November Clutter Control

[Nancy]

The only thing I kept for fall decor
was turkey platter
and I do not miss all that stuff!

Went through more holiday stuff last night
and had two colored plastic bins empty
went to the clear ones hubby is more than happy to
take them off my hands!

I got part of the donations loaded in the trunk.
The others will go next trip out.

[Sunny]

I have been working a little each day on paper clutter. The filing cabinet needed redone to eliminate some file folders, add some new folders and purge old receipts. There are a few boxes of old receipts that needed going through also. Little by little most of it is going away and making more empty spaces.

I have been getting empty boxes from the stores we shop in when they are stocking their shelves.

[Nancy]

Dropped off donations today at the YWCA and
gthe thrift shop. So Glad to get that
stuff out of the trunk! Yea!

[Harriet]

So nice to come here and learn that others are getting things done! Thanks for every report - you never know when it will inspire. Especially nice to hear about measurement of one kind or another - making change by so many inches or feet or pounds or boxes. NCShe has a boxes thread in the Cafe.

Sometimes I am overwhelmed at my parents' house. I move through a section and get some decisions made, then hit an area of "impossibles". Today a mouse helped me. She had done her work and abandoned it months or years ago - making fluff out of some textiles/ribbons and so making some decisions swift today. Thanks, mouse. I went along through old crayons/chalk/oil pastels that could go, boxes saved from kitchen utensils/gadgets that no longer exist - easily tossed. But then, out of the blue, wedding gifts of crystal glasses saved-for-good for 58 years. (ohhhh!) Receipts and records from the initial building/decorating of the house, 1958. (wow) And so, I turn and find another place to work to clear my head.

This is like an episode of one of the television programs we enjoy but in slow motion, with just one worker.

Today 2 tall-kitchen-garbage sized bags out of their house in time for weekly pickup - holiday greenery, old sheets. About one-half of one of that type bag for donation. Cramed into the bags like that, it makes about 8 square feet of stuff leaving. How come it doesn't look like 8 square feet of stuff left the room?

Btw, I have found that I like the "messiest home" episodes of Clean House and am less interested in the regular episodes. So many regular ones have to do with someone who just hasn't unpacked their moving boxes or otherwise has containers all around, or just needs decorating/furniture. Not the real problems of clutterey-clutter or unattended "wet" areas or "pet" areas within the house. I hear that the new season of "Hoarders" begins Nov 30 - have mixed feelings about it but an idea that I will be watching, just to see which way they go with it in the 2nd season.

[Harmony]

Still watching the Clean House shows also. We got a 2nd month of Style network free from Dish. Yesterday I watched the saddest one so far. 2 sisters, both with families, living together in deceased Mom's house, had trouble cleaning out DMom's old stuff. It was really heartfelt.

I think I have watched so many of those episodes I am looking at my own places in the same light. I really cannot stand to see stuff piled up, even if it is organized.

The cabinets DH brought home from jobsite didn't work like we thought they would. First set didn't fit anywhere. 2nd set didn't match and wouldn't look right. We're going to put some odd cabinets in the garage. My laundry room is all wire shelves and stuff is all visible. I'm going to work on getting look-alike bins to stack up, perhaps that will look better.

[Harriet]

Yes, I saw some of that one, Harmony - hard choices. (I seldom see all of a program. Sigh!) I felt silly yesterday when I saw just the first 15 mins of another one that was a house that was REALLY messy (the guy who had guitars). Felt silly because I had just typed here that most CH shows seemed to be lightweights as far as really having clean/dirty problems. I guess they are all different so I stand corrected. Wish I could have seen all of that one but maybe it will come on again.

HRH cannot understand how I can be so content watching the messiest/dirtiest housework while eating my lunch, but it's what I like to accompany lunch, really! The Iseman fellow comes up holding his breath because he was crawling around and came across cat poop - hey, I'm fascinated and just take another bite.

[Nancy]

The first couple of times I watched one or two of those hoarding shows on TLC
it bothered me b/c it does not seem they get help or any better. So I quit viewing them.
Later a follow up of a different one on the Oprah show a couple had gotten help
but were divorced how sat that they split up. I did not see the whole show so don't
know what the where split up about.

I delivered plastic bags yesterday;
I'm frustrated that we do not have recycling pick up here
and stuff just hangs around I may be rethinking this.

I have another bag of donations ready
to go to the thrift shop next time we are down town.

[Harmony]

I think there is a big difference between the Clean House shows and the Hoarder shows. Those hoarder shows seem to have much more mental issues going on, and these people have no positive vibes. The way they are left at the end (except for the one homeless guy I saw) is depressing to me. What's the use in cleaning everything up if everything is still old and spotted, walls written on, etc., that in itself is depressing to me.

I like seeing the new designs. I guess my motivation in being clutter free is in the visual aspect of it all. However, I often see them selling things only to go out and buy new just so everything matches or is the same style.

I understand those hoarder shows leave the people with 6 months of either professional organizational help or therupist help.

Harriet, I have no troubles watching those things either, except for the cat closet, I had to look away at that one.

[Harriet]

Things going well - now in my parents' large spare room closet. Have been able to spend more time than usual without having to turn away. Today a full lawn-leaf bag for the trash pickup. Several more things into the Give Away Box. Disappointed to have come across a 3'x3' box of rare antique magazines belonging to my ddad now though - this may be an immovable object.

I think the reason I miss the How Clean is Your House shows is that they were such a happy medium of households that really needed help and also people who were ready to accept help. You felt good/satisfied when they were over, with reason to believe something good would continue to come of the work, and they were only 1/2 hour. Also there were so many practical lessons in salvaging things just by cleaning.

Dd11 will watch Clean House with me. She is not fascinated and will usually be doing two things at once, but it does interest her.

[Nancy]

I talked to the neighbor yesterday over the fence and
their dog died last Sun. she said she was cleaning
her kitchen. I think it's great therapy for her.

Today I talked to the neighbor on the other side
and she was working on de-cluttering too
found some stuff that they had not seen in years.
We are going to have the cleanest block in the neighborhood.

Last weekend we worked on the storage room and
I got the holiday decoration bins moved and was able
to get to the floor and sweep!

Plus as a bonus I cleared off stuff and dusted
as I de-cluttered made room for things I needed
in handier shelves.
Some tool type stuff hubby took to his room.
This has freed up a lot of space in there now! Yippee!