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

  1. #51
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    Have you ever heard of Unf*ck Your Habitat? I think it's on Tumblr. You do what's called a 20/10--work for 20 minutes, then take a 20 minute break. And so on.

    I haven't done it much, but when I did it made a big difference.

    ejchase, I too have trouble with feeling overwhelmed. Everywhere I look, there's clutter. Sometimes I don't know what to do with items. Regarding that issue, there's a blog called "A Slob Comes Clean" and she has a couple of Rules for Decluttering that make a lot of sense:

    If I needed this item, where would I look for it? (take it there)

    If I needed this item, would it ever occur to me that I already have one? (If not, get rid of it because I’d just buy a new one if I needed it.)

    Unlike some other advice, this really whittles it down to the basics.

    Good luck (to all of us!).

  2. #52
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    Frugalone, thanks for those tips - I will check out those resources too.

    Today, I put in 3.5 hours. Unfortunately, a lot of my time on the house the last few days has been less on decluttering and more on moving stuff around (bags and boxes of books mostly) to clear the way for rearranging a bunch of furniture: getting rid of two short bookcases upstairs and moving in one big one downstairs. I have a handyman coming on Thursday to help me move stuff around, and I'm still trying to figure out where I want everything to go. In the end, I think I'll be moving around 9 pieces of furniture to different spots and moving some pictures too. It's a little anxiety provoking because I'm worried I'll decide to move something and then decide I don't like it there, but I have to remind myself all of this is a process and I'll learn from it no matter what I do. I've been measuring everything and really thinking about it, though, and I think the basic plan is good.

    New total is 27.

  3. #53
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    I did another hour and a half today.

    The big exciting task I've been working on is transforming our middle bedroom from a junk room into the guest bedroom I've wanted it to be. I've probably got about an hour more of decluttering in there and then I have to hang two pictures and a mirror and buy some extra pillows for the bed, but it's getting there. One corner of it has just been a mound of clutter for the last eighteen months or so, so it was really exciting today when I tackled that corner and was able to see the floor and thus, the light at the end of the tunnel after only about 90 minutes.

    My big motivation is the imminent arrival of a house guest in late February. I have to keep reminding myself that the house won't be perfect for her, but I do think things will be a lot better. Still lots to do this week though.

    New total: 28.5.

  4. #54
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    A ceramic sculpture
    I use in floral arrangements fell to the floor and crashed. Rather than be sad,
    I was happy that a space opened up on the shelf.

    I have joined a local Ikebana group and am accumulating objects for that floral design hobby. Fortunately, I think this group is less stuff-intensive than National Garden club designing, it is about the plant material.

  5. #55
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Ejchase, if you can get an entire room out of a decluttering effort, that is a great thing. Beware guest rooms, though, they do tend to accumulate junk.

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    Ejchase, if you can get an entire room out of a decluttering effort, that is a great thing. Beware guest rooms, though, they do tend to accumulate junk.
    Yes, I know it will be hard to maintain the cleanliness of this room, but it does help to know guests are expected - very motivating! Also, I've bought some new furniture for other rooms to store the stuff that was crammed into the guest room, so part of what I'm learning from this experience is that I needed more storage elsewhere. AND I'm getting rid of a lot too.

  7. #57
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    Four more hours today.

    I'd had this idea that I would tackle ALL my clothes today, but it actually took me four hours just to deal with the stuff hanging in the closet, which felt a little discouraging. There is no doubt in my mind that I could give away half of my clothes and still have plenty to wear, but I was just having trouble letting go today. Part of the problem is that I just don't like my winter wardrobe all that much, and I don't really have any kind of "vision" for what sorts of things I'd like to wear instead, so it was hard to toss much. Nevertheless, I have bought some things recently that I like and think I will wear, and going through everything today helped me see how much I have (PLENTY of decent dress pants for work that fit, for example) which may help me spend less. It's always so discouraging when a decluttering project takes twice as long as expected (as today's did), but I did, in the end, manage to find 7 things with holes in them for the trash and 19 pieces to give away, so that's something. I also discovered I have no need for any wire hangers in my house at this point because I have a zillion wooden and plastic ones, and I googled how to dispose of them and found out many dry cleaners will take them - and my local one did.

    Also, I discovered I needed a new shoe rack, and managed to organize the shoes that were there so that the floor of the closet is completely clear, which is nice. And I ordered three new pants hangers because I realized I needed those too. Getting rid of all the wire hangers and the few things I gave away did free up a lot of space.

    What I am saying to reassure myself is that what I did today was a layer of decluttering, only a thin layer, but it counts. Maybe just going through everything once will help me get clearer about my wardrobe issues so that next time I can do a real purge.

    New total: 32.5.

    Iris Lilies, I'm glad you were able to be philosophical about the loss of your ceramic sculpture and glad you have a new less stuff-intensive pursuit!

  8. #58
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    Great job on your closet ejchase! I had a similar experience with mine about a year and a half ago- discovered I really didn't need any more clothes!
    But since then I have retired, and worn out some clothes, and its almost spring... about time to dig into my closet again.

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by mschrisgo2 View Post
    Great job on your closet ejchase! I had a similar experience with mine about a year and a half ago- discovered I really didn't need any more clothes!
    But since then I have retired, and worn out some clothes, and its almost spring... about time to dig into my closet again.
    Yes, it's taken me to middle age to realize if I go through my closet and dressers to weed out stuff before buying new clothes, I find that I don't end up buying much. I need to develop the same habit in the kitchen - go through cupboards, fridge and freezer weekly before doing food shopping - there is always food that needs to be used up!

  10. #60
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    So I've spent a lot of time this week doing things *related* to decluttering, like returning stuff to stores and donating items but have been avoiding really going through stuff at home. But last night I made a list of the remaining "pockets" of clutter in the house and made estimates of about how many hours it would take to get through each. It added up to about 12 hours. And this morning I spent an hour on one of them and made a little dent.

    The housekeeper came yesterday, so I can see more clearly what's left to do. It always feels endless - like I will NEVER, even for a moment, have a decluttered house, but I know rationally that's not true. Just need to stick with it.

    New total: 33.5.

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