In preparation for our up coming move, I've been going through our Stuff. One great thing about a move is it helps one get rid of all sorts of stuff. There are a few things I am stumped on though.
First, the boys clothes. Every time they grow out of something I have sent the doubles to my sister in law for her son, and neatly boxed the rest of the clothes. I have a box of 0-3 month, 3-6 month, 6-12 month, 12-18, 18-24 months, 2T winter, 2T summer, etc. Now that I know I'm having a girl, it seems less motivating to keep these boxes and boxes of clothes. I'm not positive they will even be used again by a child of mine, and if they are, it could be several years from now. Is it worth it to carry these boxes around from move to move?
The next thing I'm stumped on is all the letters and memorabilia Jason and I have kept. I have a small box of Jason's letters to me from high school which I treasure. However, I wrote him a lot more and had bigger handwriting, so he probably has four times the volume of letters. Then there are all the binders and boxes of letters he received on his mission, many from people we don't even keep in touch with anymore. He kept many notebooks on which he recorded thoughts and notes from missionary meetings and daily inspirations. They do contain so many of his precious thoughts, but we only look through them at moving time, deciding to keep them or not. In addition, we have framed pictures and various awards and plaques that we've kept, but that just sit boxes hidden away. (Like we'd put up a plaque from being a co captain of a sports team in high school--but it's such a nice plaque!)
Then there's the monstrous pile of the boys toys that is downstairs. I'm just too overwhelmed to even start going through that in hopes to shrink it down somewhat.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not a total packrat and have already gotten rid of lots of stuff. But I just get to a certain point and get stuck. Any advice?
What do you do about your Stuff? What do you keep? What do you get rid of? How do you get rid of it?
ky and kade turn 15!
4 years ago
7 comments:
I have started to scan a lot of things like letters and other things that I have collected in binders. That way you still have it but it is only on a CD now and not taking up any space.
You are better than me. Some of my favorite outfits from when my boys are little, I have kept both--even if they are exactly the same. One idea for your awards and plaques is to take a picture of them and put the picture in a scrapbook or photo album so you have the memory, but don't have to store a bulky plaque.
I finally had to take a picture of all of my piano award cup things and say goodbye. I am so sorry that you have to go though all of that stuff. That is sooo busy! Wish I could bring my boys and come and play for a while!
Consult some organization author or something. Find some hard and fast guidelines that you can agree with and stick to them. This seems like an ideal time to be minimalist. But since you guys have such a long history together, it must be harder to decide what stays and what goes. Good luck!
I am doing the same thing at home. We are anticipating a move and I want to get rid of everything because I am tired of lugging it around. How much do we really use it anyways? I have 4 boxes ready to go to DI. I hope to have more soon. If I haven't used it while living in CA the last 3 years it is gone.
My sister's advice to me, which was invaluable, was if it hasn't been used/worn/thought about in a year, it's not worth keeping. the memorablilia is of course a different story and you'll have to think about that on a one by one basis, but anything else keep that in mind. And if you have the urge to send any of those little boy clothes to someone else, I'd be willing to take them off your hands. I don't have that much stuff left over from Landan that are for babies. Garage sales and Craig's list are always good but I'd be willing to take them for you. Let me know how it goes.
Here is what I did with all of our girls clothes. I saved my very favorite outfits, and got rid of the rest. THere is just too much too keep. And, I figure by the time I use it again it will be so old and out of style I won't want it anyway.
As for old papers and plaques. We each have maybe one or two boxes each for that stuff and the rest gets pitched.
Toys....box up their favorites and get rid of the rest. I have boxes in the attic that we need to just get rid of because we are not using them.
Isn't it great to move, you purge so much stuff!!
Post a Comment