# 2017 - Time to clean out



## letscook (Jan 8, 2017)

My mom passed 1 yr ago and she was famous for buying all of us handy dandy appliances, choppers, graters, taco tray holders, microwave cooking items, quesadilla maker, I have always done mine in a cast iron grill on top of stove.  baked potato bag, hot air popcorn popper even though I you don't eat that much pop corn and the list could go on. I appreciated every gift she gave. Have used each item at least once so if she ever asked if I used it I can honestly say yes. But it is time to clean out the items and appliance you don't use.  I heaved ho and boy do I have a lot of room now. 
Unbelievable how they took up so much room.  Some items were donated, some friends wanted so they were not just thrown out.  

What got me started on it was after my dad died in January and Mom in December in 2015 and us kids this past year cleaning their house out of 65 years, and getting it ready to sell  made me think What do I have stored away that I haven't seen in years. 
So I stared in bedroom and closets and just this past week I did garage, kitchen. 
If you want to have a fresh new start go through every cupboard, drawer, closet and if it has sat there and not moved in many years get rid of it.  You will feel good really good. 

Happy New Year all


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## GotGarlic (Jan 8, 2017)

DH wanted some new clothes recently, but the closet and his dresser were full, plus he had piles in a couple places. I don't think he's gone through his clothes in 20 years or more. So we spent a couple hours on a recent Saturday, going through every last piece. Three paper shopping bags full to the trash and four to Goodwill. Now he has only clothes that he likes and wears and the dresser drawers close properly 

It's definitely a good idea to do this now and then. Happy New Year!


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## lyndalou (Jan 8, 2017)

I have been going through our "stuff" also. I don't want to leave my kids a bunch of things that they don't want or will never use. 
Getting my husband to go through a garage full of tools, machines, etc. is a challenge. That'll be on him.LOL.


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## CakePoet (Jan 8, 2017)

I cleaned my fridge from Christmas food and candy and  what nots that had been hidden in there  and I did the same to the fridge.  But I let the pantry be, because it attacked me, hurled  a  bottle of vinegar at me...


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## Andy M. (Jan 8, 2017)

I did that a while back.  I had a bunch of business suits, dress shirts and neckties I never wore.  The suits didn't even come close to fitting me.  I cleaned out half my closet and thinned out several dresser drawers and now have plenty of room.


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## Addie (Jan 8, 2017)

Living in a small apartment certainly hasn't given me any room to spare. So in the ten years I have lived here, overtime I have given to Spike my sewing machine, electric knife sharpener, my Robot Coupe food processor and all the accessories that I have added over the years, four slice toaster, A set of dishes, a six quart slow cooker and a few other things I can't remember right now. Except for the dishes, all taking up space in my few cabinets or on the top of the counter. 

I now have empty cabinets and plenty of counter space. Along with one deep empty drawer. I no longer do any sewing. When you have one, every family member wants you to make repairs on rips or an article of clothing. I bought a two slice toaster. Now if I could find a one slice one, I would get it. If I need a knife sharpened, I give it to Spike. I certainly do not need a six quart slow cooker. In order to use the Robot Coupe, I would have to drag it from the corner, then lift it and bring it to where there was an outlet. That thing is *very*. It is more than 25 years old and was made in France. 

In exchange I did keep my KA. Only because I do a lot of holiday baking for everyone, and I use the grinder for hamburger. That too is very heavy, but I keep it near the plug. I also have my electric can opener. And when I am not in the mood for a long baking session, but do need the use of a mixer, I use my hand mixer my daughter gave me. In exchange, I gave her my electric knife.


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## Cooking Goddess (Jan 9, 2017)

letscook said:


> ...What got me started on it was after my dad died in January and Mom in December in 2015 and us kids this past year cleaning their house out of 65 years, and getting it ready to sell  made me think What do I have stored away that I haven't seen in years...


First off, *letscook*, sorry to hear about your parents' passings.

Now, onto that clean-out. When my folks were both gone and I had to clean house, we had just moved from OH to MA and I was missing home terribly. Got their stuff cleaned out, but moved a goodly amount to our place in MA.  Why? Oh, so that I can now clean out things before we move back to OH. 

Slowly, I'm whittling away at things that made the move with us, and things I brought from Mom and Dad's. If I haven't used it in the last year or two, off it's going to a local resale shop. We do not need to pay to move things that will only be donated once we get back to OH. My new criteria is "will it cost less $$ or trouble to ditch it, then replace it if I need it again?". So far, my cast iron cookware has passed the "keep" test. 

Good luck with your purge.


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## Aunt Bea (Jan 9, 2017)

I did a kitchen purge a year or so ago and got rid of all the large, pots, pans, casseroles.  I also tried to weed out all of the  odd drinking glasses, dishes, coffee mugs, nice little jars and single use items.

I kept all of the average to small items and what I thought I might need to cook a full holiday meal.  

It's time to do another purge and continue to _*seek the minimum*_!  I have found that I use the same few pots, pans, dishes, etc... on a daily basis, about two thirds of what I thought I might need has found its way to the back of the cupboards.  

This business of purging and decluttering will never be finished, I keep a small cardboard box on the floor of the closet by the front door and add items that need to go to the charity shop.  My goal is 17 boxes in 20*17. *


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## Addie (Jan 9, 2017)

Andy M. said:


> I did that a while back.  I had a bunch of business suits, dress shirts and neckties I never wore.  *The suits didn't even come close to fitting me. * I cleaned out half my closet and thinned out several dresser drawers and now have plenty of room.



 Isn't it amazing how clothes shrink while just hanging in the closet?


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## buckytom (Jan 12, 2017)

lc, my condolences for your parents.

When we moved in 2015, it seemed like an unbelievably daunting task to have to go through everything and decide what to keep and what to chuck or donate. We bought our new house and moved while we fixed uo the old house for sale, so instead of taking on that task, I was able to take my time and go by the old house everday on my way home from work and just box everything up and haul it to the new house figuring we'll go through it at our leisure.

It took almost 6 months of packing boxes, loading the truck, and a thousand trips through the garage and down the new basement steps.

We had our 2 family house and basement full of stuff, plus a huge storage unit nearby that was full of things from my previous apartments in the city. I mean, we never seemed to throw anything away. Not clothes, or toys, or kitchen stuff, or decent furniture, or exercise equipment, or anything.

Now, my new basement is full of our old lives in half-torn open boxes, and we STILL bought a lot of new stuff for the new house. We did give a lot of the old furniture and infant stuff away, but there's still so much more.

Once in a while, DW gets to bagging up old things and donating them to the VVA or Salvation Army. The next round of stuff will be little kids toys. You'd have thought we had 6 kids with that giant pile.

This has all made me philosophical about the entire lot. I don't really need any of it. I could walk away with my family and pets and be just as happy as ever. 

Wait. And my fishing stuff. A lot of that was given to me by my dad.


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## letscook (Jan 14, 2017)

Thanks all for your condolences
I have totally de cluttered every drawer, closet, shelf, bucket, box in every room. 
Stuff save and never been looked at or used since it was put away.
There isn't a storage bucket in any closet. all clothes are hung up and only ones that will be actually worn. Hubbie had 3 suits I think he had when we got married 38 yrs ago and definitely do not fit him why do we have them. Me ...  1/2 dz long formal wear why??????  gone. shoes both of us never wear, gone, books that we have read and just sit on a shelf never touch again, donated to hospitals and nursing homes. The shelves weren't built in so they were removed and have a larger den. Closet with electronics in it totally emptied hubbie went thru and said all outdated gone to recycling center. Closet now organized with games and toys for grandkids easy excess for them. By the way they saw some games that they went wow we haven't played this in like forever.  
Bathroom closet all organized with containers and labeled, medicine, first aid, mouth items, hair items, I have never had so much room. 
Hubbie  joking asked have we been robbed. I said nope just cleaned out. 
I even went through decorations, things I never put out why do I have them then. 
I got rid of my junk drawer as that is what it is Junk. Cleaned out my desk, unbelievable how many pens how many posti note pads I had. pens I had that don't even have any ink in them. Brought little trays to sort pens pencils, paper clips ets. 
Got all the same containers for my spices and I gained 1/4 more cupboard space.
Once I got going I didn't stop, Many trips to the Donation center, recycling center, and this week our trash man will be very happy as he had some heavy pick ups. 
People keep at it, you will be surprised at what you don't need and how you feel when you complete it.   Everything has a place now.  My daily/ weekly cleaning is a cinch now. no time at all I'm done.   Keep it up people. Bucky don't keep walking around it Just makes you more frustrated looking at it.  
Oh and I noticed when I went shopping for all the containers I ended up spending less as I don't want stuff. 
Sorry if I have gone on and on about this but I am one proud women and one happy women.  Oh by the way got hubbie in the mood and he cleaned out the man cave and reorganized was surprised at what he got rid off.  I didn't expect that one nor was going to ask him to do it .  See you start it and everyone catches on. I do have to admit, I did get a little cranky during this whole process, so expect that. End results is all worth it.  When hubbie came in and saw my sewing room looking like a magazine cover He said don't cook were going out.  Woo hoo  Happy wife Happy life I guess. It didn't look like we had a lot of stuff when I started but it will surprise you when you get into it.   we have our lives in order at 62 and 38 yrs of un needed crap gone.  First time I have complete a New Years resolution.  Oh and got my taxes done yesterday for this year. And a filing system in place for 2017. 


Good Luck people and again sorry for going on and on.  I can retire next year very happy. !!!!! 


Oh Sorry on a side note, sitting eating breakfast, hubbie says think we should move to a smaller place.  I said next year when we retire. Moving will be a cinch.


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