Who needs to organize their house with me?

[AmeliaBinMO]

Me too. Also, we are away on vacation this week, but I am DYING to do this. Is there anyone up for a two-week long decluttering starting next Monday, by any chance?

 

I'm certain that I will still be decluttering then!

[~Amanda~]

I actually partially did this this weekend; I need to continue/finish lol. I'll pick... my sewing table for tomorrow because I need to get some sewing done. (hey, its a big mess!!)

[OnTheBrink]

I'm in, but I sorta already started. I have a big bankers box that I've been filling with useable stuff I just don't need. I've been taking it to church and letting people take what they want from it. I take the box home, fill it again and take it back the next week. I plan to do this all summer as I go through rooms and clean stuff out. I want to be decluttered by fall!

[SBMama]

I'm always game for a good decluttering thread! I did a lot this spring, but there is more to do! I would love to be a minimalist, but my family doesn't quite agree. It is amazing how freeing it is to get rid of stuff.

[SBMama]

I currently am stressing (and this is to say undecided, wavering) on my cookbook collection. There are probably fifty volumes.

 

Do I keep, haul, and move them? Or do I donate? Or do I select say, the ten best volumes and release the rest?

 

Part of my mind says, "You can get any of this on the internet, lighten your load completely."

Part of my mind says, "You really enjoy having them, you've not used them because there has been no place to put them properly."

 

Going into the new place and keeping them means to buy a bookcase, an expense; and I can see us moving back across country again in six months. There is no room there to store them either, even smaller than what we are going into now.

 

Ugh.

 

Advice?

 

What I have been doing with sentimental items is to go through them multiple times. Give yourself a goal, like I will only take 25 of the 50 to our new place. Then go through and pick out your favorite 25. Then in 6 months when you (possibly) move again, cut that in half. Only move 12 of your 25. Or by then you may notice that you don't even use that many and you will be able to part with more of them. I have personally found this to be easier than getting rid of all of them at one. If you can freecycle them or find someone that you know will enjoy and get use out of them, it is even easier. Good luck!

[proverbs356lady]

I need this too so count me in. I'll start with my living room since it's the easiest room and I have a few other things to get done tomorrow.

[JoyfulMama]

I am decluttering in preparation for packing. Today I did:

 

-majority of craft supplies (just fabric left)

-one bathroom

-kitchen: 7/18 cabinets, 5/7 drawers

-condensed from two gift wrap boxes to one (used to have a separate Christmas box)

-cleaned off the top of one section of kitchen cabinets

-eliminated two more pieces of furniture

 

Twas a good day!!!

[Amy in NH]

I'm in! Not so much the organizing/decluttering (aside from my office/curriculum room, which really needs it!), but the cleaning. I need to do a deep cleaning with washing walls and windows and curtains. Do we just pick a room, or is everyone doing one particular room first?

[melissel]

Me too. Also, we are away on vacation this week, but I am DYING to do this. Is there anyone up for a two-week long decluttering starting next Monday, by any chance?

 

I'm certain that I will still be decluttering then!

 

:lol: I am too! I'm going to aim for a room a day, but I think with our current schedule, that will be optimistic. I'll do my best though, and I'll even try to post pictures.

 

Right now I'm in my office room, where my goal is to get it decluttered so I can actually start using the treadmill. I have something like nine bags of shredded paper to put out for recycling tomorrow night :scared::blushing: The loooong pool day is done, the kids are asleep, DH has juiced me a large amount of fruit and served it up with ice...so here I go! :gnorsi:

[Purpledaizy]

Last night and today I got all the clutter out of the computer area. I Put away a broken computer (at some point it should go shop to get important out and then trashed) just to get it out of sight. I cleaned the desk and rearranged the working computer, printer and some office supplies. I untangled the awful mess of cords.

 

I was reading another thread on decluttering which advised to get rid of the big stuff in room first to open up space. I stored the baby swing which is too small for dgs and was collecting dust. I also stored my huge scrapbooking tote and will wait for a day of inspiration before I bring it out again. We bought a flat screen tv in January and our old tube tv is still sitting in the living room :blushing:. I'm going to put an ad on craigslist to come and get it for free, just get it out of here!

 

Tonight I'm going to work on folding some laundry that been sitting around. Tomorrow I'll start with decluttering the living room and see where I go from there :001_smile:

[sunflowerlady]

Lots of progress in the schoolroom this week.:) Got rid of some stuff, threw out some old papers, and started some planning for the new year. Also, I bought two totes at KMart today for only $4.50 each. In one I stored books I have for future school years and in one I stored books I am done with that I may sell next spring at a used sale. That made a good bit of extra room on my bookshelves.

 

I also made a little progress in the laundry room.

[melissel]

I managed to clear the top of my desk, file all the paperwork, and get rid of the dead monitor that had taken up residence there. Then I fell asleep in the desk chair *sigh* I'm back to it tonight. I'm definitely going to need more than one day per room :willy_nilly:

 

ETA: Recycling goes out tonight, so that will go a long way toward making the room clearer--all those bags of shredded paper are taking up the middle of the room!

Edited July 14, 2011 by melissel

[JennyB]

I am definitely in. My husband is working out of town all summer and we just got back from 3 weeks in a clean apartment with very little of our own belongings and I LOVED IT. It was so easy to take care of. I tend to have way, way to much stuff so the kids and I started decluttering bedrooms today. This will be great accountability. My husband will hopefully be able to keep this job after the summer and I want to be ready to move. :001_smile:

[Bang!Zoom!]

I had my daughter involved in the sorting tonight. She's excited because she gets to sell the cookbooks at a garage sale, all proceeds she gets to keep to herself for managing the sale of the books on Saturday.

 

As a weird turn of events, we ended up getting all philosophical in the house tonight after viewing a documentary called, "What would Jesus buy?"

 

I was laughing like crazy at points in it, and very sobered at other moments. So now we are discussing the concept of "Made In America" as a value, slowly studying items in our house, where they came from and researching the past and current records of companies of the items around us.

 

It's making some of her decisions of "keep/giveaway" really interesting to listen to. Enjoying myself in the process, but why am I keeping a box of rocks?

 

Do I need rock therapy or something?

[kpnick in nc]

Right now I'm in my office room, where my goal is to get it decluttered so I can actually start using the treadmill. :

 

I just got back in town, so I'll start tomorrow. Our treadmill is in our bedroom covered with ironing to be done and surrounded by bins of kids' clothes. I think I'll start there...

[desertmum]

We are moving soon so I am taking the opportunity to get rid of stuff behind my husband's back (and behind my kid's too). Today I am doing the lounge.

[Erika]

I am starting today with the living room.

[Carrie12345]

I got my dining room (slash school book area) mostly done yesterday! My plan is to finish it off this morning (including washing walls/windows/baseboards) and move on to the main bathroom and laundry closet!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

My kitchen was clean yesterday, but then I made dinner!

 

I think my jump start motivation will come when the neighbor says I can start moving moving in!

[DawnM]

I will keep going on Monday for sure! In fact, if I do now and your 2 weeks I still will need more time I think.

 

But I plan to devote a min. of 30 min. per day to this from yesterday until the end of your 2 weeks and see where I get.

 

Dawn

 

Me too. Also, we are away on vacation this week, but I am DYING to do this. Is there anyone up for a two-week long decluttering starting next Monday, by any chance?

[DawnM]

Yesterday I cleaned out a closet and was able to give myself 3 new empty shelves for curriculum storage.

 

I also cleaned a small section of the garage, but it felt like more because I cleaned out 3 cabinets and put all of the ski boots and roller blades in one small closet, put all the camping gear in another, and filled a garbage can with JUNK (broken stuff, rusted out stuff, papers from 7 years ago, etc...)

 

Today my goal is to tackle the rest of that side of the garage. I would also like to list some curriculum I am no longer using.

 

Dawn

[JoyfulMama]

I worked all day yesterday, but I did make sure everything that had already been sorted through went out the door.

 

Today the weather is a little cooler this morning, so I will work on the third floor, and box up books and and sort through holiday decorations.

[cuckoomamma]

Worked all day yesterday and am not sure how I'll fit today in!

[DawnM]

Well that is ambitious!

 

I am not TOUCHING things like holiday decorations until the main areas are cleared out and clean.

 

If I can't see it (ie: attic!) I am not bothering! :lol:

 

Dawn

 

I worked all day yesterday, but I did make sure everything that had already been sorted through went out the door.

 

Today the weather is a little cooler this morning, so I will work on the third floor, and box up books and and sort through holiday decorations.

[enviromommy]

I will keep going on Monday for sure! In fact, if I do now and your 2 weeks I still will need more time I think.

 

But I plan to devote a min. of 30 min. per day to this from yesterday until the end of your 2 weeks and see where I get.

 

Dawn

 

Great; "see" you Monday.

[Gailmegan]

I did nothing yesterday. *hangs head in shame* But today I am going to tackle the school room. If you see me here, yell at me! :tongue_smilie:

[JoyfulMama]

Well that is ambitious!

 

I am not TOUCHING things like holiday decorations until the main areas are cleared out and clean.

 

If I can't see it (ie: attic!) I am not bothering! :lol:

 

Dawn

 

Well, I wouldn't either, but I need to decide what I am keeping and what I am leaving for my husband.

 

Just went through the crawl space in one hour, and have LARGE pile of donate, small pile of trash, and small bit to keep. Didn't have time (or mental energy) for holiday decorations. I think I need a a friend for that, and she's due at 6:30pm!

 

Now for some school, then off to work some more, and a bit of playtime. :)

Edited July 14, 2011 by JoyfulMama

[Purpledaizy]

We are moving soon so I am taking the opportunity to get rid of stuff behind my husband's back (and behind my kid's too). Today I am doing the lounge.

 

 

My husband is on a week long youth group mission trip, so I am using the opportunity to do the same!

[beaners]

I don't think I could tackle a room a day here, but I reorganized my schedule a few weeks ago and the difference is amazing. My husband has different days off every week, so I made up a five day schedule with two days that float. I also added in a job on one day where I carry the basket of outgrown clothes and stray seasonal items all into the basement and stuff them into the appropriate bins. We needed to buy a few more bins for that.

 

I'm spending about 20 minutes decluttering and organizing a room each day. If I want to do more I can, but I can also sweep the floor and walk away at the point. It's been so much easier to go in and do stuff when I know I don't have to get it all done today. More seems to get done when I actually go clean too!

[Bang!Zoom!]

(I'm moving remember)

 

Today I am grouping things and going through them, what to keep, what to get rid of.

 

Pottery, crystal, makeup (it seems to be all over the place) and cleaners all gathered up.

 

I went through the little ones art work yesterday, placed the extra in mailers and will be sending the packages to family that might appreciate having some for their homes with handwritten letters.

 

There sure was a lot of that sort of thing. I photographed them before packing them up.

[AmeliaBinMO]

How's everyone doing?

 

Yesterday I worked on our laundry room, which always seems to catch a lot of clutter because that is the room that we come through from the garage. Got it done, though! It could use a deeper decluttering on the high shelves, but it is now worthy of being seen by humans, so I am moving on! Today I am in the master bedroom. I also finished boxing up some old clothing and called for a donation pickup for next week. I'm going to take those donation boxes to the garage right now, get off the computer, and get in the master bedroom to work.

 

I'll check back with you all later! I'm starting to feel a bit tired, but company is coming next week. There is no motivator more magical than impending company! :D

[melissel]

I'm almost done with the office. I got rid of SO MUCH stuff! Our fax machine, tons of CD-ROMs and old floppy disks, old papers and folders, a big box of old Scholastic catalogs, old electronics (drop-off is Monday, yay!). The recycling guys took the bags of shredded paper this morning--I was so worried they wouldn't, our recycling instructions are ambiguous at best :glare: I cleaned off shelves and moved things that really needed shelf space up there, and I got rid of old packing materials and boxes and a useless little table.

 

My desk is now free and the treadmill is nearly free. I need to clean off DH's desk mess (which is mostly made by the girls when they play on the computer there), and get rid of the stuff that's been boxed up (electronics recycling drop-off and Goodwill drop-off), and the office will be done. I expect to finish the cleaning tonight and the drop-offs between now and Monday.

 

Oh, and we discovered that a laptop that DH thought was dead is actually not :party: Now I have a laptop to put HST+ on!

 

Next up is my bedroom :ack2: That will take a few days at least because I'm also going to be cleaning out my closet :banghead:

 

I hope everyone else is doing well! One*mom, you sound like you're really making progress. I'm glad you got the cookbooks sorted out and are rethinking your philosophy of quality versus quantity etc.

Edited July 14, 2011 by melissel

[melissel]

How's everyone doing?

 

Yesterday I worked on our laundry room, which always seems to catch a lot of clutter because that is the room that we come through from the garage. Got it done, though! It could use a deeper decluttering on the high shelves, but it is now worthy of being seen by humans, so I am moving on! Today I am in the master bedroom. I also finished boxing up some old clothing and called for a donation pickup for next week. I'm going to take those donation boxes to the garage right now, get off the computer, and get in the master bedroom to work.

 

I'll check back with you all later! I'm starting to feel a bit tired, but company is coming next week. There is no motivator more magical than impending company! :D

 

So true! Thankfully, our laundry room is only a laundry pile magnet, but it does collect a lot of dust and leaves and such from going in and out to the yard there. The floor is always such a nightmare for me!

[Carrie12345]

Ugh. The only thing I've really done today was to clean my washing machine. Of course, that's better than nothing! And now I can see my clothes go round and round since there's no icky film! :lol:

[Bang!Zoom!]

Wonderful...another 'thing' challenge.

 

The name of this problem? Ice Cream Maker.

 

We had spent a weekend away in Portland, and had gone to Powells Bookstore; while I was there, we all picked out this gellato cookbook. (Here I go again..lol)

 

So I went out, bought all the extras to make homemade ice cream, have the recipe book, the machine, and I have NEVER used it.

 

Do I make an exception here and say it's because this kitchen has been horrid and unfriendly and I will use it when we move - or do I call this "one of my stupid" moments, get rid of it all and move on?

 

I'm leaning towards taking it with us with a strict condition. Use it in the first 2 weeks after settling in or else it goes.

 

I seem to have an "appliance problem" apparently as I move though closets and cupboards. Wow, do I ever have a lot of machines....ugh.

 

How many appliances and gadgets do you guys have that sit unused? Anyone?

[Hoggirl]

Wonderful...another 'thing' challenge.

 

The name of this problem? Ice Cream Maker.

 

We had spent a weekend away in Portland, and had gone to Powells Bookstore; while I was there, we all picked out this gellato cookbook. (Here I go again..lol)

 

So I went out, bought all the extras to make homemade ice cream, have the recipe book, the machine, and I have NEVER used it.

 

Do I make an exception here and say it's because this kitchen has been horrid and unfriendly and I will use it when we move - or do I call this "one of my stupid" moments, get rid of it all and move on?

 

I'm leaning towards taking it with us with a strict condition. Use it in the first 2 weeks after settling in or else it goes.

 

I seem to have an "appliance problem" apparently as I move though closets and cupboards. Wow, do I ever have a lot of machines....ugh.

 

How many appliances and gadgets do you guys have that sit unused? Anyone?

 

I used to have an "appliance problem" as well. I have gotten rid of an espresso machine, a fancy deep fryer, and a tortilla maker among other similar items. Just let it go. Otherwise the need to get it out and use it will bug you.

 

I've gotten A LOT better about not letting stuff INTO my house. That's the key!

[Gailmegan]

Yay. Coming back to say that I have decluttered all the visible areas of the school room and most of the closet. I still have one pile of papers to sort through and I should try to organize the closet better. I will survive if I don't do more to the closet, but I'd feel really good if I could figure out how to arrange it better.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Ah man, did I ever hit a milestone. I want to share, and I think I can do it in one sentence.

 

Here's the news!

 

All laundry is completed.

 

(this means the fine details of repair/sorting/donations/seasonal/ironing/put away/starched/sized)

 

he he, this is a big accomplishment for me

[kpnick in nc]

Still working on my bedroom. Put away all ds's too small clothes and some general decluttering. Going to beach on Saturday, so I really am going to try 1 room/day.