Well I continue to work on stuff daily but have not been great about posting. Truth is, often I am reading from my iphone these days which is great for reading but not so great for posting.
I'll admit I don't have as much gusto as I had a few months ago but I am really trying to keep a centered and balanced feeling about my home and posessions. I try to keep stuff picked up and reasonably clean. I try to pick a bigger project here and there. Yesterday I tackled my stove. I scrubbed and polished the outside and keep noticing it looks better. The inside I don't really care about right now. lol
I have boxes at both houses with items designated for thrift so I must be a little more automatic with pitching things these days.
I walked in the shed here yesterday and immediately noticed (and was happy) to remember I decluttered in there the last time I was over.
It is a never ending process made better with continuous maintenance....hmm....sounds like weightloss!
Sending a big HI to all. Super busy here with work and kids moving home/to new places. Need to mark my place to make a list of intentions as well. Finished guest room painting/cleaning/decluttering just in time for my son to move back in for the next 2 months. Already a disaster.....glad he is here!
Last edited by helping rachel; 05-18-2013 at 10:00 PM.
Hello!
Today was my day to return from the vacation house and come back to the big house to return to work. It's a two-hour drive and I was by myself and had a lot of time for thinking. When I started thinking about what I needed to do when I got home I was overwhelmed with the joy of acknowledgement of the progress I've made . I already knew that I had left the house clean and organized and that my only chores when I got home would be to clean the cat box and put away my travel stuff. I cleaned the cat box and put away the groceries and did leave some stuff for the morning and enjoyed a long nap.
I am by myself this week and am going to take advantage of it. I'm going to minimize my food choices and keep it simple. I am not going to create any new projects in the house and will pick up after myself immediately. That should free up some time for me to focus on a new decluttering adventure.
So I'm going to try for these precious summer months to take my decluttering every day approach outdoors. Instead of spending my 15 minutes to a half hour decluttering inside I'm going to go outside every morning and spend a short time working on the yard. It's a big old yard and there are many parts of it that are in pretty rough shape. There's lots of invasive stuff that just keeps coming back over and over and over again. My previous work has been to try to clear small areas and put a few nice plants it. That has worked and this year I'm going to see if I can expand to some new areas that I could keep clean and organized.
I'm not much for yard work in the heat of the day so this early-morning process should be very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to finding the progressive reward from the small daily tasks.
Hey - can someone explain this group? Old clutter, new clutter. cleaning? Anything I need it to be or is there a plan you all follow?
I have a hard time focusing on more than one thing at a time. So, when I am all in on my health, things around the house start to slide......and I am hoping for some advice or guidance or even just encouragement!
So here it is, past the middle of May. We had a hot and humid long weekend and it was brought to my attention from the new neighbours upstairs that the heat is on and gee...should it be on? Well yes, for now. But this means to turn it off the landlord comes into my apt to unlock the thermostat (yes it's locked) and this brings the semi-annual discussion of the state of the apartment. I know I shouldn't tell you how to live your life but... - that's how it always starts with him.
So I figure I have until the end of either this week or next week to get the hallway, entryway and kitchen into shape. DH did a great thing this weekend getting us caught up on dishes and now I feel spurred onward to get other stuff taken care of.
Also, my mom will be coming to the town I live in so she will be visiting here and that means the place has to be visitor-worthy.
This will probably be by the end of the summer.
So I need to
Clean up the kitchen.
This means:
KITCHEN
1: dishes washed DONE
dishes put away DONE
2. counters cleared
stuff on them put away
counters wiped
3. floor cleared DONE
stuff on floor put away DONE
floor washed
4. major appliances cleaned on the outside
5. minor appliances cleaned on the outside
6. cupboards wiped where needed
DINING AREA
I am going to work counter clockwise in this space, just systematically moving from one thing to the next thing in a counterclockwise direction. Not sure how I will break this up into tasks, but I think once I begin it will be obvious. For now I will start with the bags of paintings I discovered last night while trying to retrieve the fan on top of a shelf in there. There were about 5 bags of paintings. I need to sort through them for the farmers' market this weekend. The paintings need to be taken to my studio space.
*THIS SPACE IS TO BE CLEARED BY JUNE 1st. WHEN I WILL CALL THE LANDORD TO ASK HIM TO TURN THE HEAT OFF. HE MAY COME SOONER BUT IF IT IS IN MY CONTROL, THIS IS MY PLAN.*
I will be back with detailed steps on this everyday until it is done.
Hey - can someone explain this group? Old clutter, new clutter. cleaning? Anything I need it to be or is there a plan you all follow?
I have a hard time focusing on more than one thing at a time. So, when I am all in on my health, things around the house start to slide......and I am hoping for some advice or guidance or even just encouragement!
Hello sparks17, welcome.
I started this decluttering thread a few years ago. It has helped me to re-focus on cleaning up and clearing out my apartment and helped me get through a major move a couple of years ago. I find that the Beck program can really help with other issues and since I am stress/emotional eater, having a cluttered place that others criticize, or I worry about their opinions, or I get frustrated with myself and my inability to clean up or keep it clean, is rather like staying on track foodwise, or getting right back on track when you have faltered, and this is a big help to both my decluttering and weightloss processes. Basically, I just keep trying. I am getting better.
Decluttering-wise I have detached and let go of many things and there are several members in this group who have made significant progress posting their goals and detailing the steps to get there as well as the daily upkeep once you do arrive. It is very much like making a foodplan, sticking to it, posting it to your coaches, losing the weight and then maintenance.
As for what you want to use the decluttering thread for, that's up to you. I have issues leftover from my move--boxes unopened full of stuff. What to do with it, what do I keep, do I need a storage unit somewhere, this is what I am doing above and beyond just trying to create a home where someone could stop in anytime (a goal of mine, not a reality at this point!)
My suggestion would be to start with one thing, something that has bothered you for a while and tackle it. For example, if the goal is to "clean out your office" I would start by asking msyelf what this statement means to me. If I describe a clean office to you I may emphasize a clean desk, but messy shelves would be ok. You may be the reverse, so think/imagine what kind of an office you would love to have and use. Then write this down, or take/find a picture of it and take the steps to get your space in line with this ideal office.
So, next I would then go into the space and take a good look around and break up the space into small bits of work. (When I was dealing with my townhouse and had to move, I simply worked clockwise through the room. But I reported on every little bit of it: wall unit cleaned and cleared and decluttered; tv stand cleaared, decluttered, cleaned; the space inbetween wall unit and tv stand, etc. I took credit for every little bit of it and this meant that when I stopped I *knew* I had made progress instead of getting lost in the OMG THIS IS ALL TOO MUCH. This is my approach now to my dining area that is full of boxes.) So, if there's a shelving unit you want to declutter, just do one shelf. But start it and finish it. Or for a desk, do one drawer. Or just the top of the desk. Often I will work for 15minutes only. This is from the Flylady website (http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-sta...ng-15-minutes/) which I find very very helpful. Small acts build up until all of a sudden the project is done.
Sometimes members use this forum to create routines for themselves. Lexxiss has a brilliant one with three steps to it that she practices almost daily:
dealing with some old clutter
dealing with new clutter
and cleaning something
We don't need to be heroic. We just need to do something. It helps relieve the stress in our life as we see success in an area that is a challenge for us. Success in one area bleeds into other areas. So what seemed impossible starts to get accomplished. These feelings of doing something that was tough inevitably help us when the food and the eating get tough too... it's all connected I believe.
I originally came to BDS via onebyone's decluttering thread. I had spent years trying to get my act together on the homefront. As you mentioned when I would focus on my health then something else would get out on the back burner. I procrastinated a lot and tended to have pretty poor organizational skills. As I worked BDS on a daily basis with my food choices I learned to take those skills into my physical home .
For me it's about getting up every day and having a plan that moves me forward.
My 123 is not original-It's an extremely simplified version of what flylady does.
Her strategy emphasizes taking baby steps every day. That's what I tried to focus on.
My old clutter, current clutter, clean doesn't have to take a whole lot of time.
What I call current clutter is picking up my stuff every day, making the bed,doing the dishes and keeping up with the laundry.
My old clutter has included going through closets, drawers, basements, storage sheds, photo collections, old paperwork, etc.
I try to clean something every day and I'm not talking about some major project. Sometimes it's just washing out the bathroom sink or sweeping my kitchen floor or cleaning the cat box or washing a mirror...
My regular routine takes about 15 minutes a day.
When my home environment is comfortable I seem to make better food choices. It really makes sense to me to strive to make my home environment comfortable on a daily basis instead of having the continual ups and downs.
I desire balance today both in my home and with my food choices.
I'm learning to let go of items that no longer serve me well.
It feels good today.
Well I better get to bed because I need to be at work at 5:30 in the morning. I worked in my yard for about a half hour this morning and made some small progress. Credit. I hired my 14-year-old neighbor tomorrow my lawn tomorrow. It's nice when I recognize I can't always do it all and ask for help. When I get home from work it should look pretty spiffy and I hope I have enough energy to plant a few plants that I picked up at the greenhouse today.
UPDATE: holy cow. Have not even touched this list. I will be fortunte to just stop the dishes from piling up before I go to bed--my only real goal now = leave the sink clean and put the dishes away. I did do 2 loads of laundry though which falls under decluttering the hallway... *credit* for this.
KITCHEN
DAILY STUFF:
1. counters cleared
2. stuff on them put away
3. counters wiped
EXTRA:
4. floor washed
5. major appliances cleaned on the outside
6. minor appliances cleaned on the outside
7. cupboards wiped where needed
DINING AREA
My Plan:
I am going to work counter clockwise in this space, just systematically moving from one thing to the next thing in a counterclockwise direction.
1. sort through paintings retrieved yesterday
2. declutter 2' of the dining room area + just inside the entry.
What this really means:
*THE KITCHEN AND HALLWAYS AND ENTRYWAY SPACES MUST BE CLEARED BY JUNE 1st. WHEN I WILL CALL THE LANDLORD TO ASK HIM TO TURN THE HEAT OFF. HE MAY COME SOONER BUT IF IT IS IN MY CONTROL, THIS IS MY PLAN.*
STEPS TO THIS SPECIFIC GOAL:
clean kitchen sink, floor, appliances
maintain cleanliness daily
clear all clutter from main hallway (credit: 1/4 done.)
Gearing up for a real workday towards getting market stock ready for my debut weekend. I am focused on achieving my goal today.
As a result I can do "passive" decluttering like laundry. So I will clear up the laundry hanging around the hallway - about one load only. And I will clear and maintain the sink which I *credit* did last night and had the amazing experience of seeing NOTHING in the sink this morning and all pans and plates and utensils readily available when I made DH his breakfast. That was a joy.
Better go. Much to do. I have copied over my current to do list just in case I end up crossing a thing or two of of it. *credit for continuing to make it a priority*
KITCHEN
DAILY STUFF:
1. counters cleared
2. stuff on them put away
3. counters wiped
EXTRA:
4. floor washed
5. major appliances cleaned on the outside
6. minor appliances cleaned on the outside
7. cupboards wiped where needed
DINING AREA
My Plan:
I am going to work counter clockwise in this space, just systematically moving from one thing to the next thing in a counterclockwise direction.
1. sort through paintings retrieved yesterday
2. declutter 2' of the dining room area + just inside the entry.
What this really means:
*THE KITCHEN AND HALLWAYS AND ENTRYWAY SPACES MUST BE CLEARED BY JUNE 1st. WHEN I WILL CALL THE LANDLORD TO ASK HIM TO TURN THE HEAT OFF. HE MAY COME SOONER BUT IF IT IS IN MY CONTROL, THIS IS MY PLAN.*
STEPS TO THIS SPECIFIC GOAL:
clean kitchen sink, floor, appliances
maintain cleanliness daily (credit: 1/7days)
clear all clutter from main hallway (credit: 1/4 done)
onebyone, great list! Kudos for a clean sink and such a detailed plan.
I decluttered in the yard for 1/2 hour(timed). I also went through old jewelry boxes (from my childhood) that I brought down from the project. I looked wistfully at the boxes (nothing exciting) and moved them to the thrift box.
Reality I can't keep everything if I want to declutter and live more simply...truth be told I am getting to the point where I dont WANT to keep everything. credit.
I made my bed and did a general pick up even though I'm by myself this week. I have 10 minutes to get ready for trip to Denver for my moms eye appt. I'll bring her home then turn right around and go back down to help my hubbys DD with her wedding flowers. Oh, well. Food is packed.
Right before heading out yesterday I remembered I hadn't cleaned anything so I did the bathroom sink after I brushed my teeth. It needed it...it took less than a minute....and it is clean today. credit.
I got up this morning (a day off) and recognized immediately that procrastination will not move me forward. Accomplishing small tasks WILL move me forward.
So today's goal is to stay home, meaning not leave our little mountain community. I want the house to be back in shape, I want to spend my time in the yard, I want to move forward with DD's wedding flowers, which we purchased yesterday. I want to stay OP AND enjoy some relaxation. credit.
So Today's 1-2-3
old clutter-done-I finished putting away all the stuff I had brought down from grandmas OR sent it to thrift.
current clutter-1/2 done-laundry in bed made dishes done. I will soon have a huge pile of silk flowers in the dining room after I retrieve them from moms car. I would like to start on bouquets so I can decide which ones I'm going to keep and which ones I want to return.
clean-I already cleaned extra stuff in the kitchen (coffee bar) and will wash down kitchen cabinets. I took my comforter off the bed (a chore). It is already washed/dried. I was going to do laundry first but putting clean clothes for folding on cat hair/comforter seemed self defeating.
Work comes very early yet I reminded myself last night I need to keep on top of things regardless. I did some picking up last night in the kitchen. This morning I have made the bed, folded and put away laundry. I turned the water on outside and will turn it off on the way out the door. I put away the glue gun I got out yesterday. Small tasks but I will notice the difference when I get home.
credit.
Tami(helping rachel), yay for rooms being painted and a goal for finishing. Whew! Thanks for checking in with us.
My joy this morning was working on hubbys DD's wedding flowers...all silks. I have open tables and everything is clean. Not too long ago I had to do a major clean before starting any project. I picked up after myself when I finished for the day.
I continue on my yard mission. It is truly an "unfinishable" project this year. The only thing I can do is make small permanent improvements and battle the weeds and call it exercise. So I filled two trash barrels with weeds and hauled one down the block for pick up. I did get the water hooked up better and spent some time watering. My neighbor and I went to homedepot and I bought a few (6) plants on sale. All perennials and not too many. It was hot when we got back and I had to give myself permission to save planting for tomorrow morning when it's cool. Not easy sometimes, because my OCD kicks in and that's where I eventually hit burn out.
Nice to have a day off...I work tomorrow but will plant stuff before I go.