Nancy's attempts to declutter

Haha, I totally agree! Decluttering my home feels great—until I realize I’ve just moved everything from one pile to another!

Anne Miller wrote:My problem is with paper stuff.

Financial advisors say to keep paperwork for seven years.

Then what do I do with all that paper?  I don't have a shredder and I don't want to send my personal financial stuff to a landfill.

I have had this problem - did a little burn pile now and then or then I just straight up composted them.

Suzette Thib wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:My problem is with paper stuff.

I have had this problem - did a little burn pile now and then or then I just straight up composted them.

Paul has been burning his waste cardboard and paper in his rocket mass heater to heat his house this winter - free fuel, less waste! - https://permies.com/t/366455/Heating-home-winter-cardboard-garbages

Suzette Thib wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:My problem is with paper stuff.

Financial advisors say to keep paperwork for seven years.

Then what do I do with all that paper?  I don't have a shredder and I don't want to send my personal financial stuff to a landfill.

I have had this problem - did a little burn pile now and then or then I just straight up composted them.

My county is always under a burn ban so we are not allowed to do a burn pile.

And I would love a rocket mass heater if I had a place for it.  We bought a wood stove before we finished the house and had no place for it when the house was finished.  I had not thought about using it to burn stuff. I bet dear hubby would frown on that.

I live in an overstuffed tiny house.

I finally bought a shredder and sent all that paper to the landfill.

I know that feeling of moving piles from one room to another, Nancy. What helped me here in Tulare County was giving every declutter session an exit plan before I started. I set a timer for forty-five minutes, worked on one drawer or shelf, and sorted into keep, donate, and dump. The donate box went straight into the truck, because anything left by the door somehow found its way back inside. For paper, I kept a small box for the current year and filed the rest only after I asked whether I could find it again online or from the sender. Small wins, cleared one space at a time, kept me going.

My trouble is I like the clutter! I like having tins of different sizes that will come in someday, I like not disposing of trousers that just need a button. However I'm less good at getting round to the little bit of mending that makes the trousers useful again, and my rare trips to the village rarely seem to coincide with the charity shops being open.
I did sort all my coloured yarn into old sweetie jars to keep them tidy.... that was part of my making a net project which hasn't progressed much further than that!