Saaaaaave Yoooourseeeeelf!!!
 

Believe me, I understand all three thoughts. Why do you think I have two rice steamers to begin with?

And the magazines? Maybe knowing that they are mostly political junkie type stuff (The Nation, Mother Jones) will make you feel better. Unless your work includes lots of depressing pictures of an imperialistic nation in decline...

And yes, saaaaaaave yoooooourseeeelf!!!!!:shark:

So I didn't get to get rid of as much stuff this weekend as I had hoped. However I did go through my junk box, and threw out a few things, even though a lot of stuff went back into the box, I still got rid of a little bit.

Going to have to work on getting rid of more stuff this week. I have a pile of mens clothes sitting in my bedroom that has been here for over a month now that I need to get rid of.

One thing that really helps me
 

One thing that really helps me is to have an in-between place to put things.

The in-between place is a place where everything goes on its way out the door. It can sit there for one month, or even up to six months. But in this in-between place, I am free to go back into the stuff there if I actually need it. If I have not needed it, and therefore not gotten it out this in-between place, then I do not need it in my life right now (always remembering that I can always get more stuff later.

So I never just throw something out, oh no, that would be very traumatic for me, too abrupt. I did that once in my life (and included all artwork and writings from my tortured youth) and I really regret that now.


:supermanbooth:

I wish I had the space for an inbetween room. Although knowing me it would never leave that room.

That being said I spoke with my girl last night and I have come to terms with the fact that she is not ever leaving me. So that means that all those duplicate books and movies that I have been holding on to for that just incase she ever left me I can get rid of. So tonight I'm pulling out all our dupe books and movies and will arrange to sell them.

Its funny I'm getting rid of all these items and I'm still not seeing more free space. Now if I could just convince myself to get rid of at least one of my spare fish tanks. That's a hard one though, although maybe I can trade it for fish or plants...hmm that's a thought.

Old clothes, shoes and mind cobwebs..:thumbsup:


Duchess

An address and some other useless reminders of my folly...

A very dark cloud.

Next week will be overdue spring cleaning. House, sheds, barn. I'm actually thinking of becoming a minimalist. The less you have the less to worry about and clean. I'd much rather spend any free I do have doing something other then cleaning.

Not to go off topic here but rice cooker is a must. If you want a great rice cooker spend a little more and get Aroma that has a brown rice setting. Perfect brown rice.

I collect things, art mostly or rocks and big crystals. I collect wooded bowls and other odd kitchen things. One year I decided I was getting rid of everything. I had a yard sale and gave a bunch away. Later it all hit me and I couldn't believe how attached I let myself get to all those "things". I still have that. Its not as bad but each year I want less.

It appears that throwing out FIFTY things is not as easy as one might think.
So......who would like to join me in the challenge of throwing out fifty things? And recording what they tossed here at BFP?
I am ready to go. Are you?

I'm absolutely tickled to find this thread. Lately I have been reminding myself that *less* is part of the word blessed. Sounds so silly... but it's a good reality check for myself. I have found that the older I get I am a lot less materialistic than I was in younger years... though maybe it's really just that my taste has become a little more expensive ;)

All that aside today I purged my closet...and it felt pretty amazing. I only filled one small bag but it's still a good start. Next I'd like to start on getting rid of some of those small trinkets and shoe boxes full of letters and old memories. Does anyone else have that kind of stuff? What do you think about holding onto ephemera? It feels like it's kind of silly stuff to hold onto.. especially since I rarely ever take the time to go back through it.

Very cool site, thanks so much for sharing! I'm totally game.

Love this thread...thank you!

I'm getting ready to move and have been steadily clearing my house of 9 years of accumulated clutter...and it feels magnificent.

I've given away a car full of books and kids' videos (seriously, a car full...there was only room for me to drive) to a library in a poor part of town. The look on the kids' faces when they saw the videos was fantastic, and the librarian looked like she was gonna cry.

I've also given away 3 window air conditioners, a BBQ grill, a garden hose and reel, some folding chairs, about 10 lawn-size bags of clothes, kid toys, kitchen stuff....you name it.

Some I donated to charity; some I gave to friends. Some things I just hauled out to the curb and let whoever wanted to haul it away take it. I live on a busy street (8000 cars a day baby)....so it's the perfect way to recycle. I have yet to put anything out there...no matter how strange...and have it last more than a few days. Most things are gone in a matter of 15 minutes or less.

The more I get rid off...the more I feel like getting rid off. There's less to clean, less to fix, less to find a place for. I find that I actually need and use very few things on a daily basis. And my new mantra is "If I haven't used it in a year, then someone else probably will"....and out it goes.

I've cleared an amazing amount of stuff out of here....and still have more to go.

If it's not useful or beautiful or making me smile....then it doesn't need to be in my house!

Becoming Minimalist
 

A great website if you're interested. > click <