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Thread: Setting a Decluttering Goal in Units of Time Using Flylady's Timer Method - July 2017

  1. #41
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    Yppej, it sounds like you got a lot done! Good work!

    Catherine, I find having a deadline created by imminent houseguests very helpful. I know what you mean about routines - I need to implement them too - but when I find myself cleaning for visitors, I often think, "Well if all else fails, fear of embarrassment sure is effective!"

    I did 4.5 hours today and will have to slow down some now because on Thursday, I leave for a two-week vacation and then the day after I return from that, I'm out of town for another 4 days.

    Even though I've gotten a lot done, the second floor of my house looks like a tornado hit it because I'm "organizing," creating piles of like items so that I can figure out places for them. Over the next three days, I'm going to have to organize all those piles into labeled boxes and tidy the whole house because our maid will come while we're gone, and I don't want it to be in her way. Also, psychologically, even if there are a lot of boxes, I need to feel like the house is tidy before I go.

    When I get back, I'm going to focus the last 25ish hours on the clutter in the house and not worry too much about the stuff I got out of storage, some of which I just don't know what to do with. My priority right now is to have a clutter-free house and to live in an orderly and nurturing space. It's getting obvious that in the 25 hours I have left, I'm not going to be able to both figure out what to do with the stuff in those last four boxes of stuff from storage AND also deal with the piles of clutter around my house, so I'm going to deal with the house stuff first and allow myself to re-store whatever stuff that was in storage that I haven't been able to make decisions about.

    It's disappointing - I feel like if I had four weeks at home before I'm working full-time again instead of just two, I could really get through all of it - but I know I should just be grateful I had this time to get so much done. Patience is hard. I feel like I've been working so hard for so many years on decluttering, and while my progress has been consistent, it's always 3 steps forward and two steps back.

    In any case, I know I'll feel better about all of this when I get to the end of the 40 hours. I often feel some despair at this stage.

    And on the bright side: the recycling bin outside is full of paper and I've gotten rid of 125 other items this month!

    New total: 15.5 hours.

  2. #42
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    EJ even 3 steps forward and 2 steps back moves you forward! Good luck.

  3. #43
    Geila
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    Good work, ej! You're making lots of progress. Remember the saying, "Progress, not perfection!" A step forward is still a step forward.

  4. #44
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    So, I've spent the last two weeks preparing the house for our visitors--my son and his new gf. It took two weeks. All the while I'm painting trim, tidying closets, washing windows, decluttering nooks and crannies I'm thinking to myself (angrily I might add) "it should not take two full weeks to prepare for one weekend visitor." Yes, I'm working. Yes, my time is limited. But really. I need to have a plan to stay on top of things. I used to do Flylady, and I think I might go back to her routines. They make sense, and they're really made for people like me--borderline adult ADD, meaning I get sensory overload easily and shut down at the least amount of clutter and then I just don't see it until I have to. It's one reason nearly my whole house is black, brown and beige.
    We had unexpected overnight visitors come through this weekend. We had three days to prepare.

    I didn't have to declutter anything, but carpets needed cleaned, bathroom needed cleaned. That was upstairs. Our downstairs area is Under control most of the time and because we had planned to have friends over for dinner anyway things were picked up and cleaner than normal.

    These were young cousins from Switzerland. Actually, I'm glad they came through town because it caused the DH to clean the carpets. Six months ago another set of cousins came by from Switzerland to stay overnight a couple of nights and carpets were cleaned then.

  5. #45
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    IL: with your house being older I would have thought you had wood floors instead of carpet. Keep the company coming so your DH has to clean)

  6. #46
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    I did another hour today. I should have started the tidying up that is necessary before I leave on vacation, but I got started on dealing with a big stack of newspapers and magazines that was beside my bed, and I couldn't stop! I filled up four grocery bags with paper and had to ask my neighbors if I could dump it all in their recycling bin since mine is full. Feels so good to have that stack gone.

    New total: 16.5!

  7. #47
    Yppej
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    Great for you EJ. Sounds like endorphins kicked in. Watch out - you may get addicted to decluttering!

  8. #48
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    Yes, Yppej, it does get addictive once you gain some momentum. I wish I could keep going, but tomorrow, I'm off to visit family. I'll have to resume in two weeks.

    Today, I tidied up the house, which didn't involve a ton of decluttering (more like throwing clutter into boxes so it would be out of the way), but I did put some things away, throw some stuff out, and delivered some hand-me-downs to friends and neighbors, so I'm going to count it as two hours anyway (overall it was more like three). New total: 18.5.
    Last edited by ejchase; 7-20-17 at 8:33am.

  9. #49
    Yppej
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    I've started tackling the kitchen cupboards one at a time.

  10. #50
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    IL: with your house being older I would have thought you had wood floors instead of carpet. Keep the company coming so your DH has to clean)
    We have no original floors in our house, they were pine and too torn ip to ise. A lot f theae old houses went through some pretty rough times with rooms created inside original rooms (the boarding house era) and etc.

    We have carpet upstairs bcause DH insists on keeping it, I was ready to tear it out a few years after installing it and put in hardwood. He wants it, he gets to clean it.

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