Getting rid of the just in case I find a use for...

[fireswimmer]

I am a crafter. When the city inspected my town house it was labelled as too cluttered and a fire hazard!!!! UGH! We were just given 5 days notice that the second inspection is coming. I am in the process of cleaning everything. It is so hard going through the basement and deciding what stays and what goes.

Today we attack the living room. This is hard, but I think it is time I recovered from being a pack rat. Does anyone else know what this is like?

Fireswimmer

[Shanti]

Gosh I always lived by the rule: if ya havent used it in four seasons, let it go.

Good luck, it would be nice if you could have a big rumage sale!

[RubyRose]

Gosh I always lived by the rule: if ya havent used it in four seasons, let it go.

Good luck, it would be nice if you could have a big rumage sale!

Yep I'm the same, well whenever I do a big clean up. Whatever I haven worn, used etc in one year, goes out ... but books are the only exception ... and tafe supplies and so forth. (Which I wish I could get rid of)

[DraconisArcanus]

I feel for you. I am by nature a keeper of things because one day I may have a use for it. I've recently just gone on a cleaning spree and found some peace in the sanity the elimination of the clutter brought to me. It seems to be helping me focus more on the things I should. I wish you luck and send to energies.

Peace!

[dragonspirit 69]

I too am a pack rat. Just before the move to my new house I throw away 2 full bed trucks of things that I had "collected" . And that was about 4 months before the move . During the move I purged another truck load. And I still have a room full of boxes of things that I haven't opened , touched or now know what it in them. ( i've been in the new place for a year and a half) So I know how you feel. Good luck adn I know when you get rid of the things that you are not using that you will feel a relieff of sorts I did.



Ohhhh by the way my last home was a 90x 14 trailor. NO one could believe how well I could pack things away in cubbies. Because no one saw all the stuff I got rid of until I was packing it in boxes to go. :hehehehe:

[Kadynas]

I'm a pack rat too, but I /force/ myself to go through things every 6 months and see what needs to go. I try to give away stuff whenever possible, because one person's junk is another's treasure, especially when it comes to arts & crafts! :) They have so many great new craft supply organizers out there now that maybe just getting organized would save some of your stuff too. I know it can be a real challenge when you don't have a lot of room. I have about 4 of those plastic drawer sets from K-Mart filled with all my stuff. I also have 3 ArtBin boxes too. :)

Another thing about being an artsy-crafty type is that I'm irresistably drawn to things and then I'll buy them and they'll sit around forever til I can't remember why I wanted them in the first place! :lol: But I'm just as bad with other stuff... I still have notebooks from high school classes and a bunch of junk I probably don't need and never will.

I think you've just inspired me to go through my stuff again... If I'm going to get rid of stuff, I'll post here and see if anyone wants it before I pitch it all. :)

[Bainidhe Dub]

*holds on tight to her "stuff"* Nope not a pack rat here!! I swear!! :lol:

I'm really horrible, I keep everything, because I "might use it someday". *sigh* Ya know, it doesn't seem like "someday" ever shows up lol.

[nomadicdragon]

Yep I'm the same, well whenever I do a big clean up. Whatever I haven worn, used etc in one year, goes out ... but books are the only exception ... and tafe supplies and so forth. (Which I wish I could get rid of)

Yeah I try to do the same... but I still end up with clutter in my closets (i have 5 of them in my defense) LOL

[~*Ginger*~]

I come from a long line of pack rats, and I've had to help clean-up many times... (i have an Aunt who loves for me to come visit :D)

First, go to the stores and ask for empty boxes.
(if your wanting to keep any of this stuff.)
Take the biggest box, this is your to throw away box, any and every thing your wanting to be shed of, throw in this box, when it gets full, take this outside to the garbage. That's gone... (or just use garbage bags).

Have a box 'labled' for the other things you want to keep.

'Sewing' and if there's lots of this, store it in their own seprate (labled) boxes.

Box it up, and tape it up, and pack it up in one corner, or what have you...

If you have it in an organized way, rather than scattered, it'll make you feel better and should satisfy them...

If I were there I'd help...

(and remember to always tie a safety line to whom ever may be going into a target zone of clutter, so just in case the 'clutter monster' is in there and wants a snack, you can pull them out!)
*teasing*
We tease mother about her sewing room all the time.

2nd plan.

If you can't do this have someone bias of being a pack rat , come help you, if they toss it out, leave it out...

Good Luck!

[amberwolf]

*holds on tight to her "stuff"* Nope not a pack rat here!! I swear!! :lol:

I'm really horrible, I keep everything, because I "might use it someday". *sigh* Ya know, it doesn't seem like "someday" ever shows up lol.

Me too I have every good intention of letting it go then ill get it in my hand or look at it and suddenly think I cant let this go I might need it someday... :hairraise .I have a very tiny house and its full to the brim with things......how do you just let stuff go???HELP!!!!

[hastings1066ad]

Major pack rat here. The only reason its anywhere near under control right now is that I've moved 3 times in the last 4 years-- but I'm quickly outstripping my current space-- and it's half closet space. My husband's pretty good about it, but this is the man who walked into my life after walking off a plane from Thailand with only 22 kg worth of stuff-- and half of that was computer parts lol! It's tough to organize, I'll get halfway through and then get discouraged or run out of time. If I did fewer different crafts maybe-- and quilting certainly isn't helping things, it allows me to keep smaller scraps of fabric. At present I've got a moratorium on buying new stuff (that hasn't stopped me from swapping for it though) adn if I can just speed up the process of malking it into stuff so that i can find new homes for it. (no one wants it in its current condition and I swear its not junk!) Anyway, I definately feel you're pain.
-Hastings

[Ravensnest]

I am a crafter. When the city inspected my town house it was labelled as too cluttered and a fire hazard!!!! UGH! We were just given 5 days notice that the second inspection is coming. I am in the process of cleaning everything. It is so hard going through the basement and deciding what stays and what goes.

Today we attack the living room. This is hard, but I think it is time I recovered from being a pack rat. Does anyone else know what this is like?

Fireswimmer

Do I EVER! I have been a packrat my entire life (probably grows out of the fact that we never stayed in one place for very long so I hang on to everything I can lol). I am now tired of the clutter and am going through clearing out. I can't wait to get finished clearing so I can get into the organized decluttered zone!

I know it's hard but, I think we'll both be happier (and ultimately more productive) once we're done. Hang in there!

[Mòrag Elasaid Ní Dhòmhnaill]

And I still have a room full of boxes of things that I haven't opened , touched or now know what it in them. ( i've been in the new place for a year and a half) :

If you've been in the house a year and a half and haven't touched those boxes, it's safe to say that you would be better off just getting rid of them. Don't open them, becaue that will tempt you to keep the contents. But the fact of the matter is, you haven't missed any of that stuff in a year and a half, which means you don't need it. It is very cleansing to get rid of old clutter.

[fireswimmer]

Me too I have every good intention of letting it go then ill get it in my hand or look at it and suddenly think I cant let this go I might need it someday... :hairraise .I have a very tiny house and its full to the brim with things......how do you just let stuff go???HELP!!!!

I finally learned how to throw things away! The way that I did it was to let some part of my mind go away and focus on reducing. If I could nto identify it as a craft that I wanted to do right then it was gone. I still have several bins of craft stuff but they are now labeled craft stuff. I emptied abotu 7 bins that were partially filled and cleaned up mounds of stuff that was hanging out on the basement floor. My hubby was shocked.

I threw out my sticker book from 2nd grade. I stood there and scratched all the scratch and sniff stickers and then put it in the bag. I also got the trash out almost immediastely so that I could nto go back through it.

My husband stayed home from work tonight to finsih up the rest of the house. I reduced the stuff in the living room. The guest room is his. Fortunately the biggest mess in the guest room is the boxes of books. We bought about 16 black crates that are stackable and are using those for books. We are moving in another year and a half so I did not want to invest in wooden shelves. I must say that I like the black crates because they hold the odd sized books well.

I am so grateful for everyone's support!

Fireswimmer

[Wascally Wabbit]

I'm not exactly a pack rat, but I have different hobbies and each has supplies and materials. I tend to make things out of found objects so you gotta save cool stuff that you find. I sew and save some old clothes for patching and alterations. It adds up, especially when you are in a studio apartment. My apartment is too cluttered. When I look at the stuff however, it all makes sense since you spend years accummulating the supplies for your crafts. I don't think I would fill up a decent sized house, though. It sounds like there isn't enough time, but it would be nice if you could have a yard sale and let other crafters know. I bought a lot of cool stuff when a set decorator/theatrical costume designer in my neighborhood had a moving sale. She just put up signs on the light poles.

[fireswimmer]

If I were there I'd help...

(and remember to always tie a safety line to whom ever may be going into a target zone of clutter, so just in case the 'clutter monster' is in there and wants a snack, you can pull them out!)
*teasing*
We tease mother about her sewing room all the time.

2nd plan.

If you can't do this have someone bias of being a pack rat , come help you, if they toss it out, leave it out...

Good Luck!

Thank you! That is very much the way that I did it except for the boxes. I am trying to eliminate all bopxes and get the thiongs that need to be stored and organized into the plastic bins that I have. I was very harsh with the get rid of pile.

Thank you
Fireswimmer

[fireswimmer]

If you've been in the house a year and a half and haven't touched those boxes, it's safe to say that you would be better off just getting rid of them. Don't open them, becaue that will tempt you to keep the contents. But the fact of the matter is, you haven't missed any of that stuff in a year and a half, which means you don't need it. It is very cleansing to get rid of old clutter.

I actually have missed some of the stuff that was in boxes. I cut down a lot but kept the stuff that if I did not find I would have repolaced.

Fireswimmer

[fireswimmer]

Do I EVER! I have been a packrat my entire life (probably grows out of the fact that we never stayed in one place for very long so I hang on to everything I can lol). I am now tired of the clutter and am going through clearing out. I can't wait to get finished clearing so I can get into the organized decluttered zone!

I know it's hard but, I think we'll both be happier (and ultimately more productive) once we're done. Hang in there!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I have a suggestion. Organize as you clear. I picked a corner of my basement and sat there with 3 bins and a garbage bag. Keep in mind that this is nto the right season to have a garage sale in New York. The winds blew all the dumpsters over that were not full enough to stand on their own. I also live in a complex where it is not allowed.

One bin was fow the woodworking tools. One bin was for the crafting things, and one bin was for fabric. I was able to declutter and get organized at the same time. I will probably go through the craft bins again and reorganize them a bit better when the pressure is off but the biggest job is done. I found I could nto work in piles. You know the method where you have a pile of stuff to go out a pile of stuff to go to this room a pile to go to that room... etc. I got completely overwhelmed. It had to be put in a bin so that I could get it labeled and move on. In addition to that the throw away had to go right out to the dumpster. Well, that is until the windstorm...

You hand in there as well. Keep me posted and I will keep you posted. The support here has been wonderful and I am grateful for it!

Fireswimmer

[fireswimmer]

Major pack rat here. The only reason its anywhere near under control right now is that I've moved 3 times in the last 4 years-- but I'm quickly outstripping my current space-- and it's half closet space. My husband's pretty good about it, but this is the man who walked into my life after walking off a plane from Thailand with only 22 kg worth of stuff-- and half of that was computer parts lol! It's tough to organize, I'll get halfway through and then get discouraged or run out of time. If I did fewer different crafts maybe-- and quilting certainly isn't helping things, it allows me to keep smaller scraps of fabric. At present I've got a moratorium on buying new stuff (that hasn't stopped me from swapping for it though) adn if I can just speed up the process of malking it into stuff so that i can find new homes for it. (no one wants it in its current condition and I swear its not junk!) Anyway, I definately feel you're pain.
-Hastings

I am not a quiltyer but I still have a ton of fabric. I found out just how much can fit into two bins. I managed to fold it and squish it down. The lids may bulge but it is in two bins. I swore my stuff was nto junk but I did throw away some scraps of fabric, the big box of popsicle sticks from when I went through that faze, the big ugly plastic beads from that phase... etc. I thank you for your empathy. I am so glad to know that I am not alone!!

Fireswimmer

[Mòrag Elasaid Ní Dhòmhnaill]

I actually have missed some of the stuff that was in boxes. I cut down a lot but kept the stuff that if I did not find I would have repolaced.

Fireswimmer

It's one thing if you miss the stuff that's in the boxes to keep. But if there are boxes that haven't been opened in a year and a half and no idea of what is in them, then it is a good idea to just get rid of them. The stuff obviously isn't missed in that type of case. I was just going off of what dragonsinger said.

[blugirrl1]

I am just like Flora. :) everyone loves to have me come visit.:p I get invited to clean friends house all the time.

[fireswimmer]

Ihave no idea how this ended up blank. The pre inspection was a lot less than I expected. It took under five minutes and they did not go upstairs. They walked in the kitchen glanced through the doorway, and then looked at the blank space around the furnace. That was it. I need to clean my drip pans. 2 of them are too greasy and are a fire hazard if they get too hot.

I have cerebral palsy and am notorious for little spills and splashes. That is the reason for that.

It feels so good to be in a clean house!!!!!

Thank you for all of the support!

Fireswimmer

[~*Ginger*~]

I found out just how much can fit into two bins. I managed to fold it and squish it down. The lids may bulge but it is in two bins.
Believe it or not, if you roll instead of fold, it'll pack in tighter. ;)
*just a tip for next go round*

[fireswimmer]

Believe it or not, if you roll instead of fold, it'll pack in tighter. ;)
*just a tip for next go round*

Thank you!!!!! I will try that with the next go round or when I start pulling fabric out and have to put the rest back in.

You have been such a help.

Fireswimmer