Can you help a Miserly eco-freak get rid of stuff, argh

[YeOldTrout]

My (happy) hoarding tendency comes out of eco-freakery & financial anorexia. I hate getting rid of something to only spend money replacing it later (this has happened). I hate binning stuff that could still have a use. I don't embrace the "beauty of Kondo," and rules don't motivate me either about 1-2 years since I used it or loveit-useit-shareit-binit.

The Problem is, We need to replace carpets which means minimising how much to be cleared from each room or the mess is going to be impossible.

if anyone relates to having strong eco-freak or frugal instincts, but has managed to get rid of lots stuff anyway, what guiding principles did you use? Best I can come up with is to console myself that if I only have to buy back 1/3 of the stuff I chuck that will be a net gain. Yet too much I still shove in loft because I'm not quite sure.

also this article may be of interest

www.spaceclearing.com/blog/2014/03/15/resolving-recycling-dilemmas/

Thanks, many good ways to think about a lot of things.
I have taken 4 carrier-size bags to charity shop in last few days, plus the recycling bin is double-full (I have bin bags of spare stuff to go in next lot). The kids agreed to say goodbye to a decent selection of old games. I need to tackle the reference books with DH (many are his). Painting clothes: barely one outfit in each size so don't think I can reduce yet.

The text books are jolly useful to keep though, have to disagree there. I dug a 25yo one out and worked thru it only a few months ago, needed it for work very much. I'm planning to give to charity shop everything that hasn't sold by February on Ebay (high sales season on Ebay is Sept-Jan).

I haven't peeked in the loft yet, though. Will try to summon the courage (lol).

That's a great start - well done.
After clinging on to stuff full of "what if's" for years, I found once I started the decluttering process it felt so good I was really motivated to keep going. I ended up making a massive change to out home and to my thought and decision making processes.

I understand where you are coming from, recently I sweated over getting rid of a carrier bags worth of old sun tan products, lotions, creams and after sun stuff. I fretted over the environmental impact of getting rid of those chemicals as I had to put them in the bin to go to landfill. I fretted over the money wasted in not using them up. Some of them were 20 years old, so unfit for purpose, and I felt much happier when they were replaced with one small tube of factor 45 from the pound shop.

I find it easier to get rid of clothes though, as the worn out ones get sold for rags by recycling companies.

I'm uncertain what to do with ancient, stained duvets and old pillows though. They're too big to fit in my washing machine and there are signs up on the local textile recycling bins refusing them. They take up a lot of space in my spare room, which is almost impossible to clear when we have visitors.

Any tips?

Animal rescue might want duvets

Yes. Pillows and duvets can be used as animal bedding. Look in yellow pages for animal rescue centres or put on freecycle explaining they are stained and offering for pets.

This thread is fabulous! Thank you everyone.

I too have issues with waste (even though we are financially okish). Like the OP I hold on to too much just in case.

This thread has really helped me look at the problem from a different perspective.

Great to hear Slattern
I really struggled with hoarding and not wanting to waste for years. It can be so hard or impossible to see a different way. But once you "get" it things change.
It's like I needed to feel the difference rather than intellectually talk about it. Physical action is required - be ruthless. And then you get on a roll and it's like having blinkers removed.

There are some great decluttering/minimilism action threads on MN/GH that were very helpful and supportive to me too (under a different NN).

right with you on not creating landfill!

remember you only need one of many things. For example ONE tube of suncream. Buy another when it is nearly empty. The apocalypse is not iminent.

don't keep stuff for hobbies that may be rediscovered. They rarely are. If kids want to take up squash, get second-hand rackets or borrow.

useful tip on old bedding, thanks!

off to clear out a cupboard...

Well done, OP. That's an excellent start.

(Remember as well, not to forget the kitchen cupboards. I imagine that most of us have some weird and wonderful products at the back of cupboards which were bought in an injudicious moment - maybe try some weird and wonderful recipes over the next few weeks? )

That's true. Storage items may make you more organised but they don't half bulk. I'm valuing clear space more than 'organisation' these days, I've found.

tbh, the only arguments that held sway with me in the end were about

• someone might find it more useful/might need it more
• charity shops could benefit & that's a very good thing
• Less stuff we don't use means more space for keeping tidy & easy to find the stuff we do use (hate it when I can't find something)

(to lesser extent)

• some things rot or go obsolete or fall apart while in storage which would be a horrible waste
• good principle to have faith in the future (but very hard when the present feels like miserable shit)

My house isn't cluttered at all, btw, just have to shift stuff around due to carpet fitting & that's a big Headache. 3 yrs ago We couldn't find my old squash racket so had to buy 2xnew ones so DS & I could go play. The 2nd hand rqts were almost as expensive as new so we just bought new but then only used a dozen times. Sold one off for half of what we paid (argh). Don't want to do that again in 3-5 yrs time.

Yes that was Kondo.

I did my flat pre reading Kondo and I avoided the buying storage trap. By the time I had gone through everything I had so many empty boxes/containers etc left over I had to get rid of those too.

I did buy a couple of specific purposes items from Muji, but only when I was 100% sure that I needed them.

The best thing I every did was to sort and keep like with like. So now I know where all the tape is - sellotape, masking tape, packaging tape, pretty tape for presents etc - all kept in one place and I know where it is. Previously items were scattered and I often couldn't find say masking tape so would buy some more. So I ended up with 6 rolls of masking tape in different places. ANd THAT is how you make lots of clutter.

By sorting through everything and keeping everything together in "it's place", you save on clutter, know where to find things, and can have one of each item & replace it when it runs out/gets low.

Also it is easy to return an item to it's proper place so even if you get in a mess (It's my natural state I'm afraid) it takes a short amount of time to run around and return items to their 'home'. Mess begone!

I now apply this mostly successfully to everything we own. And I'm getting better all the time.

another eco freak here.

why would you get rid of string etc?..... It always gets used for something (allotment, den building etc) .

we're meant to be moving house soon. I hope that solves it for me. alhough it's a much bigger house so I'll have storage for all my shit.

Obvs I've just used tape as an example.

Another example of storage solutions vs simplicity I love is wrapping paper. On pinterest you will find lots of suggestions as to how you might organise your many rolls of wrapping paper, and create special places to keep it. Some people even have lovely super organised wrapping stations in their home - I kid you not.

My low-fi solution, is to have just one roll of wrapping paper at a time. Silver is fine for everyone - for DC's friends they might add some stickers, or a ribbon. Find a paper that works for all, and when it gets low, replace it. No storage solution required.

I do have a lot more than one roll of wrapping paper (Xmas being the very devil for 'Just in Case') but at least I now keep it all in one place - as I do with the various cards and gift tags etc which have their own big box. I think that having them all together also stops me buying extra these days because I can see the boxes in my mind's eye while in the shop and think to myself 'It's OK on that - I've already got it covered'.

oh, I am whittling wrapping paper down to just gold . I got utterly sick of endless scraps of lying around.

I like the look of different colours/designs round the Xmas tree - always have and I can't get away from it. I admire the simplicity of having just one standard colour but I couldn't do it myself, I'm afraid.

It's important for me to use up odd bits though and you pretty well have to ensure that there is rotation of paper to ensure it's not faded and tired.

We reuse wrapping paper several times (shifts nervously into shadows).

Well done you. I did try that one year but it wasn't successful for various reasons so I'm afraid to say that I compromised: I still make the gift tags (usually from any old Xmas cards) but wrapping paper is 'first-use' in this household.

YeOldTrout I think you are actually my mother. If not you sound exactly like her - right down to reusing and reusing and reusing wrapping paper.

As you were.

We reuse wrapping paper too - within the immediate family only unless it looks as new! Particularly good for "father christmas" presents. For "new" wrapping paper we generally have just a few rolls of fairly neutral paper usually coloured stripes of some sort - I would happily go to just one roll of one colour like gold but dh does most of the buying of that sort of thing when he sees a bargain.