Decrufting
The topic of decrufting (i.e., getting rid of excess stuff) came up recently elsewhere, which inspired me to record my methods here.
One of the biggest categories of "stuff" that I need to decruft regularly is my clothing. Here's the key thing for me: I keep several containers (bags, cardboard boxes, storage bins) available at all times in my room for clothing I no longer want. When I run across something that no longer fits/suits/gets worn, it goes straight into one of these containers, rather than back into my closet. That keeps my decrufting incremental, which is a lot easier for me than a Big Sort. The containers are: "possibly saleable at Buffalo Exchange"; "might be appreciated at a clothing swap"; and "charity". When one of those opportunities comes up, I'm ready.
For household objects, we have a similar method -- there's an area in the basement marked "charity" where we put things.
In our area, Big Brother/Big Sister comes by with a truck about once a month to pick up donations. When we have a sufficient pile of stuff set aside, we let them know, and they make it disappear from our front porch.
Of course, this is not to say that I don't have Dark Drawers where stuff goes to die...or a multitude of bins that haven't been unpacked since moving in...but this system does allow me to conserve most of my decrufting energy so I can tackle one of those once a month or so.
One of the biggest categories of "stuff" that I need to decruft regularly is my clothing. Here's the key thing for me: I keep several containers (bags, cardboard boxes, storage bins) available at all times in my room for clothing I no longer want. When I run across something that no longer fits/suits/gets worn, it goes straight into one of these containers, rather than back into my closet. That keeps my decrufting incremental, which is a lot easier for me than a Big Sort. The containers are: "possibly saleable at Buffalo Exchange"; "might be appreciated at a clothing swap"; and "charity". When one of those opportunities comes up, I'm ready.
For household objects, we have a similar method -- there's an area in the basement marked "charity" where we put things.
In our area, Big Brother/Big Sister comes by with a truck about once a month to pick up donations. When we have a sufficient pile of stuff set aside, we let them know, and they make it disappear from our front porch.
Of course, this is not to say that I don't have Dark Drawers where stuff goes to die...or a multitude of bins that haven't been unpacked since moving in...but this system does allow me to conserve most of my decrufting energy so I can tackle one of those once a month or so.