April Clutter Control, 2015

Share your decluttering activities and ideas.
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Nancy
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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Nancy » Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:02 pm

Another bag of donations loaded into the car trunk.

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Harmony
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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Harmony » Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:32 pm

I'm still plugging away around here. Nothing as big as a truck, though!

One book in the bin to donate. Old old book, not good enough for the library sale room, but good enough for donate place. I read it first, old classic.

Big armfull of product books as big as phone books and stack of catalogs from the office in recycle. Still finding things in the office.

Was pleased Mon morning the truck took my recycling which had huge big cardboard folded up in there, but not small enough to get the top back down. We're supposed to cut into smaller sizes, but they took it.

Tuesday I took almost full carton of pop in cans sitting in corner of kitchen and got rid of. It was diet we'd gotten for one helper who drank it...but then he quit and it sat here till was really old and we'd read that diet drinks when old turn into something else and we don't do diet anything here...so I drained every can and crushed and put in the recycle bag. Nice to have that corner back.

Since no one has posted yet I will add to this:
Tackled the hall closet. It is an 8' long closet with just a little space to hang jackets and the rest is shelves, with 4 bifold doors. I pretty much filled up the donate bin. Box of horrid looking "take these angels to your shut-ins", couple more toys, remote control car, big heat lamp doesn't fit any of our fixtures. The rest of the work was consolidating, boxing, and lots of down on hands and knees wiping walls, baseboards, floors, etc. Can't do that in a space that's overstuffed. Looks wonderful now! I have 3 big cardboard boxes to throw away too.

Adding my latest: yesterday I took the bin to GW. There is one thing about putting things aside to give away, but totally better when it actually LEAVES the house! At least 3 times a day I stand in front of that cupboard and look at the space and focus on the empty spots there. It almost feels like the house is more free, airier, if that makes any sense. I don't quite understand it since none of this stuff was sitting around where I could see it all the time; it was all up on shelves, just 1 thing I can think of actually out in view, so I don't know why it's helpful for me to do this, but it is. I was standing there tonight thinking, "there's only 2 of us, we shouldn't have this much stuff around here".

Tonight DH cut up huge box and we got all the recycling out for tomorrow's pickup. I have a comforter that got lumpy and nothing I did de-lumped it, so that's out too. That was a hard one because it wasn't old, but I tried everything to smooth out the lumps... I'll bet it's been sitting here unused 7 years.

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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby blessedw2 » Sun Apr 12, 2015 8:53 pm

All of your work is truly appreciated and amazing d harmony... you even wiped down the walls and floor afterward. Truly inspirational!

d nancy... you got donations donated and more put in your trunk... fantastic!

d elly donating curtains will definitely be a blessing to someone else!

today I spent the afternoon and much of the evening going through all of dh's misc. screws etc... I would have tossed everything, and bought new, but he asked me to go through it and I was happy to do so. he tossed a lot. now everything is in an organized manner and marked (love my label maker)
Last edited by blessedw2 on Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
it is always a joy to be here with you!

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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby blessedw2 » Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:16 am

I finally figured something out that I only suspected - As soon as I start a declutter project dh comes on board and starts decluttering himself - it is awesome. Yesterday I started finally in his garage and always asking what he wanted, as I went through his nails etc., and I found him starting to get rid of things on his own (garage). He did great!

This project will take weeks but at least we broke past the uncomfortable place of starting to tackle a difficult area.
it is always a joy to be here with you!

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Harriet
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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Harriet » Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:02 am

One tall kitchen trash bag full of donations out to be picked up by Kidney Foundation today. Several square feet reclaimed. It's raining so I put a little "hood" of a plastic grocery bag over the top opening. These days they have changed to asking for just a big "K" on the side of the bags, easy to do with a sharpie marker.

Enjoying hearing about ya'll's projects.

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Nancy
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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Nancy » Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:00 pm

Trash is at the curb had some room so I have been adding the things set aside to go yea for progress!

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Harmony
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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Harmony » Tue Apr 14, 2015 1:23 pm

I've put decluttering in my daily schedule. When I have a spare minute (usually in mid afternoon) my thoughts turn to which area I should look in today. I guess I could follow the schedule, but my spots needing attention are random now that the storage hall closet is done, things are not big projects in a single space.

Yesterday I worked on a storage shelf in garage. I threw away a big stack of seed trays (gardening stuff) and a couple empty plastic spray bottles; emptied a few things out of a plastic drawer unit. I've washed and dried that unit - 2 stackable drawers that I now seem to have no use for. I have given some thought about what I could use that for and no clue, so it is up on a shelf in my Master closet - for someday somewhere.

Back here to add last couple days' progress. Been working in the garage. Sometimes clutter gets cleared out in layers, don't you think? Back on those storage shelves, I completely finished one. 11 odd work gloves tossed. We got bunches of samples but only lefty's with waterproof coating that all melted together, yuck. More empty bottles, seed trays, old plastic, and of course spiders, Orchid planter in donate box (I can't keep those things alive). Reclaimed 2 whole shelves.

Blessed, how are you guys coming? Sometimes DH will get on board a little when I throw away stuff. He does like it when I join him when he's cleaning out something. I can't do his shop which is a royal mess. It's so bad I can't even get very much like stuff together.

What helps me make decisions: I ask myself, "If I was packing to move, would I keep this"? The answer is usually "NO"!

ellyphant
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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby ellyphant » Wed Apr 15, 2015 11:05 pm

Good work, all!

Today I found 7 books to donate. Started out just dusting the bookshelf. Have 2 more I'll read and then donate.

It's getting harder to find things to get rid of...I guess that's a good thing to report!
How you do your work is a portrait of yourself.

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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby ellyphant » Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:42 pm

Found 6 vhs tapes to donate. There would be more if DH would look through his. These 6 were in the pantry. Now I have more room for things that should be there...like edible things!
How you do your work is a portrait of yourself.

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Harmony
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Re: April Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Harmony » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:35 pm

Wow, Ely, that's a lot of books to donate at once.

I have a soap dish in my donate bin; I tossed another couple cans of stuff from the pantry; consolidated some liquid soap containers and tossed the empties. I found a black short-sleeved sweater to donate. Wish people would quit giving me stuff. Of all the stuff people gave me I've only been using 1 thing.

I wish I could get rid of the clutter in my mind. A check has come up missing. I've searched everywhere. Many little pieces of paper here and there are tossed as I search all places and clean up desk areas, files, all surfaces. This is a business check to be written which I had marked as going into DH's wallet...but he no longer has and doesn't show up in the bank. What to do, what to do. Sometimes I do take his checks back if he's carried one too long, so it's possible I did have it at some point... but a real mystery and a real worry. Lots of tidying up done while hunting...

Adding today's declutter: this is huge. DH dragged a wheelchair home a couple years ago, saying he was going to fix it. Someone had used it in the shower all the time and it was rusted, the wheels barely turned and it didn't fold up, etc. If I ever had to deal with someone in a wheelchair, I certainly wouldn't deal with this old thing on top of it. I got it in the car on its side and took to the landfill/recycle place. Another clear spot in the garage. I'm mighty angry with DH bringing stuff like this home.


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