Sorting through 40 years of stuff

[heartseed]

Me too!  All I know is, it's easy to feel overwhelmed when we look at everything we need to do.  But it becomes manageable when we focus on one small part of it.

About a week and a half ago, I sorted through a box of... old floppy disks - can you believe it?
They were mine and my ex-husband's (he moved out 9 years ago).  Being who I am, I had to check them for any files with confidential info, documents or images I may want to keep, etc.  It took me a day and a half - and afterwards I threw them all out. I estimate there were about 300.

Now, when I sit back and look at my apartment, that barely made a dent.  But it's very satisfying to know I got it done.  That box of floppies taunted me for years and years, but now it's gone and I'm one step closer.  

Just pick a small project and start.  I'm the world's greatest procrastinator, but I know I can do this when I set my mind to it.  And you can, too.

Good for you! Tip for others with floppy disks with confidential information, etc. Run over them. Very satisfying.

 

[heartseed]

You CAN do it. Absolutely. It's in you to get this done. I am in a similar boat. 49 years though. Last year, I finally phased out the last of my parents belongings. Now it is time for my stuff to be released. This may sound strange, but I am starting to think of the things I keep that I do not use regularly as if they are hostages of a sort. I would rather feel they are free and serving a purpose for someone or let go of at the "transfer station", like I want to be.

I know you can do this. You will feel lighter and likely experience the present moment as a fuller, more meaningful place to be.

Stay in touch. Let us know how it is going. You've got lots of people doing this alongside you.

 

[travelaround]

I'm still in it. Downsizing. Right now I'm organizing my books. I want to count them before and after the downsizing. I want to know for certain what I'm taking with me as the books may be buried in a crate somewhere in the back of the van and I won't want to take it out unless I know for certain that what I need is in that place.

I also have clothing on my list for downsizing today and tomorrow. Fortunately most of the clothing I already love and use is already down in the van. The rest of what is left in this apartment will be things I don't normally use.

I won't be keeping a storage space anywhere. Everything must either fit into my van when I leave a month from now, or be tossed, or given away. I have considered getting a cargo trailer but am hoping I won't go that route. I won't make that decision until later, in September. I have to be out of here on September 20.

 

[Qxxx]

"I have considered getting a cargo trailer".

One thing I have thought about is a small 4x6 foot trailer, to haul extra stuff and to put solar on top, as I have a fairly new van, am a part timer, and haven't wanted to drill any holes in the van. And as I don't like cooking in the van, I could setup propane, a refrigerator, and a small outdoor kitchen in the trailer.

 

[Zephyr]

A long wheelbase vehicle pulling a short wheelbase trailer can be tricky backing up. I've struggled with that combination, especially under stress.

 

[Rojo Zoso]

I've been downsizing over the last 10 years, and now its prep for the van. I sectioned off a small area in the apartment, put the stuff I need there. Everything else goes. I've donated most of it to the VA outreach, SafeNest, and Habitats for Humanity.

I have one box that I will store at my nephews house (sport collectibles). It feels great to not have so much stuff. Won't be long until I have a bunch of camping "stuff" I probably won't need lol.

 

[Majorcache]

Welcome and relax, you are going to learn how to live again

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530AZ using Tapatalk

 

[Kyz1]

I started having yard sales last summer, sold what I could, kept the rest in the garage until this summer/my retirement. I had one final garage sale after my retirement (and right after my house went under contract). What didn't sell by 2pm got hauled out into the driveway and given away free. There was SO MUCH stuff that 3 different people filled their cars/trucks up. Now, as I've been going through everything else, I've still hauled a LOT to the donation boxes located nearby. My goal is to only keep what I can place in my RV (when I buy it) except for one tote that has my mom's china (that I'm going to store in my Dad's shop). If I still have too much, I'll give it away/throw it away from there. I miss nothing, no remorse. Instead, it felt like a HUGE burden was lifted from my shoulders. Each time I leave stuff at the donation boxes, another burden lifted. One step closer to a new, exciting life.

Photos were scanned and pitched. Luckily I've been taking digital photos for years. Sadly, some of these older photos were damaged, but I scanned them anyway if they were special to me. Books were sold/given away long ago. I donated several boxes of books before my last move to a local library that was really excited to get them.

Good luck, you can do this.

 

[maki2]

I am still doing downsizing getting ready for heading to the Southwest for the winter months. One of the tasks that has been on my list for quite some time was to sort through my jewelry box and get rid of stuff. Part of the stuff I had in there was some gold "scrap" consisting of broken chains, my old wedding rings, a couple of damaged pieces of jewelry, a small ring I had found on the street years ago that was missing the birthstones plus misc bits of silver jewelery. About a year or so ago I had weighed it and figure out it would bring about $300.00 if I took it to the metal recycling center where they do have a buyer for precious metals. Yesterday my friend called and said he was heading to the recycle center to sell some stainless and did I want to go along as he knew I had some scrap aluminum. So I said sure and thanks for the offer of a ride and grabbed my little tiny bags of scrap silver and gold jewelry. Well those little bags of scrap got sold but I walked out with twice as much money as I thought I would get. I got $600.00 because gold prices have soared this last week due to the news about a possible recession. My friend could not believe that that little tiny bit of stuff brought that much money and neither could I.

Since I am still in the process of my build it was a nice boost of funding to help finish the build. First use of that funding adventure will be turning gold into lesser value metals...hiring a welder to reinforce the tongue on my trailer frame and add some better quality safety chain attachment loops to it. Safety first!

So if you have some bits and pieces of precious metal jewelry you don't need now is a good time to turn them into cash for your van dwelling fix up needs.

 

[MG1912]

Just finished round one of the culling. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. My main concern was my books, but upon close inspection, I realized I only absolutely "needed" to keep 10% of them. The one thing I almost tossed but didn't was a folder full of photographs. In the end, I decided to keep it. I threw away a ton of old mementos and stuff, including boxes and boxes of old receipts, coursework papers from decades ago, etc.

Once I get my camper, it will be round two and taking another, even harder look at my stuff. Taking all those bags of my old stuff to the dump felt great, like a monkey off my back!

 

[maki2]

I scanned in all of my photos several years ago and put some backups of them on the web as well as on backup drives and my current computers. I have also scanned in various magazine and newspaper articles and pages in books so that those files are now easy to access on the computer. I do have to keep some physical paper copies of stuff.

 

[travelaround]

Still working on my mess. The living room is full of things I want to give away, a mountain of empty boxes, and my books (still being sorted through). The clothes are in a corner of my study. Everything else is just a mess. I've emptied two and a half closets and my kitchen cupboards. I'm a long way from done. I gave away most of my furniture already. I have a few pieces left. If I get a cargo trailer I can just take them with me.

 

[CityWoman]

I've spent the last few days putting out bag after bag of trash.  Tonight I'm appalled at how much useless crap I've hung onto for years, and for stupid reasons.  I dislike the fact that I let myself become so emotionally attached to things. So I am plodding along, and will hopefully get one more bag out on the sidewalk before the sanitation truck comes.

 

[CityWoman]

I am plodding along, and will hopefully get one more bag out on the sidewalk before the sanitation truck comes.

Got another trash bag out on the curb. Hurrah! Maybe I can even get one more out before they pick up.

So much to do... Found out I have to be ready to get out of my apartment about a week earlier than I thought I needed to. So I'm scrambling and making arrangements.

So much crap... mostly paper. Why did I save so many pieces of paper?

So much ridiculously useless garbage -- yet I can't find my birth certificate. And I have several copies, but no idea where they are. Grrr.

I need to figure out what to do with my mother's ashes!!

 

[travelaround]

My mother's ashes were spread on a hillside near a town she lived a lot of her life in. I can't imagine carrying them around with me.

I have paper clutter too. I'm taking a bundle of it with me to the van to sort through there, each evening. It is easier to do when there's a limited number of things to deal with. Companies that send a return envelope get it back with this message: "I am moving from this address. Please do not send any more mail to this address. There is no forwarding address. I am not interested in buying insurance, getting more credit cards, or buying anything else."

 

[B and C]

My wife's ashes will be spread in Hawaii according to her wishes. Our son and DIL will do it as they haven't been. They can flush mine down the toilet for all I care. I won't be here in any case.

 

[travelaround]

*gasp*

Brian... whatever.

Toss me in a lake.

Anyhow, the main thing - don't put me on a shelf or carry me around for ten years.

In the spirit of lightening up...

Today my main task is to sort out all the little items that came out of the cupboards in my bathroom. Should be easy enough. Tomorrow I'm back to sorting books and making emotional decisions about them.

I should have a box labeled "emotional decisions" for ... you know, those kinds of things women get sentimental over. Then at the very end take a look at what space is still available in the van... and what's in my box. Decide then.

 

[CityWoman]

This past weekend, I signed up for a small storage unit and loaded in my 1st batch of stuff. I hired someone I knew from my old job and he brought a helper. They were quick and efficient, and it was over before I knew it. It felt a bit unreal, but also a bit exhilarating! I have a few more pieces to store and the same guy will haul the second and final batch over there at the end of this week. Then my apartment will be nearly empty.

So, there's more decluttering and sorting to do. I looked on Freecycle and contacted some people with requests to let them know I had what they were looking for. One of them picked up last night, and another is coming tomorrow. Feels good to be able to give away stuff, knowing that the people I give it to really want it.

There are still plenty of items which I'm still pretty indecisive about whether or not to keep or let go, but I did actually enjoy getting rid of things that I used to be emotionally attached to. I lost count of how many giant trash bags I've thrown out. I'll have about three or four more to bring out tonight. Phew! It's getting real.

 

[ckelly78z]

Excess papers from long ago financial transactions make wonderful campfire starters, and are rather symbolic of what you are trying to achieve. All of this clutter that dimmed your outlook for so many years, can be used to spark a flicker of hope (pun intended) !