September's Dynamic Declutter

[Harriet]

Welcome and we hope you'll join us! Here in this thread we encourage each other to give 15 minutes a day (or the equivalent on other schedules) to uncover and rediscover Our Lovely Homes!

Good Housekeeping Magazine has a section on the benefits of a "Communication Station" this month (Sept) with emphasis on the good old-fashioned bulletin board. Do you use a bulletin board? Their idea is to try a bulletin board area for stopping all incoming paper at the door, for either sorting, posting or tossing. Interesting tips they give :

1) a large enough bulletin board to hold the family calendar, so that related papers are thumbtacked near it.
2) long envelopes, open, held by a thumbtack in the flap, for small accumulating paper like coupons.
3) THE accessory for under the bulletin board - a trash can!
4) a smart accessory beside it - a wall-mounted magazine rack with family member's names on each slot.
5) GH's unframed, thick-looking sample bulletin board is covered in fabric that looks nice in the room, but they don't give instructions. I'm wondering if it is actually styrofoam.

Check Indiana's Today's Organizing Tip thread in the Organization and Simplification Forum for more bright around-the-house ideas.



If you'd like some company in your rooms here's one declutter plan to consider. Indiana will be leading the very cool Focus Cleaners to these areas beginning these dates for September:

bathrooms 9/6/2010
office/other room 9/13/2010
closets 9/20/2010
laundry 9/27/2010
storage 10/4/2010

Decluttering there ahead of those times would mean clear surfaces to clean for those following her lead!

[Nancy]

I have the stuff to donate loaded in the car and
it is ready to go with the next trip to town.

[blessedw2]

atta girl nancy!

today: finished putting all of dd15s extra's in closet
donated more of my stuff
tossed a huge garbage bag of old fabric and projects

[Twins' Mom]

A few days ago ago I purged some stamp sets that I could live without. Today I took them to my office and offered them to others who would love and use them...

[Nancy]

Got the stuff delivered and donated yesterday yea for progress!

[blessedw2]

9/3 yeah dnancy, dtwins, and all our dshes' and dharriet for doing this remarkable thread!

noticed something: dmom has bought so many organizer containers and the more of those we have the more we collect. so emptyed under dd15's bed all of her containers. I now have 7 empty large containers. dd15s room looks very streamlined now... my goal is to have her get used to living in a decluttered room.
I remember a hoarding show recently and the dear womans home was filled with full organizing containers, yet she couldn't see she had too much stuff. I realize I do that too still. my dmom buys us so many organizing things like these for dd especially and they just collect things.

letting go: understanding that when people give you too much it is done in kindness but you have to let go even if someone gets upset. donating 6 of the seven under the bed containers. drove to donation place and the containers are gone... I have to admit it was hard only because the old thoughts "but they are still good, I can use it one day"

9/4 donated 1 movie to library, ran over to the donation place again with some stuff my dmom gave me that I have had in the closet for a year... never used(mine). I also dejunked the basement closet... it felt so good. the years it took to dejunk my crafts and it now is very small and it feels so good. I no longer have the "one day" things. now I want to be like my dsis inlaws do it. they enjoy one craft project at a time.threw out 3 large bags of garbage, and my broken serger

darn I found another 2 boxes (smaller but still 2) of craft items... embroidery thread etc. ahkkkk

[blessedw2]

I tried the bulletin board idea once, but for me (and my family) it became a catch all. we tried it twice and I know it works for some. I am not disaplined enough to take off things on board

[blessedw2]

tossed out our king size comforter I had gotten cleaned... opened it up and feathers everywhere.. I have it so long, it wore out.
put dd15s american girl books in keepsake closet of hers because she has to choose to get rid of them or not but I pulled 4 of my books and ran over (1/2 mile away) to book drop off and donated them right away

[blessedw2]

today I found something interesting about dh and myself. I had cleaned out my copper/metal craft stuff as it was for dd's when they were young. I held the copper heavy thick wire and it looks and feels like it has purpose, that we could use it somewhere... the one days...then I gave it to dh and he felt the circle of copper with no dents in it, no waves and turned it over and over in his hands and I could see him thinking it was "too good" to get rid of in recycling. I mentioned it may look and feel useful but it has no use for us and reluctanly put it in recycling. I think dh and I do that a lot... It looks good, represents what could be rather then what was and brings great memories of doing things with the dkids, but it doesn't have use for us right now. dh is worse then I am on that level.. the what ifs and what could be instead of the clutter has taken too much of our time. our life is important and only a "few" keepsakes are important not a roll of copper wire

[sherinjoy]

Blessed - You are doing such hard decision making, and beyond just keep or toss. This will serve you well as you move through your house and garage. I have had these kind of decisions too, just like you with my DS's stuff from school and crafts we used to do. Thinking of the fun times we shared and wanting to keep it because "it is useful". I have donated a lot of art supplies to the local school, the teachers can always use it. That makes me feel better knowing someone will get fun out of it. Thanks for sharing your insights, they keep me motivated to keep letting go.