TOSSING AGGRESSIVELY (thread #5)

[Sunshine]

Yay!!! And I love this - "Things that I will ebay FOR REAL" - that made me laugh

I may start that box myself, for a few things that have actual value, but I'll make it a small box in my case because otherwise I will hang on to a bunch of stuff I never list (been there, done that).

You just have so much momentum happening... it's wonderful

[Sunshine]

It's a cool, fresh Saturday morning here, and I've got some Tossing Aggressively on my mind!

No particular plan or priority - just reducing the overall amount of stuff. Updating this post as I go, to get a nice sense of achievement

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12 pillow cases that match bedcovers I don't have anymore.

2 sheets that need replacing.

14 coat hangers because they are wire, and I don't like wire hangers! Also, because they were hanging in the linen cupboard like an invitation to add more junk to it.

1 bedside lamp, which my sis gave me some years back - I think it was a housewarming present. I don't like it, and it's not to my taste. But when we were shopping last year and I commented on a nice one, she said, "Oh, but you already have that one I gave you!" Yikes It's going, and if she ever notices that it's gone, I'm gonna tell a white lie and say it broke.

6 items from DS's wardrobe - he volunteered them

2 pretty cardigans - one too small now, and one never worn and just doesn't look right on me.

1 mobile phone (cell phone) that died, now in my handbag, for the phone recycling box at work.

1 old computer mouse.

A pair of tacky plastic computer speakers we never use.

The power supply for a gadget I got rid of at least a year ago.

A nice quality glockenspiel, and a pan flute - from when I hoped DS would share my love of music. He doesn't (well, at least not playing it). They've been washed and are drying, may take them to work for one of the other mums.

3 shirts

2 pairs of shoes

2 small wicker baskets

1 small enamelled bucket sort of thing

1 piece of gingham fabric, for some project that never happened.

2 more books.

7 special kids books of DS's set aside - if any are especially sentimental for my sis, she can keep them - otherwise, off to the gals at work.

48 pages of DS's homework sheets and drawings from about 6 years ago. I counted them to give myself credit, because that's a really hard one for me. I kept several of his best drawings, but that's okay. I'll add them to a drawings collection that I'm going to put together - for now, they are in a box that I am working my way through.

3 'perfectly good' buckets.

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Bedtime for me. A big charity bag filled, might start another one tomorrow. And I'm feeling like I made some more progress, especially with my bedroom, which was starting to get out of hand.

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Happy tossing, all!

[puppybox]

what long and awesome list, sunshine!

[cando]

Sunshine! You did terrific!!!

Update on old purses:
*finished going thru old purse -- put $8.85 in donation change bank
*put small black purse in top of my closet

CD

[Hurricane]

Sunshine...wow, that really was a looooooong list. So glad you were able to let go of that much. And cando, great job continuing with sorting through purses. WTG girls!!!! This is how the squalor beast goes to live somewhere else.

[pamkay414]

Keep going. Great job. I don't keep anything that we don't use, broken toys, toys with missing pieces etc. I used to have SO much stuff laying around that I never used. When I moved into the place where I am now I have really tried not to hang onto things just because... I like it a lot better now but I still suffer with things piling up especially in my bedroom.

Great job and keep it going!!!

[Sunshine]

Puppybox, CD, Janey, Pam - thank you for the encouragement! It did feel really good to see all those things going out the door. I looked back at some of my older posts, and boy, it really does get easier with practice

I took the especially nice kids books and the musical instruments to work, to give to a few people in my team who have kids. I'm not close with the people I work with, other than my boss. And... well... it created some nice warm fuzzies for both them and me, to be relating in a different way. That was a nice blessing from some determined decluttering

CD, hope you're continuing to win the battles with the purses! Is the donation change box for a special cause?

MorningGlory, I'm looking forward to you come back online I'm not sure of the significance of the observance, and whether you were able to continue to clean during this time. Either way, it will be really nice to get back on board with you

[morningglory]

Hi, everyone!

Sunshine, I am so impressed with not only the length of your list, but the variety of things you released. They are all the kinds of things I would tend to hang onto, too. I am glad it is getting easier for you--I am finding that, also. I also like that in giving some of the items to others you were able to develop your relationships with your coworkers.

Cando, you are making great progress with the purses (and filling the pushke at the same time!). It's exciting that you are freeing up space in your bedroom and putting the useful items where you will be able to access them.

I have a couple of photos to share of progress made. As I mentioned, I finished cleaning out the closet floor. It was a disgusting mess of papers (going back over 12 years), baby socks, shoes we forgot we had, a broken luggage cart, dirt and trash and other nasty things. Now it has been wiped down with antibacterial cleaner and the only thing there is the shoe rack (I actually found the bag of extra parts--it had fallen out of the box in my house--so I didn't have to call for replacements) and the shoes:

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[morningglory]

The other photo I have to share is of the stacks of BOOKS that I have separated out to get rid of. These all came from boxes stacked up in the dining room. In addition to these books, we got rid of about two banker's boxes worth of trash.

I actually shed a few tears releasing some of these books--knitting pattern books that I bought 25 years ago and had pored over with excitement about making the items in them, but never got around to! Getting rid of the books is an acknowledgement that I will never make them. My husband said I shouldn't feel bad, because my plans were "OBE", Overtaken By Events. (I still do want to get back to knitting, but I can always obtain patterns when I know I will actually have the time to focus on it.)

On the other hand, many of the books were easier to decide to get rid of than they would have been in the past, because now so much information is so much more readily available than it was before. Also, I plan to log any that I particularly want to remember in one of those book services that were mentioned earlier (librarything or goodreads).

My plan for these books is to separate out any that I think may have resale potential and give the rest to charity. I will try selling the books I set aside for a limited time, and if anything doesn't sell (or I don't get to it), they will also go in the donation bags.

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[Hurricane]

Glory, your closet is gorgeous! And clean! And accessible! Awesome accomplishment.

A word on selling books, which I tried to do while I was sitting around being sick and pregnant last year: the shipping charges are now so expensive it's not worth it, not to mention the cost of the packaging supplies. Plus, a few books will always be damaged by the post office or UPS, and then you have to refund. I lost money on the entire venture, which made me sad after all the work I put into it. I would urge you to give all the books to charity or recycle them, and save yourself a lot of pain....but of course the decision is yours.

Ahhhh, I love the phrase "OBE"!!!

Keep going girlfriend....you're kickin' it.

[morningglory]

Hurricane, I appreciate what you are saying about just GETTING RID of the books. But I am at least trying them either as Amazon trade-ins or on ebay. In both cases the buyer pays shipping. It will probably only be about 1/10th of the books on that table that I will even attempt to sell. If I can get a few dollars out of them, that's great. If they don't sell, off they go to donation.

After I get those books sorted today, my focus (in addition to catching up on housework after the holiday) will be finishing the corner by the bed and making more progress on the space UNDER the bed. (Yuck!) It will feel so good to get all the dust and trash out of there.

Also, yesterday DD decided to pitch in and help our two youngest sons get their shared room in order. They basically just leave it trashed all the time, with books, clothes, trash, and toys spread everywhere. I was planning to make it my next focus, after my room. She went in and cleaned, swept, organized, and even changed the sheets and made up one son's bed in a very lovely way. (The other son refused to have her do his!) There is still stuff under the bunkbed and in the closet. Still dust and dirt to be cleaned. And I need to give them shelves and other furniture that will help them keep their stuff nice. But it is a HUGE improvement. I feel much better when I walk by their room and see it.

I should also mention that she was a huge help with the book sorting. She brought me box after box of books, and returned the full "keep" boxes to the dining room. Also swept under where they had been, and helped throw trash away. I am very thankful for her help.

[puppybox]

what about craigslist? list your books as VINTAGE for people like me. and while obviously list it in the books category, you might try the "housewares" too. I think if you're only trying to get a few bucks for each book you have a decent chance. I think selling things can be a big timesuck but you've got a table full to try it out with and you'll soon find out if it's worth it.

[cando]

MG - Good luck on the book selling! I can't wait to hear if it is worth it or not.
Your closet looks terrific! You have done wonders & it is so nice reading about how much your DD has been doing!!!

HurricaneJane -- sorry to hear that your book selling venture did not go well. I always wonder if it is worth the time or not to do this. So far, I have only resold them locally and really it is not worth the time as it is so sad the amount they give compared to what these books cost!

So, I was wondering how you are feeling these days with baby and all... I can't imagine having a baby at 39 and with health issues, too. You are one strong woman!

I hope to have a nice update for today at a later time.
CD

[morningglory]

So far I have listed a couple on ebay, and found that I can get a (very) few dollars from Amazon trade-ins for some others. If I can get several together that can be placed into one box to send to Amazon, it would be worth the trouble of packaging and shipping.

For the rest, I am dividing them between Goodwill (already filled two bags), Better World Books (for the newer books in really good condition), and a local Jewish organization (for the Jewish books in good condition). I also have a couple that need to be returned to rightful owners, but that shouldn't be TOO difficult!

Eventually, I'll get to the magazines I have collected in the attic! They are 20-25 years old, in files. Someone *might* want to buy them (as "vintage"?). Also, I think my kids might enjoy looking through them. I'll have to figure it all out when the time comes. . .

[morningglory]

I decided to give away a shirt with no buttons. It's otherwise in good condition, but all of the buttons are off, and the time it would take me to buy new buttons and sew them all on is not worth it to me. The shirt is not that fabulous. But it might be worth it to someone else. I was proud of myself for making that decision, because I felt I really *ought* to repair it and put it back into service, but I had to think of other priorities in how I could spend that time and determine whether I could afford that.

Speaking of which, I find myself getting bogged down with these books! I have made a lot of progress (loaded up yet another bag for Goodwill, set several more in the Better World Books pile, and listed several more on ebay), but it is taking up too much time at this point, PLUS I have actually pulled a couple of books back out that I had previously decided to give away! I started to look through them and think about reading them and set them back with the "keeps". I am determined not to keep doing that, but it is a hazard of handling these things too much, it seems. Anyway, I'm almost done at this point (only about 30 left to sort). And when I go out in about 45 minutes from now, I intend to take the give-away bags with me to drop off.

Next time I do a big book sort, though, I might want to come up with a different method. Like maybe have one of my kids check whether Amazon will do the trade-in. Or just close my eyes and give it all away! Because like with the shirt, I have to keep my priorities in mind. I don't have time to fool with things too much, because right now I've just got to get as much as possible OUT of here!