2021 Decluttering Support and Motivation

[BunnyHop]

Thanks, everyone!

She doesn't have a name yet, and I'm going to give myself a little while to find something that suits her. She's a tortie, with a face that's half orange and white, the other dark gray, orange and white. They said she's about two, and she's had her surgery already, so all I had to do was take her home. She weights just over seven pounds, with a little squeaky meow, so sweet!


Got a quick new kitty check at the vet, and some medicine to help with her sniffles. Hopefully that's going to clear up easily, but we'll do bloodwork next week to see where we stand.
She's active, but not hyper, and seems to enjoy her new home, especially the comforter on my bed that's so fluffy and warm.

[lreidgreen]

Anna, congrats on your new kitty!
I have had a few productive days recently.
1)I went through a drawer and storage ottoman in my sunroom/entryway. DH also decluttered "his" drawer and two baskets in/under the table out there. I got rid of sun hats, gloves, neck gaiters etc either to donate, toss or repurpose.

2) I went through my knitting stuff and gifted some yarn to friends and will be getting rid of 3 knitting bags ( I had 7!) I need to go through everything again though. I should get back to knitting

3) I went through my spring/summer clothing before the big switch. I tried on EVERYTHING that I haven't worn in a long time and most of it is leaving the house because it doesn't fit or is otherwise not flattering or useful to me now. 7 skirts, 3 dresses, 9 blouses and 5 jackets/hoodies. The warm weather stuff now fits into one side of a sliding door type closet. It feels great. I might send the stuff (some brand new) to Thred up but will probably just donate it.
4) I am donating my formal dresses and DDs prom dress to the charity resale shop down town. I am going there on Wednesday. They don't take out of season clothing or I would give them the warm weather stuff I want to get rid of.

I still need to try on 4 pairs of fall winter pants that I suspect don't fit any more and go through "my" basket in the sunroom.

[lreidgreen]

Oh just a motivational tip. I was finding that some tasks (like decluttering) were never getting done after days or weeks of being on my to-do list.
A suggestion I heard on a podcast prompted me to schedule these tasks. I put it on my calendar to go through the clothing on Sunday from 2-4PM. I am treating it like a doctor's appointment or a meeting with a friend.

I have been doing this every week to plan my meals and tried it with success this weekend to complete the clothing purge and another task that I kept putting off. Used judiciously, I think this will be a useful practice for me.

[Catahoula Cate]

Originally Posted by lreidgreen

Oh just a motivational tip. I was finding that some tasks (like decluttering) were never getting done after days or weeks of being on my to-do list.
A suggestion I heard on a podcast prompted me to schedule these tasks. I put it on my calendar to go through the clothing on Sunday from 2-4PM. I am treating it like a doctor's appointment or a meeting with a friend.

Great tip Ireidgreen! I need to apply this to a variety of tasks that keep getting pushed to the back burner. One of them is that I've been dragging my feet finding another online auction site comparable to ebay as I've got some things I'd like to try selling that way again. Also great job on all the progress with clearing out some clothes and knitting material!

My decluttering efforts have been on the slow side but yesterday, I did break down a lot of boxes that tend to accumulate in the garage. DH took them to recycling today. Nice to see the extra space again.

[eventmom]

Hi everyone! I've been reading your posts but not posting.

We have family visiting for thanksgiving. So we made some decluttering progress. I sent 16 clothing items to thred up. I also dropped off at goodwill - 19 clothing items that are decent plus dh added and then 3 bags of misc. I'm happy/proud I got rid of that much, but shocked at how much I still have in my closet. I dropped off a few books at the library as well - I needed to make space for books that were just stacked up.

Leslie - I need to do more when I swap clothes. I was more selective than usual but don't have the patience to try everything on!

[BunnyHop]

The scheduling idea is a very good one. Putting a time on it sounds good. Need to give that a try.


New kitty is settling in. New kitty brushes and other goodies are arriving tomorrow, if the delivery schedule reflects reality. She likes catnip, so that's good.

[lreidgreen]

Originally Posted by eventmom

Hi everyone! I've been reading your posts but not posting.

We have family visiting for thanksgiving. So we made some decluttering progress. I sent 16 clothing items to thred up. I also dropped off at goodwill - 19 clothing items that are decent plus dh added and then 3 bags of misc. I'm happy/proud I got rid of that much, but shocked at how much I still have in my closet. I dropped off a few books at the library as well - I needed to make space for books that were just stacked up.

Leslie - I need to do more when I swap clothes. I was more selective than usual but don't have the patience to try everything on!

I didn't try everything on- just stuff I hadn't worn in the past year. It is true that I wear 20% of my clothing 80% of the time.
How does Thred Up work? Do they take out of season clothing?

ETA: I found a few other pcs of clothing to try on but I am leaning towards not bothering and just throwing them into the donate/sell box. I don't think they are going to fit and even if they do I don't think I will wear them.

[Catahoula Cate]

I'm interested in checking out Thred Up too. I looked at the website and it looks to have potential. Eventmom have you been using it for a while?

[eventmom]

leslie and cate:

thredup - I've sent them clothes for quite a few years. At this point it is 100% consignment and you don't get much. My most recent bag (that has been listed) had 12 items and they took them all - which is unusual they claim that 60-70% is normal. Everything I sent was in like new condition. 8 items sold - I got around $20 total. I sent 'good' brands - chicos, boston proper, soft surroundings, free people. Really good stuff I try to sell on ebay first.

On the website you fill out the form and they email a prepaid postage label - so it cost me nothing to send my items. I've seen youtube reviews where someone got charged - they sent a few items from lower end mall brands so I wasn't sympathetic to the reviewers gripes. Just heads up - be selective what you send.

As far a seasonality - it seems to vary quite a bit. I sent in a sleeveless top and it didn't sell but they did list it. Also, they are running around 12 weeks to process clothes (they were much better before covid). So it can be tricky to know about seasonality - but they definitely have passed on items that are out of season. I would not send out of season, they only list items for 30 days (higher end brands longer), so out of season is very unlikely to sell even if they take it.

Given that items are not moving ebay and there is no local consignment shop anymore I sent to thredup. I figure whatever I get is better than nothing, it's relatively hassle free, and keeps it out of the landfill (for awhile -- when I read about thrift stores it seems like many items get trashed or sent abroad, with thredup someone wanted it enough to buy it).

hope that helps - let me know if you have other questions.

[Catahoula Cate]

Thanks for the Thred Up info Eventmom I like the concept. I plan on giving it a try but won't expect much $ if any. Just a nice option to thrift.