November's Dynamic Declutter, 2014

[BookSaver]

Thank you, Blessedw2. You've done a great job, too, getting holiday decorations ready this early in the month.

FelineFriend, that's a very interesting tip about the "clutter vs. collection" displays.

This morning I worked in the kitchen to make room in the cupboards. I put 5 bulky things in the donation box for Goodwill:

* 3 coffee mugs to make room for the 2 pretty ones I chose from DMIL's kitchen

* Popcorn air popper received as a wedding gift 35 years ago. It still works well, but I prefer to make popcorn in the WhirlyPop on the stove.

* Waffle maker also received as a wedding gift. I used it when we were first married, but have only had it out of the cupboard maybe once a year since we moved to this house in '93. It takes up too much room on the counter to have it out all the time. I recently used it to see if it still works, and it does -- but I think it's too much work to disassemble and clean it. That's why it was stuck in the cupboard for so long. Too much trouble, out it goes!

[Harriet]

Awww, ya'll say such nice things.

Dd16 sent a tall-kitchen-bag of donations out of her room. (She needs to do that much again!)

[blessedw2]

awesome dharriets dd whom i can't believe is already 16

[blessedw2]

rid myself of a working fan that was huge. no one wanted it and I am okay letting it go to the trash... I have to STOP the thought of "IT'S STILL WORKS, IT'S GOOD AND I'LL KEEP IT UNTIL SOMEONE CAN USE IT". I have had a lot of I will keep it until someone could use it clutter; but, I am getting much better of letting it go - even to the garbage.

My crafts are down to 1 clear plastic container - reasonable and doable.
dd art supplies and books are also down to one container.
dh let go of a betamax that still works but has trouble with a belt a bit... he and I laughed of why he kept it so long - he also has the same thing about someone else being able to use it one day.
Let go of 1 - 45 gal black bag of clutter and stuff - 3 season room is officially decluttered without carrying the things to different areas of the house. - I have 1 laundry basket of put aways and thats it.

[Nancy]

I have gotten compliments on the house so the decluttering efforts are paying off!

[blessedw2]

oh my gosh d nancy I am so so happy for you... Great work!!!

[FelineFriend]

Everyone's doing so well! WTG, all of you!

We decluttered the eating bar, from 2 stores' trips today, I did the mail/purged junk, it was ALL junk, and hung up/p/a clothes.

[blessedw2]

Yay d friend!!!

[FelineFriend]

This is what I did yesterday, which was NOT a whole lot, because I spent 6 HOURS hand-writing a super long story, which took 16-pages to hand write out! WOW! Time-consuming:

1- I took everything off the dining room table.
2- I washed the table off, dried it, too.
3- I washed the tablecloth.
4- I put away sunflower vinyl place mats.
5- I got out dark green place mats.
6- I noticed how the green place mats were not 100% clean!
7- I washed all the place mats off.
8- After the tablecloth dried, I put it onto my dining room table.
9- I put the green place mats around.
10- I put an oval reed place mat diagonal on one corner of the table, where nobody will be sitting.
11- I put my Thanksgiving angel on the place mat, with napkin holder, and salt and pepper shakers.

It was nice to get it done.

[FelineFriend]

I put dirty LOL into the utility room LOL basket.

In the GR8 room, on the sectional sofa-recliner area, where I sit and clutter up things, I put the blanket and horseshoe neck rest pillow on my bedroom hope chest at the foot of our bed. I thought, "IF Dneighbor walked in here today- WHAT would I want tidied up, so I wouldn't be embarrassed?" So, I put a storage clip-board with a short story 2 outline cards and paper on it, on the floor, at my other great room chair, with a book, pen, and now the sofa-recliner area is 'company ready' for anybody in the world, to come in, make themselves at home, and have a comfy place to sit down.

As I work, read, do snail mail, etc... this weekend, I'll slowly work on tidying up my other end table/chair area, where I sit. I need to be on top of myself (Like I'm a toddler!) ALL the time, because I make little "messes" everywhere! I'm terrible! In the New Year, I want to focus on:
1- Take it out, put it away,
2- Before I leave the room, survey it with my eyes, see anything to put away, and DO put it away,
3- Don't get out anything I cannot put away in a few minutes, if company comes,
4- Baby-Proofing better,
5- Better time-management skills and better organizing.
It's a lot to work on, but by making it a daily habit, day in and day out, morning-noon-and-night, I will prevail! I CAN DO THIS! I WILL do this, too!