The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

[Macfrommichigan]

Fits and starts. Another 5 weeks and the thrift store will welcome fall and winter clothes.

What I need to work on at the moment is crap in the basement. Ten year old paint cans, for example.

 

[Ad Astra]

...Ten year old paint cans, for example.

It is astonishing.

Time is a gentle snowfall ... a moment of distraction.

Turn around and it's gone.


AA

 

[djm2]

For what it is worth, I have found that it helps to take a very focused approach. For example, this week I will emphasize Room X and will only try to get rid of a specific item (e.g., excess old electronics) in that room. That makes the task far less daunting.

 

[Rusty Blade]

I found that even focusing on one drawer, or one box is a good approach if cleaning the whole room or garage or basement is too overwhelming. Bit by bit and it all gets done. Amazing how much we accumulate.

 

[Gauthier]

The older I get, the less stuff I want or need. I've gotten rid of most of my books and I'm not buying new ones - there are books at the library. I also sold my model railway.

It's more sensible to spend money on experiences, trips than on material possessions.

The only thing - I value good clothes.

 

[ajkel64]

I’m still struggling. I have accumulated far too much. It seems to be one step forward and two steps backwards all the time. I’m trying to hang in there but it is a daunting task.

 

[Gauthier]

Here's a quotation from my absolute favourite novel, These Golden Days, by John Braine (author of Room at the Top):

"... since coming here (Hampstead in London) I've made the rule of travelling light, of accumulating no personal possessions except absolute necessities, of throwing away or selling anything which I don't use."

Further on:

"But for ourselves (the narrator and his girlfriend), in the time we've got left on this earth, we don't waste any energy on acquiring more consumer goods, whether durable or otherwise."

Exactly. I wasted enough money in my life, and enough time chasing after junk.

 

[Y Not]

We sold our 2600+ square foot house in three days a year ago. In the frenzy of packing up twenty years worth of accumulations even after purging a ton of unnecessary stuff and moving into 230 square feet (yes, 230) while we build, I know there are things in those storage units that I will unpack and ask myself “Why in the world did I keep this?” Our new house will be less than half of our last one, but we have found we can live with so much less. When there is nowhere to put another single thing you just don’t. I am, however, looking forward to seeing all my cooking and kitchen items since all we have here is an efficiency and there has been no “real” cooking.

 

[ajkel64]

Finally sorted through some shirts. 45 shirts on the way to the op shop. Still have that many plus but it is a start. Some have not seen the light of day for many a year. You just don’t realise how much you have in the wardrobe and the spare suitcases sitting on top of the wardrobes.I need some reassurance from @Macfrommichigan.

 

[ajkel64]

Well, I have made a little headway after all this time. I have 4 televisions and a video cassette recorder/player loaded in the utility destined for the recyclers. Lucky we can drop them off at the rubbish tip for free, for the electronic recycling people to collect at a later date. I found some plastic bags full of bits and pieces to sort through. The bags are that old and they are starting to break down so most of the bits and pieces are destined for the bin. Very slow process for me but I have to tackle it a little bit at a time.

 

[Snurgblat]

Every step is closer to a goal!

 

[ajkel64]

Update on my attempt to de clutter. Going through a bunch of Vests today. Many have not been worn for many, many years. Have a pile to take to the Salvation Army. Some came from there years ago, going back to earn them some more money hopefully. I didn’t realise that I actually had many of the Vests on coat hangers two up. I had more then I thought. Baffling really. Oh well LOTH will be happy as I have started again on the de cluttering of my possessions.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

We landed on a motivator that may be helpful. "It is time to paint the inside of the closets." That is the project and in order to do so... the closets need to be emptied, right? Three piles - donate, dispose of, keep. Works like magic and highly recommended.

 

[JeffJ]

Resurrecting this thread. Helping my my mom dejunk a full basement’s worth of multigenerational stuff after my dad’s passing. Will be working though my own stuff starting now.

 

[FarmerTan]

Resurrecting this thread. Helping my my mom dejunk a full basement’s worth of multigenerational stuff after my dad’s passing. Will be working though my own stuff starting now.

It's hard, my friend. We are trying to tie up all the loose ends from my MIL's estate still. I need to get serious on my own junk or my son will not be happy...

 

[Rudy Vey]

This is one thing I tell my wife for some time....but then she goes shopping and comes home with another new jacket, blouse etc.
We have way too much crap I always say. My plan is to start in mid October or so to de-clutter and give a lot of my old clothing away, there are people that need them much more than it do. Just get to start I think is the hardest part. I don't mind letting things go I haven't used for a time. Some things, like fishing stuff and my fountain pens I will sell. The garnd kids do not have much interest, if any, to write with a nice pen.

 

[ajkel64]

Thread resurrection time. Today was the day that I made a small impact on the contents of my bursting shed. Finally I started sorting through some golf equipment that I have collected over the years. Most of these clubs, bags etc have come from garage sales, op shops, tip revolve shops and second hand shops that have closed down. I still have a lot of golf equipment in the shed but these part sets will be donated to the local junior golfers here. Golf has taken off again and they are struggling to get clubs for the juniors to use. I will hand these six part sets to the Junior Golf Coach tomorrow and they can sort out who gets what.

 

[Old Hippie]

If I'm on the fence about some item I'm trying to get rid of I'll check eBay for it. When I see the bargain-basement prices that most of my well-used crud would bring I ask myself, "Is it worth taking pictures, calculating size and weight for shipping, dealing with idjit questions (non-idjit questions are fine!), and driving back and forth to town to get packing material and then take the thing to the shipper?" Answer, usually, "no." So I donate it or think of some deserving soul who can use it and give it to them, or put it up for free on a local website.

Back in 1977 I worked my tail off and saved as much as I could and then my dad kicked in a couple hundred to buy a really nice ham radio transceiver (TenTec Triton IV). I had that thing until this year, when I gave it to a guy who wanted it. Boom; done. Check it off the list.

I've taken a bunch of boxes full of stuff to the local thrift shop. Clothes, books, old electronics, kitchen stuff, etc. Some of the stuff, like the large collection of antique non-electric lamps, will need to be high-graded and the good stuff sent to a specialist seller for auction. Most of the "orphans" I've picked up over the years can go to the local antique mall.

I've also been getting rid of razors. Sorry to have to say that.

O.H.

 

[njpaddy]

What I need to work on at the moment is crap in the basement. Ten year old paint cans, for example.

When we put our house up for sale in 2020, I probably had 25 cans of paint in the basement. I saved them all for 20 years. Some were dry, but kept because I would write the date and room on the can for future reference to match colors. I took them all out to our shed and opened all up as weather was still warm at the time. Some were solid and tossed. In others, I used sand. In newer ones I used paint-drying packets from HD or Lowes. I put a dowel or sick in the middle. When I could pick the can up by the stick and shake it, it went in the trash. Don't put wet paint cans in the trash. If the seals on the trash truck aren't good, which is often the case, when it's compacted paint will be on the street.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

BUY BUY BUY

Don't Sell ... only did that once

Don't throw out ... only did that once, once

Must have ... STUFF ... NEED ... stuff