For those of you who want to declutter

[Deleted]

As has been mentioned ad nauseam, we have a decluttering thread on the WIR sister board. We are friendly and encouraging! 

But for those of you who don't want to venture over there, there is a famous decluttering "guru" named Peter Walsh that some of you may have heard of or seen on TV. He is organizing a 31-day "2014 Decluttering Challenge" in January, on his Facebook page. 

You can "like" him on FB if you want. If you'd rather not you can go to his FB page on your own, and still see that day's "challenge". He also has an app but I haven't used it.

I have been keeping a running list of his challenges, mainly because I'm curious about how many areas I have "missed". 

I will post his first 10 challenges in the next post. Each challenge takes 10 minutes. But, as he says, "if you get the bug, you get the bug, and it may take longer." LOL. 

ETA: Thanks so much to jbxtwo for telling us about that!

[Deleted]

Spend 10 min on:

1. one drawer
2. sweaters
3. under beds 
4. luggage
5. gift wrap
6. night stand 
7. set up "donation bag / basket" + donate 7 items
8. under one sink
9. declutter your digital life (apps, etc)
10. organize your wallets, purses and pocketbooks

There is a 1-min introductory video, as well as 1-minute videos for each "challenge", all on his FB page. 

So far I have done 2 of these 10 challenges (under bed + night stand), I didn't need to do the others, but I'm an "extreme declutterer" LOL. I'm sure there will be a few more I will want to do. 

Hope this helps some of you! 

[8 Bit WWBG]

Thanks for the information debthaven2!

[Deleted]

My pleasure Gowron! Hope it helps you and your DW! 

I do NOT function well in a messy environment, and DH has hoarding tendencies. I've been lucky enough that he is wililng to contain them to certain area (ie the basement) so that the rest of the house is clutter-free. Heck, every time Hoarders comes on (we get UK cable TV) I tell him, that's what our house would look like, if not for me! 

[Shooby]

I will check that out.

[Deleted]

Task 11 from PW: Declutter your freezer and get rid of any UFOs (Unidentified Frozen Objects). 

Ironically, I did this just yesterday. Found two "UFOs". One is pumpkin soup, the other is still unidentified LOL. 

[Deleted]

One time I was pretty excited as I thought I found frozen peanut brittle in the freezer.

It was frozen baked beans.  Yuk. Why would you ever freeze them?

[Deleted]

So who froze them, Xmas?! LOL

Peter Walsh did an "interview" with Springpad (a tablet organizer). It was boring because he kept plugging Springpad and the journalist was a ditz, but I waded / fast-forwarded through it.

He gave 3 tips:

Tip 1: Magazines. How do you organize recipes / other pages from magazines? He said statistically, most people tear out either recipes or travel info. Copy / upload / photograph THE RECIPES YOU ACTUALLY HAVE USED, IDEALLY MORE THAN ONCE, or the things you REALLY WANT TO DO. The rest, just trash, and start over. And never keep more than 3 issues of a magazine, because if you haven't bothered to read those 3, you'll never read 6 or 12.

Tip 2: How do you maintain a space you've already decluttered? The MINUTE you say or think "later" (ie I'll put this away / fold this / unpack this / do this later), it means that you've already decided that you will NOT maintain that space, and it WILL get re-cluttered. He said "not using the word later is both the easiest and hardest thing in the world". He said, "You need to cut off the piece of your tongue that has the word 'later' on it."

Tip 3: Home offices. He said, the most common misconception is that your desk is for keeping important things close by. He said no, FLAT SURFACES ARE FOR WORK, SO THEY NEED TO BE KEPT CLEAR. STOP KEEPING THINGS ON YOUR DESK, YOUR DESK IS FOR WORK, NOT FOR STORAGE. You need to keep storage nearby, but NOT on your desk. He added that the same applies to any work surface.

CONCLUSION: He talked about how we've all been in one-sided relationships, where we were not "honored and respected", and we did not get what we needed from that relationship, and we ended up breaking it off. He said, it's the same thing with your house. If you do not "honor and respect" your house, you will not get the calm and serenity you need from it, and you will never have a calm and peaceful life.

That was his conclusion of the 48 min interview.

[cronewitch]

I am being ruthless as much as I can. I am stacking things by the door to donate. When I get 6-10 boxes I will go to BigBlueTruck.org and click donate then schedule put in tomorrow date and they will take it away leaving reciept but some stuff is going in the garbage. I threw away my toaster today because I wanted counter space and don't eat much toast and didn't like the toaster a few other things got in the garbage while I was cleaning the kitchen. My coat closet now has one hat, one rain gear and two coats, threw away a skirt yesterday because I didn't want to wear it. I can afford to throw away everything and buy new, very liberating only keeping things I love or need.

[Gardening Grandma]

Tip 1: Magazines. How do you organize recipes / other pages from magazines? He said statistically, most people tear out either recipes or travel info. Copy / upload / photograph THE RECIPES YOU ACTUALLY HAVE USED, IDEALLY MORE THAN ONCE, or the things you REALLY WANT TO DO. The rest, just trash, and start over. And never keep more than 3 issues of a magazine, because if you haven't bothered to read those 3, you'll never read 6 or 12.

Magazines used to be one of my major weaknesses and sources of clutter. I unsubscribed to all but one. That helped. When I go to the library, I'll scan the magazines there. I can check them out - (not the latest issue, but the older ones) and then return them.

I love recipes - I have finally resolved that one by keeping two binders in my kitchen. One is for recipes I've tried and love (I labeled it, "Favorites". The other is for recipes I want to try, It's labeled "Recipes to Try". Both binders have tabs for categories. One thing I am doing is trying one new recipe each week. If it isn't really good, it gets tossed. If it's good or I want to try it again with changes, I'll make notes on it and then file it in "Favorites"

My current clutter challenge is my nightstand. I'll work on it this week..... It seems to be a magnet for stuff.

[moneyminded]

Really glad this thread was started.  Thank you!  I have been decluttering here and there for 6 months, as well as once a year, although I don't have a cluttered home, I don't want "stuff" any longer.  It has been very freeing to have less (sounds odd, I know).  I just want to keep it simple. I have been reading a lot online regarding minimalism.  I would never go extreme.  I enjoy reading The Minimalist blog online as well as Mr. Money Moustache, and anything about minimalism on my kindle. I find it really interesting and light. My biggest hurdle is getting rid of sentimental items.  I have decided that I don't need to keep everything, but just my most favorite reminders.  But, here is a question for any of you, a friend of mine gave me a treasured book that was a favorite of her mother that passed away.  I met her mother once and did something for her that meant a lot to my friend.  I want to give it back to her, but I think she might be offended, but I don't want to get rid of it, nor keep the book.  What would you do? 

[moneyminded]

GG- I love your idea for recipes.  I am a Pinterest recipe fiend, always trying new recipes, but enough is enough. Thanks for the tip!

[Wisconsin Beth]

Jan 12, 2014 12:38:44 GMT -5 moneyminded said:

Really glad this thread was started.  Thank you!  I have been decluttering here and there for 6 months, as well as once a year, although I don't have a cluttered home, I don't want "stuff" any longer.  It has been very freeing to have less (sounds odd, I know).  I just want to keep it simple. I have been reading a lot online regarding minimalism.  I would never go extreme.  I enjoy reading The Minimalist blog online as well as Mr. Money Moustache, and anything about minimalism on my kindle. I find it really interesting and light. My biggest hurdle is getting rid of sentimental items.  I have decided that I don't need to keep everything, but just my most favorite reminders.  But, here is a question for any of you, a friend of mine gave me a treasured book that was a favorite of her mother that passed away.  I met her mother once and did something for her that meant a lot to my friend.  I want to give it back to her, but I think she might be offended, but I don't want to get rid of it, nor keep the book.  What would you do? 

Does your friend have kids?  If so, you could pass it back to them saying "this was a favorite of your grandmom's"  If not, I've got nothing. 

[NotSoFair]

Thanks for this thread debthaven. There were a lot of things that I was putting off, mainly paperwork. Got some cleared.

[Deleted]

But, here is a question for any of you, a friend of mine gave me a treasured book that was a favorite of her mother that passed away. I met her mother once and did something for her that meant a lot to my friend. I want to give it back to her, but I think she might be offended, but I don't want to get rid of it, nor keep the book.

That's a tough one Moneyminded ... if she has older kids, I think WB's idea is great. I can be pretty ruthless, but I would probably keep the book rather than risk hurting my friend (especially because a book doesn't take up much room). Is she a close friend? Can you say that although you remember her mother fondly, you were thinking she may prefer to have the book back since it means so much to her? It's difficult ... 

I'm so glad you are enjoying this thread! I went back to work FT this week so I have less time to keep up with the boards, but I hope you keep this thread active, and / or join us on the WIR decluttering thread. By the way this thread has a "sticky" on the WIR board, if some of you want to keep it current. ;-)

Here are the "challenges" that PW posted since my last post:

Spend 10 minutes decluttering:
12. the central console of your car
13. "the lower third": declutter the bottom third of any pile of clothing in your house
14. your cleaning supplies (and put them all in one place)

Again, you don't need to "like" him to see his posts and videos on his FB page. 

Happy decluttering everybody! 

[moneyminded]

I know, I have thought about hanging on to the book, but I am getting rid of things.  It's pretty big and heavy.  I like the idea of giving it back to her to give to her daughter (10).  That just may work.  Thank you for the suggestions, it is a toughy.

[thyme4change]

Well this thread made me feel guilty and inadequate.  I broke a glass jar in my tupperware drawer a month ago, and haven't gone in to clean it.  Plus, my kids started eating lunch meat so we now have 8 million plastic containers, and the drawer is a nightmare.  I have been meaning to go in and clean it - but something better always comes up - like sitting on the couch and watching TV.  So, the #1 challenge was to clean a drawer.  I stood up and did it.  I don't even think it took 10 minutes.  

By the way - anyone want some free plastic containers.  They are the size sliced ham comes in.

[Deleted]

Well done Thyme! That's what's great about these challenges, they really do only take 10 minutes. 

[Bonny]

Jan 18, 2014 10:48:21 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

By the way - anyone want some free plastic containers.  They are the size sliced ham comes in.

Do you have a donation pile going? I hit our local thrift shop where our cabin is located and re-supply with things like that. They might be 5-10 for $1 and people are likely to use them to take home their leftovers vs taking a bunch of bags or other dishes.

We also keep a small supply at home to send folks home with leftovers when we entertain.

[Bonny]

I guess I can give myself a pat on the back. I made major progress cleaning out our garage in AZ. Although understandable it was embarrassing to see how much stuff we left in that garage. I made three trips to the . I've got a car load of cr*p which I have to cull through to see what stays here at the cabin.

I drive home tomorrow. Bathroom remodels are supposed to be finished. Hardwood floors are in. I need to paint the three bedrooms. Then we "move back in".

Then it's time to start re-organizing the garage and thinning through all the cr*p we've been moving around for the last 25 years!

[tloonya]

Well...I have a full closet of expensive clothes I bought when I was a real job person.
Bwcoming a fruit store owner I was getting fleamarket clothes...from friends who knew what fleamarket was.
I hated it but it was warm..and ugly. I had learned to like it.

Not too long ago I had adapted my cool clothes to wear to store. Pants from Bloomingdales serving me as good as would dolaar store pants were. Except they look chickier.
Sweaters are btw also can work on the fruit market as well as were at the office...

So...I am actually re-wearing my expensive clothes now as if it was flea market clothes and i am not spending any money on that! So...quality goes a long way people!

[Gardening Grandma]

Well I may have gone too far - I donated a 6 compartment muffin tin. Then realized that I did not mean to. Went down to GW to see if I could buy it back. Wasn't there, so I spent $5.99 for a new one...

[Spellbound454]

That's always the problem.........You need stuff just when you realise you have thrown it out.

I don't mind useful clutter as long as its stashed away somewhere and I'm not looking at it.

My rule for clothes is...Is you haven't worn it in a year its not that important and needs to go......though I keep hanging on to my bikini...probably for nostalgic reasons

Love the above list.....keep chipping away at it so it doesn't get to be  problem

[Deleted]

thanks for starting this thread. After being ill for a long time and forced to retire, I finally have some strength to start these projects. I have lived in my house for a long time, and my illnesses have kept me from doing ANYTHING until now Started one hour a day on my walk-in closet.

it sure feels good to make some progress

[Deleted]

Ezzie, I hope you are doing well and continuing to make progress! It makes me happy that this is working for you!

Here is the next batch of the PW daily challenges.
Again, the instructions are the same: Spend 10 min decluttering:

19. drinking cups + glasses
20. Emotional Clutter. Is there someone you have fallen out of touch with and know you should re-establish contact with? 
21 coats and jackets
22. cookbooks and recipes 
23. create a first-aid kit (and declutter anything old/used/soiled in the process)

[Deleted]

thanks, debthaven 2.  I am not quite going in order there.  It depends upon how quickly my garbage can fills up and how often I am able to go to donate or recycle.  But I am makine progress.  What drives me is that I don't want to leave a mess for my survivors.  As sick as I have been, it makes me think that way. 

I wish I hada had a HELLISH day at work like you.  Appreciiate that you can work!!!

[Deleted]

I've updated the complete list of challenges (and deleted the posts with the "complete lists of challenges" that were no longer up-to-date.)

If you watch just ONE of Peter Walsh's videos (they are all about 1 min), I would REALLY encourage you to watch his video on today's challenge, which is to spend JUST 10 MINUTES on SOME of the papers on your desk. Paperwork is the bane of many people's existence LOL.

He advocates using his "three pile system" for paperwork. His three piles are: Trash (AKA the circular file), Action (the mail that requires you to do something, ie pay a bill, or respond to an invitation) and File (nothing to do, but you need to keep it, so put it away, either for real, or digitally). I've been doing that FOR YEARS (although I had never actually articulated my system). DH is another story LOL. 

Just two days left! And then both Peter and I will stop bugging y'all LOL. 

ETA: Ezzie, I don't necessarily go in order either, it depends on how much time I have that day or week. And sometimes I think I don't "need" to do a particular challenge, and then I change my mind. I did that tonight, with the "drinking" stuff. 

[Deleted]

Today was the last Peter Walsh 31-Day Challenge. I'm reposting this with the full list.

Spend 10 min decluttering:

1. one drawer
2. sweaters
3. under beds
4. luggage
5. gift wrap
6. night stand
7. set up "donation bag / basket" + 7 items
8. under the sink
9. your digital life (apps, etc)
10. organize your wallets, purses and pocketbooks
11. freezer (UFOs: Unidentified Frozen Objects)
12. the central console of your car
13. "The Lower Third": declutter the lower third of any pile of clothing
14. your cleaning supplies
15. one drawer in your desk
16. baking supplies
17. spare / guest room
18: kids' toys: donate 5 toys per kid (if you don't have kids, donate 5 items of your own)
19. Drinking cups + glasses
20. Emotional Clutter. Is there someone you have fallen out of touch with and want to re-establish contact with?
21 coats and jackets
22. cookbooks and recipes
23. create a first-aid kit
24. "the top of": declutter the top of any surface
25. jewelry
26. small appliances
27. catalogues and magazines
28. gift cards and gift certificates
29. some paper piles on your desk (trash / action / file)
30. plastic and reusable bags
31. post 3 challenges of your own that you commit to doing in the next month (on his FB page) 

Come join us on the WIR thread if you want (some of you already have!)

That's all folks LOL. Good luck!