mommyoffive Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I know the holidays probably look different for a lot of us not hosting large gatherings, so maybe decluttering isn't as important this year. But I am really wanting to declutter some to make room for the gifts and also make all the indoor time we are about to spend less stressful. Anyone else with me? Want to share your progress or goals? 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I'm definitely decluttering toys, baby stuff and clothes. All the kids birthdays are coming up plus Christmas. So stuff needs to go before the influx. Especially since I haven't come up with any experience non clutter causing gifts this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Has anyone done goodwill drop offs during covid? I have been hesitant to add another errand and wonder if they are doing a good job with protocals? I have some stuff bagged up ready to go here but I've been hesitant to do more without an outlet for the stuff. This is much needed at my house. Honestly, I'd love someone to park a dumpster in my yard for a couple weeks. DH is a real bottle neck here too. I did empty and clean out my pantry today so that was something! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 6 minutes ago, rebcoola said: I'm definitely decluttering toys, baby stuff and clothes. All the kids birthdays are coming up plus Christmas. So stuff needs to go before the influx. Especially since I haven't come up with any experience non clutter causing gifts this year. Ugh I know not being able to give any non clutter causing gifts this year fills me with stress. All I can think is consumable things. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 8 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said: Has anyone done goodwill drop offs during covid? I have been hesitant to add another errand and wonder if they are doing a good job with protocals? I have some stuff bagged up ready to go here but I've been hesitant to do more without an outlet for the stuff. I have dropped stuff off several times. In good weather they have large bins outside and you just out your stuff in the bins, no contact at all. Otherwise you can just put stuff in a bin just inside the door. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I’ve been going through my closet lately, and some of the discards will be donated to a local clothes closet that gives them away, instead of selling them. I like that better, although both are fine. But also, some of the items I have posted on my neighborhood ‘buy nothing’ list, and they have been gifted to others who love them. That’s a win win as far as I’m concerned. Slow and steady wins the race! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Our Goodwill has closed down some dropoff locations, but the open ones have masked and gloved workers. They will allow you to pop your trunk/hatch and they will grab stuff or you can put stuff into bins—either way, it is socially distanced. I did a dropoff for a relative in another state a few weeks ago—same scenario. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I don’t have enough for a big purge, but my next deep clean and tidy is happening next week. I will be pulling outgrown clothing and going through the girls’ room and cleaning up the school room. I could use encouragement in letting go of curricula we aren’t using and won’t be using (outgrown). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 6 minutes ago, Ottakee said: I have dropped stuff off several times. In good weather they have large bins outside and you just out your stuff in the bins, no contact at all. Otherwise you can just put stuff in a bin just inside the door. Oh I should dig around and see if we have something like that here in our metro. Our usual goodwil drop off is a drive through garage with helpers at the ready. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 7 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said: I don’t have enough for a big purge, but my next deep clean and tidy is happening next week. I will be pulling outgrown clothing and going through the girls’ room and cleaning up the school room. I could use encouragement in letting go of curricula we aren’t using and won’t be using (outgrown). Not sure if you are selling the homschooling stuff or giving it away, but I have heard things are getting snatched up fast because there are so many people homeschooling this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Went through coats today. I know I have a few more that got put away in the wrong places. But we went through some. Ordered 2 more for growing kids. Should have done it the other way around. Will donate the coats we are not keeping. I want to do hats, gloves, and snow pants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 On 10/23/2020 at 12:48 PM, FuzzyCatz said: Has anyone done goodwill drop offs during covid? I have been hesitant to add another errand and wonder if they are doing a good job with protocals? I have some stuff bagged up ready to go here but I've been hesitant to do more without an outlet for the stuff. Yes, our Goodwill has rolling bins outside and a big sign that says "Self Service Drop Off here!". You just put your stuff in the bins, (or next to it if it's too big). You don't have to see anyone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 On 10/23/2020 at 1:04 PM, prairiewindmomma said: I don’t have enough for a big purge, but my next deep clean and tidy is happening next week. I will be pulling outgrown clothing and going through the girls’ room and cleaning up the school room. I could use encouragement in letting go of curricula we aren’t using and won’t be using (outgrown). There's someone out there that is probably looking for that curricula and will be really excited to find it if you let it go! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Starting tomorrow I am going room by room doing a massive declutter. The plan is one room a week. I meant to start this a few weeks ago but the task of swapping clothing out for all the kids and reorganizing dressers and closets came first. So, this week I'll focus on my room. I usually keep it the cleaning least clutters room in the house because I like waking up to a visually calm atmosphere. Well ever since the baby was born it has just been taken over by clutter. So I picked it fix since I imagine waking up in peace again will help keep me motivated to keep going with other rooms. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermom Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 I have been working on decluttering for a while, and still have tons to do. Making room for the life we want.... Tonight's project is old electronic devices. This involves charging them enough to get them turned on, trying and failing to remember old passwords, and settling for a factory reset. So far I have found 8 phones, 4 e-readers, 1 laptop. And oh so many cords and accessories. Plus 2 printers, a monitor, old modems, etc. Next I have to figure out where to dispose of them. Apparently Amazon will recycle old kindles. Next weekend is hazardous waste disposal day in my town, and they accept some electronics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 My big decluttering list is mostly down to the things I least want to deal with; books/curricula, photographs, and dh’s closet. Actually, the photos are mostly decluttered and just need organizing, and I’m not touching dh’s closet myself, I just want it done. Part of the shed also needs decluttering and organizing, but I don’t think dh will be happy if I do that myself. So, yeah, mostly books. Which I have done multiple rounds on, but I still need to get more ruthless. But I’m going to procrastinate and work on the boys’ room, which isn’t out of control bad, but I’m going to tell myself it’s an enormous accomplishment. Otherwise, it’s just the routine keeping up with odds and ends around here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Went through blankets and comforters this morning. Got some donated. Donated our curtains. Dh also took our coats to donations too. It was a huge pile so happy. Feels so good getting ride of things. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 I'm in! We have a non-profit that schedules pick-ups and all I have to do is leave bags under my mailbox. I think decluttering before the holidays is genius. W. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 I've been slowly decluttering. Going to work on the laundry room, which is also our mud room, next. It gets to be a dumping ground and gross once the snow starts flying. It's messy right now with the masks and umbrellas and snowboots all out because we're switching things around. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Something I learned today: Don’t give boys new underwear without making sure they get rid of some old. I’m reorganizing their clothes, and came across multiple underwear in size 4. They’re both in sizes 10 and up. Obviously this means I didn’t do a good job the last many times I went through their things. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 my aunt just started watching the kids for me three days a week for 3 hours a day. One day is devoted to taking dd to dance and sitting there waiting for her. The other two days are devoted to deep cleaning and decluttering the house. Today was the first day of that so I spent the last three hours in my bedroom. My room was already filled with the winter clothes bins and that was sorted prior to today. So, I filled up 2 bags to go to Goodwill, two trash bags, dusted from top to bottom, and organized the bookshelf and night stands. Now all I have to do is finish organizing my clothes, a few random things and put away a few things into storage. It is probably another hour of work. Hopefully, I can get it done later today so on Friday when my aunt is here I can move on to the next room. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emba Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Recently went through all the kids clothes and got rid of three boxes of stuff. Took it to a local children’s home and dropped it off. It was a quick interaction with one person and we were both masked. Another smaller batch of clothes was weeded out After that, because my kids have a hard time understanding that when I say “all the clothes that don’t fit” I mean ALL of them and shoes too. A different children’s home is coming to pick up grocery supplies we’ve been collecting, so I boxed up that stuff for them to take when they come. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 On 10/23/2020 at 12:02 PM, mommyoffive said: I know the holidays probably look different for a lot of us not hosting large gatherings, so maybe decluttering isn't as important this year. But I am really wanting to declutter some to make room for the gifts and also make all the indoor time we are about to spend less stressful. Anyone else with me? Want to share your progress or goals? I feel like decluttering is more important this year because I have to spend more time at home! I did spent three days during out homeschool's fall break decluttering and organizing two closets. I need to work on my laundry room and I need to keep making headway in the attic. I've got stuff up that that made sense to store three or four years ago, but is no longer needed. I want to shove the ungiftable things (old cradle?) in the trash during weeks we don't fill our bin. The thing is, when I'm decluttering, I tend to be a lot more thoughtful about what I bring into my house, so it bears fruit beyond the actual work. We ended up with some extra furniture in the living room when we made space for an office in the master bedroom. We also ended up with an extra desk chair that we don't like due to a postal error. Our living room looks like a mass of random furniture at this point. I need to deal with that ASAP. I want to enjoy being in my living room. In our home, it is the heart of the house. Emily 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditto Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 I am in a constant state of decluttering. I try to be intentional about what I buy and try to also follow the "one in, one out" rule. Books and quilts are the exception to this. Decluttering is relaxing and fun for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 25 minutes ago, Ditto said: I am in a constant state of decluttering. I try to be intentional about what I buy and try to also follow the "one in, one out" rule. Books and quilts are the exception to this. Decluttering is relaxing and fun for me. I used to have a really good system down. It wasn't 'one in, one out' but I was very intentional about the things that entered the house and everything having a home. Sadly, I got out of my routine last winter a month or so before my youngest was born. Then I had a newborn. And then we all settled into the new normal of the pandemic. So, things in this house got crazy out of control. Now, I'm determined to tackle a room or two a week and finish before Christmas. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Just finished up going through the school/craft room. So many cheap early chapter books now packed up to go. Old curriculum put up on the local Facebook page. It also now toddler proof( ha) and better organized. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 5 hours ago, rebcoola said: Just finished up going through the school/craft room. So many cheap early chapter books now packed up to go. Old curriculum put up on the local Facebook page. It also now toddler proof( ha) and better organized. This is the last room I plan on doing. It will take many hours! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 It was useful to put the need to deal with my living room into words yesterday. Before bed, DH and I dealt with the excess furniture, some delayed decisions ("where do we put the ukeleles?"), and rearranged the remaining furniture in a way that is so much better! Then we sat and read with two of our kids in the living room for the first time in months. Yay! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familia Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Wow! Becoming more fit with the walking challenge, more pleasant with the no-complaint challenge, and, now, more organized b/c of less clutter! I’ll be just about perfect 😇 My public spaces are clutter free, because I am past the season of children around (miss that ‘books, puzzles, games around everywhere’ look, actually=), but I do need to work on closets, office, and basement. Thanks @mommyoffive for suggesting this! And, @hjffkj when I grow up, I want to be just like your auntie! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Fwiw re Goodwill: Ours has big boxes outside, you put it in the boxes yourself. No contact with employees or other people, just wait for your turn. I usually declutter every year before Christmas but decluttered after Christmas this year and before starting homeschool this summer and we've hardly bought anything for the inside of the house all year. I started the year on a spending fast and that rolled into COVID and no shopping and then too many bills and no shopping. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditto Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 23 hours ago, hjffkj said: I used to have a really good system down. It wasn't 'one in, one out' but I was very intentional about the things that entered the house and everything having a home. Sadly, I got out of my routine last winter a month or so before my youngest was born. Then I had a newborn. And then we all settled into the new normal of the pandemic. So, things in this house got crazy out of control. Now, I'm determined to tackle a room or two a week and finish before Christmas. It is SO easy to get out of the routine (any routine i think). You also have a baby and the thousand of other things going on this year. It is completely understandable. You have a solid plan that won't overwhelm you and I have faith you will meet your goal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 Worked a little on snow pants today. We have to go back through the coats then we will do hats and gloves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Made it to Goodwill today and put about 10 brown paper bags full of stuff in their containers. Every little bit helps. 🙂 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermom Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 My puzzle board and a couple of puzzles arrived today, just in time for our first snow fall. I also placed a bulk order of my kid's favorite chai, for the chilly days ahead. Perhaps I should stock up on supplies for a few batches of mulled wine. I haven't gotten the living room decluttered enough to allow for puzzle making yet, but I am making progress, and the idea of making the room look inviting again is keeping me motivated. I am working on decluttering projects in every room, but will try to stay focused on this one for now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 31, 2020 Author Share Posted October 31, 2020 5 minutes ago, slackermom said: My puzzle board and a couple of puzzles arrived today, just in time for our first snow fall. I also placed a bulk order of my kid's favorite chai, for the chilly days ahead. Perhaps I should stock up on supplies for a few batches of mulled wine. I haven't gotten the living room decluttered enough to allow for puzzle making yet, but I am making progress, and the idea of making the room look inviting again is keeping me motivated. I am working on decluttering projects in every room, but will try to stay focused on this one for now. What chai did you get your kids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermom Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 5 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: What chai did you get your kids? Twinings regular chai tea. Nothing fancy, just their favorite. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 31, 2020 Author Share Posted October 31, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, slackermom said: Twinings regular chai tea. Nothing fancy, just their favorite. 🙂 Oh, I didn't know this was a tea. I have only bought the chai boxed mix to make with milk. I want to try it and I bet one of my kids would like it. Dumb question, how do you make chai tea? With milk or water? Edited October 31, 2020 by mommyoffive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 The decluttering and organizing bug has hit me too. I don't have littles and we've downsized 2x with 2 moves since I stopped homeschooling. But, I still seem to be really good at collecting detritius. Ugh. I starrted going through the laundry room and found far too much stuff I packed up for our move 3 yrs ago and still haven't used. 😜 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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