Brief Showers of Attention April, 2011

[Harriet]

Just a brief rain shower can change the atmosphere so much, and when we take as little as 15 minutes a day to shower our homes with attention, we make a big difference, too.

Consider setting a timer. It reminds you that you can do anything for a short time, and with your own chosen end in sight, of 15, 30 or more, decluttering can become a game to see how much you can get done.

Work briskly like a sudden shower to refresh your surroundings. Whisk away some of the clutter that's been bugging you and let a clear surface shine through.


Handy-Dandy Reference for decluttering AHEAD of Focus Cleaning
first of month - finish decluttering bathrooms
4/4/2011 declutter office/other room
4/11/2011 declutter closets
4/18/2011 declutter laundry area
4/25/2011 declutter storage areas

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

[sherinjoy]

Hi, I haven't been posting in here, but I've been decluttering all March. I've had 2 projects - Paper decluttering and Kitchen decluttering. Working on them a little each day, and a couple of big pushes of 3 hr. sessions. I just finished packing up the second big donation set of the month, to drop off today at Goodwill.
I will be continuing this in April. I have found that alternating paper with a physical declutter (kitchen) keeps me moving forward. Paper decluttering is so mentally intensive, making decisions with each piece of paper. The physical work in the kitchen is just fun to fling, and I can see visual results so quickly - clean, organized cupboard contents. On the other hand, the paper boxes just keep coming, working on backlog, archives, etc. Not so fun and hard to see a difference visually.
I'm taking a "Organize Your Paper Clutter" class online and committed to posting daily check-ins. That is a good accountability factor for me, and I have successfully posted 18 days in a row now. Every 15 minutes counts! I definitely use the timer on days I just don't feel like it, and usually do more once I get going.
Dove - I have been so impressed with your clean-out of the attic. Keep up the wonderful work you've been doing.
Thanks Harriet for posting this forum - I'll try to post here more often this month.

[Nancy]

I sold some books and donated the rest to the library and delivered the other donations
so this has been a productive day.

[Dove]

Thanks for the Focus Cleaning reminder, Harriet!

Woohoo, Sherijoy!! Congrats on getting so much accomplished in March ! Great idea to alternate decluttering with paperwork. (Guess what I found on the attic today? A stash & dash box of paperwork from my office, & another box with clipped & printed out recipes. I didn't want to stop & deal with those so put the lids back on them, quick!)

Great job on the book decluttering & donations, Nancy!

I went up to the attic this afternoon intending to work for an hour or two & stayed up there for 3 & a 1/2! But it was fun & the time flew by. I love when organizing projects are enjoyable. All the craft bins have been gone through & only what I love & will use is back in the containers. Best of all, the second shelving unit is in place & the containers are now LABELED & on those shelves!

I found curtains from long ago in some of the bottom containers, plus lots of odds & ends of fabric & lace. Found matching dust ruffle, curtains, & pillow shams that went with a comforter I donated a few years ago. Wish I had remembered they were there so someone else could have had all the pieces of the set. Oh well. Brought the rest to the laundry room to wash & will donate those as well. Another big trash bag filled & in the garbage can. Table is not cleaned off -- I ran out of steam -- but I know where my starting point is next time I go back up there.

[Harmony]

Saturday DH used the leaf blower in garage for me, oak leaves had blown in there. I worked with him and moved things around, resulting in a couple things being tossed. One was big big panel which covers the back of bench seat in truck where DH built those storage baskets. I think it's supposed to be a noise barrier, but he says it's junk and he'll never use it. I've been moving that thing around for weeks, it's been in my way so long....he could have just tossed it right away or told me... but now it's gone and a big space left in its place.

I try not to nag him about his stuff.

BWTG Dove, Nancy and Sherinjoy. Harriet, thanks for starting us out this month.

[Harriet]

Harmony asked me the prickly question in PWYC about how in the world we are going to arrange our house when my ddad moves in. This dovetails in to what I haven't talked about much here because it is so tentative and ... iffy. Turns out I was slightly tricked/surprised. The 10x12 building on which HRH got the great deal is not for his storage stuff, but is fully finished to house standards, with electricity, nice window, and already has a wall air-conditioner unit. He had it placed at a right-angle outside our rear sliding-glass doors and had the fellow who sold it to us build its original small deck back onto it with steps that meet our steps.

His idea is that he is going to make it into a little studio for me, change the unit to a heat/air unit, and he is already planning the shelving. Of course, lots of people have electricity to stand-alone studios or shops. It can be done. But it is usually for someone who is making a living in their stand-alone building or has a need to be in it for long periods of time doing something. The fellow we bought it from used it as an office, for instance. For me, I'm afraid we are creating a very nice closet, which we may regret heating and air conditioning year-round. Dstepson is totally on board with this and tells me he foresees me wanting time "away from home" when my ddad lives here, and this will let me be "here" but "away". So I am very grateful to them but wondering whether I will really go out there, through all types of weather, unlocking it, and feeling cut off from the family. Just don't know, but it does allow HRH to offer my ddad a place here and prove to him he is not taking over needed space.

[Harmony]

Harriet, the little building sounds like a wonderful idea. It will be all a matter of changing your habits and getting used to using it. Is it very large?

I tried to change DH's habits at other house, by putting mail, all business stuff, etc., in the office, keeping the answering machine back there. But he never got into the habit of using it that way. So it was a lot of trotting back and forth.

But I can picture you in your new space, working away. What would you need back there to make it feel homey? A radio or little TV? A little refrigerator, a rocking chair? A telephone? How about a little roof or covering of some sort between the sliding glass door and new room so you wouldn't get wet going out there?

We have a friend who had a little storage shed he turned into an office with a window a/c and a couple desks...and the county came along and said he couldn't do that. He got mad and moved out of the county!

[Harriet]

It is "10x12" but I think those are exterior measurements and being drywalled, a lot will be taken from that - I need to go measure tomorrow in daylight. The electrician comes in the morning. Dstepson is already talking about me needing a small tv mounted high. I laughed and asked what tv programming he figured I'd be watching while sewing and he said the need for a tv is just a given. Hmmm. I doubt that. It has a phone jack, but wouldn't it save money just to be sure to carry one of the cordless house phones anytime I'm out there. The awkward thing in the sewing room now is that when dd comes in she has nowhere to sit. So maybe a small extra chair. They want me to make curtains for the window, and that makes sense, but that is the only view, so I'm not as sure as they are about anything that covers it. Maybe it needs a storm door to keep from feeling shut-in when I'm there? But again, I want to keep this a "bargain" and don't want to put much more money into it. My dcousin who cares for her mother with alzheimer's has a baby monitor to make sure her mother doesn't wander when she herself is in a far part of the house. Someday that may help me.

I am trying to light a fire under dd12 to impress upon her the need for speed in her declutting in her room. We need to start playing musical chairs with a lot of small furnishings. As soon as HRH is satisfied with the electrician's work, I'm sure he'll be into shelving quickly. With every passing day he seems more impressed that there's a need to convince my ddad he "has a room" here.

[Lynlee]

Yesterday and today I worked on my hutch. I want to give it a bit of oil with anti fungal/ pest flavour before I replace things there. Photos and fruit and veg on a tray go there. maybe a candle and pink piggybank. lol

Harriet - hoping the room progression can go smoothly.

[Nancy]

Dgd found some plastic pitchers used for iced tea etc. in a low cupboard and I had an idea now that those cupboards are empty that it's a great place to put her toys!