BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Organization Introducing the Get Rid of 50 Things Challenge

Last night I sorted through the medicines box and now have a bag to take along to the pharmacy of medications that are out of date and that I no longer use.

I went through some clothes getting ready for the clothing drive in June. I have more to do. Today at lunch time I walked into the garage and saw a small box and a tote bag that have been sitting there for quite a long while. So for about 40 minutes I went through it all. Some items went into a tool bag in my car (screw driver and tire gauge). Some of the books and plastic bags will go to the Friends of the Library sale. Some stuff went into the trash. I'll use the tote for groceries and the box went into the recycle container. So, it was productive today.

We need the best of luck - it's not easy. I worked in the garage this weekend. I sorted through old birdfeeders, boxes, a plastic bin with birdseed, planters, golf balls, paper grocery bags, plastic grocery bags, a banner. My husband took out the recyclables and he had a huge load to take out tonight. He was actually surprised when I told him he could empty out the trash can too because it was full.

The corner actually looks good.

We got our floors finished and so I started unpacking boxes yesterday to put stuff back on the walls and in the china cabinets. I think as the day went on I tossed more...I kept thinking do I really need this & when was the last time I used this??? Today I am unpacking more boxes. You don't realize how much stuff you have! I still have sawdust everywhere. There is one room I have not cleaned yet. I think we will be cleaning up dust for quite some time. Too bad I didn't paint while I had all the furniture out and stuff off the walls. I was ready to get my house back together!

Gillian...good tip about the expired medicine. I always wonder how to dispose of it safely. Connie

Ok...I just thought of this...what are we all going to do when we rid our house of clutter?!

Too bad this challenged isn't retro-active. About 5 or so years ago someone came into my house for the first time and made this comment "MAN!! You've got so much STUFF!!". I looked around and for the first time I saw my house and all it contained in a different light. Then I replied "Yes, yes I do." Right at that moment I made a concious decision to start downsizing. I'd say in the time since then I have decrease my "Stuff" by at least a third. Going to the Misson or Goodwill to drop stuff off seemed kind of stupid since so many people right in my building could possibly USE much of it. So, I set up a "Free Table" in the laundryroom. I stencilled the word "FREE" on the white painted cement wall right over the table and left my first shipment. It was gone within a week. So much of what I was getting rid of was still useful and usable stuff. Clothes, household gadgets and appliances, shoes, BOOKS, oh so many books. I think I got rid of about half of what I had already. My big bookcase looks great now. Once I had out all the books on the floor I gave the bookcase a VERY needed scrubdown, inside and out. Moved it, hasn't been moved in 10 years, cleaned the carpet under and behind it and repainted as I had it away from the wall. I keep a big Tupperware box in my backhall now and whenever I come across MORE stuff I don't want I put it in that box. Once it's full it's contents go down to the Free table and usually is gone within a few days.

Navigaar, that is a great way to declutter and not feel bad for throwing things away!

Thank you. Yes, it makes me feel good too, I hate wasting perfectly good stuff by throwing it in the trash. We have enough in the landfills. Recycling anything is good. I won't even, most of the time throw food away. Most leftover foods can be fed to wildlife, ie: squirrels, birds, a neighbor's pet. Birds love leftover eggs. I never toss bread, the squirrels, MY squirrels anyway, come to my windows daily looking for what I call "FREATS", Free Eats. Hahahahahahaaa. They actually congregate on the window ledge, look IN and start pounding on the window. It's so cute.

Love it, FREATS...we do that too. We feed leftover bread and stale cereals and popcorn to the squirrels and birds. We also compost so no scraps go into our trash, cardboard and newspaper either as hubby is also into worm farming now. We have a large garden and he uses the worm castings for his tomato plants. We can and freeze vegetables and make jelly and our big thing is if you want more pickles, jelly, salsa or canned tomatoes you must return the jars. I also love to garage sale and pick up jars that way. So it always makes me feel good to get those jars ready every summer.

We have to put our trash out on the curb here and so we have gotten rid of stuff just by leaving it out by the curb for someone to pick up. Last thing we curbside recycled was tv trays and some plant stands. I have been known to curbside shop too, I picked up 2 really nice area rugs that way. One of them took a good cleaning but a can of cleaner was way cheaper than buying a new one! My son works at Walmart and the rug I cleaned came through his line and was $80. So of course I had to brag to my hubby who was mortified that I curb sided it! Connie

So I am assumming NOW the word "Freats" will be a regular in your vocabulary?? Hahaahahahahahaaa. I LOVE homemade pickles. You are so lucky to be able to make them. I made a green tomato relish once that was to die for. When I was a kid, a mom used to make Pickled Watermelon Rind and her son would bring some to school to share with the class. That stuff WAS amazing. I have bought some commercially made but it is never as good as I remember that was. I heard that during a city workers stike once in New York, this person couldn't get their trash picked up so he regularly "Gift Wrapped" it and left it on the seat of his car with the window down. It was gone in a matter of minutes. Hahahahaha. I am suppossing, he watched from his window in case they tried to take his car too.