Accessible August

[Harriet]

Accessibility is a great reward for the declutterer. Spending time creating clearer, more organized space means that the things you'll be needing next won't be either 1) a mystery to find or 2) a puzzle to reach!

What items or areas in your home have become easily accessible with your efforts? And how has that helped the house run smoothly? Can your family members find what they need without rummaging or calling for help?

What area in your home is most in need of accessibility right now? Are there piles blocking access to drawers, closet clutter that leaves you wondering what's in the rear, overstuffed cabinets that have you buying items because you didn't know you already had enough stored? Do you have a ~~~ Mystery Area ~~~? How can you give these spaces some aid and comfort to bring them back into reach?

August is a perfect time for the indoor activity of decluttering, so we can stay cool by staying inside! Why not give it a little extra time this month to get ahead.

[sherinjoy]

Hi all, I'll be the first to post for August. I completed a very successful July with decluttering something every day - 31 days straight! I now start my second month towards my goal of 183 days of decluttering, which is the end of the year. I decluttered several hot-spots around the house today, and trashed or recycled a couple bags of stuff, and returned items to their storage spots. I'm not sure how I am going to declutter on vacation starting Sunday for a week, but I may take a small project with me that I could putter with each day. We will be in the same location/room for the week, so I wouldn't have to pack/repack it for the week. Thinking cap on now.

Hope Lavenderbliss and Hannibelle are still seeing success with their projects too!

[DeeClutter]

Very good, Sherinjoy! I am going to have to do a marathon of decluttering next WEEK! DS's SD2b will be staying in our house while she goes to college. Will be talking with her this weekend to see about keeping part of the house so I can continue to declutter, pack, store, give away, etc, etc, etc.

[Harriet]

That's a great record, sherinjoy. Did you think of any way to add in mini-decluttering on vacation or did you decided to wait?

Hope your marathoning is successful, Dee.

We've done some general declutter in really varied areas here lately. Dd9 has sent a tall bag of toys to donation-collection in car trunk. I've gathered more donation clothes. Desk declutter physically and Desk Day declutter of paperwork/chores. Cleaned out cars.

I continue to be frustrated with my bedroom, last resort of all things. When I typed that phrase, "piles blocking access to drawers" at first of month here, I was actually describing my own problem in our bedroom, where an inefficient chest that has drawers within an inch of floor is blocked by bags of stuff. The bags are sorted but still messy looking and awkward. These are clothing-type items inherited from dear aunt, luggage-type items, overflow from the gift-closet - items without clear storage destinations.

I am torn between believing that I'm just not ruthless enough yet with decluttering or the possibility that I don't have proper storage, which might mean that this is a problem anyone would have trouble with.

[Hannibelle]

Hi Sherinjoy!!

I actually have been AWOL/MIA while having been embarked on not one but TWO de-cluttering adventures these past couple of weeks!

My most dear sis and mom came up for a visit the day after my birthday. My sister teaches school and this is the first summer she has not taught summer school thus giving her time to actually achieve a long-awaited dream of helping me jump-start a serious de-cluttering project in my home. We attacked dear Little Man's room which was a sad conglomeration that ranged from nursery days to his current adolescent status.

At the end of the two and a half days, we had basically gutted the entire room with the exception of a couple of small drawers in the bunk bed unit and the hanging clothes in the closet. I ended up taking an entire van load of donations to Goodwill...something I had never done before - much to dear sister's shock! She documented the occasion with pictures even!

Dear son and I even took his shredded box springs to my very dear (massively BO) best friend's home who was utilizing a dumpster for a re-roofing project! I have some things left to take to a consignment shop and a few things I am going to try my hand at selling on eBay. This, though, sort of 'showed me how it was doable and possible' and how fabulously rewarding it is! Dear little man is thrilled and anxious to be able to finally have friends over.

The de-cluttering adventure then carried on the next week when I went to my Mom's to honor a coupon for a Girls Only Weekend from her birthday in February It was to be her choice of what we did but this whole de-cluttering project at my house sort of got the ball rolling in that direction...as most SHE's come by such traits honestly, let us say!

She elected to work at her house and we just got TONS and TONS done! It was literally like conducting one of the famous shows we all watch and love on t.v. ala Clean Sweep, Neat, Clean House, etc.!! She was very defensive and resistant on Day One...and then somehow some magical transformation occurred by Day 2 and we just ROOOOOOLLLED! We ended up taking numerous bags to be donated, made arrangements for furniture to be picked up for charity and took over a dozen big black trashbags full along with other un-bagable items to my mom's dumpster at her office! I brought home two biiiiig Schwans bags packed of paper to be taken to our recycling bins full of oooooooold magazines, catalogs, junk mail, old mail, etc. etc.!
*\o/* It was quite an educational experience all the way 'round and I do believe I am now equipped with all the tools, mental and otherwise, that I'm going to need to really take this de-cluttering project within my home to the next level!

[DeeClutter]

DGD2B and I did do a marathon of cleaning/clearing out of our master bath and master bedroom. DH built this bathroom a few years ago and put plenty of shelves, drawers and a 3-bay medicine cabinet in. There were 3 dressers in our room, plus lots of boxes that I'd placed there after FL. DGD put some things in my van, some to the back for recycling, we had 3 trash bags full, another trash-bag size of things for Goodwill and other boxes she put in the family room.

We did manage to completely clean out those two rooms. There was also a dry sink in there and other shelf units, bookcase etc. Cleaned it all away. BUT I was extremely beat afterwards. To the point that even today I did nothing.

Hoping to go back tomorrow and get at the family room. Going to see about using one room upstairs as storage. Hoping she won't need it. Of course that means I'll have to come there now and then. We'll see how this all shakes down.

[sherinjoy]

Hi Hannibelle and Dee - Amazing clearing by both of you! I'm just getting back into my decluttering after vacation. Just wanted to say BWTG for both of you.

[sherinjoy]

Hi - Checking back in. I've been putting everything away from vacation and cleaning out cupboards as I do it. I'm getting much better at noticing something old in a cupboard or counter and tossing it immediately - don't overthink it. The more I declutter, the quicker I can make decisions about keeping or tossing. Momentum is a great thing to keep me moving forward.

Hannibelle, Didn't know if you noticed on PWYC, but I'm going to an all-day Oprah event in San Francisco in October, and Peter Walsh will be giving a seminar. I signed up for his first thing in the morning - if all I do is see him and get to meet him, my day will be golden!

Dee, Congratulations on pushing forward with emptying your house, sorry your health is slowing you while doing it.

Oh, Lavenderbliss, where are you? I love hearing of your progress with the organizer. I had to slow down with my DS's room - he was getting too resistant to my tossing. He wants to move at a much slower pace - like never!

[sherinjoy]

Hi - Just checking in with more decluttering done. I took a bag of stuff from garage to Goodwill donation drop-off today. I'm getting much better at spotting something around here that can go. I think the more I have decluttered, the more discerning I have become on what should stay in my life and what can go. Keeping the mantra of "current reality" going every time I spot something that is for "someday". Remember the phrase - "Someday is not a day of the week"? Which means, it will never come if it is not part of my current reality or a specific date for use.

Hope your decluttering projects are moving along.

[sherinjoy]

Hi - Am I alone here? LOL I know you're all so busy decluttering you haven't had time to post!

Dee - Good job on selling and moving furniture. Getting the big stuff out will give you more room to work sorting and tossing.

I read a blog yesterday titled "The Someday Syndrome" by a professional organizer. The articles were about what I had just posted - Someday is not a day of the week, and it will never come! It emphasized, through peoples comments, that dreams deferred will stay that way until you're willing to take action and make them happen. Definitely true for me, as I unopen boxes 15 years old of projects I started and left incomplete. So, I'm making decisions as I find these old things - fish or cut bait! Toss or keep, but with a specific timeline for completion.

This is Day 50 of Decluttering - probably the longest continuous commitment I've made to decluttering. It feels good, and many items have left. Just 133 days to go!