Liberty in July

[lavenderbliss]

Thanks Harriet that's a great suggestion. I think I'll go try to see if I can find the old posts. The organizer took a before picture of dd's room and will take an after picture of it when we're through.....wish I had done that with my everything room.

On the subject of tv shows.....yes, love "How Clean is Your House", "Clean Sweep", and "Mission Organization". Some of the houses on "How Clean is Your House" are very scary.

Hi Liberty. I'm just catching up....been very busy around here lately. I've read Peter Walsh's book.....it's great. Found out about it from another message board and our local library actually had a copy of it.

Update on decluttering. We're still in dd's room..... I think it's going to take hopefully only 1 more time with the organizer.
This past week we got a huge amount of her room done. Got rid of a leaf size bag full of donate items and 1 1/2 leaf size bags full of trash. The organizer is really trying to get her to think about why she saves different things. Also, trying to get her to rethink collecting so many different kinds of collections. Now instead of just being able to open the door all the way and walk into the room.....there is now floor so we can walk all the way to the other side of her room. Dd is getting better about downsizing.....such as she had 3 planner books and 3 wallets.....got rid of 1 of each. Also, weeded down the backpacks and pocketbooks. We also found library books(definite no-no....we do have a library basket in the living room) that had been missing as well as some of her homeschool books. Has been nice to be able to walk into her room. She spent the night with a friend the other day and while I was catching up laundry, I could actually go in her room and put folded clothes into drawers. Normally I hand her her folded clothes, tell her to put them in the drawers, and she's been leaving them everywhere but the drawers.

[DustBunnie]

Hello everyone it's so nice to be here .

A major decluttering is underway here .
It started with the living room and dining room everything had to come out of the room so we could
rip up the old carpet.

First step was to get rid of the clutter. I find it hard to get rid of things so it was a challenge but I did it
We did it this way if we didn't use it in the past two years it was out of here.

Once the carpet was ripped up we painted the walls, put up crown molding around the ceiling.
Once the wood floors were installed, we bought area rugs and then put furniture back into the rooms.
I love that I have two clutter free rooms !

We are in the planning stages of redoing the kitchen so the next step is to clean out the kitchen cabinets.
We will also be replacing the entry hall flooring with the same flooring we will use int he kitchen . I cleaned out
the hall closet this weekend, it only had a little clutter so that was easy. Decided it was a good time to
get the winter coats and jackets to the cleaners.

That is where I am at this time.

[sherinjoy]

Hi Dust Bunnie - Glad you're joining us with your updates on decluttering. You sound much further along than I am in your house, but I've been working in the garage most of the summer.

My organizer friend is coming in about 10 minutes to work this morning for about 3 hours. That is the normal length of our sessions, and we get a lot accomplished.
I'll catch up with you later.

[Harriet]

DustBunnie, that was what happened to finally get my mom (90 at the time) to declutter a large part of their house. The carpet was so old and had a wool content or something - anyway, one or a number of things had happened and it was becoming threadbare at some spots. Also the plaster ceiling was in bad shape near the fireplace. So she finally had to admit the two things must be attended to. And you're right, decluttering has to happen first, especially when carpet is involved. We still have a problem with clutter in her dining room and in a spare bedroom. Hope you love your crown molding. I should add some, I know.

Thanks for all the good information here Hannibelle and sherinjoy. I have not heard of "Neat", Hannibelle. Is that also a televised program?

Well, before and after photographs may not be as big a help as I used to think, lavenderbliss. It's started to dawn on me that maybe I don't want THAT much of a record of how bad things were once! I would be a little scared that it would give subconscious "permission" to let it get worse as long as it wasn't as bad as the Kodak moment, you know? I need to keep the guideline high! LOL!

[sherinjoy]

Hi - I'll add my thoughts on before and after pictures. I love them and find them very motivating! Before we started in the garage, my organizer took several pictures of one particularly bad area - stacks and stacks of stuff. When we finished she took "after" pictures and put them into a presentation for her business, with my permission of course. I loved being the poster child for accomplishing the impossible, it gave me inspiration that I could do it elsewhere in my home.
Also, seeing the before pictures gave me a different perspective of the stuff - I saw it differently in a photo then just "not seeing" it because it had been there so long, kinda like "that's just the big old pile". I quickly could see the treasures in the trash in a photo. Reminded me of Pam and Peggy's suggestion to act like a Realator in your own home and go through each room with a outsider's eye.

I'm decluttering paper today at my desk and making dreaded phone calls. I'll check in later.

[sherinjoy]

Hi, It's been a busy, long day. But I need to keep my commitment to decluttering, so I went through two shelves of a bookcase and found 9 books to let go. I love books and have 14 full bookcases throughout my home. A few years ago I made a vow to release one book for each purchased - one in/one out rule. I have been pretty faithful to the rule, but I had so many books to begin with, that didn't change the overall number. I also started using the library a lot, and only buy a book after reading it from the library first and decide it's one I want. My DH, DS and I all love books so it is a family trait. So, if I just keep culling the shelves weekly and finding some to donate, the number will go down eventually.

Where's Hannibelle? Did you declutter today with your sister and Mom?

[lavenderbliss]

Another declutter update. My 14 yo dd and I worked with the organizer on her room again yesterday....not done(so atleast 1 more time needed), but got a huge amount accomplished. Dd got rid of lots of toys she says she doesn't play with anymore.
We ended up getting rid of about 2 1/2 leaf size bags full of mostly toys to donate and a good stack of atleast 20 or so children's books to donate. Ended up with about 1 1/2 leaf size bags full of trash(paper, empty boxes, broken toys or ones missing parts). Dd also asked to get rid of the play crib her great grandma gave her(it's out of her room, but I've got to figure out what to do with it...thinking of asking great grandma if she wants me to pass it on to another little girl) and we took out a little metal/glass vanity. The area of empty floor space in her room has greatly increased, which is so wonderful.....I was even able to vacuum. Dd has gotten much better at sorting....she'd go through a pile of little toys...decide what she wanted out of it and get rid of the rest. The organizer discussed with me and we agreed that 3 hrs. is probably too long for her....we all decided we'd just do an 1 1/2 hrs. if she'd really work at it and then she'll work with me during the other 1 1/2 hrs. on another project(I told her the desk would be great to work on).

Harriet lol on the Kodak moment. Yes, I don't want permission to get anything close to how the rooms were before we started. I honestly got to feeling like they were a lost cause. I don't think they'll get back that way because although I'm not obsessing(don't think I am anyway)....I just can't stand it if they start to get messy again and feel about panicky, so I'm trying to stay on top of things. My whole family has just got to get better at being very selective in the things we buy or get for free and then bring into the house.

[sherinjoy]

Hi Lavenderbliss, This afternoon my organizer is coming to work in the garage again. There is one wall/section of containers that I haven't looked in for about 10 years. I think it is old decor items that I kept for "someday", and childhood mementos, papers of my DS's. I'm sure we'll unearth some interesting stuff in those boxes, but most of it should probably be decided on and gone.
Cleaning out your daughter's room sounds as challenging as my DS's would be, if he would let me. He is 16 and doesn't want me to go through his stuff with him, and keeps saying he'll do it. But it's been all summer, and nothing has been touched. I think some tough love may need to be applied, so that I can walk through there without tripping on all the stuff on the floor. I haven't vaccumed in there in months! Big way-to-go to you and your daughter for cleaning and organizing her room. She may thank you later!

[Harriet]

Another tall kitchen garbage bag OUT for dd9 and me. This time out of the loft of the large storage barn. That give more space as all outdoor storage moves from smaller building to large one. We found a chicken feeder, so that saves money. I knew I used to have one, but wasn't sure it had survived.

Found elsewhere while decluttering - 3 nice small gift boxes still in their shrink wrap package; and the tiny book, "Flowers of the Holy Land" by Bertha Spafford Vester, a very inspirational account of a missionary that I'm glad I recovered.

[sherinjoy]

Hi, Another drop off day for donations - the library and Goodwill. I have only decluttered a little today after yesterday's big job, but it is the trend that counts and I have decluttered 25 days in a row now.
Harriet - Isn't it fun to find lost treasures while virtuously clearing out trash? I found a little ceramic bunny yesterday that I have thought about for years, buried in a box of stuff. Love that feeling.