Making the Most of a Bad Situation

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Delaware, or my area of it, at least, was spared the wrath of Hurricane Sandy.  Mother Nature took a last-minute deep breath and blew Sandy just slightly north and south of us, whalloping the coasts of Maryland to the south and New Jersey to the north.  The Delaware coast got its share of damage but nothing like the previously mentioned places, and we're used to flooding and to high winds from nearby hurricanes.

It's scary, though, to see such damage so close to home.  I also used to live in NJ (as a kid) and NYC (as a college student) and saw familiar places and people affected by the damage.

Staten Island (and many other parts of NYC) got hit really hard, not only by flood and wind but also by resulting fires.  Some people lost everything.  My heart goes out to them.

I don't have a lot of money right now so it's hard to hear the calls from the Red Cross and other organizations asking for financial help.  I did find, though, ways to help which actually helped ME as well:  Some friends and local citizens have organized trips up to NY with loads of most-needed supplies like dry clothes and outerwear, blankets, toiletries, easily prepped food.  LOTS of things I had too much of.

Yes, some of the food we could have/would have eaten, but I'd rather they have it.  Sure, we'll need to buy new toothbrushes and toothpaste soon, but it will be there for us.  I could sell some of the clothes.  And we DEFINITELY did not need the amount of coats, jeans, hats, sweaters, scarves that we had (a mind-blowing quantity.)  I'm so happy that not only is this stuff out of my house, but it is going to people who really need it.

Major Pile of Trash -- GONE!

The trash men were so on the ball that they had picked up half of it before we were done, and before I could take a pic!  Instead, I bring you this quote via Facebook.

Curbside "treasures" to the curb included:

• 2 mattresses
• 2 box springs
• 1 enormous futon mattress
• 6 bags of garbage
• 1 can of garbage
• 4 boxes of "treasures"
• 1 huge bin of recycling
• 2 small bins of recycling
• 1 old dishwasher
• several disgusting old bed pillows
• an ancient decrepit baby exersaucer
• much, much more...

And there's still more to go!  Two more days left.  My body is aching (most of this stuff was up in the attic and had to be lugged down 3 flights of stairs) but my soul feels so good!  There is a lot of work left to go but we have made a major dent in the downsizing.  I only wish I had done (or at least started) this AGES ago.  People, if you're getting the urge to purge, don't put it off!  It's only stuff, and it will weigh you down.

Gearing Up For Trash Week!

The first round of garbage is on the curb, with more ready to head out tomorrow.  There was only so many trips down to the basement and only so much dust we could inhale during Son's naptime.

(This is in addition to the giant trash bin full of stuff which we put to curb after this pic was taken.)

There are also more bags/piles in the basement waited to be carried out, and piles and bags of recycling to go out.  Even in this mass purge, I find it very hard not to recycle.

I'm so sick of looking at STUFF.

Moms Club Sale is DONE!

I have honestly been too busy to post! This is a good thing, though. Today is Monday - who would have ever thought a Monday could feel like such a relaxing day? Saturday was the Moms Club Sale, and I volunteered the day before for setup. Got a lot of stuff out of the house and a good amount of it sold at the sale :D and the rest is packed up for... drumroll... another garage sale, this one to come in the near future to my parents' garage (actual garage on actual street with actual parking, plus in a wealthier town.)

Sent a box of kid stuff home with my brother for my niece.  I am just about done culling stuff for kids younger than my kid.  Woohoo!  Kids have a lot of stuff.

Have also boxed/bagged up a lot of non-kid-related items for the sale, and brought some of them (more tomorrow) over to my parents' garage.  They're not technically "gone" yet, but they are not coming back to this house EVER!

Mistakenly told Husband that this week was trash pickup week, when it is actually next week.  But that's ok, it got our butts in gear and we're ahead of the game, and we sure can use the extra week to get more junk ready to go.

Got my business cards for my new enterprise - "Holly, Queen of Junk" as my dad so lovingly puts it.

Also lined up another job managing a contents sale, and have to return a call tomorrow regarding a second sale.  I don't know how I will find the time to do both (plus my sale) before the weather turns too cold - fingers crossed that something good will come of global warming for once.  I can't believe that I, Packrat,  am crazy enough to be trying to help other people downsize WHILE downsizing my own life, but these jobs seem to be coming my way and who am to turn down work?  Plus it feels good to help people.  People who pay me.  That doesn't hurt either.

My house is a disaster and I have BOXES of books waiting to be listed and sent to Amazon's warehouse.  I need them out!

Treading Water at Home

but kicking butt out in the workplace. I am about to commit, officially, to this side gig of managing estate/contents sales, and get myself some business cards, since I lost count of how many times at last weekend's sale I wished I had one to give out. I also got the domain name, but there's nothing happening there yet. My entrepreurial venture of helping other people get rid of THEIR stuff shall henceforth be known as

Second Impression Objects

Details to follow soon!

Back to my own house... well, I finally got the many, many, MANY toys up off the living room floor long enough today to vacuum the area rug.  That was kind of my big accomplishment for today. 

In recent days since my last post, I DID...

• get the garbage out to the curb in time for pickup today, but the bin was only about 2/3 full.  
• got nearly everything together to sell at the Moms' Club sale this month, and I picked up the tags, so I just need to price them, and clean off a few items. 
• went through a(nother) pile of papers and recycled what could go, put the rest in my to-file box.  
• packed up some extraneous (but occasionally necessary) blankets, sheets, etc. in one of those huge vacuum-seal bags.
• packed up the majority of my summer clothes in a suitcase.
• sold a few more books on Amazon (though I still have boxes all over my dining room waiting to be sent out to the warehouse.)

I'm sure there was more, but life has been so nuts that I can't remember.

Source: wherelovelygirlsgo.tumblr.com via Holly on Pinterest

Check-in

(via mobile)
Crazy busy lately.

donated:
(note: all bags = huge trash bags)

bags & 2 boxes
3 stacks of magazines from parents' house
1 box books from parents' house
2 bags old curtains (yes, 2.)
1/2 of yard sale leftovers (1 full carload)

Very full trash can to the curb.

Picked up consignment packet & 100 tags for Moms' Club Sale in 19 days.

Plus managing another whole house contents sale this weekend for commission, and appraising the contents of 2 other homes. Phew!

Yard Sale, Take Two

Did another yard sale yesterday, made a little money, got rid of some stuff, and brought all remaining sellable (but not worth selling on Amazon) books to the Goodwill donation afterward.  I am thisclose to being DONE with books!

Other than that, I don't have any huge-huge milestones to brag about.  Honestly, I feel like I have been so busy just keeping up with the house and family/daily grind that I haven't had any time to get PAST the regular stuff to the culling.  Due to a series of not-quite-comical mishaps this morning, my regular chores for the day extended through the afternoon.  The pile of books that is halfway ready to send to Amazon is sitting in the same spot it was a week ago, still half ready.  I DID clean and thoroughly mop the kitchen/laundry/hall/powder room area today, but again, that's just maintaining.  But it looks nice.

I have a few deadlines coming up:

October 12 - drop off consignment items that I will be selling in the Mom's Club Sale.  Yay for not having to ship things!  I have a bunch of stuff set aside already, but I want to get more.  I optimistically ordered 100 tags.  As if.

Week of Oct 22-26 - City of Milford's Fall Clean-Up Week, where you can put as much trash out to the curb as many days as you want to and they'll haul it away for free.  I REALLY want to take advantage of this.  I bought a 40-pack of Glad Forceflex Super Heavy Duty large trash bags specifically for this purpose.  I want to get started on this soon but I don't want a mountain of trash bags piled up on my front porch while I wait for the week to arrive.

Yard Sale, Take One

Phew, that was hot.  But I guess I shouldn't complain, since half of the weathermen kept telling me half of the time that it was going to pour all weekend, and all we had today was a few short showers (and most of my sale items were up on the covered front porch.)

Did I make a lot of money?  No, but I made SOME money.  And I got rid of some stuff.  And what didn't sell is already priced and boxed up for YARD SALE #2 NEXT WEEKEND, which I have to follow through on now because I told several customers to come back next week for more, more, more!

I can see the "dent" in my belongings, but I asked my mom - who is fully aware of the extent of my clutter - if she could say it, and she said no.  Still a ways to go...

Visible Progress!

There is a noticeable lack of clutter in a few areas of the house, finally, not to mention a lot less dust/dirt because I swept and vacuumed.  Yesterday morning I cleaned the parlor and was then able to start making use of all the storage bins I've been waiting to put to use:

They have since been emptied of adorable children and filled with STUFF.  Each bin is labeled - donate, Lewes (storage for now), sell, ? (this one is more for my clueless men helpers), recycle, trash - as well as labeled with a specific symbol such as a heart, star, etc. for the illiterate in the family unit.  What followed this snapshot was a GAME called "put this in the star box," and so on.  Each of the bins is now almost full, plus I have another box or two for the yard sale, and ANOTHER 2 boxes of books to get rid of.  GAH.  So. many. books.  When we have money I'm totally buying myself a Kindle.  Meanwhile, I will start frequenting the library in my (ha!) free time.

I'm also in the process of deconstructing my brown & blue guest room, for anyone who is interested.  There is lots of bedding for both a queen size and 2 twin size  beds, as well as some really nice striped blackout curtains.  I'm still washing/folding/photographing all this stuff, but here is one of the 2 queen bedspreads:

The trash can is full for pickup on Tuesday or Wednesday (not sure when they are coming on account of the holiday) and I am getting some of my artsier-craftier-kitschier books ready to list on Etsy.  

Today I excavated the dining room table and pushed it over to one side of the room so I can get to all the STUFF in the rest of the dining room (aka home for homeless stuff) and I can utilize the table as a workspace for photographing, listing, pricing, etc.  Hoping to have a yard sale next weekend.

Oh!  And this isn't stuff, but it was cluttering my life - I had Husband mow the lawn yesterday and then today I went through the front and back and clipped the heck out of some bushes and hedges, as well as some weeds that the lawnmower wasn't able to reach.  It now only feels like a jungle with regard to the nasty humidity level.  

Husband also cleared/cleaned off the top of the dryer - without me even asking!  He's a keeper.

A few more sales on Amazon but kind of a slow week.  I can't wait to get this DONE!  If only there were more hours in the day, and if only my son slept for a few more of them...

Recently Outed

Source: spirituallythinking.blogspot.com via Holly on Pinterest

RECENTLY OUTED:

• Bin Garbage
• Bin Recycling
• Broken Crib - unfortunately, it broke when we disassembled it, but someone came along before the trash men this morning and picked it up, so maybe they'll do something neat with the pieces.  It is missing a vital piece so no worries that anyone would try to use it for a child.
• KitchenAid mixer - SOLD.  This thing was too heavy, valuable, and coveted by others to continue to let it just sit and take up room on my counter.  I've had it 6 years and probably used it as many times.  The girl I sold it to is SUPER THRILLED about it and can't wait to use it - I hope she makes many delicious things!
• 4 more Amazon sales
• 2 boxes to go out to Amazon warehouse today.
• 2 boxes of random stuff ready for yard sale

SOON TO GO:

• Set of Sango Nova Brown dishes with lots of extra pieces- will probably try to sell locally as they are heavy to ship...
• Culling of china cabinet, incl. glasware and table linens
• Clothes still needing to be listed

Ta-da!

Remember that mess behind my couch? I cleaned it ALL UP. And... I rearranged the couch so it is now against a wall - that nook just created a haven for stuff.

4 boxes ready for yard sale.

1box & 1 bag books donated today.

All garbage and recycling out to bin ahead of schedule.

Winter clothes binned & in storage.

To do:
Finish sending new shipment to amazon.

Shoot/list clothing.

Toss old food from fridge.

Pack up Husband's winter clothes.

Cull shoes - a lot of them don't fit anymore!

Big Joy

“Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.” 

- Lao Tzu, via becoming minimalist

Yesterday I finally had a chance to try out my "new" (used) vacuum. Our old one broke and the living room floor was speckled with ground-up Kix and Cheerios. I had my son help me clean up every. little. tiny. toy. off the rug, in exchange for promising to let him help vacuum. (Yes, you are jealous!)




After we were all done, he spontaneously broke out in a flailing, improv happy dance and I did the same.  Then the dog ran in the room and seeing all the WIDE OPEN SPACE, dropped and rolled on his back in glee.  None of the THINGS in my house were the inspiration for this joy, rather, it was the LACK OF THINGS and the SPACE.  The joy came from my family.

Again last night I was reminded of this when my husband and I both tucked my son into bed with some stories.  He just recently graduated from a crib to a twin-size bed (with a rail) and all three of us were snuggled in there together, not at all cramped, but very comfortable.  My son's room is by far the cleanest in the entire house, and one of the biggest, and it had cooled down so even the windows and curtains were wide open, and I just felt like I had everything I needed right there in that 18+/- square feet of bed.  Not that I'd want to sleep that way on a regular basis, but I was filled with so much joy over my family and the simplicity of the moment and the lack of any material items contributing to that joy.

I have so much.  And when I get rid of most of it, I'll have so much more.

And On And On It Goes...

WOW.  It's been quite a while since I've posted here.  Some of you probably wondered if I'd just given up on the whole "simplify" thing so quickly... I HAVE NOT.  I've just been super-busy.  That estate sale I mentioned in the last post was this past weekend, and it. was. AMAZING.  I sold EVERYTHING!  That has never happened before.  I didn't even need to call the donation truck to pick anything up.  Plus, I behaved myself, ignoring all the nifty doo-dads that I not only had first dibs on but could have scored at a really discounted price.  All I bought was a large, high quality area rug which I could not resist, and a chair which was free b/c nobody had bought it until the end, which I will trade in and send 2 other chairs packing in exchange.

So it hasn't been the busiest de-cluttering week in my own house, but I still managed to get more out than in.  Dropped off 2 shopping bags of books to the Goodwill donation yesterday, AND I threw out the large amount of garbage that was fluttering around inside my car.  <<< That one is huge.  I mean, it wasn't up to the windows, but it was a constant state of wrappers and empty cups, etc.

If anyone has a time machine, teleporter, or even just a utility trailer they'd be willing to loan me, please let me know!

 

So. Much. Stuff.

It's Friday morning and I have the whole weekend ahead of me to work on this mess.  I have been busy all week with work, one component of which is handling someone else's stuff for an estate sale.  I think it's the last one I can manage until I am done handling all my own stuff.

I did get a few things out since my last post:

• More recycling
• 1 bag books & 1 bag clothes and toys to Goodwill donation
• Some expired/undesirable food from cabinets

My goals for the weekend:

• Fill trash can as full as I can for Tuesday morning pickup.
• Get some boxes going for future garage sale (exact date TBD)
• Get my butt in the gross, clutter-y basement during son's nap hours and get some garbage out.
• All recycling out to bin
• Wash guest bed linens and get ready to list/sell them.
• Clean (garbage, clothes, etc. out of) cars.

Check-In August 3, 2012

Out: 
1 big bag of trash
Kitchen Compost
1/2 trash bag my clothes ready to donate
1 box clothes folded/ready to list

Other Accomplishments
2 loads of dishes washed
4 loads of laundry washed (2 already folded)
1 small bag of trash culled from back hallway (where stuff wanders off to/laundry area)
Put away SO! MANY! CLOTHES!
90% of cold-weather clothes folded in bin w/cedar & lavender
Found part of my bedroom floor (It's a lovely oak hardwood; I'd forgotten)
Found part of the top of my dresser
Recycled some of my less-than-exciting jars (ie. spaghetti sauce, etc.)

Newly Up For Sale - Lots of books!  Check the links at the top right for some books I'm selling straight from me.  Bargains galore, and I will combine shipping to get you the best deal.  I also have a few more books ready to send off to Amazon and Etsy AND I HAVE HAD 4 SALES THIS WEEK ON AMAZON!

I have 5 items listed on eBay (see toolbar @ right) and they all have "watchers" with several days to go, and 2 of them have multiple bids!  Just little stuff, but that's ok b/c little stuff is easier to mail out.

I need to find some time to post more about the psychology of all this and what is going on in my head.  I have never felt so simultaneously bogged down and free.  Bogged down by so much left to go, but a little bit more free with every package/box/bag/etc. that goes out the door.  And... this is big... I haven't allowed myself to step foot in any thrift stores - only around the back to the donation door!

Out-Count for Tuesday, July 31

Out today:

• full trash bin (picked up/gone)
• 2 cloth shopping bags full of books donated to library (and if I ever want to read them again, I know where to find them!) PLUS we serendipitously arrived there just in time for children's story time.  :)
• 2 sales in my Amazon marketplace (used) shop!

I intended to do a lot more but, you know, life happens.  The beach left me exhausted (and Noah amped) yesterday, and today said son did not take more than a 45-minute nap.  Have a few more clothes getting ready to be listed, some craft books to list on Etsy, and then time to de-stash some craft supplies...

and just for another 1,000 words worth of story, here's a photo of the current state of my dining room/culling workshop.  Don't judge, just love.  And if you see anything you like, let me know!

Thwack!

I just spent an hour this morning relentlessly chopping down my garden/overgrown yard.  It felt awesome.  I give up on this garden.  From now through the rest of the summer I will patronize the farmers market instead of feeling guilty and horrible every time I look out in the neglected yard.  It's too hot for this nonsense, and let's face it, all I was really farming out there was mosquitos.

Tonight is trash night.  In the meantime, Noah and I are hitting the beach because all this stuff will (sigh) still be here later, but I will never have another gorgeous July 30, 2012 at the beach with my favorite 2-year old.

Some accomplishments since my last post:

• took photos of/made listings for several of my nicer (too big) dresses - these are being sneak previewed by a few friends before the go public but will be up here soon!
• took photos of/listed on eBay 3 pairs of toddler shoes
• gathered two cloth shopping bags of books to donate
• gathered one large box of books to list (mostly craft books, on Etsy)
• washed, dried, and folded 3,000 loads of laundry (feels like)
• garbage out count: 1 large bag
• recycle out count: 1 kitchen-size bin
• do I get points for NOT going to any yard sales this weekend?
• kid clothes out (sell/trade/donate): 1 jumbo diaper box full
• took super-scary "before" shots of the current state of our house - DISASTER!  I will share them with you soon but I have to work up the nerve.

Off now to take some more pix of some more clothes!

Out With Lots of Old Clothes, In With 5 New Items = WIN

Did not get a very big offer on trade-in kids clothing - last time I went was when my son was very young so everything was like new to brand-new and I traded in a LOT - but got rid of 4 bags of clothes (1 to them, 3 donated), and got 3 long-sleeve shirts and 4 sets of cotton jammies for him in the next size up for autumn in trade.  I have to think of it in terms of 4 bags in my way vs. 5 things we will use.  WIN.

Unfortunately there is not a similar shop nearby for women's clothes (someone should open one!), but I found out about a local Facebook group that is similar, so once I get some pix of my clothes I'm getting rid of, I'll post them here on the blog and in that group, and maybe put a few choice items on eBay.

Out - (Some) Clothes & Books

Out: 3 bags of clothes and an activity table that Noah has outgrown.

About a bag went to the re-sale/consignment shop, and the remainder went promptly over to the thrift store down the street from
the re-sale shop.

After I left the thrift store - without going inside, TYVM - I drove to the UPS store and sent off 2 large boxes of books and games to Amazon to sell in my Amazon Marketplace shop.  More books have been set aside to donate but I haven't made it over to the library yet.  I would say after they are gone, I will have gotten rid of at least 50% of our non-childrens books.

Tonight while I took a much-needed shower (damn this heat) my husband and son cleaned (organized) the fridge, something I've been trying to get to for days.  It still needs to be culled more and cleaned, but at least everything fits in it now!  They also not only took out the trash, but also REMEMBERED TO PUT A NEW BAG IN THE CAN.  A+ boys!

I gave myself a pat on the back for the stuff I've done, but in truth I feel SO OVERWHELMED.  Now, when I look at my stuff, I just see hindrances, things to go through.  Part of me wishes a tornado would just come and pick up the house and take it away.

I ignored the urge to re-read them...

To the recycle bin!

All these magazines went out unopened today (some never read at all).  Don't worry, there are more.

I also have 3 boxes of books sorted to sell, with one of the 3 boxes nearly ready to ship out to Amazon - tomorrow I will print out the barcodes and then I should be able to UPS them out tomorrow afternoon.  One of the more time-consuming ways to get rid of, but good in the fact that it gets them literally out of my way and into Amazon's storage right away before I even sell them.

The rule for keeping (non-childrens) books is that it has to be a rare print, an oft-used reference (that can't be easily replaced by internet, such as a few choice yoga books), or one of those favorite books that we like to be able to pick up and read over and over and over again, ex. Christopher Moore's Lamb, a few Neil Gaiman, etc.  The kids books are a whole other, well, box of books.

Have a box of dvd's ready to sell too, but there are a lot more "keepers" there, esp. in these days of no video stores!

Done today - some books listed, 2 bags of garbage out, magazines out.
Books - in progress
Next up - craft de-stash or clothing

First Impressions

Thanks for following me over here!  I just started setting up this blog last night, so it's still a bit rough.  I'm going to try to keep it simple, though, because that, my friends, is the whole point of this story...

Anyone who has been to my house for even a second knows that I have too much stuff.  Not just a lot, too much.  And a lot of it IS COOL STUFF, but piled up, never hung up on walls, project never finished (sometimes never started), tons of supplies for hobbies I have abandoned or don't have time/space for anymore.

I even have a lot of virtual stuff.  I do.  I have archived emails from years ago, for no particular reason other than I never trashed them to begin with, and never got around to doing it after that.  I have 92 Pinterest boards.

I also have lots of stuff that I can't find.  I have at least 5 tape measures and I never can find even one (note: this is partly due to my son thinking they are the coolest thing ever and wandering off with them).  I have 2 pairs of pet nail clippers but my cat currently has ferocious talons.

STUFF like this has been an ongoing theme throughout my adult life, and has progressed since buying our house ten years ago.  It has weighed me down when its whole purpose to begin with was to make me happy.  Now it has to go.  And I am going to document it here.  I will shame myself into it with humiliating admissions and before-photos.  I will confess my sins and hope that someone is out there who will listen and urge me on.

Source: anabundanceof.blogspot.com via Holly on Pinterest

My name is Holly, and I'm a packrat.  If anyone else would like to introduce themself - as a packrat, an inspirational minimalist, or anyone in between - I would love it.  And maybe you could subtly share this page with others who you think might benefit/relate/want to buy my cool stuff.