Couperwife Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Today I have donated 4 bags of books, 2 bags of plates/bowls, a bag of storage jars, 3 frying type pans and one large steamer pan And I've binned half a wheelie bin of stiff Oh the joys of a new kitchen I need new stuff (I am officially not allowed to buy new stuff until I know what I need...not want....need!) hmmm Cathy X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Moving from a large four bedroom three bathroom house to a 2 bedroom cottage did it for me quite successfully Apart from a multitude of enforced decisions about stuff I drastically reduced my books. I have vowed to keep paperback fiction no longer. I read a book,pop a note in it and leave it somewhere for somebody else to pick up,read and pass on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I dumped a lot of paperback books when I got my e-reader Only keep recipe books or hard backs that I love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Good for you I reduced my books a lot when I had the flat in London, and am trying to encourage Rosie to move along any books which she has read and really doesn't need to keep. Lovely here today, so when I have got the garden cut back and put to bed for the winter, I am going to concentrate on the indoors clutter. We are decluttering at work too; I have a whole load of old PCs that I need to take the HDDs out of before I junk the at the tip for recycling. Also lots of non-functioning printers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 I have been pulling my airing cupboard apart today, looking for the hats and scarves but I have bagged up a bag of my clothes and a bag of OH's clothes that had been stuffed in there earmarked for the charity shop. I have also filled 3 carrier bags of stuff for the clothing bank. I also went through my odd sock collection, which led to going through OH's underwear and sock drawers, he just buys new ones and piles them in on top of the ones with holes, so they have now all gone. Also because I am having a guy round to give us a quote for our double glazing this afternoon, I thought I had better check what YD and DS's rooms looked like, the answer was So I have been doing some cleaning and tidying there too. YD is in for the voice of doom when she gets home. All in all a very cathartic experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 So I have been doing some cleaning and tidying there too. YD is in for the voice of doom when she gets home. I so feel your pain my window cleaner commented the other day on the state of Madam's room I love cleaning and clearing too... hoping to get some done when I'm off over Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I need to get ED to tackle her room when she is home over Christmas, considering the amount that she took to uni it doesn't look any different in her room. She is reasonably tidy, but she just has so much stuff, her dressmaking and other craft things takes up a lot of space which is fine, but she has so much childhood stuff too that needs sorting. She is home for a month so she should be able to do something with it. DS also has a load of things from his earlier childhood that he won't part with, he has a large built in wardrobe, which must be sorted soon, I will have to work on him over Christmas too. YD was read the riot act last night and has been told to get it sorted in the next week, or I will do it with a bin liner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 My daughter left home to work in London 5 years ago, she still keeps a room here filled with clutter, and has some stuff in the attic space. What's even worse every time she comes home she brings another pile of books that she has read but wants to keep . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Books are our problem too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Here too, we are all big readers and have to have ruthless clear out from time to time. The manager of our local Red Cross book shop described us as his best customers because, we buy, donate and have provided part of the work force because two of our children have volunteered there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Well that's a great commendation! You are all doing really well, I have slowed down but need to get Freecycling/donating again as the spare room needs to be clear by Christmas! I have a few questions I ask myself with regard to books. (1) Am I really likely to re-read this in the next three years (bearing in mind how many books I have, the fact that I use the library regularly, and have just been given a Kindle for my birthday) (2) If I wanted this, would it be hard to find again on Amazon, Green Metropolis, Abe Books or at the library? (3) Is it particularly beautiful/valuable/unusual (e.g. signed by author, or a book that belonged to my mum and has memories for me) I really only keep poetry books, reference books (and who doesn't use the internet for most reference these days?) and some classics that I know I'll never tire of reading, plus a few odds and ends that are out of print or would be difficult to find. Oh, and my collection of Georgette Heyer, of course! They are for sick days, sad days, and special treats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 This makes for interesting reading. We are seriously contemplating a move and last night we were talking about our stuff. It turns out that we have very few pieces of furniture that we both care about, so most of it can go to sale/freecycle, far too much stuff so we need a major audit for the charity shop/bin/auction, but we couldn't work out what to do about our books. We both have Kindles, but our books are part of us, built up over 30 years, I even had bespoke shelves made for half of them in my office. I can't decide what to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 Book cleansing going on here too! Mum has just thrown out two large boxes of old books, they have gone to someone who does a regular charity stall. I managed to part with a few as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Managed to get DS to clear out his wardrobe and get rid of old clothes, books, games etc . Some have sold on ebay and he will get that value back for Christmas and some have gone to charity. Now just need to pin ED down when she is home from Uni this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I've got rid of 2 paper boxes full of magazine 2 big boxes of videos 5 bags of clothes and shoes that I don't love Sooo much more therapeutic than shopping Cathy X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...