Blue tape removal idea-

[disconnected]

My wife and I put blue tape on many items in our house. June 1st anything with blue tape will be pitched or donated. As we use a marked item, we remove the tape. Ideally I’d like to almost own very little. . We are both casually into minimalism.

 

[Nitro]

View attachment 50771 My wife and I put blue tape on many items in our house. June 1st anything with blue tape will be pitched or donated. As we use a marked item, we remove the tape. Ideally I’d like to almost own very little. . We are both casually into minimalism.

The hoarder in me cringes

 

[Fino]

I also like to own very little! It makes me feel better to get rid of things!

 

[Crossbreed]

I would be a minimalist, too, but my 202 figures keep demanding, at least, underwear...

 

[Progster]

I have two conflicting and contradictory drives that compete against each other. On the one hand, I want to minimalise and only keep things I actually use. My partner is a hoarder and has the house full of stuff he never uses, and it drives me nuts. On the other hand, there are certain things that I like to collect and would never want to get rid of, such as my ever growing music collection. Also, books, it seems like sacrilege to chuck out books. I also don't want to throw things away that could be used by other people, such as clothes. We both have more clothes than we need. My partner has a thing about sock. He must have at least 100 pairs of socks, and still buys new ones on a regular basis. It's compulsive, in the moment behaviour; it's not like he actually needs more socks.
This is quite common. My grandmother had 82 (I counted them) woollen jumpers, all more or less the same, many which she had never worn. I think that every time she went to town she bought a new one.

 

[Monachopia]

I like this idea a lot! I might do something similar, though I've got rid of quite a lot of clutter from the house in the last 2 years. There's always more floating around, but I guess with the blue tape I'll be able to weed out the items that are actually useful. :3

Also, books, it seems like sacrilege to chuck out books. I also don't want to throw things away that could be used by other people, such as clothes. We both have more clothes than we need. My partner has a thing about sock.

I don't really know where you are, but is donating to charity a possibility? Or second-hand/thrift stores?
I've donated most of my books to Oxfam bookstore outlets and clothes go to other charity shops. They can 'rag' items they can't sell and still get money for it (so the socks with some holes in could easily be collected and given for that purpose).

 

[Progster]

I don't really know where you are, but is donating to charity a possibility? Or second-hand/thrift stores?
I've donated most of my books to Oxfam bookstore outlets and clothes go to other charity shops. They can 'rag' items they can't sell and still get money for it (so the socks with some holes in could easily be collected and given for that purpose).

I'm in a small town in Greece and there aren't any such shops where I live.

 

[Monachopia]

I'm in a small town in Greece and there aren't any such shops where I live.

Oh, apologies! Hmm, are there some second-hand websites for people to come and collect stuff they might want? Like Gumtree / Craigslist type of thing?

 

[Progster]

Oh, apologies! Hmm, are there some second-hand websites for people to come and collect stuff they might want? Like Gumtree / Craigslist type of thing?

I'm not sure, I'll need to look into that. Often, if you leave things next to the rubbish bins, people come along and take what they want, but I'd rather take them to some official place. I'm not familiar with Gumtree or Craigslist.

 

[Kevin1968]

But what if it's something that only gets used in July-December?? or something that only gets used once every few years!!

(I'm a hoarder)

 

[Fino]

I'm in a small town in Greece and there aren't any such shops where I live.

Is Greece big? I have three friends from Greece because they studied piano here!

 

[Tom]

I'm not sure, I'll need to look into that. Often, if you leave things next to the rubbish bins, people come along and take what they want, but I'd rather take them to some official place. I'm not familiar with Gumtree or Craigslist.

I put things out on the road often with a 'Free' sign. No matter what, almost everything goes, whisked away by the Free People.

 

[Peter Morrison]

I like your idea of labeling items to be thrown out by June. It gives you a chance to say goodbye to things you clearly wanted at one time. You are giving yourself a chance to change your mind. It all sounds fair and organized, with a useful objective.

 

[George Newman]

I appreciate your post about this topic. I tend to be pretty minimal with the stuff but as I type I am looking at a table and lamp in the corner of my livingroom.

The lamp hasn’t been turned on in a year and I never use the table. It’s just a thing sitting in the corner taking up space. It neither adds value or serves a purpose in my life or the functioning of the house. Surely it should be donated to the good-will thrift store. Yes?

So what about those 34” waist Levi’s that I am gonna be able to fit once I drop 40lbs? Keep or get rid of? Point of reference I haven’t been in a 34” waist since my 20’s. LOL

Good fun. I guess we all could do well to simplify our lives some both physically (stuff) and mentally (quality mental down-time).

Thanks for the post. You’ll have to give us a run-down of what stuff didn’t make it past June 2019.

Happy new year, disconnected!

 

[zurb]

I'm in a small town in Greece and there aren't any such shops where I live.

Sounds like there may be a gap in the market, a business opportunity, and you have some stock ready to go ;-)

 

[Progster]

Is Greece big? I have three friends from Greece because they studied piano here!

It depends on what you mean by big, and what you are comparing it to. Do you mean in terms of population or surface area? It has a population of 10.77 million and a surface area of 131,957 km2 (according to Wikipedia). So much bigger than The Vatican or Andorra, but much smaller than the US.

 

[sidd851]

Surely it should be donated to the good-will thrift store. Yes?

If your purpose is charity, there are far better choices for donations.

Goodwill has abysmal figures for actual monies getting to those they claim to benefit.
A brief search will confirm this.

Not meaning to sound so negative, but...
Abysmal.

 

[Fino]

It depends on what you mean by big, and what you are comparing it to. Do you mean in terms of population or surface area? It has a population of 10.77 million and a surface area of 131,957 km2 (according to Wikipedia). So much bigger than The Vatican or Andorra, but much smaller than the US.

Thank you! That definitely answered what I was thinking! You likely do not know my three friends.

 

[Progster]

Thank you! That definitely answered what I was thinking! You likely do not know my three friends.

Highly unlikely indeed, about a chance in 3.55 million