2008-04-23T19:03:00.001-07:00

What happened to this blog?!?

Well... we kind of stopped taking pictures of everything...

Stay tuned.

Hey It Counts!

2008-04-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

At Least It Is Something

2008-04-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

Little By Little

2008-04-02T18:37:00.001-07:00

Bye Bye

2008-03-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

The Beginning

2008-03-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

I've come up with a few purging steps.

Step #1: Write down the things you are saving and are non-negotiable. This is to be done from your memory... not while sorting through a box that had been sitting in your basement storage room for 7 years. If you know what you are saving and have a purpose for saving it then so be it. If you are ready to go all out this is the only step you need... Mr F is not ready for that yet. I know for us the stuff we are intentionally saving is a very small percentage of what is down there.

Step #2: Write down the things you are saving that you know you would like to get rid of. This is also to be done from memory. I find that many things are hard to toss once I see them even if I was ready to purge them.

Step #3: Exchange lists and sort out the "keepers" and the "giveaways" for your spouse/purge partner. What you don't have to touch or see you don't have to be effected by. That might be the last step if you were really in a hard core purge zone. Everything else that wasn't accounted for could be trashed or donated.

BUT that is a bit extreme for us so we're going to move on to....

Step #4: ALL the stuff that was unaccounted for shall be assessed. And hopefully sorted by category. Trash and obvious giveaways will be separated. The remaining items in question shall be reviewed by their owner/s and then re-stored.

Step #5: In two months repeat Steps 1-3 with the remaining items.

This whole process may need to be repeated several times but in a few months you will only be keeping things you consciously and objectively want to keep. Your partner is only removing the things you said to remove and discard, you are still in control of your things. You are enlisting their help only to remove the "oh now that I see it I remember how much I really like it" aspect of hoarding. Everything that remains after the first 3 steps you must look at before you re-store it. You don't have to trash it or make a decision but you do need to assess everything that you are keeping so that you can be effective in carrying out steps 4 & 5 in a few months. This, my friends, could work.

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Last night we sat down to make our lists. Here's what we've got so far...

Keepers - Mrs F:
2 saris I got in India
Nana's oriental plate collection & silk dining room curtains
Social Work books
Couples Therapy paper
crystal candlesticks
Nana's antique pitcher set
Silver Coffee Urn
Copper Chaffing Dish
our extra everyday dishes
Fiestaware
box of frames
sewing machine
sewing cabinet
wedding cake stuff
hand-me-downs for Baby
American Girl doll armoire

Keepers - Mr F:
comics
baseball pennants

Giveaways - Mrs F:
social work papers
high school art portfolio
cake plate & server set
misc candles & candle holders in bin
vanity table from Kid's room
old American Girl clothes
all magazines
G'dad's old model train
old humidifiers
datebooks
CD jewel cases

Giveaways - Mr F:
sports jerseys
old portfolio pieces
laundry hamper

purge-atory

Hey It Counts!

At Least It Is Something

Little By Little

Bye Bye

The Beginning