Burn Baby Burn.

[Cynders]

Tonight I have finally burned all the records from my childcare centres, we are supposed to keep them for the tax department for 7 years, now it has been 12 years so I decided it was time to torch the lot!!

I feel MUCH better.

Now to sell the last of my teaching plans, activity books and related stuff.

[spring]

I too save things for way too long. I need to purrge.

[Nalani]

We have Shredathons several times a year here so I save my stuff to be shredded to take. Hmm I've tax records older then 7 years to need to see about getting the older ones shreaded the next time they have one.

Right now I'm thinking of going through some of my dish and wine glass stuff and give away what I don't need or will ever use. Also some of my sewing things. Need to down size, down size, downsize.

[Mayebarnes]

keep it up ladies.get me motivated ....I definitely need to do the same.... empty out spaces and places...boxes and books.. papers. material .old clothes, shoes. agggggg...why do we keep so much Stuff..... need to move or pretend I'm moving..

I kept all the returned checks that we have ever had... more as a fun collection than for any real reason.... came in handy one time when son Mark had lost his drivers license , had the canceled check that proved when he had first got his license as a teen..

but it is time to clean house!.

[Cynders]

Maye, you should just add CLEANING to your tag line to remind you to do some every day!!

I got Tazboy's boxes from 17 down to 6 in storage, when he moved here he brought a lot of ill packed toys etc that he hasn't looked at in 4 years so they all got re-sorted and given to the grandchild as appropriate.
Anything of Tazgirl's was given to her to take home, she still has a few boxes to sort out but that is mostly rolls of gift wrap and other things she will find useful.
We have been a bit brutal with our own things as well, now I have so much space and nothing to fill it with.

[cookielady]

Brutal purging is fun...when it's by choice of course. I've even gone through boxes of pictures & threw away a bunch that no longer meant anything to me. Didn't recognize the person...it was GONE! Picture of a tree...it was GONE! Becca is madder than a hornet at me for packing some of her stuff today. It was so tempting to throw away some of her stuff, but I resisted....unless it was ultra obvious. I thinned a lot out, and probably could do some more, but that'll be a few more years down the road. There's still things I think I MIGHT use, especially in my cooking & baking business. When I quit baking, A LOT will be given away.

I've been burning some tax records. I'm keep the actually tax returns, but all the backup paperwork is being eliminated.

[Mayebarnes]

hardest thing for me to throw is music.!..... I have file cabinets full of lesson type music.... and old sheet music.. the lessons books will not be too hard.. most are well worn... will lay out one day on big table ,let daug and son go through and then the piano kids I still have.
the rest..
all my kids stuff did get given to them ... so only have hubby and I's junk...

[determined]

Aunt Maye, can you donate the music to a local nursing home? Have seen where people come in and play music and ask for "request" which a lot of them time they don't know or have the music to.

[BarbCA]

LOL at all the ambitious people on here. I have a box of ancient papers in my bedroom that I have been planning to burn for a couple of years. To tedious to do it in my little shredder. Clothes that I know I'll never wear again, etc.

[noggie]

Letting go of all that stuff = freedom!

[JoGee]

Maye, I gave a bunch of my earliest (irreplaceable) music to my youngest daughter... She has my original piano.
Much of the music was stuff my Dad used to sing, and I miss that. Also the copied Gerlamo Method instructions and music. At the time I didn't think I would ever want them again. When she moved to WA, they purged a lot of stuff. I am afraid she no longer has it - so I don't ask. She hd music lessons, but never kept up, and her children aren't interested.
I regret that, and my giving her the music.
OK, my hands still hurt most of the time, but I do have my good days when I like to get back to the piano. I miss my familiar music a lot, but oh well, I guess.

[Nalani]

Maye, I have a small stack of my mother's music. She played the piano, but I was hopeless. Think some of those music sheets may be valuable but don't know what to do with them.

I inherited a LOT of my grandmother's things. One of which is a 12 place setting of Haveland (sp) china. Don't think my daughter or granddaughters want it. I think it is valuable but really don't know what to do. May just let Patty handle it when the time comes. A lot easier. Please don't tell her though.

[JoGee]

The subject of inheritance -

Daughters may not want things now, but possibly will later on.
Or, granddaughters may want them when they get old enough... Or, gift them to grandchildren when they marry.

I don't have too much left that my kid's would want. but I would rather let them go through it all when I am gone and let them decide then.

[Connie]

My mother-in-law was quite artistic. She did water-colors, oils and china painting. I have a few of her things now. But just last month a cousin-in-law, (her mother-in-law and my mil were sisters) called me to say that she came across a little china cup and saucer that Naomi had painted. (fortunately for us, she always painted her name on the bottom of items she painted). Anyway, the cousin wanted my daughter to have the cup and saucer and could she give it to her. Debbie was thrilled to get something her grandmother had painted, when she was in her 30's.

[Cynders]

I have no problem getting rid of records, but ANYTHING that may be of value or loved by future generations are a problem, because I have to store it until I HOPE they want it and I didn't know what to do with these items in the first place.

We are in the process of selling all of Mantoy's mothers china as it is of no value to us, we are likely to get another box of crap soon as his father died last week. Sorry, the eldest brother picks it all over and takes anything of value and sends his rejects to the other boys in a thinly veiled guise of 'it was what had your name on it'...Royal Doulton china and the like is pretty worthless.