apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i FINALLY got some craigslist buyers to buy a target chair that didn't work and some ikea bed slats i don't need anymore! i was (and still am) really excited. they were taking up precious living room real estate!

There's a little bit of everything, and a lot of some things--books, CDs, movies, organizational solutions gone wrong, clothes (my high school prom dress!!!), sports equipment, kitchen knick knacks, drafting, art, and craft supplies ... so much crap. The sight of it alone, all piled next to my front door, is incentive to just toss it out. I think I'm going to donate it all to my friend who's raising money for her Walk for the Cure 3-day to sell in a fund-raising yard sale.

finally dispensed with my T.V.! i'm off t.v. for good now. yes! it was an old clunker (a 1990 RCA) so i just gave it away. yippee! now to put a couple of folding chairs on craigslist...

I think that the most important thing about the outbox, which Maxwell never specifically states in The Cure, is that the outbox allows for more immediate reward and gratification because there's no requirement that sorting and decisions be made before progress can be made.

Most de-clutter, get organized, improve your space guides suggest that you handle all the stressful work of sorting and garage sales and thrift store dumps before you make a space feel good. By having a holding-bin (be it a box or a room) for all that stuff, one is free to experience immediate gratification of an improved space. Moreover, the great feeling can in itself is the positive reinforecement for addressing the contents of the outbox.

The idea that "something good will come of this if I can just buckle down and do it" is great motivation for a reward like a paycheck or other tangible reward, but less so for warm fuzzies.

That said... I have an entire room full of out-box items, and I can't get rid of them nearly fast enough! I wish SLC's craiglist were a better market.

My "Outbox" is the guestroom closet:

Lots of old clothes, boxes of old magazines (any ideas where to donate 10 years of Wallpaper* and Car magazines?) old bedlinens and towels currently live in there...

bepsf, the old towels and bedlinens could go to a local animal shelter. recycle the magazines with one fell swoop. i'm sure a local school or kids' center of some kind could use the wallpaper for craft projects.

my outbox has claimed exactly half of my kitchen for a while now. lots of clothes, ugly crap, my old bed and a giant unfinished painting. i can't wait to find a way to get rid of it all with maximum profitability.

Mine contains a lot of stuff I moved here barely two months ago. Books, clothes, glass things that need cleaned that obviously I don't want/use enough to have taken care of yet, decor from the old place that doesn't fit in...

And, scarily, not a third of what I need to move in there.

Fortunately, my delay in buying a washer means I have a whole closet to devote to outbox.

Ha. This is my picture, but it isn't actually my outbox, just a detail of my bedroom before I tidied up! We don't really have a formal outbox right now, just an area in the living room by the door where things on their way out naturally collect.

if you have freecycle in your area it's great for passing along items. In the past 2 days, I've given away 2 dressers, a picture frame, a telephone and a bunch of leftover curtain fabric.

A nice sized box of Books to sell, and some to donate to the Library. Two full bags of clothing. A few unneeded knick knacks we've picked up during the year we've lived here, and hopefully more things to come.

i have been putting together bags as an outbox. mostly it's clothes that don't fit anymore, and books that have been read that we don't need for reference. :) i am keeping them in the trunk of my car so i'm good to go to the charity when the time comes.

Another great use for the magazines is to donate them to a local clinic or somewhere with a waiting room. Most doctor's offices can afford their own subscriptions, but many other places would be glad to have them!