swimmermom3 Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Are you organizing during the Christmas/winter break and if so, will you please share what your projects are? Â I always feel a little down when the Christmas decorations are packed away and the days are very gray. My solution for the past couple of years has been to tackle small organizational projects that make my life easier, then I don't miss the warmth of the Christmas lights quite so much. Â We are at another transition point where there are no longer any small children in the home, but young adults. Scooters, Legos, art supplies, bats, balls, and gloves have been turned over to the younger set of kids in the neighborhood. Our storage areas and living spaces need to be upgraded and reorganized a bit to reflect the fact that there are young working "adults" here and only one homeschooling student. Â Today, I am starting with our hall entry closet. It's not terrible, but I don't think we use the space efficiently anymore. Â What are you working on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Walls. Today I took down a lot of pictures and stuff hanging on the walls. I dusted the walls using a dust rag on a swiffer. Then I rearranged the pictures differently. Some things are just old and dated looking so they didn't go back up. We are also in a  transitioning phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 WE put together a shelf that goes over our electric piano. (or whatever it is called). Then we took down the tree and put things back to a table. Â Â I could be doing more productive tasks, but right now I'm sitting on the couch with my iPad and thinking of how to decorate my bookshelf. It was so nice before but all the books are back and the library and it looks baren and disorganized all at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 You know it! :thumbup1:  Working on laundry room, linen closet, and school stuff.  They're all in the same area known as - The Basement -  I dug my way in and I'm working back, clearing as I go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 We got the Christmas decorations put away today. Now my dining room looks like a troll came through because I am going through everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Yep. I am trying to get things like decorations/seasonal stuff all organized. We got lots of toys with pieces, like Legos, games, puzzles, etc, so we are planning a big modular shelving unit on an empty wall as well as a desk project for the alcove upstairs. We are also perhaps moving halfway across the country (again) after the summer. We are trying to plan on making changes/organizational decisions based on that. We have to paint too and that's a HUGE project. Our house is over 2k sq ft. and we have to do all of the open concept spaces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I started quilting this year and all of my quilting supplies and fabric are in the dining room/school room. I am working on getting them out of there! I share an office with my husband, but since I got a laptop about five years ago, I haven't used the office for much, so I am going to repurpose my wall as a storage area. I will still have to do the sewing downstairs, but I should be able to do the storage and hopefully the cutting upstairs. This of course is a multiple step project, I am working on step one now.  Step 1: Organize fabric stash so that it can be stored easily - I ordered some mini fabric bolts to store my yardage. They should arrive today, so for now the yardage is just in piles. Later today I will wrap it around the bolts. I am cutting the odd sized pieces into hopefully useful sizes: fat quarters, fat eighths, 10" squares, 5" squares, 2 1/2" squares, 2 1/2" x 11" strips and 2 1/2' x 42" strips. Then I am dividing them into three bins based on their color: neutrals, brights and pastels/softer colors So far it is going well, but it's tedious.  Step 2: Clean my side of the office out - I need to decide what I need to keep and what I can store away or throw away.  Step 3: Based on how much quilting stuff I have to arrange (planning for the growth of my fabric stash) and how much office stuff I need to keep handy, I will figure out a storage system. Right now I am leaning towards one or two bookshelves. If I can get away with one bookshelf (doubtful), then I will turn my desk on it's side and use it for a cutting table. If I need two bookshelves (probably), I will have to take the desk apart and decide what to do with it.  Step 4: Move everything that is going into the office into it's proper place (yay!).  Step 5: Get the dining room/schoolroom ready for the next semester - This won't be too difficult. I just need to take curriculum that was finished last semester off of the shelves and maybe thin some reference books a bit. It's hard to realize that our homeschooling days are coming to a close and I need to get rid of some curriculum. More room for my own books, I suppose.  After this big project is finished, I need to clean out my closet and then make a housekeeping schedule. I had one years ago, but I got out of the habit. Things were in much better shape when I had one, so I want to go back to that.   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I am cleaning my room. By the time I finish cleaning other areas of the house I'm too tired to deal with my room. My room never gets clean. I know that's a liability because my private spot is not peaceful. Â I have a clothing donation bag ( the kids are trained to throw their outgrown clothing into my room) a book donation bag. I've cleaned straightened my closet, all clothes are put away -- washing was done yesterday. I've swept. I need to do the bathroom, sort through my sewing supplies, a couple large boxes of multi sensory teaching materials and piles books for pleasure reading. Â I can see a peaceful space emerging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I put together two bookcases for the classroom. Now I need to conquer the pile of paperwork on my desk. The classroom closet is very messy, I've been throwing stuff in there for the last week. My linen closet is a mess too, that's on the list. I need to hang a new light in my bedroom. Aside from that I have a lot of paperwork, end of year stuff to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Dh is sorting through and reorganizing the attic today. Â After I shower, I will start sorting through clothes for donation and textile recycling (our town has a special bin--all other recycling is single-stream curbside). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I need to go through toys too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I am cleaning my room. By the time I finish cleaning other areas of the house I'm too tired to deal with my room. My room never gets clean. I know that's a liability because my private spot is not peaceful.   I need to do this. I have to start with my closet because I have piles of stuff  around the room that I'm not sure what to do with. My closet is not only for clothes, but for storing a small amount of stray stuff that doesn't have anywhere else to go, like the comforter we use on the futon when we have guests.  It's a frustrating room for me to spend any time in, I hope to restore some peace there soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I am cleaning my room. By the time I finish cleaning other areas of the house I'm too tired to deal with my room. My room never gets clean. I know that's a liability because my private spot is not peaceful. Â I have a clothing donation bag ( the kids are trained to throw their outgrown clothing into my room) a book donation bag. I've cleaned straightened my closet, all clothes are put away -- washing was done yesterday. I've swept. I need to do the bathroom, sort through my sewing supplies, a couple large boxes of multi sensory teaching materials and piles books for pleasure reading. Â I can see a peaceful space emerging. Â That is us too. My closet is a freaking disaster, and dh desperately needs to go through his side of the closet. Lots of stuff that no longer fits or that is so incredibly ratty from having it for 10 years that it's ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I plan next years garden about now and make my order lists for the spring. I will be painting walls in the main room in a couple weeks. I like to do any painting in the winter when I can't get outside. After those two things I'm wanting to organize the office. That's my to do list for the next while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I'm in the middle of de-cluttering my closet, starting at the ceiling, and working down to the floor. Lots of homeschool stuff, memorabilia, beloved books . . . and junk. Give me the wisdom to tell the difference! Â It's nice to know others are purging as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I restored order to my container cabinet yesterday. It's amazing how messy that cabinet can get- Pyrex with lids, casseroles with lids, jars to lids. I'm blaming the lids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendy not in HI Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I just finished putting away all of the Christmas things. Â Instead of just chucking it all in to totes, I sorted through it. Â I filled a garbaged bag of junk and a box of stuff for Goodwill. Â Then I put the decorations that I'm keeping in to the totes as they are labeled - lights in the "Light Box", ornaments in the "Ornament Box", etc. That feels great! Â This morning I went through my closet and sorted out things that I don't love. Â Next I'm going to go through my plastic storage drawer in the kitchen and get rid of all of the excess lids. Â I'm not sure how that happens... Â I got a set of new storage things and I"m going to just go ahead and get rid of all of the other stuff. Â That's it for today, but next week I am planning to tackle my sewing/craft area. Â I want to be able to sew without having to shift all of the craft stuff around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I am organizing and decluttering. I started with the kitchen. I have gone through several sets of cabinets and packed away things that my young adult dd will need at some point (she is currently in a dorm but hopes to get an apartment next year). I will put these things in the attic for her. I am getting rid of things that I can't identify or are broken or are not useful.  I am also donating some things. I went through my two drawer filing cabinet, the bottom drawer of which has been used for various small framed picture storage. I took out the pics and am donating the frames.  My dh has just finished putting together my Christmas Expedit (the largest one Ikea makes), and I will put this in the homeschool area (our open dining room) and use the space to empty out a tall cabinet in my younger dd's room. Then dd will get a bookshelf (moved from my bedroom) in the space for her 2 million stuffies so maybe in the new year we will be able to walk through the room without stepping on stuffies and endangering life and limb. I will take the books from the shelf in my room and put them on a plant ledge in older dd's room. I will get rid of some books, I'm sure.  My bedroom is on my hit list, as well. Cluttered, too many random pieces of furniture, etc. I feel like we sleep in a storage room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Yes, I'm taking a break from some huge organizing jobs. The last couple of years have been rough for us and that has shown up in disorganization. My dh lost his job a while ago and hasn't found anything that pays above poverty wages, so he's been dumpster diving and trash picking to earn extra money from scrapping. He spends time tearing it apart to get more money, but our garage and basement have been overrun with the stuff he brings home. We also have stuff left over from garage sales and stuff I've put on Craigslist trying to sell. Our area is pretty depressed and it's hard to sell much of anything so that stuff is piling up too. I've decided that most of it just needs to be donated. I'll keep a few things and keep trying to sell them, but most of it just needs to get out of here. Although we need the money, we also need the space and peace of mind that less clutter brings. I just keep telling myself that the stuff I'm donating may help some other struggling family who needs it right now. The weather is unusually nice and we got some stuff done in the garage. Tonight I'll work on some paper clutter while I'm watching TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I would love to organize something. Problem is: I don't have anything that needs to be organized. Â The last project, over Christmas, was to organize recipes and cut and paste all printouts of favorite recipes into my recipe book that contains all my handwritten family recipes. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I've cleaned out one large kitchen cabinet (needed room), put appliances I don't want in a box in the garage (have young adult kids). And we got a cheap bookcase from Target for ds24 to put in his closet to give him more storage space. The economy has him stuck with us still, but I don't mind. I hope to get dd20 a large bookcase so she can have more storage as well. And maybe (but not holding my breath...) we can refinish dd's dresser and put varnish on the media stand that has been unfinished for a year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I'm painting the master bathroom today. We had a toilet installed and the walls were marked up. I tried to clean them but the paint is flat (who puts flat paint in a bathroom? Apparently the bank that was selling this house when we bought it). So, the bathroom is now half-way to a nice, similar-color gloss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Not yet but I usually do some organizing New Years week. I will most likely tackle some projects this coming week. I like to go through bedrooms etc. and get rid of excess stuff after Christmas. Today I need to do some basic cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I started quilting this year and all of my quilting supplies and fabric are in the dining room/school room. I am working on getting them out of there! I share an office with my husband, but since I got a laptop about five years ago, I haven't used the office for much, so I am going to repurpose my wall as a storage area. I will still have to do the sewing downstairs, but I should be able to do the storage and hopefully the cutting upstairs. This of course is a multiple step project, I am working on step one now.  Step 1: Organize fabric stash so that it can be stored easily - I ordered some mini fabric bolts to store my yardage. They should arrive today, so for now the yardage is just in piles. Later today I will wrap it around the bolts. I am cutting the odd sized pieces into hopefully useful sizes: fat quarters, fat eighths, 10" squares, 5" squares, 2 1/2" squares, 2 1/2" x 11" strips and 2 1/2' x 42" strips. Then I am dividing them into three bins based on their color: neutrals, brights and pastels/softer colors So far it is going well, but it's tedious.  Step 2: Clean my side of the office out - I need to decide what I need to keep and what I can store away or throw away.  Step 3: Based on how much quilting stuff I have to arrange (planning for the growth of my fabric stash) and how much office stuff I need to keep handy, I will figure out a storage system. Right now I am leaning towards one or two bookshelves. If I can get away with one bookshelf (doubtful), then I will turn my desk on it's side and use it for a cutting table. If I need two bookshelves (probably), I will have to take the desk apart and decide what to do with it.  Step 4: Move everything that is going into the office into it's proper place (yay!).  Step 5: Get the dining room/schoolroom ready for the next semester - This won't be too difficult. I just need to take curriculum that was finished last semester off of the shelves and maybe thin some reference books a bit. It's hard to realize that our homeschooling days are coming to a close and I need to get rid of some curriculum. More room for my own books, I suppose.  After this big project is finished, I need to clean out my closet and then make a housekeeping schedule. I had one years ago, but I got out of the habit. Things were in much better shape when I had one, so I want to go back to that. Use comic books boards for the fabric.  You can get a pack of 50-100 for under 6 bucks.  Then they stay on bookcases or in plastic tubs very nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 Walls. Today I took down a lot of pictures and stuff hanging on the walls. I dusted the walls using a dust rag on a swiffer. Then I rearranged the pictures differently. Some things are just old and dated looking so they didn't go back up. We are also in a  transitioning phase.  That's a great idea. Will you add anything new as a reward?  I have been so occupied with homeschooling the past few years that I have done little beyond cleaning and fresh paint. Everything looks a little tired, including me. :tongue_smilie: I would like to change what is on some of the walls - actually I would like to upgrade to more original art.  Transitioning is exciting and challenging to organize for. Things that had homes need to be moved because your life has changed. Then I end up with little stacks of "homeless" items.  WE put together a shelf that goes over our electric piano. (or whatever it is called). Then we took down the tree and put things back to a table.   I could be doing more productive tasks, but right now I'm sitting on the couch with my iPad and thinking of how to decorate my bookshelf. It was so nice before but all the books are back and the library and it looks baren and disorganized all at once.  Is it a bookshelf for books or decorative items? I love the mix of both best, but shelf space for books is at a premium. I hope to change that soon.  Yep. I am trying to get things like decorations/seasonal stuff all organized. We got lots of toys with pieces, like Legos, games, puzzles, etc, so we are planning a big modular shelving unit on an empty wall as well as a desk project for the alcove upstairs. We are also perhaps moving halfway across the country (again) after the summer. We are trying to plan on making changes/organizational decisions based on that. We have to paint too and that's a HUGE project. Our house is over 2k sq ft. and we have to do all of the open concept spaces  Are you doing the modular unit yourselves? When the kids were little, we had dozens of labeled plastic bins for puzzles, matchbox cars, action figures, and Legos. The kids could have one or two boxes out at a time. They could then exchange it for another box when they got tired of whatever they were playing with. It was a sanity saver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I would love to organize something. Problem is: I don't have anything that needs to be organized. Â Â Would you like to come over and help me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Would you like to come over and help me? Â If you were in my town, absolutely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I started today with moving all the science and history school books onto the living room bookshelves so there is room in ds's room for the books he got for Christmas (4 Diary of a Wimpy Kid, 6 39 Clues, and a few others), and moving the easier chapter books into dd's room.  I have to reorganize ALL our school stuff since we are going back to our old method of doing school but someone else is actually implementing it.  I need to clean out the closet in the girls room but it's very hard to do anything while oldest dd is home from college.  Go through the kids clothes and pull out things that don't fit, and then make a list of what they need (both got clothes for Christmas so hopefully not much else is needed).  Go through the toys and decide if there's stuff to get rid of. They are down to only a few types of toys already, although they both will play with stuff in the other room. Find places for all the Christmas gifts.Ds has Lego, animals (plastic figurines), Pokemon, and cars. He doesn't play with the cars much so they could probably go. Dd has Lego, dolls and their clothes (Barbie-size, American Girl, smaller Strawberry Shortcake, baby dolls), toy food and dishes, dress-up clothes.  My books are currently in nicely decorated boxes on the bookshelves. I thought it would look nicer but I don't like not being able to scan the spines easily. So, I'm going to undo all that.  I need to get the Goodreads book scanning app and start scanning in the books we have. I keep buying duplicates - mostly at the used bookstore so not expensive, but still annoying.  We have picture frames in the living room that still don't have any pictures of youngest dd. I really need to update them.  I'm off work until January 2nd. I'm hoping to get quite a bit of this done between now and then.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Use comic books boards for the fabric.  You can get a pack of 50-100 for under 6 bucks.  Then they stay on bookcases or in plastic tubs very nicely. I thought about doing this, but for some reason that escapes me now, I decided on the plastic mini-bolts. They arrived this afternoon and I am starting to wind my fabric on them now. I have three bolts done and an unknown number to go. I did finish trimming up & sorting my scrap fabric, so I'm on my way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 My bedroom looks like an episode of Hoarders. Thankfully, that's the only part of the house that looks that way. I need to clean out the closet and get rid of stuff. I just have too. much. stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 We just moved on December 14th. Â I got the essentials put away and then put unpacking on hold while we scrambled to get ready for Christmas. Â It's time to start unpacking and organizing those spaces where I just shoved things to get them in their general location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I'm not but dh cleaned out the bedroom closet today. He said he's going to tackle the bathroom cabinet tomorrow. Â I wonder if I can inspire him to clean out the kitchen cabinets... Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 No, I am not organizing, I am sitting on my sofa with my tablet and an electric throw. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Working on making the house a wee bit more presentable because the ex is bringing his girlfriend here tomorrow. Now I know her style of house keeping is along the lines of 'if it stays still, pile books and knitting projects on it' but, well, I have a boy and she only has one girl. And her girl is too big to scoop ash out of the fire place and over the living room floor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I'm actually resisting organizing. We don't know if we are moving this spring, this summer, or staying for another three years for DH to get a Master's. I regularly declutter, but don't want to organize if I'm just going to have to redo it in a few months after a move. Â I did go ahead and reorganize DD's arts and crafts area. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Yes! I organize at this time every year. My list is very long this year.  I've already re-organized two of the school bookshelves, and I am putting away Christmas today.  The rest of the list: Craft/school supply cabinet Boys' room Boys' closets (I'll tackle these three tomorrow.)  The rest of the week, I'll work on..... Game shelf My closet My room Play room Kitchen pantry Phone cupboard Kitchen cupboards Basement--Laundry area Basement pantry  Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I would love to organize something. Problem is: I don't have anything that needs to be organized. Â Come to my house! I need your help! :DÂ ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Actually, I am organizing our time this weekend - redid school schedule  today and will do some calendar coordinating with DH tomorrow.  Money is next - budget!!!  Then I'll get to stuff. Since my Christmas decs are still up, I don't feel the organizing bug yet. But I will... 1. Closet in our family room 2. Cull kids' toys for consignment. 3. Cull and sort kids' books for summer curriculum/book sale. 4. By that time it will be almost spring here, so the shed will be next. Before DH begins any new projects. 5. Yard/garden.   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Our dryer broke and we have to hang everything until we can get the part. I have 2 drying racks and some hanging area in my laundry room, but the shelves were originally hung low and the clothes would touch my deep freezer and not really dry well, so yesterday I took the shelves down and moved them up about 5 inches. I spackled the spots today and will paint them on Monday, hopefully dh won't even notice. I also have another shelf to hang, Christmas stuff to take down, I want to go over the year in Quicken to make sure things are categorized correctly for tax purposes. We did do a little cleaning in the fall (dh organized and went through some old electronics & cords.) I need to go through the attic in May though and get rid of a bunch of crap that's up there (dh will be gone for a week and I will do it then. So I have a little bit to keep me busy this coming week and I have a box started for GW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I always organize this time of year, it's my favorite thing to do after Christmas Day :)  So far we repainted our front entryway closet and installed hooks and a low shelf for shoes so the littler kids can hang up their coats and put away their shoes more independently. The plus side is that it looks fantastic :)  I also finished creating and putting together a 2014 Catholic Planner for myself and got it on my blog for others. I really wanted something in a good, clean, modern style with all the liturgical dates, seasons, and sunday's readings. Couldn't find anything like that, so I made one!  Now I'm making another planner (for the blog, not myself) and a daily homemaking schedule for myself because I have been slacking lately in that department! And I'm organizing my daughter's Reading Reflex materials into lap books/file folders so they're easier to use because the materials being all over the place was driving me bonkers. That will be a big project though unfortunately, and it's tedious.  I've got the urge to paint our bathroom but we'll see if that happens anytime soon.  So, yes, I am definitely organizing, lol!  Scout, thanks for mentioning budget, I need to sit down with DH to plan our finances for the year. That's much less fun than painting, but it's a necessary evil I suppose :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 1. Gonna sand, stain, and install baseboard trim in a spare room that is slowly being taken over by a 16yo ds. 2. Gonna work on putting 2 years worth of schoolwork and photos into homeschool portfolios. 3. Gonna get my recipe binder cleaned out and reorganized. 4. Gonna take down the closet doors in the mudroom (6 of them) and paint them. 5. Gonna touch up paint in some rooms, and repaint in others.  I know I won't get it all done, but it can't hurt to try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Oh, we just moved into this house at the beginning of November so we have a lot of organizing to do. Â Â I have books in boxes. Â They need shelves before I can even start. Â The kids toys are just out in the basement. Â They need some sort of storage organization. Â My dd's room is a disaster. Â ugh! Â Â I still don't have our new laundry system down. Â The machine is in the basement which has thrown me for a loop. I'm used to tossing in a load between math questions, and I have to regroup now. Â Â Â Â That said, our school books are organized and ready to go. Â (But I can't find but 6 pencils. I bought a CASE of pencils in November! Â My kids must eat them.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Decluttering and packing as house is on market. We have only been here 18 months but we must be nearer to the high school dd (and eventually the twins) attend. Â I did major decluttering and purging when we moved here, so today I tackled ds13's room which really needed some attention. Five hefty trash bags of junk, 9 boxes packed, and it looks fantastic. Â Just in time, too, as we have a showing tomorrow a.m. Â Four weeks ago, dh and I decluttered and purged three of three garages........two of them are now completely and cars can be pulled in. The third garage is acting as a storage unit for packed boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Decluttering and packing as house is on market. We have only been here 18 months but we must be nearer to the high school dd (and eventually the twins) attend. Â I did major decluttering and purging when we moved here, so today I tackled ds13's room which really needed some attention. Five hefty trash bags of junk, 9 boxes packed, and it looks fantastic. Â Just in time, too, as we have a showing tomorrow a.m. Â Four weeks ago, dh and I decluttered and purged three of three garages........two of them are now completely and cars can be pulled in. The third garage is acting as a storage unit for packed boxes. Has it really been 18 months?? I remember your house selling saga. I'm in the middle of my own saga now and it sucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Decluttering and packing as house is on market. We have only been here 18 months but we must be nearer to the high school dd (and eventually the twins) attend. Â I did major decluttering and purging when we moved here, so today I tackled ds13's room which really needed some attention. Five hefty trash bags of junk, 9 boxes packed, and it looks fantastic. Â Just in time, too, as we have a showing tomorrow a.m. Â Four weeks ago, dh and I decluttered and purged three of three garages........two of them are now completely and cars can be pulled in. The third garage is acting as a storage unit for packed boxes. Has it really been 18 months?? I remember your house selling saga. I'm in the middle of my own saga now and it sucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I've decided that most of it just needs to be donated. I'll keep a few things and keep trying to sell them, but most of it just needs to get out of here. Although we need the money, we also need the space and peace of mind that less clutter brings. I just keep telling myself that the stuff I'm donating may help some other struggling family who needs it right now.  Sorry things are so tough. Make sure you don't underestimate the value of your donations when you claim them:  http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/tax-valuation-guide-for-donated-goods.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 We moved into this house about 5 years ago and are slowly remodeling as we have time/money. So far done a lot of painting downstairs, new windows, siding, roof, a bathroom, and hardwood floors downstairs. This week, we cleared out dd's bedroom completely to paint and dh will begin the hardwood floors project upstairs. I went through all the old boxes of Christmas decorations and we donated a lot of them and a lot of dd's old toys/clothes. We will work through each bedroom as he puts in the floors.  I also went into the basement storage area and organized...I have a ton of books I need to get rid of but not ready for that project yet. I organized 3 years worth of scrapbooking I am behind on in order so I can put it together, got 2 years of pictures printed off computer (I am really behind), and will work on catching up on scrapbooks later today. Also putting away the Christmas stuff today. We will be away for a long weekend so I am working Monday and Tuesday and I don't want to have to do it when we get home because it will be time to get back into the school routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 It's a (post) Christmas miracle! I insist on being able to park my car in the garage, but dh had every inch of the other side of the garage packed and to the ceiling. Yesterday we went out and packed up a bunch of stuff to donate and he spent the rest of the evening going through some stuff. It's still quite a mess, but I can see some of the floor and the pile is much smaller! There's still the basement though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 We are in the process of turning the playroom into the family room. One issue is that we are overrun with books and not enough space for them. A trip to Ikea :eek: which I loathe and dread, is in order before we can deal with the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabinfl Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 The past 6 weeks have not gone at all as I had planned, and now i'm laid up with a bad cold (9 days and counting) so anything beyond getting through the day has been an achievement for me. Â Yesterday I got all of the kids' fall worksheets etc. hole-punched and filed into their big notebooks. Â We're finally getting the water-damaged section of the playroom ceiling repaired, so what organizing, so today will be spent moving the bookcase (which means moving all of the books first :p ) and a couple of toy shelves out of the way. Once the repair is done, I will be able to put the furniture I really want against that wall and have some additional storage space in there. Â What I really need to do is decide once and for all where we will do school, and set up something at least semi-permanent there. Right now I have piles of stuff behind the couch in the living room because the area I picked before turned out to be too distracting (our big dining table, which is right mext to the playroom area), but nowhere to store everything nicely in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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