2018 Decluttering Thread

[creditcardfree]

One has 11 recordings of my grandmother leaving messages for my daughter (who was a baby at the time). You can hear the cancer making her sicker and sicker. It made my mother really sad to hear it and my daughter isn't interested in hearing someone she doesn't remember, but I don't want to erase them. The other one has a recording of my daughter calling me for the first time when she was a little kid. I'm afraid to record them on my cell phone and then lose the phone. What to do, what to do...

Does your computer have a way to record and then you could back up the recording in the cloud or on thumb drive/DVD?

I'm also trying to get my husband to get rid of these Stephen Ministries books. He has giant binders and books that he hasn't touched in the 19 years we have been married and they take up a whole bookcase. He doesn't want to get rid of them because "they were kind of expensive and I might need them again." He won't go to church, so what is he going to use them for?

You might consider looking those books up on eBay to see if they have any value for selling, and how easy or hard they may be to find in the future if he would suddenly need them.

[disneysteve]

I don't want to erase them. The other one has a recording of my daughter calling me for the first time when she was a little kid. I'm afraid to record them on my cell phone and then lose the phone. What to do, what to do...

Record them and burn it to a CD.

[msomnipotent]

Does your computer have a way to record and then you could back up the recording in the cloud or on thumb drive/DVD?



You might consider looking those books up on eBay to see if they have any value for selling, and how easy or hard they may be to find in the future if he would suddenly need them.

I'm not really computer literate, especially since this is a newish computer. I have no idea what it can do. I will have to ask my husband to show me. I'm pretty sure that he is off of church for the long haul. We were treated very poorly by his church when we got married and they basically kicked him out. I have been nagging him since our daughter was born to go to a church, any church, and at least get her baptized. He just won't. I'm really tempted to just throw them away and see how long it takes him to notice, but I don't want a repeat of the old school knee-high basketball sock drawer incident.

I'm not even sure we have a CD player anymore, except in one of the cars. I will have to check.

[comicguy]

Not an overly productive week (lots of work related stuff going on)
Anyway this is what I was able to find and get rid of:

2/16 1 notepad - used up
2/17 10 bars of hotel soap - used up (last of it today!)
2/17 1 box of assorted small robotics parts - Robotics Center

Every little bit helps!!

[disneysteve]

I've done a few more things here and there. A big one was cleaning up a bit in our computer room. It's a little hard to explain but there have been various things that "live" on the floor smack in the center of the room. A lot of it is old photos and scrapbooking stuff. I was able to eliminate several items and open up a bunch of floor space which helped tremendously. There are a couple of items that I think we can get rid of but I need to check with my wife when she gets home before I toss them.

[snafu]

Cheering your progress. You might find it efficient to take photos of the containers mentioned, e-mailing DW as to position/location of photos and scrapbooking supplies. Most scrapbooking shops and classes shutdown several years ago. Crafters discovered no one was interested in their creativeness. It was a wonderful, short term business opportunity while in vogue.

[Gailete]

Most scrapbooking shops and classes shutdown several years ago. Crafters discovered no one was interested in their creativeness. It was a wonderful, short term business opportunity while in vogue.

I've been wondering about that, as I have been finding all sorts of scrapbooking supples and books over the last year or two as well as stamps, etc. This is were crafters need to see other uses for the items.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Here's a very small space-clearing accomplishment. I combined four very small bottles of aspirin into one. Now there is only one little bottle to knock over onto the floor instead of four.

[disneysteve]

Here's a very small space-clearing accomplishment. I combined four very small bottles of aspirin into one. Now there is only one little bottle to knock over onto the floor instead of four.

Isn't it strange how stuff like that accumulates, multiple open bottles of the same product?

My wife has been out of town for a few weeks so I've been doing my own laundry. I don't know why she let this happen but she had 3 open bottles of detergent and 2 of stain treatment stuff. I combined the partial bottles and recycled the empties which reduced the clutter in the laundry room.

[msomnipotent]

Isn't it strange how stuff like that accumulates, multiple open bottles of the same product?

My wife has been out of town for a few weeks so I've been doing my own laundry. I don't know why she let this happen but she had 3 open bottles of detergent and 2 of stain treatment stuff. I combined the partial bottles and recycled the empties which reduced the clutter in the laundry room.

Lol. I have 10 bottles of Tide with different scents and cleaning strengths, 7 different bottles of stain remover, 2 different bleaches, and the various other things like Borax, essential oils, and Oxy. My most used bottles are on top of the washer, but the rest is neatly tucked into the cabinets or in the pedestals. Laundry is kind of my jam.

I got a little done in the computer room as I was getting things ready for taxes, and started boxing up stray items for a charity pick up.

[Gailete]

Isn't it strange how stuff like that accumulates, multiple open bottles of the same product?

My wife has been out of town for a few weeks so I've been doing my own laundry. I don't know why she let this happen but she had 3 open bottles of detergent and 2 of stain treatment stuff. I combined the partial bottles and recycled the empties which reduced the clutter in the laundry room.

If they were different types of detergent or stain fighters in each bottle be sure she knows what you did. The aunt that gave us the washing machine also sent along detergent, fabric softner, and another bottle of who knows what. All stuff that I am allergic to so I have to drop it off at the thrift store. Without having a dryer now, also had to get fabric softner (non-allergenic) for towels and hubbies stuff, not that I am noticing anything being softer. I had avoided the cost of fabric softner of any kind for well over 12 years!

[msomnipotent]

If they were different types of detergent or stain fighters in each bottle be sure she knows what you did. The aunt that gave us the washing machine also sent along detergent, fabric softner, and another bottle of who knows what. All stuff that I am allergic to so I have to drop it off at the thrift store. Without having a dryer now, also had to get fabric softner (non-allergenic) for towels and hubbies stuff, not that I am noticing anything being softer. I had avoided the cost of fabric softner of any kind for well over 12 years!

I've never used fabric softener in my life. If your towels are scratchy, try giving them a second rinse in the washer and lowering the heat in the dryer. Maybe it is just LG, but both my old and new dryers get hot enough to scorch fabric when I set it on "cotton", and that makes things feel scratchy. Both washers leave a at least one towel with soap left over, even though I use less than the recommended amount and don't overfill the washer. I can always tell which towel it is because it is noticeably rougher than the rest so it gets put back in the hamper.

Or you can do what I do and just not tell him you stopped and see if he notices.

[Gailete]

I've never used fabric softener in my life. If your towels are scratchy, try giving them a second rinse in the washer and lowering the heat in the dryer. Maybe it is just LG, but both my old and new dryers get hot enough to scorch fabric when I set it on "cotton", and that makes things feel scratchy. Both washers leave a at least one towel with soap left over, even though I use less than the recommended amount and don't overfill the washer. I can always tell which towel it is because it is noticeably rougher than the rest so it gets put back in the hamper.

Or you can do what I do and just not tell him you stopped and see if he notices.

The problem is NO dryer. I have to hang everything on dryer racks. Our bathroom looks like a Chinese laundry with dryer racks all over. Thank goodness is is big to be handi-cap accesible. He noticed the first load that I did. So I'm trying to use the liquid softener on his stuff and towels, but I'm not seeing much improvement. Never thought of doing a second rinse. After years of my other washer that when done with washing would start drying by dehumidify the clothes, which never got scratchy but took about 4 hours total for one load. When that machine died I essentially lost two appliances at once. No room for a dryer either. So I am trying to figure out a new way of doing laundry.

[scfr]

Sorted through DH's socks, tossed any worn out ones or those with no mates (he's out of town and I know there are no loose singles floating around somewhere). Not a big space saver, but it will be a bit of a time saver: every pair of socks is in "grab and go" condition.

Did a quick pantry purge and tossed a couple items. Put 4 items expiring within the next 2 months in a little box at the front of the pantry with a note in big red letters saying "consume ASAP."

[Thrif-t]

Gailete, try using Vinegar in place of fabric softener. That's what my mother always did, and I do too👍.

My dryer broke 2 weeks ago, thank goodness the repairman is coming today. I'm fine hanging clothes, but DH has been taking towels and socks and underwear to his dads to dry. What a drag without a dryer and having a family. But I'd rather not have a dryer than a washer.