November Declutter Challenge Week One!!

[Halcyon]

Hi all! Okay, so the big day is finally here. Decluttering WOOT! Okay, so it's not that exciting. But maybe if we cheer each other on, we can get more done than we might otherwise.

 

I have created a public google doc which you can print out for this week to use. There is a space for you to enter your own daily task as well. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15zkW0eWdGLE7g9m7nIA7KPfEUT-rQqdchCHXgWPgCkw/edit?login=1&pli=1&overridemobile=true

 

For those of you who prefer to just read here, I am posting the weekly schedule below. Remember, YOU CAN DO MORE THAN I HAVE LISTED HERE! I wanted to make it doable for everyone, but feel free to do more if you get your mojo going, just share with everyone how you're doing so we can get motivated too! I know when I get going with a task, I tend to want to keep going, but some days I only have limited time.

 

I also suggest getting three boxes and labelling them as keep, donate and trash. That way, as you go through the month, you can have these three boxes in which to place things you would like to donate, things you want to keep but perhaps need to store in a different area of the house or garage, and things you are ggoing to throw away (this one can be emptied each day so you're not tempted to keep anything :tongue_smilie:) The best advice I have read when you're trying to decide whether or not to keep something or donate is this: will someone else make better use of this item than I will in the future, or have in the past. And remember, how you have used something in the past is a VERY good indicator of whether you will use it in the future. That waffle maker you pull out once every 6 months becaause you feel guilty for not using it more? Donate it. And do you really need 37 coffee mugs? How about the cracked and broken popcorn machine? Remember, simplicity is bliss :D

 

 

Onto the projects!

 

The Twenty Minute Group Focus is what everyone in the group will try to work on each day. Under the Optional Focus, choose an area you want to work on that is specific to your home and needs. This is obviously optional!

 

WEEK ONE: KITCHEN

Monday November 5, Day 1:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Junk Drawer. Remove everything from your junk drawer. Throw away anything broken, useless, or unused over past 6 months that you know you will not use again.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

Tuesday November 6, Day 2:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Cutlery Drawer. Go through cutlery and "other" drawers, any extra spoons, etc give to goodwill, wipe down interior completely.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

Wednesday November 7, Day 3:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 1. Work on one shelf or area of the pantry at a time, removing all food items, sorting and throwing away any past date items. Duplicate canned goods can be donated.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Thursday November 8, Day 4:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 2. Continue work from day 3.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Friday November 9, Day 5:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Fridge. Choose one section of fridge to work on. Remove all items. Wipe down shelves or remove and wash in sink. This job might take longer than 20 minutes...sorry! Remove all outdated, moldy or unusable food. Organize and wipe down door shelves.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Saturday November 19, Day 6:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Freezer. Remove all items from freezer. Working quickly, throw away all unusable or unidentifiable foods, remove ice buildup from freezer and organize.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Sunday: Rest.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Halcyon

[extendedforecast]

This is definitely doable. I already have some ideas for my optional tasks: clean the oven, run the dishwasher empty with vinegar to clean it out, clean the grout.

[luvnlattes]

LOVE seeing that the junk drawer is up first. That thing drives me crazy but I never take the time to do anything about it. Getting it done first thing will make me smile :) .

[AStableBeginning]

Excited, in a weird sort of way, to get this started and to purge the house. The schedule will definitely keep me on track, Thanks :D

[Halcyon]

LOVE seeing that the junk drawer is up first. That thing drives me crazy but I never take the time to do anything about it. Getting it done first thing will make me smile :) .

 

That was exactly my thought. My junk drawer is driving me nuts!

[Paintedlady]

Ooh, I hate the junk drawer! But I desperately need to clean it out. :thumbup1:

[jfletcher8091]

Looking forward to it- and looking forward to more suggestions for "optional" tasks- I barely know where to start!!!

[Halcyon]

Looking forward to it- and looking forward to more suggestions for "optional" tasks- I barely know where to start!!!

 

Maybe everyone can post what their Optional Tasks are going to be, assuming they are doing them? Here are mine:

 

Day One: clean out microwave oven

Day Two: clean out oven

Day Three: clean out pots and pans cupboards, wipe down, organize

Day Four: Clean area under sink, organize cleaning supplies, throw out old or unusable items

Day Five: Wipe down TOPS of cabinets (those areas that get covered in gross oily dirt)

Day Six: Organize medicine/vitamin cabinet, throw away expired stuff, unusable or old vitamins.

[Mommyfaithe]

This is AWESOME!! Ok....looking forward to beginning tomorrow am....yay!!!

[edeemarie]

Halcyon, thank you SO much for putting all of this together! I know the holiday season will be much more relaxing knowing the house is in order, and it will be such a motivation knowing so many other people are doing it too!

[Halcyon]

Halcyon, thank you SO much for putting all of this together! I know the holiday season will be much more relaxing knowing the house is in order, and it will be such a motivation knowing so many other people are doing it too!

 

Youre welcome! And believe me, this is as much for me as for anyone else--it will be easier getting my jobs done when I know there are others out there doing the same thing!

 

I am going to post a before and after pic tomorrow of my junk drawer. Yes, I am crazy!

[Researcher]

This is great! I'm excited to get started tomorrow. I don't know why, but I always enjoy cleaning and organizing during this time of year. It makes me happy.....weird, I know.

[TracyP]

Woohoo!!!! It really is that exciting.:D

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for organizing this.

[Halcyon]

This is great! I'm excited to get started tomorrow. I don't know why, but I always enjoy cleaning and organizing during this time of year. It makes me happy.....weird, I know.

 

I think it's because it is starting to get colder, and at least for me, we'll be spending a bit more time indoors, so it's nice to make the environment nicer. Plus, I want my house to be clean and organized for the holiday season!

[Halcyon]

Woohoo!!!! It really is that exciting.:D

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for organizing this.

 

You are welcome! Anyone else care to list their "optional" tasks?

[Researcher]

I think it's because it is starting to get colder, and at least for me, we'll be spending a bit more time indoors, so it's nice to make the environment nicer. Plus, I want my house to be clean and organized for the holiday season!

 

Yes, I think you're right. It's also nice to spruce up things while enjoying hot tea, warm meals, and sweaters. There's just something so cozy about it.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Thanks, Halcyon! I will start tomorrow!

By the way, how is Spanish going?

Edited November 5, 2012 by aomom

[HomeschoolMamaOfTwo]

I'm still in. Love the way you set it up!

[Carrie12345]

Monday November 5, Day 1:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Junk Drawer.

Tuesday November 6, Day 2:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Cutlery Drawer.

Wait, you mean these are different things?!?! :lol::lol::lol:

[nukeswife]

Thanks for posting this. In order to do the Junk Drawer, I'll have to go out of the kitchen. We only have 5 drawers in our whole kitchen so there is no room in there for a junk drawer. Mine resides in my living room in the "Martha Stewart Island" we bought that wouldn't fit in this kitchen after we moved.

 

I can't wait to clean it out. I have my donation box ready and waiting. :001_smile:

[Halcyon]

Thanks, Halcyon! I will start tomorrow!

By the way, how is Spanish going?

 

SOO much better since we moved to more of a living language approach. Slow, but we are enjoying ourselves. I am using Senor Jordan videos with them, and we try and talk aloud in Spanish for at least 20 minutes each day, me asking them questions, and reviewing vocabulary. We arent doing much written stuff right now. It's TOTALLY opposite the way we are approaching Latin, but it's more enjoyable than the grammar approach I had been using with them. My younger actually prefers Madrigals to all the books we have used, so I pull that out from time to time.

 

Thanks for asking!

[Halcyon]

Monday November 5, Day 1:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Junk Drawer.

Tuesday November 6, Day 2:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Cutlery Drawer.

Wait, you mean these are different things?!?! :lol::lol::lol:

 

:lol:

 

It's true. All I know is that the junk drawer is getting so bad that it is MIGrATING to the cutlery drawer....not good. Not good at all.:tongue_smilie:

[Halcyon]

Thanks for posting this. In order to do the Junk Drawer, I'll have to go out of the kitchen. We only have 5 drawers in our whole kitchen so there is no room in there for a junk drawer. Mine resides in my living room in the "Martha Stewart Island" we bought that wouldn't fit in this kitchen after we moved.

 

I can't wait to clean it out. I have my donation box ready and waiting. :001_smile:

 

I figured some people's wouldnt be located in the kitchen, but i also figured EVERYONE needed to clean it out at some point during the month, so what the hey....:001_smile:

[Paintedlady]

A few of my optional activities are to clean under the stove & fridge. Also to wipe down/wash blinds or curtains in the kitchen and wash the windows and light fixtures.

[Trillian]

An optional activity here will be cleaning the hood, not the outside, I do that regularly, but the grates inside - Yuck!

[Dani n Monies Mom]

This is going to be good. I'm a little nervous though. What do you do with 2 junk drawers (only counting the ones in the kitchen) and 5 cutlery drawers!!:confused:

 

Ava

[Kakids]

Look how organized this is, here's to me staying on track. Thank you.

[TraciWA]

Love this! Thank you for doing this. BTW I sent a trunk load to the Goodwill on Friday!

[msjones]

I love this! I'll be joining in...

[sandst]

We got a few junk rooms not junk drawers and seeing that the kitchen is in the mist of renovations and the dining rooms has all the kitchen stuff in I cannot do the stuff on the list.

 

I started last week cleaning and organizing the classroom. So that will be my focus...

[Soror]

I'm feeling rather spunky these days so I think I'll be joining in (unless I have a baby instead). I'm glad to start with the kitchen but I don't know if I'll do the same order. My drawers are pretty decent but I have a few cabinets that need re-organizing.

[Deb in NZ]

I have a junk box. I HATE that thing. I've gone through it so many times but I'm not hard enough on it because a lot of the stuff is dh's and he does not purge.

 

I have had junk boxes for years :lol: When one would get full I would put it in the corner & get a new box. After a decade of this behavior, my junk had taken over 25% of our lounge :glare: I've spent the past couple days focusing on reclaiming that corner. I only have 8 boxes left to sort & as I've placed them in front of the TV, no one is going to let me get sidetracked :tongue_smilie:

 

I like the fact that you are starting with the kitchen. When my kitchen is in order, the day seems to flow so much smoother. I'll plan to do your 20" task + a couple of my junk boxes each day.

 

Thanks again for starting this.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Deb in NZ

[BugsMama]

I'm in! Thank you for putting this together! Sadly, my kitchen junk drawer is a beast of a junk cupboard.... so i'm in for a real treat.

[AdventureMoms]

WEEK ONE: KITCHEN

Monday November 5, Day 1:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Junk Drawer. Remove everything from your junk drawer. Throw away anything broken, useless, or unused over past 6 months that you know you will not use again.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

Tuesday November 6, Day 2:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Cutlery Drawer. Go through cutlery and "other" drawers, any extra spoons, etc give to goodwill, wipe down interior completely.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

Wednesday November 7, Day 3:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 1. Work on one shelf or area of the pantry at a time, removing all food items, sorting and throwing away any past date items. Duplicate canned goods can be donated.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Thursday November 8, Day 4:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 2. Continue work from day 3.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Friday November 9, Day 5:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Fridge. Choose one section of fridge to work on. Remove all items. Wipe down shelves or remove and wash in sink. This job might take longer than 20 minutes...sorry! Remove all outdated, moldy or unusable food. Organize and wipe down door shelves.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Saturday November 19, Day 6:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Freezer. Remove all items from freezer. Working quickly, throw away all unusable or unidentifiable foods, remove ice buildup from freezer and organize.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Sunday: Rest.

 

OK, confession time. I have three junk drawers. AND a cutlery drawer. Two of them are mostly organized, but yeah.... So Day 1 my "optional focus" will be to do the OTHER junk drawers.

 

Day 2: Kitchen utensil drawer (spatulas, serving utensils, etc)

Day 3: probably skipping the optional - wed. is a really busy day. However I should be able to do my pantry in one day, I don't have much of one.

Day 4: Upper cupboards by the sink. These contain a lot of random junk so I don't even know what to call them. This will probably be both my main and optional tasks for Thurs. since I plan to finish the pantry on Wed.

Day 5. My fridge is already in great shape! Yay for the amazing cleaning lady! Instead I will work on the cupboards around the fridge. As many as I can fit in. Fri is busy for us too.

Day 6. I plan to do both my freezer and my second freezer in the basement. We want to get a new freezer but I really have to clean out the old one first!

Day 7. If I take a rest day I lose momentum, so I'm going to push through. By day 7 I hope to do the lazy susan and cabinets around the stove.

[Tracy in Ky]

I used to have TWO junk drawers. Drove me crazy but I couldn't stop putting stuff in them. Finally, I emptied one and put dish clothes in it. Worked like a charm!! :lol:

 

Thanks for doing this, Halcyon! Wonderful idea.

[PRTGSw2K]

My optional are wiping down the laundry closet doors, organizing the top cabinets in the kitchen, and cleaning out the Tupperware cabinet.

 

Thanks for doing this!

[DarlaS]

WEEK ONE: KITCHEN

Monday November 5, Day 1:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Junk Drawer. Remove everything from your junk drawer. Throw away anything broken, useless, or unused over past 6 months that you know you will not use again.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

Tuesday November 6, Day 2:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Cutlery Drawer. Go through cutlery and "other" drawers, any extra spoons, etc give to goodwill, wipe down interior completely.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

Wednesday November 7, Day 3:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 1. Work on one shelf or area of the pantry at a time, removing all food items, sorting and throwing away any past date items. Duplicate canned goods can be donated.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Thursday November 8, Day 4:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 2. Continue work from day 3.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Friday November 9, Day 5:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Fridge. Choose one section of fridge to work on. Remove all items. Wipe down shelves or remove and wash in sink. This job might take longer than 20 minutes...sorry! Remove all outdated, moldy or unusable food. Organize and wipe down door shelves.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Saturday November 19, Day 6:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Freezer. Remove all items from freezer. Working quickly, throw away all unusable or unidentifiable foods, remove ice buildup from freezer and organize.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus:

 

Sunday: Rest.

 

Okay, not sure how the rest of my week will go, but my junk drawer is done. It's little, so I'm sure that helped. I've also cleaned out one upper cabinet.

 

For my bonus project today, I'm going to go ahead and start on the other top drawers. That's six more drawers and two or three more fridge door shelves I hope to get to today (while waiting for the appliance repair man. :tongue_smilie:)

[Halcyon]

Okay, not sure how the rest of my week will go, but my junk drawer is done. It's little, so I'm sure that helped. I've also cleaned out one upper cabinet.

 

For my bonus project today, I'm going to go ahead and start on the other top drawers. That's six more drawers and two or three more fridge door shelves I hope to get to today (while waiting for the appliance repair man. :tongue_smilie:)

 

You go!!!! I wont get to my junk drawer til after school...and then we have coop...and then there's hockey...aCK!!! :001_huh: I need to find 20 minutes LOL.

[Annie G]

Thanks SO much for putting this together!! I'm assigning your optional tasks to one of my kids, and coming up with more for the other kid- so reading what others are doing for optional tasks is really helpful.

 

Many times these lists have things that either aren't a problem in our house, or are just silly- like changing the dishtowels. These tasks are spot on perfect for our house AND reasonably easy to accomplish. Thanks again for all your hard work!!!

[2_girls_mommy]

YAY~ I told you I signed up for Flylady the other day. Her zone this week is kitchen too.

 

Dh gave me a jump on this last night by throwing out old leftovers and washing the tupperware for me. So I just need to pull the drawers and wipe them out.

 

My alternative tasks because my pantry shelves are pretty organized and I have no junk drawer:

 

 

• Wipe out all shelves in the fridge
  
• Pull stuff from all drawers and wipe them out.
  
• Pull out all of the pans from the pan cabinet and stack neatly and wipe them out.
  
• Pull out all of tupperware and wipe out cabinet stack neatly together and throw away the plethora of lids that no longer have containers. Where do they come from????
  
• Clean oven in anticipation of holiday baking
  
• Clean the shelves under the kitchen island. FULL of JUNK!
  

I may not get all of this done this week as we are also doing some decluttering of closets for a consignment sale that has to be done by Thurs, homeschooling, voting, babysitting 2 full days, teaching co-op one day, leading girl scouts one evening, and running the kids to their art class one afternoon and robotics one afternoon ( MY LIFE IS NUTS RIGHT NOW) But this will be my list. I will do what I can in the 20 min. time.

 

Next week after the consignment sale my extra task will be to bake 1 holiday item and get it in the freezer.

[MrsMe]

I did all my cold meds and such on Friday. I don't have a junk drawer. Oh how I wish I had one. My drawers are too small. :(

[HomeschoolMamaOfTwo]

I bolded what I'll be doing each day. :D

 

WEEK ONE: KITCHEN

 

Monday November 5, Day 1:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Junk Drawer. Remove everything from your junk drawer. Throw away anything broken, useless, or unused over past 6 months that you know you will not use again. OK we don't have a junk drawer at all (in the kitchen or out) so I think I'll do my 2nd pantry area. I started some on it yesterday.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus: Clean out microwave

 

Tuesday November 6, Day 2:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Cutlery Drawer. Go through cutlery and "other" drawers, any extra spoons, etc give to goodwill, wipe down interior completely.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus: Outside of the fridge (magnets, etc)

 

Wednesday November 7, Day 3:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 1. Work on one shelf or area of the pantry at a time, removing all food items, sorting and throwing away any past date items. Duplicate canned goods can be donated.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus: Under the sink area

 

Thursday November 8, Day 4:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Pantry Day 2. Continue work from day 3.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus: All other lower cabinets, go through

 

Friday November 9, Day 5:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Fridge. Choose one section of fridge to work on. Remove all items. Wipe down shelves or remove and wash in sink. This job might take longer than 20 minutes...sorry! Remove all outdated, moldy or unusable food. Organize and wipe down door shelves.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus: All other upper cabinets, go through.

 

Saturday November 19, Day 6:

Twenty Minute Group Focus: Freezer. Remove all items from freezer. Working quickly, throw away all unusable or unidentifiable foods, remove ice buildup from freezer and organize.

Twenty Minute Optional Focus: 2nd Chest Freezer in garage

 

Sunday: Rest.

[AdventureMoms]

Somewhere between breakfasts, diapers (what is WITH the diapers today) and wicked cranky toddlers, I did get two of the 3 drawers empty. Now I just have one more. Oh yes, and a basket of junk to put back in! I took before pictures,too!

[DarlaS]

You go!!!! I wont get to my junk drawer til after school...and then we have coop...and then there's hockey...aCK!!! :001_huh: I need to find 20 minutes LOL.

 

Well, for once daylight saving's time is on my side and I'm feeling kind of motivated today. Going to take advantage of that while it lasts. :D

[NorthwestMom]

I am totally in! I really need to clean out the junk drawer. For my optional area, I am going to attack my desk, which is also in the kitchen.

 

Here's a fun hint: take before and after pictures of your focus area. It's so motivating to see how different it looks.

[2_girls_mommy]

2 days in a row I have done my FlyLady morning routine: 15 min. of loving exercise for self, get dressed and teeth done, and swish and swipe the bathroom while in there. I switched the laundry 1st thing this morning, though I haven't folded and put away yet. But I will. I can't unload the dishwasher 1st thing because it wasn't full to run last night. So I may be off schedule for that. But I did make sure the sink was empty before bed and loaded breakfast right away.

 

Then for my 15/20 min. of decluttering I took out the 2 fridge drawers, cleaned them out and under and then the bottom shelf of the fridge and the walls. I now keep opening it to look at it :)

 

Good start. Thanks for everyone posting what you are doing. Keep it up! I am off to fold that basket and supervise spelling.

 

**** I don't have a junk drawer, so I did the optional for my 1st. I will try to squeeze in another optional this evening. *****

[Paintedlady]

I used to have TWO junk drawers. Drove me crazy but I couldn't stop putting stuff in them. Finally, I emptied one and put dish clothes in it. Worked like a charm!! :lol:

 

 

:iagree: That's exactly what I did. Now that drawer holds kitchen towels.

[Jennifer3141]

Attack of the junk drawer commences today! :D

 

My optional taks are going to be keep cleaning and reorganizing cupboards and washing my dishwasher out. That's a good, easy one!!

[extendedforecast]

Not only did I deal with the junk in the junk drawer, I decided to make it a place to hold the grilling utensils and skewers. This was the first house we ever had a junk drawer, and it only lasted 6 months. Now I'm going to give the floors a good cleaning.

[Monkey Island Academy]

Thank you for putting this together! Great motivation! Junk drawer is done, and my (not so) optional task for today is to hand wash the yucky load of dishes that are currently festering in my dishwasher. It must have died last night during the dinner load, so that was a nice surprise when I opened it this morning. :glare:

 

Other optional tasks this week will be cleaning out under the sink, cleaning the micro and dusting the tops of the cupboards.