2023 Decluttering Support and Motivation

[lreidgreen]

Originally Posted by adawn

I remember there being a thread about this or maybe it was a conversation within a prior year's decluttering thread.

I cannot say enough about this scanner (Fujitsu ScanSnap IX1600)

https://www.staples.com/fujitsu-scan...oduct_24478074

I bought it for $400 from Staples in December 2021. All I have to say is, life-changing. Okay, maybe I'll say more...

LOL Dawn. i was going to respond to this scanner question but you beat me to it. Dawn is not exaggerating-that scanner is AWESOME. It is the best $400 I ever spent (well that and my two Dollamur exercise mats) I purchased it about 5 years ago and love the convenience.
I recently scanned my 2022 bills (electric, credit cards etc.) and some receipts of furnishings and home improvements I found in our safe deposit box. I did a major scan of these types of receipts last year then shredded all hard copies. I still keep some paperwork but it is much reduced. Dawn, I really need to keep the scanner set up like you do so it is more convenient.
Last year or the year before, I scanned a huge file folder of my medical records and then shredded the papers. I need to just scan stuff as soon as I get it because the lab tests, etc. are going into a file again.

ETA: Dawn I decided to read the links you put in your post and had to laugh at your review "This is the greatest scanner of all time" I think Fujitsu needs to hire us as spokespeople!

[lreidgreen]

So as I mentioned upthread, I had a very busy autumn so didn't get a whole lot of decluttering done. This month I:
1) Donated some clothes and household items to United War Veterans
2) Brought some more clothes and accessories to the consignment shop. When I dropped stuff off in September, I forgot to bring the formal dresses I saved for the Holiday season so I dropped them off last week. If they don't sell, they will donate them elsewhere. I also dropped off an expensive black leather tote bag which didn't sell on FB marketplace.
3) Yesterday and today I decluttered and organized my bathroom closet and vanity drawers. It's an annual ritual that was way overdue. I moved "excess stock" to the basement and used small cardboard boxes to organize the drawers. Tossed a bunch of things but I have one box of: a)things that I can't decide whether to toss or b) want to keep but need to find room for.
4) DD purged clothing and shoes and gave me her old Kindle for recycling. I removed the registration from it, then sold it on FB Marketplace. It left the house today!

[lreidgreen]

Originally Posted by sherry7899

I just had a Vietnam Vets pickup yesterday of two enormous garbage bags of clothing and several boxes of books and knicknacks. I decided I needed to stop having so many things sitting on shelves that need dusting, which I hate. I will likely get rid of more.

The knickknacks are driving me nuts. I purge from time to time but would love to get rid of more, however others in my house are very attached to them!
I have been texting the kids photos "Do you want this?" and they are actually saying "nah-get rid of it" more than I expected. DS has agreed to take some things of sentimental value to his place.

[fanofladyvols]

Originally Posted by lreidgreen

I have been texting the kids photos "Do you want this?" and they are actually saying "nah-get rid of it" more than I expected. DS has agreed to take some things of sentimental value to his place.

I'm doing the same! Much better and faster for both of us than grouping it and waiting until I see them again.

[lreidgreen]

I am going crazy looking for one of my prescriptions that I filled earlier this month. I have the pharmacy receipt for my flexible benefit insurance claim but I cannot find the pills anywhere!
I usually put them in the bathroom but did not see them during my recent decluttering efforts. I looked in the other bathroom and in various drawers and cabinets in the kitchen and pantry. I sometimes shove things in my dresser so in the process of looking there, I took the opportunity to de-clutter during my search. I got rid of 3 pairs of panties that had holes, a few bras that I never wear, "shapewear" and a swimsuit that doesn't fit, and packed up some scarves for the consignment shop. No sign of the Rx though. So frustrating! I have enough until next Monday but I may have to ask my doctor to call the pharmacy. I don't know if my insurance will cover a duplicate order since it is not due for a refill for at least 2 months! I get 90 days at a time. Plus it is not generic so it's expensive.
The moral of the story: if my bathroom was less cluttered I wouldn't have put the Rx somewhere else.

ETA: I didn't remove all the clothing from 2 of the dresser drawers. Instead I just dug through the clothing to see if the pills were there. I may go empty them out tomorrow. If nothing else, maybe I will find more things to toss!
ETA: No I did not find the pills but I think I tossed one or two items from the drawers

[bzar]

Originally Posted by lreidgreen

I am going crazy looking for one of my prescriptions that I filled earlier this month.

"shapewear"

hope you find your meds. i know what you mean!

shapewear: i just off-loaded NWT shapewear that i purchased a long time ago to a good friend. there were around 5 pieces - purchased when K-Mart was still here. i don't know why i didn't do a better job of figuring out what i wanted at the time. i tried them on - they fit - but it just stayed in the drawer and never got used. fast forward: i finally found a maidenform and spanx from Target for the tummy, hips and thigh area that has no hem - just a clean, flat finish. the ones with hems stuck out under my dresses.

Fujitsu scanner: i am willing to spend that much, but i need a printer and copier too due to limited space. our current printer is making weird groaning sounds. i'm looking into an all in one laser, looking at reviews.

***
Happy to report i dropped off 2 broken portable DVD players at an e-waste drive at one of the schools. they also offer confidential shredding - i wasn't ready with that, but am looking at the next drive at another elementary school on 2/11. i have a lot of shredding. i have a "power" shredder but it's low capacity.

[lreidgreen]

Never found my meds. I filled a month's supply out of pocket with a drug discount card but the pharmacist said insurance will pay after 2/20.

I cleaned out my hall closet (partially to look for said Rx) and got rid of a bunch of stuff. I am donating a few things to the consignment store and have a few boxes and bags for a Lupus Foundation pickup next week. This includes extra bath towels for guests we never have. I saved 2 beach towels even though we never go to the beach. So these are now multi-purpose towels for events that never happen! Hey at least I got rid of 1 set.
I consolidated sewing supplies to make more room in the closet. I decided if we were keeping my mother and MILs sewing kits for sentimental reasons I might as well use the contents so I got rid of our sewing stuff. I even went through my "extra button" box this morning to see if I still needed all of them. Turns out that I have donated many of the clothing items that go with these extra buttons so out they went.
I still need to deal with some quilts that DH has not been able to part with-made by relatives long gone. They are not our style so they are sitting in the closet taking up space. I am going to suggest offering them to the kids. If they don't want them I think he needs to let them go. But he probably has other ideas.

[adawn]

Originally Posted by lreidgreen

I cleaned out my hall closet (partially to look for said Rx) and got rid of a bunch of stuff. I am donating a few things to the consignment store and have a few boxes and bags for a Lupus Foundation pickup next week. This includes extra bath towels for guests we never have. I saved 2 beach towels even though we never go to the beach. So these are now multi-purpose towels for events that never happen! Hey at least I got rid of 1 set.

Sorry you never found the meds.

I find towels strangely hard to let go of. About a year ago, I finally decided to replace my ancient, mismatched, hand-me-down bath towels. I replaced them with far fewer than I got rid of (just 6 new towels purchased from Sam's Club). Still, it turns out I should have just bought 3 new bath towels since it's just me rotating through them and I do laundry weekly and don't wash a towel after every shower. But when I was in Sam's Club, my instinct was to get a few extra, "just in case". But I'd have more room on that shelf if I had just gotten 3. Oh well.

And I still have 2-3 beach towels for the beach I never go to. Used to have more but whittled it down to 2 or 3. One I keep in the back of my car for emergencies. Came in handy once when I got caught stuck in a downpour leaving a grocery store and loading my car in the rain. I was totally soaked, hair, jeans, underclothes, everything. But I was able to somewhat dry off in the car with the towel and then put the towel on the car seat so the seat would get less wet on the way home.

[BunnyHop]

Originally Posted by adawn

...I find towels strangely hard to let go of. ... One I keep in the back of my car for emergencies. Came in handy once when I got caught stuck in a downpour leaving a grocery store and loading my car in the rain. I was totally soaked, hair, jeans, underclothes, everything. But I was able to somewhat dry off in the car with the towel and then put the towel on the car seat so the seat would get less wet on the way home.

Thank you for reminding me of this. I recently managed to clean out the entire car, but forgot to return some of the useful stuff I keep there when life takes a turn toward the unexpected.

My latest towel struggle has been all about kitchen towels. I got determined enough to repurpose the old kitchen towels (now sized and layered to use as kitchen cleaning pads (instead of paper towels), but somehow found myself wanting to buy even MORE kitchen towels. I slowly increased my supply of the new ones (they look so nice and clean!) but am struggling to make myself resist the urge to buy more. I found some good ones at a local grocery store, they're a nice big size and they wash up with just the right sort of perfectly fluffy and scrubby ridges. We all have our quirks, right???

[Vintage VFer]

Hello all!

I am coming up on almost a year since I moved in to my apartment. Things are fairly well organized. But, I was looking for some packing tape and I knew it was in a closet with the office stuff. I hadn't done much with that since moving here. I decided to go through it all and tidy it up a bit.

I found the tape I was looking for!