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Forum -> Household Management -> Organizing
S/o throwing stuff out



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amother
Scarlet


 

Post Sun, Jan 20 2019, 9:24 pm
If you are one of those people who are really good at getting rid of things, or not buying them in the first place -

How do you do this?

What sorts if things have you thrown away recently?

How often do you regret throwing something away?
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 2:23 am
I personally LOVE purging things. I love having a tidy minimalistic home. I love not seeing things all over, so its easy for me not to buy things that I really dont need.
I throw things away if I see something that literally hasnt been used in 6 - 9 months. It always feels amazing to get rid of things that are not being used.
I never regret throwing things away. I dont throw away things that have sentimental value at all. I have lots of things, but they all have sentimental value. I get rid of things that have no meaning for me.
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WhatFor




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 3:30 am
Have you watched Marie Kondo on Netflix/ read her book? She's all about this.
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etky




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 3:52 am
shabbatiscoming wrote:
I personally LOVE purging things. I love having a tidy minimalistic home. I love not seeing things all over, so its easy for me not to buy things that I really dont need.
I throw things away if I see something that literally hasnt been used in 6 - 9 months. It always feels amazing to get rid of things that are not being used.
I never regret throwing things away. I dont throw away things that have sentimental value at all. I have lots of things, but they all have sentimental value. I get rid of things that have no meaning for me.


Me too!
I hate clutter- especially visual clutter - and have been decluttering before Marie Kondo was even born Very Happy
Before buying anything I ask myself 'where will I put it"? If there isn't a good enough answer to that then I don't buy.
Also, before heading to the checkout I step aside with my cart and go over all the items that are in it and ask myself "do I really need it"? Often, the answer is no and then I don't buy that item.
I also believe that there is an inherent value in developing self-restraint in consumerism as in other areas of life. As orthodox Jews we are already well-practiced in this.
As far as getting rid of accumulated stuff in the house - basically the only room that tends to accumulate stuff in my home is the kitchen. I do a purge at least once a year, before Pesach usually. I don't throw anything out. I either sent it to the housewares gemach or ask my sister or friends if they want any of it.
I wouldn't say I'm a minimalist as far as my kitchenware goes: even if I use an item rarely I will still keep it - as long as it does indeed have a use. My kitchen is well stocked with equipment. I just can't bear having duplicates of anything unessential or extra stuff that doesn't fill a real need.
I don't think I've ever regretted getting rid of anything.
Well, maybe those Beanie Babies that the kids had when they were little and the Disney videos that are now supposedly worth a fortune Surprised
When you just don't have tons of space to store extra stuff, it's more of a burden to keep than to give away (or not to purchase to begin with).
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 4:18 am
WhatFor wrote:
Have you watched Marie Kondo on Netflix/ read her book? She's all about this.
Who is that? Im in Israel and dont have netflix.
Ive been purging for years and years.
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amother
Seashell


 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 1:45 pm
I'm a hoarder by nature and a purger by necessity, living as I do in an apt. that is none too large and having no shed, garage, attic, porch, basement or storage locker. I had to train myself to get rid of things. Like most skills, it gets easier with frequent practice. Having someone to give it to so that you know it's not going to waste helps a lot. Since my city has recycling and a Goodwill exists walking distance from home, it's easier than it used to be before these institutions existed here.

A friend of mine introduced me to the "real estate method" of home management: You decide how much space to dedicate to any type of possession, and then, when it's full, you can't bring in anything more in that class without getting rid of something to make room for it. So if, for example, she has half a shelf that accommodates five tote bags, if she wants to acquire a new bag, she has to get rid of one. If she has a drawer that holds a dozen sweaters, an old sweater goes out if a new sweater comes in.

As a lifelong yoyo dieter who is "up" much more than "down", I had clothes in many sizes including some rather expensive items from my slimmest days. The junk I got rid of but not the good stuff even though the likelihood of its ever fitting again was rather slim (ouch, sorry!). Then one day I thought, "this stuff is doing no one any good and not growing any more stylish with passing time. If I give it to a gmach some needy person can be making good use of it during all this time that it doesn't fit me. If I'm willing to give money to an organization that clothes the needy, surely I can give clothes to an org that clothes the needy. And if I do ever reduce back down to that size, surely I'll deserve to buy myself new clothes. " That line of thought made it easy to give away those expensive duds.

Also helpful are periodic visits to other people and seeing how awful their cluttered houses look. Often these are older people who have lived in the same place for 40-50-60 years and never dejunked, but not always. The horror of all that clutter and the thought that my house might one day look like that is a great incentive to de-junk. So is the thought that when my time comes to return to my Maker, my children will have to deal with all my stuff. Besides not wanting to burden them with a big job, I don't want them thinking "Why **on earth** did she keep all this chazzerei?"
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amother
Red


 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 1:52 pm
WhatFor wrote:
Have you watched Marie Kondo on Netflix/ read her book? She's all about this.

She also authored two books on organization. She teaches you to save the things that "spark joy" in your life and to get rid of everything else. I agree that it's worth watching the Netflix series. I've been hooked on her method since I've watched it and I'm not the only one. It's a fantastic guide IMO.
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amother
Seashell


 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 1:57 pm
I very seldom regret getting rid of something. When I do, it's usually because I just recently got rid of it. If I still had it, I wouldn't have thought to use it because I forgot I had it. I only think of it because I just got rid of it, so it's still in my easily-retrieved memory. I make do without it just as I had been making do without it all along.

I keep seeing online people selling for absurd sums of money things I gave away decades ago. For example, a wood salad bowl set that I got as an engagement gift is being sold for $53. I gave the identical thing away almost 30 years ago because I had no space for it and wasn't using it. Do I regret getting rid of it? No, because I'm not into selling stuff. B"H I don't need to sell my possessions to survive and I'd rather give it away than go through the bother of selling. So I know that I wouldn't be making 53 cents, let alone $53, selling that salad set, and even if I did, it would have been cluttering up my closet for the last thirty years!
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 2:10 pm
amother wrote:
If you are one of those people who are really good at getting rid of things, or not buying them in the first place -

How do you do this?

What sorts if things have you thrown away recently?

How often do you regret throwing something away?

In the fall I gave away:
Children's weekday and shabbos shoes, boots, crocs, swim jellies, robe, clothes...
Women's shoes, dresses, tops, shells...
2 household items...

Every day I throw out papers. Once a week we throw out arts and crafts or find a permanent place for them in the binder/on a stand.
I'm constantly throwing out various kiddie cups and water bottles that the kids accumulate (I reevaluate how many are in the cabinet every time I open it).
The kids junk "prize" drawers get rehauled when there's no more room and I ask them to give me a bag of things to donate. But to be honest I throw those away.
If papergoods from a party are still hanging around and we didn't use them up a week later, I just chuck em. (Not a full set that I can still use.) Otherwise the cabinet is a haphazard mess of different size goods that have no specific place and I don't want things to fall every time I open the door.
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flowerpower




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 2:51 pm
I am a huge anti horder. I get a thrill
From throwing out or giving away stuff. I go through each drawer, closet, shelf... at leassst once a year. If it wasn’t used that whole year it goes..... whatever is in my house gets used.
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amother
Salmon


 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 2:58 pm
Right now I’m stuck on hand-me-downs. I have many overflowing bins in the basement of old children’s clothes. I haven’t had a girl in over 5 years and recently had a baby boy. So my saved boy clothes are now getting some good use, but the girl clothing is accumulating and I’m out of room. I won’t need it for at least a few more years, minimum. Should I give everything away? Just some things? I need the space.
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oneofakind




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 3:36 pm
Mail should be sorted over a garbage can...doesn't even have to hit the counter. Bills get sorted in a file folder. Invitations are marked on a calendar (I keep the original though because mistakes have happened.) If I want to keep a page from a magazine, rip it out or copy it and get rid of the magazine. I have one small shelf/cabinet for recipes that I love to collect.
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Zehava




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 21 2019, 3:43 pm
I love the feeling after getting rid of stuff. It’s like I can breathe again. I ask myself if that particular thing is worth the space it takes up.
Kids clothes I give away after every season.
The year I went through my kitchen and threw out 3-4 garbage bags of stuff. And then the rest of the house, getting rid of stuff I probably was never going to use. I haven’t yet regretted any of it.
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