January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Share your decluttering activities and ideas.
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Harriet
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January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Harriet » Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:10 pm

What organizer? The organizer who knows more about your household and what it needs than any other in the world. The one who doesn't have to spend any time learning about your hopes, or finding out which areas bug you most, because she already knows. YOU ! If you will keep appointments that are just the equivalent of 15 minutes a day, you will not only have hired the finest organizing help anywhere to be found, you'll have gotten her to provide 8 hours of free decluttering, streamlining and straightening for your home by the end of the month!

By the way, checking 4 different info sites, professional organizers charge upwards of $30 per hour (sometimes a lot upwards). That 15 minutes a day is worth at least $240 by month's end. :| This, we need. So start scheduling!

The Joy of a New Year is upon us, and our hopes are high! Clear surfaces, organized cubbies and lovely living spaces are available to us with just the commitment to manageable declutter appointments. Here in this monthly thread, we encourage each other to commit to 15 minutes of clutter control time per day, OR the equivalent on other schedules. We hope you'll join us

What successes do you have to report for 2012? They will inspire more than you think.

What goals will you set for 2013? Does anyone have a deadline they'd like to share here, or a plan/schedule toward a particular date? You will find encouragement and partners here.

Never feel you are alone if you have clutter struggles. We know where you are because we've been right there (and then have faltered after decluttering and ended up there again… … twice or three times :oops: ). We know the same prospect looms for our future if we don't stay vigilant! Clutter is picking a fight with ALL of us. We are with you.

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Harriet
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Harriet » Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:42 pm

Some of us are following the Focus cleaning schedule in the Organization and Simplification Tools forum, and it might be helpful to declutter those rooms one week ahead. Focus cleaning is adaptable, of course, so even those following it drift in and out of different rooms as needed.

Here's a reference if you hope to find some friends decluttering in the same room "with" you each week.

Week of.........you'll find some of us
12/31/2013 - Decluttering in bedrooms as we Focus Clean the porch/entry
1/07/2013 - Decluttering in bathrooms as we Focus Clean in bedrooms
1/14/2013 - Decluttering in office/other room as we Focus Clean in bathrooms
1/21/2013 - Decluttering in closets as we Focus Clean in office/other room
1/28/2013 - Decluttering in laundry as we Focus Clean in closets

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby blessedw2 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:47 am

Well written d Harriet!!! Can't wait to start dejunking!
it is always a joy to be here with you!

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Nancy
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Nancy » Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:28 pm

(_)P Harriet I'm sipping coffee and enjoying your posts! Thanks for sharing.

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Harriet
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Harriet » Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:48 am


You two have the best organizers EVER. Mine may not be up to their standards. She's a little ditsy. :lol:

(but I must admit I like "her", so keeping appts with her will be pleasant!)

She says I should concentrate this way for the first quarter of the year :

Our House

Week of... ... ... Declutter ... ... ... Focus Clean

December 31... ... Master Bedroom... ... Entry/Master Closet
January 7... ... ... Master Bath... ... ... Master Bedrm
January 14 ... ... Office... ... ..... .... .. Master Bath
January 21 ... ... Master Closet... ... .. Office
January 28 ... ... Upstairs ... ... ... ..... Master Closet
February 4 ... ... Other Closets ... ... Upstairs
February 11 ... ... Master Bedroom ... Other Closets
February 18 ... ... Kitchen... ... ..... ... Master Bedrm
February 25 ... ... Living Room ... ... ... Kitchen
March 4 ... ... ... Dining Room ... ... ... Living Room
March 11 ... ... ... Porch/Entry... ... .. Dining Room


(The other house needs a lot of help, but I must meet dstepsil for deep cleaning on her schedule, and just get to decluttering when I'm able.)

If it starts looking as if I'm ALWAYS sticking "Master Bedroom" in whenever I can through the year, there's a reason. It seems to catch all the overflow. I've mentioned before that the architecture of our addition made it necessary for the MB to be wide (width of the bedroom beside it, as well as the hall and staircase beside it, to fit the same trusses), so there is extra space. Without a garage and with limited attic, we tend to use it for storage and also multi-purpose, with extra upholstered chair and tv/DVD, my exercise videos. That is fine when the storage is neat and tidy, so I have to keep after it.

I think the end of December may be when it's at it's most cluttered, but thank goodness the put-away of holiday things gives a clear plan.

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Nancy
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Nancy » Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:15 pm

For me after getting up the 2013 calendars I get into putting away Christmas decor mode rounding up that to the storage zone.
Then it's on to spring planning [otherwise known as looking for info. on new chicken stock].

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby blessedw2 » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:44 pm

d harriet I love the "organizer lady"! I heard someone say that if you pretend long enough that you are organized or fit etc... you can become it... I have been trying for years :lol:

My house gets cluttered with the Christmas stuff too and where to put the stuff I removed from the areas to make room for the Christmas too! I like it getting back to normal (as normal as this house can get).

tossed a bag of garbage and stuff from house (always a good thing)
dd olders room is back to normal after Christmas as is dd younger (it's my gift to myself) giving myself the breathing room
resisting the idea I should keep all the boxes from Christmas - Letting go...
it is always a joy to be here with you!

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Harriet » Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:39 pm

lol, Nancy, "otherwise known as"

blessed, you had a post yesterday or day before about pretending to be organized I think. I'll have to go back and read. (Nancy also pretended to have compnay coming for New Year's) Thanks for bringing that up, though, because it got me to glance at my copy of "The Slob Sisters Organized from the Inside out". I thought there was a paragraph in there about pretending you are already the homemaker you intend to be, but instead I believe that's in one of the early books. In TSSOftIO, it does say (about routines) to consider yourself the star of a play who has to memorize the lines in order to effectively play the role.

Anyway, I'm glad to look back at that because there is so much good advice. I realize I am already making a mistake by the time I get to number 1 of the weekly plan explanation :roll: because I have no play day ("Set aside one day every week for pursuing your interests.") Well, maybe I can get to a better place with my Focus and declutter and incorporate that soon.

Here are tadas I posted in PWYC today

Continuing with declutter/organizing
Christmas wrappings stored
Gift wraps/bows reorganized, adding a new box to hold tags and their makings
Gift boxes reorganized
"Gift Closet" box reorganized, contents card made, previous card tossed

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Nancy
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Nancy » Thu Jan 03, 2013 1:19 am

Harriet what is TSSOft10?
I have a list of weekly chores in the back of my journal that I use.

What I like to do is remember the N. S. E. West focus in one room a month and do one wall a week like West for a week and then work clock wise around the room.

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby ellyphant » Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:27 pm

Recycled a stack of a dozen or so magazines today. Hope this is the right place to report that! Will be following everyone's efforts here. Happy decluttering to all!
How you do your work is a portrait of yourself.


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