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Saver or Throw Awayer | 3.16

I have containers for each of us and if it fits in the container of treasures it gets to stay. If there is insufficient space- maybe something else needs to be let go, or that item can't be saved.
For me the challenge has been when my kids left home and they didn't take their stuff. Why was I holding on to stuff for sentimental reasons when it didn't matter to them?
 
I'm somewhere in the middle. When we cleaned our parents' house out to put on the market, we couldn't believe what they had kept. They were "very neat hoarders". We even found my sister's cast from when she was 6. I remember I went home and started purging. Hahaha

To Lynn's point @LynnG I take pictures of lots of things - especially the kids' artwork. That can really mount up!
 
I'm a get rid of everything type! My mom never gets rid of anything and now she's kind of sad because neither my sister nor I want/have room for all her stuff she's collected and she can't bring herself to part with it.
I take the first week of summer vacation every year and do a big purge in my house. Right about this time of year I start getting twitchy and I'm ready to start cleaning out!
 
I'm in between and aiming toward minimalist. No rush though because I live in a house with enough storage, including a basement where things are out of sight and out of mind. But most of my clutter is from long ago; I don't buy much nowadays.
 
I am only a keeper if it is an heirloom. We had SO MUCH stuff a few years back: heirlooms, furniture, photo albums/scrap albums :( entire art studio, etc that was in a storage room. There was a billing error, and we tried to straighten it out right in the middle of sudden surgery and we couldn't afford an atty then so we ended up losing it all. Nobody told us we could have recovered "personal things" first! ARGGGGH! That was really painful, even traumatic! I learned then to be really careful about what I hold on to- it better have meaning and be worth the space. I will NOT put special things in storage again EVER. So, no, not really a "keeper". I do purge every Spring too.
 
I love to get rid of things. Haha. Both my hubby and I have no problems throwing things out.
I stand can't clutter, and I've definitely got worse with my old age. My kids know they better put their stuff away or it might get thrown out!

My kids are all pretty good about getting rid of stuff...except one. She leaves stuff all over the house, she has piles in her room, etc... I put up with it for a while and then I make her go through it. I usually have to help.
 
michelepixels said:
including a basement where things are out of sight and out of mind.
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Been there, done that. I found that is not a good attitude to have. Especially when the sump pump quit working or the electric was out for several days and there was water in there. Thankfully it is now cleaned out and what is down there is stored neatly off the floor and I can see lots of empty space.
 
I'm more of a thrower outer person. If I can find it a home, then I can keep it.

I'm not for clutter, and stuff all over makes me anxious. My parents were keepers, and I think this relates to them having way too much stuff. The old house was a nightmare, and the dumpster was filled. The new house, I actually go in a make them purge a couple times a year.
 
bestcee said:
We have some boxes of mother in law's client stuff that we are storing until the time passes that we can ditch them. Luckily, there are shredded trucks that you can have come to your house to take the files away for you!
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Yep, the shredding will probably be the easiest, but I've made 3,000+ files over the last 30 years, and the thought of having to go through each and every one of those makes me crazy. I wish my father didn't have the need to keep originals of everything for his clients.

And then there are his personal files ... OH EM GEE!!!
 
Memaw2Wm said:
Yep, the shredding will probably be the easiest, but I've made 3,000+ files over the last 30 years, and the thought of having to go through each and every one of those makes me crazy. I wish my father didn't have the need to keep originals of everything for his clients.

And then there are his personal files ... OH EM GEE!!!
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I spent a lot of time shredding files over the years. In a way it was therapeutic for me. LOL In fact, I have an area in my garage where I put anything that needs shredded. During the summer months, I'll sit out there (keeps the mess out of the house) in the afternoon and shred for a couple of hours. The recycle truck will pick it up, I just make sure to write "shredded paper" on the box so they know what is in the box.

There is a business in the city closest to me that is affiliated with a school for developmentally disabled individuals. They do shredding. Every couple of years we would go through the old files and pull out the stuff that could go and a truck would take it up there. We paid them by the pound. I think the first time we did it after I started there (maybe 8-9 years), we were able to get rid of a lot. The boss did not want to get rid of anything. He went into the hospital so we cleaned his office while he was off that week. He wasn't happy but at least you could walk in his office after that. He ended up passing away about a year later so another clean out was done before the new controller came in. He made it a point of doing the file room every 2 years. The first time we did it, I found stuff from the 80's. So over 30 years old.
 
HavaDrPepper said:
So over 30 years old.
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Dad's been practicing law for 65 or so years. You should see some of the stuff that I find tucked away. A few years ago he did clean out his stockpile of blank tax forms b/c they are now available online. His hoard went back to the 1960's and earlier. I've been known to sneak years old magazines out of the office to recycle and other bits and pieces that I'm sure he won't miss.
 
My husband are both born under the rat sign and well rats are hoarders so here we are! Although next week hubby is headed out of town and I will be doing a purge. Don’t tell him, lol
 
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