Mini-Declutter - Mon Jan 4 - Sun Jan 10, 2016
 

Mini Decluttering.
Pick something you can accomplish in a week.
Big projects can be accomplished by baby steps.
What can be done in a week to make your environment better?
What irritating project can you put to rest this week?

Monday
 

Hi.

Tomorrow I am going to clear the space to the left of my microwave, between it and the wall. I just shove stuff in there.

I am also going to go through the boxes of tea and whatever else is on top of the microwave. I have too many little boxes. I am going to condense what I keep and toss the rest.

And in the back bedroom I am going to declutter and condense the items in my cabinet in order to make room for my ceramic stock which I cannot store in my studio.

These three actions will move me forward.

Thanks for starting this thread, onebyone. It's a great idea. I'm going to tidy up the counter in the garden room. It's a kind of work bench. First I'll sort, throw away and put away, and then I'll mend.

I'll sort and put away the nails, screws, washers, split pins, bits of chain and all the rest. If they're rusty and I've got enough I'll throw some away.

Two small pieces of Bakelite are there, in a saucer. They broke off the bedside light when the SO dropped it a few years ago. I'll mend it.

I'll also mend or throw away the broken clay flower pots. Probably mend as they're very old and are a nice shape.

(Between you and me, I'd like this counter to be clear so I can put painting things there. I really want to finish painting the sitting room when the SO is away in January. It's been a work in progress for several years.)

onebyone, thanks for starting this thread! I like the idea of weekly....

I decided to pick a room this week. My office. This morning I switched over files to 2016 and actually went through them discarding anything I don't need to save. I'm keeping the files on my newly decluttered desktop so I can put misc. items in as they filter in through the mail this week. I persisted and went through a small pile on my dresser-top which has been accumulating; mostly stuff I need to save but have resisted taking time to put them in their proper place. I have a small cabinet with personal toiletries. I went through it getting rid of a few things and putting some items in the thrift box.

Things look better already!

I find I need to continue to be pretty ruthless about pitching and donating. I can only use so much and can only store so much. Those "maybe someday" items serve me best when they go away. I would much rather have simplicity and space these days. Credit.

Debbie, you're right of course. And for those of us who live in small houses it's essential. I think this weekly idea of onebyone's will help me to live with something for a week and really decide how useful it is.

I've done 10 minutes in the garden room, sorting screws etc and feel pleased. I'm considering whether I really will ever have a use for two metal corners from an old suitcase. I think they came from my uncle's old friend and neighbour when he died, and then to me when my uncle died. They seem as though they could be extremely useful in the right context and that's obviously why they've been kept. For probably 75 years. :)

Today's Quest
 

Hello.

Last night I wrote of the microwave area, beside and above and the back art cabinet. I am concerned I am resisting the Big Deal which is the dining room and so I am starting there first. I will continue with the declutter of this space and the sorting of things into labeled boxes and into trash bags. I will spend an hour doing this.
After an hour I will move to the kitchen and the microwave area.

I do have a shed available to me and it is at MIL's house. Last year I stored my show setup in there. I am going to call MIL today to see if that is still possible to do. That will help me immensely to clear out my studio space. I hadn't wanted to do this because of her illness but really what does one have to do with the other? Not much. Maybe I will ask my friend who has a much larger car than I do to help me out. Maybe not. Maybe I will ask DH. We'll see.

OMG silverbirch! Just *reading* about your metal corners of a suitcase makes me want to have them! LOL. Also having the future goal of painting this room is the perfect motivation for a step by step declutter/reorganization of a space. It is wonderful motivation for sure.

I also love the notion of paraphrasing here: I will give it a week and decide at the end of the week if I can live without it.

I think that's brilliant and an excellent use of this thread. I am going to add that to my regular weekly tasks. This week it's the Tassimo coffee maker. My friend gave me her Tassimo. I used it for a while, used it alot. I love it but it is expensive and I feel like I am destroying the earth with those non-recyclable pods. And in a day I go through 4-6 of them. But it's fast. It's easy. It's no clean up. I have thought about using the Tassimo at the studio. I already have a regular coffeemaker in there though. It is the better of my two coffeemakers: the one I use in the my kitchen now is inferior but a crazy designs. 3 machines. I person. Two places. I will make a decision about the coffeemakers by the end of the week. Thank you for suggesting this angle to the declutter week silverbirch. Great job with the sorting already!


Lexxiss You remind me I need to get my financial filing off to a good start this year. I am truly working my small business again now. I need to keep good records.

OK off I go. Bye!

Onebyone, I think it's a good idea to ask your MIL. She's more than her illness, isn't she, and may be pleased to think about something else.

That Tassimo coffee maker ... Fwiw, I try not to drink too much coffee. So I make coffee at home (cafetiere), drink one cup and put the rest into a pre-heated flask to take to the office. So we've only got one coffee maker. I used to have a filter but I had to buy filter papers for that. That went long ago during a very serious belt-tightening period. Saved money, found a bit more space.

The suitcase corners. Now you're talking about them, onebyone, I realise there are only two and there should be four so ... two have either been chucked because they were too damaged or were used for something else. I've decided to put them in my grey toolbox - the one I use for larger useful items which aren't tools. Thanks for seeing how great they are/could be.

The Big Deal. I really do see what you mean. In my long experience of living in tiny places, there seems to be a sensible order in which things have to be done. And it can look so much worse before it looks better. In my case, it's looking like this:

clear worktop in garden room (small, quiet job)
use worktop to lay out painting materials
finish painting sitting room (lots of upheaval)
AND THEN (my real aim) ... move grandmother clock from bedroom into sitting room
move bookcase from garden room into bedroom
put things lying slightly damply on the window sill, the floor and under the bed on the bookcase
clean the window sill and the window
:cp:

Today I'm going to clean the worktop, put down some newspaper and lay out the things to be mended together with the glue.

Good luck with the paperwork, Debbie!

Tuesday - garbage day tomorrow!
 

Hi

I'm motivated and excited by garbage day tomorrow. And it's "real" garbage day not just recycling so that means EVERYTHING CAN GO!

In honour of this momentous event, I am focusing solely on the dining room area. I will begin at 1pm and finish at 5. 4 hours in this space. I could finish it.
Finish=sort everything, get rid of obvious stuff, be at the point of refining the space. That is a worthy goal for today.

Oh yes! Go for it, onebyone!

sounds like great progress!
 

Excited to join in when home and ID my projects! Enjoying reading your progress as it's interesting to see the individual challenges and progress.

This update deserves a separate entry
 

Hello

5:03pm. I started at 1:36pm and took a break which was about a half hour where I contemplated stopping and then I read silverbirch urging me on so I got back to it. It's now getting dark and DH will be back in about an hour, so I am wrapping for the day re:dining room.

As it stands I have emptied 19 boxes of various shapes and sizes since I began this week's challenge. I have put back into service 7 of them and the rest will be broken down and tied as per town regulations (I found twine!! can you believe it? twine!) so they will absolutely take it away tomorrow.

I made 3 more bags of garbage and this makes a total of 11 bags of garbage so far this week. If I were to do it perfectly, much more would go to recycling but for now I just have to give myself permission to push on through.

I have 5 things in the donate box. Jan 5 = 5 items. This is good. I'll add another thing each day this month.

My dining room is almost all looked at/unpacked/sorted/re-boxed with a time limit written on the box. I have found a few things I do really need this month, some as early as this weekend. I have boxes remaining to be opened and sorted. I almost finished it but it is good enough.

The rest of my decluttering, now called tidying as I am in maintenance mode not catching up mode (:hat:), is returning the kitchen to a neat, clean environment. It's in disarray and the dishes are sitting in the drainer and in the sink once more. I can't let that linger. It all gets away from me too quickly and discourages me very easily.

nationalparker Jump in anytime! Even cleaning off the top of a desk or a counter counts if it's bugging you. I look forward to your posts.

silverbirch I found a bunch of tool box related items and then I found my toolbox and opened it. Yikes! It's now on my decluttering list as well lol!
And I called MIL yesterday asking if I could use her shed again and she said Sure! Fill 'er up! Only things that are weather protected can go in their-stuff in rubbermaid bins, stuff I can wrap up in tarps, stuff mice can't destroy. And I reached out to my friend with the big SUV and we're set to go on Monday. Things are falling into place.

Lexxiss How goes the office? I had a bonus yesterday when I emptied the cabinet to store my ceramics in. I had to move a box of files from in front of it to access it and I went Hey Wait a minute this is a filing box! And since I had the taxes done most of stuff in there is not needed, but I quickly looked in the box and there were extra hanging file folders and regular folders and so I am all set to set up a 2016 filing system! Not sure if DH will participate in it with me, or whether I will even ask (he is supremely resistant and has forbidden me from ever touching his taxes again. *sigh* I will not wade into those waters right now.) So... I have my answer. This will be my small business box. Some other week I will do that though. It's enough this week just to have the materials at hand.

Kitchen maintenance routine:
dishes done and put away?yes
tabletop wiped?yes
counter cleared and wiped?yes
floor under/around table clear?yes

Hi ladies!
Great idea for a weekly project onebyone and great job on all your boxes! Wow! that will make a big difference and must feel great!
I'm jumping in here midweek-my project is sorting photo boxes. I started last week so its kind of cheating but hey, maybe this will motivate me to finish it.
I have sorted 4 at this point, tossed many handset aside others 1) to be put in albums, 2) given to the kids so they can have their own albums 3) a few seaside in case i make a collage of funny/bad photos of which there are many!

I also want to sort through/get rid of some scrapbook materials that have been lying around for years because it simply isn't happening-more "someday items" that Lexiss talked about! But maybe I will save for next week.

Wow - I'd better get on the stick here and get something done. One quick goal is to have everything from the trip put away in the correct place, not just hidden in a bin. Gifts, hot weather clothes, food I bought and brought home, and clothes that must be handwashed - do so.

Other goal was to have the Christmas tree down and all specific Christmas decor away by Sunday evening, leaving winter decor (snowflakes, snowmen) up. I'm wavering on this bc our tree has lost basically NO needles and I missed 10 days of enjoying the tree, but I know DH will want it down before too long. Will see on this timeline. I could replace all the Christmas ornaments with the box of snowflake ones and see if he notices :)

Good luck on the snow flake disguise for the tree.

Books, I have them in closets, 6 book cases, and on top coffee table. I've already filled up a pillow case with donations to take to Library tomorrow. (garbage bag wouldn't quite hold them all but old flannel pillow case is far stronger.)

Second: Finances: Several hours needed tomorrow to get caught up and get final estimated Federal Taxes sent off. OUCH.

Thank goodness DH and DD take care of the multitude of tool boxes here.

Sewing supply cabinet really could use a cleaning out but may save that for next week.

Projects! So many!
 

Hi Everyone

Good to see all the energy here. Makes me feel, well, energized.

I should have read it before now though. I had a hard day today and really dragged my feet. I didn;t get to the declutter until 3:30 or so. I made soup this morning, cleared the kitchen and then just simply stopped. I was put off by seeing all the empty boxes that didn't get broken down last night so they didn't make it to the curb this morning. I loathe breaking down boxes. The sound, and the feel sometimes, of the cardboard brushing against itself as it folds up makes my skin crawl. I asked DH to help me yesterday he didn't and he would have had I started but I didn't. And this morning it was too late. Garbage guys come early. I did get all the regular garbage out and the other recycling and we have even had discussions about where to place the recycle bin in the kitchen. We have no good place. The kitchen is a horrible design. DH is actually willing to work this through though which is a first. he likes the new space we have on the counter since I turned the microwave sideways. I like it too. The recycle bins will cut us off from using this space if we do it the same way we have. Anyway, first world problems for sure.

So what did I do to move forward?
I emptied three more boxes-2 were like trays, one was another deep box. These ones were pretty old boxes. They were packed a long time ago.

I have found myself not following the label system again. My problem happens everytime I run across some materials or supplies for my artwork. I just don't want to box this stuff. I need a better solution cause now I have little stacks all over again. Maybe it'll come clear once I finish the big stuff. I am trying to stay focused on the big picture and just finish the boxes I have had sitting there all this time. I am letting go that they have been pushed into other boxes, some of the stuff but some has been tossed and the important thing is I am touching and deciding about the objects. even if it's not right now, it's happening soon.

I did maintenance in the kitchen and will do the same tomorrow morning in the kitchen. It's a bit of a mess now but since it's really been cleaned up, it takes only a sinkful of dishes and some minor putting things away to get it back in shape. What a treat.

That's it for now.

A trip to Denver today. Only purchased food items. My best strategy to move forward is to not bring new things in. I have enough. I don't need more. These are my mantras.

The office feels lighter. I will spend some time looking around again tomorrow to see what else is sitting that no longer serves me. My sister is coming over Friday night and I think I will ask her to please come look through the linens of my Grandmothers. They take up a large space and I want her to take anything she wants. I do not have any use for these boxes of linens. They were from a different time and were my Grandmothers life. There was no tv. She didn't drive. She cooked, gardened and sat and made stuff. Lots of stuff. My plan would be to give them to an antique store. That way they find another life. I'm not so sure at a thrift store.

I recognized this morning that I've spent enough time decluttering that cleaning has moved up to my top priority. This morning I woke early and what was really "pressing" was just that. I vacuumed the entire house including stairs. Got all the recycle together and loaded car, including a bunch of boxes DH's DD left on our porch. It's all gone. Dropped a piece of copper wire on my neighbors fence and left a light fixture at the "free" pile at the landfill. Then soaked at the hot springs as reward.

Tomorrow I hope to stay home and see what I can find to move me forward. Friday a dental appt. then I will have to commit to doing the company books for last year.

Didn't feel like it but tidied up the kitchen before I came upstairs. It gives me a fresh start for tomorrow.

Thursday
 

:wave: Such enthusiasm is very encouraging!

I've dusted and cleaned the counter but haven't set it up for the mending yet. That's because I can now get to the window between the garden room and the kitchen. And it has to be cleaned as it's filthy. So that's today's small thing to do. I'll also try to do it from the kitchen side. My back hasn't been strong enough to risk it for months, and it's not been important enough to ask someone else to do it.

Thinking of asking other people, onebyone. You know your kind neighbours upstairs, do they have an available child of a suitable age to flatten and tie up the boxes for you? Children sometimes quite like this kind of thing and it might be fun! And as you've missed the garbage this week, can you drop them off at a recycling centre when you and your friend are taking things to your MIL's?

Will recycle some newspapers and bottle today.

Instead of clearing all the rest of the trip stuff, I tackled two bags and the junk mail, most of which went into recycling, and then after dinner we sat down to watch a movie together. I'll tackle more tonight but don't want to just move anything - it needs to be put into its correct place.

I spent a lot of time and thought decluttering last year - donating a great deal to our local Goodwill. I wish, in a small way, that I'd been able to sell some of it but took the speedy route - a quick hop away in the car and suddenly cleared space. But still have more to clear/figure out what to do... Will enjoy the clean house on Saturday morning, hopefully.

Milestone reached.
 

Happy news to report. I just emptied out the last box of box mountain v.3.

So awesome.

I found several treasures I'd been on the hunt for for months.

The rest of today's decluttering will be there following:

Break down boxes for transport to recycling center
Arrange current boxes into (sigh) new pile
Tidy up kitchen

Right now I have a kitty on my lap and a stack of found magazines to go through. I will remove what is of interest and place into the file folder I created for this. This is a happy reward!

Back later.

Onebyone, kudos for a milestone achieved! Great job, also, getting those boxes to recycle. Such an accomplishment when it's something you really don't like to do.

Silverbirch, One small thing done every day adds up really fast! Kudos to you!

Nationalparker, glad you are joining us here! Yay for junk mail to recycling!

I've made small progress this morning. I sorted through some stuff in the office, the dining room and the kitchen.
Mostly just putting things in their proper place, although I did go through some files in my office and separate between recycling and shredder. Everything is looking good. I always remember Small tasks every day move me forward for the long-haul.

Progress toward financial mountain that has small pool to drawl from to pay taxes. Ouch. At least State taxes are almost paid. Sometimes I miss the simplicity of W2 forms that we'll never see again. 4 different retirement sources lead to some confusion that I still don't understand.

At least I'm beginning to get the info on desk and to "pray for patience"

I do understand that in the de-clutter some interesting things show up and I get lost with them, then must pull myself back.

Lots of books now out of house!!!

Sandy

I cleaned the window (both sides!) yesterday and laid out the newspaper for the work to be done. This is going to be done slowly. The work is:

• Clean and glue the chipped pieces of Bakelite back on the bedside light.

• Clean and glue one or two broken but beautifully shaped clay flowerpots back together.

• (Bonus work) Oil the lid of a tea caddy so it opens more freely. This is a commemorative tea caddy from probably 1918 and in very poor condition as it's been storing split pins etc for many years. It shows Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, nurses, probably Earl Kitchener of Khartoom and Field Marshal Sir John French, and possibly a member of the Australian Imperial Force. I am reluctant to throw it away but it is in such poor condition. No need to make a decision now, though.

• (Bonus work) Rub down and paint with black Hammerite my gran's old flat iron and a shoe last I found in the wall. Not my family's but my grandfather certainly used one to mend everyone's shoes. There's a possibility that the DB may do this work.

nationalparker, excellent work putting junk mail into recycling!

onebyone, fantastic work! So great that you found some treasures. Also that you were able to bask in your success with your kitty.

Debbie, having a proper place for things makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Sandy, well done with the books! And very good luck as you chip away at the financial mountain.

I have a super busy day ahead but my best strategy is to find time to do something to move forward everyday, anyway.

Today I did a mini reorganize in my laundry/pet room. I also wiped down the shelves, windowsills and top of the dryer. Credit. I needed to retrieve my 5 gal. water bottle from the car and since the carafe was almost empty I soaked the interior with a bleach mix and washed the outside. It's not often the opportunity arises to do that. It feels good knowing my "purified" water isn't being contaminated by the interior of the jug.

As always, I moved the laundry forward. It's upstairs I will fold and put away before I leave. I finished up the dishes I had left to soak last night and will put them away before I leave. I wiped down the countertops while I was at it. Credit.

Several years ago I committed to keeping up with the laundry/dishes daily. It has made a big difference in my life. It also motivated me to find ways to streamline these necessary chores. I wash up items while I am cooking, especially my knives. If I have items left over I let them soak overnight but always deal with them in the morning. It's so much easier to wash something that has soaked a bit. lol.

I'm upstairs ready to attack paperwork. Although I want to dive into last years books (post on QBooks) I will finish the reports for December, even though they don't have to be done until Jan. 31. It frees my mind and then I don't chance "forgetting". Credit.

Staying decluttered/clean is an ongoing thing for me. It's gotten easier but I must always be mindful. One unplanned trip to the thrift store if I let down my guard just allows "stuff" to start adding up again. Today....I don't want that.

last stop for cardboard boxes
 

Hi

Great work everyone! We've done a lot and this first week isn't even over!

This morning I drop all those boxes off at recycling plus two bags of garbage and one donations box.

Then I am up to my studio to pull out my stock, set-up an supplies for the market show on Saturday. And after that I will stop in at the Mill Pond Gallery where I am in residence with another artist after the market on Saturday and all day Sunday so I can be an example of a working artist/an artist as work. Not sure if I am working on my woodblock carving or a painting. Doesn't matter really.

What I didn't find in my decluttering here are my good wood carving tools. They must be in the studio. I hope to find them today.

Wow - great progress, everyone! Motivating to read - thank you for splitting the seasonal one into weekly pushes, OneByOne!

Finished putting away everything from the trip - backpack contents, gifts, clothing laundered and put back, both winter and summer clothes, and all of the mail handled. Felt good to come into a clean living area today. Reset the table with winter linens/setting for a couple of days.

Clearing/cleaning project for today is the pantry. When that's done, will do my menu listing and marketing list and hopefully the marketing... We need a lot of fresh food as we cleared out a lot before leaving.

Feeling rather shaky today so I'm just going to mend the bedside light. Didn't manage anything yesterday except cheering on the SO as he started to rub down the iron and the last.

silverbirch, I hope you are feeling better soon!

I start my 4 day work week this morning. I have picked up the kitchen and put a few things away in my office. It's important for me to move forward even when I have other commitments. Credit. I made headway with paperwork yesterday and will complete one item before I head out. It's the online filing of w-2, w-3. I gave a preliminary copy to mom yesterday and I'm good to go. It makes sense to revisit it, push the button and place the file back in it's place until next year. Just remembered my new printer ink is downstairs....spontaneous exercise.

So I logged on to SSA Business services and it wouldn't allow me access. It said I was not authorized. Further research indicated they have shut down the site until 1/11 for upgrades. Oh, well. I tried. I have a little time I think I will go to the Colo. site and see if I can complete the state part.

Woo, you guys are doing great!
I lost steam for a few days but did get the ornaments off the tree and most of the other holiday stuff down. Today we will take down the tree and wreath and complete it.
Also hoping to sort and trash a little paperwork. Its supposed to rain all day tomorrow so maybe that will be a good day to work on projects!

First week wrap up
 

Hi

I am on my phone so haven't been able to copy and paste my intended goals for the week but I think I achieved them.

Although I feel the apt is slipping back into chaos and clutter. DH cannot be counted on to maintain surfaces and I have to start refining the stuff I gathered up last week. I have been "storing" those boxes on the chaise and I need to move them into the dining room once more.
Less and.less though. By the end of the month it really will be completely done.

I don't leave for the gallery until 11am tomorrow so I'll get the kitchen in order once more. Gotta stay on it.

And I never did find my carving tools. I do recall them all together in a see through box. When they do appear they will all be together. I hope that's soon.

I think I won't get to MIL's storage shed Monday. The studio is really a huge deal. Most of the next 7 days will be on there with an hour or so dedicated to here at home. But 4 hrs at the studio. It's in really bad shape.

I'll close this thread in the morning. Thanks for a great week 1. It was good not to be alone with this.

Thanks for the weekly thread, onebyone! I look forward to the next. This is THE time of the year for me to focus on the inside of my home....not when days are warm and sunny.

I have some spare time this morning so I'm going to try to complete Jan.2014 entries into QBooks.

I have been looking at the Cocker Spaniel who desperately needs grooming. I'm too cheap to have someone else do it and my perfectionism says I have to do it right...bath dry brush groom. This morning I put him on the dining room table and groomed his face and took a little off the rest of him. He looks better....no more hair in his face. I can accomplish stuff and move forward without always having to be perfect.

onebyone, re: DH not being helpful in keeping spaces cleared off. Here, too! Years ago I had to accept that this was "my" process. He has never taken much ownership, even with cleaning. I used to fold all his clothes but after months it was never reciprocated. Now I fold mine and I pitch his onto his desk, out of my view. He can do whatever he wants. As to his leaving dishes and cups all over the house.....it's oh, well. I just pick up and deliver to the kitchen and think of it as spontaneous exercise. Anything else just leads to disagreement. This is my process and I own it as mine.

Thanks for this thread, onebyone. I hope to join you in the next one.

We've all done well, however much or little we've done. It all adds up. :grouphug:

Project for today was lightening my magazines in the magazine holder by my bed. I still had two in there that I'd taken after my Mom passed last summer - holding onto them, thinking it was a connection. No - they're just two old magazines. I took recipes out of one and they're gone. Others are cleared out as well, and stack is smaller and inviting.

I'm still enjoying my holiday decor up (stop laughing) ... and since DH is working nights and sleeping days this week, he won't mind it still up. I unabashedly said I want to enjoy it one more week and will remove it next weekend, most likely. I like that there is no feeling of "I should be..." with it. The twinkling white lights and greenery around are cozy and relaxing and invite the peaceful candlelight nights. The items that blared "Christmas" have been removed with the exception of a very large square vase that has my parents' glass ornaments from the 50s that I treasure. Their brilliance remains after more than half a century and moves up and down the East Coast and overseas and back. Thank goodness for safe packing :)

Have a great start to this next week!