Take one smug looking son and put him in front of a playstation….
One smug son
…grab the dusty box of his stuff out of the garage that he offered to declutter…
One dusty box from the garage.
…hold up each item for his judgement while he plays EA Skate 3. Grab his other box while he is keen to cooperate and follow the same procedure as you did with the first…(Lets face it he really didn’t have to make much effort with the first one.)
The second box
Divide all the items into KEEP…
Keep Items ~ (6 t-shirts, 1 Christmas stocking, 1 Snoopy, 1 baby cardigan knitted by his mother, 1 Mariners antena ball and the t-shirt that was cut from him when he had his accident last year)
…DONATE…
Donation Items (29 t-shirts, 1 hoodie, 2 teddies and a Christmas Stocking)
…and POSSIBLE SELLABLE ITEMS…(These will be donated if they don’t sell).
Possible sellable items
I always feels so good when we can get the other members of the family to let go of things. One of those AHHHH moments.
AHHHHHH alright Deb J and the offer to get rid of them came so out of the blue but I jumped on it immediately just in case he changed his mind. Now there is no going back.
My son also had a tee-shirt that was cut from him at the emergency room almost two years ago. It was his favorite shirt. A few months ago, I was ready to part with the shirt – even though he has a huge scar on his elbow he won’t suffer from any disability. So for his 10th birthday, I decided to turn the page and upcycled the shirt into a small pillow case. He loves it!
Hi Natalie,
Liam and I spoke of doing something similar and I will attempt that when I get home. We are thinking of piecing it back together so he can wear it. A little odd I know but he is an artist after all.
And in the artistic vein may I suggest either lacing it together or using safety pins along the cut? Retains the “broken” aspect while making it wearable. These are just suggestions and may not align at all with what your son has in mind 🙂
Hi Jo thanks for the suggestions but I am sure my son will have distinct ideas about what he wants done with it. He is a very tactile and individual mined person and I am sure he will give me detailed instructions. At least that way I only have to too IDE the labour and not the ideas. 😉
Hi Colleen,
I am sure it will look great. I hope you’ll post a photo when done 🙂
Hi Natalie, I will try to remember to do that although I am notmsure how great it will look but I am sure it will make a statement. I will probably just sew it together with the overlocker nice I work out how to disconnect to cutter.
Good job! I see you have even more baseball stuff. Where does it end??
Really Cindy, I don’t think it ever will but so long as it is slowing but surely being parted with I feel like I am making progress. I can assure you that won’t be the last you see of it.
29 (!) T-Shirts decluttered … so good that you are getting your son on the decluttering train early. I also parted with large amounts of clothes over the past couple of years and in retrospect feel so stupid for buying that much in the first place. Okay, bodies change, sometimes things don’t fit anymore or aren’t approbiate anymore – I’m okay with that. But I am glad to be at a point, where I won’t be able to declutter 29 T-Shirts (again) from my wardrobe because there aren’t that many left nowadays I and am hoping to declutter further ( by natural decluttering and only few and thoughtful new purchases). My goal: about 2 weeks worth of clothes per season (with as many as possible pieces doing duty in multiple seasons and everything going well together). I guess that is a longterm project though (especially with a certain vanity involved …).
Hi Ideealistin
I agree entirely with your new system. I also have a similar plan for my wardrobe.
My son’s T-shirts were accumulated over a long period of time and some of them had been saved for sentimental reasons for about 8 – 10 years. I was so pleased when he said he didn’t care about them any more and was happy to declutter them. To put something else about him into perspective he is still wearing two little league T-shirts that he had when playing between the ages of 11 to 13. They were the smallest size the team had available and they still fit him now that he is almost 20 years old. Talk about poor size catering. He was very small and still isn’t a giant of a man but my goodness those T-shirts were like long dresses on him back them. But boy had he got good use out of them. Most of his other clothes I have to pry of him when they get way to shabby to wear unless someone else had chosen them for him and he doesn’t like them.
Hi Colleen! Glad you had your son helping declutter :-)! What can I say about time? I am sure seeing your example has lead your son to reevalute his possessions and get dettached from them. So congratulations on a job well done! 😉
Thanks Andreia I am sure you are right that setting the example has certainly rubbed off over time.
Hi there,I ‘ve been absent for ages after working on spending less tine online but I have dipped in and read often.
Idealistin – the ‘few and thoughtful new clothes purchases’ is a great idea and definitely what I am doing now since down sizing my wardrobe 3 months ago.
Getting dressed is so much quicker and simpler in the morning with a strong capsule wardrobe I love and I feel released from the tyranny of clothes shopping! When I walk past a shop with a sale on now, or get an email alledging bargains from my favourite suppliers, I feel such relief that I don’t feel I have to go clothes searching because ‘I must avail myself of bargains mustn’t I?’.
I just think, well I don’t need anything new now til Oct/Nov change of season so there is no point looking is there. It’s such a relief to keep experiencing this.
Hii Katharine,
That is the right attitude when it comes to clothes shopping. Like you I only buy when there is something I need and being realistic between need and want is essential to this strategy.
Yes, Deb, it is sooooo good when we get others involved to let go of their stuff.
You are so right Colleen about time changing attitudes. I am very slowly working my way through my OH’s boxes and boxes of stuff by choosing the right moment and then holding up each item for keep, give away,too difficult to decide and definitely chuck.
It’s so wonderful isn’t it when they are in the right mood/head space for it and you rattle throuh a box or two so quick.
If my OH isn’t up for it it is a waste of time and torture for us both,lol.
Good luck with working with your husband, you are obviously having a good influence on him. I am sure that the more he sees the benefits or the decluttering he will get on board even more and maybe start decluttering his stuff without your help or prompting.
It’s best if we wait until the attitude changes and then things move out more quickly. (I heard wonderful words today: “I’m going to go through my shirts and either wear the short sleeved ones this summer or get rid of them.” Sweet, sweet words)
Good news for you Willow. That does sound like music to the ears I am sure.
Awesome declutter – good for Liam and good for you for jumping on board as that train went by 🙂
I have gotten very good at catching those whistle-stop trians as they come by. 😆
lol – amazing. I remember those moments, when I was busy with something else and my mum sneaked some decisions out of me 😉 congratulations on that…
maybe I should try to get my brother for his CDs in one of those states 😉
Hi Lena,
whatever works I say.