I usually start organizing this time of year - every year. The kids get Christmas gifts and are off of school, so I try to take some time and shovel out their rooms. Today I worked in my room and bathroom, and had the 12 year old help. He did some fetching and lugging of trash for me. We got rid of four bags of randomness;
Fragrances I hate, as well as expired medicine (flushed), icky mouthwash, that portable bathtub sauna that was loud as hell, soaps that will make me itch, crumpled paperbacks, catalogs and magazines, and so on.
The other times I like to organize and get rid of things are just before yard sale season, and in the fall when school starts.
So… do you organize this time of year? Those of you with little kids will understand the ‘urge to purge’. My niece and nephew had a HUGE pile of toys Christmas day. They are 9 and 5 and the pile of pink, plastic, dinosaur, Barbie, art set, randomness was a sight to behold. It took two bulging carloads to get it to their (small) house.
I’m SO GLAD my kids are older. The 17 y.o got clothes and money - she went to the mall today and got some more clothes. The 12 y.o. got Lego sets, a video game or two, and money. They each had a large sized gift bag of items that took a second to put into the trunk. I don’t miss those toy-laden days at all.
Yes, I do get the urge to organize at this time of year. Lots of new stuff coming in and the end of the year.
I usually like to bundle up the year’s invoices and bills to get them ready for storage and I just dumped my expired medications.
I have five bags of my clothes and my kids clothes in the back of my car, but I am having trouble finding a clothing drop, which is sad. They use to be extremely common. I still need to go through a few of my drawers.
I hope to reorganize my files for medical, school, insurance and etc. They are out of control.
We are working on reorganizing my daughter’s room. She needs more dresser space and hanger space. I already moved a lot of books from her closet to shelves I built in the basement. She has some more that could head down. She probably has some toys that could go.
My sons room is even tougher. He has far too many toys. The walls need to be stripped and painted. I want to put a rug down. I did get his drawers and closet reorganized very well last month.
No, not right now. It’s fairly mild today but it’s usually far too hot and humid to even think about all that wardrobe re-organising. That particular bug usually hits me in autumn as the weather begins to cool.
You shouldn’t flush medicine. I don’t know how it is in the bottom drawer, but over here pharmacies accept expired or unneeded medicine for destruction.
I usually try to purge before Christmas. It makes room for all the new stuff that’s sure to come in.
Periodically, I go through anyway and clear out stuff (closets, drawers, basement, etc.) Some of the stuff I haul off to the Salvation Army (never Goodwill), and other stuff I pitch or simply sit it out in the alley for the “trashmen” (it’s usually hauled away before the trashmen even come). Sometimes homeless shelters, domestic violence agencies, etc. will accept those half used bottles of shampoo, “guest” soaps, etc., but you should call before you just show up with it.
I would also second not flushing medications. I think I recall reading somewhere that the sewage treatment plants aren’t up to handling medications. Of course, I’m not sure if it’s safe buried in a landfill either.
I purged both my kids’ rooms recently when they were away for the weekend. I ditched about 80 percent of my son’s toys! I was worried that he’d never forgive me, but he never even realized that the stuff was gone. He just thanked me for cleaning his room.
Definitely. Not so much “purging” as simple straightening up. When the cold comes, I just have to have everything cleaner and more organized. Just today I cleaned house, and my life just feels so much better after doing so!
I think I tend to be more organized in the winter because when it’s warm outside I spend a lot of time outside - but when it’s cold, I bunker down or whatever the phrase is. When I was a little kid, after playing out in the snow all day, I’d pretend I was a bear hibernating at night, and it made me appreciate the space of my room so much more. (Sounds ridiculous, I know. Never underestimate the effect that anthropomorphic animal cartoons can exert on a little kid. [There’s probably a potential child psychology PhD thesis in there somewhere!])
Could you please say why we should not? Does the same idea apply to Septic Systems? If I am to change my habits, I would like more to go on then phall0106 "I think I recall reading ".
I have been on Septic systems for 13 years now and I only rarely have meds to dispose of, but I have always flushed them.
As phall0106 says, it’s because sewage treatment plants cannot handle them and many common forms of medications are bad for the environment. Here’s a cite.
I’m not familiar with those, I’m afraid. What is a septic system?
That’s what I guessed it was, but I thought you were talking about flushing the contents, which makes absolutely no sense, so I assumed it was something else. Now I realize that you’re asking if flushing medicines is OK if you have a septic tank, not if flushing the contents of a septic tank is OK.
Have you given thought to Freecycle? Most of the time, for things like clothes, those who need them will come and pick them up from you (so no hauling stuff around!) They had a freecycle group for me, here in the wilds of Arkansas, so I’m sure they probably have one in your area, too!
Yes, the turn of the year brings out the “organize and purge” tendencies around here. Doubly so this year, since we have a move in our immediate future. I don’t relish the thought of moving a bunch of needless stuff, so better to get rid of it now! Why, just today, I’m freecycling a giant box of old VHS tapes and a box containing a small, but extremely ugly cookie jar collection.
I think I’m on my way to becoming a grown-up. I weasled my way out of christmas at the in-laws (I love them but Thanksgiving was enough travel stress for me this season and I really needed some me-time after last semester) and I’ve spent the last week alone in the house… * cleaning!!!*
I never, ever clean if I can help it, but I have actually been doing all the things that I usually put off until it’s time to get the security deposit back. I’ve also washed all of the clothes and dishes (usually only about half are done at any given time), done both bathrooms and all the closets, and all of the doors in the apartment can swing freely from the open to closed positions without kicking piles of junk out of the way! I know that sounds pathetic, but I am still proud of it. I lost steam yesterday when I had to go back to work, but I’ll be back on the horse when I get home this afternoon- still have a big pile of mostly art supplies and school-related stuff to go through, hopefully most of it can go to my studio when classes start back up and the rest can be pitched. After that I’ll get out the murphy’s oil soap and do the living room floor (first time in 2 years) and vacuum the stairs again and I’ll be done. I’m considering it a present for the guy when he comes home on New Years’.
We’ve been considering looking for a new apartment since this one is right at the top of what we can afford and the management company seems to have been taken over by drunken monkeys, but after all this work I’m remembering what a nice place it really is under the clutter, and another year and a half here seems pretty appealing. Maybe we’ll paint the bedroom next week!
Ha. I just did my office. Bundled up the 2006 reports, made fresh binders for the 2007 ones, took down all my certificates and stuff from the wall, rearranged what I decided to keep, etc.
One, when the Hallkids were little and we didn’t have a pot to p*ss in, or the window to throw it out of, the Salvation Army every year (without fail) provided us with Christmas presents for the kids, and every summer (without fail) provided a week long overnight camp for the kids. It was the highlight of the summer (and they still recall it very fondly), and without the Salvation Army’s generousity, we would simply not have had a Christmas for many years.
Two, every single time we have attempted to take something for donation to Goodwill (and it’s closer to the house than the Salvation Army drop off), the Goodwill has acted as if they’re too good to take our donations. They’ve actually stated they didn’t want clothing (in good condition), or they didn’t want particular things unless they were in the original packaging, etc. The last time, we had to wait while they sorted through the stuff we had to donate to see if they wanted it. The Salvation Army, we just drop it off, and if they can’t use it, they can sometimes find someone who can use it. (The Salvation Army will also work with other organizations, like domestic violence shelters, to assist people who need household items.)
Wow, that’s weird. The Goodwill here does go through our stuff right on the spot, but just so they can sort it into bins. I’ve never known them to refuse anything.
Okay, well, those are pretty good reasons. It’s nice to think of people being able to get back on their feet and give back to the organizations that once helped them. I’m just glad to hear Goodwill isn’t doing some horrible thing I hadn’t heard about…