone is interested they contact you to come pick it up (you can leave it out for them to pick up when you're away if you want). Everything is given away for free to someone who wants it and will use it, and it eliminates any middle man. It's like a trading network, but you don't do direct trades - members look through the listings and if they need something, they claim it. You have to first give something away before you can claim something, but you don't have to ever take anything if you don't want to. She gave away a lot of stuff when she downsized, and was happy because it went directly to people who wanted it and would use it.

I haven't looked into it yet, but I will when I'm ready to downsize my treasures.

 

[Lizziebeth]

In my area, out in the country, people leave stuff on the side of the road on a nice day with a "free" sign. Decent items are claimed in no time. I would not recommend this method if you live in town. It would probably violate some ordinance or something.

freecycle sounds like a good option.

 

[Aussie Willy]

We get people leaving stuff out on the naturestrip (bit between footpath and road) here. I once put a couple of couches out there and they got picked up within half an hour. As long as it is good quality it will get picked up.

That freecycle website sounds good.

I have actually applied for a couple of jobs where I want to go. Hoping to hear back soon. So maybe it won't be too long before I make a move.

 

[skatesindreams]

I have actually applied for a couple of jobs where I want to go. Hoping to hear back soon. So maybe it won't be too long before I make a move.

Fingers crossed for you.

 

[MacMadame]

An electronics recycling company is coming to our house on Friday and not only are they taking all our old crappy electronics we don't need (CRT screens, old computers) but they are going to take our enormous big screen rear projection tv!

 

[mrr50]

I'm late to this thread and admit I haven't read it all, but don't forget that items can be donated to St Vincent de Paul and Goodwill. Our St Vinny's donates furniture to displaced peolpe like fire victims to tide them over until insurance comes through or doesn't. They have shops they sell through too. Don't forget the charities. And yeah, I volunteer at a St Vinny's.

 

[attyfan]

Our local Habitat for Humanity has a used furniture store; a few years ago it was (and it still may be, but I'm not sure) the only charity in Ventura that would pick up my 6-ft desk!

 

[MacMadame]

In our area, Goodwill and SVdP don't take furniture. Once our garage has less stuff in it and we can move around in there, we'll take pictures and see what Habitat for Humanity and Salvation Army (the only charities that do take furniture) will and will not pick up.

 

[MacMadame]

Oh, I forgot to post this:

When cleaning out my garage, I found about 200 of the old SkateFAIR pins. Plus one "No Secret Judging" pin. Anyone want any of them? If you do, PM me with your mailing address and how many you want. First come, first serve until they are gone.

 

[jadingirl]

My SO loves to keep everything though he just told me yesterday he has been throwing out his old DIY books.

Funny story - I came home one day to an excited husband with a great find. Our neighbour had thrown out an "antique" chair - the ugliest thing you can imagine - think 1980's castle chic - totally ugly and the fabric worn out. Wasn't happy about it being added to the "projects" in the basement but whatever. Then he saw the neighbour Tom and said he took this great chair off the curb - did he have anything else. Tom had no idea what he was talking about - the wife had been secretly throwing out Tom's "projects" after he left for work (our garbage pickup at the time picks up everything you leave every week). Tom was livid - thanked my husband for saving his "antique castle chair" project - took it back to his house and had a big fight with his wife. I was quite happy with the outcome - no chair plus Tom bought my husband a case of beer as a thank you!

 

[Aussie Willy]

Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks. Missed out on one because I was too qualified. But they at least personally responded to me.

Just gives me more time to maybe get things sorted out. Nice to have the luxury of not feeling rushed to make a change.

 

[made_in_canada]

I've been inspired by this thread. I've purged my kitchen, and two closets. Next up is my office, which because I haven't needed it as an office for a few months has really become the junk room

 

[JasperBoy]

When we did our cross-country downsizing move we were very fortunate. The family who bought our old house bought a lot of our furniture, too. Big things that would have been hard to move. The best was a large metal office desk that had taken four people to get upstairs. We were very happy to leave it for them to deal with and didn't charge them very much for it either .

 

[Susan1]

This doesn't have anything to do with moving - just a weird real estate thing, and I didn't know where to put it -

The house next door was bought in July and the guy's been renovating it since. He just put up a rental sign and I went to check online how much - $1610/month. Geez. It was listed for $125K for a long time and they paid $105K.

Down in the property details, it says cats, large dogs and small dogs allowed. Then - "Property does not allow for the following pets: Akita, American Malamute, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Bull Mastiff, Chow, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Husky, Korean Jindo, Pit Bull, Presa Canario, Rottweiler, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, wolf/wolf hybrid."

Really? Thanks for keeping me safe from loose dangerous dogs? (I did get bit on the wrist by a chow when I was 11 years old, but I was feeding him potato chips at the time!)

It's a bi-level house without a fenced in yard. The renters before had an Australian Shepherd who was on a long tie-out thing. She was older, but she used to sit at the corner of the back of the house so she could see what was happening out front. And I helped chase her down a couple times when she got loose. She came back for cheese!

That's the only house in the neighborhood that's been a rental house for a long time. Everybody else owns. Maybe they should not allow small yippy dogs who bark when a leaf moves!