View Full Version : Setting a Decluttering Goal in Units of Time Using Flylady's Timer Method - July 2017
Hi All,
I'm a teacher who is on a reduced schedule for about two months mid-December through mid-February and mid-June through mid-July. I also have a REALLY cluttered home. In the past, I've had some success with setting myself a goal of doing a certain number of hours of decluttering during my periods of reduced work. I set one overall goal (last winter, it was 40 hours), then chip away at it in smaller increments of time. Some days I aim for an hour; others for four hours (with breaks!). I basically use flylady's timer method described here, but with longer periods of time than 15 minutes:
http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/flying-lessons/decluttering-15-minutes/
It's also helped me a lot to keep track of progress towards my goal here, so here I am setting a new one: to complete 40 hours of decluttering in my house and 20 hours in my office at school by Monday, August 28 when my regular work schedule resumes.
I started today in my house. One hour completed!
I was thinking about this topic earlier today--funny you started this thread. I have about 2-3 weeks of downtime between work projects. My son is going to visit us the weekend of the 15/16th, and he's bringing the girlfriend he's really serious about. This will be her first visit here.
So I'm DETERMINED not to waste any time--I'm determined to catch up on all those household projects that have lain dormant. Decluttering the basement, re-painting the wood trim in the bedroom, fixing the pump in our backyard mini-pond, cleaning out kitchen cabinets. etc. I know that some people are "all in" people who will attack a task with a vengeance and will work all day on it, but I'm more of a "chip away" person who does better shifting gears periodically, but making small progress along the way.
For work, I actually use a timer for tasks I hate--like report writing. It's an app on my phone, and I usually set it for 45 minutes and ignore email, compulsions to surf the web, etc. It really works. So it's got to also be a good way to push through household chores. Maybe I'll try tomorrow. I've designated tomorrow as my painting day.
Congrats on your hour done!
early morning
7-3-17, 7:47pm
thanks for bringing us back to this, ejchase! I think part of my problem is that I'm chipping away at too many things - the house (standard clutter, business inventory, paperwork), the barn (leftovers from 4-H projects, tractors and mowers that need work, piles of raccoon poop in the loft, piles of misc. construction materials), the yard (thickets of overgrown shrubs, flowerbeds that need weeded/mulched, trees to trim, a few dead ones to remove...) and the field is an overgrown mess, since the fences need mended we can't rent it out, and since the tractor is down, we can't run the bush-hog. It's overwhelming to think about! But needs must! We spent several hours on the yard/patio that isn't overgrown, that looks pretty good, and should be easier to keep up with. I have a hole on the dining room table, and the kitchen is in pretty good shape, so my 3 days off have actually felt productive! And I'm off tomorrow, too, so I'm hopeful! Catherine, I like the timer idea for work - wish I could do that! But if I ignore emails, people come calling, which is an even bigger time suck... so I have to at least see WHO is emailing. Have fun painting tomorrow!
I'm in favor of tiny increments--it's the only way anything would get done. I have the attention span of a fruit fly and the work ethic of Maynard G Krebs. I force myself to do yard work for five minutes. I usually last longer than that, but not by much. (The front 40 is freshly weed-whacked.) I also set myself a daily minimum of tasks and vigorously pat myself on the back when I surpass it. At some point, I will have staff.
I am a weather wimp. If it is nice out I can lose track of time and spend hours doing yardwork, but if it's hot or cold or rainy I cower indoors, where I am not necessarily productive, though I do manage a minimum of 24 minutes a day of housework.
You all made me laugh and feel better...I make lists and lists, cross off as I accomplish something and believe me they are broken down into wee little bits...weed each flower bed separately, sometimes only half a bed. Cleaning is dust, mop, vacuum, wet mop and it takes a few days. Some days- low humidity and sunshine-I can do lots, others I stay inside and do little.
Good to hear others are chipping away at big projects too.
Catherine, I, too use this method at work. Whenever there's something I've been procrastinating on or that I'm especially anxious about, I just say to myself, "I'll just work on it for one hour." And then I set a timer. It's amazing how knowing that I'm giving a finite amount of time to it gets me over the "hump" of facing it.
Happy Fourth, Everyone!
Teacher Terry
7-4-17, 1:45pm
I find that big chunks of time work better for me. I get a lot done and can really see the difference. That is reinforcing me to continue. I don't buy much stuff anymore. If you haven't read the M. Kondo book it really has a lot of good ideas. I did not adopt all of them. I am not a minimalist but have found that with less stuff to dust I can clean much faster too.
early morning
7-4-17, 7:10pm
Teacher Terry, I understand what you're saying about big chunks of time /really seeing a change, and sometimes, if I have a day off, that works for me. Today, for example, DD and I spent three hours going through boxes. We put away several boxes worth, recycled and trashed the equivalent of two office-paper cartons and a large tub, have a small pile for GW, and two large tote bags of books to donate to the library. On weekday evenings, though, a box can be too daunting, but 15 minutes, that I can do. So it all depends. For me, as long as I'm chipping away however I can manage it, I feel less stressed and more hopeful.
Chicken lady
7-4-17, 8:40pm
About those small blocks of time - as another person who is used to a school schedule - sometimes if I set aside a specific time during my break for a specific type of task (like, normally I would have recess duty from 12:15-1:00, but since I am free of recess duty I will weed flowerbeds) I focus better.
Teacher Terry
7-5-17, 1:56pm
EM: wow you got a lot done! When I as working I would never do it on a work day either because I was too tired. i would wait for a day off or weekend, etc. I have done it in small chunks too but sometimes once I get going I can't stop which can be a good thing:)) One thing that has helped me from buying something new is that I ask myself if I will be hauling it off to a thrift store in a few years. That mostly stops me but not always.
I'm currently tackling a bunch of big projects and I've found that setting 6 hour sessions works really well. I take a small break in the middle, usually outside, and have a snack to keep my energy up. The 6 hours gives me enough time in the morning for my regular stuff (walking dogs, etc) and still finish early enough to have enough energy to enjoy the evening.
One thing that really derails me is being online (!) For whatever reason, being online makes me lose track of time and make me really settle into being sedentary. I'll sit down to do 'one quick thing' and 45 minutes later I'm still online and I haven't done anything productive at all. There's some kind of brain voodoo that the internet does to keep us locked in! :)
I second the Marie Kondo tip. Last year I did a pretty major purge and I find that it gets easier and easier as time goes by. I had a bunch of stuff that I kept 'just in case' and 'cause I spent good money' and 'it makes me feel nostalgic' and this past week I'm like, "Get rid of it already! It's not adding anything positive to your life." The emotional attachments seem to be decreasing more and more.
I found the Kondo book at the library last night. Thank you for the recommendation.
There are a huge number of Marie Kondo inspiried Youtube videos. Including an interview and a audio recording of the whole book. There are people of all ages who demonstrate what they have done using the method.
It inspired me to go thru books and I have a huge pile to go to various organizations. It has also inspired me to stay out of stores.
There are a huge number of Marie Kondo inspiried Youtube videos. Including an interview and a audio recording of the whole book. There are people of all ages who demonstrate what they have done using the method.
It inspired me to go thru books and I have a huge pile to go to various organizations. It has also inspired me to stay out of stores.
I had great success with a Kondo book purge. I was suspicious of her rule that you have to put everything in the middle of the room before sorting, but it worked. I was able to give over 200 books to our local library for their biannual book sale.
I haven't done the clothes purge yet, because I have to get DH on board. He's the worst offender. He has clothes he hasn't worn in decades the "might come in handy."
But I do fold my clothes in the little rectangles now, and I LOVE it! For the first time in my life I feel like if anything happened to me and people had to open my drawers, they'd think someone REALLY organized lived there. And it really doesn't take that much more than regular folding. You just have to get used to it. My favorite drawer is my lingerie drawer. It makes me feel so together to see the little shoeboxes with everything in its place.
I'm loving hearing all your thoughts on dealing with stuff.
I haven't read the Kondo book yet because I feel like it addresses a level of decluttering so much more ahead of where I am - like in my piles, I'm still finding junk mail from several months ago! But I do think I could use her method in some areas - like to go through my clothes, which I've been successfully paring down bit by bit over the last several years.
I can do short time periods of decluttering for straightening up the house and getting rid of little messes. But for major decluttering projects, I find knowing that I have a long stretch of time, like two hours, very motivating. The bottom line is I'm a borderline hoarder and still have extensive clutter throughout my house. Over my winter break from teaching this year, I successfully decluttered my whole upstairs hallway which was filled with boxes of stuff I didn't know what to do with. Then I remembered I had some boxes of clutter from when I moved into this house six years ago (when 8 1/2 months pregnant!) out in the storage shed in the backyard. I thought there were about four boxes of clutter - turns out there were 12! I moved those boxes into the recently decluttered hallway, thinking I'd tackle them bit by bit while working a regular schedule this spring, but I never did. Now they are my project for this week - or maybe for the next two weeks!
I have a dream for this year that, maybe, for the first time in my life, I could live in a home without clutter. I'm not at the Kondo point of saying, "Oh, I have six pairs of jeans, but I could really live with just three." I just want to live in a house where everything has its place and everything is in its place and there are no boxes or drawers of just unorganized papers and junk. It seems like an impossible goal, but I'm chipping away at it. I know even if I get there, I will backslide from time to time, but it would still be huge for me to not have pockets of disorganized clutter because I've had them all my life wherever I've lived to some degree.
Anyway, I put in an hour yesterday - so two hours down!
ejchase, I did not do it totally her way mostly because it would take a huge space and a lot of time just to get all the books in one place. But I addressed each shelf and handled each book. Now I am on my second wave since I realized that many books duplicated the same info.
The other thing that really helped me was to put everything that was the same together. Office supplies are all in one desk, pencils and pens in one big container on the desk. All my patterns are in totes or lateral file drawers sorted and in categories. Took a long time since this was a 30 year collection but when I saw the duplicates and triplicates and number of totally similiar things, I could release many of them for new homes.
Teacher Terry
7-10-17, 5:43pm
I did not empty my closet when I did that but did handle everything and look at it. It helped me get rid of more then half my clothes. I have used the same approach with book, nic-naks, etc.
I did two more hours yesterday, so new total is four.
At this point, I am feeling COMPLETELY overwhelmed by how much there is to do and how many things I'm finding that I just don't know how to make decisions about. But I'm telling myself to just put in the time and to try not to worry about solving every problem immediately. I think in the past decisions have come easier once a certain amount of the clutter has been cleared away. I have been able to take a couple grocery bags of paper to the recycling bin.
I'm going to try to put in a lot of hours over the next 3 or 4 days. I'm just thinking that if I make a big push sooner rather than later, I will gain some momentum and it won't feel so tortuous. Also, I'm going to be out of town the 20th through August 11th or so, so if I'm going to meet my goal, I have to put in a lot of time this week.
Well, I only got through an hour today for various reasons, but because I've been feeling so overwhelmed, I decided to focus on just getting some things out of the house. I had a box of books to sell or give away that's been in my bedroom for about six months, and I finally dealt with that. And I had a box of things for Goodwill in the trunk of my car, and I dropped those things off. I also started a new box for Goodwill.
It wasn't much, but it was something. New total: 5 hours.
Chicken lady
7-12-17, 6:49am
I am not posting, but I am reading and cheering for you!
Teacher Terry
7-12-17, 11:46am
Yesterday I realized I had too many glasses and coffee cups so packed them up. Then looked at bookcase with 40 books an donly kept 10. Will look at a few other places today before making the run to the thrift store. Every time I think I could not possibly purge more I find some stuff. Keep up the good work everyone:))
Good for you EJ to get out what was bothering you! The rest will get done.
Congrats to those of you getting stuff out the door and many thanks to those of you offering support - it means a lot.
Only got an hour in today, but it's something. New total: 6.
Still slower progress today: only half an hour, so new total is 6.5.
However, my handyman came by and fixed two faucets, the shower curtain rod, and the gate to the backyard, helped me move furniture, put together an Ikea cart I'd bought months ago, and braced a couple of bureaus to the wall so that they won't fall over on any of the young children who visit our home.
I also made a meal for a friend who just had a new baby, got some grocery shopping done, and dealt with a bunch of work stuff I'd been procrastinating on, so the day felt moderately productive anyway.
EJ sounds like a quite productive day!!!
I did two more hours today and then just hit an emotional wall when I tried to get myself to do more. Opened up yet one more box of clutter and just thought, "Aaaah! I don't know what to do with this stuff!" And then I put the top back on the box and decided to take a break.
I am remembering some things about what helps at this stage (the beginning) of doing 40 hours of decluttering:
1. I am totally overwhelmed at this stage, so my motto is, "Do what's easy." That means tackle the stuff that will probably be mostly trash (stacks of old junk mail, etc.) and organize the stuff I am interested in organizing. Avoid the stuff that makes me panic (old financial records I'm not sure I need to keep or not). Also, I make a lot of trips to Goodwill even when I don't have much to drop off because I need the feeling of accomplishment that comes with getting stuff out of the house.
2. I'm not too hard on myself about clinging to things I should probably get rid of. I think of each of these intensive decluttering periods as a "pass-through." That is, every time I do it I get rid of a LOT of stuff, so if I end up holding on to something I shouldn't, no big deal. It's like there are layers and getting down to the harder stuff gets easier once the easy stuff is gone, and I just have to have faith in that process.
3. As somebody mentioned above, while I figure out a place for everything (and I'm worried I may find that I simply don't have enough space for some of this stuff in the house), it's fine to just dump like things in boxes, and it takes a certain amount of going through things to figure out what boxes I need. So far, I've figured out a box for pictures, a box for mementos, a box for blank cards and stationery, a box for Freecycle, a box for Goodwill, a box for hand-me-downs for a friend, a box for books, a box for old financial records. Yes, it's all a lot, but at least I will be able to see how much of each thing I have so that I can make some decisions about how to proceed.
4. As I mentioned before, a lot of my work right now is going through around 12 boxes of clutter I never dealt with after a move six years ago that were out in the storage shed in my backyard. One thing I figured out this week is that if I'm not able to figure out a place in the house for everything in those 12 boxes that doesn't get thrown out, I'm giving myself permission to just put some boxes of stuff back in the storage shed. I doubt I'll end up putting more than 3-4 boxes back, but if I do, I'm not going to give myself a hard time about it. Reducing 12 boxes of clutter to 4 is progress, and life is too short to freak out about 4 boxes of things I'm not dealing with. I had this revelation today when I told a friend about my 12 boxes. She responded she has two boxes of stuff in her living room of stuff she is indecisive about, and she was sort of beating herself up about dealing with them. As soon as she said it, I thought, "Just stick them in attic and let yourself off the hook!" Yes, I'd like to live a completely clutter-free life, but I also don't want to be too hard on myself. I'd love to have the interior of my house virtually clutter-free - and MUCH more decluttered than it is now - but I want to be gentle about it with myself too.
Thanks for indulging my long-windedness here. This is such a tough, emotional process for me that it's great to jot these thoughts down in a community of others who have the same issues on their minds.
New total: 8.5.
Congrats on your progress ejchase!
The decision-making process of addressing clutter is really exhausting. Even for a non-hoarder, so I'm glad that you are being gentle with yourself and honoring your need for breaks and realistic expectations.
Two hours of emotionally exhausting and difficult work is a long time. Kudos to you!
Thanks so much, Geila.
So many of my friends and family seem effortlessly organized, so I often feel a lot of shame when in the midst of this process. Your kind words are very healing!
AND I managed to eke out another 30 minutes after I gave myself a break. New total: 9 hours.
Chicken lady
7-15-17, 6:23am
You are rocking it!
do you see your hand me down friend often? Do you wish you could see them more? Maybe make a date to get together and share the box as a reward for filling it.
early morning
7-15-17, 9:06am
Good show, ejchase! I really like your thoughts on decluttering. I am still drowning in stuff, but since some of it funds my alternative income stream, I'm going to have to find a way to live with that portion of it. I think I'm just going to accept that one of our rooms is going to host stacks of tubs and boxes. And since I'm OLD, it's going to have to be a downstairs room. With our house layout, it's going to be a public room that gets walked through on the way to other rooms. I've started to put stacks of things on wheels - really!! so that I can get to the things behind them. Today's challenge is to get the stuff that has moved into the living and dining rooms corralled back into the family room in some sense of order. Well, SOME of the stuff, anyway! Because there was a plant sale at a local outlet nursery(99 cent hellebores and hydrangeas!) and my DD went shopping there, lol.
Chicken Lady, I see my hand-me-down friend often, and I gave her 19 items today.
Early morning, thanks for the support. I hope your living and dining rooms are a little clearer now.
I did two more hours today. New total: 11.
I love the logic of being pleased to have only 4 boxes when there were 12! If I can look at things that way it reduces things significantly. ejchase you should be quite proud of yourself.
Chicken lady
7-16-17, 11:11am
I's great that you can see your friend a lot and keep the items moving!
also, I agree that a 2/3 reduction is major progress!
catherine
7-16-17, 11:43am
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.
Chicken lady
7-16-17, 11:57am
Oh Catherine! I clean bathrooms, bake something, and try to clean the kitchen. Then I sweep and put clean sheets on the beds! Nothing you mentioned would have been on my list.
last time ds and future dil came I asked if they were bringing the dog so I would know if I had to clean the stacks of paper off the dining porch floor.
catherine
7-16-17, 12:07pm
Oh Catherine! I clean bathrooms, bake something, and try to clean the kitchen. Then I sweep and put clean sheets on the beds! Nothing you mentioned would have been on my list.
last time ds and future dil came I asked if they were bringing the dog so I would know if I had to clean the stacks of paper off the dining porch floor.
The trim was in my bedroom. Years ago it used to be red, then we repainted it green, but we didn't do a good job, and some of the door jambs still had red peaking through. Plus I no longer like the green trim. So I white-washed it. My windows really didn't look great at all--maybe I've been influenced by my Scottish MIL who used to say "Scottish folk like clean windaes." I'm glad I tackled kitchen nooks, because at one time we had mice. We got rid of them, but didn't realize they had set up house in that weird space you can never get to in the L underneath the sink. It was pretty gross.
At the end of the day, I was able to really feel that even if she winds up being a bit of a fuss-pot (which I think she is) I won't be caught in an embarrassing situation. And I can enjoy the next two weeks before my next project in a nice clean house!
Teacher Terry
7-16-17, 1:41pm
You guys are all making great progress! When I was working f.t. I would let things build up and then spend an entire weekend cleaning. Ugh! Now with only working about 10 hours/week I have plenty of time to keep things organized and clean. Having the time sure makes a difference. I think it makes a difference once the kids are gone too. I had some friends that used to set the timer and clean for 15 min's/day and that worked for them. They could make progress since there was 2 of them. Different strategies work for different people.
You all are inspiring me. Over the time span of this thread I have now organized a portion of the car, under the kitchen and bathroom sinks, two closets, my jewelry, and one five drawer dresser. Today I worked a little on paperwork, but that is more overwhelming. I also finally tackled the DVD's, culling out a bunch that my ex-boyfriend left over 3 years ago. If my brother does not want them I will try to sell them all at once to a store that buys them used and if they won't buy them then toss them.
Yppej, a lot of libraries will accept DVDs either for their collection or for sale at fundraisers. Ours does and many around us do also.
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.
EJ even 3 steps forward and 2 steps back moves you forward! Good luck.
Good work, ej! You're making lots of progress. Remember the saying, "Progress, not perfection!" A step forward is still a step forward.
iris lilies
7-17-17, 12:10pm
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.
Teacher Terry
7-17-17, 1:37pm
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:))
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!
Great for you EJ. Sounds like endorphins kicked in. Watch out - you may get addicted to decluttering!
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.
I've started tackling the kitchen cupboards one at a time.
iris lilies
7-20-17, 8:25am
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.
Yppej, good luck with the cupboards!
Teacher Terry
7-20-17, 1:23pm
IL: that is interesting because every old house I have ever owned has had hardwood that was in decent shape. Probably because most covered it with carpet which protected it. Our home is 70 yo and the people had put pergo over the hardwood. They also had put a board over the hardwood and then the pergo. WE pulled all that crap up and then restored the wood. There was a big hole in the hallway where at one time they had a grate for a furnace. WE took the wood from the closets to match the wood. The DR and MB did not have hardwood because they were added in the 70's so we used pergo there.
I'm back after being out of town for a couple of weeks.
I meant to do three hours today but only managed 2.5. Nevertheless, it's good to be back at it.
New total: 21.
I did some yesterday but nowhere near 2 1/2 hours. It's summer and the trash smells quickly, so whenever I take a bag out I declutter a little to fill it up.
Chicken lady
8-7-17, 7:27am
Yppej, I know "simple" means different things to different people, and throwing everything you don't want into the landfill is certainly "simple" in the sense of "requiring minimal effort" but is your house really cluttered up by actual garbage, or are you throwing still usable items into your trash bags?
This thread is inspiring me--I will plan to do half an hour a day of pure decluttering.
iris lilies
8-7-17, 9:39am
We disbanded our plant society, and I am decluttering the items belonging to the society. We had rented a storage shed for 30 years to contain them. DH was super efficient and he cleaned it out in two hours, including the wood pieces used for shelving. He piled it all into his truck and brought it home.
the properties are:
12 Rubbermaid bins of tubes and bases used in shows--we tried to give to the Iowa society, but that didnt work out. So, my garden club ladies took half of them. I will try again to off load the others to Iowa later.
110 baskets used in sales--I put some out in the alley wih a Nextdoor notice to our neighbohood, and someone took them straght away. Yay! I took the rest to the Iris Society yesterday. They needed reinforcements for their stock.
20 old style backdrops used in design--I offered a few to garden club ladies, all of them were taken and someone requested a few more. I put the rest out in the alley with a Nextdoor notice. No takers. Bummer. It just occured to me that I can gather up a few of these and take them to another group of garden club ladies, and rid myself of some of them that way.
20 new style backdrops for design--A few club members are keeping one each. The Iris Society will take 5. That leaves about a dozen to give away. Again, I will parade these in front of garden club ladies and they will take some or all. The life of a garden club lady is to fill up one's basement with crap.
see, these objects are unique, you cant go to ebay or craigslist and get them, so that is why I have to make an effort to find a home for them.
1 large cardboard box of sign holders. These will be burned in our fireplace, they are good fuel.
1 large easel--garden club snapped this up
2 large metal pole sign holders--garden club snapped them up
ladder--a society member will take this
several signs about the plant society, most hideous, one beautiful. The hideous ones went immediately into the dumpster, no dilemma. The beautiful sign-- sigh. I took it into my house. I will eventually jettison it to the landfill, but I cant bring myself to do that yet. It is the ONE THING I have some sentiment about and also I am fond of the object, it is a noce piece of commercial art.
1 box of plastic baggies of various sizes--DH will drive those to Iowa to give to his family. He thinks they will use them.
$1600- this will be easy to dispose of, our membership voted on which organizatin gets it.
I will have all of this done by December 31. I have to file forms with our state's attorney general's office disclosing where the property goes, and I send final dissolutions notice to Secretary of State. Then I am done, my job as President is complete.
I have already accepted a position as VIce President of a garden club. I think they nominated me because I bring them objects for their basements. :)
Yay! So nice to know others of you out there are facing your clutter too!
Iris Lilies, it sounds like you are tackling a big job and getting through it quickly. Congrats!
Can you hang the sign in your own garden, IL? I wouldnot want to part with it, either.
Well, I got through another three hours today, but I am feeling extremely grumpy about it. I'm just in a stage where it seems like I will NEVER get through it all. I'm finally reading Marie Kondo's book, and while I basically agree with her strategies (though I am having to adjust them somewhat to my situation), I just feel like it will take me YEARS to organize my home in "one fell swoop" the way she describes it.
Rationally, I know from doing these 40-hour purges at other times that I will, eventually, see a lot of progress and feel encouraged again, but it's tough right now.
I'm not purging in the order Kondo describes (clothes, books, misc., etc.) because my highest priority right now is just to make my home presentable, and it's just not at the moment. The upstairs hallway is full of boxes I need to go through, there are piles of stuff on the floor of my bedroom and on the desk and bed in the guest bedroom, and more piles of stuff in the dining room and living room. In the two days since I've been back, I've filled up the recycling bin halfway and started another box for Goodwill. But there is still so much left to do.
I'm telling myself to just try not to panic, to just put one foot in front of the other, to just complete the 40 hours and then see where things are, but I guess I'm having an attack of impatience today.
Anyway, thanks for "listening!"
New total: 24 hours.
Chicken lady
8-8-17, 8:26am
ejchase, do you find that you are sifting through things multiple times or are you able to just pick up each item and make a permanent decision? Are you being thwarted by a lack of places to put things?
when I started cleaning out, for a long time I kept starting at the outter surface and trying to work inward. I discovered that I made better, more lasting progress if I picked a spot and "excavated down to the bedrock" so to speak before putting that spot in order.
so, for example, I notice that I have a lot of books everywhere. Books are important to me. I decide where I most want to have books. I clear a path to that shelf and remove every item from it (temporarily making the mess worse), dust the shelf, and fill it with my favorite books. (Hopefully finding a few books and other items I can give up along the way). Now, I have one shelf that is perfect. Move on to next space/category.
clothes one never wears end up at the back of the closet, or buried in drawers. If you empty those spaces and put your favorite things in first, you quickly realize how you feel about the things that are preventing you from reaching them. When the thing you like that has been sitting in a spot forever loses it's spot to something you love and you realize you have moved the thing you like out of your way 73 times, you realize "I like this, but not enough to make space for it, so it needs to go."
also, pay attention to what you are bringing in. Try to bring in as little as possible. If things are steadily going out and you are not bringing new things in, progress is happening even if you don't see it.
iris lilies
8-8-17, 9:25am
Oh, my plant society's stuff: I kept a box of 200+ award ribbons (blue, red, yellow, white) as well as about a dozen rosettes, all imprinted with the name of mynplant society. No other organizations would take them due to the imprinting.
We have a vague idea that we may have a small fair at the community garden ad perhaps we will need those for prizes.But I won tkeep them forever.
Thanks, Chicken Lady, for your suggestions.
I am sifting through things multiple times, simply in order to build momentum. Because this is such emotionally difficult work for me, my mantra at this stage is "Do what's easy." And what's been easy so far is just going through everything and weeding out the obvious trash and stuff to give away. In some ways, I think Kondo advocates this approach when she talks about discarding first and about starting with clothes and working up to harder things like mementos. So I've spent the first 24 hours mostly just on discarding, and I still have more of that to do. But I think today, since I've been feeling so overwhelmed and discouraged, that I need to focus on doing some things that will help me see some progress. So I'll spend an hour putting away what's remaining in my bedroom so that I can make that room nice. And if there is stuff there I can't deal with (e.g. make decisions about), I'll just throw that stuff in a box and put it in the hallway with the other boxes. I've learned from past experience that once I start to see some progress, I feel stronger and am more able to tackle the harder stuff.
I'm also going to make trips to the P.O. and Goodwill today. I have a bunch of things to mail to friends and family and clothes to return, so that will clear a little more out. And I have about 30 items to drop off at Goodwill. Getting that stuff out the door will be encouraging too.
I think I'm about 10 hours away from being able to take on putting all my clothes on the floor and touching each piece once. But I am actually looking forward to that part. And I'm looking forward to doing books too, though I'm not going to follow Kondo's method exactly there. I have way too many books to put them all on the floor, but I'm thinking if I go bookcase by bookcase and just touch every book, I'll find plenty to give away. I *have* to be realistic about what I can reasonably take on, and that's seems like a more reasonable approach to me - I have easily over 500 books!
Also, I'm going out of town again tomorrow for 48 hours, then have my daughter for the weekend, then am out of town for another four days, so it may be a couple of weeks before I can make another sustained push. But I'm feeling more hopeful this morning.
Chicken lady
8-8-17, 1:37pm
Lol! I have over 500 books just in my living room. I have 50 that I pulled out to use in a class I'm teaching this year. I was proud of myself for discarding 3 related to the class that I decided I would never use. Maybe I'm not going to be much help.
Well, I did make some good progress today. I decided to just focus on the side of the bedroom where there had been a lot of piles of clutter on some low bookcases and on the floor. That part of the room is the first thing I see when I wake in the morning, and I decided it would be a nice little gift to myself to just prioritize getting it clear. I'd say that between yesterday and today, I dealt with 80% of what was there - recycled a lot of old newspapers and junk mail and other paper, put away a lot of stuff, gave stuff to Goodwill. Then I put the remaining 20% in a box and stuck it in the hallway with the other boxes I'm going to be dealing with next and vacuumed and dustbusted and tidied the rest of the room. I really needed one clear space. And it's interesting to me that, often, my bedroom is the last place I take care of. I always take care of the downstairs because that's what guests see. So doing this today was sort of a good message to myself that it's okay to clean a space just for myself to enjoy and feel relaxed in.
I also took 30 things to Goodwill and mailed off a bunch of items - clothes that needed to be returned and gifts I'd bought for friends and family that had been sitting on my desk.
Tomorrow I will only have about an hour to straighten up the whole house a bit before I go out of town, then return with my daughter for three days.
I'm feeling much better today.
The straight decluttering was 1.5 hours. The trip to Goodwill and the mailing off all that stuff took about 3 hours, but I'm going to just count it as 1 since a lot of it was driving time and doing things like addressing envelopes.
New total: 26.5.
I did one more hour before I left town yesterday. New total: 27.5.
Now I won't really be able to get back to it until around August 18th.
Chicken lady
8-10-17, 6:42am
You made a lot of progress! Enjoy your daughter!
happystuff
8-10-17, 7:55am
I count any progress as progress!! I have a donation pick up this morning but not nearly as much in the box as I would have liked. Oh, well. Next time. Congrats on your progress; slow and steady wins the race!
Thanks, All.
When I freeze up, my motto has been, "Any step forward is a step forward." :)
I got back from being out of town again on Thursday night, and yesterday, I put in an hour. New total: 28.5.
Did two more hours today. I focused on the drawer of my bedside table which had gotten so packed with stuff that I could barely find anything in it. I moved a lot of stuff out and then ordered some drawer dividers to make it easier to see and get to what's in there.
I also went through my sock drawer and found a bunch of socks with holes and without pairs which I could throw out.
It was a little insane to spend two whole hours on these drawers when there is more visible clutter all over my house right now, but it felt good nevertheless.
New total: 30.5.
I am delivering my post hole digger to a new home today. It is manual and I used it once and never wanted to ever do that hard labor again, but I have hung onto it for over a decade. Sunk cost fallacy I guess, though it cost maybe $20.00.
Congrats, Yppej, on finally getting rid of the post hole digger.
I did another hour yesterday. New total: 31.5.
I am Kondoing my first book, by which I mean removing the parts that don't speak to me and keeping the parts that do, which when done I will type up in a condensed "book" of lesser bulk. It feels weird.
Chicken lady
8-22-17, 7:40pm
Doesn't that take longer than just dusting the book for 50 years? Could you get it in e-book?
I don't like e-books. My eyes already give out sometimes from all the screen time I have at work, etc. If you ever don't see me posting for awhile that's why, it's not that I'm upset with anyone.
Hi All,
My original goal here was to complete 40 hours of decluttering in my house by Monday, August 28, when my regular teaching schedule resumes. But as it turns out, this week I have to put decluttering on the back burner and catch up on some last-minute lesson planning and administrative work. Plus, I have my daughter this weekend and am going to a couple of fun one-time-only cultural events that I don't want to miss. So I'm moving my deadline to Tuesday, September 5. My daughter will be with her dad for the three-day weekend before that, so I think it will be a good time to make my final push.
I'd also set a goal of doing 20 hours in my office, which I never even started on. But that's important. My office at school is so bad I'm embarrassed to have people in it, and that's not a good way to live. So I'm going to move the deadline for that goal to Monday, October 2. I may also reduce that goal to just 10 hours just to be more realistic. I think I could make my office a space I could feel nurtured by and proud of in that period of time, but we'll see.
Thanks again to all of you offering support and sharing your own decluttering stories. It really helps.
EJ you have done a lot and should be proud.
My son (and on the weekend I) are going to try again to mouseproof the basement. It has been several years since we last did this. It involves removing all insulation, tossing what is worn and not reuseable, looking for where sunlight seeps through the foundation, sealing those gaps with pest block, and replacing the insulation. Besides old insulation I expect I will notice other toss worthy things. We have also upgraded to plastic traps and as I find the old wooden Victor ones I've discarding them as they are difficult to clean and reuse. Last time I took a week off work as it's a big project, but I'm at a new job and don't have vacation banked.
Thanks, Yppej, for your kind words.
Good luck with your mouse-proofing project!
I'm dipping my toe in the water of packing up my household belongings, starting with the Command Center/art studio/library/sewing room. This will take awhile, but at least I have plenty of boxes.
Each day I am trying on another one of my old Victoria's Secrets outfits and mainly putting them in clothes purgatory. Clothes purgatory is a drawer where things sit until I toss them permanently. I get rid of at least one item per week and some weeks quite a bit more. I have dug things out that are worn when painting etc. But the too small/too young things don't get resurrected and just wait until I admit yeah, not gonna happen.
I am slowly getting back to working on this goal. I did ninety minutes yesterday, so my new total is 33.
Two more hours today. New total: 35.
I finally got rid of the remaining 1/8 can of some instant coffee I did not like, also a spatula with the end melted. I also got out my teapot and could not get it cleaned so it may go, though my mother gave it to me since it was my grandmother's as an heirloom. But I never use it, it just sits in a hidden corner of the cupboard.
early morning
9-4-17, 10:10am
WTG, everyone! I am slowly but surely peeling away some of the things I don't love. But the things that bring me joy will stay. I will never be a minimalist - :~) -
and I'm ok with that. yppej, can you use the teapot for something else? I have a lidless one I plant in, and other that works as a vase/cache pot. If you like the teapot, repurpose it. If you don't care for it, then of course get rid of it. Me, I like things with stories and history. I feel a deep connection to my family when I use everyday items passed down, imagining my great grand mother as a young bride in the late 1870s, serving coffee and using the little china painted creamer that my grandma gave me when I first "went to housekeeping", as she called it. Those connections to the past, even through old, everyday items I have with unknown provenance, are so precious to me. They enrich my life. Can I live without them? Of course I can. But I would rather not, given the choice, lol.
Sorry for the hijack - I have plenty to declutter without out getting rid of my "treasures"... for yesterday's 15 minutes, I have a big stack of papers and 8 magazines to recycle, two more books for the library sale, and I trashed a large bag of packing/wrapping paper that was too brittle to use.
Repurposing is a great idea, thanks. I could use it for tall items like rulers.
I am still chipping away at this goal. New deadline is Monday, September 18. Two more hours today. New total: 37!
Did the final 3 hours this past weekend so finally reached my goal, a few weeks later than planned.
I still have lots of work to do, but the major accomplishments of this particular purge is that I got rid of a lot of clutter in my bedroom from off the floor and bureau (more about the bureau soon in another thread).
Despite the fact that I know rationally that I got rid of a lot this summer, the upstairs hallway is still pretty bad. I'd like to figure out a system for "chipping away" at the existing clutter even when my work schedule is full as it is now. I may try to set a goal of devoting just 1 hour a weekend on the weekends when I do have my daughter and 2 hours a weekend on the weekends I don't have her. Not sure, but I'll keep you all posted, of course!
Also, I never dealt with my office at all, and I REALLY need to make that the next priority. Have to figure that out too.
In any case, thanks to all of you who supported me last summer as I was working on this. It really helped keep me going.
New total: 40!
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