# Are You a "Messie" Like Me?



## Barbara L (May 20, 2008)

First off, you do not have to answer that! "Messie" is a term created by author Sandra Felton for people like me who have a very cluttered house. I found a great book (by, of course, Sandra Felton) for people like me. It is called Organizing for Life: Declutter your mind to declutter your world. It isn't a book about _how_ to organize and declutter. I know _how_ to organize and decutter. It is about _why_ we (Messies) have cluttered houses. She also has a site, Messies Anonymous and a Yahoo group (you can find out about it at the website I just mentioned). The Yahoo group is not one where members can post (there is a place you can do that though), so you only get a couple emails a day. So far I love it. She has also started "Messies Anonymous."  (edit: LOL I didn't know the link was going to translate to Messies Anonymous--it looks redundant!).

Reading this book is such a revelation for me, and I'm only up to page 47! One of the first things she said is that we can't just sit back and assume that since there are reasons for us to be like we are, we don't have to do anything about it. The purpose of her book is to show us why we are the way we are, and what to do to get out of that way of life. 

One example from the book is that most people are able to organize things pretty easily by putting things away by category. Many Messies have trouble organizing because they have smaller, more specific categories. I have always loved cute tins and boxes, and I have always had things that needed to be put away in containers. However, way too many of my tins and boxes sat around empty, and stuff sat around loose, because I couldn't find the "perfect" thing to go in them. 

I just wanted to share about this book and website (she has other books related to this also) in case there is anyone else out there like me. 

Barbara


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## texasgirl (May 20, 2008)

I have a problem with "messie"!!LOL
I have a room that noone uses, so, that is where anything I don't really have a place for, goes. LOL I have a drawer in the kitchen that is nothing but junk, screwdrivers, cell phone chargers, screws, etc.....

I don't know if I could ever declutter my mind!!!


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## Saphellae (May 20, 2008)

I'm not sure if I'm a messie or not yet.  I don't have alot of space in this apartment right now so we've minimized our possessions.  I always love working in a newly cleaned and decluttered kitchen (its so small too though).  Sometimes I don't mind if my computer desk is messy (it's massive) but I clean the odd recipes and papers off it every couple of days.  The only thing I think I am a "messie" about is my clothes. I hate putting clothes away and would rather live out of the laundry basket than put them away!! lol

Not enough room to put my clothes...


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## kadesma (May 20, 2008)

I'm not a messie, In fact  I drive my kids nuts, they set down a glass and I right now grab it and put it in the dish washer, I hang my cloths the minute I step out of them. I drive DH to distraction, because I hate clutter on my kitchen counter, it is not the resting place of wallets,mail,keys, and his umpteen pairs of reading and sun glasses,socks worn that day, jackets...Hamper anyone????? The man must have 50 pair of glasses and thinks they should all come to rest on the counters..You can follow the trail and find him at any time.. During the winter, he cleans the pellet stove every morning and gets very upset with me because he has to go outside to get his cleaning things from the shelf we put up for them..He likes to leave them right where he drops them til someone knocks at the door, then we are all supposed to rush into action to clean them up..Yea right!! I'm the neat nick, he's the messie..

kadesma


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## luvs (May 20, 2008)

i'm a messie. jake's a cleaner. it balances out. maybe we'll order that book!


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## ronjohn55 (May 20, 2008)

I hate clutter, my wife thrives on it. It's an issue we wrestle with.


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## meshoo96 (May 20, 2008)

I am a messie.... so is DH... we have that one room that catches everything that we don't have a place for. DH used the excuse because we had a bed in there that was taking up space, but now that we got rid of the bed, everything is just on the floor.... I hate that room. Our kitchen is tiny, so no matter what, it always looks cluttered. Our bedroom, well, let's just say that the door closes to hide the unmade bed and the overflowing laundry basket. Now, the living room and dining rooms are not so bad...as long as it is not a baking day or a craft week...then the dining room table is swamped with cooling racks, extra tables, or craft stuff.... BUT we are getting better at getting it straight and keeping it that way. He says I need to stop being a pack rat. I think he needs to shush....


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## SixSix210 (May 20, 2008)

A pack rat??? noooo.... doesn't everyone keep everything they touch?  and stack it in a junk room??? lol.  it's not as bd as all that, but occasionally I do find somthing we could take a snapshot of and put up in the "what's this a picture of thread" because neither of us knows...of course that means it could be important, so it stays


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## meshoo96 (May 20, 2008)

you are so lucky i am too tired to debate this one with you....


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## SixSix210 (May 20, 2008)

Good girl.  you know when to say "no" to a losing battle


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## meshoo96 (May 20, 2008)

oh really?...pardon the interruption folks...he's about to get a beat down live on DC


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## SixSix210 (May 20, 2008)

Do I have to take the digital camera into that room and post the pics in here while you're at work?  

Packrat doesn't begin to describe it...  Ever seen the intro the Beverly Hillbillies?  That's her Purse they've got on the back of that truck


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## meshoo96 (May 20, 2008)

you post pics of that room, i will post the "dancing fool" video on myspace, you tube, and here.....


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## Barbara L (May 20, 2008)

One thing I think is interesting is how many people say they hate clutter.  That's the thing--"Messies" do too!  I am learning a lot about myself from this book (and it's not always pretty!).  

Barbara


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## sattie (May 20, 2008)

I don't care for clutter and a bit more organized.  I like things to be clean, somewhat neat.  I don't keep or store many things.  Once I'm done with it, it gets donated or recycled.  I have lightened up over the years and things do not have to be "so so" anymore.  I use to really stress about it.


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## babetoo (May 20, 2008)

people say i am to neat. i am just well organized. 

however something has exploded in my walk-in closet. really do need to find out what exploded and clean it up. 

i bet we all have a clutter trap somewhere in our homes.

then of course there is my grandson and his wife. i wouldn't even go into their house to take a picture of how bad it is. it is scary in there. 

lol,
babe


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## suziquzie (May 20, 2008)

I'm a neatnik being overpowered by the messies. 
I hate stuff all over, toys on the floor, stuff on my counter.  All of it and more. 
I have 4 other people here that it doesn't bother one bit. I can have the house spotless and witihin 2 hours it looks like I've done nothing all day. Most days I try to keep up with it, but I get so tired of NAGGING!!!!
That's when I go outside (in summer) or clean the room I'm going to hang out in for awhile, and do something to take my mind off the rest of the house and just what may be happening to it at that point in time.  
Then I clean it the next day.


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## GrillingFool (May 20, 2008)

Hi, my name is GrillingFool Larry, and I am a MESSIE.

Who gets occasional bouts of NEATIE, but not often.


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## middie (May 20, 2008)

Messie ? Who me ??
Guilty !!!


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## Barbara (May 21, 2008)

I am a neatnik, always working on it. Cannot sit in a messy room - sometimes it's a curse. The older I get the more picky.


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## Dave Hutchins (May 21, 2008)

When I started my cooking career My Chef made me keep my station spotless and it carried over in my life.  Now I have kitchen that is very small and difficult to keep spotless. I have way to many pots and pans about six different skillets one huge cast iron wok and 5 drawers full of kitchen tools.  My phyciatrist said I have OCD I do not know what that means but every thing I have is in place or I go nuts just my 2 cents


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## Wart (May 21, 2008)

We need a dumpster.


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## urmaniac13 (May 21, 2008)

That sounds like a very interesting book Barb, both I and my partner are quintessential messies.  We are very active in the house and do all sorts of activities every day, and I tend to think when I use something, well I am using this again very soon, what's the point of putting it away in somewhere inconvenient?  So I just leave them around, well, as out of the way as possible but easily visible and accessible.  I need to be warned at least a few hours, ideally half a day in advance if someone is coming to our house to do the mad dash of tidying up, but  some people know us and our way well enough that they may ring my partner and say "hey I am just around the corner can I stop by?" and step into the madness of our house, and not at all shocked.

I always in absolute awe, when we show up at someone's house unannounced, they would tell us "oh, come on in, excuse the mess" and I would find the whole place in total order, absolutely nothing hanging about on the counter, floor, desk or anywhere, and wonder "what do they do in this place, do they just sit still, not touching, using or moving anything at all?  Do they actually LIVE here?"

To be honest I really wouldn't have any idea, if you actually "do things" and stay active in your home how you can keep the place in perfect, or even decent order...  I would love to read this book and see what the author says about someone like me


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## simplicity (May 21, 2008)

It does sound like an interesting book.

My kitchen gets messy.  So does my office.  The rest is decluttered.

My description of messiness is "visual noise".  It stresses me.  

The thing about books like this is, that I can sit and read them, discover my flaws, then never do a thing about it.


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## jabbur (May 21, 2008)

I tend to be a messie right now just because of school work.  I've always disliked housework (my dearly departed mother could attest to that fact as she was always on me as child to pick up after myself.) so that tends to get put off in favor of more interesting things.  However, there comes a point about every 2-3 weeks where it gets to me and I can't stand it anymore and in a whirlwind I'll clean up.  My kitchen tends to stay the neatest and I am particular about where things go there but otherwise things just go where ever.  My hubby has been diagnosed as OCD but unfortunately Mr. Monk he is not.  If you don't know, OCD can have a packrat side the opposite of Monk.  That's my hubby.  He even brings home things other people have thrown out and it ends up in my house somewhere.  I think if he lived alone, it would be one of those houses with only a small path through the junk!


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## Fisher's Mom (May 21, 2008)

Wart said:


> We need a dumpster.


OMG, Wart! I have always wanted a dumpster! For real! I'm fairly messy and my family is very messy. The kitchen is usually neat and clean because I make that a priority and I try to keep the public rooms presentable. But the upstairs is chaos most of the time. My sons are packrats and are always dragging home broken things to take apart- especially computers and peripherals. They are loathe to hang up or put away clean clothes. And like Jabbur, I will always choose something interesting over housework. I'm secretly convinced that a dumpster would solve everything!


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## DawnT (May 21, 2008)

Wart and Fisher's Mom,  The dumpster WILL NOT solve the problem, I repeat it WILL NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM!!!  My mom and I cleaned my aunt's house for her when she had surgery 2 years ago - 2 dumpsters full!  This past March same aunt was diagnosed with dementia and again we cleaned.  We are on the 5th dumpster, but the end is in sight!!  Talk about the ultimate MESSIE.  She has everyone beat, hands tied behind her back(so to speak).   I think the dumpster would just have to keep getting bigger and bigger each time in order to work. ;>)


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## LadyCook61 (May 21, 2008)

I think my deceased brother in law would qualify for that.  He lived in a 23 room house with his mother who is also deceased, every single room on each floor was crammed floor to ceiling, wall to wall with stuff !!  It took hubby and me months to empty out that house so hubby could sell it.


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## Zereh (May 21, 2008)

I'm definitely not a messie, but I can't stand to reach for something only to find that someone hasn't put it back in its proper spot! My house is clean but it looks lived in and real. A pair of shoes near the front door and a book left on the table doesn't send me over the edge. But for the most part everything has a place to go and it gets put there. I would go insane if there were piles of crap on every surface. Or even if I opened a door to a room that was that way. *shivers* My life (and mind haha) is chaotic enough ~ I like serenity in my surroundings.


Z


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## babetoo (May 21, 2008)

Zereh said:


> I'm definitely not a messie, but I can't stand to reach for something only to find that someone hasn't put it back in its proper spot! My house is clean but it looks lived in and real. A pair of shoes near the front door and a book left on the table doesn't send me over the edge. But for the most part everything has a place to go and it gets put there. I would go insane if there were piles of crap on every surface. Or even if I opened a door to a room that was that way. *shivers* My life (and mind haha) is chaotic enough ~ I like serenity in my surroundings
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

i am with you, don't like to hunt for stuff, it wastes time. many things i have duplicates for, in different rooms, ie sissors, ink pens and pencils.

i don't mind a small mess if i am doing a project. 

babe


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## B'sgirl (May 21, 2008)

It's not a mess, it's just "organized" clutter.  And no matter how much money I spend on organizers, when it comes right down to it, it's still just clutter. I'd post a picture of my computer desk if I could un-bury my camera.


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## jkath (May 21, 2008)

Neatie here!

Barbara - I bought Sandra Felton's "Messies Manual" years ago (I think when my first boy was a baby) and I read it cover to cover. I still use the "Mount Vernon" cleaning method to this day. 

I have a thing about organizing - I love to do it. weird.


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## texasgirl (May 21, 2008)

meshoo96 said:


> you post pics of that room, i will post the "dancing fool" video on myspace, you tube, and here.....


 

Waiting patiently for the reason for the loud silence that followed from sixsix!!


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## mikki (May 22, 2008)

I used to be a messie when we lived in a single wide trailer. My motto was everything has a place and everything is someplace. The only thing I can say is I usually knew where to find everything. When we went to the bank apply for a morgage for our doublewide I had all the financial papers they needed together in an hour. 
Now that we are in our new place with all the closets and storage, I do keep it a lot neater, the only thing that is usually cluttered is the comp. desk. Except when MIL is comming to visit, she is complusive about things being a certian way. Curtians have to be just right mini blinds perfectly even horizontal. So if I know she comming I mess things up just to drive her crazy!!!!


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## SixSix210 (May 23, 2008)

texasgirl said:


> Waiting patiently for the reason for the loud silence that followed from sixsix!!


 no comment...


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## *amy* (May 23, 2008)

Neat & organized. That's the only way I roll.  i.e. All the hangers are the same color & facing in the same direction. My clothes (for the most part), are arranged by color, as are all my shoes. Everything (usually) goes back in its place, unless I'm working on a project. Getting better as I get older though. The place almost looks lived in.


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## meshoo96 (May 24, 2008)

SixSix210 said:


> no comment...



He knows better. For all of this now, I'm making him finally help me clean that room today. His ides to get rid of the bed, so now he has to help organize the room....


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## DrThunder88 (May 24, 2008)

No, I'm not a messie like you.  I'm a whole other breed of messie...like _Messasaurus Rex_. or some such.


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## LEFSElover (May 24, 2008)

jkath said:


> Neatie here!
> 
> Barbara - I bought Sandra Felton's "Messies Manual" years ago (I think when my first boy was a baby) and I read it cover to cover. I still use the "Mount Vernon" cleaning method to this day.
> 
> I have a thing about organizing - I love to do it. weird.


Jkath, please, oh please may I borrow you for say, a month?PLEASE!

Very very true that if your house is cluttered as is your mind.
God knows my mind is more cluttered than clouds in the sky.
Our garage is so cluttered that you don't know where anything is.
It's just really awful and a good reason to move outta here if nothing else.
Once my BFF asked me if I was a clean freak or a neat nick.
I looked at her and thought, "Ut oh, I"m neither."
She was a clean freak but was very cluttered in her house, clean though, very clean.
Just visiting her and her husband in BigFork Montana on our vacation, in their multi million dollar home on the lake, I expected to see what I know of her and her home cleaning skills. I saw none of it. Her house was a pig stye. Clutter and junk everywhere. No room in the kitchen sink to put even a dirty fork.
Her Alzheimers mom now lives with them and she has no time to think let alone be by herself and clean let alone grab the vacuum and dust. I feel so awful for her but writing this just now, is reminding me to call her and tell her I love her. She IS the most incredible woman ever created by God.


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## MexicoKaren (May 24, 2008)

When we made our move to Mexico, we had only been married a year. I had moved into DH's house (<1000 sq ft) from my house (>2000 sq ft) and we were bulging at the seams. He is a colossal messie/packrat.  He still has his mother's first driver's license and his father's w-2 forms from 1942. Because it is so expensive to ship stuff down here, we decided to pare it all down to two 200 cubic foot containers. We had a huge yard sale. We took countless trips to Salvation Army. We would invite people over for a "goodbye" dinner and make them take stuff with them. We would leave stuff on friend's doorsteps (You don't need another coffeemaker? Toaster? Electric knife?). We had an estate buyer come and take stuff and we had a 10 yard dumpster. We still have too much stuff, because now we have been acquiring MORE. And Mexican houses have NO cupboards/closets/storage space. I try to keep it neat and clean, but it is a losing battle. He tries, too, but it is not in his nature. But here is the most important thing to learn: I'd rather be happy with my sweet and generous messy husband than all alone in a clean sterile house.


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## Claire (May 24, 2008)

I definitely have messie tendencies; I can never see the point of putting away something I know I'm going to use in the immediate future -- in other words, the several books I'm currently reading will NOT be in the book case, but on the table by whatever piece of furniture I'll be sitting or lying on when I pick it up again.  Whatever projects I have going will NOT be cleaned up between efforts at it (i.e., laundry will be all over the laundry/bath/utility room, in sorted piles until it is all clean; my beadwork tables and pallette will be out on the table I use for that project until I'm done with it, ditto sewing).  Picking up between stabs at working on something just doubles the amount of work I have to do.

ON THE OTHER HAND, maybe because I've moved so often in my life, every year I look over possessions, if I haven't used/worn something in a year, unless it is seasonal, it goes to trash or Goodwill.  I hate having garage sales, but when I've had to, I arrange for pickup immediately after by whatever charity does pickups.  I don't know how many times I've arrived at a new home to look at a box of stuff (there always seems to be a box of stuff, you know those odds and ends that defy catagorization) or even what I thought were possessions I could not part with, only to find myself wondering why I brought it with me on the move.  Clothes that were more worn out than I remembered, etc.  Yes, I do occasionlly find myself thinking, gee I could have used that whatchamicallit that I threw/gave away a couple of years ago.  BUT ... not very often, certainly not often enough to change my ways.

I have a friend who calls me her hero for my ability to throw away the unnecessary.  I even converted my once-junk-collecting husband to my ways (exactly why DID he need 4 pairs of combat boots when the chances of him needing them again were fractional, and if he did, the Army would have issued him more?).


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## meshoo96 (May 26, 2008)

finally got DH to help me with the "bottomless pit" room and it looks great....


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## babetoo (May 26, 2008)

my messes are being cleaned up by abel the handyman. he does a great job. has finished the sunroom and the bathroom. will be back tomorrow. we are doing curtains, etc. he is very detailed oriented

babe


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## suziquzie (May 26, 2008)

meshoo96 said:


> finally got DH to help me with the "bottomless pit" room and it looks great....


 

 I just visited my bottomless pit room today looking for safety pins. 
Does he travel? 
I'll make a pie......


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## jpmcgrew (May 26, 2008)

I used to be a non-messie then got married adopted 3 dogs and 2 cats. DH is a big messie he loves to pile mail etc on kitchen table drives me crazy. I have learned to live with a good bit of clutter because I just can't keep up  with it. I like to do crafts and but have no where to put my things. But compared to some it's not that bad. But still I would love to have a home anyone can come over anytime and have it perfect. I chose not to have kids don't know what my mental state would have been if I did. 
My motto "My house is a mess because" PEOPLE LIVE HERE!"
If our house was just a little bit bigger and we had more closets it would be better.  Then again if I had more space would it be big enough or would I need more space after that?  Think about it most Americans tend to pack rat stuff that they will never use or even remember that we have all that stupid stuff. I give things away all the time to cut down all the useless things that have no other reason but to take up space and collect dust. Don't get me wrong I still have many so called collectibles some I will keep forever but after time it's not hard to give some of the silly things away.
Bottom line we tend to hang on to a lot of stuff that has no real use.   Things we need to rearrange and dust. Wasting good money on things that that are not needed has been a big problem for me for a long time. But I am getting better and try to not to purchase things I really do not need. It's way to easy to buy stupid stuff in America because it'so cheap. But I think with food and gas prices the way they are maybe will we will get back to the basics and learn that buying useless things will not make you happy in the long run.


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## Fisher's Mom (May 27, 2008)

jpmcgrew said:


> My motto "My house is a mess because" PEOPLE LIVE HERE!"
> If our house was just a little bit bigger and we had more closets it would be better.  Then again if I had more space would it be big enough or would I need more space after that?  Think about it most Americans tend to pack rat stuff that they will never use or even remember that we have all that stupid stuff. I give things away all the time to cut down all the useless things that have no other reason but to take up space and collect dust. Don't get me wrong I still have many so called collectibles some I will keep forever but after time it's not hard to give some of the silly things away.
> Bottom line we tend to hang on to a lot of stuff that has no real use.   Things we need to rearrange and dust. Wasting good money on things that that are not needed has been a big problem for me for a long time. But I am getting better and try to not to purchase things I really do not need. It's way to easy to buy stupid stuff in America because it'so cheap. But I think with food and gas prices the way they are maybe will we will get back to the basics and learn that buying useless things will not make you happy in the long run.


You and me both, JP. I've been boxing up stuff I was hanging onto for no good reason and taking it to local charities. (Waaaayy too much fabric, yarn, etc. for one person to use in a lifetime!) I've made a serious dent but I still have to convince my packrat boys that they can live without a lot of this stuff.


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## suziquzie (May 27, 2008)

you were giving away fabric and yarn and didn't tell me?!?!?!


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## Claire (May 28, 2008)

Aha!  The great crafts/hobbies/art mess!  It rears its ugly head!  This year I was so proud of myself.  First step:  End Denial. The fact is I hate to sew.  There are many reasons why I've done a lot of sewing in my life, but most of them are moot at this point.  Second, have a crafty friend over, lay out all the stuff I'll never use, in spite of good intentions, and let her have at it.  The rest to Goodwill.  In some ways this was harder than the clothes I'll never wear, kitchen ware too specific to get used even annually, etc.  This is admitting that I'm too darned lazy and am not going to do it.


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## suziquzie (May 28, 2008)

I did get rid of a big pile this weekend, my SIL had a baby so I got rid of all my baby boy clothes, and a bunch of my big clothes I bought after my last baby. I feel really bad asking people if they want my big clothes after they had a baby, but I know one thing after 3 kids, you need them for at least a little while, and if you don't have to pay for them to wear only once (like maternity clothes) it's even better! 
Now I just have to make the trek to the baby re-sale store to sell my highchair and swing and other bulky baby things, or get over wanting a few bucks for it and donate it.


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## Fisher's Mom (May 28, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> I did get rid of a big pile this weekend, my SIL had a baby so I got rid of all my baby boy clothes, and a bunch of my big clothes I bought after my last baby. I feel really bad asking people if they want my big clothes after they had a baby, but I know one thing after 3 kids, you need them for at least a little while, and if you don't have to pay for them to wear only once (like maternity clothes) it's even better!
> Now I just have to make the trek to the baby re-sale store to sell my highchair and swing and other bulky baby things, or get over wanting a few bucks for it and donate it.


A big High-Five for not _needing_ big clothes anymore!!! Isn't it hard getting rid of the baby things? I still haven't managed to do it with Fisher's stuff. (I keep hoping I'll have a grandchild one day.)

But here's a good idea - if you have a changing table and no use for it - you can re-purpose it. I had a very heavy, sturdy one for Fish. When he was too big for it, I turned it into a rolling bar cart for one of my drunken friends. (She's not really a drunk.) I just attached 4 casters and a towel bar on one end to use as a handle/towel bar. It worked great and looked wonderful. A couple of weeks ago, we turned it into a bake station/work table for her kitchen. We took off the "lip" around the top edge and then applied ceramic tile to the top and the two shelves underneath. We added a magnetic knife rail on one long side and a towel rail that we hung from the bottom (underneath) the top of the cart and added s hooks to it so she can hang utensils, etc. from it. We put a few hooks around the sides for hanging things like rolling pins. It looks fabulous and is narrow enough to roll through her very narrow galley kitchen.


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## Fisher's Mom (May 28, 2008)

Claire said:


> Aha!  The great crafts/hobbies/art mess!  It rears its ugly head!  This year I was so proud of myself.  First step:  End Denial. The fact is I hate to sew.  There are many reasons why I've done a lot of sewing in my life, but most of them are moot at this point.  Second, have a crafty friend over, lay out all the stuff I'll never use, in spite of good intentions, and let her have at it.  The rest to Goodwill.  In some ways this was harder than the clothes I'll never wear, kitchen ware too specific to get used even annually, etc.  This is admitting that I'm too darned lazy and am not going to do it.


You have nailed it exactly, Claire. Giving away my fabric was admitting my own failure to finish whatever project I bought it for in the first place. I hate that!


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## Barbara L (May 28, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> you were giving away fabric and yarn and didn't tell me?!?!?!


I know what you mean!  In California I sewed a lot (I made almost all of my daughter's and my clothes).  Since moving to South Carolina, I have been buying fabric every time I see something I love, but I wasn't getting much sewing done--mainly because I didn't have the room or the time.  Now that we have cleaned out our second bedroom (which was full of junk that we finally went through) and turned it into James's computer room and my sewing room, I am finally getting back to it.  In addition to all the fabric I already had, a friend's mom died last year, and my friend gave me boxes and bags of fabric and yarn.  We needed money, so we ended up selling a lot of the yarn to a little second-hand shop.  Little did we know that I was going to learn how to crochet in March.  LOL  Sewing is my favorite thing, but crocheting and cross-stitch will help keep me busy too.  

Barbara


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## meshoo96 (May 30, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> I just visited my bottomless pit room today looking for safety pins.
> Does he travel?
> I'll make a pie......



he says make it cookies and you have a deal....


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## SixSix210 (May 30, 2008)

heck yeah.... and MN doesn't have the issues of NJ.   ANY excuse to out out of here....


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## jpmcgrew (May 30, 2008)

Dh and I made a pact a few years ago that if someone comes to visit and really admires something he or I own and we are not that attached to the object then we take it off the wall or shelf or whatever and give it to that person. The rule is he can't give away my stuff and I can't give away his stuff unless we both agree at the same time.


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## SixSix210 (May 30, 2008)

lol. sweet. I've been trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff that's  not really "ours" for awhile...


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## jpmcgrew (May 30, 2008)

I'm getting ready ( MENTALLY) to do a big spring clean I'm much better than DH. I will go thru every room, closet, cabinet and so on and rid myself of useless stuff. DH has a harder time. In the past I have gotten rid of some stuff and then wished I had not but I get over it rather quickly. As I said before most Americans are the worst pack rats ever and spend too much money on totally stupid useless things. Someday I hope to conquer this bad habit for good. I have gotten better but want to get much, much better. With the economy as it is I think we will all get better with the useless spending. I think that is a good thing that we should all learn to spend on what really counts. I also believe you should not take good stuff and just throw it in the trash but yet pass it on to someone else that could actually appreciate or benefit from the stuff you no longer want. I have known some people that have absolutely nothing and yet throw it all away rather than share with someone else and I mean great clean unbroken toys and so on. I truly believe that if you think of others and give things away it's better than tossing it in the trash. I also believe that if you even give things you no longer want or need it will come back to you in one way or another.


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## MexicoKaren (May 30, 2008)

We have a nice big enclosed service porch off our kitchen, that we use for a pantry and DH also stores some of his tools there - it is also my painting studio. I spent a day this week going through all of my shelves, throwing stuff out, rearranging stuff, etc. DH was taking stuff out of the trash as fast as I was putting it in.....oh dear. I explained to him that I was trying to be ruthless, but he kept finding treasures he wanted to keep. For the past two years he has been collecting beach glass, tiles, shells and rocks for special art projects. At long last, he is making stepping stones for the garden out of cement, and imbedding these objects. They're beautiful. He's very artistic and creative...just a little messy.


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## meshoo96 (May 31, 2008)

SixSix210 said:


> lol. sweet. I've been trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff that's  not really "ours" for awhile...



not fair.... when we win the lottery, i have no problem getting rid of everything and buying brand new. And by win the lottery, i'm talking BIG jackpot, not just a few thousand....


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