Allovertheplace: I can imagine St Vinnies are used to people uncluttering large amounts! I met a woman at the weekend though who has 7 kids, she said when she moved she had an entire garage full of clothes, toys etc to get rid of and the local charity shops BANNED her from donating any more, she completely overwhelmed them with stuff!!
Overall Rating: 5 votes
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Posted 3 months ago #
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@djk-
It's a challenge to move internationally and be uncluttered at the same time! There are two factors in our favor: the first is that my mom lives in Seattle and we'll be moving in with her in the beginning. I'm also splitting my time between here and there, so every time I go back I bring stuff with me. When we do move, we'll take full advantage of our luggage allowance (3 kids come in handy at times) and ship the most precious stuff by plane if possible. We're not taking anything big, nor furniture, and so most of our time now is spend getting rid of stuff!
Posted 3 months ago # -
kllycat, sounds like you're pretty organised! will you bring any items from France as functional souvenirs of the time you've spent there?
Posted 3 months ago # -
I've put aside some uniquely French things to save: menu from the kids' cantine, maps of the city we live in (which I'd like to frame at some point), a few tchotchkes that we've acquired, but we don't really have that many souvenirs of our time here, I'm starting to realize! DH is from the city where we live, so we'll be back to visit his family, and load up on French chocolate and cheese at the same time.
Posted 3 months ago # -
kllycat, I like art as a good reminder - I have a few water colours of Rennes, from alas, a British couple. My friend from Rennes was at my home recently, and she's been away for years, it was like a blast from the past for her to see those water colours!
And food (see not clutter, but still the memories, but I think you're sorted on that!)
Oh Stella, your life seems SO interesting!! Just the moves and your different life experiences.
Posted 3 months ago # -
It's the food from other places that so many miss the most, I find. Right now I'm wanting some vegan cheese but I have to go 25km (one way) into the capital of our state for it and then try to find a parking space (preferably that doesn't require payment). That means that Saturday is best (free parking after noon I think) but I'm going fabric shopping with a friend this Saturday so that puts the kibosh on that idea for another week - I tell myself that it's probably good for my fat loss goals. :-)
When we were on holiday in NZ recently, I missed relatively inexpensive 'fresh' soy milk and it was only available in long-life form (most of it seems to come from Aus). I also missed my cheese. :-)
However, while over there my husband decided that he liked L&P (a soft drink / soda) and wanted to be able to have it at work. Fortunately for him, we live in an area that has a lot of ex-pat kiwis - he found a shop that, much like supermarkets here have 'Asian' food sections, has a whole section of kiwi foods!
Something I miss from our stay in the UK are Pink Wafers. They're a wafer biscuit that are vegan friendly. I haven't found any in Australia that don't contain milk products. Again, probably good for my reduce sugar intake / fat loss goals. ;-)
Posted 3 months ago # -
Hi Everyone,
This is one of my first visits to Unclutterer since my mother's illness and death. I think I got out of the habit and things have moved on so much. There are so many new threads to catch up on. By the way, what is with the winter coat spammer? It has been so hot here lately I can not imagine wearing anything warm.
Now to get back to revealing all! It has been fascinating reading all about you and I was remarkably accurate about my guesses. I am 51 years old and live in a tiny terrace house in Melbourne, Australia. I have been a declutterer since childhood and I have never wanted too much stuff. I don't know where this came from; I grew up in a neat house, but not especially minimal. I used to visit my grandmother and put away things like the kitchen soap and plugs so it was neater and she would have to ring up to find out where they were. I confess that the only present I wanted for my eleventh birthday was a dymo label maker - such a nerd!
Our tiny house poses some challenges but we are pretty good at keeping things under control. It gets pretty messy and squishy when we have people to stay, but most things have a place. My husband is a little less minimal and tends to take up new activities that often come with stuff. However, I forgive him everything because he is such a wonderful person to have in my life. We are in the third stage of designing our new house in the country, an hour and a bit north of Melbourne. We will have some good storage, but not too much. I am very keen that we do not end up with more stuff. I am very committed to sustainable living, consuming less, buying quality items that last, organic gardening, preserving our fruit and vegetables. We will be able to do so much more when we move to the country. I work as a secondary teacher in English, Media, Politics and History. I used to have heaps of paper resources, but a few years ago, I decided that I never really used things multiple times, so I only have digital resources now and I delete old things regularly.
I think that will do. It is hard to know where to start and when to stop! Nice to be back with you all.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Welcome back!, Jackthetiger.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Jackthetiger, welcome back!
Posted 3 months ago # -
nice to see you jack!
things change after a death, you will find your way through. it's comforting to come back to familiar things, finally eh?Posted 3 months ago # -
welcome back, jack!
thank you, conny, for the links! yes, simplify, of course!! i love the book, but their newsletters are, urgh, clutter :) let´s start a german unclutterer-movement!there is another intersting article, sadly not on uncluttering but on downshifting in general... five examples for being happy with "slimming"/downshifting http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/kulturspiegel/d-83184544.html
Posted 3 months ago # -
Welcome back Jack!
Just this week a significant thought popped into my consciousness. I am happy about living in a small place right now. Imagine what it could be like if the place was double or triple the current 37.5 sqm! I found decluttering only recently but if I wouldn't have, the situation could be very different with heaps and heaps of stuff. So I find myself grateful in this small space, for the size limitations as well as lessons to be learned a lot more intensely. It is now that the significant decluttering must take place because I ain't payin' for moving a truckload of junk.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Glad to see you Jack!
Posted 3 months ago # -
Welcome back, Jack.
Posted 3 months ago # -
ninakk - I so hear you. We're hoping to buy a house by the middle of the year (current rental lease runs out mid year) - not sure where yet (I need a, preferably permanent, job to know if we should stay in our current neighbourhood or move closer to DH's workplace).
We've moved several times over the years and I'm tired of packing and moving stuff that at the other end I wonder why I bothered...oh, that's right, I didn't have time to go through it before the removalists were due so it just got chucked in a box / I might need that for the next house.
I've been doing a lot of hand sewing lately and my forearms are now complaining so today I'm going to (try to) sort out the quilt stash and see if I can find some UFOs to practise my machine sewing on. Oh, and work on my current study assignments so I have the time to do a job when I get one. :-)
Posted 3 months ago #
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