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

[early morning]

WTG, ejchase! I don't post here much but I read, and you are really inspiring! Some days I feel like I'm knee-deep in clutter - ah - INVENTORY, lol. Today DD and I both felt really blah so we spent the day decluttering jewelry. She has fixed quite a few nice pieces that are now sale-able. I have a jewelry box in which I can now see what I have. Other results: a small shoe-box of pieces ready to be priced for our shop, four necklaces of vintage beads sorted to restring, and all my silver charms in one spot, ready to be put on my charm necklace (when I find one, lol). The earrings I kept are paired up, the chains still in the box are untangled, and my keepsake jewelry that I don't wear is all in the same drawer.

[ejchase]

Thanks, early morning, for your kind words, and great job on your jewelry. I love the fact that you and your DD reacted to feeling "blah" by decluttering - such a healthy way to deal with that!

[ejchase]

I made a big push yesterday - 4 hours. I have houseguests coming this weekend so am trying to focus on just making the house presentable at this point but still am finding stuff to get rid of. One of the big projects I've been prioritizing has been turning our spare bedroom into an actual guest room. I've cleared out a pile of clutter from it, bought pictures and a mirror for the walls and figured out nice linens for it. But the handyman who was supposed to come and help me hang the pictures and fix the bed (two slats keep falling out) has postponed twice, so it's not quite finished yet. At this point, he's supposed to come tomorrow; my first guest arrives Thursday! Fingers crossed!

New total: 37.5.

[ejchase]

Hi All,

I finally finished my 40 hours last week, just before my houseguests came. The handyman showed up and hung the mirror and pictures in the guest room, fixed the slats that had fallen out of the bed, put together a new bookcase and cabinet and shoe rack I'd bought, moved some furniture, then moved some of it back after I'd decided some of the new locations didn't work . He was, in short, a great help and very understanding about me changing some of my plans at the last minute. And I scrambled around and tidied up everywhere.

I'd say the big accomplishment of this big 40-hour push was that I now have an actual guest room, and it is LOVELY, exactly what I wanted. Of course, my six-year-old couldn't resist telling our houseguests what a shambles it had been before their arrival, but ah well. My clutter issues are no big secret.

My daughter and I also went through her clothes and books and gave a bunch away, so her room is pretty decluttered but also nicely decorated and warm with a lot of books and toys and CDs that she likes.

However, I completed the 40 hours when I wasn't at a great stopping point with the hall and my bedroom. Both have some clutter and some boxes that I need to move around to make those spaces a bit more presentable until I can make another push in the summer. So I'm going to start another thread committing to 10 more hours to sort of tie up those loose ends.

But thanks to all of you who have encouraged me on this project. This is the third set of 40 hours I've done in the last 18 months, and I really think it's making a big difference in my house, so your support is a big gift to me and my family!

[rosarugosa]

Nice work, EJ! My Mom recently decluttered a room in record time for a short notice houseguest - those guests seem to work wonders!

[ejchase]

Yup, rosarugosa, deadlines really help!

[early morning]

That's great, ej! I hope you all have a great visit. Guests really can spur one on, for sure! When I was younger, that was one of my go-to housekeeping strategies for making us clean things up (I seem to suffer from minor depression that puts my butt in a chair feeling exhausted from just THINKING about all the things I need to do). Invite company! Invite the inlaws! THAT was a motivator for sure! Pride seemed to be my best way to overcome my attitude, lol. My last big housecleaning (wash the blinds and all the windows, wax all the floors, paint the flaking ceilings, etc) was when DH's Aunt came to visit from Cape Cod, about 6 years ago. Now, I can't think of anyone who would come who would care about any of that. Which is good, and bad. . .