View Full Version : January Decluttering
I love this time of year! After all the holiday "glitz" and busyness, I really desire to simplify, to clear out and start fresh. Hello, clean and organized house! Unfortunately, I am starting out pretty behind, so I won't achieve that goal as quickly as I'd like. :-)
My goal for every month is always to declutter 100 items. I find that this helps us minimize our possessions despite the influx of new items. DH finished installing our new closet system this morning (and bless his heart--he worked so hard on it!) We decided to purge as we put things back in. Here is what we have gotten rid of so far:
2 pairs of slippers
10 shirts
3 pairs of underwear
1 stick of chapstick
1 cologne sample
9 pairs of socks
1 pair of shoes
1 holy sock with no mate
2 pillowcases
1 pair of pjs
Total: 31
What felt really good was realizing that most of the things we let go were truly worn out. Feels nice to actually use what we have. :-) We still have a long ways to go, and I have to go through my pre-pregnancy stuff. The constant weight fluctuations that come with the childbearing season of life can be frustrating. I am not sure how quickly I will lose the weight after the baby is born and hate having a zillion in between sized clothes. So my plan is to hold on to some of it and let go of the stuff that is worn or unloved or very unlikely to fit again. If I wouldn't buy it in a store today, I don't plan on keeping it. Once I get to my goal weight, I will reward myself with a couple of new things.
I actually get the jump on it by sweeping the house between Christmas and the 31st to grab things for Goodwill. I also go through all the food and grab the canned/boxed food we haven't eaten and take that to the food bank. New years day is the day I go through all accumulated paperwork from the previous year and pull out what I will need for taxes, toss what I haven't needed and store what I want to keep. It is always a great day to have a fire in the woodstove.
Oh, it's built up. I did so well in the summer, but my daughter moving in with hoarding habits and the season has built it back up again! Today was clean the porch which had become a dumping ground, clean the living room and behind the computer desk, air blow the computer out, clean the desk. Then in the overwhelming storage room....a bit of organizing but it will take a giant bite to see a difference. Got the wreath out of here and the recycling out. It's still going to take some doing to even get to an equalized point.
Sounds like you are off to a great start, Simplemind! Wish I had a woodstove. :-)
Tiam--I know what you mean about feeling overwhelmed. I feel that way about the state of my house right now. I used to be so organized and productive. Then the baby came. She was colicky and never slept and wanted to nurse every hour. She is getting a little older now, so I am trying to get back on track before the next baby comes. Some days I feel like the little bit I can accomplish doesn't even matter, but it does! If I can just stay motivated, I can start to see the changes. :-) Sounds like you really got a lot done yesterday--give yourself a big pat on the back! :-)
Today the great clothing purge continues:
1 dress
21 shirts
4 pairs of pants
1 pair of shorts
1 purse
3 holy socks
2 skirts
1 pair of pjs
Total for the month: 65
Feels good and the new closet is looking gorgeous! Will continue doing what I can as I can! :-)
Tussiemussies
1-2-13, 4:26pm
That is great Kat!
Good start.
We did a major decluttering of our closet on New Year's Eve. Those bags (around 20 of them) are sitting on the front porch. They would of been loaded in the car already but my three guys are all sick and whiny today.
Today I'm undecorating the tree and putting away the christmas stuff, found there was nothing to declutter out of it. I did a big christmas declutter last year and kept only what I loved.
I'm using some of the t-shirts my husband agreed to give up to knit new bath rugs. Have wanted to try that for quite some time.
I hope any declutterers in the Twin Cities area will remember Bridging (http://www.bridging.org/). I just had a tour there tonight that I will write up in my journal, but they are always in need of household items like linens, kitchen items like dishes/pots/pans/utensils, and even larger items like furniture, particularly dressers.
Hoping to clear some more items out of here this month, too. We had an influx and then I went to my mom's, which is like Xmas every time we go . . . :S
Jan02/2013
I am in for at least 5 a day.....
--coffee pot, Christmas ornament (was my DH favourite Dale Eharnhart), 3 pieces of art supplies to Ds and Ddil (5)
--8 napkins that don't match any tablecloths to---charity
Total to date 13
Gardenarian
1-5-13, 1:39pm
Took another 3 boxes to Salvation Army, and still have 4 boxes of toys and a box full of blank CDs that they wouldn't take. I'm amazed at how much stuff I've got rid of, and there still seems to be more!!
Too much garage sale shopping in my past!
Took another 3 boxes to Salvation Army, and still have 4 boxes of toys and a box full of blank CDs that they wouldn't take. I'm amazed at how much stuff I've got rid of, and there still seems to be more!!
Too much garage sale shopping in my past!
You could see if a local school would like the CDs. I know when I stopped teaching 2 years ago I was sending some electronic products home on the kids' own flash drives but still sending some CDs.
Cleaned out the bathroom cabinets today and one closet. Not much to get rid of other than some boxes to recycle.
Also did some outdoor decluttering, a.k.a. pruning. Spent about 90 minutes outside on a beautiful, warm (30F in Minnesota in January!) winter day, pruning all our trees and fruit-bearing shrubs. A few things left that I need DH's help with - larger and higher branches. But that's one more winter task nearly done.
Dropped off a bag of clothes yesterday. Hooray! One less pile to negotiate around here. And broke down a bunch of cardboard boxes to prepare for recycling. That sure opens up some space.
I received some lovely toiletries as gifts, so I finally convinced myself to go through the stuff in the bathrooms. Out went shaving cream my husband is allergic to (Can't even use it myself since he sneezes at the scent!); the last of the jumbo containers of mouthwash, shampoo and conditioner poured into more manageable containers; a bunch of outdated samples; 8 bottles of stuff we haven't used in a year and never will; a number of partially used travel-size products; 5 bars of scented soap, bubble bath and a loofah mitt to my friend who loves the scent that smells like mouthwash to me.
Next I checked the non-prescription meds and got rid of the out-dated aspirin and fish oil. Also got rid of the leftover pain killers from my visit to the dentist.
Cleaned out the bathroom cabinets today and one closet. Not much to get rid of other than some boxes to recycle.
Also did some outdoor decluttering, a.k.a. pruning. Spent about 90 minutes outside on a beautiful, warm (30F in Minnesota in January!) winter day, pruning all our trees and fruit-bearing shrubs. A few things left that I need DH's help with - larger and higher branches. But that's one more winter task nearly done.
Pruning. It's been on my mind to do. Pruning is decluttering!
I see pruning as decluttering in more than one way. First, it creates more attractive structure in the trees/shrubs and aims their growth the way I want it. Second, it is always on my mental list of winter tasks and so having completed it removes one of those constant steams of "need to do" chatter in my brain.
Ruh roh, now it's on my mental chatter list! :D
Ruh roh, now it's on my mental chatter list! :D
Yeah, me too. Thanks for the reminder ... :~)
(just kidding!)
Gardenarian--A pregnancy center or OB/GYN office might also take the CDs. I know the ones around here like to put ultrasound pictures on CD for the mothers to enjoy and share.
I still don't feel I have made a dent in all the purging I could do. But today, we let go of 6 stuffed animals, 7 baby dolls, 4 pairs of socks, and 1 shoe rack.
Total for the month: 83
Tussiemussies
1-8-13, 2:21pm
Gardenarian--A pregnancy center or OB/GYN office might also take the CDs. I know the ones around here like to put ultrasound pictures on CD for the mothers to enjoy and share.
I still don't feel I have made a dent in all the purging I could do. But today, we let go of 6 stuffed animals, 7 baby dolls, 4 pairs of socks, and 1 shoe rack.
Total for the month: 83
Great job Kat!
Took a small box of books that DH was getting rid of to the used book store. Sold them for cash and did not get any books.
Had today off work (few days I have to use up). After sleeping late, I've been purging paper, a few books, and such. Went through the Rubbermaid tub where I had all my exam stuff. Bunch of highlighters, etc., that I no longer need (kept one for home), bagged up the rest to use at work.
I was able to get rid of a lot of garbage and broken down boxes today. Not including that stuff in the count, but still pretty happy about it.
For the count:
2 tupperware containers returned to MIL
2 hole-y socks
1 shirt
1 broken ice cream scoop
1 tube of Krazy glue (hard as a rock)
Total: 90
Wow Kat, you're close, and it's only the 9th of the month!
I don't think that is a good thing, fidgie...just means my house is out. of. CONTROL! :laff:
Started out organizing craft supplies yesterday and ended up spending 3 hours on DD's bedroom, which hadn't had a thorough top-to-bottom cleaning since Labor Day weekend. So now it should be good until she's got ample time to do it herself when school gets out for summer. Removed 1 bag jam-packed with papers to recycle, some trash, lots of craft supplies that belong in another room, about 10 books to sell, and a small box of toys to give away. Craft supplies still need to be done, but now I'll be starting with everything in one place.
1 bucket
1 Barrel of Monkeys game
1 ball
3 stuffed animals
4 DVDs
2 Happy Meal-type toys (hate these!)
Total: 102
Maybe I can up my goal to 150 for the month!
Didn't really get much stuff out of the house, but got a lot off my to-do list/out of my frazzled brain, so that's good! For me decluttering the brain/spirit is as important as decluttering physical spaces -- maybe more so...
Accomplishments this week (I'm just going to list them all here) include:
1. Completed two recommendation letters I had promised people. One was actually overdue (bad me!) but I know the program administrator and she told me it was fine. The other I got in JUST in time -- two hours before the online platform was going to close down, because my brain was so frazzled/hazy from the jetlag I can't seem to kick that I thought I still had two more days. OOOPS! I think the letter was good though. And I did get it in with two hours to spare (though that is WAAAAY too close for comfort for me....)
2. Prepared for a major meeting with our local government partner that went VERY WELL. I wasn't the only person involved, but my input was definitely significant. That whole business was a HUGE stressor this week (the meeting was yesterday), so I feel a major weight off my shoulders to have that behind me.
3. Applied for a training opportunity in my organization. I'm not that happy with my application, but didnt have any more time to work on it and figured I wasn't going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, so I got it to passable and sent it on. If it is meant to be it is meant to be. Lots of other people may be applying, we;ll see what happens. That went off after work yesterday.
4. Completed and submitted my W4 exemption form and Form 673 for tax purposes, and submitted the form to change my retirement contribution to the new max.
5. Emailed all the schools we are considering switching DS to next year, to enquire about admissions procedures and possibility of scholarships/financial aid. Not sure if there will be any good alternatives to the one less expensive school we are already considering, but figure it doesn't hurt to try -- all they can do is say we have to pay full price. Also spoke with the principal at DS's school about getting copies of his Stanford test scores from last year. He was at the top of the class, so maybe some of the other schools will be interested in him. Also put out feelers about getting a computer programming tutor for him and/or helping him hook up with other computer-crazy teenagers.
6. Worked my way through the rest of the paperwork drawer. Filed one outstanding insurance claim and entered/filed/emailed about follow up on the others (had a huge stack waiting for follow up -- god, I hate insurance paperwork...). Sent emails about frequent flyer mileage not credited and changes to our US cell phone plan that I'm not sure will affect us (or how they will affect us).
7. Pulled out unofficial heating receipts so that I can use them to get the official receipts. I'll do that later this week when I top up our utility cards. Now that I don't have to pay for taxis to/from work, I'm trying to consolidate errands and spending so that I have as many no-spend days as possible.
8. Filed insurance paperwork and sorted/set aside other stuff that needs to be filed. I should do it today, but I am kind of burnt out on papers and filing.
9. Prepared my shopping list.
OK, I've been up since 4:30 and its now almost 3:00 and I think I have earned a nap. MAybe that will help me finally kick this jetlag. It has been a LOOONG week.
lhamo
Didn't really get much stuff out of the house, but got a lot off my to-do list/out of my frazzled brain, so that's good! For me decluttering the brain/spirit is as important as decluttering physical spaces -- maybe more so...
+1. Nice job on all you accomplished. I am exhausted just reading it! :-)
I got rid of a pom-pom kitten I bought at a crafts fair when I was a little girl. I am sad to see it go, but the yarn finally went kaput, and it kind of "exploded." Now it is just a pile of strings and googly eyes. :laff:
Total: 103
lhamo - great job on decluttering the to-do list. I've got to face that monster this weekend as well. Quarterly taxes for 8 states, final year end inventory and reports for the accountant. MUST RSVP to the awards schedule. We've made the awards for our state art council and need to fill out the forms so I can be paid and so we can attend the events at the capitol in Feb. Files-Files-Files. Hope to purge a few, consolidate a few, and get my 2013 business files started.
Meanwhile....all I want to do is play around on project365.org which I've committed to doing this year.
fidgiegirl
1-12-13, 11:47am
Kat, LOL.
Keep on keepin' on, decluttering heroes!
Blackdog Lin
1-13-13, 10:32am
Way to go everyone on the accomplishments.
I finally have something to contribute. Got back to the back porch project Friday, and musta caught DH on a good day - he actually cooperated with letting stuff go. Decluttered were:
1 circa 1995 Kirby vacuum w/2 boxes of accessories (garage-sale pile)
1 semi-moldy rolling laundry cart w/1 detachable wheel, that detached 4 times just getting it to the garage (garage-sale pile)
1 lightning-struck home entertainment center w/5 speakers (trash)
1 giant weedeater box and 1 fedex box (??? why was he keeping them?!!!) (trash)
3 large blocks so-old-they-were-crumbling-to-dust florists foam (why was I keeping them???!!!) (trash)
1 so-ugly-it-is-almost-beautiful vase (garage-sale pile)
1 almost-empty gallon can primer (trash)
2 half-full cans paint (garage, where they go)
2 Mr. Coffee-style carafes (garage-sale pile)
pile of assorted ballcaps, winter headgear and scarves (garage-sale pile)
Bonus points to me: found an old 9x15" plastic basket, thought about a kitchen organization idea I'd seen on Pinterest, so pulled EVERYTHING from the bottom shelf of the kitchen pots-n-pans cabinet and reorganized same. Even WASHED the shelf. WITH SOAP AND WATER. (Question, Lin: when was the last time you cleaned this cabinet? Answer: never. We've been in this house 19 1/2 years, and I've never pulled all the stuff out and cleaned the shelf.)
Double bonus points: found an old plastic lazy susan, and cleaned out and reorganized the kitchen spice cabinet. I can now easily reach all the spice bottles without getting the stepstool out.
So feeling pretty good about myself today. The back porch has already doubled in size, you know? Back to it tomorrow - I only have 2 1/2 weeks left to accomplish my goal.
Float On--Project365.org looks really cool! :-)
Blackdog Lin--Woo hoo! Way to go! Must feel great to clear all that stuff out, especially the larger items. :-)
DH and I continued work on our closet today while the baby napped:
1 leather jacket
1 jewelry organizer (I actually have a very nice jewelry cabinet, no ide why I was holding on to this!
1 skirt hanger
1 kilt
1 dress
1 shirt
1 pair of pants
2 belts
1 pair of jeans
The jeans were really hard to get rid of. They are designer jeans that at one time fit me perfectly. I had had them tailored, and I felt gorgeous every time I put them on. But they didn't fit anymore after I had the baby, not even after I lost all of the weight and then some. SO...I am releasing them to the world and hope they will make some other woman feel fabulous. When I am done having babies, I am SO going to buy another pair that fits my new body, though!
A friend of mine also gave me a box of clothes her daughter has outgrown. Six items were really, really, stained, so I tossed them.
Total for the month: 118
Tussiemussies
1-13-13, 8:48pm
Way to go everyone on the accomplishments.
I finally have something to contribute. Got back to the back porch project Friday, and musta caught DH on a good day - he actually cooperated with letting stuff go. Decluttered were:
1 circa 1995 Kirby vacuum w/2 boxes of accessories (garage-sale pile)
1 semi-moldy rolling laundry cart w/1 detachable wheel, that detached 4 times just getting it to the garage (garage-sale pile)
1 lightning-struck home entertainment center w/5 speakers (trash)
1 giant weedeater box and 1 fedex box (??? why was he keeping them?!!!) (trash)
3 large blocks so-old-they-were-crumbling-to-dust florists foam (why was I keeping them???!!!) (trash)
1 so-ugly-it-is-almost-beautiful vase (garage-sale pile)
1 almost-empty gallon can primer (trash)
2 half-full cans paint (garage, where they go)
2 Mr. Coffee-style carafes (garage-sale pile)
pile of assorted ballcaps, winter headgear and scarves (garage-sale pile)
Bonus points to me: found an old 9x15" plastic basket, thought about a kitchen organization idea I'd seen on Pinterest, so pulled EVERYTHING from the bottom shelf of the kitchen pots-n-pans cabinet and reorganized same. Even WASHED the shelf. WITH SOAP AND WATER. (Question, Lin: when was the last time you cleaned this cabinet? Answer: never. We've been in this house 19 1/2 years, and I've never pulled all the stuff out and cleaned the shelf.)
Double bonus points: found an old plastic lazy susan, and cleaned out and reorganized the kitchen spice cabinet. I can now easily reach all the spice bottles without getting the stepstool out.
So feeling pretty good about myself today. The back porch has already doubled in size, you know? Back to it tomorrow - I only have 2 1/2 weeks left to accomplish my goal.
Good for you Blackdog, I know you have been wanting to get to that back porch....:)
I got rid of some hard to let go of items:
Bracelet that had belonged to my grandmother: My mom is very attached to stuff that has belonged to someone she loves, and alot of the costume jewlery that had been my grandmothers, that she wore got stolen. I gave her this back so she has something of my grandmother's to wear.
Two pair of shoes that were not "just right" after I bought one pair that is "just right."
Two photo frames: I had professional photographer come to the house when my DS#1 and DIL were here at Christmas and take a picture of the whole family. That is now the only photo on my desk. All other photos have been sent to the memento box.
Nice work letting go of some of the harder things, Fawn. I found the handling of your grandmother's bracelet especially thoughtful. :-)
My DD broke a Christmas ornament (yeah...our tree is still up...sigh...).
Total: 119
Kat- if you leave the tree up all year, you might get rid of few more ornaments. ;)
Blackdog Lin
1-16-13, 8:53pm
Got some more done on the back porch today. Yay me! It's getting easier to make myself get out there, now that I've started and have made some progress. And DH is still being wonderfully cooperative.
Shelf above where I hang the clothes out of the dryer: all household lightbulbs moved to more appropriate basket and organized. Shelf itself washed down and defuzzed. Corner above de-cobwebbed. One travel clothes-iron to garage-sale pile. One old I-don't-know-if-it-works-but-I'll-refund-your-money-if-it-doesn't 'puter modem to garage-sale pile.
With DH's help: one plastic basket/tote which is supposed to be the household toolbox, but had various and sundry crap thrown into it for 19 years: cleaned out and organized. Ditto a 3-basket hanging basket filled with various and sundry household.....fasteners and weatherstripping and cords and.....stuff. Moved stuff to where it should be. Filled a plastic grocery sack with stuff for the trash (electronics/accessories for TVs/printers/'puters we haven't owned in years, that kind of stuff). Even bathed the hanging baskets in hot soapy water and hung outside to dry. It's somewhat defuzzed.
Cleaned/defuzzed/de-cobwebbed top of freezer, wall around it, and cabinet beside it. Threw away large box of egg cartons (we used to have 10 young laying hens, we now have 4 old ones. Silly of me to be keeping all those egg cartons.) Top of freezer (a valuable storage space) now organized and looking good.
I'm starting to feel hopeful that I will make my goal of having a decently cleaned and organized back porch before January ends!
Thanks to y'all for the encouragement.
Kat- if you leave the tree up all year, you might get rid of few more ornaments. ;)
I know, right? LOL
Blackdog--you are rockin' it!
Not much here. My work load is kind of heavy right now, so I haven't had much time for purging. DH did get rid of another shirt, though!
Total: 120
HomemadeChange
1-17-13, 9:50am
1 pair of jeans
The jeans were really hard to get rid of. They are designer jeans that at one time fit me perfectly. I had had them tailored, and I felt gorgeous every time I put them on. But they didn't fit anymore after I had the baby, not even after I lost all of the weight and then some. SO...I am releasing them to the world and hope they will make some other woman feel fabulous. When I am done having babies, I am SO going to buy another pair that fits my new body, though!
Total for the month: 118
Kat- GREAT JOB on the jeans! It really is so hard to purge those garments which used to be our "go tos" and made us feel "gorgeous" when we wore them. Proud of you for releasing and sharing them with another girl who will get to feel great in them. I have been purging the last 6 months and have lost count (I still have more to go :|(), but after the last load of both my clothing and DH's I took to the consignment shop I received a call. The very sweet girl said, " Thank you so much for your great items. We have taken 95% of them (they donate items that are not sellable), but wanted to let you know that you were well over the 50 item limit." WOW! It is amazing how much stuff we can acquire. I think I will go back through again before spring. Good news is the money we earn when our clothes sell goes back into our budget for groceries, savings or vacation funds!
Blackdog Lin
1-20-13, 7:10am
More progress.
Got the coat closet on the porch done yesterday. Out went 4 of my old coats - 3 of them not all that old, beautiful and in excellent shape, but grossly oversized for my size now (I tried them all on to make sure there was no possibility of wearing them again.) And the 4th one was my old "authentic surplus Navy pea coat" circa 1975, my favorite coat from high school, which I'd never been able to let go before. I must be in the correct frame of mind for this decluttering - it wasn't that hard to let it go. (Boy, wish I could find another one. It's at least 40 years old, maybe closer to 50, and give it a trip to the dry-cleaners and you'd never know it wasn't brand new.)
Also out: one old too-small parka of DH's, one antique portable typewriter, 2 old pairs of DH's shoes, and an old work-coverall of his. Coverall to garage-sale pile, shoes to trash, typewriter his to put where he wishes, as long as it's out of the house, :) and all the coats.....not sure. Probably just try to sell them at the garage sale.
All winter headgear scarves and gloves organized in a large basket. Shelf above coat rod washed down and organized. Walls de-cobwebbed. Chore and snow boots de-mudded before putting back in. Mopped floor well - even got down on my hands-n-knees to get the corners clean. :)
Down to 12 days to reach my goal. If I stick with it, it's very doable.
Jumping in:
1. Bin full of misc. items that I decluttered before Christmas. Probably around 20 items.
2. 6 large plastic dinosaurs
3. 10 Christmas items
4. Extra Large bag of clothing/shoes- still working on this but off the top of my head, probably around 30 items so far.
5. Tray
Trashed/recyled/shredded 2 bags of paperwork from off the counters/table and in the office. PHEW!!!!
Going to work on the closet and paper clutter today.
Thanks, HomemadeChange. :-)
BlackdogLin--You can do it!
Out this weekend:
1 coffeemaker
1 orphan sock (we seem to have so many of these!)
1 kitchen rug (it didn't make it through the wash despite being "machine washable")
1 plate returned
1 tupperware with no lid
Total: 125
fidgiegirl
1-20-13, 6:12pm
This is a good reminder to deliver our Bridging donation this week. I already brought some items before Xmas but once I started to look around, found more to give. We might also go to Target and see if the holiday-themed sheets are marked down more deeply to see if we can throw some of those in with our donation.
BarbieGirl
1-20-13, 7:24pm
I'm in awe! You are all my heros! :thankyou:
I'm going to start too! So far with a ton of help from DH, I've tackled my eldest son's room. He's on the autistic spectrum so even though he's 20, he has a hard time letting go of things. Like used fireworks ,ugly rocks (some just pieces of concrete), various wires and computer/gaming equipment.
Now his room is freshly painted, all I have to do is buy/make some new curtains. I am setting up 'stations' for my son to place his things when not in use. Hopefully he can keep things reasonably clean now. I will start a weekend time where he's got a list of chores to accomplish. Before it was so daunting for me to even cope with, I could understand how hard it was for DS to make any headway.
I feel such a sense of relief about it now that I want to continue to pare things down. My two youngest boys room is next!
There I only have to contend with the usual dust, going through clothes, paring down stuffed animals.
Blackdog Lin
1-20-13, 8:17pm
Barbie - you go girl! It sounds like you have a fine plan for decluttering. (while my son wasn't autistic, he packratted to an extreme as a teenager. I had some success with baskets/containers for him - like your "stations", he could keep whatever he needed to as long as it was "contained".)
I've found that once I got started (which was definitely the hardest part!), seeing the progress has been enough to keep me going. You're right, it's such a sense of relief. And for me, having a definite goal and a definite time limit has made all the difference. Otherwise I would procrastinate. Which is why I'm on here posting about my progress. I need my "online family" here to help keep me to my goals.
Took today off (did the laundry and washed sheets instead). I have in mind 2 distinct goals for the room/project tomorrow.
HomemadeChange
1-21-13, 9:42am
This weekend was the last day to drop off winter items to the clothing consignment store. I took a small amount of our items as well as my BIL and his gf's winter wear they no longer needed. BIL and his gf came down to have dinner with their items in hand as they have heard how well DH and I have done selling ours. Happy to help and exciting to know they will benefit from this---clearing out closets, seeing what items they have and need as well as making a little pocket change. Tuesday marks the day that the consignment store will begin taking spring. I started our pile a couple of weeks ago and will add to it this week and take in this weekend. FEELS GOOD!!
Some forced decluttering here:
1 pair of shoes (my cat threw up in them and ruined them)
1 spatula (broke while I was using it)
4 paint samples
1 candy cane
2 gift cards to stores far away with only a few dollars on them
Total: 134
fidgiegirl
1-21-13, 2:57pm
Love keeping up with you guys and your progress . . . this month has been kind of a declutter-y fail for us especially as we just went to Marshalls and bought new towels and sheets . . . but our old ones will either go to Bridging or will serve on doggy duty as I have nicknamed Gus "The Laundry Monster." He has a new bed as well from Marshalls and he likes it so far. That's ok, other months will be better for us in the declutter department.
I have learned to crochet and am already fighting the urge to go build up a stash. One of the nice things is that the group that started up, to knit and crochet hats for cancer patients, has a stash donated to the group and the girl running it offered for us to grab from that. I only took two skeins as I know that any month I can refill at our meeting. So that is a nice savings of time spent shopping, space spent storing and money spent buying.
Blackdog Lin
1-22-13, 7:12am
Yesterday: didn't get a lot done, but did get back there and got my two little goal areas done. (1) one corner still had.....debris/crap laying around on the floor - all swept up and disposed of; and (2) an old 2-drawer file cabinet used for storage, mostly old electronic cords, kept a few per DH, and rest to garage-sale pile. All cleaned up and organized. It even made room and a handy storage place for our big plastic box of household appliance books, warranties etc., which otherwise lays around on a floor or in a closet.
While out there I looked down that tunnel and you know what? I could see the light at the end of it! Gonna be done by this weekend, ahead of schedule.
Today's mini purge:
9 dosing syringes
1 expired medication
package of twist ties
an air freshener that didn't agree with our noses
plastic holiday straw
kid' s squeeze bottle
Total: 148
Blackdog Lin
1-23-13, 6:44pm
Today's progress: just a little, but every little bit counts! Emptied the bottom of a large tote (long-term foodstuffs) into other totes, and took the 2 empties to the garage. There are now no totes or boxes laying around on the back porch just taking up room.
Tomorrow: the 2 shelves above the coat racks.
Maxamillion
1-24-13, 4:18am
I've been working a lot on organizing this month. I don't know exactly how many items I've gotten rid of but I donated about 5 small bags of books and a bunch of yarn to Goodwill. I've pulled out a few items from my toy collection to get rid of (several Barbies and a big pony castle), and am thinking of giving away the board games and tent that I've got since I never use any of them.
I am planning on decluttering some craft/school supplies that we no longer use, or have too many of: colored pencils, markers, mosaic tiles and grout, etc.
Any ideas about who would want them? I can give the markers to a local day-care, I think...but colored pencils? Mosaic tiles?
I've been tackling my decluttering, too!
I started four days ago, with one shelf in my home office. Each day I've done another shelf, and it's so great how the motivation feeds on itself! My plan is to just go shelf by shelf, drawer by drawer until one room is done and then go on to the next. I'm trying to act each day on dispersing the stuff as I go. For instance, I found 3 old phones. Today I will go to BestBuy to give them to their recycling program. I have a stack of Vegetarian Times magazines, which I'm going to send to my daughter today. The two paper bags full of old project paperwork is going into the recycling--today.
Otherwise, the stuff just gets shuffled around. I'm trying to just stay focused on one thing at a time, which is difficult for me.
I thought I had to have my big armoire in my office to store stuff--DH kept saying that it's too big for the room. But now it's only about 40% full, so I could clearly do with just getting a smaller storage space for my office stuff. Maybe I'll tackle that next time around!
I am going to give myself one year for this project.
catherine,
it's interesting that you mentioned the armoire. I've often thought that if I knocked down a wall between my master bedroom and the tiny bedroom next to it, I could make that tiny bdrm a walk-in closet. If I did that, then I wouldn't need the 2 dressers I have now.
I'm wondering if dressers, armoires, and the television-type furniture will all be extinct some time soon.
fidgiegirl
1-24-13, 5:36pm
I am planning on decluttering some craft/school supplies that we no longer use, or have too many of: colored pencils, markers, mosaic tiles and grout, etc.
Any ideas about who would want them? I can give the markers to a local day-care, I think...but colored pencils? Mosaic tiles?
I work at a school that houses several special education programs for older students and they were over the moon with a gift of colored pencils I gave them from my old classroom. Perhaps there are similar programs where you are? It's hard for a teacher with a regular classroom of tons of kids to get too much use out of small donations but a program like this with smaller groups can use stuff like this. Worth checking out, anyway.
I work at a school that houses several special education programs for older students and they were over the moon with a gift of colored pencils I gave them from my old classroom. Perhaps there are similar programs where you are? It's hard for a teacher with a regular classroom of tons of kids to get too much use out of small donations but a program like this with smaller groups can use stuff like this. Worth checking out, anyway.
Of course we do! :)
And I happen to know the principal of a local special needs school. Perfect!
fidgiegirl
1-24-13, 8:11pm
Great!
Blackdog Lin
1-24-13, 9:00pm
(Fawn and Kelli) I love it when decluttering matches up with a worthy use. Way to go with the brainstorming.
Got one of my goal shelves done today. Threw out sunscreen and bug spray from 2006 and before. Still have plenty for next summer and beyond. Moved (spray paint, caulking, lube-in-a-can) to more appropriate places. Shelf is nice.
Second shelf decluttering is problematic, and didn't feel like hitting DH with it tonight: it's his.....BEER CANS, of all things. Every time Coors Light comes out with a new can he thinks he has to keep one. Along with the buddies new alcoholic beverage containers. Like they're gonna be VALUABLE some day? He's gonna display them in a shadow box for everyone to marvel over? Is the American Beer Hall of Fame gonna call him someday and ask him to fill some hole in their collection?
(sigh) One picks one's battles. The cans ARE going, going somewhere else not on the coat-rack-shelf of the back porch, I just need to find the right time/way to make it as easy as possible for him. (for me.) That they are gonna be moved is not negotiable, but I'll make it as easy as possible on both of us.
(Do any other of y'all have weird spouses with weird collecting propensities?)
fidgiegirl
1-26-13, 9:45pm
Blackdog Lin, let us know how it goes with the ol' cans . . . with my hubby it is vintage Northwoods decor, but thankfully he is selling off some of it. He will put some back up and that is ok, it looks good in moderation, but our old home was full to the brim. I was overstimulated all the time.
Have been doing a bit of organizing around here today. We have a big load ready to go to Bridging, some from us, some I grabbed from work off the free table (was just sitting there for days . . . ), and some we bought to donate. Net items out will be small for that donation. We organized the linen closet and laundry area so I will get rid of the OxyClean that our washing machine hates. I bet DMiL will take it. DH drained a few shampoo bottles. Nothing too earth-shattering.
Washed Corky's bed from the car. We are going to use his regular one upstairs and his car bed downstairs. We were going to buy a third bed but that is silly. We can carry the car bed in and out, he doesn't go in the car that often, and it's easier than hauling his other one up and down the stairs twice a day.
Weeded out some dog toys that Gus didn't latch onto and also packaged up his crate he didn't like (ay ay ay this is sounding like Hollywood Dog or something) to donate to my friend who works with a rescue group. She also told me this rescue group has a storage locker for all the supplies they need to keep on hand, so that is good to know; if other dog things come through my life I don't have to feel like I'm overloading my friend as an individual, as she can contribute items to the collective storage site and they will be used by the many thousands of dogs this org places every year.
I am taking the plunge and starting the decluttering of the vintage dishes & extensive glass & stemware collection! We're planning to paint the kitchen this summer, a complete color re-do, including painting the cabinets & offing three Ikea Expedit shelves that hold dishes! I plan a 75% reduction. OMG.
Luckily, my DSD's best friend from high school just got engaged, and she & her beloved are moving to Seattle. I am offering them the dishes, which I think they'll like. My young friend told me that her GF has very similar tastes as I do, which I hope is so! I've also offered a good friend first pick of all the glassware in exchange for helping me paint, which she said yes to. Bonus! Converting Goodwill finds to labor. Ooo, this is gonna be fun!
The kitchen, which is a kitchen/dining room combo, currently is very festive & bright. It has two shades of green, yellow, and terra cotta. It's being toned down to much quieter shades; putty/taupe brown, a pale dove grey, and probably a soft mossy green accent wall. The cabinets are typical builder mid-grade, so are losing their finish, and the laminate countertop is chipping and ugly. They'll be painted, uppers pale dove grey or soft white, lowers mossy green to mirror the wall opposite them.
I'm also going to learn to make a concrete counter & integral sink. My DH has a coworker who has done this professionally, so somehow I will bribe him to help me! :) This will be a graphite grey. Yummy. We're going subtle, eco-modern. The cost will be under $2000 for the remo, as I will be doing the labor, and the biggest expense will likely be the sink/countertop materials. We're of course keeping the perfectly serviceable appliances & floor. I am sooo excited about this!
Which is good, as the decluttering kinda scares me...
Onward!
I did my daily declutter yesterday. I'm moving around my office doing one shelf/drawer/surface a day.
I got rid of about 50 business cards--I couldn't even remember the people! But my prize for decluttering was: I found the spare set of car keys I've been looking for for nine months!! I had almost given them up for good and was considering paying the considerable cost to have it replaced! Cleaning out that drawer was a net gain of about $200 for me!
2 more shirts
Need to get moving! I know I can do better! ;-)
Total: 150
fidgiegirl
1-27-13, 2:33pm
redfox, fun!
catherine, big score there!
Kat, you have done great this month!
Blackdog Lin
1-27-13, 6:26pm
Kudos to everyone for sticking with it this month!
Been procrastinating on my project, but made myself get out there this afternoon. Guess I'm gonna take this thing right down to the wire! (end of the month). The walls are washed down as best I could (even got the ladder out), most cobwebs are gone, wiped the 3 pieces of wall decor, the rug and the window curtains are in the washer, and did a rough sweeping of the floor. I say rough because the floor is gonna need a better sweeping, then a rough mopping, then a hands-n-knees scrub-bad-spots-and-corners mopping, then a final sweep.
It wasn't till I got the clutter out of the room that I saw how bad I'd let the floor get. Gross. Tomorrow's goal is to get half or more of the floor all done. I've only got 4 more days to reach my goal.
I have 3 pairs of blue cafe curtains going to Goodwill. Since I only have one kitchen window and I can't remember when the kitchen was painted blue last, I guess they are just clutter.:|(I also leaned out the hidden stash on the top shelf of the linen closet. Getting rid of: 10 different holiday dishtowels; four tablecloths that fit a kitchen table we no longer own; and 5 stained potholders. Also finally getting the bag of ratty towels and sheets to the dog groomer. The latter took up most of the shelf. I forgot they were there.
At my Mom's we cut up and recycled a year's worth of cardboard boxes and trashed 3 garbage bags of filler paper Mom have been saving to ship things. Since these things were stored in the basement near the furnace, we are lucky they did not catch fire before we got to them.:0!
Blackdog Lin
1-28-13, 7:26pm
Got back there to the project today and.....it's done! Done and done! Please someone, join me in a little happy dance.
:cool::cool::cool:
Good news: washing the curtains did NOT disintegrate them (they're 19+ years old); bad news: one of the seams DID disintegrate. Thought that well, it's probably just time for new ones, but now I'm thinking I'll just take the one panel over to my sister's sometime soon and run the missing seam up on her sewing machine. I don't really care what they end up looking like. It's a back porch/laundry room.
What the room really needs is a moving of the appliances and cleaning thereunder, and a repainting, and a new floor. But for now.....the room is 2/3 larger than it was from decluttering, the dust bunnies and cobwebs are gone, the floor is as clean as I could get it, and most of the general grossness is remedied.
Couldn't (wouldn't!) have done it without this posted challenge and your cheerleading. Thanks to everyone.....now go out there and clean and declutter! :D
Tussiemussies
1-28-13, 7:32pm
WowlilyB and Blackdog, you both have made so much progress! Blackdogthat is really fantastic that you got your launcdry room to this point!
You guys are doing great! :-)
I haven't had much time for decluttering lately, but I did manage to get rid of a broken water fountain and something from my "unmentionables" drawer. :|( I really need to go through that drawer more thoroughly sometime. Most of what is in there is in a pretty sad state!
Total: 152
fidgiegirl
1-30-13, 5:58pm
I will join you, Blackdog Lin! :cool::cool::cool:
LilyB, great - I always hang onto that kind of stuff for too long myself. We have a resource for sending textiles that are beyond useable as long as they are clean and they get recycled into automotive insulation or some such thing so that does help me to part with them. Mostly Gussy the Laundry Monster, our 15 lb. shih tzu mix, takes care of most rags before they get that far. :)
Kat, tee hee, I need to do that too!! :)
I have five boxes of clothes DD has outgrown packed up to go to my MIL's for storage. It feels great to get them cleared out, but I am not counting the items as part of my decluttering total since we do still own them and I have probably taken about that much in for the new baby. ;-)
Maxamillion
2-2-13, 7:47am
I bagged up a few clothing items for my mom, pulled out a few more books that I will either try selling online or trade on paperbackswap.com. I've got a nice big empty space in my closet now; in some ways it's hard to let some things go, but when I finally can let go, it can be such a rush!
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