Rake a Wide Path November, 2011

[Harriet]

Maybe we don't actually need anyone to hand us a rake when we declutter, like organizer Matt Paxton carries with him on Hoarders. (notice I said “maybe”, lol.) But, let's be honest, there are times when the job is big, and we don't have a big chunk of time.

When we have autumn leaves/twigs to deal with, we look for the widest rake to pull everything into neat piles fast, right? Well, thinking BIG like that indoors can be the answer when we want to clear a wide declutter swath quick.

What are your favorite tips for when the biggest, fastest results are needed from declutter appointments? November may be the most important month for us all to consider this, since holidays are around the corner and we're gonna need our clear spaces back! Focus cleaners are getting ready to start into year's-end preparations - everyone is playing catch-up right now, just in different spots. Where will you make your BIG difference?

[Harriet]

Handy-Dandy Reference for decluttering AHEAD of Focus Cleaning

Declutter with an eye to these year-end concepts to be ready for a finish of cleaning! Everyone's home will have different needs and gaps as we approach year's end with 2 weeks of maintenance and then specific holiday organization! Have fun - we're in this together!

this week maintenance
11/7/2011 maintenance
11/14/2011 Thanksgiving
11/21/2011 holiday décor
11/28/2011 finish-up week

Tweak as desired to fit your lovely home!

Looking for Indiana's Focus Cleaning threads instead? HERE'S YOUR SLIDE! (calendar is at top of forum)

[Harriet]

My best tip for fast results on a big job is probably making sure my SORTING SURFACE is the biggest I can find, and using it for a quick sort of everything from my target area, all at once. My favorite is the surface of a made bed (old-sheet protected if need be) and my second favorite is the dining table.

I like to take everything from the target declutter area and put it on the sorting surface, clean the area while it's bare, then audition things that may get to go back while dusting them. Btw, I never sort on the floor, because it takes more effort – I do want wide space, but I need things at a convenient height to use my energy wisely.

[bittersweet]

I think having a decent sorting surface is one of the most important things for me, too, Harriet. Upstairs, I tend to use our bed (usually when DH is NOT sleeping in it!), the main floor is the dining room table (usually needing cleaning itself before I can use it ), and there's a good sized table in the basement, too. Theoretically, that table is intended to be used for puzzles or crafts, but at the moment, there's a bunch of stuff on it! I like to do a rough sort of things into categories as it's put onto the sorting surface, and toss out obvious trash during this stage.

Sometimes, though...I'd really like to have the services of Matt Paxton and his crew!

[Harriet]

Today's Bingo allowed me the structure to declutter a kitchen cabinet surface and spend 45 minutes in my bedroom decluttering. I also helped dd13 some, and helped her see that a lot of the things cluttering our hearth were her school papers. (and we used the dining table for sorting, bittersweet!)

That would be another TIP for fast results from me - accountability. Enlist someone else, like friends on this board, and tell them your plan to declutter, then report on how you are doing. I guess this is a variation of the concept of having company over, but not as frantic!!! I got at least one full hour of decluttering in today, 4 times what I would usually spend.

Does everyone know who we are talking about when we say Matt Paxton? Here is my favorite clip of him, very fast. It's just about 5 seconds, beginning at minute 1:50 of this ABC story.

[Dove]

I love having a large surface to sort on like a bed or table, too. I would add that boxes have been a big help to me. I use Pam & Peggy's 4 box method & add a box with dh name, for when I come across things of his that I would like to toss or donate. Often he will take just a few seconds to root through the stuff in his box, then say, "It can ALL go" which makes my face look like this: .

I write the category of each box on a piece of paper & tape it to the box so I don't have to remember which one is put away/sell/donate. This has come in handy when I start a declutter session & come back to it days later. I used to mix up the categories before I did this. Dh & I have collected dozens of bookstore boxes that I keep stored flat in the basement. They take up very little space & have come in very handy over the years.

(Harriet, I tried the Paxton link but my screen blinked & shimmied & brought me right back here.)

[Harriet]

Oh, I've definitely mixed up boxes before, too, Dove. It's bound to happen when more than one person is working. Yes, smart to make sure they are labeled.

Work on our bedroom continues, but since the poor place has to be a staging area for the rest of the house's changes, it does seem to be an ongoing project. Tall kitchen garbage bag ready for donation.

I'm beginning to see that, the way things are now, the other side of our upstairs (as opposed to HRH's desk and man cave) is probably destined to be storage. I hate it, because it has the best view in the house, but there seems no other choice. HRH and I really need our bedroom to be a haven right now - we can't ask for storage from the bedroom, too. We may need the upholstered chair from that upstairs area, which matches the one we put in ddad's room, to come downstairs and fit in for extra seating somehow because my ddad is forever choosing to sleep on the LR couch. And then the semblance of a seating area will pretty much be gone anyway.

[Nancy]

Milk jugs, coffee creamer containers, a Halloween happy meal bucket were among the things I de-cluttered on this trash day yea for progress!

[BookSaver]

Last week I finished clearing out 3 huge bins of paper. All 3 had been stuffed full and stuck in storage. With a quick sort done in bits & pieces over several days, I was able to reduce the 3 full bins down to less than half of 1 bin of things that need a 2nd look. Once I get through those, I think the ultimate keep pile will be maybe 15 pieces of paper.

(How did we get 3 huge bins of paper in storage? Looking at the dates on the papers, I see it was during a time when I was working out of the house 16 hours a day 7 days a week. All I had time for were the 3 Ds, paying bills, and a little bit of sleep.)

Since we are only allowed to put out 1 recycle bin at a time, I have to dispose of them in sections. Last night was the 2nd batch. Sometime today I'll get the recycle bin off the curb, immediately stuff it full again, and put the remainder in a box out in the garage, just to get it out of the house.

Then I can use the 3 big plastic bins to sort & declutter somewhere else.

I keep trying to set up a staging area in the garage for things that are waiting for trash day, but I need DH's help to move some big stuff and he hasn't had time. It might finally happen this long weekend, if the weather holds ok.

Still working on clearing the dining room in time to decorate for Christmas. I can see progress and empty spaces here and there, but as always the "but first"s take time.

[Nancy]

Bag up leaves to de-clutter for next week this week the trash is full of turkey day stuff we tossed and de-cluttered from under the sink!