View Full Version : anyone doing the post christmas purge/clean?
I am getting into another layer of cleaning and taking care of things, still difficult but sure needs to be done. So anyone else wanna post their progress if you have time off this week?
No purging to mention, but I had some fun this year going through a few old things I came across while unpacking Christmas things. Took a few pictures and will post just as soon as I master the process of picture posting.
Miss Cellane
12-26-11, 4:50pm
Ugh. I moved in September and not one room in the house is completely done. There are still a few boxes to be unpacked, all the books are in the wrong bookcases (because someone thought he'd help and just unpacked all the book boxes and stuck the books any old place), pictures aren't hung up, curtains aren't hung, some of the kitchen cabinets still need to be organized, etc., etc., etc.
My goal is to get my bedroom completely done by the end of the week. I need to organize the book case (and maybe weed out a few books), hang a few pictures, put up the curtains, go through clothing and donate some of it, go through my jewelry and get rid of some of it, organize the dresser drawers, get a few closet organizers to make better use of the space, and find a place to store the ironing board and out of season clothing.
early morning
12-26-11, 4:55pm
DD and I cleaned out the fridge - does that count?? For us, that's huge. We have a goal to really cut our food waste this year. Money is tighter than ever, and every little bit helps.
I always have two weeks off at Christmas so an annual purge is my tradition. I spent last week going through my closet and ended up with three large plastic bags of clothing to get rid of. My goal was to have nothing in there that I had not worn/used in two years or that did not fit right. When I open the closet doors now, I am amazed at how orderly and spare it looks. It made me realize that my frequent trips to the thrift store need to be curtailed a bit. Additionally, I spent one whole afternoon going through a shoe box of old coins I inherited and looking them up on the internet for their value. No great wealth in there unfortunately. This week I will concentrate on the paper purge and updating files. With so many statements online now, this becomes less onerous as the years go by.
Somewhat. I'm still in my temp digs because of building foundation repairs (look to be here until mid-January). I had 17 plastic tubs (18 gallon size) when I moved out of my place, plus a few trash bags of bedding (pillows, comforter, etc.), and a few plastic crates of last minute kitchen and bathroom items. Two tubs are now totally empty. Stuff was either consolidated or pitched. I got rid of the small fake Christmas tree that was like a millstone about my neck. Got rid of a lot of paper I no longer needed for a finished project.
Last week I got rid of about half my plastic clothes hangers. I had brought them with me, but they weren't being used. So, out they went!
Back in August, a friend had given me a huge paper grocery bag full of files of print outs/class readings when he went through the previous class cycle of my theological program. I had to do up a list of the readings for his classes, as I'm a volunteer secretary for the program. I FINALLY did up the list today. Didn't take me too long either, only about an hour. I will be very glad to give him back his papers when I have dinner with him and his wife in a few weeks!
...already tossed some christmas cookies, snacks, etc. The left overs are next...so much food. I hate a cluttered/full refrigerator.
cattledog
12-26-11, 7:57pm
I put some of the Christmas cookies in the freezer for a later date. I made a feeble attempt to put away/organize the gifts, but didn't get that far today. That can wait until the long weekend.
...already tossed some christmas cookies, snacks, etc. The left overs are next...so much food. I hate a cluttered/full refrigerator.
I was given a huge plate of cookies by the family I spent Christmas with. And I was given a huge box of candy by someone at church. A great deal of it is going to work. It will be eaten there!
Bastelmutti
12-26-11, 8:07pm
I sorted my paperwork for the year, but still need to set up a better filing system. Today put together two nice storage boxes for mementos and photos. My office re-do has been started, and DH will help me put craft stuff in the basement, freeing up some space in there. DH already decluttered and reorganized the kids' room. He is so fast at that - I'm kind of slow!
flowerseverywhere
12-26-11, 8:10pm
...already tossed some christmas cookies, snacks, etc. The left overs are next...so much food. I hate a cluttered/full refrigerator.
Put the cookies and Peanut Butter pie given to us down the garbage disposal. I hate to waste food, but neither of us needed this.
DH went through a stack of papers and shredded a huge pile today. We have one filing cabinet drawer to do. He also helped me go though a closet and clean it out.
Every time we tackle something else we are both so pleased.
I worked on the piles, got half the work done on moving a 401K from a job i recently left, but the other half of the process was closed today for the holiday. I got a lot of trash picked up from presents. I am hoping tomorrow to get things to my oldest DD like her box spring and mattress for her bed frame (she moved out last month).
Oh I also deleted half the phone numbers in my cell phone! I wrote a few down that I may need someday but most I could clear out.
I may mop & wax the kitchen floor. It's been awhile since I have done more than spot cleaning... I gotta say, things are considerably cleaner & more orderly since the last kid moved out!
Wildflower
12-27-11, 4:52am
I gotta say, things are considerably cleaner & more orderly since the last kid moved out!
Definitely that is the best thing I've found about having an empty nest is the house stays clean. :) And uninterrupted time with DH is wonderful too.
happystuff
12-27-11, 6:56am
Because Christmas and New Year's falls on the weekends, I don't get any extra time off this year - and, boy, do I miss it!!! But... finally NOT running anywhere this weekend and plan to sit and work on my holiday jigsaw puzzle for "fun" while filling in with decluttering. I have boxes and already know the areas I plan to attack... it will just be a matter of breaking myself away from the puzzle. ;)
DuraMater
12-27-11, 7:37am
Today I'll be doing a big house clean (a family visit tomorrow, and lots of folks for a long weekend beginning Friday) and tackling some of the basement... We've been in the midst of a DIY partial basement finish project and dumped everything on the other side of the (unfinished) basement. Just moved the furniture out of there last night and now I'm going to see if I can start getting the place back in order (and get rid of some stuff in the process). Fingers crossed!
Decluttering and deep-cleaning is my annual winter project for Jan/Feb since it's too cold in MN to do much else. I'll start in a week or two after we're caught up from holiday traveling and putting away decorations.
One thing I do find myself doing after each Christmas, is reorganizing as I put things away. I'm always searching for new ways of packing things to save space, and to help make for a more organized return of the items for presentation next time around.
madgeylou
12-27-11, 10:58am
i'm so glad that i have this week off from work, just to recharge, set some goals for the year, and focus on my business.
the biggest project for me this week in terms of decluttering is to go through my fabric stash. it's massive -- about 12 bins worth, and needs to be about 9 to fit on the shelves i have allocated. i see a wear the shift sale in my future ...
Yesterday I cleaned out all my kitchen drawers. I threw away spices I haven't used in years and reorganized the rest of them. I also reorganized the way I'm storing cookie making and baking ingredients. I reorganized my pots and pans and threw some of them away. I then went through my everyday dish cabinet and got rid of more stuff. The hardest part was carrying the garbage bag up to the alley.
This weekend I'm going to tackle the "Pitch It Room". You know. The spare room that you pitch everything into and slam the door when company is coming.
Okay here is my update for today
* moved 401K money
* made DR appointment
* dyed hair
* cleaned out open shelving outside bathroom door (tiny bathrooms in older house)
* took ALL the towels to the laundromat to wash them and put on said shelving
* found all the extra tupperware lids from the cheap tupperware we get when we buy sandwich meat and recycled them
* re-did pot and pan storage in kitchen (it is out in the open, another tiny old house thing)
* started on basement, saw how trashed it is from kids hanging out, downloaded a Stephen King book and decided to read, I will clean better when they all move out
sweetana3
12-27-11, 9:01pm
Well, I boxed and wrapped a whole tote of bingo prizes and secret santa gifts for a retreat in Ohio in February. Sorted out stuff to give others from same box. Then I completed the pieced blocks for two quilt backs and sorted the remaining fabric. Two totes emptied.
Finished 10 fancy cross stitched ornaments that have been unfinished for years.
Cleaned out underneath the sink where some cleaning liquid leaked. Got new shelf liner down and am using a cat sand bucket for a container for bags and sponges. The cleaner bottles and brushes hang off the edge of the bucket for a bonus. I like a clean cabinet.
I just found out I might very well be back in my place on Friday! Will try to purge some more and begin to pack up!
DH and I finally managed to start going through some of the boxes we have in storage at my mom's -- mailed them from NYC when we sold our apartment nearly 8 YEARS AGO and they are still sitting there. Sigh. I cleaned through two boxes and have a suitcase full of stuff packed to take back to Beijing with us. Got rid of some stuff that DH had wanted to keep originally, but agreed to let go. He went through one box of old academic files and recycled about half the box. The stuff he kept is worth keeping -- his academic papers from graduate school, fieldnotes, letters from family, notes from an interview with his grandfather, etc. We still have about 10 more boxes, much of it DH's academic stuff that still needs to be gone through. I have one full box of photos/negatives from high school-college years. Ugh. that will take a long time to go through and not going to tackle it this trip.
lhamo
Zoe Girl
12-27-11, 11:16pm
That is great Tradd, I know it has been a long haul.
Hey Lhamo, I worked at the photo lab for the 5 years I had that 2nd job. Learned a lot, too bad photo labs are not in demand so much now. In any case the point is that you can have all the negatives scanned and put on CD's pretty easily. THe calirty is great, the risk of wearing out is almost gone, and the CD's are super easy to store/transport. You can also do it with the actual photos but those people usually want to keep. In any case maybe ask your family to drop them off at a photo lab, or they can be mailed in, and then you can have one thing off the list maybe?
iris lily
12-27-11, 11:34pm
yes, and I am soliciting stuff from neighbors to sell at our neighborhood's antique fair as a fundraiser for the park conservancy. We will store the stuff in our basement, now that I've got an actual, real basement with a cee-ment floor and clear space. I want to take advantage of winter clear out, I think a lot of people do that.
1) compiled the documents for the kid's father for him to reimburse me for medical expenses for the kids for the past year
2) have successfully regifted all unwanted holiday gifts
3) am eating down the pantry while my kids are gone this week
4) like Zoe Girl, cleaned up the cell phone
5) made plan for decluttering from my life $3,000 per year of expensive, unhealthy habits
Miss Cellane
12-28-11, 8:58am
Charity, we call that the "Fornow Room." You shove stuff in there "for now." And always have the best intentions of coming back later to deal with it.
I've been trucking along with my bedroom cleanup. I've sorted and organized the books in the big bookcase, which meant a lot of checking all the bookcases in the other rooms and getting most of the books at least in the room where they belong, if not in the actual bookcase. But now the bookcase is neat and tidy, no double shelving or stacking. And I can find what I'm looking for.
I also tackled a random stack of stuff--a few boxes and bins of things I didn't know what to do with. Sorted through everything, was able to declutter/donate quite a bit (and yet I thought I had decluttered really well before I moved!), resorted the remaining things into smaller bins (it's been like a game of musical chairs here--everything I do means something needs a smaller bin or drawer and I just keep moving things around to get the best fit), and moved one piece of furniture out to the garage for the Salvation Army people to pick up, along with two boxes of junk and three trash bags of clothes.
I found some curtain rods, so the curtains will go up today. And I need to tackle the stuff on the chair, plus one big bin of out-of-season clothing. But I've removed so much else, I now have a place for the clothes so I can get the big bin out of the bedroom at last.
Bastelmutti
12-28-11, 1:02pm
Sorted two drawers of my DD's clothes this morning and took out stuff that doesn't fit anymore. I do this once in a while anyway, because we rotate seasonal clothing due to a lack of space.
Thanks to some time off of work, I am virtually decluttering and consolidating my e-mail and some other functions into Gmail + Calendar and Google Apps. Excited about that because it will all be available online & I can access from my laptop or phone. Am thinking about decluttering my desktop soon & just working with a laptop. The problem is that I always need two working computers (one as a backup in case the main one breaks down), so the question is whether to use one laptop with a monitor and keyboard as my main office set-up, or skip the monitor and keyboard. I am leaning toward keeping it due to repetitive strain issues.
In a similar "life decluttering" step, I have decided to drop one of my activities next school year - teaching at a cultural program on Saturdays - to devote more time to my business. It's not really a volunteer gig in that my teaching offsets my kids' tuition, but then again, if I am working extra on Saturdays, I will quickly earn the money to cover tuition plus more on top of that over the school year, so it's a good choice for me. This activity just plain eats up too much time. Steeling myself for other people's disapproval and disappointment (and my own to some degree - it's a class I developed myself and do enjoy teaching)! But I know it's the right move.
I'm still out of town, but I canceled an old credit card and briefly achieved Inbox Zero. I also decided to do Project 333 (http://www.bemorewithless.com/2010/minimalist-fashion-projects/) for the beginning of the new year, and made up my list for that. I'll see if that lasts when it comes to actually packing clothes away for three months...
DD and I cleaned out the fridge - does that count?? For us, that's huge. We have a goal to really cut our food waste this year. Money is tighter than ever, and every little bit helps.
Good idea. I need to do that!
Simplemind
12-28-11, 9:37pm
Today I went through all the cupboards and pulled out expired or unwanted food. I had hoped there would be a bunch to take to the food bank but a lot had passed its date. We have really changed our eating habits away from processed foods so there were many convenience items that didn't get used. Tomorrow will be a trip to goodwill for those last minute tax deductions. Today was pillow day. We have a new tradition that every year at Christmas we all get new pillows. Life is too short to live with yucky pillows. Then it will be on to the end of year paper sorting. I love love love to purge and organize.
Thanks for the impetus. Fridge cleaned out and old food tossed. I, too, have some outdated canned foods in the cupboard. I kind of went on a stocking up binge a year or so ago, and now some of the items are at or past their dates. I'm trying to hold off until they are used up. What this taught me, is that it doesn't do much good to 'stockpile' if it isn't foods you use much. None of it is food I wouldn't eat, but I learned I don't eat it as often as I thought. I rarely eat canned soups, never canned vegetables or fruits except tomatoes and roasted chiles. The occasional can of refried beans, but I like homemade better. And I really just don't use that much of anything. Plenty of rice, beans and legumes. The pasta has been used up and all the mayo, mustard and ketchup. The condiments were kind of good to have a stockpile of, I admit, because I didn't have to shop for those all year.
I am getting back into my place on Friday. Yahoo! Will be so nice to start the new year in a kind of new place! New LR and BR carpet and new paint in those rooms, too. Got rid of a few more things last night.
I've only got a few days left before work starts.....thinking of tackling play room and bedroom. they are inside and so, do able. And of course the bottle take back chore. What a chore!
crunchycon
12-29-11, 5:30am
I've done a light declutter/purge, as we're moving sometime next year and wanted to get the house in some kind of shape to show the realtor. The next pass will be much deeper, and the final pass will be actually stuff we're taking on the move (we're moving in with my mother) - just pre-moving, if you will.
shadowmoss
12-29-11, 12:29pm
This weekend I sort stuff in anticipation of a) making a trip to donate clothes/school supplies to places here in Honduras, and b) a 2 week trip back home to the States. The local trip is when I want to clear out any office supplies and clothes I know I won't wear again. The trip home will involve taking a couple of suitcases of stuff back to leave. While there I'll be moving a 10x15 storage unit of stuff from Nashville to Kansas City, hopefully culling deeply during the process. So, this weekend is the start of a lot of cleaning and clearing. I need more than 3 days! I am also cleaning out small bills (in 2 currencys, US and Honduran) and pulling out money and pens and all the stuff that accululates in odd places, and in the process paying for things with cash. That is my new resolution, or at least one of them, on-going from here. I have my spreadsheet all set up to start tracking my spending again, and I'll put it up on the cloud someplace (I have a couple already) so I can update it from work or wherever. No account numbers included, so it shouldn't be a security risk.
I began the season of organizing and decluttering by purging my MIL's refrigerator while we were visiting, which I found to be harboring many items that promised to cause illness if consumed. Now she can see everything in there and hopefully it will be ok until we visit in another year.
I am getting back into my place on Friday. Yahoo! Will be so nice to start the new year in a kind of new place! New LR and BR carpet and new paint in those rooms, too. Got rid of a few more things last night.
Tradd, when I had new carpeting and painting in my house, it knocked me flat energy-wise and took me a while to figure out it was the out-gassing of these products. So, just some free advice, get plenty of fresh air into the rooms to counteract that.
I began the season of organizing and decluttering by purging my MIL's refrigerator while we were visiting, which I found to be harboring many items that promised to cause illness if consumed. Now she can see everything in there and hopefully it will be ok until we visit in another year.
That was kind of you. I tackled the laundry room and made a dent.
AmeliaJane
12-30-11, 12:31am
Went through a box of papers and sorted about half to be tossed/shredded. I also went paperless on two last accounts that I hadn't gotten around to updating. Looking forward to doing more this weekend. I am planning to eat from the pantry for awhile. I have a tiny kitchen and things have really stacked up.
Yep, starting today!!! Attacking the closet. Back bedroom was done last week.
Mer05---wow, I got lost for a while in that blog you linked to for the 333 project. Thanks for that.
DD is home from college (out of state) I asked about the dozen or so jackets she has in the closet (she hasn't lived at home for nearly 2years). She says she likes to have them to wear when she is home! She said she has worn two of them already this visit!!
I "suggested" she look at the other 10 (literally) and thin out the ones she won't be wearing again. *sigh*
Bastelmutti
12-30-11, 5:02pm
Posting while decluttering!
I am working on my office, which has been in progress for a while now. Just got rid of a bag of recycling and cleaned out one rolling storage bin-type thing I can put out on the curb.
Well, I'm back in my place. Landlord (a guy) told me it was "clean." "Guy clean" and "gal clean" are two TOTALLY different things! There is a lovely (not!) film of white powder all over various places - including all the shelves and two clothes rod in my bedroom walk-in closet. Which means I have to TOTALLY clean it from top to bottom before I can put ANYTHING away!
The numbnut carpet installers put my big heavy wood bed a good distance away from the wall (the headboard side, that is). So I have to have my landlord back out to help move the bed, as it's way too heavy for me.
So good thing I have a long weekend to clean and put everything to rights.
At least my internet at home works perfectly!
KayLRZ, you're very welcome! I'm back home, and for once unpacked immediately, rather than leaving everything for later. Tomorrow I'm going to 333-proof my closet and clear out my refrigerator and freezer. The freezer especially has uncharted depths.
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