January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Share your decluttering activities and ideas.
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OKay
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby OKay » Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:55 pm

Harriet - this thread is wonderful!

I followed Indiana's focus schedule the first year while I was learning. Then the next year (with a little confidence from past success) I modified the weekly focus schedule to fit my home. I chose 13 focus areas and rotate through them 4 times yearly (13 x 5 = 52 weeks)

I keep a running journal page for each focus area. I jot down what I did and improvements made. I enjoy looking back and reviewing the progress made. It inspires me to keep improving.

My 13 focus areas are -
Porches/entry
Dining room
Kitchen
Gardens
Laundry Rm
Living Rm
Bathrooms
Bedroom (ours)
Closets (awesome & others)
Boys bedroom
Office/desk
Inventory/storage
Outdoors (cellar/out buildings)

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby blessedw2 » Sat Jan 05, 2013 1:34 pm

great job d ok!

I dejunk while I clean

today went to donation place and got rid of a bag and a very pretty picture (as the gentleman at the center proclaimed) yeah I donated it because I didn't have a place for it and now someone else will be blessed.
it is always a joy to be here with you!

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Harriet
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Harriet » Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:11 pm

My organizer was quite pleased with my progress today. ;) I took a tape-measure and measured the newly freed-up space in the master closet and it is 9 square feet, almost exactly. For donation, not quite 1 tall kitchen garbage bag's worth came out of the closet, and they are nice things, just not right for our lives any more.

I also resisted the temptation to sidetrack today. I felt good about decluttering and because today's weekly was Desk Day, I almost sidetracked into office week declutter too early. But I want to stay right on my schedule and spend time where I planned.

Nancy, I was using those letters so I wouldn't have to type again the name of the book I mentioned above that. That's a good idea for weeklies around a room. I was just thinking about how my master bedroom needs a good weekly plan.

Yes, ellyphant, many magazines travel through this thread! :lol: (I have way too many, still.) I meant to report in December that I got rid of a bunch to declutter an end table and both dd and HRH complimented it.

OKay, it took me a minute to look back and forth between Indiana's Focus calendar and yours, but I see what you've done. You're giving your home an extra week for bedrooms (don't I know that would help) and an extra week outside, too, for gardens. Great that you've found something that works for you. I usually exchange "laundry" for our upstairs since our laundry area is tiny and can really be considered part of the kitchen (our upstairs is two rooms but I count on HRH to keep up with his office area). Also I exchange wintertime "outdoors" for my Master Bedroom, which always needs any extra time. I keep the number of weeks at 11 because those "maintenance" weeks at the end of the year come when everything else is so time-consuming.

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Lilac » Wed Jan 09, 2013 12:51 pm

I have decided instead of automatically renewing magazine subscriptions to let them run out by only renewing the ones that I really take the time to read. Last winter I started getting snarky sounding requests to pay for my C ountry L iving magazine. They claimed that I had signed up for automatic renewal and they wanted their money, now. It really offended me but I paid it, but told myself that I would not let them railroad me again. So far I have replied to 3 emails and 2 mailings that I did not sign up for life and they were to consider this my written cancellation after my current subscription ends. I have dug my feet in and I will not give into them this time. I realize that magazines are having a hard time but I will not be forced to subcribe by these tactics. I have subscribed to W oman's Day for 30+ years but I have realized that I don't read much in them and they are a waste of money to me. So Saturday I received an email thanking me for my new subscription and I could pay it online. The same day in the mail I received one thanking me for renewing. Well to that one I replied that I had not renewed and had tore up every renewal that I had received in the mail because I had no intentions of renewing, etc...... I also replied to the email that I had not become a "new" subscriber, I already have a subscription and that once it runs out, I will not be renewing. I received an email telling me they would be sending it to customer service and they would only get in touch with me if there is a problem. I had already let my C apper's W eekly that really was monthly run out. I have had no problems with them.

Just had to vent about this. By cancelling magazines that I no longer enjoy, I am keeping those mags from becoming clutter.

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Harriet
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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Harriet » Wed Jan 09, 2013 1:21 pm

Good job on magazine decisions. I may have posted here, Lilac, that I got an offer in the mail to subscribe to two nice women's magazines for a tiny price. These would be the ones I'd be grateful to find for myself or dd14 if we wanted to read at the doctor's office - that's how well-known and decent they are, and usually interesting. But I could not, in good conscience, look at my LR end table and actually agree to add to the magazines! And I only have one subscription - the rest come unbidden, from electric coop, farm bureau, half-catalog/half-magazine beauties. I have had to let go down to this level, not because I don't like magazines, but because I love them. They are just full of good information - to the point I can never let them go! And it's inherited - I have a 3-foot by 3-foot box of them at my parents' house from the 1960s or so that my mother collected :roll: and now I've been told they are valuable and could be sold for a tidy amount!!!! What a burden! LOL

I was surprised how much the stressful day I experienced yesterday affected my desire to keep up with organization and my weekly plan. I had been going strong since the new year, and it was like the wind in my sails went to nothing. Anyway, fighting back from that. As Cowinkie says about healthy eating, if I have to go "minute to minute" I'll do it, to keep my focus on my plan.

It's the week for me to be decluttering in the bathrooms. A lot of work to be done!
If you don't believe in miracles, you're not being realistic.

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby BookSaver » Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:13 pm

3 pairs of my shoes going out with the trash tonight. They're just too worn out and not worth repairing.

I have not decluttered any magazines from the house recently ... but for several weeks I have resisted bringing any more home from the library sale shelf, does that count? :) The library only charges 10 cents apiece so they are very tempting. So far I've been able to satisfy glossy page craving with magazines that can be checked out and are due back in 1 week, thus having a quick firm deadline.

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Nancy » Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:53 pm

Harriet got it thanks!

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Harmony » Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:28 pm

My gripe about magazines are the ones that allow you to put another name on and give that person a gift subscription free for 6 months. Forever more that person will receive the other name on her yearly subscription. I did that with DD. For a few years I paid both our subscriptions. Then I told my DD I no longer wanted to receive it, and I put that information on the card and sent to them.

This year I got a notice that DD paid my subscription, I think for the 2nd year since I tried to get us separated and me cancelled. I am not happy. I had decided to drop this magazine. sigh....I get a stack of trade magazines I leaf through and I get ones that have nothing to do with us. Those go right in the recycle.

I have no idea how to get some of this stopped!

Stay Strong Lilac!

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Nancy » Thu Jan 10, 2013 11:25 am

Re: Mags. I get them at the library used free or the one on Chickens does not do subs. So we have cut back on them a lot got a thing trying to renew us yesterday for a hobby I no longer actively pursue that one went in to the trash.

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Re: January Appointments with Our Organizers, 2013

Postby Ivy » Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:48 am

Hello! I don't know if this is where I post this, but my b-day's the 15th and so many people have sent me cards (13 so far) and I've stood them up all along the eating bar! It looked so cluttered and terrible, even though they're pretty cards! We get paper napkins in pretty decorative boxes, so I had an empty one, I stood up all my b-day cards inside it and it's at my "launching pad" where I keep my to do list, home journal, etc.... I'm glad I solved a problem with a pretty organizing solution! :D

My focus this year is:
- To crochet up my yarn stash, as best that I can.
- To get paper clutter under control.
- To keep both offices better organized and clean.
- To declutter.
- To donate to ARC every time they phone, about once every 6 - 8 weeks.
- To get the magazines read and under control and GONE! :!:
- To continue to use my day runner.
- To continue to use my home journal.
- I found a larger office and home journal in a binder with 8.5 x 11" paper, which lists my zones and the detailed cleaning of our home, so my goal is to start doing my zones and detailed cleaning listed in that binder. I don't like the larger binder on my eating bar, so use a 4 x 6" index card home folder for my daily routines, inspiration pieces, and pamper ideas, etc... on my eating bar. I'll refer to the zones and detailed cleaning in the binder.
Touch the earth, love the earth, her plains, her valleys, her seas. Rest your soul in her solitary places. ~Henry Beston


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