The Great Three Month Purge

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-04-2010, 02:58 PM

With the possibility of moving to another city in the midst, it was time that I took charge of the house and did the ultimate purge!

We won't be taking anything with us that we haven't been using and/or will not be using in the new house. This goes for everything! From dishes to clothing to furniture, it's being meticulously scrutinized and then either kept or removed based on what we've decided upon.

What will be going with us?

1) Our entertainment centre, computer desk, couch, coffee table, side table in the living room.
2) Our kitchen table and the dishes/cookware that we use on a daily basis.
3) Clothes that actually fit and/or will be worn within the year.
4) Beds and dressers that are currently being utilized in all bedrooms.
5) Books that the kids/DH read and any DVDs that we view.
6) Pictures and smaller momentos from our youth.

Our basement is currently the worst place in the house right now; it's so cluttered that I can't even finish setting up the pantry in the kitchen. We have a mass amount of junk behind the back fence that's being disposed of this weekend, and even then I can't put anything else back there or I won't have room for my recycling bins and two trash cans.

I have from today to the end of September to get this done. It's a ton of work, considering it's everything we've collected in the last five years.

**Maine Girl** · 07-04-2010, 03:43 PM

Good luck!! When you have a goal (like moving) it is amazing how easy it is to let go of unwanted items. Now are you going to have a yard sale???

**monkeywrangler71** · 07-04-2010, 05:27 PM

I'm not a shopper, or a collector, or someone who hangs on to anything - but yet I purged and purged and purged and purged, and still when it came time to pack was left with an obscene amount of stuff.

Be brutal with it, because when you start packing you'll find it's really 5 times as much as it looks like.

**alotofgooddeals** · 07-04-2010, 05:53 PM

so much stuff... so much stuff....so i have been throwing, throwing and throwing however dh's favorite saying is now I have to make double dump runs this week which is not his favorite thing to do...I made the last one.....however he hates a dirty house so i tell him he can't have it both ways... his idea of cleaning is to open the closet doors and heave ho in....

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-05-2010, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by Maine Girl

Good luck!! When you have a goal (like moving) it is amazing how easy it is to let go of unwanted items. Now are you going to have a yard sale???

I doubt it. A lot of what we're getting rid of can't really be sold. It's either secondhand from people we know and it's not in the best shape, or it's stuff with holes/tears/dings in it.

I know for a fact that the basement holds items in it that we really don't need to keep around anymore. I think it'd be easier if I had Rubbermaid containers to put items in and stack the containers than just putting it to the side. We have a lot of recycling to do this week and most of that is cardboard boxes. We were saving the boxes for when we moved. However, a lot of the items either broke in the time they were here or don't need the boxes anymore.

The kids' playroom is the worst. There's four Rubbermaid containers full of toys that they don't play with ever again. I might give the ones that are in good shape to my niece and then see if the neighborhood kids want the rest. They seem to make the most of the toys that DS6 takes outdoors anyways.

If there's anything salvagable, I might give that to Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity.

I think this will be a big wake-up call for how much we overaccumulated in the last five years. It's going to definitely have to be brutal.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-05-2010, 05:42 PM

Today I started and I didn't start until about 1pm. In two and a half hours (including a shower in between), I cleaned out enough items to fill three large black trash bags. Two are out back and the third is being taken out soon.

I got rid of all of the hand-me-downs that don't fit, have paint on them and are ripped. I got rid of dishes that we don't use and baking goods that have since expired. I also tossed all of the odd coat hangers that we got with the kids' clothing because none of them are useful.

This was just out of the master bedroom and DS11's room. I also tossed old and gross bath toys and cleaning products that were empty. I think I ditched half of my clothes. I cleaned out the underside of the bed and the inside of my side table. I probably won't be done with the upstairs until the end of the week and I cleaned out half of the items. I'll need to go through what's left over a second time because well, I'm not being brutal enough.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-08-2010, 10:58 AM

So the upstairs is finished. I went through the bathroom, linen closet and DS6's bedroom. I tossed another bag worth of stuff. That brings the grand total to four large black garbage bags and a large box.

I'm starting on the living room today. I did some of it last night. I cleaned out my bottom desk drawer and will be putting the important papers from the pile into my file folder. The rest of the items will go into a box. The entertainment centre is being cleaned out today. The only things DH said he wants to keep are pictures and books. The rest can go. Once I clean out the entertainment centre and the small two-drawer side table, we'll be good on the living room. I'm pretty sure we're tossing the end table in here and the one upstairs when we move, but we need them for now.

**BlissMommy** · 07-08-2010, 01:29 PM

Good for you! I know how hard it can be. When we moved in March I deep cleaned everything and it was crazy going through and getting rid of things. It made me realize how much I purchased without really thinking about if I needed them or not. I gave quite a few things away and purged a lot of stuff to Goodwill. I'm much more careful about what I buy nowadays and also really promoting to my children that we take better care of the things we own.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-16-2010, 11:58 AM

An update:

Everything from the upstairs is done. I have to remove the old dresser and the chair in the bedroom, but pretty much everything is done there.

The living room's done too. I have to remove the old stereo (which will go to an electronics recycling depot along with the computers from downstairs) but that's an area that was finished up this week as well. I'm in the midst of shredding all of the papers that we don't need.

Next, I have the half bath, the kitchen, the playroom and the basement. The half bath and kitchen won't take long, but the playroom and basement are slated for at least a week or two of cleaning out. I have a bag downstairs already that needs to go out (should have done that last night but didn't get around to it).

We did a dump run last weekend and got rid of one load. This weekend, it's all about getting rid of the rest. The backyard has been cleaned out with everything we aren't keeping and the side yard doesn't have anything in it that I'm ditching. I will be tossing the current fencing border for the gardens after I get a hold of the lattice white picket border fence, so that's really the only thing left to toss outside.

**mauimagic** · 07-16-2010, 03:36 PM

Love reading about your success story!! Love that you are so focused too!!

**AspiringToBeFrugal** · 07-22-2010, 01:16 AM

While the process really stinks, it feels SO great when you see the amount of stuff you DON'T have to move!

I have a goal of throwing three things away every day which started as Throw It Away Thursdays. Thursday is my favorite day of the week and I feel so accomplished when I can get rid of three things that are taking up space. I can either throw it away or give it away--it can be piles of paper, books and CDs I sell back to the local media store, unusable items that are just lying around, etc.

Best of luck!

**Russ** · 07-22-2010, 07:23 AM

Isn't it amazing how much stuff you can collect in 5 years?

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-23-2010, 09:59 PM

It's so amazing that it's stupifying me.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-01-2010, 03:36 PM

I managed to ditch most of the kids' broken and/or faded out outdoor toys. That took up so much room in the basement.

This week's focus is an all-out cleaning.

The house is going on the market and being sold before the end of October, so I have to call the realtor this week. I have to finish going through the kids' toys, the electronics and other items in the basement before Tuesday. Tomorrow is a stat holiday and DH is off, but a lot of things will be closed.

I don't have many more rooms to purge but the ones that I can purge are being done this week. I want to get as much clutter out before the realtor shows up. That way, he won't be walking through things to get to other rooms.