deciding, what stays VS what gets chucked.....help!

[~Lashes~]

ok, i have been saying since september that we NEED a major clean out, the origonal plan was to sort threw everything and keep only whatwas needed/used and wht was importantwe moved mid sep, so everything was packed, i did manage to get rid of the electricals that we dont use, and the excess furniture, but the rest is prety much still in boxes! with the possibility becoming reality of moving again sometime between now and mid jan, i realy dont want to lugg this "extra" stuff with us, but cant decide whats important and what HAS to go!! the kids clothes are easy, ds1's go to ds2, ds2's get chucked or passed on, dd's get put up for new bub, but the rest.......?!
how do you decide what stays, what gets chucked and what gets donated???? i feel like a hoarder, and i realy dont want to be!!

[Liz]

Maybe give yourself a rule like if it hasn't been used for a year, you don't need it? Not that I can talk.. I've got stuff in boxes in the garage from moving 4 years ago LOL. Theoretically I haven't missed any of it, I have no idea what's out there! I should just be able to chuck it as is and not miss it. But I want to go through it properly one day LOL.

[Visitor7]

I'm starting this, this week!
Liz has a good point, if it hasn't been used in a year, then throw it. I've already done a clean out in the girls toy room. I've put all their toys in boxes, and I'm rotating them. Some were thrown as well.

[Jennifer13]

We check when the next council clean up is, book in and focus on the bigger 'rubbish' first. DD's toys get a thorough clean out before Xmas and bdays, we go through and chuck anything that's broken, decide whether toys she no longer plays with are good enough to put away and keep or whether to give them away (friends, charity, freecycle). Clothes get a going over in all of our cupboards and same applies.

Kitchen stuff is a good one to go through in our house too. How we end up with so much stuff that we don't even use, I have no idea! If it hasn't been used in a while it gets freecycled (charities often don't take this stuff).

One of my friends recently held a 'junk' party, where we all brought along stuff we no longer wanted to swap and everything left over went to charity. It was a great way to clear stuff out!

[helle]

I live by the ten second rule.

If it takes me more than ten seconds to decide whether to keep it or chuck it, chuck it.

Haven't done it for awhile tho.

[Kazbah]

I look at everything and ask the question "do i want to keep it". If its something that was given to me or I feel a pang of guilt about not keeping, then I take a photo of it, or donate it.

[Little Chicken]

I agree with Liz, if you haven't used it, read it, or worn it in a year get rid of it. And you need to be brutal about it. If you have a lot of stuff you think you could sell have a garage sale or book a spot at a swapmeet and whatever is left donate. I think it is the only good part about moving, getting rid of excess junk

[luna moth]

If in doubt, chuck it out.

[turtleschell]

Chuck it ALL OUT.
I pride myself on having only bare essentials.
Even if you chuck something out that you really don't think you should part with, you forget completely the next day. You won't even miss it.

[~Kim~]

I have a few rules.
1. If I (or its owner) love it, it stays.
2. If the owner can't decide then it gets packed away. If in 2 months it hasn't been touched/thought of/looked at - it goes.
3. Broken/missing parts = going....sometimes this is a hard one for DH to fathom.

[Kazbah]

3. Broken/missing parts = going....sometimes this is a hard one for DH to fathom.

Conversation here last week : OK we got the new teev. Old one in the trailer for the dump.
DH: No, I'll fix it
Me: You could have fixed it 3 years ago when we were still using it
DH: I'll have a look at it
Me: Is that before or after you've finished renovating the kitchen
DH: Ummmmmm
Me: So where are you putting it?
DH: garage
Me: In the walkway?
DH: maybe
Me: There's a council collection next month. It goes then.

[~Kim~]

gah YES!! why is it so hard???

[Kazbah]

I'd like to also mention that the old teev is green in parts, and has no working sound.

[~Lashes~]

HEY!! if theres hope for it to be fixed its still good!! lmao!
i still had the boys iggle piggle, you know the one that dances? they snaped it and well, i figured it can be glued back in the spot were itbounces up n down... how wrong was i!! i then lost the screws and only recently chucked it... needless to say im the only one whos noticed its gone!
i was going to do the council pick up, but we moved in here just after they had it, and its only once a year..

yep im going to make them boys go to bed early so they dont try to help and get started... i need to get to the built in and put needed things in it instead of boxes of i-cant-remember.....

[CrazyLady]

I did this yesterday with my junk room. It's amazing what you find. I was really ruthless!

[Nelle]

Tell him to turn it into an aquarium.

I pull everything out. This works because I'm lazy. I have to really want it to be bothered to put it away again.

[Visitor7]

Conversation here last week : OK we got the new teev. Old one in the trailer for the dump.
DH: No, I'll fix it
Me: You could have fixed it 3 years ago when we were still using it
DH: I'll have a look at it
Me: Is that before or after you've finished renovating the kitchen
DH: Ummmmmm
Me: So where are you putting it?
DH: garage
Me: In the walkway?
DH: maybe
Me: There's a council collection next month. It goes then.

This sounds very similar to the coversation we had about the old washing machine. Needless to say, it finally got dumped yesterday, 2 years after it broke down!