Throw Out 50 Things: Time to Clear out Clutter

Many of us keep items long past the time when they have any value to us. It takes time and effort to move things along so they don't pile up and clutter our homes and our lives.

Whatever our reasons for hanging onto old stuff and old emotions, we all could benefit from throwing fifty things out.

In Gail Blanke's book, Throw 50 Things Out, she talks you through why and how to unclutter your life. It's not so simple as tossing out 25 mis-matched tupperware containers and 25 broken children's toys. The author insists that things count as a category of things. The children's toys only count as one thing. This forces us to look into every corner of our homes and into our relationships/ideas/beliefs to clear out things that bog us down.

I'll keep adding to this webpage as I work my way through 50 things using advice from the book. You can follow along (bookmark the page so you can come back again). Clear out your own things and come back to let us know how it's going. We can encourage each other.

There are many ways to get rid of things. Tailor your method to the item, so you don't contribute to filling up the landfills and cluttering the earth.

Yes, it takes longer to move things along this way, but it's the responsible way to do it.

We'd used this trailer quite a bit (moving from TX to FL, getting new furniture, etc.) but now it mostly just sat in the garage taking up space. We wanted to get a golf cart, but there was little room to spare with that trailer in there. Craigslist to the rescue. I found a buyer pretty quickly by advertising the trailer on Craigslist.

My first success was finding buyers for two teak bistro tables with four chairs and also for two teak lounge chairs and a small table.

I also cleared out the defunct BBQ grill that was taking up space in the garage. It needed some repairs, so we ended up giving it away instead of selling it.

This is a noble goal, but fraught with angst as I faced my fat clothes, my skinny clothes, my buying mistakes and other pitfalls of a full clothes closet. To force me to get started, I'd promised Goodwill that I would have some things for them to pick up on Thursday morning.

I'm afraid my effort was mostly token, as I liberated only about six items from the closet. I know I can do better, but I get overwhelmed when faced with so many choices.

Is your closet too full? Are you really wearing all those clothes?

I'd Like to Toss out All My Clothes

No, I'm not becoming a nudist. It just that I'm so tired of the same old outfits. I'd like to just get rid of them all and start fresh.

When I look in my closet, it seems I have plenty to wear. On closer inspection, the selection isn't really that great. Here's the problem.

►Some are work outfits, but I'm retired
►Some need repairs (buttons replaced, hems tacked back into place)
►Some are faded and tired looking
►Some are too small (but I keep hoping I'll get small again)
►Some are baggy (glad I'm not that big anymore)
►Some just don't look good on me

I really do need to clear some of these out. The work clothing should go to Dress for Success to help women find jobs. I should buckle down and mend the items that need repairs. The too-big outfits and the ones that are fashion mistakes should just go to charity. Probably the too small things should go there too. The clothing that looks shabby should be turned into rags.

If I did all that, I truly would have nothing to wear. Hurrah, it's time to go shopping. (just kidding)

I don't mind my plants getting so thick that they spill out of the flowerbeds, but to my husband, it looks messy. Every now and then, to satisfy his need for order, I trim up the edges and remove the runners from some of the ground cover that has become too exuberant. Hating to just toss the excess plants, I try to squeeze them into other areas of the yard.

The ones I worked on today were rooted, ajuga runners. I potted them up using some rooting stimulant, a little dirt and some leftover pots from my spring planting binge. These will go to friends who can use some fresh plants for their garden. I'll feel good about finding new homes for my plants and my shade garden will look a lot tidier for a while.

Here's the product I use for encouraging rooting: Miracle-Gro Fast Root Dry Powder Rooting Hormone. It's a powder and you just dip the cutting into it, then plant it.

My husband got a new golf bag even though the old one worked fine. He just wanted a few more pockets and features on his bag. He set the old one out by the curb. Being of a very thrifty nature, I brought it back in and said we could sell it, not just give it away. Time went by, and I never got around to advertising it. It took up storage space and spiders delighted in making webs around it.

Finally, after a year went by, I put it out by the curb and put a FREE sign on it. Within a few days, we had a taker. It was a neighbor that we barely knew, but now he greets us heartily every time he sees us and updates us on how his golf game is going. The moral of this story is sometimes it is too much trouble to try selling something for a pitiful $10 when you can build goodwill by giving it to someone who really will use it.

How deep are the piles of paper on your desk? As bad as mine? Follow along with me as I apply different strategies to bring all that paper clutter under control. You can have a clean desk! Here's my project: HELP - My Desk Is Buried Under a Mountain of Paper

We got an air conditioner for the area that this dehumidifier used to work in. Now it wasn't needed anymore. Finally I got around to looking up the original price (on Amazon). In talking to a neighbor, my husband mentioned it. Their son was looking for one, so we made a deal with them. It's gone to a good home.

The countertop wine refrigerator is still sitting in the attic though. (update August 2012: The neighbors were holding a charity event to raise funds for the food pantry. We donated the countertop wine refrigerator and someone was thrilled to get it. We feel good about helping the charity.)

Have you looked at the belt rack lately? I was dismayed to see belts that did not match anything or ones that were getting shabby. Why was I hanging on to these?

Check out my solution below to get some further uses from those old, mismatched belts.

My Friend Has Some Great Ways to Repurpose Belts

Upcycle Leather Belts - She told me, "several years back I was brainstorming on the subject of seating. I needed to redo the seat of a thrift shop chair. A bag of old leather belts, a staple gun and a bit later, voila! Enjoy these ideas!" She has some inspiring ideas and I used one to refurbish a tote bag that the handles had worn out. Now, it has handles made from a woven belt.

Last winter, we painted some rooms and moved the furniture around. The entertainment unit above ended up without a place to reside.

We posted it for sale but didn't find a buyer. It shifted out to the garage and rapidly filled up with STUFF. Now, I really want it gone. The garage is feeling crowded and a simple shelving unit would work better out there than this hulking piece of furniture.

I'm going to try posting it again, but just give it away this time. I'd think there would be someone wanting it. It's a nice looking piece, but heavy as all get out. They need to bring several strong men to load it up and take it away.

I can't lift it and hubby has a bad back. Goodwill won't pick it up. It has become an albatross.

In my post, I even suggested that it might covert nicely into storage for wine and wine glasses. You could put a criss-cross wine storage rack in the big space where the TV used to sit. The shelves on the right would hold all kinds of drink glasses. The closed section below could hold bottles of gin, whiskey, etc.

SUCCESS! - I found someone who wanted it, but it took 3 weeks for her to find someone with a pick-up to take it to her house. So glad she will get good use from it.

I love my books but some I won't read again, so it makes no sense to keep holding onto them.

In listing my used books for sale on Amazon, it's always disappointing to see the copies listed for just a penny each. How can book dealers make any money that way?

I'm guessing they squeeze a little profit out of the postage allowed if their book isn't too heavy. It's not worth it to me to go to the trouble of listing the book, package it and make a trip to the post office for a penny.

I wanted to list 3 books about flower drying techniques, but might as well just give them to Goodwill. They pick up at my doorstep. It's a shame I can't sell them, as they are really nice books. There's just a glut of them on the market apparently.

Even some of my vintage books by favorite authors need to move on to new readers. About 35 or maybe 40 years ago, I read a James Oliver Curwood book. His novels, set in the Yukon or Canadian wilderness, glorify the hardy people who were the pioneers of those regions.

They have romance and adventure and are similar in style to Zane Grey's stories of the American West. I enjoyed them and found quite a few over the years for my collection. My dad had several on his bookshelf, so maybe that's where I first discovered the author.

These will sell for more than the penny books I mentioned above, but I'm sad to see them go. I haven't read any of them in years though, so it doesn't make sense to keep hanging onto them just for sentimental reasons.

I feel guilty about having so much stuff. So, I asked my friends what they were hoarding. I thought it would soothe my conscience. Here are their answers:

Savateuse - I have a hard time throwing out things that other people have given me...

Helen - As a fellow librarian, you'll relate to this -- my worst clutter is my stacks of papers, boxes of old letters and journals and papers, the papers on all 3 parts of my U-shaped desk, and the newspapers and magazines that have an article I want to save.

Kathryn - I have almost all of my daughter's toys from her entire childhood. She's a teenager now and it is time to let them go.

Cyndy - I love old keys. I have a hard time getting rid of those. Then I have a LOT of stuff in different places. I plan to simplify my life soon and get rid of the junk that is cluttering my life. I once heard a success coach say that you'll never be successful unless you clear the clutter out of your life and have less to think about. He said get rid of old keys that don't go to anything anymore, clear out the junk drawer, etc.

Brita - Owning a motorhome has been useful in finding out exactly what you don't need to own on a day-to-day basis! Ebay, Freecycle, and the bins have been our friends! At this point, I've pretty well let go of excess stuff.

Souli - I am a total hoarder. Not excessive, but if anything looks useful, I tend to hang onto it. I need to start pruning some stuff that I know I will NEVER use.

Lori - I'm afraid I might be hoarding dogs but I'm not willing to give any of them up. I do have a lot of stuff in this old house that can go.

Pam - I'm getting ready to list a few things on Craigslist and have a garage sale. I'm not a big hoarder, but just not enough room in our little house.

Peggy - I have a few unpacked boxes that I've moved several times. I need to seriously sort them and get rid of the things I no longer need.

Joan - I was hoarding supplies for a now defunct hobby, just in case I ever got back to it. Now, I feel better that all that stuff is slated to be sold or given away.

Sherry - Haha, I've been hoarding bad memories. There is a very good way of putting those memories on paper. No need to hoard those, either!

Jeannie - I seem to hoard papers, notes, mail! I think they multiply during the night!

Rachel - I'm terrible. I have gotten rid of so much stuff but there is always more and it doesn't help that I'm heavily into crafts - all the bits and pieces are getting out of control!

Arthritis in the hands meant we didn't enjoy playing the piano anymore. There it sat taking up a whole corner of the living room. Finally, we decided that it should go. A friend seemed interested but she stalled for weeks over getting a trailer and some strong guys to move it. Her son had a keyboard already, and eventually, she decided they didn't really need the piano.

Luckily, we heard about a local high school that wanted donations of musical instruments. We contacted them and they picked it up two days later. Their practice piano at the school had recently broken down so they were thrilled to have this donation.

Hurray, one more thing gone and some space reclaimed in our living room.