June's Dynamic Declutter, 2014

[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!

[Harriet]

Some of us schedule decluttering with Focus cleaning, by decluttering for a week in the area we will clean the next week. That way surfaces are recently cleared, and a deep cleaning easier.

What's the Focus cleaning plan? It was designed by our own Indiana while we were posting on our previous board, and carried on here, in our Organization and Simplification Tools Forum. The Focus plan divides a household into 9 rooms or areas for cleaning and gives one thread to each area. Each thread rotates, coming up in the Focus forum 3 times a year, and then just before Thanksgiving, Focus goes over to maintenance threads during the holidays. Focus cleaning is adaptable, of course, so even those following it drift in and out of different rooms as needed.

For anyone who would like some "company" decluttering "where" others are that week, here are the rooms where you will find some company this coming month:

Week of.........you'll find some of us

6/02 Decluttering porch/entry as we Focus Clean dining room

Round Three - Can you believe the year is passing so quickly!!!

6/09 Decluttering bedrooms as we Focus Clean porch/entry
6/16 Decluttering the bathrooms as we Focus Clean bedrooms
6/23 Decluttering office/other room as we Focus Clean the bathrooms
6/30 Decluttering closets as we Focus Clean office/other room

[Ivy]

I took 1 nightgown & 2 loungers out of the ARC donation boxes today , but I put two items in the boxes.

I made the bed, did 2 lol & hung up clothes in the bedroom, & put lol away. I tidied the dining room table, eating bar, the office shelves, too.

[Ivy]

put away 3 lol, decluttered my end table top, and the eating bar.

[Ivy]

Dumped household trash, took garbage out, tidied the bed/bedroom/master bathroom, my end table again, my office, the mail-in mess was sorted/purged/taken care of.

I've got dried cold towels in the dryer, for the 2nd day. Hoping to get to them tomorrow. B/C will do more laundry, need to dry, but towels are there.

[Ivy]

Decluttered[/u]:
1- towels on the bed, folded & put away
2- filled 2 baskets of books on end table
3- office books to shelf
4- redecorated office desk
5- tidied a corner in the kitchen where my stuff was
6- I sorted (w/DH's help) the laundry, to do a declutter of the laundry basket tonight.
7- we decluttered the bed of its sheets & now they're dry so we'll put everything back.

I decluttered my bras, put uncomfortable ones with & without underwires, away, and put the athletic bras all together because I'll be wearing them for comfort for awhile now- temporarily- until I feel better.

[Nancy]

Donated the items I had put in the trunk.

[Ivy]

WTG, Nancy! :!

DH CLEANED HIS VERY MESSY BASKET IN THE KITCHEN!!!

I cannot believe it! I'm surprised! The catalyst, which caused this maneuver, was receiving flag address labels on a roll from Current. They're beautiful and are kept next to the basket where bills go and other important receipts, etc... It's so nice to peek in the kitchen and see a tidy basket.

My book, I read on decluttering in 30 days, said to declutter 2 rooms for 1 hour per day, focusing on them once a week, for 4 weeks. But after 30 days are up, you go on maintenance for 1 week, 30 minutes a week or 1 hour a week? I honestly don't think I can physically do 1 hour per day for 30 days, but I believe my way of doing it, is working out for me. I declutter when I see it needs to be done, don't put myself on a strict schedule that's rigid, which makes me "crazy". I lke to "go with the flow,". One thing I remembered from her book that I liked was this idea: If you have items you cannot part with, which are knick knacks, put them away in a box, in a closet, where you cannot see it/them for 6 months. Then, take out the box, re-decorate your home with your "new" (OLD REALLY!) things, from the box. You get a home makeover, for free without needing to go out to buy more knick knack clutter. I have 1 such box in a closet, I need to look at and now, since I've read her book, I'm considering putting away more clutter, to save and redecorate with at a later date. Old will become new again. She had good ideas.

[Ivy]

I DID it! I decluttered my office & a bit in the main office, in baby-steps using my 60-minutes on and off on my timer and got a total of 60 minutes in! My desk top, 4 desk drawers, 1 shelf, are done and I redecorated the office, too. It looks so much better.

[Ivy]

I decluttered 1 hour in my small office again today. Posted about it at PWYC. Friday will be my last day on the 2 offices. Then, Saturday the 14th, I'll start on the kitchen, great room, dining room, and pantry for 1 hour a day until the 21st, when I do bathrooms/bedrooms. Then, the 28th, I'll do the entry way, utility room, walk-in closet, and Bunny Room. At that time, I go onto maintenance, which means 30 minutes a week or every few days or when needed.