What criteteria do have for keeping or throwing away stuff?
Answers:
This is how I do it.
(**Make sure you buy nice looking tupperware bins of the same size- the very large ones, and make sure you have lots of photo boxes, and filing cabinet space to store the items you need neatly)
I take EVERYTHING out, lay it on the floor (I hope you have a nice basement floor or a lot floor space)
FIRST:
Catagorize everything this way:
IS IT OBVIOUS GARBAGE? (example, bubble gum wrappers, old appointment cards, scrap paper, old magazines, etc.) If it is obvious garbage put this in a big black garbage bag (have plenty of those available). <-- this will take you a while but be patient.
EVERYTHING else would be regular objects/items (example, shoes, clothes, toys, hair curlers, kitchenware, etc.) LEAVE THESE ALONE, JUST pick up the obvious garbage things.
AFTER YOU ARE DONE STEP ONE, GO ONTO STEP TWO:
Out of all the "EVERYTHING ELSE" catagory, separate them like this: (In piles on the floor, make sure they are clearly separated, they do not have to be neat)
1- All clothes (shirts, underwear, pants, mittens,etc. in a pile, does not have to be neat)
2- All shoes/belts in a pile
3- All toys in a pile
4- All books in a pile (Don't categorize them yet)
5- All CD's, cassettes, records, DVD's, and related items etc. in a pile
6- All kitchen ware in a pile (Aprons, extra cutlery, plate settings, etc)
7- All bathroom stuff in a pile
etc etc...categorize them by what they are for whatever else you have. After these piles, go through ONE pile at a time, YOU must throw items away or else you'll be a packrat. Keep that mentality in mind. You can always give items to the salvation army to needy people.
SO, one pile at a time, ask yourself?
-->Is it worth $$? If yes, is it too ugly to be displayed? If yes then sell it for the $$. If its ugly and is not worth $$ then toss it.
-->Have you used it in the past year? If not, toss it. Especially with clothing. You can always buy new clothes, give them to the Salvation Army of another thrift shop.
-->Does it have sentimental value? If its ugly but with sentimental value and you'll never display it, then toss it. If it is a small item, then you should keep all the "ugly but sentimental, partly useless" items in a tupperware bin to store away. If it is a huge wall plaque of a fish that your great grand father gave you, then I would toss it. Its a waste of room, and what will you do with it? You can keep sentimental items, but don't keep the big junky useless ones. If people kept everything from age 1, they would be living in a pile of junk.
**Funny story: My Aunt THIS REALLY BIG UGLY "ART" OBJECT MADE WITH POPSICLE STICKS FROM MY GRANDFATHER, i asked her as we were cleaning her house, do you think its ugly? She said yes, its horrible, I don't know where to put it. I took it outside, threw it out her front door with an old lamp that was broken and probably from the 1970s and completely cookie cutter type lamp and useless. She said, Oh my God. I said this is the first step away from being a pack rat. After that she was more comfortable throwing more items out.
-->DO THROW OUT old newspapers and magazines.
-->Keep books, and catagorize by subject, Books are always good to have. If you too many books for your house then take the ones you don't like, or the ones that aren't worth a lot, and give them to the salvation army.
-->Pet toys, cages, etc. if you don't have a pet anymore, you should get rid of it. Or sell it in a garage sale and make some money, while making and organizing space in your home.
-->Get rid of old furniture/lamps/kitchen towels and suitcases from the 1980s. They take up room, are full of dust mites, and the old suitcases look out of date anyway. Sell them at your garage sale or give them away to people in need.
-->NEVER THROW OUT paperwork. Always buy a nice and organized filing cabinet and file you papers in the proper category. Unless of course it is old bank statements that YOU ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT NEED IN THE FUTURE. The paperwork you don't need, use a cross cut shredder to shred them up. Keep all paper work for a year then look through them yearly to throw away the old ones to make room for new ones.
--->Food in your fridge, things have expiry dates. If its expired, toss it. if there is no expiry date but you know its been in the fridge or freezer for a while and looks freezer burnt, toss it. You can always buy new.
That's all I can think of for now. Keep updated. If your stuff looks old and you have no room or got too much something, give it away, sell it or toss it.
Other answers:
As far as clothes: if I haven't worn it in a year I will give it away. I have set up my clothes in a rotation in my closet so that I am wearing all my things on a reguar basis. If I feel it getting tight or worn I adjust accordingly. tftp
As far as clothes: if I haven't worn it in a year I will give it away. I have set up my clothes in a rotation in my closet so that I am wearing all my things on a reguar basis. If I feel it getting tight or worn I adjust accordingly. tftp
if i havnt used it in 6 months, i dont need it.
If I haven't worn it in a year, except for some seasonal and sports gear, it gets donated to chairty. I get a receipt for fair market value and I then have a nice deduction for my federal taxes.
In order to KEEP it you have to LIKE it, NEED it, WANT it, USE it. If not then GET RID OF it.
I swear! I am not endorsing this book for sales; rather I found it very helpful for organizing. The author emphasizes organizing for your own style of living rather than just offering up generalized ideas for getting your stuff together.
If I haven't looked at it in 6 months I toss it. If it seems like it is an important document (tax/bill/business/instruction... related) I create a file for it. If it's something like a card or a picture of a friend's kid, I place it in a "scrapbook" envelope. I give myself 3 months to actually put it in the book. If I don't, I toss it. Clothes get donated. The junk I collect as 'projects' get 3 months too. If I don't 'get around to doing it' I junk it and figure something better will present itself eventually.
Can't take it with ya. You know?
Good luck!