Summer house cleaning

[CaptainCanada]

I spent a year living in Ottawa attending university for my graduate studies, and now that I've finished and relocated back home, I'm in the process of cleaning out my room - and my God, the junk. Just going through all my drawers and desk, there are tons of stuff that there is no purpose whatsoever in retaining and yet it's sat their for years. In a few cases, entire cabinets were completely cleaned out by throwing away things.

I also decided to be pitiless in culling my book collection; I've got two big plastic tubs full of older ones, and on review about half of them I can see no reason whatsoever in holding onto.

I've only just started on the closet, but I've already discarded, among other things, a junior high science project that for some reason got stored in there. Stuff just accumulates and after it's been there for a while you no longer consider why it's there.

Anybody else done any excavating lately?

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Yes i have! I've been culling quite a bit lately. in fact, just last night we hauled our old couches out for pick up (we are picking up new ones tomorrow) and in doing so had to move some furniture around. With that stuff moved out of the way i was able to get to stuff that hasn't seen the light of day for a while. Lots of magazines for one thing. I'll bring them down to the library today, where they have a bin for donated mags to be offered up free to anyone who wants them. I love recyling!

 

[kes7]

I'm also doing this. It's a lot of work. I keep telling myself how awesome our place will look when it's all done, but in the meantime, it's exhausting.

 

[SiorX]

I do it about twice a year. I ruthlessly throw out everything that I don't absolutely need. Place looks great for a month or two. By the time I get around to the next big clean out, I have some how accrued just as much useless crap all over again.

I've also learned that it's important to take the boxes of stuff to the charity shop or wherever as soon as I've cleared them out. Otherwise stuff starts to migrate back into closets and presses.

I would make the most shite nomad ever. Every time I left an overnight campsite it'd somehow magically be covered in half-read books, action figures, and bits of old computers.

 

[An Officer]

I do this on a continuous basis (much more manageable that way), as I absolutely hate clutter, which means I have very few possessions, and what I do have has to be in consistent use, or it gets donated or binned, depending on its condition.

 

[SVD]

Me and my grandpa were doing some "excavating" a few weeks ago, cleaning the house of some of my late grandma's stuff. We found old bank statements, postmarked 1994. Goofy thing is, we moved into this place in 1999, we had moved 5 year old clutter. Nan was a pack rat!

 

[Rii]

I love getting rid of stuff, it's very therapeutic.

 

[propita]

I've been cleaning things out. The office is next up, but it's ... a challenge.

The basement is next up. That could take a year. Seriously. Discounting the 5000+ comics and Disneyana, the rest should actually be relatively easy. But some of it is Hubby's, and he's not that interested in chucking stuff. Which makes cleaning the garage almost impossible, since that's mostly his stuff and household stuff he has final say about.