A hint for Spring Cleaning~~~

Gosh, I envision a lot of DH's being tossed this spring.

I just went through our front shoe closet! I had shoes in there from when the girls were in HS yet!!!!! For some reason, I kept thinking they might want them...HAHA "/

So......today they went! It was amazing to actually see the floor in there!

LOL at gadgets!!!

Linda

"Gosh, I envision a lot of DH's being tossed this spring."

LOL! My DH has developed the habit of picking from the "freebie barn" at the town dump/transfer station. I don't want my own junk around, never mind strangers! You wouldn't believe the crap he brings home. Autographed albums (are we 12 years old?). USED sneakers (his size, but STILL!). Broken snow shovels. Every time I go in the garage there is something else.

We've been filling bags in the basement. I told DH he had to put 2 bags a week to the curb and get the basement cleaned up. It's starting to look pretty good. We had alot of useless "stuff" down there just taking up space.
I also have a bentwood rocker down there. DH bought it for me when I was 21. I love that thing but we have no room for it in this house. It takes up so much floor space! I can't imagine giving it away and don't know what to do with it. We just keep moving it around the room down there! I've tried to gift it to relatives but they're all in the same boat.
I think I should have DH take a nice pic of me sitting in it and then just put it out on the curb with best offer on it. :(
Do you struggle with sentimental feelings about stuff when you purge?

I'm waiting from Main Man to go out of town. I will try to have a Garage Sale. He'll never miss half the stuff, he doesn't even know what he's got.

I have several bags of clothes to donate.

Gayle

Yes, Mush! I struggle mightily with sentimental attachments to stuff that just needs to go!! I hate clutter, but I also hate parting with things. To me, if it's been in the house more than a year, it has a story and is a part of the family! Silly, I know, but I sure suffer through these clean-up jobs.

OTOH, if it's DH's stuff, it needs to go LOL!

I am literally stepping over garage sale stuff trying to convert this spare bedroom into an office. I will load it all later this week and haul it to my folks' house and store it in the garage. From there, sis can haul it to her daughter's (in another town) for a garage sale in early summer. The closet where I've been storing it overfloweth...

Spring cleaning this year icludes repainting and putting in hardwood flooring. I just finished painting the small bathroom, big hallway, dining room and living room. I only have the master bath and bedroom to go. We'll hire someone to do the outside and install the new floor.

My kids have hit another growth spurt. I found out that the nurse's office at the school needs the smaller sizes for those 'accidents' that happen at school. I've been happily donating.

Up until the last few days, we've had nice weather. I dug up a few shrubs from the front flower bed and gave them to my neighbors. I'm waiting for the painter to work his magic so I can start finish adding dirt and planting some flowers and veggies.

Still going strong on donating to charity. DH USED to have 6 boxes of drinking glasses - he now has 2. Only the best have been kept. If I want to go shopping, I now go to the crawl space to check out any unlabeled, unsorted boxes first just in case we already have something. Organizing and labeling has been a strong tool in this years spring cleaning. I'm now painting white base coat on the upstairs hall working to the living room. It's funny what a mood lift this is to see fresh paint.

Also, fire alarms - wanted to clean the hardwired alarm while I was doing the ceiling. It's old - 1978 - calling an electrician to get these replaced with new models that also allow a backup battery to be plugged in. You can't plug batteries into mine! NOT GOOD. Spring cleaning is also adding to the spring fix it list for peace of mind.

Still going strong at my end!

Girl power!

Useful and beautiful, right? I have so much clutter of stuff "I might need" in the future. Like receipts, magazines with recipes I "might" want to try, etc, etc. Are these "useful" or "Beautiful" ?

Well, after posting here, I went downstairs with a screw driver and took apart the rocking chair. It is now stored flat, neatly and out of the way in the attic. I just can't make myself give it away. But at least now it's not taking up valuble space.
My Old Chair! It's 32 years old now.

We have been cleaning out the house for months~~DH insists on keeping it all he says he is doing a garage sale (which I hate) when he retires. His offical day of retirement is tomorrow:) So it would be nice to me if he did the GS next weekend. No way he is now waiting for me to have my hyster so I can help him BLAH!!!!

I have gotten rid of alot of stull and am going strong to get rid of more! No one seems to miss what I am getting rid of:)

I love that saying and try to (occasionally) apply it to decluttering.

Have 5 wire baskets full of books priced to sell at a garage sale this next Saturday. Still have to price a bunch of other stuff.

DH wants to keep all the boxes and the packing stuff that comes with things like the TV, fridge etc. He says there's less chance of damaging the TV etc when we move house. Maybe he's right, but I don't know where to store those boxes - if I lay them flat on top of (or behind) the closet, the kittens will scratch them to bits.

I threw out the TV carton today, n DH hasn't noticed. Tomorrow I'll get rid of some more. How often do we move house, anyway? LOL

Books, shoes and coffee mugs I just can't part with!

I had a garage sale a few weekends ago and sold a lot of stuff. I knew there was more but first I needed to finish cleaning the attic and the shed in the back yard. Well, that's done now. I've been stopped by bad weather for the past three weeks. Hopefully this next Friday and Saturday will work out. What ever doesn't sell this time will go to Paralyzed Veterans. I hope it will be the last GS I ever have. They are a lot of work, but it feels so good to get rid of things I thought I wanted or needed at some point in time.

Linda

My MIL gave me a bentwood rocker when our first child was born. I didn't use it. I nursed anywhere I could sit down. That rocker went in my garage and got badly warpoed from moisture. We had a flood last winter and it got tossed in the clean-up.

I had a rocker like that,Mush. I gave it to a friend of mine.

I meant to add that I miss mine. I wish I hadn't given it away.

Getting our house ready for sale,you would not believe how many boxes of pure junk I have discarded,not to mention the many trips to Good Will.
It sure feels good to let it go!

Did I read that right..DH's will be tossed out..not their stuff.. LOL

Mine always notices when I toss out stuff of his he's not done anything with in years..but as soon as it's "missing" the radar bleep goes off??? How's he do that?

I've been working on decluttering our entire house. I've re-subscribed to Flylady and my house looks so much better! I have a bunch of stuff to take to Goodwill this week.

I am going to have a garage sale this spring. I am going to get rid of tons of stuff we don't use or need. I have to get the house simplified and the 5th whel...I love stuff I do but I hate clutter and after Brian and D living in this 5th wheel full time for a year and me in and out for a year....we have way way to much stuff we do not even need....Stacy

Go Gadget, go! LOL!
Kathy G in MI

My hint to add. Buy several greeting cards about "Hope you are better after your surgery." That way, you have an excuse for not having the cleanest house...

Well, you guys have inspired me to get off my rumpus and get busy with some neglected projects. In the last 5 minutes I made a list with 12 things on it already!

I have some chronic health problems and I think I have let that dictate my schedule becuase it's so hard to predict what kind of day I will be having. I seem to get overwhelmed easily, too. Our DS is getting married in our backyard in June and I have just been frozen with the thought of getting the house in order. Don't know where to start! Blah!!!! The list will help hopefully! Thanks for the inspiration. I'm so impressed with everyones achievements!