Minimilists and organizers needed!

ElRuby · December 2015

I really want to simplify and decrease my clutter. Every year my New Year's resolution is to get more organized... I suck at it and would love to hear any awesome tips or ideas! Or if anyone wants to commiserate about being a total pack rat that's cool too! I will share the few things that have helped me.

ElRuby · December 2015

I read an article "100 things to throw away right now". It got me motivated but was too overwhelming lol. One thing that I did was throw away all store hangers because they are messy... I agree and I hate them but now I don't have enough hangers so I have to buy more lol.

LaurenAnn0405 · December 2015

I will commiserate with you @ElRuby I could be considered a pack rat. DH called me a hoarder until I made him watch an episode of hoarders and he quickly changed his tune haha. I am very sentimental and tend to hold on to a lot for sentimental reasons. Plus I have 2 kids and a dog so there's a LOT of toys. Any tips on organizing and/or getting rid of things is appreciated because I need them too!

ElRuby · December 2015

^ this is me.... I need to stop being attached to items! I always say "but what if I need it"...or "what if we have another kid"... I need help!

jessieR358 · December 2015

I LOVE to throw things away. So much so that I've thrown away stuff I should keep (whoops). I regularly clean out my closet and donate to goodwill. If it doesn't look good or I haven't worn it in forever I toss it. I gave away bags and bags post pregnancy. I may have prematurely given away a lot of things bc I'm below pre pregnancy weight but now I can buy more clothes ha!
Go through magazines and throw out ones that are greater than 6-12 months old.
I love storage baskets from target and have them in our tv room full of toys.

Sammy K · December 2015

I also love to purge. We have a small house and no basement so it's a necessity. We have a "one in, one out rule" for everything within reason. We clean closets twice a year. If it hasn't been worn in the last 2 years, it goes.

We love storage from IKEA. They are the small space masters. We have their closet system and shelving system. Shelves are a necessity in the garage and laundry room.

I would start small, like tackle one closet each month. For items you're unsure about, put them in a designated holding space and come back a month or two later. That usually helps determine if it's really needed, sentimental, or can be tossed.

Last, be realistic. If it's something you've been meaning to fix or salvage for a long period of time, be honest about it. Put it somewhere you have to look at it so it gets fixed or tossed.

Good luck! I know I'm odd in that I take great pleasure in organizing closets. It's my inner nerd showing through.

47923ang · December 2015

I bought 1 bin for each baby. If there is something really sentimental, like their coming home outfits, they go in the bin.

I find it to be a way to keep some stuff but not go overboard.

ChardeeMacDennis · December 2015

If you have too many old books/CDs/DVDs lying around I recommend the Decluttr app. You scan each item's barcode with your phone, they give you a price for it, and total it up when you're done. Then they send you a prepaid shipping label, you pack it all up and mail it to them, and they send you a check. I did it last year, but I think it was like 1 to 2 dollars per item.

KaLikeAWind · December 2015

I LOVE to get rid of stuff. My husband HATES to get rid of stuff. And he is guilty of doing the 'but one day I'll be able to start a collection...' excuse. He isn't a hoarder, but he could develop into one. He doesn't want to get rid of ANYTHING. Its so annoying.

I'm intending to go thru my closet and just get rid of mostly everything. I've hung onto things WAY too long. I have also done the one storage tote to keep mementos in, and everything else that is useless goes. (This works for me, at least. My DH, not so much) I don't really like to have things that don't serve a function, so if I can't wear an article of clothing because it doesn't fit or is out of fashion... Its not functional. It goes.

henrytviii · December 2015

This is a tough one for me. One part of me wants to get rid of almost everything in my life, if it doesn't serve an excellent purpose or bring joy to me it needs to go. In practice though I do find that many of my things serve a purpose or bring me joy.

I love clothes, I have way too many. I should probably get rid of most of mine. I am going to start trying to wear more of them and any that aren't in the rotation by the end of 2016 are gone. That will probably get rid of 50% or more.

A few years ago I made a new years resolution to get rid of 1000 things. I kept a list, it was was and fun. BUT in doing this I realized that a lot of my stuff has value. And now I've ended up storing a lot in my attic and slowly selling it on eBay, Craigslist, and consignment. I am going to make another push with that this winter and spring, have a big yard sale in early summer and then it is all going to Goodwill.

I'm trying to simplify a lot of things in my life. I have dishes and wine glasses but when I have a party we use everyday stuff and jam jars rather than the good stuff. So it's gone. I'm limiting Christmas decorations to one small box. Getting rid of all but our favorite books. Searching for duplicate items all around the house.

At first I thought minimalism meant having almost nothing, which is unrealistic for me. For me its more about having only things you need and love. The challenge is that I always worry I'll want something again when I throw it away. It will come back in style or I'll take up that activity again, or I'll lose or stop liking its duplicate item that won out on the first round of organizing. I have to let that go and realize I am saving time.and money by not holding on to crap. I can buy or find an item again.

janat1717 · December 2015

pack up items you don't want in the morning and get rid of them that day. If they sit around you'll start pulling stuff out of the pile and putting it back on the shelves. Also after you do an area, go back over it a couple of weeks later, repeat often. You'll be surprised as you get rid of stuff what you realize you don't actually need or care about. Also read a lot of minimalist blogs the night before for inspiration. I like The Minimalists. Finally to not fill the place back up I really worked on not buying unneeded items just because they are on sale and not needing to buy things on trips or special shopping dates to make it "fun". It's weird how these things get programmed into us.

klirwin82 · December 2015

Look up the KonMari method. There's a lot of before & after instagrams on it. I'm going to do it. One day. I'm the person who moved in June and we still have boxes of stuff we haven't opened. But when I DO organize/declutter, it'll totally be using KonMari.

ElRuby · December 2015

klirwin82 said:
Look up the KonMari method. There's a lot of before & after instagrams on it. I'm going to do it. One day. I'm the person who moved in June and we still have boxes of stuff we haven't opened. But when I DO organize/declutter, it'll totally be using KonMari.

We moved LAST September and my basement is full of boxes....we finally went through all the toys that we forgot were packed up.

HoosOnFirst · December 2015

My goal this week is to clean my closet of all clothes that don't fit me post-pregnancy and are so old that even if I drop a few pounds, they will be too old to wear by then. Glad to see this thread, maybe I'll stay on track!

ElRuby · December 2015

I don't know what to do with baby stuff... With my first we knew for sure we would have another so we kept it all... This time we aren't really sure so is it a good idea to keep it all and let it take up space? I think I am going to keep it in my basement until we finish it and actually need to use the space... Am I just making excuses?

HoosOnFirst · December 2015

Luckily my little sis is having a baby, so I'm giving her a lot of stuff, but I know u can always get it back. Best of both worlds, it's out of my house!

staceyfern · December 2015

@ChardeeMacDennis did they take books? I just downloaded the app but it says games, DVDs and CDs.

addingon · December 2015

I am a big time purger and DH is a collector. We generally don't have much clutter as far as house decor goes and everything has a place, but there is still stuff. I go through clothes and donate every few months because I do shop quite a bit. I have gotten much better about looking beyond the "what if I need this someday" mentality. If I haven't worn it in a year, it's going.

I have always read that you should hang all of your clothing hangers backwards and as you wear things turn the hangers back the right way so you can assess after a period of time what is being worn. Also, I have not done this myself, but I've seen many Pinterest lists of one thing in your house to organize each day for a month so that it's not as overwhelming.

mishmardhiono · December 2015

I'm a chucked, all of LO's new born stuff is gone. I do a mass clean out every season but there's still stuff everywhere. I read an article about clothing. Put all your clothes in a spare closet, as you wear it move it into your room. After 6 months whatever is left behind gets binned.

Any toy storage solutions ladies? We are only 6 months into this journey and the toys are doing my head in!! I wanted a toy chest but they hold nothing and lo can't get her toys out

aresee · December 2015

My SIL has her girls go through their toys and choose some to donate before every Christmas and birthday. LO is obviously too you for that, but I love the idea for decluttering and teaching kids to give to others.

7425cait · December 2015

I think it's wasteful to get rid of baby clothes and items that you will use again. If you are still considering a third child, I would get a couple cheap bins, separate clothes into one and toys/tools in another. If you decide not to have anymore children, donate it or sell it on a Facebook swap/Craigslist site. We keep putting the stuff LO grows out of into a bin in our attic. We do this every clothing size change.

Also, just for general maintenance, I fold and store my clothes like this in my dresser. Sooooo much easier to access and rotate, and it definitely takes up less space.

beemaya83 · December 2015

We moved in October and got rid of a lot of things I beleive I didn't need. Today I finally get to organize my closet. I plan on making another reduction of clothes as I start to hang what I have.

My motto is if you haven't used it in one year, you don't need it!

virginiaunicorn11 · December 2015

I haven't read it, but a FB friend posted about this book and how it changed her life, and several people commented they also loved it:

Marie Kondo's "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up"

ksimo6 · December 2015

We did a forty day clean out for lent last year. We picked forty spots in our house or cars that needed attention. Some were small (my glove compartment) and others were large (all my Christmas boxes) and just got rid of things that had accumulated. It felt very manageable and we finished almost all of them. I am thinking we will do it again this year.

mishmardhiono · January 2016

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