I want to get rid of (via donations, craigslist, ebay, freecycle, etc) at least 100 things before moving day. On one hand the number sounds kinda high, but on the other hand, I know there are at least 100 things in our house that we never use, need, or should spend time and effort moving. And I actually plan to keep track, writing all 100 items down on a piece of paper in list form. Why? Because I’m weird like that.
To kick things off I went through my shoes (pun intended). Amazingly, I realized that I hadn’t worn a good amount of them since leaving NYC and moving to Richmond 4+ years ago. How embarrassing.
I ended up with ten pairs of shoes in my toss/Goodwill/ebay pile. Not too bad considering I had just 18 in my keep pile (although my definite-keeper Puma sneakers were out in the sunroom for a grand total of 19). That means I’m ready to say “hasta la vista” (in my best Schwarzenegger accent) to over a third of all the shoes that I own.
Sidenote:The blue-gray bedroom wall looks so green in this picture- clearly I still have a lot to learn about the new camera.
So although that’s actually 20 things I’m getting rid of (since there are two shoes per pair) I’m counting the shoe purge as ten items just to be fair. Now to find 90 more things to get gone. Somebody wish me luck. And stay tuned for an update to see if I’m able to reach my weird little goal…
Is anyone else out there cutting the fat at home and pairing things down in a major way? Let’s commiserate.
Deborah says
OMG, that is so true about HOARDERS, sometimes it just makes me gag and then I realize wow my house isn’t soooo bad after all. I love purging especially when you find things that you totally forgot you had, then it’s definately time to get rid of it.
heather j. says
Sherry,
I participate in a Women’s Consignment sale here on the southside, I think you can still hop on board and sell some of those babies? The sale is next week…
theclothesline.biz
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the info Heather J!
xo,
s
Leah @ L4L says
My husband hates it when I go on a purging binge. Every few months I have the urge to declutter. Only occasionally do I kick myself for getting rid of something I would have liked to have on hand again but overall, I feel so much better having less stuff! I need to do that again. Maybe this weekend… while I’m cleaning and hanging new pictures. I feel a little bit guilty getting rid of things just because I don’t like them since we are not in a position (financially) to buy new things that we actually do like so I usually just base it on functionality and when the last time I used something was.
Crystal says
We just did a huge purging this weekend in perparation for putting our house up for sale. It’s amazing of the stuff you collect over the years. 100 items should be easy. Good Luck!
Sayward says
My students (11th grade English) always study Thoreau right before Thanksgiving. We talk a lot about materialism, and one of our projects is to go home and count how many pairs of shoes, jeans, and hoodies we own. We add up the numbers – they are STAGGERING – and set a clothing drive goal. Then we donate the items to shelters.
The first time we did this I thought I owned 3 or 4 sweatshirts and realized it was over 20! Needless to say, most of them got donated. I’m planning to move this summer and have been purging items like crazy.
YoungHouseLove says
What a cool learning experience for your students Sayward! Love it!
xo,
s
OwningSingle says
Yes! I am doing this now. It’s amazing how much stuff you can accumulate and never lay hands on. When I pulled out the semi-fall/winter clothes (I’m in Houston so fall/winter is relative)I realized I had to get rid of some stuff. I have 2 big sell on ebay bags and 3 stuffed donate bag. Not to mention stuff I just threw out….and I’m barely getting started!
LIZ says
I love this! Good for you! I cannot wait to see where else you purge… maybe it will encourage us to do the same!!!! I’ve been wanting to do this (just wasn’t motivated) for awhile… and although we aren’t moving (yet..) it’s a great idea!
Jill says
Like others who have already commented, my husband and I live in a very small space and we do a purge every year or so. It’s my favorite time of year! You’ll feel great afterward and moving will be that much easier.
Before moving to our 4 bedroom/2 bathroom house to our current digs 1 bedroom/1 bathroom 1000 sq ft. condo we sold nearly everything we owned except our clothes and personal items and couple boxes of books. Drastic, but it made moving a snap if you can do it!
Alicia says
I’ve moved every year in college and by the time I start packing, I want to throw EVERYTHING away! Moving is awful! Especially moving stuff you don’t use! I bet you can EASILY find 100 things. Probably more than that :) Good luck!
Leigh Anne says
Although I’m not in the hunt for a house, I love the idea of paring down “just in case” for the future. How do you decide what you donate vs. what you are going to try and sell?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Leigh Anne,
Anything that in good enough condition to get consigned or sold on ebay will at least be attempted to get sold before donating it- but anything that’s in less than good condition or just too odd or random to take the time to list or consign will go right to the donate pile. I guess we just plan to play things by ear.
xo,
s
Liz says
Good goal! I LOVE getting rid of things. Technically you could count your shoes as 20 items, but I think getting rid of 100 things would be pretty easy. A few months ago, we took four garbage bags full of old clothes and shoes to Goodwill. I can’t believe how many clothing items I keep around that I hadn’t worn in years. I also went through a storage dresser in our living room and now have two empty drawers! Also, being fairly organizationally challenged, I would LOVE to see a post about organizing from you guys when you move into your new home!
Nicolette @ Momnivore's Dilemma says
I used to be a packrat, so, I feel ya. I just did this for the MomCave contest that was circling blogland… I donated 80% of my clothes and shoes! I have NOTHING left, and it is liberating…
http://momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com/2010/11/mom-cave-or-bust.html
Patti says
Smell ya later, reminds me so much of my sister, luv it! Is that a couple a pro-keds kicks i see in the kick to the curb pile? Noooo, save those!
andrea p says
Are those your wedding shoes you are getting rid of?? *tear!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- good eye! Sadly my bigger post pregnancy feet don’t fit them anymore. But I have the pics and the memories to remember them- so I don’t need the actual shoes around since they no longer fit!
xo,
s
Candice says
I regularly purge my things. Every couple of months I get the urge and I go through my things and make a pile of things to get rid of. I’m actually in one of those binges right now.
Getting rid of 100 things really does sound daunting at first, but it’s so easy once you get going. The last time I was purging I set a goal for 100 items and by the time I went through my clothes and shoes, extra decorative things we didn’t want/need/use, holiday decorations, craft-related items (I’m a craft-a-holic so I have tons of stuff between sewing fabric, beads, scrapbooking things, yarn for knitting, etc)… I ended having well more than 100 items.
My biggest problem is actually taking the items to the Goodwill. I do just fine separating things out to get rid of – it’s the ‘loading into the truck and dropping off at the donation booth’ that I always fall flat with. I’ve got boxes and BOXES of stuff to donate that has just been sitting in my dining room (which we never use) waiting to be dropped off. So the ‘freeing’ effects of letting go of ‘stuff’ hasn’t really hit me because I really haven’t physically let it go – just emotionally!
Cindy @ The Flipping Couple says
I think that’s an awesome goal! I have “Declutter” scrawled across my weekend, because that’s my goal right now. We didn’t have a chance to purge before we moved (I had 24 hours to pack up our house AND get it all moved into our new house, and the hubs was out of town), so it’s taking longer to work through everything now.
Anna says
That is such a great goal! I did a lot of purging before my last move in June – a lot of stuff was donated to good will, and a lot of furniture was sold. Still, after we moved, we continued dropping off stuff at good will on a weekly basis for about three months! And just last week I donated a bunch of clothes and household stuff, and there is more where that came from. It feels so good to get rid of stuff that you don’t use or need!
Sarah says
I’m actually in the same process (moving in less than a month!) – it feels good to know I’m only moving the necessary stuff.
That being said – Sherry, what size shoe are you? Those silver shoes are adorable. I would totally take them off your hands :) too bad I’m in Atlanta?
YoungHouseLove says
My size is kind of all over the place. I used to be a size 5 (but usually bought things in 5.5 or 6 since 5 was so hard to find). Since having Clara my feet have permanently gotten bigger by at least a whole size (so I usually buy 6s and even the occasional 6.5 or 7). Craziness. Having a baby really does change everything- even your feet!
xo,
s
Shunta says
Every new season I shave down my shoes & purses based on what I didn’t use the previous season. i.e. I just went though all of my summer/spring shoes and got rid of the pairs that didn’t get much love this year. It tends to help (or at least balance things out) since I buy new shoes more than any other clothing item.
Melissa says
Beat ya to it!! :)
I switch my closet semianually when it starts to get cold/starts warming up, since I have such itty bitty closets.
Rather than doing the lazy thing and boxing up all my summer clothes, I went through them, figuring I’d save myself some effort in the springtime. I got rid of all those old shorts that I didn’t use this summer!
Nicolette @ Momnivore's Dilemma says
I just battled the clutter in my life as well…moving is a great time to do it!
I was inspired by the MomCave contest that was circling blogland…I donated 80% of my closet to charity…
Here’s the post…
http://momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com/2010/11/mom-cave-or-bust.html
Amy says
Yes! I am definitely in the middle of paring down (we have our first baby on the way in March!) and I’ve got piles for Goodwill, Ebay, the garbage and even one for original owners…turns out I borrow a lot! A designated box helps keep it all clear and the satisfaction of organization is worth the second trimester heartburn each time I bend over. ;)
Meghan says
I’m in the process of attempting to get things out of my house… our basement has been under renovation for the past year or so (our diy projects tend to take a LOT of time since we don’t have a lot of spare time) so we’ve been storing things down there… until recently I didn’t know how much of the stuff that was in the ‘donate’ pile that I asked my husband to take to goodwill ended up back in the basement!!!!! This weekend we are cleaning out that basement as the renos are just about finished!!! I think we have about 9 dressers down there… 4 kitchen tables… its ridiculous!!!
Amalisa says
We keep a small basket under the bench in our front hallway for give-away items. It’s easy for me when I have a place for it to go in the moment of deciding I don’t need/want it any longer.
And I agree with many posters, so much easier when moving to get rid of items. I need to be deliberate, hence the basket.
SamiJ says
When we moved, I put up a lot of my books on Paperbackswap.com . I think of them as my offsite storage for books. Whenever I want one back, I can just request it (might not get the same exact copy I sent out, but still). And I ended up getting rid of a lot of magazines (letting my local library be responsible for storing back issues of my favorite reads). Also moving is a good time to clean out kitchen shelves & donate to local food pantries(true even if you are not moving).
miss bee says
in order to make room for winter sweaters, i decided to go through my clothes to donate stuff to goodwill. i have FIVE bags full. five bags of clothes that i haven’t worn/barely worn in the past year. ay carumba.
Laura@JourneyChic says
I have 5 bags of clothes and shoes in the guest room ready to donate…and they’ve been there for a month. The tough part is remembering to bring them to Goodwill! At least we have guests coming for the holidays – that’s good motivation to move the crap out.
meredith says
boo! i’m purging too! we’re moving to cali, and because my husband is moving out 6 months before me, i’m taking in a friend as a roommate. I cleaned out her room and now my ‘office’ is a storage unit for all of that stuff! its so excessive but i dont know where to trim the fat!! i feel like if somebody saw it i would be submitted to hoarders.
Kevin M says
Moving is a great time to clean up. But don’t cheat and count each shoe as 1 item, stores don’t sell them separately! :)
Marie says
I’m moving this coming weekend and did a major purge beforehand.
Personally, my biggest gains came from clothes. I started working from home about a year ago, so I recommend attacking any “business casual” stuff you still have hanging around. Personally, I kept about 4 outfits since I still have to visit clients and things like that. Just make sure you only keep things that you can use for other stuff–semi-fancy dinners and things like that.
Jennifer says
I love a good lifestyle purge!!!
Now the real question… are you counting the ten pairs of shoes as 10 or 20 items?! Haha, Im guessing its going to depend on how close you are at crunchtime. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jennifer,
I think it’s only fair to count them as just ten items since they sell them in pairs! Haha.
xo,
s
Alina says
I love that idea and I’m totally going to copy you with keeping a list! We’re expecting our first child in May and we live in small brick ranch with limited closet space. The obvious task is to take all the crap-ola out of the soon-to-be-nursery and its closet, but I’m also determined to clean out every other closet and the shed and the garage.
Most of it is stuff that we haven’t used since we got married 5 years ago yet we’ve moved it all with us 3 times. It’s time to go! Thanks for the great idea!
Amy E. says
i dont’ have any tips or tricks, though i’m working on cleaning out some closets right now in preparation for a bundle of joy due in late March.
but i wanted to recommend two blogs i go through when my “keep it or ditch it” drive starts to slow down or gets stuck on a tricky item. they’re very inspirational and each has their own twists, tips, and tricks about paring down in today’s world:
You Are What You Keep
Making This Home
Dana @ House*Tweaking says
Oh, Sherry, I have a feeling if we lived together {which I’m not suggesting because that would be weird, right?} we’d have a monthly purge-fest. There is something so freeing about getting rid of unused items in your home. I even feel better seeing OTHER people get rid of stuff. I do it every few months to keep things from taking over but, I’ll admit, our unfinished basement could use some help in the decluttering area. Sounds like a good winter project.
Reese says
My husband and I will (God-willing) be moving soon as well and want to get rid of some things before we do so. We don’t have a specific number planned, but we have several boxes in our spare room that we haven’t touched since we moved into our apartment in March. I’m hoping we can get rid of most of those things to make room for baby stuff!
Jennifer says
I love purging! We just recently went through EVERYTHING we owned in the last few weeks. It was just time to get rid of stuff! I read your post about how to have a yard sale, which helped a lot. Our yard sale was very successful, and we ended up making almost $500 to put towards updating our dining room!
Good for you on getting rid of things. I’m sure you’ll surpass your goal of 100 things.
Jennifer
Amy E. says
oh, and if you can’t find the “decluttering” part at Making This Home (cuz Katie covers a lot of topics), click on the menu item “A Simpler Life” and it’ll bring up her simplifying posts.
Anna says
Once a year I switch all my hangers in my closet backwards. After I wear and wash something it goes back in the correct way. When the year is up, the clothes on the backwards hangers get donated.
Teresa@ Where in the World? says
You can do it! But beware, once you start to purge, it gets addicting. I’ve ended up with five pairs of shoes – three of them being sneakers and the other two being sandals – by not replacing ones that have hit the road.
Another helpful place to start the process is with books – the ones you have never read, the ones you haven’t gotten around to completing, and even the ones you want to share.
In a pinch you can always make a list of titles and authors worth remembering.
Shirley says
thanks for the inspiration. we just moved to a larger home and I am STILL purging. I want new stuff but there is so much old stuff that needs to go!
Janae says
I love the feeling I get when purge my house. And, for the record, writing it down is not crazy at all. I’d never thought to keep track of what I got rid of until I read “Throw Out Fifty Things.” Perhaps you’ve read it, too. Changed my life!
Natalie says
I love love love doing this! I regularly go through my clothes and shoes and give them to my students, cheerleaders, or friends at church. However, my husband and I decided two weeks ago to go through EVERY SINGLE room, cabinet, drawer, closet, nook, and cranny and get rid of anything we haven’t used in the past year (with a few exceptions – wedding dress, special occasion items, etc). I cannot wait!!! We will donate most of them, but if things are in good condition we may consign them. If we come across anything that we forgot we had in the first place, we for sure toss it. :)
Rachael says
Hey Sherry, I really love the idea of trying to get rid of 100 things… I may have to try this myself!
On a side note– I really love the pictures that you guys take and I think that your photography skills have improved lately. My tip would be to try toning down the contrast. And for color correcting, in almost any version of photoshop or editing program, this is a good/easy tutorial that I use: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-color-correct-photos-using-photoshop-levels-295976/
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Rachael!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
You two so ROCK!!!! Can we just say that ur blogs help me to get our new (old) house renovated!!! When my body hurts every morning I get up, I just pull up your blog while downing my much needed cup of joe and head on out to face the day of sanding, painting and the outher countless jobs to be done before we can rest our tired bodies. Thanks for you will never know how your family has a specialplace in my heart!!!! XOXO
jenna says
I’m making some tough decisions in my house and getting rid of excess too! It is hard when you are making the goodwill pile but once it is gone…elation!
Joy says
I can relate!! My husband just got a new job and he will be working from home. Problem is, we have 2 bedrooms. One is the nursery/guest bedroom and the other one is ours! My husband needs a quiet place to work. So we are thinking about removing a dresser from our room to make an “office.” Our house is small and now we need to start going through stuff and getting rid of things we don’t use. We can’t move b/c we would loose tons of money:( So…I LOVE the idea of getting rid of 100 things. I’m SO doing that! Thanks for the great idea!!
Sarah @ The Ugly Duckling House says
You bet! With the weather change finally making its way to Atlanta, I’m giving the ol’ heave ho to the summer shoes I never bothered to wear this past season. It seems only a few glittery sandals make me happy; not 20 pairs.
It’s struck me that I haven’t done any pairing down since we moved last year, so this season I had a lot more to get rid of. Thanks to a new dresser I picked up off Craigslist, I now have room to spare. Feels a lot better than stuffed to the rafters!
Abby C. says
Whoo, go Sherry! I am moving down from a two bedroom house into a one-bedroom apartment, with a huge supply of craft supplies and only two weeks of notice. As you can imagine, I’m purge cuuhraaaazzzy right now. I’m giving away a chair, a couch, two bookcases, about 50% of my books, a large stash of fabric, my Babylock serger, two desks, a garage table, two sheep fleeces, three huge garbage bags of clothes….the list goes on.
Good luck! I am actually finding it really freeing!!
Abby
Sarah says
It’s really not that crazy of a goal. We just moved and I think all the things we donated, ebayed or threw out probably added up to at least 100 (and I still have more stuff I want to go through to purge as well…). I think you’ll find it’s really easy once you get going. As someone else said on here, it could get addicting!
MelanieO says
We did this before a move in May and I wore the Freecycle Queen crown for weeks. Scour the kitchen for gadgets, pans, dishes, etc. that you never use. Ditto with the bathroom and all those things that accumulate in drawers and medicine cabinets. We were merciless in the garage, basement and attic for unused items, leftovers from projects, things that could be returned…you get the idea. We have two small children so a lot of outgrown clothes, toys and books didn’t make it into the moving van either. Good luck — there’s nothing quite like a good purge!