July Clutter Control, 2015

Share your decluttering activities and ideas.
User avatar
Sunny
Member
Posts: 3200
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:49 pm
Location: Northern Virginia
Contact:

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Sunny » Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:39 pm

I am gradually getting caught up with the declutter challenge. I have worked on 14 out of the 21 days. In the last few days I have worked on
shoes: found three pairs to throw away; organized the others in the over-the-door shoe hanger.
desk: put desk supplies away, deleted 700+ emails, back down to about 10 I need to keep for a while.
receipts etc: filed this month's paid bills and receipts; entered two receipts in W-M's savings catcher.
magazines: went through and separated some older ones to recycle.
toys & media: checked off as I keep the dgkids' individual type computer tv games together in a box under the small tv in the family room.

I have been thinking of keeping this challenge sheet on 3 x 5 cards behind my declutter schedual tab in "The Box". The list seems easy to adapt to our scheduled focus decluttering and would be easy to mark a date on one line to track throughout the year, then make up a new card when the first one runs out of room for the dates.
Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. --- Francis of Assisi

User avatar
Kathryn-in-Canada
Administrator
Posts: 21391
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:15 pm
Location: 60 minutes north of Ogdensburg NY

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:04 pm

I still haven't begun the data challenge. My computer is reasonably well organized but I have two areas of weakness:

1. I tend to put temporary files on my desk top and it gets really cluttered (dh, ds and dd all shudder when they see it.) This is an electronic version of my messy desk/table/chairs-near-my-desk since I tend to have things piled around me.

2. My email in-box. Actually, my whole email program. I sincerely need to archive things to the back up and just proceed with 2 - 3 years of emails instead of 10. If I really need a 10 year old email, I can always go to the backup.

User avatar
Harmony
Member
Posts: 11417
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:56 pm
Location: Florida

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Harmony » Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:10 pm

I looked at my media stuff, my CD's and Tapes and DVD's. When I did the big cleanout I organized all this and got rid of a bunch of that stuff (donate) and haven't much looked at it since. Today I was pleased with how it all looked. I found one CD to give DD to play for DGD and 1 went in the donate box. On to the next one!

It looks like some of us are stalled. Is 30 days in a row a bit much for this?

Wed was kid items. Last big decutter I gave away big wheel and whole boatload of toys from the toy cupboard. I put a few stray pieces into their respective boxes, but there wasn't anything to do. Multiples of an item...I suppose my fabric would suffice for that. I have it all spread out on the guest bed right now and as I put it all away I will purge any that I probably won't ever use or that has faded etc.

Tomorrow is storage. EGADS! That's my garage.... :o

User avatar
Kathryn-in-Canada
Administrator
Posts: 21391
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:15 pm
Location: 60 minutes north of Ogdensburg NY

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Fri Jul 24, 2015 9:29 am

I'm hoping to take this afternoon and tomorrow to get caught up. The process has been extremely helpful so I don't want to stop, but I've been distracted this week.

I'm finished up to the 19th.

20th: I'm stuck about what to do for Gadgets and Accessories: We have so many gadgets here that's overwhelming but everything was justified during the move.

21st: Toys and Media - can't touch toys due to dd's situation. Media will get a quick once-over. I'll plug in the vcr to make sure it still works. Which means I have to find it.

22nd: I don't have kids so I'll do bathroom cupboards.

23rd: multiples. I'm going to do a quick run around the apartment and see if we have too many of those. Living in a smaller space means we don't need multiples on each floor like we used to have. The main multiple I have is my own vacuum and I might run that over to ds's to be stored there until I finish cleaning out his apartment (his vacuum doesn't have wheels on the front - they broke off - so it's awkward to use.)

24th: storage. Good timing, I actually have to go into our storage locker today.

25th: Travel items - a full day job in this household but should net several bags of giveaway items.

26th: Entryway - if there's time I'll work ahead on this. I did a good thorough job in the spring (and it comes up again in the all when winter things come out, but it could use a tidy and a quick go-through to remind me of what is in the closet and the secretary. I'll need many of the items in there for our trip (sunscreen, cameras, binocular cases all come to mind.)

User avatar
Nancy
Member
Posts: 23441
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:52 pm
Location: Washington state in the Pacific Northwestern part of the USA.
Contact:

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Nancy » Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:41 pm

I have a couple things in the jeep ready to go.

User avatar
Kathryn-in-Canada
Administrator
Posts: 21391
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:15 pm
Location: 60 minutes north of Ogdensburg NY

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:18 pm

Bathroom cupboards are done (and cleaned the bathrooms while I was at it.)

Not much left but mine was better organized and my wire 'drawer' unit fixed. Duplicates of baby oil were combined (we should probably toss it because we don't use it on our skin, just for around the house - actually, I think I will toss the big one and only keep the travel size.)

Found expired mouth wash (either July 2009 or September 2007!) and am now using it to clean the toilets - actually that's probably why it was moved - I use to put it in the bowls before we traveled to kill any bacteria in there.

A part package of pathetic cotton balls, suitable only for crafts, was tossed.

Two empty containers have been here a year and I still have no purpose for them so they are headed to the giveaway shelf.

I'm feeling accomplished. Four more things to tackle before I can say I'm caught up, though.

User avatar
Kathryn-in-Canada
Administrator
Posts: 21391
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:15 pm
Location: 60 minutes north of Ogdensburg NY

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Fri Jul 24, 2015 10:23 pm

Once I clued into the fact that CDs were part of that media declutter, the day went downhill. I had a stack of CDs we've bought over the past year to rip onto our media center so I started in on that. It was a large stack so now, hours later, I still am not done but have 8 (which will take about 90 minute or more) to do. When the ripping program is running I have no ability to use my computer for anything else.

So I did the storage cupboard (found one thing to toss) and sorted the CDs where we keep them. They are still not in alphabetical order but they are better organized by category. And I put little labels on the shelves so dh will know where to look for what. I tried to put like with like when possible and it is a style of music, rather than an artist (i.e. swing.)

So I only finished 2 of the 7 declutter areas on my list for the day but the media is almost done.

Gadgets are still confounding me. All I can think of decluttering is the keyboard vacuum I have. I haven't use it since moving and don't recall when I used it last before moving so there's no need to keep it.

As are multiples. As I worked today, I came across three extra staplers and multiple pairs of scissors but they aren't taking up room I'd use for something else, so I'm going to keep them in case other scissors break or staplers get too jammed to continue to use.

User avatar
Harriet
Moderator
Posts: 16504
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:48 am
Location: The Carolinas

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Harriet » Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:32 pm

Gadgets - I got started on gadgets and spent 15 minutes fixing a stapler. :roll: That may not be the point of the exercise. I'll get back to more. (Stapler does work great now and doesn't need to be tossed, which was why I picked it up in the first place.)

Media - YAY, big success! - I completely redid my exercise DVDs and I'm delighted. I used new variety-color thin jewel cases to replace the hodge-podge of different older cases. Now the shoebox I use to hold all these (the kind with a flip-open lid) is so efficient. They fit perfectly in two "stacks" side by side and leaned back, so that I can flip through them easily like a card file. :) I have the ones I am likely to use most often at the front. Any informational paper, like inserts, brochures or cardboard sleeves, is at the rear along with the one larger DVD case I decided to keep. Lots of time spent on this one, but worth it. Cost - $4. (half an $8 purchase of a package of jewel cases.)

Kids stuff - I am, at this moment in time, so immersed in kid's stuff that declutter is something I'm not sure is happening, although I am trying to be organized. The best I can say is that I used up (and threw away the cardboard) of a roll of child's wrapping paper while getting the presents wrapped for two bday parties. Maybe by the end of this weekend I'll have more to report. I am given to understand that I don't have enough toys here, which, from a decluttering standpoint, is probably a good thing to hear.

User avatar
Kathryn-in-Canada
Administrator
Posts: 21391
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:15 pm
Location: 60 minutes north of Ogdensburg NY

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:09 am

Media is finally finished!

Next up, travel stuff.

User avatar
Harmony
Member
Posts: 11417
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:56 pm
Location: Florida

Re: July Clutter Control, 2015

Postby Harmony » Sat Jul 25, 2015 8:57 pm

Harriet, when my dgkids were really little I went to Sal Army and GW and got the nicest age appropriate toys there...and came home and washed them really good and they played with them for years. When I decluttered the toy/misc. hall closet I gave them all back, even some with fresh batteries!

Storage mostly is the garage and I've done the bulk of what I can do a couple months ago. But I found a few cardboard boxes and those are flattened in the recycling now. I've tossed another plant tray.

Has anybody else found when they declutter a massive amount, later they find another layer they're willing to get rid of? That's what I've been doing, the second set everywhere. Not nearly as much, and often things I considered the 1st time but was not ready to let go of.

I took a look at the one CD I put in the donate bin, and decided it had kids programs, songs and I have no idea where we got it, but I am going to give it to DD for DGD to try, and if it's not useful to her she will have my permission to toss.

Travel items I did maybe some time around Feb when DH had a hissy about me leaving his toothbrush behind at DD's. I set him up his own bag and got one for myself. We are now only responsible for our own. I fixed the little things we take with us and I tossed quite a few bottles, I recall I had a half a little wastebasket of stuff. Recently I found a little bottle of handcream and with this in mind, I put it in the bedroom to use it up and tossed the empty.

I guess a lot of my places are in maintenance.


Return to “The Decluttered Home”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests

cron