Heather recently joked that the only thing keeping us from being full-on hoarders was the fact that you couldn’t find a dead cat under a pile of garbage in our home. Well, after spending countless hours cleaning out our old place, I’ve started to think that that might only be because we don’t have a cat. I’m only kidding… we’re not that bad (something Rigby can attest to as she’s never once been left under a pile of garbage), but I nonetheless am committed to stopping our pack rat ways at the new house.
A huge part of the problem in our old place was that it had NO storage. There were average sized closets in each of the two bedrooms, but that. was. it. While this was manageable at first, it got out of control as the years went by and Mike’s stuff + Heather’s stuff became Mike’s stuff + Heather’s stuff + Rigby’s stuff + Maddie’s stuff + Annie’s stuff. It was like pouring water into a cup that wasn’t getting any bigger. Eventually it got filled to the brim.
Thankfully, the new place has more storage including a two car garage. My worry though is that we might become one of those families whose home looks nice on the inside just as long as no one sees the festering disaster that is the garage. A childhood friend’s home was like that, and whenever anyone got within ten feet of the door to the garage his mother would scream “DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR!!!!” as if there were dozens of rabid, drooling Dobermans in the garage desperate to get out.
We’re not going to repeat past mistakes at the new house though. That’s because, while cleaning up the old place, it became very clear to me what stuff just wastes space in your home and should NOT be saved. These include:
- CDs – I have easily a thousand of these and they take up at least ten square feet of my home. No more. I am going to import them onto my computer/iPod/Time Machine and toss out the physical CDs. Okay. Maybe not for the artists I really like, but that old Spin Doctors CD gathering dust definitely is getting this treatment. It’s baby steps, people.
- VHS tapes – I don’t even own a VCR anymore and yet I have hundreds of these things stacked in my closet. Ugh.
- Blogging Conference Swag – Heather has WAY too much of this stuff all throughout our home. My new rule is that if a month after coming home it hasn’t been used, opened, or even moved from where Heather first set it down… It gets tossed.
- Magazines – Why oh why do people (and by “people” I mean me) save these things? It’s not like I ever re-read them. Sorry “Will and Kate” commemorative issue. It’s the trash for you.
- Old Clothes – Dear Mike, the Nineties are not coming back. Time to toss out the grungy flannels and 90210 style button down shirts.
- Miscellaneous Crap – I realize this is vague, but if you, like me, have a bobblehead of Jack from “Jack in the Box” on your shelf, then there are things you need to purge.
That’s a good start, I think. Any other “waste of space” items you know of that we should avoid saving? We really don’t want to end up on a future episode of Hoarders!
AmazingGreis says:
Nooooo! Not the Will & Kate commemorative wedding magazine. Dont’ throw that away. Send it to me!!!
Sandy says:
I love this blog, and I think you guys are both amusing and incredible.
That being said, instead of tossing all that stuff & filling up the landfill, if you have thrift stores, please consider donating all those things instead. Someone will probably love that old spin doctors cd, and kids like my teenagers will covet your 90’s shirts.
Wishing you all many years of happiness in your new home.
Mandy says:
Like you we have very little storage. I call Big Brothers collection drive 4x a year and make myself donate a box of items. Helps purge what’s not really being used.
Karen says:
Ah, hoarding. Mess. Disarray. I empathise all too well since I currently live out of a bedroom in my cousins’ house. The thing that gets me most are the items that fall under miscellaneous but really are just annoying, useless bits. Pen lids, random rubber bands, paper clips, buttons and other assorted things that just seem strange to throw in the trash and yet get transported from one surface to another because they no longer have any function.
Oh, and DVD cases. I’ve somehow inherited two boxes of my brother’s as well. And computer game cases. All empty. WHY?
Amy says:
Oh my goodness. My husband hoards papers…like receipts, free newspapers (that consists only of the real estate section), random post-its from work, etc. I am a neat freak because I come from semi-hoarders, so I can’t stand it and throw it all out. I am almost the opposite of a hoarder because of it, I throw everything away or donate. And I so get the VHS tapes…my mom has roughly 100 of them and I can’t seem to convince her to throw them out. She swears that she will watch them eventually. Uh, yeah, Mom, you said that last year and they still have the 1″ layer of dust on them
Katie D says:
For the CDs you should see if you can trade them in. They are not selling for very much but I managed to make $80 selling CDs and DVDs. I donated whatever was leftover to Goodwill.
Jana from Germany says:
A thing that helped me to throw stuff away was taking a picture of the item I thought I could not live without. And the I tossed it. I still have the picture on my laptop and if I want I can see it. What I never do but it helped getting rid of the actual mess.
Fête Foreign says:
I did this with my wedding bouquet when we moved house. It had been 4 years or so and I didn’t want to be one of those little old ladies whose grandchildren look at the dusty, crumbling remains while giving each other “WTF?!” looks.
Marsha says:
****Blogging Conference Swag – Heather has WAY too much of this stuff all throughout our home. My new rule is that if a month after coming home it hasn’t been used, opened, or even moved from where Heather first set it down… It gets tossed.
I agree with all the rest of the comments you made Mike but this one got my goat a bit I have to admit….
Ummmmm You cannot make a rule about Heathers blogging swag stuff….gez Mike you sound like a dictator since you have a new house lol
Shouldnt it be said as OUR new rules and by our that Heather agrees??? Some “stuff” even though it isnt valuable has sentiment lol….can ya tell I am a borderline hoarder to?
Amy says:
“Some “stuff” even though it isnt valuable has sentiment lol….”
Perhaps that’s why the rule is a good one- if it has sentimental value why is it just sitting, unused and untouched in the same place where it came home to?
I’m in the process of moving across country and trying to purge everything in my childhood bedroom which literally hasn’t been touched since I moved into it when I was 8. LOTS of crap to get rid of, and while the rule may not have helped me at 8, it will definitely help from here on out. I attend conferences all the time and come back with stuff I set down and then never touch. So thanks, Mike- I’m using your rule in my own place!
Kim says:
Also, try to limit the crap that comes INTO your house.
And the blogging swag has gotta go if it hasn’t been used or touched since it entered the house.
Hey, have a yard sale now that you have a yard! Make a little money. Recycle too, but try not to trash since lots of that crap won’t biodegrade.
Jen says:
Can I get you to talk to my husband about magazines? I just found a PC World from 2005.
lissa says:
I usually go thru the house with 2 big black garbage bags every 3 months or so. One is for donations the other for trash. Make sure you only have one closet for crafts/supplies/maybe swag. That way if it gets to unmanageable you know, for sure, you need to clean it out.
Good luck and Congratulations !
Lisa says:
What I started doing with my magazines was flipping through them and tearing out the articles I want to keep (I read stuff like Self and Weight Watchers, so those articles usually consist of workout examples and recipes) and file them away in a small file box I have. Takes up much less room.
Good luck on paring down! I know firsthand how hard it is!
Emily says:
With my husband being in the military, we move quite frequently which lends itself well to purging on a regular basis. However, he did have a bit of a problem with old memorabilia and documents (i.e. old records, files, papers of all kinds). For the docs that he felt he couldn’t part with, he scanned them and shred them. For the memorabilia (think old trophies, beer steins, plaques, etc) he took pictures of them and tossed them. I can’t tell you how much space that has created! Personally, I also like to go through my clothes every season with this question in mind, “Did I wear this at all this year?” If the answer is no, it gets donated! The fact of the matter is if I haven’t worn it all season it’s highly likely I’ll never touch it again. Congrats on the new home!
Emily says:
With my husband being in the military, we move quite frequently which lends itself well to purging on a regular basis. However, he did have a bit of a problem with old memorabilia and documents (i.e. old records, files, papers of all kinds). For the docs that he felt he couldn’t part with, he scanned them and shred them. For the memorabilia (think old trophies, beer steins, plaques, etc) he took pictures of them and tossed them. I can’t tell you how much space that has created! Personally, I also like to go through my clothes every season with this question in mind, “Did I wear this at all this year?” If the answer is no, it gets donated! The fact of the matter is if I haven’t worn it all season it’s highly likely I’ll never touch it again.
Congrats on the new home!
Nancy Smego says:
LOL, Mike I know what you mean. However, if appropriate, those old CDs and VHSs can sometimes be donated to different places that would LOVE them!
Becky C says:
I totally get the need to clean out and organize…HOWEVER, I would suggest DONATING the items that aren’t trash! A dentist or Dr. office may love to have your old magazines (mine does) and Goodwill/homeless shelters would gladly take your clothing!! CD’s and VHS tapes may not sell well, but you could also donate those!;) Children’s homes (and maybe even the hospital) would be blessed to have well cared for items too! Just a thought! I’d much rather see my hard earned dollars-turned-junk being used by someone else rather than sitting in a dump!;) Have a great day!
StephanieKay says:
My husband and I just went through this process and, boy, was it a doozy! The biggest space-hog that we were able to get rid of was old electronics. We tried Craig’s List first, but scheduling meetings in safe places with a bunch of flakes proved to be too time-consuming for our area.
Thankfully, Salvation Army (or Goodwill, or your area’s Rescue Mission) will actually schedule a time to come to your house and make your two televisions, three CRT computer monitors, one entertainment center, filing cabinet, and numerous boxes of clothes and knick-knacks disappear! It’s magic, I tell you!
Cara says:
I recently decluttered. I thought it wouldn’t be so bad (we only have a 1 bedroom condo, right?) but ended up with 60 bags of donations, consignment, or trash. SIXTY. Something that helped me was to take clothes that I thought I would still use and hang them up in my closet with the hanger in the reverse direction of the others. If the hanger hadn’t changed position in 6 mos or 1 year, then it gets donated. That way I could feel like I was making an informed decision about getting rid of stuff, which made it easier to do.
Chris says:
that’s a great idea with the hangers. I’m going to do that.
Lisa says:
I admire this mindset of yours, Mike, but I will say that, IMO, having more storage could make it MORE likely that the hoarding tendencies could continue. Case in point – I have a nice big walk-in closet in 2 of my three bedrooms, and when I’m lazy (which is most of the time), stuff gets tossed in those closets just to get it “put away.” I of course regret this later when we come to the end of our rope, bite the bullet, and spend an entire Saturday cleaning and purging.
I am NOT a hoarder, trust me – I am brutal when it comes time to purge. It’s just that we’re lazy and don’t maintain good organization in our storage spaces. So the point I’m trying to make is that having more storage won’t magically make your problems go away – being more consistently disciplined and dedicated to keeping those storage areas neat and organized will. It’s more of a mindset/ lifestyle change than a physical one, IMO. Good luck to you and Heather!!
Jennifer says:
Read The Joy of Less by Francine Jay. It’ll change your life.
Skye says:
Just a tip for old CDs and VHS tapes- I have a local used book/CD/movie store where you bring in your used stuff (they still accept VHS! really!) and they give you either cash or exchange credit that you can use for other items. Maybe you have a similar local store. I know then you’d have other “stuff”, so I guess this wouldn’t be a good option if you’d just let the books take up space and never read them. But I bet it would help you grow a little library for Annie! I also agree with other comments that you should totally donate all that stuff. It’s surprising how much “stuff” they accept- Goodwill and our local thrift store accept stuff like bobbleheads!
TucsonPatty says:
Skye, and Mike – my favorite local buy/sell/exchange bookstore also allows you to donate your $$ credit to a local school for their use. Win Win Win!!!
Jayme says:
We just moved too this summer & before the movers came to pack we rented a dumpster. I didn’t want to bring anything to the new house that wasn’t necessary. Best purchase ever. We purged so much stuff!
Adria says:
What I do with magazines is find the stuff I want to remember for later (like recipes or kid craft ideas or whatever) online. Then, I put it on Pinterest! Toss the magazine, problem solved.
Jessica V. says:
So this guideline wouldn’t have worked for you at your old place and its lack of storage options, but it might work for you now: if an item can’t be put away, you don’t need it. This works for stuff that generally should have a place to be put away – i.e., a dresser, cabinet, etc. For example, my husband has a million t-shirts and when it gets to the point that they don’t all fit into his t-shirt drawer (which is a very large drawer so it isn’t like he is ever lacking in shirts), then we purge. Same with clothes – he shops maybe 2x a year and anything new that comes in requires a closet clean out so that his clothes can all be put away (this applies to my closet/shoes, my kids clothes and TOYS, kitchen stuff, etc.). I find that it is easier to clean up our house if our cabinets and storage aren’t so packed full that putting things in them requires a degree in engineering. I applied this rule to my linens too – we don’t have a linen closet so we use a dresser for sheets, bath towels, beach towels, etc., and I finally realized that if I got rid of 2 bath towels and a beach towel or two, then everything FIT so I didn’t always have towels piled up on the top of the dresser.
Just thought I’d pass that along – good luck with the purging and unpacking!
GreenInOC says:
I had uploaded all of my CD’s years ago but was worried that if something happened to my external hard drives then all of that music would be lost. When Google came out with their cloud storage I copied everything over there and then listed them (200+) on Craigslist for $50. I didn’t catalog them, just gave a sampling of 12 or so album titles. They sold in 20 minutes!
For DVD’s, books & video games try Amazon’s Trade In program. Bonus – they pay shipping too!
Use Sharing is Giving or ReUseIt type groups to list your stuff to give away instead of dumping it. Of course, don’t forget about the Craigslist “free” section either.
For really fast removal – post a garage sale where everything is FREE! Set it all out there and watch it disappear!
I also found that even stuff that doesn’t seem usable, I have found new homes by searching on Etsy for artists who need materials. A mosaic artist near me came and got all of my broken ceramics and I’ve shipped my miscellaneous keys to someone who makes wind chimes out of them!
Trisha says:
I usually go through my daughters toys about once every 3-6 months or so and bag up stuff she has outgrown or doesn’t really play with anymore and I throw out the junk and donate the nicer things to a kids charity in our area. This helps keep the junkie toys she’s gotten at restaurants or parties to a minimum and keeps the playroom picked up.
Also, if you all want to maximize your storage capabilities in the new house invest in some of those vacuum storage bags and containers for sure. They changed my life. My linen closet is so compact and organized, it is great.
You can use them for winter clothes, linens, baby clothes to save and cherish, hand me downs that Annie might not be ready for yet, all kinds of things.
They take your storage space to a whole new level.
Good luck!
JKB says:
My husband loves to keep boxes that things come in. Especially electronics. We have 600 sq/ft of condo space and a toddler. Saving random electronic boxes because “we might need them” is getting on my last nerve. I may start using the 30 days and it’s out rule. Sounds good to me. Oh, and I feel like no matter how hard I try I ALWAYS end up with a giant shred/ recycle pile. For a while there were 2 of is in college and now I’m in grad school…I always feel bad about tossing old papers that I worked so hard on! Ah well, space is probably more useful at this point.
susanmig says:
just want to add that you will feel so “light” when the purging of your no longer need belongings is done. after my grandmother died several years ago we (my sister and mother) had to go through her decades of junk. not fun at all! the woman never so much as tossed out a receipt. after having to go through that experience i went home to my hubby and two kids and said, “we must clean out all this junk. NOW!! the fact that we were able to do so, and quite thoroughly i might add, made our move across the country several years later soooo much easier. good luck, and happy purging!
Penbleth says:
Someone told me to work on the premise that if it is boxed and you haven’t thought about it/needed it in six months, then chuck it. Not a bad idea, now I just have to stick to it.
TamaraL says:
HOW FUNNY! I bought the People Magazine Will & Kate issue…read it, gave it to my mom…then she GAVE IT BACK TO ME! How am I supposed to stop hoarding junk if it keeps coming back??
Nicole says:
Freecyclers will take that stuff! Join a Freecycle.org group, post “I have a box of CDs/VHS/1994 magazines” and someone is bound to come pick it up. (Those people have even taken broken DVD players & CRT monitors off my hands!)
There has to be someone out there who wants to make a quilt out of your 90210 flannels!
And you never have to leave your house.
Joe says:
Great post !! Purging, organizing and deciding what to keep can be a huge task !! I started to minimize my personal possessions about 2 years ago, I currently own under 100 items .. but that’s not important. That doesn’t include anything shared (bed, TV, couch, tables,.. etc)
I can’t tell you how awesome my life has become since getting rid of all the crap that was cluttering up my physical and mental space !! (not that it was bad before hand)
I’ve tossed piles of clothes, CDs, DVDs, old mags, books, computer parts, random stuff I thought “I might need” someday.
I now have time to focus on whats important to me.. family(wife and 3 kids), friends, freelance I.T. support, hiking and reading.
Here’s some links that I found to extremely helpful when I started on my minimalist journey. It’s NOT for everyone, but is HAS changed my life !!
Enjoy !!
http://zenhabits.net
http://mnmlist.com
http://www.missminimalist.com
http://www.theminimalists.com
http://www.becomingminimalist.com
GreenInOC says:
There was a post tonight on the LAReUseIt group at 6:08 giving away 30 LP’s. Another post came through at 6:32pm that they had been taken!
A quick and easy way to clean out your stuff and keep it out of the landfill!
Amanda says:
Alison and I are moving into our final college apartment. We’ve done a bunch of donating/recycling/trashing. Problem is we got hand me downs from people moving out of Davis. So we had to purge more of our stuff to keep the cool free stuff from others! Just say no to hoarding!
tara! says:
i call dibs on the jack bobblehead! i love jack in the box!
i’m definitely a hoarder so i make friends come over and help me load stuff in garbage bags, then i run to the nearest thrift store and donate. don’t leave yourself any time to reconsider otherwise half the stuff will end up back on your shelf.
also, check the dvds and cds on amazon (if you have time) because you would be surprised at what is now out of print and you can make some decent money. the same goes for any books.
good luck and congrats on your new place!!
sarah says:
Since my husband joined the army and we live in a tiny house 1100 square feet with another 500 in the basement storage are we have become professional tossers. Really my husand is a pack rat. Since joining he stopped. Our home needs to be inspection ready at any given moment. During the day the kids stuff is out but at night put back away. Here is what I found has helped
Grocery shop it all goes away bag either put away or tossed depending if they are resuable or not. At this time I clean out the old stuff
We have shelving or storage of some sort in each room. If it doesn’t fit there or isn’t making somthing look cluttered it stays. If does it’s gone
We only keep in our closests what fits. When I first met my husband he easily had 50 pairs of shoes. I am not joking. He had more than me. If it doesn’t fit in the shoe rack or bottom of the closet it is gone.
I did a blog event here in Germany. Swag was emptied as to what was used, what was being givenaway and the rest trashed. I don’t allow it to stay.
Kids for birthdays and christmas or anyother holiday where they get stuff . They must fill a box to donate. clears out the toy racks and closet.
We have found Ikea to be a huge source of organizing for us. We have set the mind set everything has a home and that is where it goes. If it doesn’t have a home it gets tossed. They have great organizers for the garage. We are glad we kept them for our storage area downstairs.
Tauni says:
I do what I call a “DI DRIVE” at my house ever 3-4 months. DI is a local thrift store. I go through the house and things that we don’t use and are pointless I take to the thrift store donation. This includes clothes. If I debate the item, I leave it and 3-4 months later when I am purging again, if the item is once again debate…it’s gone! I have HAD to do this because there are 4 humans and 2 cats living in 890 sq ft 2 bedroom condo. We would LOVE more space but honestly right now that isn’t a possibility.
The great thing about this – we don’t keep clothes for years and years and years then donate them. When they are worn out or no longer the style we like, the clothes are gone. I still do hand me downs from my one daughter to the next but we have a storage drawer under the girls bunk bed for that.
I find that clothing is one of the EASIEST things to start hording. I also don’t store anything under my bed other than food storage (yes I know its a weird place to have it but I believe you need to have some food storage on hand…and remember the 890 sq ft…not a lot of other space to store food…so packages of ramen and canned soups and cereal boxes fit under the bed great) Anyway other than food storage – nothing should be stored under beds Too easy to become out of sight out of mind!
Anyway – loved this post. Made me think of my next DI DRIVE and what I can purge from my little place! Why wait until you move or wait for spring or fall to clean out?!?
Ray says:
This may sound silly, but paper items. Old letters, bills, notes you wrote yourself, etc. That can take up a lot of space/make your place look ugly. If you don’t need it…? Shred it!