May Appointments for Declutter and Organization, 2013

[Harriet]

Once upon a time we had a "Great Box Countdown" on a previous sidetracked homemakers board, and what DeeClutter is doing these days inspired me to mention it again. Dee is going down a checklist she's made of every space she needs to organize and deal with before she travels in a few weeks.

In the Countdown, we made a card that named the boxes or other spaces that needed to be decluttered in our homes. We called them things like "stack beside the couch" or "under the bedside table", or "the stash-and-dash box I shoved under the bed ". Actually writing them on the cards got us to address how many there really were (I filled up the whole front of a 3x5 with small writing, and most of us had more than me!). We saw progress by putting tiny stickers or just checkmarks on the card, until we counted them down.

Do you need to go around your home and name some spaces you need to address? Which spaces of clutter are you overlooking because you've become so used to it? Consider naming it and claiming it, writing it down and actually GETTING TO IT.

[Harriet]

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

4/29/2013 - Decluttering outdoors as we Focus Clean storage
5/06/2013 - Decluttering kitchen as we Focus Clean outdoors
5/13/2013 - Decluttering living room as we Focus Clean kitchen
5/20/2013 - Decluttering dining room as we Focus Clean living room
5/27/2013 - Decluttering porch entry as we Focus Clean dining room

(6/3/2013 will begin Round Three of the Focus Cleaning 2013 schedule.)

[Nancy]

Mine is Yard Sale Card, even if you are not going to have a yard sale maybe a group friend or other party will take donations off your hands. This morning I've gotten a bag ready for that.

[Ivy]

I decluttered the master bedroom, by hanging clothes on my chair and hope chest. I decluttered the great room sofa, where I'd laid dry laundry flat to fold and put away. I decluttered the dining room table and the eating bar. I'll do more tomorrow when I'm feeling better.

[Ivy]

I decluttered the master bedroom again, hung up clothes on my chair, AGAIN, and folded and put away socks, I had laying out to finish air drying since they hadn't dried all the way in the dryer.

[Nancy]

I put the yd. sale stuff in the camper so I did not have to move it up out of the basement again.

[Ivy]

I printed up 2 S.H.E.'S Organized Clearing Worksheets from http://shesorganized.com

I've been working on page 1 in pencil, am 3/4 down the page, then took a break and decluttered and dusted, rearranged items in my small office. It looks better, but it needs more work.

Dsis will be coming the weekend of the 17th or 18th. She used to have her own home-cleaning business and now cleans on a cleaning crew for a courthouse. I'm a bit .... well.... you know? Stressed about her coming. I asked DH is we can get our badly needed windows professionally cleaned, which is $110 + we give a $10 tip. He said it depends upon my paycheck, once he sees mine deposited into our bank account. I told him the amount and it could cover TWO professional window washer sessions! But no! He needs it in writing bank to bank.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get the windows cleaned before she comes, and have the house decluttered, too.

[Ivy]

DH said the window washers charge $130 now, we ARE/CAN will get our windows washed within the next 2 weeks! Our windows are higher up, because they built our foundation higher up and we have 1 transom window, too. I don't want DH at 71 1/2 way up high on ladders cleaning windows, when the washers are skinny young flexible strong athletic men.

I feel very good about the tidying, rearranging, and redecorating I did in my small office. It makes coming in here to work, etc... a more welcome feeling.

I'll slowly work on my "On My Mind" list and my "Clearing Worksheet" list. I feel with the preparations of these lists, half the battle's over.

[Harriet]

Those are good methods for " ... naming it and claiming it, writing it down and actually GETTING TO IT... " Nancy and Ivy. Yard Sale card would work well, also the Clearing worksheet has a space for what action.

My donation bag is filling. Mostly clothes lately. Not far from being full enough to go to the car trunk.

[Ivy]

Have been finding homes for things, which don't belong where they've been put. The office desk and office look nicer, too. Will continue to work on the ARC donation. I fixed weekly meds, finished reading an E-Book, called "Less Mess, More Time," by Faith James.

Tomorrow's plans are to strip the dining room tablecloth off, clean the wood, put on a centerpiece and new place mats, without the tablecloth, to show off the pretty wood design on it.

Tonight, I'm decluttering the utility room by doing a laundry catch-up.