Giving My Condo Bulimia--Pre-Move Purge

Things are a little less unknown on the hub's new job and move front. From what I understand, we won't know where we are moving until November or move until early 2013. There are a thousand things that need to happen between now and then, and any one could alter that plan. Overall, I'm really geeked! Five years ago I was so career driven I wouldn't have tolerated talk about moving to parts unknown. It was all about market size and income. To think of the adventures I would have missed. *sigh*

Adventures like cleaning out all the junk I can't take and still make the weight limits.

Oy!

Yes, the Air Force gives you weight limits based on your rank and dependents. Too bad they don't adjust the weight by numbers of dead relatives giving you furniture...

Or random collections of things you never use but couldn't stand to part with...

Or your level of pack-ratness on a scale of 1-10...

Or the number of states where you rent storage units...

Or just the fact you are 40, have been married for going on ten years and have STUFF. For. Days.

I vow to make sure I am out of a product before buying a new one! These were found in my laundry/utility room. Let me say that again...LAUNDRY ROOM! Not the CDC and not in the camping gear. (I don't camp.) There's also a can of spray in my BBQ basket, another in my beach bag and at least two more in the bathroom. I live in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the US and have to walk a block to see grass. Impressive, no?

I decided to start small with a few self-imposed ideas or tasks.

*Drum roll*

Task #1: Don't buy anything I can't wear or eat.

I'm bad about shopping and convincing myself my life will be a billion times easier...better...more efficient...cooler...thinner...if I just get that whatever item. I've been talking myself out of a food processor and new pots and pans for months. Now I am trying to stick to a bigger purpose. Which brings us to...

Task #2: If something comes in, something else must go out.

This is probably common sense for most folks, not me. Aside from the financial ramifications of buying things I don't need, I really don't need more stuff to sort through come move time. If I absolutely must talk myself into buying something, it needs to replace something and that something needs to go to Mr. Dumpster or Goodwill. I'd like to only replace things that need replacing because it's broken or I'm out of something. I got a pair of hiking boots on sale. I'm about to go into the bedroom and play Pin the Tail on the Shoe Rack and get rid of at least one pair of shoes. I'm also going to use every drop of lotion, conditioner, body spray, etc. before I step foot into Ulta or Bath and Body Works. *sigh*

Task #3: Start now and don't wait until the last minute.

This is harder than it seems. We won't know where we are moving until November and then we won't actually move until 2013. Hubs could be sent to Florida or Alaska or anywhere in between (or possibly some place over seas). Two years after that we could be moving to an entirely different climate. While it would be tempting to wait until we know more, I've decided to start small and purge the unnecessary.

What could possibly be unnecessary you ask?

90% of the contents of my various junk drawers.

The last time I moved I didn't address the junk drawers. On move day everything got tossed in a box and I had to pick unidentified keys out of an impressive collection of ketchup packets, menus from our old city and batteries knocking on death's door. Not pretty.

Other hiding places for unnecessary items seem to be:

Medicine cabinets: toss expired medicines, diet pills (they are so unhealthy),  anything without an expiration date (blister packs can be so mysterious) and toss the pain pills you got when you had your wisdom teeth removed in frickin' 1999. I also tossed some cold medicine that would have expired next month. Maybe I'm tempting the cold and flu gods but I'll risk it so I don't have to toss it this winter. We had a few boxes of bandages with a few band-aids left in each one. I'm not moving 4 boxes of 2 band-aids each. I refuse! I combined those band-aids and I'm sticking them in a plastic travel soap container so I can see them and they don't get squished or just float around in medicine cabinet land.

Laundry Room: You know those little samples of detergent you get in the mail or stuck to a bottle of laundry soap? They were forming their own little colony in my laundry room.

I used them ALL yesterday when I was doing my laundry.

There were some dog treats my dogs never cared for and I'm never going to eat. TRASH!
The cellophane with four clothes pins floating inside. (I saved the clothes pins!) -TRASH! 
They yucky duster wand-TRASH! 
Orphan socks, crusty flip flops, old dog bowls...TRASH! 

Sample packets and trial sizes seem to multiply in my house.  I tried to use every one yesterday 

while I was cleaning and doing laundry. Next week I may try to tackle the supply of toiletries. 

Under the kitchen sink: I got rid of anything that I hadn't used in 365 days and had less than 1/4 of the product left. I'll spare you the details.

When it gets closer to moving day I'll need to be a little more exacting with getting rid of partially used stuff (many professional movers won't take any cleansers, candles or liquids in general.) By purging and going through stuff now I can get a better handle on what's here, what I have extras of and what I need to use up before I buy more.

The housewife arsenal. I found a few boxes of Glad Press n' Seal. While I love the stuff, I had no idea there were multiplying like bunnies in the kitchen cabinet. Who knew?

Now that I've made several trips to Mr. Dumpster, I can't help think of the same thing when I look at boxes full of stuff. I spent money on most of that stuff. It's a box of money that is going down the trash chute.

Tonight I'm going to tackle some shelves in the master closet. I have a bit of a catch-all going on in there too. If I can get past all the junk zones it should make things much easier inside the move-prep window.