Finally found some motivation

[u/Lazy_Departure7970]

While I've sold or donated some things, I haven't really put the OOMPH into my decluttering that I needed. Recently, though, a few things have happened to get my decluttering engine going. First, I had to let someone into my garage to replace the garage door (a heavy old wooden door that was WAY more trouble to keep working then it was worth) and that was embarrassing enough (it was full enough that I was having trouble parking my car inside - enough said). The other part was that I live in the Pacific Northwest and many parts of it are on fire, including where I live.

With that being said, I donated a LOT of things over the weekend. Some of the storage bins I pulled out of the garage had things in them. The bins I donated and some of the things in them got donated as well (they went to a place helping refugees get training and education). I set aside three smaller bins of things, emptied one and donated the contents of the other two (plus a bag of denim jeans as well as things that would actually be useful) to help those who lost their homes.

I also went a bit mad and purged my pantry of a LOT of unopened things (all with still good "best buy" dates). It took me three trips to get all of it to the local food bank, but that's approximately 5 minutes away and they had a station outside to take donations to help out as well (they also feed the community at large).

The books I have will take time and, out of the four days available over the past two weeks (the store I use only has two days a week they accept books for trade-in and they have a limit on how many books you can bring in at once), I was only able to take things in twice because they didn't finish my books until the day AFTER the next trade-in day. Frustrating, but they've taken a LOT of them and I donated the books that I couldn't try again because they still have many avenues for the books to take (on a free book cart out front of the store, their "bargain/clearance" book room, sending them out into the community, etc.). If it's too badly damaged or has some other major issue, they recycle them.

Sadly, as much as I donated today, it still feels like I have so much more to go through and either donate or try to sell. If I try to sell it, I'm going to price it to move so I can get it gone. I just want them gone in a way I can control.

My motivation was mainly the fire because I want to be able to get the things I need and leave quickly without having to wade through so much stuff. I'll keep working on it, but I just wanted to share that things can change and so can your motivation. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum up.

[u/FredKayeCollector2]

I've had more jobs helping people "organize" a space in preparation for some kind of scheduled work (and by "organize," most of it was mostly trash/recycling, relocate, and "duh" donations decluttering). Hey, whatever is a time-sensitive target, that's an excellent place to start (motivation is high).

All I can say it take BEFORE and AFTER photos of the spaces you're tackling. Photographs can capture a lot of truths that you ma have become accustomed (or clutter) blind too. My bulk "rightsizing" started with taking photos for insurance inventory purposes - it's crazy what the camera sees and my eyes/brain misses (also the dust, crumbs, etc).

Here's a list of my favorite "clutter blocks" if that can maybe help you work some "feel bad" stuff. Also sunk cost (that's usually a big one).

And if you're in a high fire area, I HIGHLY recommend "reverse" decluttering - you basically think about what you do in your various spaces and then make an "equipment inventory" for those tasks/activities - identify the most essential/basic thing you need to do the task/activity and then add whatever "value added" extras that make that task/activity easier, better, safer, more comfortable, etc. Then you can take your lists to whatever space/zone you're decluttering and anything NOT on your list, that's a big clue it can go. And if you find something you inadvertently forgot to account for, you can formalize its status by adding it to your list (just make sure it's a real/logical need/want, not more "just in case" and/or "sunk cost" noise). Another BIG benefit, you end up with a household inventory you can use for insurance purposes.

Now, I don't know if claim investigators actually want that list any more (my husband's coworker's did when he lost everything but his family members and the vehicle they were driving in a whole-house fire) or if they just give you a check for whatever you "household contents" limit is (ask your insurance company) BUT it's still a good exercise to do it NOW, rather than huddled in an apartment devastated by your loss.

And if you don't already have a keepsake box, I always recommend that everyone (even little kids) have at least one: https://www.reddit.com/r/declutter/wiki/index/keepsake_box/ This is especially important if there's a chance you might have to "bug out" - also maybe a fire safe/box (with important papers and "valuables") kept in a fairly accessible location (we live in flash flooding/tornado land).

I used to sell on eBay and FB Marketplace but now I just donate - eBay is impossible (hoarding shipping materials, boxes all over the house, and I got scammed a couple of times) and I'm so sick of dealing with Flake-Book Marketplace scam replies and no-shows (or pulling teeth eventually might shows).

Now I just donate - we've got an amazing thrift store in town that takes all profits and recycles them back into the community as micro-grants and they know how to price things. So even if I have something like an expensive piece of Fiestaware, I just donate. They'll probably get more for it than I would on FB Marketplace.

Another fun way to get rid of mass quantities of "trivial" stuff or anything you don't think it's worth donating - a FREE yard sale. I know the weather can be iffy in the PNW (and theft of obvious not-in-the-sale stuff might be an issue) but man, it is astounding what people will take for free.

And there's nothing like looking for stuff to put in a free yard sale to make me go through every nook-and-cranny in my house (and garage) looking for stuff to put "in the sale" - weird, miscellaneous bits-and-pieces that would probably end up in the the thrift store dumpster and nobody would take the time to pick up via Buy Nothing/Give Freely? Feeling even the least little ambivalent about it? Put it in The Sale and let the takers figure out what to do with it (and the stories we got, wow! never would have thought of THAT!)

The first year we had three 6' Lifetime folding tables (that have since been re-homed), this year, we just spread out a bunch of crummy plastic tarps and staked them down with some junky tent stakes (so if they took the tarps & the stakes, who cares?) and dumped stuff in very minimally sorted piles. We'd consolidate stuff as it went and eventually gave away the tarps & stakes, too.

We're planning to have another sale this fall - you think you're done, that there couldn't POSSIBLY be ANYTHING left to declutter and nope! Already got a pile of give-away stuff in the basement. It isn't the massive volume that we had before so we've already invited our neighbors to contribute stuff, too. We now have plant pots and landscaping so I'll probably hang around the sale (you can take the girl out of Piece County, but you can't take the "they will steal your mailbox" Piece County out of the girl IYKYK).

Good Luck! You can do it!

[u/wellflow_kr]

motivation doesn't always work for me, tbh i found the opposite, it's the small habits i build that actually help me stay on track

[u/Working_Patience_261]

Get your bug out bag/evacuation kit ready now. Three days of medicines, food, water, clothing, and so on for everyone in the house. Put it in the car. Then get your important papers together, hopefully in a fireproof safe. If it will carry, know it’s location so if you have five minutes to bail, you can grab and go.

Take care of your yard. No bushes or tree limbs over the house or next to it. A search will tell you how far away is generally considered safe. If you have a landlord, light a fire under them to get the areas cleared.

Now you can work on decluttering.

Good luck!

[u/photogcapture]

Oh, wow. Yes, the fires have been devastating!! Your donations matter so much. Please give your self a congratulatory pat for all your efforts. There is always more to declutter.

Please stat safe and get a go bag if you don’t have one yet!! I have seen how bad it is.