Spooky Spaces Transformation, October 2011

[Harriet]

Into what corners of your house do you peer cautiously... …

look deeeeep into the dark spookiness of clutter... ...

and then RETREAT, 'cause that stuff's a FRIGHT?!?

Well, go grab a costume and practice your grimace in the mirror, because in October we're turning the tables. We're going to scare some clutter right out of the worst corners, crevices and under-spaces we've been letting intimidate us. If it helps, as you open that dark cabinet or pull out that drawer that you dread, holler “BOO!” and hold your pre-set timer out in front of you to ward off procrastination!

Come in to tell just how scary your spookiest space is, and post about your inner monster and how she sent that clutter packing, to inspire the rest of us!

Oh, most important rule : in October we all get treats after every 15 minutes.

[Harriet]

Handy-Dandy Reference for decluttering AHEAD of Focus Cleaning

this week storage
10/3/2011 outdoor
10/10/2011 kitchen
10/17/2011 living room
10/24/2011 dining room

Tweak as desired to fit your lovely home!

Looking for Indiana's Focus Cleaning threads instead? HERE'S YOUR SLIDE! (calendar is at top of forum)

[Nancy]

Tool room is our focus this month with boxes from the office of papers to shred are stashed in there. And the shed and shop! I have an idea in my mind how I want it but getting it that way may not be that easy!

[Harriet]

Still in storage focus this week, I've been busy scaring the corners of our Master closet. They look pretty dark and sinister until you realize that if only HRH would pick up things that fall on the floor on his side, it would be clear.

Lily Munster is going to be my alter-ego this month. That's who dd decided to go as to a friend's birthday/Halloween party, so I guess she's been on my mind. She got a Calla lily and everything. I don't actually borrow the costume, though, since the wig shocks me enough in the mirror! lol. (Perhaps because the gray reminds me of me.) The real Lily was fine with dust, you may remember, but she didn't like clutter. The couch may have sent up a cloud every time Herman sat on it, but the rooms were kept clear and Eddie was expected to put away his toys.

[Dove]

Woo Hoo! (Or should I say Boooooo! Boooooo! )

Tonight dh & I loaded 2 boxes of books, 2 boxes of misc kitchen items, 2 boxes of misc, & several bags of blankets, tablecloths, placemats & couch pillows into the car to drop off to Goodwill tomorrow. It feels so good to get it out of the basement storage area, & to bless others at the same time.

Tomorrow I will break down several empty boxes & fold up/put away a large table I was sorting & packing on.

at Harriet channeling Lily Munster

Good luck with all the shredding, Nancy!

[Nancy]

Well we peeked under the stairway to the closet under there and grabbed one box really fast
blew the dust off of it and removed the cobwebs. Made progress getting a couple items out from this closet last week and this week those items have been delivered to the thrift shop.

[Harriet]

Basement - Dove, a basement can be kind of "out of sight, out of mind" and begin to clutter up for sure, so good job braving the dark and bringing things into the light of day to bless others.

Under the stairway - There's a lot of reality under ours, Nancy! We only have a little squatty half-size one because our stairs turn half-way up, so it's hard going to do much storing there. That's where we found several skeletons (mouse, but still, I usually get HRH to check out that area first). Once I used a hang-able florescent light under there... ... I need to check that out and see if it is still able to be plugged in and light my way!

Here lately I've turned my attention to the really fearful nightmare in our house - Papers! Talk about something that makes you turn away in horror. Yikes.

[Nancy]

I dove in to a spooky closet and dumped bags sacks and some boxes some one not me had "saved" to recycle glad that I made some progress in about half of that shelf yea!

Another scary thing was somethings old shriveled and dead have been retrieved and tossed from the fridge. Cat chores done glad that's behind me!

[BookSaver]

DH has been working hard in the spooky basement clearing the way for a new water heater.

He hauled a bunch of trash out of the furnace room. The trash bin will be stuffed totally full on Wednesday, which is a sight that I like.

He had plastic bags thrown all over the floor of his den, which he has packed up to take to a place that recycles them.

He had a big mountain of 2 liter pop bottles which for some strange reason were refusing to return themselves to the store for the 5 cents deposit. He bagged those up and put them in the garage.

He found a bunch of dishes to bring up to the kitchen.

In the few days that I was out of town, DH did a huge amount of work and I wanted him to get the full credit for all of that decluttering. *\o/* WTG DH! *\o/*

[Harmony]

I see a lot of great things getting done in spooky places this month!

Harriet, since DH was back here with me just now, sitting in the corner drawing a plan at his drafting table, I read your Munster email to him...and he went .

Sometimes I have a difficult time persuading him this village has any real benefit other than wasting time, but today he liked it.

My spooky place is always our shop, my garage, then the laundry area, in that order as things migrate into the house. And since it's all on one level, it's all fairly visible going in and out, so I can't put it out of mind.

Big sheets of plywood came out really clean and bright looking as they dried. We will be stacking them up out of the way next. 1 load to the landfill and a couple shovels into the can here is a lot of progress for us.

I shred papers daily, and next I must empty that and the big office can which is now stuffed. Boy we sure do generate the paper around here.