Decluttering advice?

DangZagnut · 2017-11-30T18:48:07+00:00

Do you have a backpack or suitcase?

Put everything in it that you actually use and has actual real financial value. Imagine a hurricane is coming and you have time to load your bug out bag with what really matter.

Anything not in the bag you can throw away and you don't really need. Posters? Garbage and replaceable. DVDs? Garbage and replaceable. Old yearbooks? What are you keeping them for.

Anything you can replace, you don't need. Plates? Silverware? Pots and pans? Knife set nana bought you? A vase?

All replaceable. So put your checkbook, credit cards, cash, bitcoin keys, jewelry, tech that you actually use, into your bag, and throw the rest out.

I used to move every 7 months. I'd get a 7 month lease for the purpose of constantly moving. You get to know a city, and you declutter your life. You just rent a new place at month 6, move over the things that actually matter, and everything else gets shoveled into a dumpster. After awhile, you get a real minimal life, without crap in it, because you get tired of moving the same old shit in boxes from closet to closet yet never doing anything with it.

ZealousMathematician · 2017-11-30T18:46:23+00:00

I think follow the advice of kinomari. There are a few steps. (Might’ve mispelled it)

Throw away anything you don’t need or have no special value to you.

You need a car, keep it.

You like that car tag you made for yourself in 8th grade keep it.

You see that stained shirt from three years you didn’t wear and it looks terrible. Trash it.

cyancst · 2017-11-30T19:13:53+00:00

Get rid of it.

Get rid of it.

Go to the grocery store and buy the strongest trash bags you can; NOT the thin store-brand ones. Don't make a donation pile because you'll probably never get around to it.

Just haul all that shit to the trash bin and reward yourself with something nice when you're done. Easy.

VanDriver1 · 2017-11-30T18:49:53+00:00

4 piles: Save, trash, donate, sell.

I do 1 year not 6 months but that doesn't matter.

I imagined that I was moving to another country on another continent and could only keep what I could take with me on the airplane. I set a lot of stuff beside the dumpster and in a few hours somebody took it because they had use for it, and I was glad. For the pennies that you could get for something and the hours of time that you need to invest in selling it Pratically nothing is worth keeping. I kept the stuff I make money with, my tools. 3 to 5 years of tax records and paperwork. I have no pictures or picture albums. I din't even want to look at those let alone keep them because someone else wants them. I have my memories. No input from anyone. They will tell you WHAT to do, but they WON'T DO anything. "You want this come here and get it. I don't have time to bring it to you." Puts the onus on them. You'll find if they have to do it they will tell you to throw it away. Storage rental units are around $100/month. for 12 months that's $1200.00. It has got to be something pretty valuable and irreplaceable to pay that kind of money.

Sal-the-Gunzerker · 2017-11-30T18:53:05+00:00

I sold all my stupid stuff, I was a collector nerd for a long time, had action figures, comic books, ton of CDs, etc. Sold most of it to local shops, sold some stuff on ebay, which was a nightmare half the time, so I dont recommend it, the cool stuff I gave away to friends. My major possessions now consist of my car, my PC, and my dog.

KneeDeepThought · 2017-11-30T18:58:49+00:00

been decluttering since my divorce a few years back:

any clothes you haven't worn in a year need to get donated. possible exceptions for something like a parka if last winter didn't get that cold, etc.

go through your pantry and ditch any expired crap like pasta, spices, cooking oil, etc. old chipped dishes should get tossed, those extra wine glasses, cutting boards, mixing bowls, and other crap also need to go. Anything you don't use regularly should get sold on something like offerup or letgo. Blender, pizza stone, other appliances like a old camera or phone dock can also get you a couple bucks. this is also very applicable for tools if you have any to part with.

toss worn out tshirts, holed socks, undies, etc. if your kids outgrew anything like books, toys, and of course clothes, donate all that or sell it if it's of any value.

get rid of any book you own that won't be read again. read all the stuff you have but haven't read and put it on the keep forever or donate pile. get rid of any furniture you're not using, like now you'll maybe have an empty bookcase. you can typically easily give this stuff to friends, everyone knows some broke student who can use a shelf or desk.

for some reason I wound up with an ungodly amount of picture frames. pare down what you use for decoration and just keep the photos in all those extra frames instead, give the empty frames away or chuck 'em. speaking of decorations, minimize the crap you keep on hand for holidays, all that tinsel and lights eats up lots of storage.

Jarl_of_Jarls · 2017-11-30T19:25:40+00:00

a big one for me, how many dvd's do you own? when was the last time you watched most of them? clearing out an entire built in bookcase of dvds and replacing them with books, not only decluttered my life, but made my place look better in the long run

Luther-Burnett · 2017-11-30T19:36:08+00:00

I've gone through a series of houses since my divorce years ago, initially to fix up & sell & lately the same with downsizing in mind. Each time I've taken just what would fit comfortably in my new house with no crowding, limiting it to stuff I really like and/or would use. Once I moved from a 5200 sq ft 5 bath house to 3000 sq ft & sold & donated more than 2 20' trucks of furniture, tools and stuff. Most recent moved from 2100sq ft to 1600 and got rid of 4or 5 pickup loads. I'm rehabbing a 1100 sq ft now & thinking of moving into it, which I'll get rid of half the stuff I have left. It's surprising to me how I hardly miss anything I've gotten rid of--once in a while I wish I had a table saw or miter saw when I need one, but not often. Life is easier for me and I'm happier when I have less things and space to take care of, and spend more time outside. A big part of this is my getting older though.

Title	Decluttering advice?
Author	Saturn1981
Upvotes	5
Comments	17
Date	November 30, 2017 6:35 PM UTC (8 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MGTOW
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MGTOW/comments/7goh5o/decluttering_advice/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MGTOW/decluttering-advice.529465 https://theredarchive.com/post/529465

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