SHEs Organized

Thank you, Blessedw2. You've done a great job, too, getting holiday decorations ready this early in the month.

FelineFriend, that's a very interesting tip about the "clutter vs. collection" displays.

This morning I worked in the kitchen to make room in the cupboards. I put 5 bulky things in the donation box for Goodwill:

* 3 coffee mugs to make room for the 2 pretty ones I chose from DMIL's kitchen

* Popcorn air popper received as a wedding gift 35 years ago. It still works well, but I prefer to make popcorn in the WhirlyPop on the stove.

* Waffle maker also received as a wedding gift. I used it when we were first married, but have only had it out of the cupboard maybe once a year since we moved to this house in '93. It takes up too much room on the counter to have it out all the time. I recently used it to see if it still works, and it does -- but I think it's too much work to disassemble and clean it. That's why it was stuck in the cupboard for so long. Too much trouble, out it goes!

awesome dharriets dd whom i can't believe is already 16

rid myself of a working fan that was huge. no one wanted it and I am okay letting it go to the trash... I have to STOP the thought of "IT'S STILL WORKS, IT'S GOOD AND I'LL KEEP IT UNTIL SOMEONE CAN USE IT". I have had a lot of I will keep it until someone could use it clutter; but, I am getting much better of letting it go - even to the garbage.

My crafts are down to 1 clear plastic container - reasonable and doable.
dd art supplies and books are also down to one container.
dh let go of a betamax that still works but has trouble with a belt a bit... he and I laughed of why he kept it so long - he also has the same thing about someone else being able to use it one day.
Let go of 1 - 45 gal black bag of clutter and stuff - 3 season room is officially decluttered without carrying the things to different areas of the house. - I have 1 laundry basket of put aways and thats it.

I have gotten compliments on the house so the decluttering efforts are paying off!

oh my gosh d nancy I am so so happy for you... Great work!!!

Everyone's doing so well! WTG, all of you!

We decluttered the eating bar, from 2 stores' trips today, I did the mail/purged junk, it was ALL junk, and hung up/p/a clothes.

Yay d friend!!!

This is what I did yesterday, which was NOT a whole lot, because I spent 6 HOURS hand-writing a super long story, which took 16-pages to hand write out! WOW! Time-consuming:

1- I took everything off the dining room table.
2- I washed the table off, dried it, too.
3- I washed the tablecloth.
4- I put away sunflower vinyl place mats.
5- I got out dark green place mats.
6- I noticed how the green place mats were not 100% clean!
7- I washed all the place mats off.
8- After the tablecloth dried, I put it onto my dining room table.
9- I put the green place mats around.
10- I put an oval reed place mat diagonal on one corner of the table, where nobody will be sitting.
11- I put my Thanksgiving angel on the place mat, with napkin holder, and salt and pepper shakers.

It was nice to get it done.

I put dirty LOL into the utility room LOL basket.

In the GR8 room, on the sectional sofa-recliner area, where I sit and clutter up things, I put the blanket and horseshoe neck rest pillow on my bedroom hope chest at the foot of our bed. I thought, "IF Dneighbor walked in here today- WHAT would I want tidied up, so I wouldn't be embarrassed?" So, I put a storage clip-board with a short story 2 outline cards and paper on it, on the floor, at my other great room chair, with a book, pen, and now the sofa-recliner area is 'company ready' for anybody in the world, to come in, make themselves at home, and have a comfy place to sit down.

As I work, read, do snail mail, etc... this weekend, I'll slowly work on tidying up my other end table/chair area, where I sit. I need to be on top of myself (Like I'm a toddler!) ALL the time, because I make little "messes" everywhere! I'm terrible! In the New Year, I want to focus on:
1- Take it out, put it away,
2- Before I leave the room, survey it with my eyes, see anything to put away, and DO put it away,
3- Don't get out anything I cannot put away in a few minutes, if company comes,
4- Baby-Proofing better,
5- Better time-management skills and better organizing.
It's a lot to work on, but by making it a daily habit, day in and day out, morning-noon-and-night, I will prevail! I CAN DO THIS! I WILL do this, too!