November's Dynamic Declutter, 2014

[Harriet]

Everybody, go look at your house!

(It's okay, we'll wait.)

Envision a clear, clutter-free home for upcoming holiday moments at your house.

Mentally work backwards from your vision a little, to see how you will accomplish whatever is needed!

[Harriet]

Choose your own path, or, if you'd like to be working "in" the same rooms/projects with others this month, come find us in these:

Note U.S. Thanksgiving as week headings, although what we would be doing in those weeks isn't all about that holiday.
We're dovetailing our Focus paths into maintenance now, for the approaching holidays. More chat about moving into maintenance/holiday in other threads, such as the monthly Cleaning threads, and Holiday Planning, 2014!

For weeks beginning
10/27/2014 - Decluttering dining room as we Focus Clean living room
11/3/2014 - Beginning of Maintenance as we Focus Clean dining room
11/10/2014 - Thanksgiving week one
11/17/2014 - Thanksgiving week two
11/24/2014 - Thanksgiving
12/1/2014 - Holiday Décor week

[blessedw2]

Do I have to look at my house.. sorry just kidding... I couldn't resist. Have a lovely day d harriet. Your writing always makes me feel like I can accomplish anything - you have such a lovely spirit!

[FelineFriend]

Blessedw2 , I AGREE with you, about Harriet! She's such a motivating person, she makes us feel like we CAN DO ANYTHING!

I put all the towels, dishtowels, and crocheted washcloths into the washer, which locks itself, and I found 1 crocheted washcloth, which didn't make it into the load. It's okay though, since I have oodles of them, in drawers, in the linen cupboard and under sinks, for cleaning,too. I use old faded ones for cleaning. Cannot muster up the courage to throw them away. Are always good for dirty jobs, too.

I decluttered in the bathroom, when I was hanging up fresh towels from the linen cupboard. After the towels are done, I'll strip the bed, will remake it with sheets in the linen cupboard, and perhaps wash these sheets, which will be stripped off the bed.

I decluttered in my small office,too. I have envelopes, photos, pen pal envelopes, etc... on my desk from a "pen palling session" last night. I put mostly everything away, except for a few things on a surface next to the wall, which I'll be using. I left my 5 new books, from The Dollar Tree on my desk, so I can tell Dfriends the titles of them. I'm thinking about finding a place for them, on my desk, making it look decorative with something, like an angel or photo, on the stack, too. I did that with horizontal stacks of books on my office shelf, and added photos, etc.. on top of each stack. The idea's from an organizing magazine, I can actually see the titles easier, and you get more books stored, using this method, as well as show off photos and/or decorative items. I just put up my "sunny-in-my-heart-Saturday" office display card. On top of the stack of 5 new books, I put a photograph of my 98.5-year-old d-elderly friend. She came to my b-day party when I turned 49, a long time ago. She was sitting on the sofa, was in a pretty blouse, smiled at me and I snapped the photo. I put it into the pewter sunsigns frame with a star on the left base and a crescent moon on the right base.

I just read a tip, which my Dsis told me about several years ago. Dsis has always been very organized, has a knack for decorating, and ran her own cleaning business for years, up here in W. WA State and in W. OR State. She said, as far as "clutter v. s. collections" goes, she's found if a person displays like objects together on a shelf or shelves, they look like a collection. The collection is contained clutter, as CEO states in her most recent book at the site, and Dsis says when she sees a collection all broken up, scattered about a room, with 1 item on 1 shelf, another item on a table, 1 on a window sill, 1 on the mantel, etc... she says it looks like "too much stuff" and looks like clutter on steroids. Dsis and CEO both talk about "contained clutter," where you can put like things or like-uses-things into a basket together, a decorative box, etc... Also, when you think about it, the eye is moving to 1 place, rather than bouncing from 1 area in the room, to another area, causing more distraction and confusion to the eye and the mind.

Also, 1 tip Dsis told me years ago AND I read in an organizing e-newsletter to my Inbox, is how, when you're sorting, if you have 1 box = trash, 1 box = donate, and 1 box = put away, you can have 1 box = pending! In the pending box, you store items you don't know if you actually want to get rid of it or give it to a loved one, or keep in the box, to bring out to change your decor, for a different season, etc... The pending box is a wonderful way to still keep things, yet have the intention of re-using it later or at last, giving it to a friend or donating it to a charity. You can mull over your "pending box" items, for 6 months. At that date, it's a pretty good time to finally make a decision.

I have a mini-problem with my "contained clutter," as I'm a writer, reader, and I put files of print-outs or newsletters, into files, standing them upright in baskets. I know where things are, I pull out 1 file at a time, read through it, then return it to its basket home. However, 1 basket is so full of files, it's hard to go through the basket to search for items. I've pretty much decided to:
1- pull out the front file,
2- read it, purge what's not needed,
3- file that particular file in the back.
4- slowly go through each file this way,
5- until all have been sorted through.
6- I can keep or purge as I go,too.

[FelineFriend]

I decluttered 2 baskets on my great room end table, did the end table, too, I put magazines and books into my small office, to bring out 1 at a time to read.

I tidied the eating bar, sorted/purged junk mail, tidied the dining room table, work on my office desk some more, and dumped trash from 2 bathrooms.

I've planned out some decluttering projects for tomorrow, too, which are on my PODA.

[blessedw2]

you are doing great d friend!

[blessedw2]

i went into the basement again. early in October dd older and I went through our christmas stuff again and holiday halloween and thanksgiving decoration and dejunked

1. I finished vacuuming the christmas shelves and put the christmas things back. I had thrown a christmas tree zipper back of garland etc. away int he furnace room and just didn't want to organize it then but did it today. (vacuumed basement closet floors and shelves over the week)
2. pulled Christmas village out as I will be doing that early this year... I didn't have time last year
3. Christmas lights are all together
4. tossed 2 black bags of garbage


Basement still needs work but I can't do anymore today

[BookSaver]

Friday I decluttered enough to fill my 12"x12"x12" crate. I'm going to try to keep up that daily goal through the end of the year.

However, yesterday and today my focus was on DMIL's things. Can I count all the decluttering I did at her house, or the things I pre-decluttered by NOT bringing them home?

(Reminder that DMIL just moved from a large 5-bedroom, 2-bathroom house with a finished basement and 2-car garage to a 1-bedroom apartment. A very nice, actually quite large 1-bedroom apartment, but still ... she'd lived in the house over 50 years and with 6 children and then lots of grandchildren, rarely had time to declutter any of her belongings.)

I am a bit disappointed that I agreed to bring home more than expected (because I'm trying to get rid of stuff myself). Family members still keep urging DH and me to take whatever we would like because DMIL has all she needs in her new apartment.

However, I have said no many more times than I said yes.

DMIL asked me to take a music stand. It may or may not be in better shape than my 2nd one. I will take a good look at both and may end up donating both to Goodwill, since I have 1 good one and am not sure if I even need a 2nd one.

From cupboards still full of dishes, I only brought home 2 pretty coffee cups to replace 3 plain ones; 2 mini Corningware dishes to replace plastic microwave dishes; a deep-dish pie plate to try for fruit crisps/coblers; and a pretty pickle dish and a medium-size Corningware casserole dish with lid, all of which will be given to Goodwill if they don't fit in our cupboard. She has 4 shelves in the basement full of glass canning jars, from which I carefully chose 4 quart size (1 an antique blue) & 4 pint size; I'll use a few as replacements and only keep the ones that fit in our cupboards.

I said yes to several knitted dish cloths she made, because they are in better shape than some in my drawer so I can rotate out the older ones. From 3 drawers full of spare kitchen utensils and silverware, I chose a slotted spoon and a cheese slicer that I need, and a gadget that I think is to crimp and cut ravioli -- just because it looks interesting and something that I want to try.

They insisted that DMIL will not be taking any of the towels from the house because DSisIL bought her all new ones to color-coordinate with the apartment bathroom. I picked 4 towels that are in much better shape than the ones in our camping gear.

From several bookshelves, I found 7 newish bestsellers, and won't even bring them indoors but will leave them in my car to donate to the library's perpetual sale shelf later this week. Unfortunately, ALL of the rest of the books left in the house are in terrible shape and sooner or later will be thrown away.

I put notes about my adventures in her sewing room in the PWYC thread tonight.

Thus, as long as I am strict with myself this week and actually get rid of the things that now have replacements, it will be close to a 1-in-1-out deal -- which isn't bad for a tricky family situation where we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by refusing gifts.

[FelineFriend]

I took a long low display candle decoration, from the great room bookcase, and put it next to the tub between the faucets and tub, on the tile, next to the master bathroom garden window tub. It looks so nice there, rather than on the bookcase.

I took 3 metal "bug" candle sculptures and put them on the bookcase in the great room, where the long candle thing had been. The "bugs" look cuter there, more decorative than in my main/guest bathroom.

In the main/guest bathroom, I hung a 3-D framed sea collage, which had been in the master bathroom. In the place on the wall, where it had been, I put a wooden framed print of a mailbox next to a road with daisies. So I traded places with them. The collage matches the pastels and white in the main/guest bathroom better. In the master bathroom, I had a glass mushroom jar full of sea shells, which I moved to the main/guest bathroom, so they'll be seen when company comes, rather than hidden in our master bathroom.

I took a glass jar with lid, with a soft blue candle in it, off my great room end table, and put it on the eating bar, with our Hawaii standing desk calendar. It's very pretty there with my timer and PODA.

I put a dark blue picture on the woven reed oval placemat, kitty-corner on the dining room table, with my napkin holder, Thanksgiving angel and salt & pepper shakers. I'll put the tablecloth and green placemats on the table, closer to Thanksgiving.

I worked in my office a bit, to tidy things up, too. I want to work on the bunny room, main office, utility room this week, too. Oh, and I got out all 6 of my lighthouses, for the powder room, which match the lighthouses bathroom mats in there. I have seaside prints on the walls in there, too, and when company comes, I hang my Walmart lighthouses embroidered hand towel in the powder room, too. It's fun to spruce things up, trade around, get things out and put things away.

I put some lotion away in the main/guest bathroom, too. The counter looks a lot less cluttered in the main/guest bathroom now. I'll keep baby-stepping the decluttering process, until Thanksgiving, so I can relax more during the holidays and work on my 2015 writing deadlines and get a jump on 2015 writing,too.

I dumped trash today, too.

[blessedw2]

Book You have done very well!!! Being mindful as you are - is amazing!!! Great Job! Well done.

Friend - how fun to decorate and you got the trash out too. Good for you!!!