ARGHHHHHH!!!

HOW did I end up with so much JUNK!!! I have so much stuff - stuff that has moved numerous times with me - stuff that hasn't been unpacked in 4 or more moves, stuff that my folks gave me when they moved, stuff that my brother gave me, stuff from deceased grandparents....STUFF STUFF STUFF!!!

I'm really working on getting things into "get rid of" and keep - but I can't seem to get RID of stuff! I tried selling my clothes on ebay, got a couple bucks, so I just sent them to Goodwill. I've got about 200-300 books that need to go, and really, I could stand to get rid of a couple hundred more. I've sold a whopping 4 of them on Half.com - and I think I have almost 200 listed on there....most for a dollar. Wow.

I've got a pile of records here - 45's? They are my mom's - she didnt' want them, so SOMEHOW I ended up with them. I don't even own a record player! I spent a little time on ebay checking prices - most are under a buck, some are more valuable - like $10-20. Wooo. I'm guessing I've got about 100 of the "big" records, and at least 200 or the "little" ones.

I've got an entire closet packed to the ceiling with STUFF upstairs. Now, I know in there is my grandmother's crystal (real crystal) collection, I've got like 4 full huge sets of old silver, blah blah blah. Nice, heirlooms - sitting in the closet. We don't eat with silver here - we do "host" holiday meals for the family because I like to cook - and those meals generally are centered on deep fried wild turkey and venison...we sit in the living room with plates on laps, watching whatever "game" is on that day. We have never ate at the dining room table, DH and I sit and chat over dinner in the living room - him in the lazy boy, me on the couch. We don't own more than a 4 person set of dishes, yet I have the silver to serve at least 20 people, including serving utensils.

I guess what I'm getting to is WHAT to do with the stuff?? Part of me wants to bag it and toss it. Good bye! I'm tired of ebay - for low dollar items, my fees eat all what I get "paid"...it's not worth it! I spent three days listing books, and I've "made" $13 - before shipping. I've got stuff that may be worth a bit - got a working Playstation One here - worth like $20, and I've got antique crystal vases that may be worth a fair amount...WHERE?

The idea of even *thinking* about keeping this till next year for a garage sale just bothers me - I just don't have the will power to sit and tag everything, only to have all of 5 cars stop - I'm back in BFE on a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere.

When is the possible income outweighed by the effort?? How else can I get rid of this JUNK????

Sigh. I want to pull my HAIR out. I've got this baby coming, making me miserable, and we still haven't moved junk out of the baby room! No decorating, no nothing, and I've got a whole 3 1/2 months....if I go to term, unlike my sister.

GARH!!!!!

ETA: I've already priced the nearby dump - $65 for a truck load - and we have an full size long box pick up...LOTS of stuff we can pack in there! Sooooo tempting...

All i can say is "wow, girl".
Sounds like you do have stuff....and quite a bit of it. If it were me, and you had exhausted all options, I would just donate things or throw them out. I hate stuff. I hate to be wasteful, but enough is enough at some point. Load it all up and haul it to the nearest goodwill....that's where i'd start. Then, if they don't want it, and no one else will take it, I'd pay that $65 just to have some piece of mind back, and haul that stuff to the dump. JMO...
Hope you figure it all out without having a nervous breakdown....

I have the exact same issue. I'm' going to have a garage sale on Saturday-after the season starts in the spring...I know. Then on Sunday have a Freesale. Just give away what ever I can. If there's anything left, I'll try to find a church or something to give it to....there isn't a good will or ANYTHING here.

Good luck! Ebay works too but it is a lot of work!

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Sarah

Wow, I finally said enough! When we moved to this house, I cleaned out the ENTIRE attic, most I hadn't seen the 6 years we lived there. So it was REALLY hard, but, most went to goodwill and stuff that was keepsakes, baby clothes, year books, etc. I reboxed. You just got to do it! Make sure other siblings or family members don't want anything then make a goal, I will go through 7 boxes this weekend, or something and do it! I didn't worry with ebay either just, wanted to be done with it.

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Maggie - Nanny to Nephew - Mom to Caitlyn Marie!!

Oh I so want to take the time and do this--my house is just aweful! I hate it and it makes me angry all the time!

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Part of it is DH. Yes, when I moved in, we moved a LOT of stuff in - his "big" house got REALLY little, REALLY fast.

However - I have some nice stuff. I have a beautiful Duncan Phyfe drop leaf table (with 4 matching chairs) - sitting in the living room. He puts his work clothes on it at night to put on in the morning. We have his old, cruddy GIANT table in the "dining room" - where you have less than 2 feet on any side to maneuver around to get to the kitchen. The veneer is destroyed, it's cruddy looking, and it's HUGE - the smallest it gets is to seat 6 comfortably, and it has 3 more leaves - not that you can get them in because the room isn't big enough. He doesn't want to get rid of it - we might have "people" over! Sweetie, your idea of "entertaining" is a bonfire and wild game BBQ and a keg. We don't eat at the table for that - we eat outside!

We have *5* dressers! Why? Why not get rid of the cruddy old chipped, particle board ones from upstairs, and just keep the nice solid wood ones that match?


yes, I freely admit I'm the slob of us two. But he needs to let go - there is no sense in having doubles of everything. I'm not asking him to get rid of all his stuff, and I'm not planning on getting rid of all mine. But *5* dressers? Two dining room tables? That's just the beginning!

Well- I could have written your post! I, too, have a lot of stuff that could be valuable- but where? Is the money I might make worth the aggravation of keeping the stuff around, sorting it, storing it, trying to sell it? NO. NO. and NO!!!!

I just decided this afternoon that I am not going to have a garage sale. I am not going to store things. I am not going to sell things. I am going to GIVE IT ALL AWAY to Goodwill and another charity.

I just plain have too much stuff, and I don't have the time and don't want to spend the time I do have fooling with it anymore. If I give it all away, there will be room to breathe and time to enjoy the things I do keep.

I'm done. I'm at the end. This time I am going to give radically. All this stuff is making me way too grumpy.

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I don't believe in miracles; I depend on them

DH and I started to butt heads on this last night :D I told him that I'm planning on going through a LOT of stuff and just taking it to Goodwill or the dump. He wants to keep stuff to sell it, wants to have a garage sale etc. We have been saying that for 2 years! Nope! He doesn't want to pay to take stuff to the dump. GRRRRR!

We didn't get into it about the furniture - I want to get all the little stuff out, before I get into the big stuff.

I did however talk to one of my brothers. He was unaware that my mom's side of the family (we are half-sibs, different moms) had so much crystal and silver. I know my folks don't want anymore that they have - they did a massive declutter when they moved - so I will put everything out, photo it, and give it to whatever sibling wants it. My older brother offered to store anything that anyone else wants, so it's out of my hair - I live in Mid-MI, he lives in very southern MI, my little brother is in California, and my sister is in S. Carolina!

I think the antique stuff is the only thing I'll try to sell - or take to an antique consignment and let them try and sell it. I may do some stuff on Craigslist, but I'm done ebaying - I'm tired of spending so much on shipping, just to make a buck or two!

I did get my kitchen decluttered a bit....DH was confused because he knows something is different, but can't tell what's missing! HA!

i would say whatever you don't think you can make a fair amount of money off take it to goodwill. if you just start taking stuff is your dh ever gonna notice??? mine did not. it may take a little longer this way but maybe save a few fights in the process(wich is what i opted to do!) then once you have it down to a managable amount i would say broach the subject of the table ect. i agree get rid of the crap and keep the nicer stuff. i know your dilema we have lived in this house going on 14 years and man can you acumulate stuff. but slowly i'm winning the battle and you can to.

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'The will of God will never take you where the
Grace of God will not protect you.'

HAVE A BOOTIFUL HALLOWEEN

We have a lot of stuff too -- in fact I could have written part of your posts. But I also noticed something that you mentioned about having a baby coming. When we moved into our new house, I was pregnant. And I noticed that I really started freaking out about all of the extra stuff. Baby Logan is here now and I still have the extra stuff that I am working on but it isn't as urgent as before ... I wonder, after reading your post and thinking back to my own experience, if it isn't some form of nesting?

Just a thought!