2014 Get Organized & Declutter Thread

[Deleted]

Rukh, I think we crossed, I posted about the white vinegar LOL. 

I think that sounds like a great plan. BUT ...  you forgot food (shopping, cooking) which has sometimes been a struggle too. 

I think you should divide and conquer ... set up a system and have your 2 kids do 2 chores for that week (ie laundry or sheets or cooking). Up to them whether they each prefer to do their own chore or share both. 

I also personally think it is more satisfying to deep clean one room at a time. I also fear if you only do what is visible, you will never actually get to the contents of the shelves / drawers / closets / etc. And it's better to have SOME rooms "completely done" than NO rooms "completely done". 

JMO, I will be cheering you on whatever you decide to do! 

[constanz22]

Nativity is packed back in boxes but still needs to go downstairs to storage room and bed is made.

Goals for tomorrow:
unload and load dishwasher (again...lol)
take care of "stuff" at top of stairs.  All kinds of crap accumulates there cuz it's where I come in the house and "drop".
clean stuff out of hallway.  There is still a folding table from Christmas get together last weekend, a few shipping boxes, and some other "stuff"
clean off kitchen island and counters and DR table, another "dumping ground"
spend 15 minutes in stockpile room.  It is out of control!

That should be plenty, plus whatever Peter's task is tomorrow.  Lol...oh, and I still have to do the sweater one!

[raeoflyte]

Well I can't even keep track of how many items I put in a trash bag so the 2014 challenge won't work for me.

Ive taken 2 full trash bags to goodwill, a baby bathtub, and an infant chair. So I'm feeling good. Will keep trying to fill multiple trash bags a week to get things out of the house.

I'd like to list some things to see if we could make a little money, but I mostly want stuff gone and don't want to derail progress. So that's probably out.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using proboards

[Waffle]

Debt, My most hated chore - it's a tossup between mopping floors and cleaning toilets.

Lena, LOL on the lists making you tired.

Rukh - I read Helen ready as Helen Reddy - and I got a visual of you singing "I am woman"



I worked on my closet today -  I threw out a few things and have a bag of clothes to take to Goodwill.  It looks much neater.  I filled up another tub - I'm not sure if that's good or bad - it actually makes the closet look neater - it's tub full of things that would fit if i lost 10 pounds or so.

[chalupabatman]

Today's list

* catch up on laundry
* clean daughter's room-  Done
* vacuum living room
* vacuum daughter's room- Done
* take recycling out to garage- Done
* tidy up shoes by front entrance
* empty garbage cans
* clean kitchen counters - Done
* balance checkbook - Done
 
I loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, went through my underwear drawer, and did 3 loads of laundry.  Folded and put away 2 of the loads. Emptied the upstairs garbage cans.  I am calling it quits.

My least favorite chore is changing bedding.  I also dislike washing the floors.  My husband told me that he would do a heavy duty scrubbing of our kitchen floors and baseboards.  He said the floors would sparkle like my eyes...that was in June   I have been using our Swiffer in the mean time, but don't think it works very well.  Does anyone have a steam mop?  I want one bad, but don't know if they are worth the money. 

What do you guys do with various cords?  I don't even know what most of them are for.

Got rid of 14 items.  14/2014

[constanz22]

Jan 3, 2014 19:29:57 GMT -5 chalupabatman said:

Today's list

* catch up on laundry
* clean daughter's room-  Done
* vacuum living room
* vacuum daughter's room- Done
* take recycling out to garage- Done
* tidy up shoes by front entrance
* empty garbage cans
* clean kitchen counters - Done
* balance checkbook - Done
 
I loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, went through my underwear drawer, and did 3 loads of laundry.  Folded and put away 2 of the loads. Emptied the upstairs garbage cans.  I am calling it quits.

My least favorite chore is changing bedding.  I also dislike washing the floors.  My husband told me that he would do a heavy duty scrubbing of our kitchen floors and baseboards.  He said the floors would sparkle like my eyes...that was in June   I have been using our Swiffer in the mean time, but don't think it works very well.  Does anyone have a steam mop?  I want one bad, but don't know if they are worth the money. 

What do you guys do with various cords?  I don't even know what most of them are for.

Got rid of 14 items.  14/2014

I don't like my steam mop...at all...I think I bought it three years ago, Black Friday and can count on one hand how many times I've used it.  I probably should just sell it!

[startsmart]

Wow - less than a day on Craigslist and the second bookshelf is gone! it was a really cool one that folded up so I wasn't surprised. Paid about $10 for it 3 years ago and got $25 back - not bad

Before Christmas I'd posted on Freecycle a collection of 39 Shakespeare books and got NO replies. Well it just went out in their weekly broadcast and now I have 5 people clamoring for them lol. Sent a message to the first person and hope to get those out tomorrow (39 books + 2 cardboard boxes for storage = another 41 items!).

But if I'm being honest I did buy 3 votive candle holders today which were too cute to languish in 70% off clearance

I pulled down all of the jars from my pantry so I could store my old blender and coffee maker until those get donated to my parents and now I have to find a place for 20+ jars or put them out on Freecycle...

Still planning on working in the guest room tonight, I would really like to get the bed totally cleared off. At least that's the goal

[Malarky]

Well, the Christmas decorations are still out but they are corralled into one area. 

DD's friends helped gather items and took all the ornaments off the tree. DH and DS took the tree down and put it away.

I sorted some Christmas items into the toss pile, some into the donate bin.

The large project of going through all the Christmas decorations will have to wait for summer. I can drag everything out the basement door and into the back yard and really have a good look at what I have.  If I brought all the decorations  upstairs at once, I'd overwhelm the house.  I've been collecting them for years and I never put everything out at once.

I got so much more than just my paperwork done today, although every single scrap of paper is paid, filed or recycled. 

Five loads of laundry.  All but one if not completely put away, at least relocated to the room it belongs in. 

Dishwasher filled and run (by me) and emptied by DD.  She also gathered all of her crap from the entire downstairs as well as helped me sort items back to where they belong. 

All plants watered and dried leaves (from the recent neglect) trimmed.  Damn they were thirsty.

Entire mudroom/laundry room cleaned.  All coats hung up, closet straightened (I found my missing cowboy boot. )  Hats, scarves and matched gloves back in the designated drawers.  All sneakers back in the cubbies.  All boots on the trays designed to catch the melting snow.  Some overflow shoes belonging to DD and I relocated to our own rooms since they're not frequently worn.  Ironing done, iron and ironing board put away.  Counter over washer and dryer decluttered and cleaned.  Everything that is there, belongs there.

All the crap on all the kitchen counters dealt with.  Either put back where it belongs, in the to be donated bin or tossed.   

Half of the kitchen cabinets wiped down, again by one of DD's friends.  He's really tall and really sweet. 

Meanwhile, DD and her friends went up to her room and saved it from an episode of "Hoarders."

As a "thank you" for all their help, I made a nice dinner.  Glazed ham, mashed potatoes and peas. 

 

[whoisjohngalt]

Not to get too personal and in everyone's business, but I am home, all.day.every.day with 3 kids and I don't run dishwasher daily and I don't do laundry daily. 

I had more laundry in the summer time bc going outside ALWAYS meant getting into water/sand/dirt, but now, I have nowhere near that much to do.

Are you guys all super clean people or am I am super icky person?

[constanz22]

It is just me.  I run the dishwasher 2-3 times a week.  Usually on weekends, but maybe during the week if it's full.  I cook easy stuff week nights, or just heat up leftovers so don't have a ton of dirty dishes throughout the week other than coffee cups

I never, never, never do laundry during the week either.  Weekends only, usually Sunday only.  I do tend to do 3-5 loads, depending on whether I need to do bedding, towels, dog beds, throws, and stuff like that.

[Malarky]

I tried keeping count of the toss and donate items but it was slowing me down and I was on a roll.

I think I don't need the actual number. 

I can say that the  number and volume of items that came into this house at Christmas is far few than the number of items that will be going out of this house on trash day.

DH and DS shoveled us out, but other than taking out the recyclables, I didn't venture outside all day.  It was too freaking cold.    

[grits]

I did toss another kitchen trash bag of clutter today. Now, If I can do that every single day, I will finally be done three days after I die.

[chalupabatman]

Constanz- Thank you! I had a feeling that they wouldn't be worth it. 

Lena- I am really behind on laundry so I try to do a load a day so it doesn't get any worse.  Once I catch up I can get away with every other day.  I run the dishwasher 5-6X/week.  Our dishwasher is on the small side though.  We have started eating out less so there are more to wash.  You have 3 young kids, I couldn't imagine doing these things daily under your circumstances!

[NastyWoman]

Jan 3, 2014 13:03:02 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

kids, in my family it's traditional to leave the tree up until Jan. 6th, in honor of the 3 Kings.  So you don't have to be embarrassed about the tree - you've got another week for that!    We're taking ours down this weekend so we won't actually make it to the 6th.  Oh well. 

Finally a kindred spirit!  Until this year I have never taken the tree down until the weekend after the 6th, nor can I ever remember my parents doing it any earlier.  This year I will make an exception though.  That thing is coming down tomorrow.  GS is due in ~2weeks  and I don't want to travel to Seattle when he is born and come home to a tree that is still up at the end of January. 

[constanz22]

Jan 3, 2014 20:31:29 GMT -5 grits said:

I did toss another kitchen trash bag of clutter today. Now, If I can do that every single day, I will finally be done three days after I die.

LOL, I feel the same way...

[Malarky]

We run the dishwasher nearly every day. Four of us live here, but it's like grand central station with all the teenagers in and out.

In addition to just ordinary clothes, I work in a bakery, as does DD part time. DH, DS and DD all take or teach karate classes at least two or three times a week. DD works out nearly every day in addition to cheer practice 5 days a week.  That's a lot of sweaty, nasty clothes. 

Then there are the towels from all the showers from all the sweaty activities... 

Luckily, my family mostly does their own laundry. We got really behind because DD and I were working so much leading up to Christmas and we've had a few family obligations that have kept us away from home.

[startsmart]

yay! the shakespeare books are GONE! and the woman who picked them up mentioned she also got some down throw pillows from me last year and still uses them I love knowing my old "stuff" has a new life. So that brings my total to 52 + 1 + 41 = 94 in 3 days! woot! I think I'll try to get "ahead" of the count since I am going to be out of town a fair amount this year.

Now, I must go get something to eat since I've been staring at the fridge on and off all day waiting for a palatable meal to appear and nothing has happened. I haven't eaten all day and I'm starting to feel it. Off to get dinner and my saw

[raeoflyte]

We could run our dishwasher twice a day now that we're cooking at home for most meals.  It's a little appalling, but we put everything in the dishwasher including pots and pans and even the sharp knives.  Laundry seems never ending too.  

[plugginaway22]

Day 3:  I went back to work and DH had a day off so he did some things for the good of the home!  He took down all outside Christmas decorations and packed them away, he vacuumed the whole first floor after we both had put all inside stuff away, he loaded and ran the dishwasher, and I finished off a load of laundry started last night.  I also did drawer #2 in my dresser and got rid of a bunch of socks, tights and misc junk I don't wear.  We now have a box and a bag of things to drop at rescue mission.

[KaraBoo]

Jan 3, 2014 10:57:15 GMT -5 financialpeace said:

Jan 1, 2014 18:23:51 GMT -5 KaraBoo said:

I'm going to at least hang out and read the thread...this may be my only post, but will be cheering others on and gathering ideas (sometimes I only have time to read, not post).

One of the things that is currently helping me (granted, I've only really gotten into this for the last couple of weeks - it may not be helpful later for me, but others might find it useful - I've been using this method before, but without clear purpose until now):

I am making lists on my Smartphone - I have a "reminders" app, "notes" and an app called "Any.Do" (all free or included with the phone).  

Reminders - is used for anything I do on a regular basis - daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.  I can set up multiple lists for what I need - I've included lists for birthdays, Christmas presents and occasional events (anniversaries, boss's day, etc).  Anytime I run across something that I realized I have either forgotten about or have a good chance of forgetting about in the near future, I add it to the appropriate list and if needed, add a reminder for an appropriate amount of time in the future.  For example - with birthday gifts, I set the reminder a month in advance so that it's on my radar as I'm shopping for other things.  

If I find or complete something well in advance of the event - no problem, I can go in and mark the item off as complete and the reminder won't pop up until the next occurrence/year.

Notes - I'm using to remember things that are important but not necessarily to be completed - gift ideas for myself (so I have a ready answer for when someone asks me what I want); medications I'm currently taking; quotes; goals; etc.

Any.Do - is my to-do list that are extra projects that need to be completed, but don't fall into a rotating category (cleaning out my closet for example).  I can open up the list, gauge how much time I have to complete something specific and pick an item off the list to work on.  The app even has a built in little voice that says "Way To Go!" or "WooHoo!" to provide verbal encouragement for marking something off the list (cracks me up to hear it and makes me happy at the same time since DH could care less that I completed a project).

Anyway - these things are really helping me stay motivated and organized and I hope sharing will help someone else as well.

Thank you for this post. I didn't realize I could use my reminders app like this for recurring things. I think this will really help me stay on top of the semi-regular cleaning. I have no issues with clutter, but I do have trouble with remembering to do the more detailed cleaning that isn't done on a weekly basis.

You're welcome!  I have a friend I was showing my lists to and she didn't know she could use the reminders app like this either.  I figured if she didn't know (and she's way more into her phone than I am), then others might not either.

Happy list making!!  

[KaraBoo]

We have a household of 6 - me, DH and 4 teenagers (ranging in ages from 13-18) and 2 long-haired dogs that shed like crazy.  

Our cloths washer runs every single day (everyone has their assigned days, but there's always carry-over to the next day it seems like).

Our dishwasher runs every single day - I even have place settings for 12 and some days that's not enough (it seems like).

Our house is always a disaster.

DH has offered to torch the place so we can just start over.  Some days I'm tempted to take him up on the offer.  

[Chocolate Lover]

I know the dishwasher doesn't take more than 5 minutes but I still hate it.  You ask reminded me of do many others that suck though, lol!

I'm impressed with how much some of you have gotten done already, hope to have more to report tomorrow.  

[busymom]

My cleaning got a bit off track today. Due to the nasty weather, DD's college is letting the kids move back on campus a day early. So, I think I'll take her back tomorrow, but, right now freezing rain is coming down, so I have to decide if a bit of ice is worse, or -40 to -50 windchills. One day is going to make a big difference here.

[Saving4Norway]

Hmmm, I clearly wasn't as productive as many of you but as we all know, it's not a competition. But still, let me see if I can give a new perspective to describe the great day I had.

First, I went to a salon academy (beauty school) and had one of my grown-up students "declutter" my scalp. It looks so much better now!

Then, I picked up DH, the dog and our snowshoes and went to a local Ski Resort to "reduce/reuse/recycle" several calories, while the dog "thinned out" his collection of puppy dog energy. (But as you know he's got quite a stockpile so you can barely tell.)

On the way home we stopped at a great tavern and helped them "thin out" their hamburger fixins, too. It was awesome.  

[tcu2003]

Okay, I liked the PW page on FB, and am going to try to do his mini-challenges this month. So tonight, I cleaned out my bathroom vanity drawer, went through my sweaters and now have a stack to donate, and cleaned under our bed (this was the easiest - it's the one area of the house that is clean/we only store travel duffel bags there). And for extra measure, I also cleaned out my sock drawer.  DH falso inally changed out the 4 light bulbs in our entryway chandelier that have been burned out for a couple of months - woo hoo!

We're a household of 3 - (2) adults and (1) 18-month old. We run our dishwasher maybe 2-3 times per week. We don't put pots and pans or sharp knives in there, nor do we put most of DS's dishes as they're not all dishwasher safe (or so they say).   We mostly only do laundry on weekends, so probably 3-4 loads per week - maybe more or less, depending.

[tcu2003]

For those of you that have donated clothes in the past, how does it work if you want to include it as part of your charitable donations on your taxes? Do I need a receipt from wherever I donate it? Or just keep track myself and use the Goodwill valuation thing that was posted on the first page? I've donated things in the past, but never kept track of them. This year I think I'd like to try to track it and include it on my taxes.

[saveinla]

Jan 3, 2014 23:31:43 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

For those of you that have donated clothes in the past, how does it work if you want to include it as part of your charitable donations on your taxes? Do I need a receipt from wherever I donate it? Or just keep track myself and use the Goodwill valuation thing that was posted on the first page? I've donated things in the past, but never kept track of them. This year I think I'd like to try to track it and include it on my taxes.

Yes. You do need a receipt from the place where you donate and you need to keep it as proof if they ask for it. If you donate to goodwill or any food bank, they will give you a receipt with either the number of items or number of boxes or bags and what they contain - not very detailed, but a bag of clothes, a bag of toys, a box of CDs etc. My food bank give a receipt of number of items donated and if it is food or hygiene products. I create an excel sheet by date of donation and add the details. If I don't have time, I do a quick list on my phone (item and quantity) and then add it to an excel sheet when I have time. HTH

[constanz22]

Jan 3, 2014 23:31:43 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

For those of you that have donated clothes in the past, how does it work if you want to include it as part of your charitable donations on your taxes? Do I need a receipt from wherever I donate it? Or just keep track myself and use the Goodwill valuation thing that was posted on the first page? I've donated things in the past, but never kept track of them. This year I think I'd like to try to track it and include it on my taxes.

When I owned a house and could itemize on my taxes, the donations really helped.  For the past 5 years though, I have not been able to itemize so, it's not necessary to get receipts or include them on your taxes.  It really depends on your tax status whether it's worth it or not.

Our Salvation Army would make you bring an itemized list of what you donated and they'd just stamp it.  The building you dropped donations at and the one that stamped it were next door to each other so they had no idea what you donated or the condition.

[constanz22]

Jan 3, 2014 20:33:54 GMT -5 chalupabatman said:

Constanz- Thank you! I had a feeling that they wouldn't be worth it. 

Lena- I am really behind on laundry so I try to do a load a day so it doesn't get any worse.  Once I catch up I can get away with every other day.  I run the dishwasher 5-6X/week.  Our dishwasher is on the small side though.  We have started eating out less so there are more to wash.  You have 3 young kids, I couldn't imagine doing these things daily under your circumstances!

Don't just take my word about the steam mop.  I know people who think they are the best invention since sliced bread...

[constanz22]

So, last night before bed, since the vacuum was still in the bedroom from cleaning under the bed, I went after some more dustbunnies in the corners.

I also pulled out a couple "sweaters" (more light open cardigan type) and threw them in the donation bag.  I am still going to go through sweaters and see what I can part with.

Had a minor kitchen disaster this morning, but it worked out ok in the end.  I was pulling something out of a cupboard and a bottle of cleaning solution fell out (from bottom cabinet) and the top fell off and half the solution spilled all over the floor.  I wiped some up with paper towels, then grabbed the swiffer and did the rest!  LOL, so about a quarter of my kitchen floor was mopped!  Lol, only problem is I think it may be slippery