Decluttering Redux-Part II-Q

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Decluttering Redux-Part II-Q
11
Fri, 06-09-2006 - 10:52am
Hi, Ladies--I need your help! (Yes, I am going to Flylady in a minute). I need everyone's suggestions on organizing the garage. No, I dont have 15K to redo it in style. The workbench is antiquated, with corkboard/pegboard stuff over it. Underneath is boxes of manuals, old job info, procedure and insurance coding stuff, ooutdated college texts, and on the other side is DH's stuff from defunct home business. l)Do any of you save procedure manuals from old jobs? 2) What about texts? I hate to part with "Econ 101", but where do you donate old college texts? 3)Boxes for things in house---microwave, TV, vacuum. DH says we should keep these, as they are "odd" sizes. 4) How do you have your garage organized--tables, shelves, crates? Ideas? BTW----I go thru stuff about one hour each week, and it is beginning to clear, but have a long way to go. Sigh. Whiz.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-10-2006
Fri, 06-09-2006 - 12:14pm

This is just how I handle these-
Pitch old textbooks - as much as I hated to, all my accounting books (god were they expensive) are out of date and I can not sell them. I also can not really reference them because the rules change quite a bit.

Procedure manuals - If I am no longer doing the job of have the item, they go.

Appliance boxes - keep for 6 months and if there aren't any problems and it doesn't need to be returned, pitch the boxes.

As for how to organize - I have never owed a garage but while growing up we had all the tools on one wall. Hung most of the hand tools from pegboard or had them in tool boxes stored under the workbench. Used a lot of milk crates to organize up similar items on shelves.

Good luck!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Fri, 06-09-2006 - 12:33pm
Hi, Layman--Thanks for the tips--I dont have milkcrates, so I may have to go look around at container stores. I have these plastic bins (the kind you store ornaments, etc in) which have all the folders, etc in them, with the hanging file folders. Whiz.
Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Fri, 06-09-2006 - 2:24pm

Hello,


Regarding old boxes, empty them and use them to collect "stuff" that you want to toss. Then throw away the boxes along with everything "tossable" that you put in them. If you really needed a box that would cover your TV or microwave in the future (moving?) then you'd go out and buy one for $10 at the UPS store.


If you move once a year and you always put the microwave back in the box, that would be a good reason to keep it. But if you are planning on staying there, don't keep stuff that's around for "someday". If you don't have a use for it in the next 4-5 months (like an old appliance box) and you don't really need it, toss it!


Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Fri, 06-09-2006 - 2:41pm

Hello,


Regarding the tools, we only have a few so they are in a drawer in the kitchen:


one hammer


one screwdriver


small box of nails for hanging picture frames


Anyway, my dad used to have lots of tools. He put up a cork board on the wall, wrapped the tools (and the holder) in plastic wrap, and used a spray can to spray over the tool where he wanted to hang it. That way, he had an outline on the wall for each tool he owned and could easily see if one was missing. He would unwrap the tool and let the paint dry on the corkboard, then

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Fri, 06-09-2006 - 3:02pm

Whiz,
I would definitely work on ditching the manuals and text books. I encourage you to try and recycle them though. A google search for book recycling in my state revealed several options and I know when I finally broke down and got rid of my textbooks, I found somewhere to recycle them. Also, be sure to shred any documents that have identifying info on them.

I do save manufacturers boxes for future packing for things like that. I have the room so I do. If I didn't have room, I wouldn't. I agree with DH that there is nothing as safe as packing electronics back in their original packaging for moves.

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Fri, 06-09-2006 - 11:42pm
Thanks, Peg, as always, for your insights. Didnt think that texts could be recycled, only children's books, but it's worth a shot. You are right about the odd-shaped appliances, etc. (DH's pressure washer, for example). It has a tall, oblong box, so I will save that. Did you ever regret throwing out old manuals, i.e., wishing you had them later? I talked to DH about it and he agrees this house (garage!) is a trash heap! He wants everything gone. Sigh. Whiz.
Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Sat, 06-10-2006 - 12:48am

Hello,


We have tossed all the manuals for smaller devices that we no longer have or that are easily downloadable from the internet (CD players, MP3 players, etc..). Check to see if a PDF manual is downloadable and printable from the manufacturer's website. Download the manual for your appliance, burn it to a CD, label it

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Sat, 06-10-2006 - 11:29am

Nope, never regretted getting rid of old job manuals or text books. The reality is they go out of date and now there is so much info on the internet, I use it almost exclusively now. This is part of FLYLady's philosophy too. Something along the lines of we hang on to this sort of stuff because we don't have the faith that we'll be able to/have the resources to replace them if need be. I've come a long way in talking to myself about the fact that I rarely if ever am unable to do what I need to do and actually rarely tap my resources of 'stored crap' to do it. :)

HTH!

Peg

Avatar for 2locachicas
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2003
Sat, 06-10-2006 - 12:26pm
I keep the manuals to all major appliances & anything else we might need in a smallish rubber maid that I keep in the laundry room on a shelf. It is out of the way but it is there if we need it. I also keep any of the little "extra" parts that come with the appliance in there. I like to have the book so if I need to look something up I can have the book right by the appliance and do whatever trouble shooting suggestions they have. I can't look it up on the computer and then run downstairs and remember which doohickey should be rotated to the thingamabob....I am not all that handy.
Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Sat, 06-10-2006 - 2:49pm

Hello,


We have the PDF manuals for our major appliances burned to CD. If I had to, I could run to the library, stick the CD in, print out the manual I need, and then head back home to fix the appliance. That is assuming that our computer and printer are not working. =)


I would not be running back and forth between computer and appliance to figure out the problem. We have

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

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