Bags 9 and 10 - I put a bag of frames (there was actually a large collage-style frame and a big 10x13 frame that went, too!) and a bag of candles on Freecycle. (Click that link to see if there is one near you. I kind of tag along with the one for the nearby "city" and have had pretty good luck with it.) Some of the candles were already burned, even mostly burned. Freecycle is set up that the giver posts the item(s) they have to give away, and the person taking them is supposed to pick them up. Since I don't actually live in the town where the group is set up, I try to be flexible. I will drop things off when I am in the big town shopping, or make arrangements to drop things off in the town where I work, things like that.
Bags 11 and 12 - Getting rid of these bags was super easy. What's in them? Plastic to be recycled. Simple as that. I was saving stuff for an invention kit for Goose, but we weren't using that stuff very quickly. I read in one of the Tightwad Gazette
books that you should only save as much of that sort of thing as you think you might use. After all, I've only pulled one Parmesan cheese shaker out that I use to store baking soda for cleaning, so why did I have 20 more shakers?!? And, since Goose and I both love cheese on our popcorn and spaghetti (and many other things) there will be many more shakers. No worries.
Bags 13 & 14 - While recycling the plastic was easy, these two bags hurt to post. I cleaned out my pantry and this is the amount of food that has been in there for far too long. I am great at fooling myself into thinking we don't waste that much food. But when I combine the amount of leftovers that don't get eaten, unrecognizable stuff in the freezer that gets chucked, and stuff like this that gets lost in the pantry, I realize I don't do a very good job at all. Meal planning would help, I think, as would just being aware of what's in there and making an attempt to use the stuff I have.I posted a number of things as a note on Facebook and was able to distribute several to friends and family. I'm excited to be giving cushion to my cousin, who I plan to see this weekend at the baby shower for another cousin. (I'm still tickled at how the gift turned out - and even more tickled that I have a large bag of "stuff" to give after shopping in Goose's closet! - see link to the closet shopping at the baby shower post).
Have you been decluttering? Leave a comment and let me know how you're doing! Even ONE bag is progress!! You can also see how others are doing over at Finer Things.
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3 comments:
Hey Netta,
We've been inspired by you to do some decluttering around our tiny city condo. :) When we moved in 3 years ago we breathed a huge sigh of relief as we went from a tiny one bedroom apt to a bit larger two bedroom condo. The biggest gains were that second bedroom and KITCHEN CUPBOARDS. I was thrilled with all the new space and had lots of space for a while...but after three years our space is full! So we've been re-organizing, clearing out, donating, reducing and giving away everything from clothing, to books, to old Palm Sunday palms (our Church takes them to burn for ashes next year) to the travel shampoos and soaps I accumulate with travel (local homeless shelter takes these). It's a good feeling and I love looking into a cupboard or drawer that isn't bursting with STUFF! Love ya!
This sentence, "I'd like to think my house is breathing a sigh of relief as I'm getting rid of this stuff, but unfortunately I think it's just scratching the surface.", is exactly how I feel about my home, too. I can't believe how quickly I obtained all our clutter! It feels like almost overnight I looked around and felt like I was drowning in it.
Great Job on your decluttering!
That photo of all your picture frames... that's me! I collect them, thinking I will fill them, then I never do... :(
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