2017 Declutter and Organization Thread

[busymom]

Thanks jenpen.  And Everyone. 

I'm up to 7 days in a row for 10,000 steps or more.  Unfortunately, the scale is moving in the wrong direction.  But, I do feel better.  (I'd feel even better if this congestion thing would go away.)

But, some day soon I'd better take a day or two, & get going on my taxes, rather than walking.  And, I still need to get the house in better shape for Sunday, although I AM doing a little here & there to spruce things up.  But, we've got sNOw that supposed to arrive Saturday, and my company might not make it if we get enough to shovel (he's in the sNOw removal business).

I DID get some of my paperwork filed late last night, but still have aways to go on that.

I'm quite impressed with the projects you all have been getting done.  Keep it going! 

[NastyWoman]

Day 30 – BOOKS (DON’T START SCREAMING JUST YET!)
This is always an emotional topic! I love books too but if you’re books are never going to be read and covered in dust, perhaps today’s the day to deal with them. Take a deep breath and let’s get going.ert quote here

Oh, is that what it's called? I call it time due to the process: take book off the shelf, read synopsis on the back of the book, go "oh yeah that is fun". Next thing I know it is dark out and I need to go to bed, so I put the book back on the shelf --- as I said I will have decluttered time

[Saving4Norway]

Feb 2, 2017 20:56:27 GMT -5 jenpen said:

I need to do updates here, but while I'm thinking about it, and since I just checked to see if they had it posted, here's the list of recommended organizing books from the presentation I went to last weekend 

naponc.org/events/recommended-reading/

Chloe, hope you're feeling better.  Busymom, I agree with debt, that had to be hard to see. Sorry 

Thank you, Jenpen!

[jenpen]

Saving4Norway, I love the dancing banana,  and really needed that tonight. Thank you! It's been a long week !

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Good morning!
Happy Friday!!!
We have a non-student day today. My work goal is to have next week fully ready to go and clean out my file cabinet. 
My house goal is to do the monthly cleaning of the laundry room, which I was supposed to do last week. 

[debthaven]

I just got back from taking DS3 to the airport. It always makes me a bit sad although I bounce back faster now. He's been coming home about once a month so I can't complain!

This week
- pick up DS1's package (Mon)
- pick up my package (Tues)
- put bag in donation bin (Wed)
- pharmacy (Thurs)
- bottle bank (Fri)
- mend DH's sweater (Sat)
- call consignment shop (Sat?)
- see A? 

This week's marking
Fri: BA1 Group A: 21 papers
      BA1 Group B: 20 papers
Sat: BA2 Group A: 9 (long) papers
Sun: BA2 Group B: 9 (long) papers
?: MSc: 8 papers (next week)

These are stretch goals for the marking. I'm trying to (almost) catch up before I get more next week.

ETA: I did a bit of grocery shopping while DS3 was here. Now we are back on the freezer/pantry diet!

 

[Chocolate Lover]

Feb 2, 2017 20:56:27 GMT -5 jenpen said:

I need to do updates here, but while I'm thinking about it, and since I just checked to see if they had it posted, here's the list of recommended organizing books from the presentation I went to last weekend 

naponc.org/events/recommended-reading/

Chloe, hope you're feeling better.  Busymom, I agree with debt, that had to be hard to see. Sorry 

I've read the ADD one, got it from the library. I somehow doubt I actually made use of any of it. 

[Saving4Norway]

Woohoo! Got all my grading done today! Well, the grading that was part of 1st semester grades, that is. (No applauding, please, I had been procrastinating since mid-December.)   
Now to head home and try to get some more office purging done before the hockey game tonight...

[debthaven]

Getting all your grading done is cause for celebration, procrastination or not!

[startsmart]

February 1-7th
pick up the back yard and mow the back yard
mow the front lawn
take the last piece of gutters to the
Finish reading 4 books (2 complete)
buy and attach new gutter downspout in the backyard
hire someone to come patch the roof
hire someone to come patch drywall
finish installing baseboard + quarter round in the office
begin trimming window in the office - started! 
drop off magazines at assisted living home


Well, after talking to a rude drywall guy and doing research I decided to do it myself! Picked up the supplies today and will be tackling it this weekend. I would also like to finish trimming the window in the office. I managed to get the window sill off so making progress  

It's probably not going to be dry enough to mow or work on the gutters but I did get a pretty cheap quote to do all my gutters so I might plan on that in March.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Here's what I need to do off of the PW Challenge.
(I'm not ignoring the other stuff; it really is already taken care of and in a healthy state.)


Day 6 – TWO DRAWERS IN YOUR OFFICE (OR ELSEWHERE)
--I'm doing this one at work. YAY! BUSTED THIS OUT TODAY!!! Seriously, found three transparencies. They went in the round file.  

Day 7 – SHOES, SHOES, SHOES
--I purged three pairs of shoes--two I'd not worn in over a year and were dilapidated and one pair I've worn but shouldn't. They weren't actually safe to wear--caused tripping--but they were gift from my babies. I also took two shoe boxes out of the closet that didn't need to be there.


Day 9 – SOCKS AND UNDIES
This totally needed to be done and went super well! I've only done undies, but I purged four bras and three pairs of underwear. I'll get to socks soon.

Day 11 – GET BACK IN TOUCH
Am re-intouch with a former co-worker whom I considered a friend. We've been texting and hope to have lunch soon.

Day 12 – KITCHEN UTENSIL DRAWER
Good challenge! I only got rid of six things, but we're pretty organized in the kitchen anyway.


Day 20 – YOUR CLOSET (YOU CAN DO IT!)
I've only done my work-out clothes drawer so far--purged eight articles of clothing.
I ADDED A BLOUSE AND A PAIR OF DRESS PANTS TO THE DONATION PILE. The pants were totally out of style. The blouse was too small.

Day 24 – LINEN CUPBOARD
Great task for me! We recently got rid of all but one twin bed. That meant we didn't need ten sets of twin sheets. (We probably didn't need ten any way Down to two sets of twin sheets! Boo Yah!

Day 27 – MUGS AND CUPS AND DRINKING THINGS
Definitely need to do this!

[busymom]

Hi Kids!  I did get in my steps today, but finished up late in the day.

While I didn't do all of the Peter Walsh list, I did do some of it.  For 2 drawers to go through, I did 2 drawers in the bathroom where most of my make-up is stored, and decided most of it was old enough to throw away.  But, that meant I needed to get some new stuff.  So, I went to Walgreen's today, where they had a buy 1, get 1 for 1/2 off.  I brought along a coupon that was a buy 1, get one free.  To add to the confusion, I had a $5 credit on my rewards card, so I ended up getting $19.30 worth of Revlon make-up for 45 cents.  Hooray! 

DH helped me get ready for this weekend by shampooing the living room carpet.  I bought enough food, so we'll be ready for company on Sunday.

[startsmart]

Yay! Got the first bit of drywall added in the office, taped and mudded. I'll be able to sand it in the morning and then texture and paint. 

I also picked up another piece of MDF for the bookshelf build and got the cuts done at the store. If I can move the Cadillac out of the garage tomorrow then I can work on assembling the pieces but office comes first  

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

We have a family fun day tomorrow, so there won't be any non-morning/evening list chores done. Sunday will be a big cleaning and grading day. 

[debthaven]

This week
- pick up DS1's package (Mon)
- pick up my package (Tues)
- put bag in donation bin (Wed)
- pharmacy (Thurs)
- bottle bank (Fri)
- mend DH's sweater (Sat)
- call consignment shop (Sat?)

This week's marking
Fri: Year 1 Group A: 21 papers
      Year 1 Group B: 20 papers
Sat: Year 2 Groups A/B: 11 (long) papers
Sun: Year 2 Group B: 7 (long) papers
?: MSc: 8 papers (next week)

[Jaguar]

I just cleaned up and organized all my 2016 papers, and now the important papers have been filed. I got rid of 3 piles of paperwork.

[startsmart]

Office is moving along. I realized I had to prime the drywall first and that took for-ages to dry. Now the texture is on and drying and then I can install the baseboard and paint. SO close to being done. 

I will need a few more boards for the office window frame but I'm checking in the garage first to see what I can find. About ready to cut the first piece for the bookshelf   and it's totally nerve wracking! I also realize that it's going to be a heavy sucker to put in place in the living room so I need to figure out how to make that happen. Most of my friends are wimps and family are not the most healthy... 

ETA: I picked up the last piece of MDF I needed tonight and got it cut. The office wall is textured and primed. I installed the baseboard and now working on the quarter round so I can paint it. I'll paint the wall last. 

The office window frame is also coming along - sides are up and I bought the last pieces of wood I need. I cut out the sill today but will assemble it all tomorrow. 
If you think of it, send me good juju tomorrow, I may be having a difficult conversation/confrontation that's be pending for about a year. It's making me nervous but needs to happen. 

[Blonde Granny]

I really need to go though a drawer in the kitchen that has all the Lock & Lock containers in it. Most of them I don't use anymore and they are just taking up space. QVC had some new stackable products last week on the David kitchen show...square and round. Since it's just cooking for storage for one, that seems like a better option.

Our community will have a garage sale again this spring, and I can donate those along with some other items it's time to part with. Nice thing is that the money raised goes back to the Event Cmte. (which I'm on but never get to their meetings) so we help our community and clean out the stuff.

[debthaven]

Blonde Granny Personally I find it's better to have either square ones or round ones, but not both (unless you're happy to have 2 piles of them).

This week's marking
Fri: Year 1 Group A: 21 papers
      Year 1 Group B: 20 papers
Sat: Year 2 Groups A/B: 11 (long) papers
Sun: Year 2 Group B: 7 (long) papers
?: MSc: 8 papers (next week)

I finished 4/5 sets of this week's papers. I'm taking the rest of the day off. 

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Feb 5, 2017 8:49:31 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Blonde Granny Personally I find it's better to have either square ones or round ones, but not both (unless you're happy to have 2 piles of them).

This week's marking
Fri: Year 1 Group A: 21 papers
      Year 1 Group B: 20 papers
Sat: Year 2 Groups A/B: 11 (long) papers
Sun: Year 2 Group B: 7 (long) papers
?: MSc: 8 papers (next week)

I finished 4/5 sets of this week's papers. I'm taking the rest of the day off. 

Hi Everyone! Hope everything is getting shiny!

Hi Debt, I was thinking about your paper grading goals today so stopped in - and the last post was your paper grading!

I myself am knee deep in it. If I had just done 2 a day for the past week.....

but each day went by  and I said
just 2-3 a day......
morning! just 3 a day.....
morning! just 3-4 a day...
morning! just 4 a day...
morning! just 5 a day....
.....

until sat morning when it was 10 on sat and 10 on sunday!

I did 12 hours of grading yesterday, and did 12 of them. Hoping that I can finish today and at least have 4 hours this evening to relax... er I mean clean, shop, get ready for the work week. 


Householdwise....

Things are looking pretty cluttered, and I can't get to any of those hot-spots hardly ever....I've spent many weekends doing the heavy lifting on the course I'm teaching plus I'm taking classes myself and working on my dissertation in my *spare* time...but in reality, if you include both jobs, class work, writing for presentations/publications, and dissertation  - I'm working about 10 or more hours a day, every day, honestly wondering how long I can keep it up. I've been powering through! for a long while now.....and I'm getting old.   Seriously, I have some wrinkles....  Very disturbing....

I did take 2 weeks off work at the holidays, and just worked a small bit here and there, course prep, dissertation, etc.

I have a weekly cleaner, or else I'd be in deep doodoo around the house. DD and DS have taken on some responsibilities, and while they are both in college too, they are young, and I am going to push a few more things their way. Just a few.

So while I am super busy and not able to address household issues too much, we are certainly doing fairly okish with the weekly cleaner. When I can make progress I do, and when I can't, we tread water rather than slip too far down the hole.  Sometimes things will get hairier for a few weeks, but having someone come in weekly is such a pressure that I can't ignore, I highly recommend it for anyone who feels like they can't get it together.

If only I could afford twice a week, lol! I can't afford 1/week, but I'm doing it anyway.

*BAD HABIT ALERT* a week or so ago I was trying to take the kitchen to the next level of organized and streamlined. I grabbed some rarely used appliances on the counter, and stored them in the basement. however, I need to clean out that basement, and stuffing usable, but unused stuff there for about 10 years - it's going to be a big job. 

I think there is something in the declutter lit about deferring these decisions? it's a bad habbit.

Oh - with writing, I've been using the pomodoro method sometimes, when I can't get into it. It's the 25 minutes on/5 off/setting alarms to ring work/rest periods in and out.

Could be useful for cleaning routines...

That's my update/whine/bragplaint/advice for today

Hope all are doing well!

Power on!

[Saving4Norway]

rukh - I'm exhausted just reading all your accomplishments and to-dos. I hope you can find time for a bubble bath, or anything that give you a little rest and rejuvenation.

[Saving4Norway]

In reading yet another decluttering/organization book, I've learned that one root cause of clutter is the "discomfort" of making decisions about your stuff. I'd have to say from my own personal experience that it is so true!

I've gutted my office, laid it all out on the pool table (and surroundings...) and now have put back into the office the stuff I want to keep. Now...... decision time....... I'm kind of frozen! I'm in that exact place that the book described. All the leftover stuff has "value" to me, or in general but I don't want it stored in my office. Decisions, decisions, decisions. It really is the hardest part!

We'll watch the Superbowl today even though I don't really care too much about it and hopefully I'll get bored and be able to start purging. (The pool table is near the TV so I could potentially multi-task.)

Wish me luck!

[debthaven]

Good luck Saving4Norway ! Could you pack stuff up and store it elsewhere (not the office) while you think about it? Do you have enough space in that room to store it somewhere in a "not office" part?

Rukh O'Rorke , I honestly don't know how you do it! I don't procrastinate with the marking because it stresses me out too much to see it pile up ... but I have fewer things competing for my time / energy / attention than you.

Time for new lists. As always feel free to ignore the marking but it motivates me.

This week
- call consignment shop
- see A (Tues)

This week's marking (1 batch from last week, 2 new batches)
- Year 2 Group C: 8 (long) papers (Tues)
- MSc: 8 papers (Wed)
- Year 1 Group C: 18 papers (Fri)

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Feb 5, 2017 12:17:17 GMT -5 Saving4Norway said:

rukh - I'm exhausted just reading all your accomplishments and to-dos. I hope you can find time for a bubble bath, or anything that give you a little rest and rejuvenation.

thanks! While very busy, I am also quite energized - most of the time. I need to go back to the doctor to check, but I think I have corrected my vitamin D deficiency via supplements (was diagnosed about 3 years or so ago, had a one/couple checks and still an issue). 

i'd be very content with absolutely everything if I had a housekeeper full time. I love what I'm doing, I enjoy cooking and meal prep. I just need someone to clean up after me and do my laundry.    And maybe cook 2-3 times a week, too.

oh - and a gardener...and a handyman....and someone that organizes all those people, lol!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Feb 5, 2017 12:24:50 GMT -5 Saving4Norway said:

In reading yet another decluttering/organization book, I've learned that one root cause of clutter is the "discomfort" of making decisions about your stuff. I'd have to say from my own personal experience that it is so true!

I've gutted my office, laid it all out on the pool table (and surroundings...) and now have put back into the office the stuff I want to keep. Now...... decision time....... I'm kind of frozen! I'm in that exact place that the book described. All the leftover stuff has "value" to me, or in general but I don't want it stored in my office. Decisions, decisions, decisions. It really is the hardest part!

We'll watch the Superbowl today even though I don't really care too much about it and hopefully I'll get bored and be able to start purging. (The pool table is near the TV so I could potentially multi-task.)

Wish me luck!

Good luck!

Yes, it is very hard for me to toss out. And when I do, many times later, I tossed the wrong thing! kept the wrong thing! so - I think very hard on those choices....and many times defer them...

Basement!

[startsmart]

well it looks like a delay in the weird confrontation that I thought would happen today - most likely next weekend which gives me more space to prepare myself but also drags it out. Instead of worrying about it 24/7 I'm going to keep working on projects around the house. 

So far today I've gotten the window frame mostly assembled. I'm waiting on the header to dry (primer only) so I can install it and then it'll be time to caulk and seal. I was all settled in to caulk the baseboards and trim when I realized I was out of caulk so quick trip to the store and I'm restocked. If I really can finish the office today then I'll move in the second desk, roll out the rug and move on to the guest room! 

[stillmovingforward]

I need to prepare a 2 hour powerpoint presentation (with additional lecture) for a class I'm giving tomorrow. And I need to start researching universities to get my masters at. I keep putting it off but need to start soon. I'd like to start before I'm 50!  I'm going to try the 20 minutes on, 15 minutes off.  My timer is next to me.  But first........... empty the washer and dryer............

[debthaven]

Rukh, your kids are both older ... can't they each be responsible for dinner once or twice a week? Even if that means cooking large quantities once a week each and having leftovers?

I am envying Knee Deep in Water Chloe 's Family Fun day. What did you guys do? I definitely need some fun lol. Chloe's post made me realize that even though we never called it that, we'd do a lot with DS3. But since it's just us now (and DD who is not here often) we really don't do much these days, except go to the movies and out to eat (cheaply) about twice a month. I'm sure part of it is the season / weather ... I tend to hibernate in winter and re-emerge again in the spring.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

debt they are both taking over quite a bit of things, including food stuff - shopping, prep, cooking. What is interesting is the recipes they come up with.

Give a bit of variety!

[debthaven]

Your post reminded me of my (late) dad's (late) business partner ... after graduating from college, their son wanted to move back home with his DF so they could save up for a down payment.

My dad's partner's wife (the boy's mom) said, no problem, and we won't even charge you rent. BUT ... know that we will cook exactly twice a year, for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The rest of the food / cooking / food shopping is solely on you two.

Funnily enough, it worked out so well the "kids" ended up staying for nearly two years instead of the one year they had initially planned LOL (and saved up a bigger DP).

DS3 was horrified to see that DH and I now prefer to eat in the LR ... we only eat at the table when the kids are around, or when it's too messy. Seriously?! 30 years of cooking for 6 then 5 then 4 then 3 people, and serving every single meal at the table, and you don't get why now that it's just the 2 of us, we prefer to eat on our laps, or just "graze"?! LOL!

This said we still make the effort whenever the kids are here for dinner, and we always cook their favorite meals when they come over (and I still cook in big batches and freeze the rest).

But I am VERY HAPPY to cook less often now!