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Forum
-> Household Management
-> Organizing
amother
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 Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:16 pm
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Op, thank you so much for starting this post. I've been totally inspired here. I collected 3 garbage bags of clothing we are not currently using to be donated and I've tossed 5 garbage bags of things that are garbage, haven't been used in a long time, or things we just don't need. I am feeling so much freer right now (even though I can definitely double what I've done already-that's how much I have in my home). Thank you!
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amother
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Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:21 pm
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No problem at all. Keep it going. Please feel free to update this post whenever you feel like it.
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amother
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Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:29 pm
| amother [ Sage ] wrote: | | Op, thank you so much for starting this post. I've been totally inspired here. I collected 3 garbage bags of clothing we are not currently using to be donated and I've tossed 5 garbage bags of things that are garbage, haven't been used in a long time, or things we just don't need. I am feeling so much freer right now (even though I can definitely double what I've done already-that's how much I have in my home). Thank you! |
Did you ever feel that feeling that I have too much and I have to declutter but the mind tells you later on or let's just put it in this closet and then finally one day you just say enough !! ?
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amother
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Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:30 pm
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In the meantime if anyone knows of where to drop off shaimos in brooklyn or a pickup option it would be greatly appreciated.
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amother
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Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:30 pm
I drop off shaimos at Pinter's in BP. One of the only trustworthy places for shaimos. He charges about $8 for dropping off a bag.
OP I have also been inspired and went through the kids clothes. Put together a couple of huge bags of nicely folded clothes and dropped them off at a donation box.
I hired an organizer to help me with my own closet since I seem to have an emotional block to getting rid of my own clothes. I'll let you know how it goes.
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amother
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Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:43 pm
| amother [ OP ] wrote: | | Did you ever feel that feeling that I have too much and I have to declutter but the mind tells you later on or let's just put it in this closet and then finally one day you just say enough !! ? |
Of course! I've been feeling this every day for years. I KNOW logically in my head that I need to do it but I was never able to bring myself to actually do it until recently. And I'm so happy that I've started. The more I get rid of, the easier it is to get rid of more.
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amother
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Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:58 pm
| amother [ Candycane ] wrote: | I drop off shaimos at Pinter's in BP. One of the only trustworthy places for shaimos. He charges about $8 for dropping off a bag.
OP I have also been inspired and went through the kids clothes. Put together a couple of huge bags of nicely folded clothes and dropped them off at a donation box.
I hired an organizer to help me with my own closet since I seem to have an emotional block to getting rid of my own clothes. I'll let you know how it goes. | Where is it located ?
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amother
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Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:25 pm
| amother [ OP ] wrote: | | Where is it located ? |
4408 14th Ave
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amother
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Fri, Oct 07 2022, 12:48 pm
So basically Bh we decluttered a lot till recently that we did renovations and yom tov busyness.
Now all the books seforim seforim articles etc.. are all around (it had to be moved ) and it's disturbing all of us. How do you go about organizing/decluttering books seforim articles etc.. I just feel a lot of them are not needed.
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amother
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Fri, Oct 07 2022, 2:39 pm
| amother OP wrote: | So basically Bh we decluttered a lot till recently that we did renovations and yom tov busyness.
Now all the books seforim seforim articles etc.. are all around (it had to be moved ) and it's disturbing all of us. How do you go about organizing/decluttering books seforim articles etc.. I just feel a lot of them are not needed. |
We pulled out what we needed and donated the rest/dropped off to sheimos.
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zaq
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Fri, Oct 07 2022, 4:00 pm
| amother OP wrote: | So basically Bh we decluttered a lot till recently that we did renovations and yom tov busyness.
Now all the books seforim seforim articles etc.. are all around (it had to be moved ) and it's disturbing all of us. How do you go about organizing/decluttering books seforim articles etc.. I just feel a lot of them are not needed. |
Yiyshar kochech!
The same way you declutter anything else, one item at a time. First check the condition--anything in bad condition goes out unless there's a VALID reason to keep it, like it was your great-grandmother's Tehillim that you use every day, in which case set it aside to be rebound, repaired, preserved or donated to a museum you know will take it. And then GET it rebound, repaired, etc.
Then look for duplicates. You'll never need 8 copies of chovot halevavot unless you start teaching a class, and even then you'll ask the students to provide their own. Keep the one copy in best condition, maximum two if you have two household members who you know will study this together.
Articles? Toss them. Respectfully, to be sure, in a bag, not naked in the kitchen trash to be covered with chicken bones and moldy lettuce, yuck. If they haven't been read yet , they never will be, and if anyone should ever care to reread them, they'll be available elsewhere.
Borderline useless sefarim that you got as a thank-you gift from the mechaber in exchange for a small donation and never read? These are of course always in mint condition. Get rid of them. No one will ever read them, and anything they contain probably exists,in a clearer and better form, in better-known and better-used sefarim. Set up a table or something in a yeshiva at the start of a zman with a sign "Free sefarim!" and watch them disappear. (Or not.) AYLOR about the status of such works. they may or may not be sheimos.
Sheimos are a real problem, and I wish individuals and institutions would stop creating them needlessly. (I'm looking at you, charitable organization sending out little cards with random pirkei Tehillim several times a year.) The days when you could drop your sheimos off in a carton in shul any old time are, I think, long gone. Now you have to pay through the nose to have someone dispose of them for you, unless you happen to have the presence of mind to bring yours along any time you attend a graveside funeral.
Long-term project: Stick an adhesive tag with today's date on every book in your collection. Every,single,one. Then, every time you or someone uses the book,remove the tag. After a year, two years tops, see which books still have the tags. These are most likely safe to deaccession.
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amother
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Sat, Oct 08 2022, 11:33 pm
Wow ! thanks for the advice !
Here is what bothers me. It might be hard to explain but I'll try to explain the best I can.( if anyone relates to me please comment...) I ll start with English books. In my shelf I have a few books such as
Body reflexology - haven't touched for years but was told about it and think its cool , but for later every time I see it
Headlines in halacha - (my son got it) many cute discussions but no time to read
the ultimate guide to being you by zev ballen ' cool but no time but feel bad discarding
how to win friends and influence... by dale carnegie.. read it once loved it , would love to read again and apply to my life but no time ..
how to start worrying and start living.. SAB
Real Power By Dr david Liberman
1 minute with yourself
the emotion code by bradley nelson - really really want to read and bought recently from amazon (got it from this site) but no time..
you are the placebo by Joe diaspenza -- started reading but because of yom tov had to stop but this def I will keep...
(story books which I won't read or read already have already been discarded)
these are just a few from one shelf every time I want to discard there is this feeling saying that there is a piece of wisdom that I am missing out on if I discard.. but practically there is no time to read it..(and its not like I will buy the whole sefer when I need the piece of wisdom because how would I remember that I discarded this ....)
same with some of the seforim , and I assume that's why it's hard for DS or DH to decide which ones to discard.... Just wondering those whose Husbands or sons are learning How do you go about being organized in the shelves ? Do they learn from every sefer ?
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zaq
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Sun, Oct 09 2022, 2:44 am
OP, the English books you mentioned? For every one you gave a good reason to get rid of it: you already read it; you have it for years and haven't read it; it's not very useful...for you, maybe the reverse system will work: take all your books off the shelf and put back only the books you both love AND use regularly. You seem to have little time to read, so why keep so m any books. By the time you'll have time to read, you'll want to read other things, and you'll also be able to find these things in digital form or in libraries.
Why not start an LFL--little free library--in your neighborhood? Even in your building if you live in an apartment complex? All you need is an old cabinet or bookcase, a place to put it, permission to put it there, and some books. LFLs exist around the world. People drop off and take books, no money changes hands, people who want books take them and those who don't want them get rid of them without burdening the trash system. And if you pick up a book you don't like or don't want to keep, you put it back and haven't wasted any money or space in your own bookcase.
You can also put a table with unwanted books in front of your house with a sign Free Books.
Or you can drop books off at the public library or at a nursing home or senior citizens center. Some firehouses may also accept books.
Or find a used-book store and sell anything they'll accept or sell your books online.
If you have any friends who teach college, ask them if their students may be interested in the books you have. Sometimes instructors leave cartons of books outside their offices for students to take.
Once you pare down your collection, keep it pared. Don't buy or otherwise acquire any book unless you intend to read it immediately. If you haven't read it within one month, chances are you never will; get rid of it before it grows roots.
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amother
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Sun, Oct 09 2022, 3:41 am
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Alternate perspective: We don't consider books to be clutter (aside for duplicates or ripped/unusable ones). We are happy to have as many as we can get and enjoy having multiple bookcases in multiple parts of the house. If books are clutter for you, yes pare them down, but having a lot of something doesn't automatically make it clutter.
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Refine
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Sun, Oct 09 2022, 10:14 am
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If you've already read the book and have access to it through a public library don't feel bad passing it on. Any time you want to read it again you can just take it out of the library (some libraries even have kindle lending collections so you don't even need to leave the house).
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amother
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Sun, Oct 09 2022, 10:15 am
| zaq wrote: | OP, the English books you mentioned? For every one you gave a good reason to get rid of it: you already read it; you have it for years and haven't read it; it's not very useful...for you, maybe the reverse system will work: take all your books off the shelf and put back only the books you both love AND use regularly. You seem to have little time to read, so why keep so m any books. By the time you'll have time to read, you'll want to read other things, and you'll also be able to find these things in digital form or in libraries.
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This
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amother
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Sun, Oct 09 2022, 10:36 am
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Thanks ! sounds good ! Would you suggest that I write down the books I discard or my brain will remember it the next time I would "need" it ? (I acknowledge this question is coming from a place of fear)
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amother
Hyssop
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Tue, Oct 11 2022, 1:26 am
| amother Blueberry wrote: | | Alternate perspective: We don't consider books to be clutter (aside for duplicates or ripped/unusable ones). We are happy to have as many as we can get and enjoy having multiple bookcases in multiple parts of the house. If books are clutter for you, yes pare them down, but having a lot of something doesn't automatically make it clutter. |
This
Books (neat on bookcases) ain't clutter, they are very much necessities
Word of the day: ABIBLIOPHOBIA 
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amother
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Wed, Oct 12 2022, 4:07 pm
Now we are up to the fridge.
How do I organize that ?
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