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SusanJ
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| Posted: March 13 2008 at 2:16pm | IP Logged
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I just pared down the kids' clothes, too. I might have been able to go lower than five outfits but that seems to strike the right balance for me between keeping clothes to a minimum and matching my ability to keep up with the laundry. I have about the same number of outfits at a time for myself though my overall wardrobe is bigger because of hanging on to maternity clothes and a couple of post-partum outfits and such.
Jenn--I've found that the OshKosh pants sold at Target seem sturdier than average. They only ever have one or two styles at a time but the knees are often reinforced and they aren't too bad, pricewise.
Susan
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[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR
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mrsgranola
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| Posted: March 13 2008 at 2:28pm | IP Logged
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Well, thanks to you all for prodding me! I've gotten rid of about 8 bags of clothes (not all large bags) over the past week or so.
Some were boy clothes they were back from circulating, some were too small clothes of mine (even had the pants that I came home from the hospital with my oldest in!  ), some were things that just didn't look right on me (no matter if I lost weight or not) and the rest were girls' clothes that we'd been given and I realized they weren't what I would have put on my girls and were just too many of them.
I've also really been inspired by reading It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh. I may even get his other book, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? I've really enjoyed his approach and I love Clean Sweep already.
Oh, I also donated a stack of books to our church library and a stack of hardback craft books to our local public library. Very hard for my book-hoarding self!
JoAnna
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: March 13 2008 at 3:25pm | IP Logged
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Quantity of clothing was discussed a bit in this thread:
Drastic laundry decision
And, I know Elizabeth said she wasn't writing about it, but really......she did. 
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Pamin OZ
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| Posted: March 14 2008 at 12:25am | IP Logged
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Surely I can't be the only one who struggles with decluttering, even though I desperately want to do it:
my decluttering angst
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chicken lady
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| Posted: March 14 2008 at 2:06am | IP Logged
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So I have a question, ( I thought of it at 1:30am) is this clutter problem an American one, or do some of our overseas friends have this issue?
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amyable
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| Posted: March 14 2008 at 7:03am | IP Logged
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Pam, it really is hard, like I commented on your blog. You can go through *real* grief sometimes! That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.
Many months ago I read "Happy Are You Poor" by Thomas Dubay, and it has really changed how I think about these things. My favorite passage:
Quote:
| The third harm focuses on our neighbor. If I welcome superfluities in my life, I am depriving my brother of what is his, as both St. Ambrose and Pope Paul VI have reminded us. We read in 1 John 3:17-18 that if a man has good things and does not share with a needy neighbor, he cannot be loving God. Or as Saint John the Baptist bluntly told his listeners, if you have two tunics, and your neighbor has none, give him one. One may profitably wonder what the Baptist would have said of the man or women with dozens of outfits in the closet? I hear thunder on the horizon. |
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It can be hard (I was crying yesterday as I got rid of an outfit I liked for my son - it was nothing special, but I really liked it and now it doesn't fit him) but it's SO worth it. I realize that the more I give away, the more free I feel - it is much easier to grow spiritually without all this STUFF weighing you down. And obviously, it DOES weigh us down even if we don't realize it, or we wouldn't CRY when we had to get rid of it! Or angst over it, or whatever. 
Editing to add this examen also from the above book. It's harsh, just as a good examen should be :
Quote:
*By what standards do I determine what is necessary?
*Do I collect unneeded things? Do I hoard possessions?
*May I, on Gospel principles, buy clothes at the dictates of fashion designers in Paris and New York? Am I slave to fashion? Do I live in other peoples’ minds? Why really do I have all the clothes I have: shirts, blouses, suits, dresses, shoes, gloves?
*Am I an inveterate nibbler? Do I eat because I am bored? Do the weight charts convict me of superfluity in eating and drinking? Do I take second helpings simply for the pleasure they afford?
*Do I keep unneeded books and papers and periodicals and notes?
*Do I retain two or three identical items (clocks, watches, scarves) of which I really need only one?
*Do I spend money on trinkets and unnecessary conveniences?
*In the winter, do we keep our thermostat, at a setting higher than health experts advise: 68 degrees?
*When I think of my needs, do I also think of the far more drastic needs of the teeming millions in the third world?
*Do I need the traveling I do more than the poor need food and clothing and medical care?
*Am I right in contributing to the billions of dollars spent each year on cosmetics? How much of this can be called necessary?
*Is smoking necessary for me?
*Is drinking necessary for me?
*Do I need to examine exactly what I mean by saying to myself, “I need this”?
*Can I honestly say that all I use or possess is used or possessed for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31)? Would he be given more glory by some other use?
*Do I in the pauline sense “mind the things above, not those on earth” (Col 3:1-2)?
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He's not saying any of those things are necessarily bad (i.e. having two clocks) but that it's up to each individual to determine their *needs*.
On a similar but different note, have you all seen this video? More food for thought here (it's long, 20 min?) :
The Story of Stuff
This has made an impact on how dh and I shop. We actually paraphrase it now to each other: Do I really want some teenager in the Congo to have to leave his family just so I can have a junky little mp3 player? 
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Jenny
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| Posted: March 14 2008 at 8:40am | IP Logged
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I have started reading It's All Too Much as well, and I am approaching "nesting"; a perfect combination
My husband says this all the time, "I will not throw out or give away something that I spent good money on and may use again." I always tell him, to trust God. If we give away something, and then need it later, I trust that God will either provide the item or the means of getting the item.
Case in point...Last summer my neighbor had a garage sale. I took my items down there and at the last minute loaded up all my rubbermaid containers of childrens clothes. Some were outgrown, but my oldest dd is only 9 and there are 3 sisters after her. My boys clothes were mostly wear right now, I had not accumulated very much in bigger sizes for him. Anyway, I very quickly looked through the bins, pulled a few favorites out and set the bins on the ground. I figured someone would look through the top layer of maybe 3-4 of the 7 bins, pick a few items out and then by the end of the day I would come home with all my baby/children clothes still intact. When I left to put my children down for a nap, a woman came and bought everything!!!! She even wanted the bins, but my friend at least kept those
There is a family of 8 that comes to shovel manure on the farm we live on. The oldest 4 (1 girl and 3 boys) come up once a week. A few months ago they said their mother was going through clothes, would we like some hand me downs. I said "yes". They have dropped off lawn bag after lawn bag of clothes and shoes. Mostly for the boy who is in need of clothes to grow into. There have been hundreds of t-shirts in new condition, maybe a hundred pair of shoes, in excellent/new condition, church shirts from GAP, OLD NAVY, church pants and jeans. I have been overwhelmed with the amount and the quality. A few lawn bags of girls clothes and 2 laundry baskets full of girls shoes for my youngest to grow into.
I have been sorting and keeping and passing and donating  The point of this long post is...God does indeed provide!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just blogged about the timing of the book last night, as we are acquiring things of my late mother in law.
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Chris' wife and momma of 7. My blog: The Littlest Way--Bible Journaling, Inspiring Bible Quotes, Daily Affirmations, Prayer Journaling & photography
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Sarah
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| Posted: March 14 2008 at 8:48am | IP Logged
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missionfamily wrote:
Do you realize that for every wearing of an item, you have to touch it an average of 6-8 times? . . . |
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Colleen, this whole quote is amazing. I had to quote you on my blog.  Who has time and energy to constantly manage a lare family's surplus. Who wants to? I don't!
I have often thought if I didn't have all this extra stuff I'm always moving around I would have more time, space and energy for my vocation as a wife and mother. This little phrase you wrote really woke me up!
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Erin
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| Posted: March 15 2008 at 4:34am | IP Logged
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Well Susan, after reading your effort last night I hopped off the computer and went through my girls clothes again, I couldn't quite make myself part with enough clothes to get down to five  but I tried. Anyhow I did manage nearly a garbage bag full. I have an irl life friend who I am passing the bags on to, if she doesn't come soon I don't know how many bags she will end up with, I'm up to three already.
While we are talking books I have to plug my favourite Clutter's Last Stand by Don Aslett I love this book, in fact at present it is on my bedside table and whenever I start wimping out I read a little before bed (and then I lay there all night planning the next day )
Please ladies remind me there is a thing as too many books isn't there? I've culled 6 (out of 26) boxes so far and dh and an irl friend think I'm crazy but I believe it is the right thing to do, isn't it??
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chicken lady
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| Posted: March 15 2008 at 4:42am | IP Logged
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Erin wrote:
| Please ladies remind me there is a thing as too many books isn't there? |
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I had to get rid of a ton of books. I just do not have the space. I never thought I could do it,but we were ruthless. We started with all the twaddle, then enter dh who started adding books to the give away boxes. I must say I haev yet to miss one (it has only been a month)
Erin your piping in here answers my question above,this is not just an American problem?
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Erin
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| Posted: March 15 2008 at 5:27am | IP Logged
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Molly
It was your book culling on another thread that prompted me, thank you I feel like I am starting to get a handle on things.
Sorry I had missed your question above, it is certainly not just an American problem, I believe it is a problem of the consumer Westernized world. However without meaning to be offensive in ANY way, from what I understand Americans are seen to be bigger consumers however I have heard it said that they are also extremely generous in times of need. But then you have far more choices of products to buy than we do. So if we had the choices we would buy more too perhaps. Although off topic my mother was in the South(USA) last year and found it hard to buy non-processed food, so perhaps we have a bigger choice there of raw produce?
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Erin
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| Posted: March 28 2008 at 6:30am | IP Logged
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Well if anyone thinks they are finished de-cluttering I challenge them to check out their medicine/first aid kits
On a humbling note I confess to finding homeopathic bottles of ten years of age I have been assured they are only potent for two.
Vitamin pills that passed their expiry date 6 years ago
Ear drops that expired 2 years ago
You get the picture of my cupboard and yet I cleaned it out only a year ago when we moved. I think I was still attached
On a positive note I'm going to turn the homeopathic dropper bottles into activities for my three year old.
Turning out my tupperware cupboard tomorrow, the plastic cup/waterbottle threadhas spurred me to get a little ruthless.
Oh and I am nearly finished the shipping container, I have parted with so many, 'it may come in handy' items, dh said the op-shop workers nearly mobbed him when he turned up with furniture today.
How is everyone else going?
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Cheryl
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| Posted: March 28 2008 at 6:40am | IP Logged
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Erin wrote:
Well if anyone thinks they are finished de-cluttering I challenge them to check out their medicine/first aid kits
How is everyone else going? |
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Erin, I threw away medicine last night. I'm still going.
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stefoodie
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| Posted: March 28 2008 at 7:38am | IP Logged
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I go through the meds cabinet once a month or every two months so we're good there. Now I'm back to the study which I "finished" decluttering just a few months ago -- and I'm already getting rid of so much I don't know why I missed them the last time.
We haven't even gone through dh's and my closet yet. I can't wait.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: March 28 2008 at 12:23pm | IP Logged
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Cheryl wrote:
Erin wrote:
Well if anyone thinks they are finished de-cluttering I challenge them to check out their medicine/first aid kits
How is everyone else going? |
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Erin, I threw away medicine last night. I'm still going. |
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I did my bathroom a few weeks ago and found similarly outdated stuff. Pretty scary! All prescription meds should be flushed, btw, so no one can find them in the trash/landfill later. After flushing all meds and pouring all syrups down the drain, I ended up with an entire hefty bag full of discarded bottles of meds, lotions, hair gels, make-up, and other "beauty" products. Now I actually have room on my shelves and under my sink for the extra toilet paper!LOL!
I also had a bunch of little sample and trial-size shampoo bottles from motels, etc. I put them all in a little net bag and hung them in the shower for dd to use for bubble bath. She loves it! And they are quickly disappearing!Yay!
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stefoodie
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hi Theresa, i used to flush these things down the toilet too, until i read information about proper medicine disposal. here's a link
and another
How to Dispose of Medicine Properly
sorry gals, it's enough to make one's head spin, isn't it. i remember just a few years ago being told 'Flush'. Now it's 'Don't Flush'.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Decluttering seems to be popular
