A question...have you gotten rid of your stash of masks leftover from COVID?

A fine question. I have gotten rid of many, but there are some still in sealed packages so I've kept those. Still, more are appearing all the time-- like in my car sonsole, entry cainets.. I think they are lke the pens that multiply.

I actually sold some unopened packages of masks at my garage sale. I found more after that and kept a few of the N95s. I had a bunch of other pretty fabric masks which of course are not effective against viruses/bacteria that spread through fine particle aerosols. I tossed them in the trash.

We still have a few masks I plan to keep, for various reasons. I donated the extra boxes.

Are we having to purge because we don’t use what we bought? I love what this guy has to say on the subject. LINK

He's funny, @bbstx.

What he said!

That’s why I will never have to buy soap again. I am using all the gifty soaps!

I’m starting on the candles this week as I am nearly out of tea lights. A friend used to have ”candle races”, where they would light a couple-three of similar candles (the snowmen, the bunnies, whatever) and see which burns down sooner.

I use the good china and silver whenever possible, not everyday because I have seen DH load the dishwasher. He is the meth-crazed raccoon in our kitchen, I’m the Swedish architect. The crystal, well, it needs handwashing so no. And I’m going to donate a bunch of champagne flutes because they don’t fit the dishwasher and break too easily, and I just don’t like the feel of the lip.

The notebooks, yeah, he is totally right on that score, too.

I've mentioned the soap thing before - years ago I bought so many special soaps that I deprived myself the pleasure of shopping for any since as I'm still using my stock. I think I'll be finally out soaps in another couple years.

I get fancy soaps as gifts from time to time. I cannot use them as soap, but I do use them as sachets in the linen closets.

@bbstx - great clip you posted!

Good one, bb. He makes a good point. I use some soaps as sachets. However, I had too many so I recently dropped them off at a charity that collects that sort of stuff.

Ive been on a real tear getting rid of stuff. I have a big laundry basket full of old sheets, rags, etc. As I mentioned, a bunch went to recycling. Now Im washing old sheets Ive been saving for thirty years in case I need a drop cloth. Most are going to the animal rescue and Im keeping two or three to throw away later.

I have a heap of candles and will put them on Buy Nothing for the appropriate holiday. They are tall candles, not scented. Soon this place will be so empty it will echo. Thats a joke.

I went into the hall bathroom today, just opening drawers and medicine cabinet. Already pretty sparse. but tossed some old toiletries. But, There are a few manicure sets. just guy stuff like clippers and nippers, tweezers. those flat thingies. What can I do with those? Most were never even used (how many clippers does one need after all?) Is it gross to donate them?

@bpath, if they are metal, I do not think it is gross to donate them. The metal parts can be cleaned with alcohol or some other sort of sanitizer. Have the cases deteriorated? If so, I’d remove the tools, put them in a small ziplock, and pitch the case. If the case is just dusty, I’d take the time to spruce it up before donating.

After purging so much (13 bags!), I'm done! I know how much I donated and it kills me! I have much more than enough. This thread threatens my resolve.

I love this thread

We got our garage done finally … now our Macan fits inside. :)

Jilly - congrats on the garage- you're new car deserves a place to rest!

bbstx - cute clip. I do need to unload stuff but not candles, soap or notebooks.

I detest scented candles and if I receive one as a gift it quickly gets donated. I do have a drawer in the buffet with dinner candles that we light at every meal. It's become a tradition for the grand daughters to blow them out after meals and select new ones when they need to be replaced.

I've always thought soap in a soap dish looks unappealing. That's what my folks had in our bathrooms and the soap dish was always goopy. I have Soft Soap pump dispensers in all the bathrooms except the guest bath which has a very pretty glass soap dispenser.

As for notebooks - well, that is a problem. Both DH and I have an inordinate fondness for notebooks and writing tools. You'd think we were getting ready for school! Recently I donated a box of unused notebooks that he had accumulated and no longer needed. Since I am the record keeper in the family I have a lot of notebooks that are used and labeled.

My downfall is the clothes in my walk-in closet - if I have room then I keep them.

But this week is my week to do something about that - my gym closes the indoor pool every year at this time for cleaning and maintenance and our classes are held in the outdoor pool. Sounds like a good idea - but it isn't heated and the night times temps drop low enough that the water is really chilly at 8 am.

So the closet is my to-do along with taking the comforters and blankets to the new laundromat.

Y'all are so inspiring. Linens are up next for me!

Bar soaps, I use them in only two places: in the half-bath that is not for guests, it is Lava soap great for really grimy hands. When that bar is gone, which will be awhile, we probably won’t be living here anyway. There’s also a bottle of liquid soap.

My gifty bar soaps are in the shower. That’s why I will never have to buy bar soap again! (Well, except DH uses only glycerine bar soap, which does eventually have to be replaced.)

Everywhere else is liquid soap. So much tidier.

Not us, but we went to MIL's because she wanted some bulk items moved to the curb for a scheduled city pickup, so yay on that end. DH also went through some things she put aside for him and now we have a bunch of things we do need to take to the dump vs. bullk pickup. But everything gone or scheduled to be gone is a positive. We had gone to the movies in the afternoon, so had the dump been open still, we would've just taken it.

Now that I'm back at school, I need to work on my office. If I am going to retire it will need to be done. And I don't want the stuff at home either!

Congrats 3 katz- you've been an inspiration. I know it isn't over yet but you should be proud of all you've accomplished.

This purging is kind of addictive!

Gscience, dont let that office stuff migrate to home. Ive had a couple friends who moved office files, etc to their house to go through ” later later” Of course later naver happened and now one in particular has a basement full of mouldering paper.

Congrats, 3katz. The end is in sight!

Good advice, @dedtired

Long story short (maybe long rant is more accurate), my husband and his sister are starting to remove some things from my MIL’s apartment. But instead of getting rid of stuff, it’s getting moved to my SIL’s house. So they are just kicking the can down the road. My excellent suggestions and advice fall on deaf ears, so I have learned to just keep it to myself. But complain elsewhere, I guess. 😆

That happened to us! and ultimately me! My dad’s family had a business. When Dad retired and sold to his cousin, a lot of old files migrated to his office and basement at home. When his mother died, a lot of old family records, personal, professional, medical, migrated to his office and basement at home. And ”stuff”, lots of stationery items. And a lot of it migrated to MY office at home. Along with all his personal papers and finance stuff. (The basement now holds the slides and photos. My brother has the film canisters.)

A couple of years ago we flattened or removed all the seats of the minivan, loaded it with 300# of paper, and took it to the shredder. It was so freeing to see it go!

I am STILL collecting shreddable paper from everything, mainly things we needed to close out the estates and it took me a while to recover, to approach it again.

Over the years we've ended up with a lot of dead relatives' stuff including contents from FIL's law office. I've gotten rid of most of it over time. We still have some of FIL's old books in the attic at our lake place. Box is too heavy for me and DH won't purge it so I'm thinking I'll just take a few at a time until they're all gone. When DH sold his business he brought home a bunch of stuff too. Thankfully he was willing to part with most of it in conjunction with this move.

Made a trip to Goodwill for a drop off and then on to Rhode Home Rescue (RI dog rescue) dropped off a huge bag of towels, dog bowls and assorted canine paraphernalia while DH was on the golf course . He is a saver and would have found a second use for something.

I didn’t really have anything to get rid of in the kitchen but the drawers needed vacuuming and general sorting out.

DH puts things away like his tea ball and spoon and cutting boards etc without ” decrumbing”. It accumulates in the drawers.

I took out the liners and organizers and vacuumed and resorted and replaced.

Everything looks so nice …. for now ❤️😊.

I figure if he were to be gone I’d have neat crumbless drawers but I’d rather have him and the crumbs. At least I know where he is and has been 🤣❤️. c

Congratulations on completing your purging before the movers arrive!

This thread has been motivating. Every day when it pops up, I go through another area.

I usually box up things into bankers boxes and take to a community shred day. The one dump location does it monthly but September is when we are in Asheville. I did find another community shred day near the airport.

Some years ago, Sister cleaned a bunch of stuff out of their garage and piled it to one side to be hauled off. Afraid that her DH would see it and want to keep some of the stuff, she had me help her throw it all in their van and race to Goodwill with it before her husband got home. The next time he went to play golf, we discovered that his set of clubs was part of what we had quickly thrown in the van and hauled off. It didn’t hurt his feelings to get to go buy new…and my sister could not say one word about it! 😂

Too funny, BBSTX.

This is our latest dilemma. The hanger hangover. You know how it is, you never want to toss the wooden ones. You only get them when you buy something nice. You covet them.

But they take up about 5x the space. I have allowed them for all winter coats, for suit jackets, and a few on nostalgic grounds (why do we have one that says The Four Seasons? Are we the reason so many hotels have made hangers fixed!? "Hangs" head in shame...)

@mtnrdredux_gw You should send them to my youngest.. He’s a sophmore in college and moved into his fiest apartment this fall. I asked him if he needed any more of the slim hangers I‘d bought for his dorm room. He said, ”No, I’m going to get wooden; they’re much nicer.” 🙄 I don’t disagree, but you’re 19 years old!

We have wooden ones for coats and suits and a random one from a Belgian dry cleaners when my in laws were doing the expat thing in the 1960s. My DH gave me matching wooden hangers for the coat closet one Christmas. He knows me well!

I use my little collection of wooden hangers from travels and times past, hotels and cleaners, in my front hall closet. I don’t actively collect, but when I come across one in the wild it comes home to my closet. At least they get used, unlike something sitting on a side table.

DH likes the white plastic. I like them, too, and the skinny fuzzies, and some things call for those clear plastic ones with a swivel hanger. Wire hangers and mismatches go to the rummage sale for use.

I used to get my wooden ones at church rummage sales for free! They were just tossed in the same bin with other unused hangers. But apparently people started actually collecting them, so I usually see them with a price tag now!

We also use wooden hangers for coats and heavy jackets. I like their aesthetic appeal and history when labeled.

Once it cools down more, I will clean out the small closet on my side of the garage. The one where our wedding china is stored in mutiple boxes in the back. To get started today, I reorganized the four lower cabinets that are hidden by counter stools. Tossed a few half used candle tins, collected a box of unopened paper napkins and plates to donate. The opened napkins are now in a drawer so I will see and use them. I ordered six more shelves to go in those cabinets so I can unpack the majority of the wedding china. I need a more organized/useable garage closet. I will also donate two huge crates and one ortho crate pad to our local cat rescue or larger rescue group/farm.

I was reading a NYT article about red lipstick, which had a link to Chanel, which has a very cool live try on feature. Nearly bought something *not red* and then asked myself ...How many lipsticks do you own now anyway.?

Just dId a mini purge of cosmetics ... instead of buying a new lipstick!

Now you have room for more lipsticks!

In the last stage of cleaning BIL’s house, I got a second smaller storage unit right across the hall from mine and just threw stuff in it.

Today was the day. Spent seven hours cleaning and consolidating into one, my original eBay storage space.

Started listing stuff on FBMP and will slowly make my way through it. Everything is on wheels so it’s easy to roll out and access stuff. Getting my money’s worth on the space!

1929 Spanish. So. Much. Stuff. Hope its all happy in its new home. What a job.

Today i spent the whole day on the porch sofa reading and watching Netflix. However, I did add hardener to old cans of latex paint two days ago, and they can now be tossed. So, thats my purge for the last couple days. I ordered more hardener ( Krud Kutter) and will work on the other 10 cans soon.

Ha! Some of it is trash and empty totes in the front amd most of the stuff on the sides is eBay stock and shipping boxes.

Normally I just keep eBay stock and only a few personal items in there.

Went through all the under sink areas at the lake place before moving stuff in from the other house. Threw a few unneeded dupes in the trash. Movers move everything here on Thursday so the real fun begins then. Hope to get much of the consolidation done before we leave on Sept 25. There is a lot of extra, unneeded stuff when you consolidate two homes into one. I have a few extra furniture items I hope to unload on FBM.

So yesterday I sent out this APB to the family.( click to read)

I just hope, having slept on it, that they don't flake on me.

Mail them off!

About a year ago we had to access the attic, and whoever put attic hatches in bedroom closets should be forced to use them, and get locked in up there. Anyway, half my closet had to move, and half the elfa stuff taken down. Well, a year later and the issue seems to be taken care of, so today I put things back from scattered closets.

I had done some purging back then, now did some more, and already have someone coming to pick up a couple of old school jackets from one of those scattered closets.

Little by little!

Bpath, i have an attic access like that. Years ago I shoved things in the attic and now there is so much accumulation in the closet that I cant get to the attic. Will have to face that one of these days. What a terrible plan.

Our access is via an 8x5 bathroom. since DH can’t help, I have to pay someone to come and empty it, except there’s currently no space.

Good news, there is t much up there.

Bad news is the main things up there are my wedding dress (guessing the preservation isn’t anymore) and our Christmas tree decorations.

My dad, a civil engineer with an architect father, had easier access with bessler stairs in the attics of his houses. But when the time came to empty the last house, we found that what went up, didn’t come down! Books I remember from when we moved in, still up there. Firearms. We took those to the police department. Old curtains. Disassembled beds.

We don’t keep anything in our attics except mice.

A couple of houses ago, access to the attic was through a hatch in the laundry room. It was a very small hatch. We needed work done on something in the attic. The first repairman who was sent was too ”portly” to get through the hatch. He had to call for the skinny guy to come.

Several years later, the heater went out. In order to get the new heater into the attic (this is the south; we don’t have basements), we had to take down the mirror over the sink in one of the upstairs bathrooms, cut into the wall behind the mirror, etc. I didn’t watch.

What are these people thinking?

Omg, Bbstx, ages ago I climbed repeatedly through a small hatch in the garage ceiling of the ranch house that BF bought so that I could blow insulation into the house attic. I’m little and I still had nightmares for many many years about getting stuck in that hole. Eventually he had the entry moved and pulldown stairs added. :)

I just did a voluminous purge for me: I went through my and BF’s garages and got rid of the shipping boxes and packing materials that I have always kept for shipping my baskets in competitions! I haven’t entered anything in a while so no sense wasting that space.