August's Dynamic Declutter

[Harriet]

Welcome and we hope you'll join us! Here in this thread we encourage each other to give 15 minutes a day (or the equivalent on other schedules) to the wholesome art of decluttering!

For those of us who experience a hot August climate, decluttering can get a real boost this month. Too hot to head outdoors? Stay indoors and clear a cool, inviting space!

For a little lite but inspirational reading "here's your slide"!
Note that in Indiana's Today's Organizing Tip thread in the Organization and Simplification Forum, she has recently included "Clear Your Clutter" tips from life-coach Cheryl Richardson.

So happy to have Sunflower join us in July and also to have blessedw2 back with us more regularly!


Here's one plan that might be a helpful one to remember. Indiana will be leading the very cool Focus Cleaners to these areas beginning these dates for August:

kitchen 8/2/2010
living room 8/9/2010
dining room 8/16/2010

(start of Round 4 already - can you believe it?)
porch/entry 8/23/2010
bedrooms 8/30/2010

Decluttering there ahead of those times would mean clear surfaces to clean for those following her lead!

[Harriet]

Sigh. Frustrated that for 2 straight weeks I've missed the garbage truck (with trash day's bags - I did have everything else there and ready). This new service must come at 6:00 a.m.! Also the recycling using the large (same as garbage) size containers is just not working. Oh well.

I've finished the decluttering of my bureau drawers and am ready to start on tall kitchen cabinet to catch up with pre-focus decluttering. (I'm behind)

Continuing daily with dd in her room. It is just a wellspring of clutter.

[blessedw2]

6 am is pretty early. I know the animals will get our garbage even if closed if we put it out the night before.
\great job dharriet on the drawers

[Harriet]

Decluttered the tall kitchen cabinet! Much better. Didn't give me as much extra space as I'd hoped but at least I honestly know what's in there and I can SEE it.

[blessedw2]

yeah to harriet for decluttering a kitchen cabinet and yeah to nancy for getting the trash out

I had gotten some school books & dvd's in... so I pulled books and videos out of the house and donating them something in then something out

[blessedw2]

I found an area that is a difficult to get rid of area... lots of looking at and thinking... all paperwork. It is much more then a struggle then I thought. Its a hard area for me: art books to organize as they are not mine so I can't get rid of them but I need to make it functional. I still have too much stuff. I need to let go. push me to dejunk... please!

[Harriet]

blessed, we all just WISH we could say to each other "get rid of it" but then also realize there is value sometimes and we don't want to be rash. I will tell you that I am finding if I just come BACK to the area/stack/box or whatever another day and TRY AGAIN sometimes additional sensible decisions will come. Often a whole string of decisions are needed.

Deciding to discard ds25's old toddler chair, in disrepair, not classic in any way, and never really loved by HIM but by the one who gave the gift. Well, that is truly not enough reason to keep. 1 square foot of space, redeemed.

[blessedw2]

thank you... very good advice! I think when there is so much to deal with it overwhelms me. thank you for clarity

Great work on your own decision making!

[Lynlee]

I`cleared`lotsa`papers`off`the`table/inferno`into`the`basket...Lots`there`to`sort/file/toss.
Going`by`Dee's`one`at`a`time`policy.
Need`to`work`out`a`filing`"system"
Have`a`-z`file`for`each`year...
Just`need`to`use`them.
Lots`of`back`filing`needed.

[blessedw2]

how do you help a teen who won't let go? she has kept everything since she was little unless something physically happened to it.

any ideas.