decluttering help

[firecat]

I want to get rid of stuff, because the stuff is now overflowing the available space for stuff storage.

I have trouble getting rid of stuff. So I started at the corner of one bookshelf full of books and other stuff, looked at each item, and wrote down reasons to keep it and reasons not to keep it.

If you have ever successfully decluttered, I'd like some feedback on how you make decisions based on reasons like these. I'm thinking of assigning points to each of the reasons and trying to make decisions that way. I think that most of my reasons to keep something are legitimate in and of themselves, but since I would apply them to pretty much everything, I'm going to have to figure out a way to rank some of them such that I can actually get rid of some stuff.

Here are my lists of reasons.
GET RID OF BECAUSE
I can replace it easily if I need it
I can get the equivalent information from the web
I have several and don't need them all
It's out of date
I'm probably not going to use it in the future
I know someone / someplace I can give it to
I don't like it
ETA It frees up space, which is relaxing (and the point of the exercise)

KEEP BECAUSE
It is or might be worth a lot of money
It makes me feel nostalgic
I like it (it's pretty, it makes me feel good)
It might be useful again someday
I made it
It was a gift
A friend made it
It's useful for my work
It's not actually mine (usually this means it's co-owned with the OH)
It's part of a collection I have
I haven't read or used it yet

For the record, here are some maybe not so good reasons I have a hard time throwing some things out:

*I have several and it would take a lot of work to decide which one(s) to keep

*It's not worth giving away, e.g. it's broken or damaged or no one would want it, and I feel bad just throwing it out (yes, I do know about Freecycle, but I've had bad luck with it, and while I'm willing to use it again, the fact that something might be freecyclable doesn't make me feel good about giving it away)

*It would be valuable to a small set of people but it would be a lot of work to find those people and get the stuff to them (e.g., my old Newton books) but giving it away some other way feels like a waste

*I don't have any place to store giveaways until I get around to giving them away

Comments

books, other misc. thoughts

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Did you already catch this nifty book swap by mail club (http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/hdtw.php) in my journal (or elsewhere)? I'm thinking that, since books are one of your issues, you could at least get rid of some of the ones you know you don't want, and replace them with ones you know you do want! [link thanks to tyrsalvia, btw]

In a similar vein, it might be effective to put some of your "not worth giving away" stuff out on your front walk with a big sign on it "FREE" (and possibly notes about stuff that is broken or doesn't work). You'd be surprised at what people will take away, without your ever having to lift a finger beyond getting it to the curb. If you think you don't get enough foot traffic, maybe you could put up "Garage Sale" signs, and then fail to ask for any money, just leaving the stuff on the curb. :^)

Tangentially related to that, I find that if I can manage to box it or bag it up, and drop it off at a donation center (Salvation Army is the one closest to us with the best hours), then I can salve my conscience, even about stuff that I think isn't really worth giving away. If they don't think it's worth fixing or selling, then they are set up to dispose of stuff on a grand scale. It might go into a landfill, but hey, who cares? It would if I threw it away, too. And at least this way there's *some* possibility that it might get fixed/used again. And someone else can make that decision, not me. What a relief!

I certainly resonate with your challenges, and definitely hear you on a lot of the reasons you continue to hold on to things. The process of sorting things is just exhausting for me, as it requires me to make decisions over and over again, not something that's typically a strong suit for me. We did take pictures of some of the "things" over the years that Victoria made or that Allegra made, and got rid of the things themselves. That technique definitely worked for us for certain of those "someone made it/gave it to me, and it has sentimental value" items. Pictures store much more compactly, especially on-line. :^)

I am continuing to follow this discussion with interest, because this is a topic that's a continual challenge for me. I am a verified packrat (my totem animal is a squirrel!), and yet I, too, am more at ease with less stuff around than is typical for our home. It's one of the things that klrmn's arrival in our life has improved--she's broken the deadlock on some of this stuff, and is giving us very good incentive to clean things up, throw things out, get things organized, and make space for her amongst our things. It's challenging and rewarding at the same time, and she's a real peach for being willing to actually pitch in on the process.

Re: books, other misc. thoughts

[firecat]

Thanks for the info on the book swap club. I actually have lots of places to get rid of books (library friends, animal shelter thrift store). But maybe I will look into it to see if anyone wants old computer books.

The "FREE" sign is a good idea. San Carlos has a garage sale weekend and I gave away some stuff last year that way.

Good point about letting the thrift store decide what is worth selling vs giving away.

Good luck with your decluttering! Having someone else participate does seem to help.