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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

5 Min Power Purge–11/12/14

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I showed you the before.

I’m about to show you the after!

But first I need to admit something….it’s almost impossible to stop at only 5 minutes!

It took me 5 minutes to read the labels and check expiration dates on old prescription medications, some dating back to 2002!

I took the safe route and flushed those ---I didn’t want to risk just tossing them and having them get into the wrong hands.

Later on in the day, after I had gotten back from a post-office-run–of-no-avail since I had FORGOT that it was not only a national mostly global holiday but that the post office and banks were closed…I took another 5 minute break.

After dinner I took ANOTHER break…and a longer one.  Mostly because the TV was blaring in the living room and I didn’t want anything to do with it.

I purged and purged and purged!


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Can you see Emmy Lou wondering what the heck I am up to??

Sheets – How many extra sheets do we really need? Certainly not more than one extra set per bed.

Even if you have a child who wets the bed, if they’re wetting it more than once a night, there’s always the lay-down-a-towel trick!  Like my grandma always said, “one to wash, one to wear” – I think it works for sheets, too.  Old sheet sets went into the donation box.  One set on the bed, one in the closet!

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AFTER!!

I know I’m going to need to replace the shelves that have warped over time..they were warped when we moved in.  It didn’t really seem to matter….but I’ll get new shelves.  It’s on the list!

I threw out old towels.  I want new ones.  The medicine/toiletry shelves are still awfully full…and let me tell you, there are things I will NOT be buying for a long long time!

Shampoo.

Conditioner.

Deoderant.

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How many packages of gauze and Band-Aids does one family need?!

I’m taking half to the cabin!

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Enough tooth paste, floss containers and tooth brushes to clean the teeth of a small country!

Half of this needs to go to the cabin too.

I'm thinking the small travel flosses can go with the hotel soaps, shampoos and conditioners to the homeless shelter.

I feel lighter!  I feel vindicated!  I feel like I tackled the worst spot in the house and came out the conqueror!

Today’s 5 minute purge won’t take me more than that…..I’ve got a drawer (or two or three)  of old belts that I know I don’t/won’t wear anymore.

What’s YOUR 5 minute Power Purge project?

Have you started yet?

Come on! You know you WANT to – and you’ll feel better for it!

And yes – I”ll be driving past the goodwill drop off truck today ---before the cruise I purged a bunch of clothing that didn’t fit, and will never fit and just isn’t my style anymore, whatever that is.

Awesome good riddance!

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Don’t forget – Quilt-Cam at 9pm EST tonight!  You can share your purges with me then!


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62 comments:

  1. You can also take outdated medicine to your local police department. They will destroy it! (At least they do in my town.)

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  2. Good for you. I am also purging. No one needs 47 pairs of socks!

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  3. Take old medicine to a drop off place in your area. I used to flush until finding the drugs are polluting our water and getting back into our drinking water and thus into our bodies. Not a good thing. But great job of the purging!

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  4. Wow...that's an incredible makeover! Good job! I'm starting today with my refrigerator/freezer!

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  5. Bonnie, I would turn those shelves over and let them "warp flat" I have done this and it works. I need to do the same thing to my house. You are an enabler for sure. Love you and the encouragement we get to just do it and get it done!!!!!

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  6. We started with the chest freezer. It went from FUL to half empty. We tossed 2 chickens that ER "best before" 2002!! That is the year my oldest was born, lol. I was blaming it on the baby brain but when telling my Dad about it, he joked about them being the ones he had bought and put in our freezer because his was full, lol. There were multiple part bags of ice and mystery left overs that are now gone too, lol.
    I don't know about other places but here in Ontario, Canada, we can take our old medices (prescription or otherwise) to a pharmacy and they dispose of expired/not needed medications.

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  7. Lovestosew12:56 PM EST

    The only thing I can add to that is to cut up the old sheets and towels into smaller sizes, serge the raw edges and send them out to the garage to be used as: polishing cloths, cleaning dirty car parts cloths, and rags to sop up the spilled oil.

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  8. What is it about old sheets? I have several sets for bed sizes we don't even own anymore. I did do the towels last Spring and sent the old ones off to the garage for dogs and cars. Now it's up to HIM to purge...lol!

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  9. I went to my quilting shed yesterday to purge. I worked on my "blacks." Wow! It was two hours.... but does it look great! I need to go again today. Thanks, Bonnie, I needed this!

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  10. The old sheets and towels can be given to the animal shelter, I know here they're always asking for them.

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  11. true when the organizing bug bites, it stays....well done...

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  12. I did 5 min purging work shoes. Have the bad habit of buying new ones when the old shoes start wearing out and then never getting rid of the worn out shoes. Thus 6 pairs of white shoes in my closet, pared down to three.

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  13. Had a difficult time getting started today but I finally got to declutter the kitchen gadget drawer. A small accomplishment but a step in the right direction.

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  14. Thanks for the inspiration! I try to purge at least one item from the bathroom cabinet per month, so it keeps up pretty well, but I desperately need to go through my closet. It's jammed full, and I only wear a few things - just silly! Have a super day!

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  15. Anonymous1:33 PM EST

    SERIOUSLY!!??!! You, miss don't-waste-your-scraps THREW OUT SHEETS?!? Couldn't these have been used for quilt backs? I've used a couple and they work just fine, esp when machine quilting. My shock level is through the roof! But at least you benefitted others, that's something.

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  16. Anonymous1:39 PM EST

    Wonderful examples for us all....those purging OLD TOWELS...REMEMBER THE ANIMAL SHELTERS...they will use even the ratty ones...some of the animals will shred a bed and a towel to snuggle with or lay on it very helpful to them!

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  17. I will be doing the cabinet under the bathroom sink. I am sure there ace bandages that have lost their elasticity, lotions that are clumpy, others that are too liquidy, partially used shampoos and conditioners that no one wants to use, etc. Should be no problem at all trashing all that stuff. Thanks for the motivation!

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  18. Deanna P1:55 PM EST

    I began my 5-minute purge by beginning to clean off the table behind my sewing machine. I found lots of buried treasures, including a table runner I began to make as a gift. It's now out in plain sight so it will be completed. Thanks for the nudge to begin the purging!

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  19. Anonymous2:04 PM EST

    Turn the shelves over and they'll straighten our more eventually.

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  20. Good Purging. Dumping the RX in the toilet isn't the best, I heard. Toxic waste. It's good you have a Cabin to take half the stuff you have stocked-up too much of. OK - My Linen closet needs a sorting. Old towels be gone!!!

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  21. Ditto on flushing the meds, next time check for a drop off location in your area. Also bandages can lose their stickiness after time so you might want to test one from each box before you decide to keep them.

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  22. Did we ever tell you that you're our hero???

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  23. YAY on the purge, it does feel good to be organized and to share with the needy, etc. I will be tuning into QuiltCam as soon as I get home from work...looking forward to sewing with you!

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  24. Flylady changed my life in so many ways. Clear back in 2000 I think it was, I set my timer for 15 minutes every day. It took nine months to go through every drawer/closet/cupboard in the house.
    It was October 2001 that I went on the fabric buying wagon...do you see the correlation?

    It has taken me until this year to get down to a few boxes of fabric and what glorious quilts (and mysteries!) I've made. I had zero pink and teal for Grand Illusion. What fun to buy a few fat quarters!

    All the very best on your mission to be a good steward of your space and via that your financial resources.

    Sharyn in Kalama

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  25. Bonnie before you replace your shelves why don't you try to turn them over and see if they can go back to their original shape. Just a thought.

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  26. Bonnie,
    It is amazing you are posting about purging. It couldn't have come at a better time for me to read it. I will soon be unemployed and my main goal is to spend my time sewing (of course) and to PURGE each room in the house! Thank you for the inspiration!!

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  27. Just an FYI..you should NEVER flush medications into the water system. It is AMAZING how many traces of some not so good for you drugs show up in our water even after all the purification/filtration it goes through. I think a part of why we have so many illness/diseases we didn't used to have.

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  28. Bonnie was right in donting the quilts. They do NOT make good backs.

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  29. Anonymous3:58 PM EST

    Our local Literacy Society has a book sale once a year and its coming up. I did a 5 min purge of my quilt books. Gave them half a shelf full. The lady doing the donation collection was a quilter - she was HAPPY!

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  30. I love the purging support group lols. I too was unable to stop at 5min...went to 105min. I cleaned out my drawers and baskets I shove stuff in my sewing room and office. This is mot filing but a mixture of things like sketched qut patterns, embroidery floss, blocks I tried and liked and a whole lot of rubbish and recycling. I dumped all the drawers and baskets into jumbo rubbermaid...yeppers I filled it. I then carted it to the family room and sat and made piles. Two wee baskets later to take back to my sewing room. One bin bag and a rubbermaid half full of recycling. Who knew that was all in those wee drawers. Feels great. Today I 30min sorted all the household recycling and cleaned the bins.

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  31. Purging must feel so good, once it's done! Good for you. And I'm so relieved to see several others have already commented on the problems with flushing medications. That used to be the recommended way, until we started finding medications in our streams, ground water and ultimately our water supply. Controlled medications should be disposed of at a take back event. Others can be mixed with coffee grounds or kitty litter, put in a used plastic container (like a butter tub), wrapped in a plastic bag and then you can throw it away.

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  32. Bonnie, you mean to tell us that none of your old clothing could be deboned?

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  33. Hi Bonnie,
    When I cleaned out my linen closet, I added some of those little plastic Sterlite drawer units for my little stuff. It makes it much easier to find things now. I know it feels so good to have it cleaned out!
    Missy

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  34. About 15 years back we sold a home. Best thing we did, and it sold fast, was to clear out ANYTHING not needed. We did this at the hint of the realtor: "Folks want to see the house, not what you have loaded in the cabinets"...I COULD HUG HER TO BITS. Since that time we really have tried to keep down on bulging closets and cabinets ... even my quilt room has been purged in the past month.

    Bonnie, it does free you somehow not to be overloaded. We also buy less duplicates because we can see what we do have. THAT MEANS more $$$ for fabrics ---- _ right?

    Smiles, JulieinTN

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  35. You are doing a great job of purging! Here in Canada we are able to take old drugs to the drug store and the pharmacist will dispose of them safely.
    I have a closet just like yours but mostly quilts...don't want to part with them...2 sheet sets per bed...hmmm 10 quilts per bed!?!?!

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  36. Good work! My sister and I are doing a "get rid of 5 things every day, use it or lose it" purge. Whatever kind of spin we can give it, it works!! Thanks for sharing.

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  37. truly hope you did not throw away old towels.... the dog pound LOVES old towels.... since there was a goodwill drop off perhaps the towels are on to another use.

    I have an eight inch square cleaned off on the bath counter.... the cool thing is the big trash can is now sitting right there for the next five minutes..... go for 5

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  38. hubby is in job transition so he is working from home. He must have needed ice cream that was not in the freezer so he decided to clean it. He threw out pretty much everything in the meatline. Including the extra chicken that I put in the freezer the week before. He said it had "frost" on it. The fridge is newer and nothing in it could possibly be expired. Purging should be a girl job or a couple job except for the garage and similar areas.

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  39. I'm working in clearing out excess Christmas decorations also all the extra dishes for parties. I plan on keeping the decorating simple and the holiday meals easy with as many disposable dishes and pans as I can. Now I'm looking to the holidays and I won't have to look for everything. It is liberating.

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  40. I have started a new rule for myself...If I bring something in the house, something and often two things have to go. This is especially for clothes and shoes. It really has helped with the clutter!

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  41. My5 minute purge was UFO's. Am I ever going to finish it or do I get rid of it? the system works.

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  42. Bonnie, when I travel, I always take the shampoo, conditioner and other items that will be left daily out of their baskets and into my luggage to bring home. I donate them to the local American Legion Auxiliary, of which I am a member. We send those "sample sizes" to Veterans, Veteran Hospitals, deployed military personnel. This is a wonderful way to support our Veterans and troups.

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  43. Bonnie, when I travel, I always take the shampoo, conditioner and other items that will be left daily out of their baskets and into my luggage to bring home. I donate them to the local American Legion Auxiliary, of which I am a member. We send those "sample sizes" to Veterans, Veteran Hospitals, deployed military personnel. This is a wonderful way to support our Veterans and troups.

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  44. Bonnie, when I travel, I always take the shampoo, conditioner and other items that will be left daily out of their baskets and into my luggage to bring home. I donate them to the local American Legion Auxiliary, of which I am a member. We send those "sample sizes" to Veterans, Veteran Hospitals, deployed military personnel. This is a wonderful way to support our Veterans and troups.

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  45. Bonnie, when I travel, I always take the shampoo, conditioner and other items that will be left daily out of their baskets and into my luggage to bring home. I donate them to the local American Legion Auxiliary, of which I am a member. We send those "sample sizes" to Veterans, Veteran Hospitals, deployed military personnel. This is a wonderful way to support our Veterans and troups.

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  46. Bonnie, when I travel, I always take the shampoo, conditioner and other items that will be left daily out of their baskets and into my luggage to bring home. I donate them to the local American Legion Auxiliary, of which I am a member. We send those "sample sizes" to Veterans, Veteran Hospitals, deployed military personnel. This is a wonderful way to support our Veterans and troups.

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  47. Those sample sizes are also great for sending with kids to camp. Use and dispose--saves having to deal with wet soap and bottles of shampoo.
    I never get rid of sheets until they are threadbare and I am still using the sets I got as wedding presents in 1979. Lots of sets means lots of rotation and they last a long time!

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  48. good job, bonnie! i think getting past the "home-with-little-kids-and-no-time-to blink stage" brings on this purge urge!
    remember that animal shlters can always use sheets, blankets and towels!
    keep up the good work!!

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  49. My Dad and I recently went through his pantry after my Mum passed away and we found soy sauce with a best by date in July 1996!! OMG it would have killed someone.

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  50. Bonnie, we are moving and I have been purging, it is a very free feeling. I like you don't know why we collect so many things. I do know I think I am out of something and purchase more only to find out I already have it, bandaids, gauze, etc. Took me 13 years to accumulate some of this stuff

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  51. Purging feels great. My kids are both in college now and my husband and I recently moved. We were lucky to get a move package from the company, so I didn't have to pack anything. But, I got to thinking about the unpacking part of the job. hmmmm Long story short, we purged for months. We went through the garage, 2 attics, many closets and countless drawers and cabinets. I never knew I had so much STUFF. Good Will made out like a bandit. And we feel a 1000 (2000?) pounds lighter! It was absolutely liberating.
    Good for all of us that have taken the time to 'go through it'. ;)

    And, yes, where do all the sheets come from? That was not something I was prepared to see so many of.

    Thanks for all you do!
    Suze

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  52. When purging household items, etc. remember homeless shelters. They can use things like old braces or crutches, ace bandages, towels and sheets. The Red Cross can help direct you in that area. Thanks for the encouragement.

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  53. mother died, I spend an hour or several hours a day bagging clothing to donate, several things that can be sold are being placed in basement,no room to sew, the rooms are still stashed high with years of clothing and craft material. Medicine,old food being dumped. Same house for 42yrs how can we own so much? Plan on making some quilts from mothers clothing

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  54. Good job! One other thing to do with worn sheets that aren't good enough to give away.....foundations for string blocks! I've already cut up several bottom sheets. :)
    Thank you Bonnie for everything you do for us. Quilt Guru and now Organizing Guru!

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  55. Return expired medication OTC and Rx to the pharmacy they will get destroy it in a safe manner. Towels are always needed at animal shelters or your local pet groomer will be happy to accept them.

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  56. Love this challenge! After reading your blog yesterday, I tackled all the "leftovers" from a big crafts bazaar we had this past weekend in my townhome association - our first time to do this, and it was lots of fun. However, I came home with 25 "bottle vases" and at least as many bunches of dried hydrangea stems! So, I incorporated the best of the bunches and now I have only three beautiful arrangements to enjoy - the bottle vases are boxed and ready to take back to the recycle bin! Inspired by how good THAT felt, I ran out to Michaels and bought four see-through plastic boxes and "edited" all my scrapbooking/felting/crafting "toys" down to those four boxes! Ok, it took more than five minutes, but WHAT a great feeling! THanks, Bonnie!

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  57. I need about 8 hours to purge my desk contents.

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  58. I know others have said it but to be sure everyone sees this...Please DO NOT FLUSH MEDICATIONS! I am a healthcare professional and cannot emphasize enough that this pollutes our ground water and impacts animal life, plant life and humans. There is a plethora of info on the internet. For you and your readers I recommend learning about this real concern to us and our environment.

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  59. Anonymous9:50 AM EST

    I am in and I am PITCHING the medicine closets and donating the extra upon extra cooking utinsels. Clothing pitching will be nest!

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  60. Anonymous12:23 PM EST

    Any money Goodwill makes selling things goes for administrative costs. Hardly any of it goes to the people who need it. Salvation Army on the other hand gives 100% to programs for the needy and the Directer takes 0 for a salary.

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  61. Our local Free Clinic accepts unused and expired medications which is where we drop off our unused pain pills after surgeries. They accept medicines from people who have passed away as well. Great purging! Agree with poster regarding FLYLADY - great website, great books, helps keep house uncluttered and clean.

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  62. I was going to say Don't Flush! But I see other's have. We have a drop off day at the local fire house several times a year. (also North Carolina) Purging feels so good!! :-)

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