6:18 I am 40 but that is not me. That is your nephew, Ethan. Those are mom's white kitchen cabinets at 121. I am your brother and I approve this message.
Parents out there - your kids will not want all the crap that you’re saving for them. I finally came to that realization for my own kids as grandparents started to pass away and seeing all the crap they kept for my parents and didn’t want and then what my parents tried to give us that we didn’t want. Take pictures and create a memory book for them on Shutterfly or something… That will bring them more joy than a box full of stuff. I did that for my kids and they love to look through it. They can look at it throughout the year versus a bin in the garage that nobody ever looks through.
Come on girl!!!!! 60 boxes is not bad if u do 6 a day it's 10 days let's say a couple of weeks then it Will be over FOR LIFE Love watching you from italy ❤
I totally understand, stuff anxiety is real 🥴 since moving 8 years ago after being stationary 38 years, to a much smaller home, i have decluttered over half our stuff and still have things I declutter weekly. You have done awesome in only one year. Please remember, although it breaks our hearts, our kids really won’t want our “stuff” to clutter their homes and lives. I saved our grandkids baby items some for over 30 years, this summer I proudly gave some of the kids their boxes, I had stored and really they weren’t excited to have more stuff to deal with. They were polite but the “treasures” I imagined were only treasures to me. Now im going out to the garage and declutter some more Christmas things, it the hardest I have dealt with , you have a great week, remember how far you’ve come 👍🏻🥰😁
My parents saved a file for each kid. When my dad died I went through mine and when I was done the only thing left was a birth certificate. When my mom saw what I was getting rid of she saved it and put it in her file-I felt awful she was so disappointed I didn’t care about that stuff.
You are absolutely right. Our kids will want virtually nothing. I took stuff from my mother that I didn’t really want (and have gotten rid of most of it), but my kids not only won’t take stuff from me, one of them won’t even take most of her own stuff!
I agree. My mother just gave me my baby stuff and I just sighed - it's 'more stuff'. After these comments, I think that my takeaway advice is that I will only keep stuff from my babies for my own sentimentality, not for theirs. :)
You need to know that I watch your videos now, not because I'm looking for more tips on decluttering/minimalizing but because you are so authentic, and transparent, that I feel like you're a friend. So, basically I watch to see what my friend Erica is up to! You rock, girl!!
The more you start to minimize your house the more you want to. That being said, it’s completely exhausting.😥 It’s almost like an addiction! I think it’s because when you declutter you have such a feeling of freedom and a feeling of weight being lifted from your shoulders that you just want to continue. I think you have done such a tremendous job Erica! I wish so badly that my husband and son would jump on board. I’m at a bit of a standstill because there is only so much I can do physically and of course I’m not going to declutter their items. The thought of moving terrifies me as we’ve been in our home almost 20 years and the longer you’re in your home, the more you collect. I guess I will continue to declutter what I can no matter how little as I just have the emotional need to let go.😊
Your husband may want to keep the ear plugs in the garage to use when he's using noisy power tools or loud garden tools. I use them when I use the shop vac in our metal shed.
I am sure, Erica, you watched The Minimal Mom yesterday. Dawn referred to Oprah saying something like: Forgiving yourself is giving up the hope that you can change the past. I liked that.
I'm glad you decided to give the toys GG got for the kids to the kids. Toys aren't meant to be hidden away. Love you channel. You're so real and practical. It gives me heart.🥰
Baby memories are tough ones to deal with. I think you were right to let the kids play with the cars from Gigi. Take a picture of each child with the cars and the note. Print them and put in the memory box. One day you will look at a pile of little cars and think “which one?” Love your videos.
You should be so proud that you are dealing with these now instead of putting in storage like you use to..this is a process as I am sure you know...the peace you will find will be worth it all!! Some steps never end but once you get settled you then can come up with habits to keep on top of it..for example every January I go through the bin of instructions/warranties and get rid of what we got rid of through the years...go through clothes seasonal you get the idea lol!! I have loved loved loved watching your journey!
I feel your pain, discouragement & frustration. Wow. Do ya ever wonder why? Why are we saving everything we've put our hands on? Remember, the more we touch, handle, deal with "our stuff", the more we refine, modify, & deal with all of it. There's a light @ the end of the tunnel, Erica. YOUR DOING IT!!!!
First: that dress looks amazing on you! Don't know if this help for the tooth floss pick: My dentist sells these permanent ones (2bucks), made of hard plastic, you just put fresh floss in it, washable and everything. It's not a perfect solution (it require a fair bit of floss) but maybe it will help? They are chunky too so might be easy to hold, that why it was recommended to me, I have issues with small precise movements at times due to health stuff. Also if you are running out of place to donate baby stuff too that you want family to receive, some women shelters often need them! (Sorry if some of the place you mention are women shelters, they don't sound familiar as I am Canadian).
You are such a delight for this old lady to watch since I live in a isolated place and a RV. Just a thought to consider, how much stuff would you want to pass on to your children. For the baby sentimental things, why do we keep the things we keep. Sentimental stuff gets more painful to look at the older you get. Memories are easier to store and move around. Sometimes they too, are painful the older you get. To see a material object can make it harder. Just a thought.
Great decision on the toys from Gigi. I know feelings make things precious being a big feeler myself but you are right she wanted them to have joy with them not have them kept in a box in their own houses later. You are awesome so impressed that you just keep taking bites out of that elephant. Well done you xx
Thanks for being real about how hard and tiring this can be and the regret and shame that bubbles up. I keep doing the house in waves as we enter our 60’s apparently we are more ready to part with that last layer of stuff we couldn’t before. Even after 10 years of trying to live lighter we still have stuff to let go.
Erica, Im in my 2nd move across state in two years watching you give me a lil push every time I watch. Here in Oct 2020 I will be unpacking just like you are doing now. Thanks for giving me hope.
Erica I’ve noticed you seem so much less stressed then at the old house. You seem to have a clear plan for everything and no problem anymore deciding. I am so proud of you and I feel like we are getting there together. Thank you for all your posts!! I often would buy duplicates of things because I couldn’t find them but it wasn’t because my things were packed by the military like your case. I love your efforts to be mindful of the planet. I am not quite there yet I still just need the stuff OUT. I’m getting better with bringing too much in and using up what I have but I sometimes backslide. I really enjoy your decluttering posts and unpacking posts. I also love that you take time to talk about the importance of taking your time to do make up and not multitask or drink your coffee. Or whatever it is you are doing. We don’t need to live on the hamster wheel all day.
In a few months more weeks you will be completely settled into the new house!!!! You will have so much more time for the things you want to do! Sometimes I have caught myself feeling guilty about leisure time. Then I realize that that replaced all the time where I used to deal with stuff!!!!! I have Never had leisure time until I decluttered and became minamilist
My mom, who I've come to realize was waaaay ahead of the curve on the whole minimalist thing (i.e. it's just the way we operated and I don't know if she's even heard the term these days... she probably has) anyway, she had a 'treasures box' with super breakable, heirloom items etc and I remember we could ask for it and sit down quietly and look through all the items inside. I think it's actually a great idea for having those items accessible yet still special and also safe(r) from random breakages + inculcating family heritage etc. So yeah, throwing it out there as an idea 😉
Erica... you really do have motivation. Thank you for inspiring me and others and continually showing us your ways. I have learned a lot from your videos.... time, patience, persistence to name a few. I do like in reality; how long it really took to declutter a section in your videos. Thank you for taking time to video this. I know it would not take as long for you to have completed the task. I agree 👍 with someone who said just do one box at a time. To put a number to do everyday can cause overwhelmed feelings; which of course can lead to doing no boxes. I apologize for this length; it is the first time i have said anything. You are super terrific
For sentimental I recommend a heavy duty water proof storage tote. In case of floods or water damage it'll keep the items from getting wet. One per person or one until it's full then get another one. Also, loved the white shall/pancho ✨✨
I saw your 4-inch ace bandages and was jealous. I let mine go, which was old, about a year ago, and now I can't get a new one in town. The pharmacy at the grocery store only carries 2-inch now. It's hard to make practical decisions when the supply lines keep changing.
I decluttered yesterday, like 10 magazines and some trash... I thought I was done with that space but nooo 😂🤪😬 you know what, if my kids get things I let them have them, play with them or keep in their rooms, fragile or not. If it survives it does. Well done with those boxes! You can do this!
You can use duck cotton for a shower curtain (but if it's got starch in it when you buy it, wash it first, because the starch gets moldy very quickly). If you're making your own curtain, don't add a hem on the bottom because it takes longer to dry and increases the risk of mold. Open it up to dry every time it gets wet, wash it occasionally and it can last for years.
Sorting boxes after a move is so much work! You are doing a great job getting it done a little at a time. We recently emptied our storage unit and my husband and I were going through boxes. I did really good getting rid of stuff til I got to things that belonged to my Grandpa who died about 10 years ago. It was stuff my dad had saved and I put in storage when my dad had to go into assisted living. I opened the box and started to cry when I saw my grandpa’s Bible. That was the end of looking through that box for the time being. 😭 Fortunately my sweet husband saw me crying, hugged me , folded the box closed again, and set it aside for another time. I’m ready to part with a lot...just not that type of stuff yet. Later that day went through my 23 year old daughter’s school papers and projects from elementary school...had some laughs, shed some tears, then after double checking with her threw it all in the trash with no guilt. 👍🏻👍🏻 I’m getting there and you are definitely an encouraging factor in that!
Yeah moving SUCKS !!! When we moved 2.5 years ago ( after a whole house declutter ) we filled up a 26’ foot truck. 😳😳😳. For 3 people ( we do have a massive book collection ) And I moved about a dozen loads in my SUV. So yeah I get it. You will get there! What helped me is “ for every box you unpack you dont have to do it again!” Happy for you two and your new place. 🥰
Oh Erica I hear you, I am on the last legs of it and this has been difficult because I have no future with most of it. I have cancer and now it's vital I surround myself with photo memories and people but even this is broken down to adding them to a story about them everything is going... physical and what I am grateful for is that I have a chance to say goodbye to it, lovely memories as a writer selecting what to keep is open eye inspiring with not much sadness, the grieving process of loss from all different sections of my living this life sometimes is overwhelming.
I once moved house with two year old twins and morning sickness.... I had an auctioneer pick up 80 per cent mostly furniture. Just a phone call and a few hours. Your hair is glorious! We keep an emergency kit in the car.
Hi Erica, you’ve done a really good job with the unpacking. I’m hoping you’ll start another decluttering series in a few weeks (Nov?) where you go through area by area to review, sort/tidy and declutter a bit more (so that by Xmas everything is done and you can have an amazing holiday season). Also, it’s been a privilege to follow your journey this last year and you have made such wonderful progress in all areas. Thanks for the inspiration and for setting the bar so high! Love from Sydney. 🌷
❤️ how you are regretting past purchases (but using up stuff, not just throwing away) and now thinking about the environment and sustainability. We all need to do this!
This is why I purge BEFORE I move. I’ve never had movers though either so I had to pack,move each box from house to truck and truck to house and then unpack. I even drove the truck. I’m 4’ 11” so I look real cute driving a uhaul. As I get older I am looking forward to being able to hire movers for the next move.
Unpacking boxes- UGH! I always tried to burn through them as quickly as I could. I love the feeling when the boxes are all out for the trash/recycle area. The porcelain bunny would probably have a better place in a curio cabinet or on a display shelf. There was always one at my grandparents house and at my parents' house. I think they were on to something when there are children around. ;) BTW- See if your local police or sheriff's department could use the earplugs at their firearms range.
3 1/2 years after we moved into our house I’m still avoiding a good number of boxes. I sorted out the baby memorabilia a few years ago (I allowed myself one archive filing box of special personal items per person (4 of us) but need to re-sort the 2 boxes of special clothes, baby blankets, first shoes etc and find a better storage system. We still have loads of the boys favourite childhood toys (LEGO, playmobil, books, favourite stuffed toys) that we need to sort and decide what they’d like to keep (1 plastic tub each). I still have books from my childhood amongst 50+ boxes of books that are waiting for new shelves to be built in our study. My hope/plan is to reduce books by 50%. Can you tell yet that I am crazy sentimental? I have had one big win in the past month. We cleaned out our garage which was very full of vintage and rustic furniture that I had collected years ago for upcycling/painting. My health (chronic pain) has deteriorated to the point where I am unable to currently enjoy this hobby so the decision was made to move it all on. I thought that we might have to hire a dumpster (what we call a skip here in Australia) to get rid of a good portion of it. I thought I would try my luck selling some of it on Facebook Marketplace first - well it turns out people loved my junk and over 100 sales later I now have a bit over $3000 (yes three thousand) dollars to use towards setting up a new hobby that I can physically manage and to put towards having a beautiful wall of built in shelves in the study. Our 2 car garage which was once packed full, now only has shelves on the side walls for tools, camping gear and storage of a few things we want to keep. I am going to approach the rest of our home, room by room in the same manner, but donating rather than selling most things as it’s hard work dealing with some of the crazy people on marketplace 😂
I am getting ready to move and I am so tired of stuff and trying to decide what to keep - what a big job - lived in my current house 30 years. You are doing great,
Isn't it nice to have an audience who can appreciate all the time and mental effort that went into your 15-minute video? Congratulations, that's a big achievement. All that empty space looks wonderful. And I liked your comments about a bug-out bag for emergencies. I'm sitting here on Labor Day in mental frozenness, needing to balance my checkbook and budget, but not getting anywhere. At least you're making progress. Yay! Way to go, you!
You're doing great! Remember, you are a family of 5......Even though you are a minimalist, you still have 5 people's things to unpack. It will get done.
I am so glad that I am not alone. I moved into my new house on 8/15 and spent a major amount of time unpacking and decluttering what came from my storage! I thought I was good because I decluttered before I packed the apartment. But then I had to declutter the stored stuff. Just took 5 boxes of books to charity today. Like you, I am tired of stuff! LOL
Glad to see you getting rid of more stuff. It's super satisfying to see your process, even though I sometimes get frustrated and holler at the screen to just let it go! But I respect that your working through it at YOUR pace and that so great to see. Do you ever wonder about keeping all that baby stuff? Chances are, it's only sentimental to you. Your kids aren't likely to care at all. I know it took my mom a while to get over the fact that none of us wanted much of the "sentimental" stuff from her house when we moved out. I only took some books, my old baby blanket and my teddy (and those were all things that I kept throughout my childhood, never boxed away).
Nicely done! I would be interested in a video showing you gather items and put together an actual 72 hour bug out bag. Another video on an Emergency Binder, what's included and how organized. Thank you.
Love your videos. When my kids were little I bought them each a floss handle. Different color for each child. Just restring the floss on them for each use and the handles are easy to wash.
Be thankful you uncluttered as much as you did before you moved. Now it should be a breeze because you are tired of the stuff so plow through it and it will be over.!! I'm still decluttering but it is getting easier. Luck to you and love watching your channel
Bravo. Each of my kids have one large clear tote for their 18 yrs of life. They really had to decide what was an important memory item to keep. Now all they have to move around in the future is 1 storage box that's important to them. Any important awards, papers, etc. is in 1 file folder organizer for them to keep, too. I started those when they were babies.
These unpacking and decluttering videos are so satisfying and motivating for me . Keep them coming. Now I’m off to gather a few items for our yard sale. Happy Labor Day!
I feel the baby stuff... Stuff... I too still had the clamps from the belly buttons and finally threw them away P. S. We too love/hate the flosser things... A couple years ago we switched to the flossaid reusable dental floss holder and love it so much more. When we know better, we do better.
Yes! Make 72 hour and evacuation bags for each family member (and pet!). You should be able to compile them fairly easy from extra stuff you may have. I would also look into making an evacuation priority list and an emergency binder of important documents. Another rabbit hole for you to go down!
However Erica....think back to your room downstairs at your last home....how far you have come in your amazing decluttering. Inspirational my dear, inspirational 😘
That dress looks great on you! I´m happy that you were able to tackle separating the boys baby stuff. Some of the boxes looked intimidating but you got them cleared. I´m sitting here thinking of my house chaos and the stuffed cabinets...closets...ugh
Watching your video motivated me to FINALLY clear out the 100's of plastic flower pots I have been saving for so many years for the day I suddenly become the gardening maestro that I like to think I will become! This afternoon I am going to wash and put them in our recycling bin so the shelves in the garage that they have been sitting on for literally YEARS are available for the things I actually use frequently, like my bird feeding supplies and my aquarium supplies. My husband is going to faint from joy!!!
I think that dress is my favorite of the items I've seen you wear so far. Also, they do make eco-friendly floss picks where the handle is made out of starch, bamboo, and the like. I've also seen refillable floss handles. I've only seen them made out of plastic so far but they are multi-use which is better than single-use even if it's not by a huge margin
I have an actual chest that has my sentimental things in it. They look pretty and can hold things for each one of my boys. I just keep it in their closet. Perhaps that would be a nice idea for you. Maybe a trunk and put a blanket in it and use it for your kids to sit on. So it holds sentimental items but can be functional. I love your videos!!! Keep up the good work girl!!!!
I am still unpacking from my move at the end of last year. Like you, I'm feeling overwhelmed with how much stuff I have, and with good reason. I had at least 120 boxes... and I am a household of one!!! Compared to your whole family having 195 boxes. I have been giving/throwing things away as I unpack. I still have to unpack 48 more boxes. We can do this!
For sentimental items my mom bought plastic footlockers for both my brother and I along with plastic file totes. Any cards, artwork, or schoolwork was filed in the file tote, and all objects were placed in the footlocker. This kept our non-display keepsakes to a set space. If we didn't have space in the footlocker it either wasn't important or we needed to remove something else that was no longer important. When we both finally get space we'll have those totes sent home with us, and we're guaranteed that it will only be 2 boxes of things to go through. For items that have stories, you might write on the back-side, underside, or place a note within the item. It's even better if it is written by the person who it is coming from. I have a candy jar from my grandpa that he hand wrote the story on the bottom of the base. It might devalue the piece a bit, but what matters is I now have the story in his handwriting now that he is gone.
Let go of most of the baby stuff except those that mean the most to you. I recently went through the baby boxes with my late twenty-something girls. They could careless about the baby things. They didn’t have memories of being the baby. They wanted things that they remember. Time makes all those baby and wedding things that seem so important at the time --less important.
I took pics of most of my sentimental things then donated them. Having the pics on my phone ( & later I’m making a scrapbook) is better & easier to store than the actual items
Whrn you said you are tired of stuff... yes I feel that! I want to have one of each (accept for clothes) and that will be enough for me really. So tired of things overwhelming me all the time wherever I turn in my home.
Our dentist tells the kids to wash and reuse those flossers until they get too worn out to use. So maybe if they aren’t a one time use then they make more sense. Also, each time a kid goes to the eye doctor they get a bottle of lens spray: my kids only use the wipes on their glasses so I found that the lens spray is the perfect thing to clean our minivan windows inside and out. It uses the whole bottle and then I haven’t had to buy glass cleaner. Great job going through boxes! 💪🏻👏🏻
I feel your pain, when we last moved it was only 10 miles down the road. We left a bunch of the boxes in the garage and unpacked little by little. Years later some of it was still there. Not now, it eventually got cleaned up or donated.
Once everything is in its new home, you'll be able to go through everything area by area and decide on things like how many earplugs and bandages to keep. Good job, just think of all you left behind forever in your previous life!
They make biodegradable flossers! I know plain old floss in a glass case is much better but I agree that the flossers are so much easier for the kids. Love the video! Definitely motivating me to get back to it 💖
I've been on a minimalist journey for over 5 years and I must say the more stuff I get rid, the less stuff I want to have (to look after and clean). I also find it much easier to let go of things - like sentinemtal items. I got rid of a lot of the baby stuff (mine our now both adults) and my wedding dress.
I definitely think u have moving/unpacking fatigue Erica! Watching u go thru the process of getting rid of so much is helping me. (I have hoarding tendencies). Best wishes from Australia 😀🇦🇺
We have a memory box per kid and one that my husband and I share (this may need to be split soon). It works really well. There is a boundary because of the tote, but it also has a decent amount of space to save special things.
I watched someone (totally blanking on who, sorry!) but the way they dealt with their baby sentimentals was by having a small plastic tub boldly labeled/different color (but same size) for each child. Then as they had something they wanted to keep, it would get added to their specific tub. It was a nice way of memoralizing each kiddo while being easy to access and store. Plus your goal would be to only keep what fits in the tub. I think the plastic tub was a good idea because it would keep it safe from water... like you recently expereinced. You could even include the kids as well, so if they have something they wanted to keep you teach them that they have this tub so it has to fit in there in order to keep it.
I got an awesome idea for kids sentimental items from The Minimal Mom. Each kid gets a tote (like the ones that fit under a bed). I started doing that for my kids stuff ( except they're stacked in the closet lol) and it's been working great. I am actually am going to give myself a tote for stuff that I don't know what to do with but means something special.
It's crazy when you move and unpack and realize how much stuff you have. I'm moving in a few weeks and I'm planning to declutter and reorganize while I'm unpacking. I can't imagine how much stuff I might have accumulated within this last year. Sometimes moving does suck though
I don't know if you'll read this comment since this video is an older one But... consider Baby Binders. A 3 inch binder where you can put things in protective sleeves and only keep what fits inside the binder. They can be easily stored in a smaller tote or on a bookcase and they won't overwhelm your adult children when you hand them over. ;) Also easier to make than scrapbooks and cheaper than memory books.
