2017 Declutter and Organization Thread

[whoisjohngalt]

Jan 1, 2017 19:33:37 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Jan 1, 2017 19:22:33 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

I've had his book for 7 yrs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  and still haven't done anything with it

Donate it to the library and count it as the first decluttered item of the year  

Now, that me literally LOL. 

My kid actually asked me why I keep taking books out of the library if I have tons of books at home that I am not reading. 

[whoisjohngalt]

Jan 2, 2017 10:54:53 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Peter Walsh 31 Days to Get Organized challenges.

Day 1 - TABLE TOPS

Day 2 - SET UP A DONATION BIN
Decluttering doesn’t just help you, it helps others less fortunate who benefit from what you don’t need, use or want. Today it’s all about setting up a donation bin in your home!

I need to read his book

I wonder if he is including kitchen countertops.

On a side note - I did throw away lots of spices that haven't been used in years and various sauces and salad dressing.  I has some that expired in 2012 /2013

I am vowing with all I have to stop wasting food!  This is going to be my biggest organizing challenge for 2017.

[Jaguar]

I started in doing what I need to do, cleaning off counters and tables tops and dresser tops. It's looking way better.

[plugginaway22]

I often wonder how long a tea bag is good?  I only drink coffee, tea if I am sick, and DH neither.  But I always have a selection of tea for guests/my SIL and some of it has been in that canister for awhile!

[TheHaitian]

We still have a lot more To get ride of having downsized but my wife being pregnant has limited it a bit... but hopefully soon we can attack the basement / storage area.

Started the year by making $35 off a light fixture we had seating around from our old house.

We also put up for sale another light fixture, our bedroom set, Wednesday I will put our snow plow and leave blower. Our bedroom set is also up for sale, replacing it with a simpler/smaller one.

[debthaven]

Pluggin, I looked into it ... tea can lose its flavor over time, but it doesn't "go bad". Ideally you should store it in a cool dark place. A canister is good.

The Haitian, it's good to see you back!

[tcu2003]

I returned or exchanged things to 4 different stores today, and have 2 more stores to return stuff to, as well as back to one of the stores from today since I managed to leave one piece of a 3-piece outfit at home (grrr for clothes my kids received being too small).

The ornaments are off our tree, so hopefully we can get it all put away tonight.

I took a bag of Boys clothes my son outgrew awhile ago to my cousin last night for her son, so yay. Fortunately or unfortunately, I came home with a tote or girl's clothes for my daughter that her daughter outgrew.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2017 16:54:04 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I'm still working on my tea-cupboard decluttering mission.

I drink coffee, not tea. DH drinks a LOT of tea, but only one kind (cheap black tea from the UK supermarket). In Nov I counted 17 different kinds of "fancy" tea in the cupboard, 15 of which nobody ever touches. I threw one out, took one to work, gave some to a friend + DS3 for college, and I've been working on the rest. Of course DH got more tea for Christmas (he won't drink that either). And DDIL asked us if we had any camomile when they were here for Christmas. We didn't, so I ran out and got some. 

I never thought it would happen but I'm developing a taste for (green) tea!

ETA: Edited to correct the number. Today we still have 12 sorts, besides DH's regular tea.

I give you permission to throw out all of the tea except for the one that your DH will drink. 

[debthaven]

Thanks Chloe, I wish lol! Unfortunately some of the tea DH won't drink was gifted to him, and even if he won't drink it, he periodically checks that it's there (because I have been known to sneak gifted tea in with his regular stash). He claims he's "saving it". For what?!

Some are teas (or infusions) that other people (DS3 / DDIL / DS2's GF) like: Sleepytime, Camomile, Jasmine. I want to keep those around for when they come.

And some are gifts from a Japanese friend that I won't go near, but alas DH keeps track of those too: chrysanthemum tea, or Kombucha. Every once in a blue moon he'll want one and he'd go ballistic if I chucked them. The Kombucha STINKS!!!

But I'm working hard to get rid of the rest. At this rate I should be able to get rid of enjoy one packet per week for the next three weeks. My goal is to get to 10 sorts max, total.

Obviously, at this point, it has become a sort of game. And whenever I make a pot of "fancy tea", suddenly everybody wants a cup. Which helps the stocks go down faster.

[wvugurl26]

I have tossed things from the pantry and fridge this weekend. I shipped the last set of Christmas presents out today. The 2017 calendar was put up. I had the clutter mostly under control before Christmas and now it is out of control again. I go back to work Tuesday but I hope to do a few things each night.

[whoisjohngalt]

Jan 2, 2017 18:56:31 GMT -5 plugginaway22 said:

I often wonder how long a tea bag is good?  I only drink coffee, tea if I am sick, and DH neither.  But I always have a selection of tea for guests/my SIL and some of it has been in that canister for awhile!

Let me know if you find out as I have tons of those too

[debthaven]

OK Lena, let's hope the third time's a charm.

What bothers you the most about your clutter? I would suggest either picking either one room, or one "item" (ie papers, books, toys) and start there.

Once you decide what that first item is, I'm sure we can make other suggestions. I know your kids are homeschooled, so it's not like you have all day to get that sort of thing done. But if you can find even 30 min a day, and stick to it, you'd be AMAZED at how much you can get done in a few weeks or a month!

And honestly, the hardest part is starting! Funny thing, when I first started doing the Peter Walsh challenges, they were 20 min. Then they went down to 15 min. Now they are 10 min!

Other thought: could you get your kids on board with helping you with those challenges, as part of your homeschooling program? If you could do 40 min per day (just for the month) you could have the kids help you start, then they see how it's done. Then you do the oldest child's (whatever), and move down in age, with you and the older kids helping the younger ones.

[debthaven]

Lena, I looked into it because of my DH's stash ... a tea bag (or loose tea) cannot "go bad" or make anyone sick. It can get weaker / less flavorful, but that's the worst that can happen.

ETA: Sorry it's 2 am here so I need to go to bed! But I'll be back tomorrow.

[Lizard Queen]

Geez, wish I had known that before throwing out the white tea that was past its expiration date. I'm also a tea drinker from childhood--black Lipton tea. I quit using sugar in my tea, though, so have moved onto oolong and raspberry zinger sans sugar.

My house desperately needs decluttering--still. Lists don't work for me, though. I seem to just waste time making lists that I subsequently ignore. And I seem to be becoming ADD in my old age. I'm going to try to commit to 2 hours of housework every day that I don't have stuff going on, and see where that gets me. Was travelling yesterday, so that was out, though I did a good chunk of putting away luggage/dirty clothes. 10 minutes from the 2 hour mark today. Think I might get some star stickers for the days I reach the goal. I really hope this works for me. This situation makes me feel like such a loser. I really need to get a handle on this for my whole family's sake.

[whoisjohngalt]

Jan 2, 2017 20:03:35 GMT -5 debthaven said:

OK Lena, let's hope the third time's a charm.

What bothers you the most about your clutter? I would suggest either picking either one room, or one "item" (ie papers, books, toys) and start there.

Once you decide what that first item is, I'm sure we can make other suggestions. I know your kids are homeschooled, so it's not like you have all day to get that sort of thing done. But if you can find even 30 min a day, and stick to it, you'd be AMAZED at how much you can get done in a few weeks or a month!

And honestly, the hardest part is starting! Funny thing, when I first started doing the Peter Walsh challenges, they were 20 min. Then they went down to 15 min. Now they are 10 min!

Other thought: could you get your kids on board with helping you with those challenges, as part of your homeschooling program? If you could do 40 min per day (just for the month) you could have the kids help you start, then they see how it's done. Then you do the oldest child's (whatever), and move down in age, with you and the older kids helping the younger ones.

That it's not my clutter and I have no control over it!!!! 

When I got married, I moved in with my husband in one car trip.  He had to go back for my dresser and bookshelves, but everything else fit into my 2 door car.

Now, I would need 3 trucks and then some if we were moving today.

Ha ha ha ha - my kids don't see it as clutter.  They see it as "this is my most important possession, that yes, I haven't touched in 6 months, but MOMMY!!! I WILL use it today so we can't get rid of it."

But not all is lost, my husband is trying to compromise and we will be getting rid of some things this year.  Either via ebay, Craig's list, donations or garbage.

Here is to hope and less crap!

[dee27]

My kids were like that when they lived at home especially DS who still keeps every card and scrap of paper. DD is a minimalist; she can go on a one week vacation and use only a small carry on bag. When DH and I moved here, DD was out of grad school and married, but DS lived at home. He had more stuff in his bedroom to pack than DH and I had combined. DD had a few boxes left in the basement, and she donated most of the contents to Goodwill. I was determined not to pay to move stuff we would not use or need across the country.

I do not function well in a messy area, but DH glories in his piles of papers, but he does contain them in the spare bedroom where he has his computer. I do not have to clean it up nor look at it every day, but I did convince him to use baskets near the desk to contain the papers. Out of sight, out of mind works in this situation. He also had two space bags of clothes that no longer fit which he finally donated to charity. 

[dee27]

To declutter, I work on one room at a time. I admit my downfall is all of the stuff in my kitchen cabinets, but the stuff is neatly organized. Twice per year, I go through every closet in the house and remove what we no longer use or want. To keep organization easy, you could use the one in-one out rule. I found that once the closet is organized, it is easier to locate items and purge the unnecessary ones twice per year. I like to use space bags for seasonal bed linens and clothes and plastic totes with lids to store table linens and placemats. The space bags fit under the bed, and the totes fit neatly on the shelf in the closet. I use plastic totes in the storage closet to hold appliance warranties, extra candles, and emergency lanterns/batteries for power outages.

[dee27]

I reorganized the kitchen pantry and store all dry goods, beans, rice, cereal, etc. in plastic containers of various sizes. They are see through and keep the food free from bugs that can infest grain products brought home grocery store. I use a variation of these containers for food. www.walmart.com/c/kp/plastic-food-containers

[CCL]

Jan 2, 2017 18:59:31 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

We still have a lot more To get ride of having downsized but my wife being pregnant has limited it a bit... but hopefully soon we can attack the basement / storage area.

Started the year by making $35 off a light fixture we had seating around from our old house.

We also put up for sale another light fixture, our bedroom set, Wednesday I will put our snow plow and leave blower. Our bedroom set is also up for sale, replacing it with a simpler/smaller one.

Have you got anything left lol? You sold a bunch of furniture when you moved too, didn't you? I'd still like to buy some of it, but just too far away.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Okay, first week with the bullet journal...

[CCL]

Chloe you've really checked off a lot of tasks. Great job! I have no clue what that last page means though lol.

[megaptera]

Well, it's only the third, and I'm already slacking. Christmas stuff didn't get taken down and put away this weekend.

Kids will be in school today, so I've got a list. Christmas stuff, at least 4 loads of laundry, and finish up and email DS2's learning plan for the school.

I want to be as organized as Chloe! Love the journals.

[bean29]

It was really warm on Saturday so DH and I decided to clean our garage so we could get 2 cars in it.  We moved 2 items to our rental property (DS will graduate in spring and he will probably get his own place so we are saving for him) and we returned something that was temporarily stored in our garage by a former neighbor, and I took a box of items to goodwill. DH is going to the today with broken down cardboard.

I worked yesterday, so the Christmas tree still needs to come down. I brought the boxes up, and hope to work on it this week. I will have a lot of OT this month, so I will need to really push myself to do things at home. My two rooms that need work are my bedroom and my office. 10-15 minutes a day is probably a good plan to deal with them. I think I need to set up a file box to collect the tax documents as they come in the house first.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 3, 2017 0:30:27 GMT -5 CCL said:

Chloe you've really checked off a lot of tasks. Great job! I have no clue what that last page means though lol.

Well, to be fair, I've had that list going for a couple of weeks. 
The last page is the plan for the week. 

[tcu2003]

Peter Walsh 31 Days to Get Organized challenges.

Day 1 - TABLE TOPS
Day 2 - SET UP A DONATION BIN

Day 3 - GIFT BAGS
If gift wrapping and gift bags are cluttering any part of your home today's challenge is for you! Let's cut these items down to a reasonable amount.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Purging wrapping paper and gift bags is really hard for me. 

[debthaven]

Chloe that's impressive! I would probably find that many lists overwhelming though. Also, strange question ... you don't mind making all those little boxes?

John Galt I get that you can't fight other people's clutter, alas! I stopped fighting DH about his, but he has gotten better over the years. He has a lot of Stuff in the basement, which is our only storage room. (Like Dee, I finally decided, out of sight, out of mind.) DH also has 2/3 of our bedroom closet space. I do find I can "make" him get rid of stuff at certain times (ie when his shelves collapse from too much weight lol).

Could you implement a storage system (shelves? Wardrobe? Basement storage?) so that the kids' stuff is more organized?

I used to make my kids go through their Stuff every year before Xmas / Hanukah, telling them they had to make room for the new presents.

Dee, my decluttering system is very similar to yours, except that I don't use containers / storage totes. But I go through all the closets once or twice a year.

[Iggy aka IG]

Dec 30, 2016 11:26:16 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Copied from the 2016 thread for reference:

Take down decorations Monday-Done
Deep clean the master bathroom I've been yapping about forever
Start packing-4 Rubbermaid totes taken to the temporary storage unit
"Encourage" our realtor to start marketing our home, though I heard through the grapevine the people who own the house we put a contract on are now going to build a house? So, no rush for us to sell apparently.
Added:  Dust off the cowboy hats in the foyer, and sweep and Swiffer the main floor. Hats done

I also need to do the usual laundry, dishes, and work week food prep this weekend.  Special for NYE is a seafood feast tomorrow night, and tater tot breakfast casserole for Sunday brunch.  Done

I'll refrain from posting my office to do list.  I'm afraid if I do, I'll run screaming, LOL.

Have a fantastic New Year's Eve celebration, everyone. 

I also tossed several things, added a few more into the donation box, planned this week's dinners, chatted with DH about what else needs to be done to the house since it's on the market, and reorganized the pantry from the holiday whirlwind.  Though I'll miss the extra days off, I am sort of glad they are over with.

Here's to a short work week. 

[Saving4Norway]

I have sorely missed the accountability boost I get from you all! Tomorrow I'm back to school, but, at least I'll benefit from today.

Gift wrap/gift bags
dining room table
donations to PFH
loose Christmas stuff onto pool table
dark gentle laundry (especially table cloth)
get out of jammies

[dee27]

DH took the tree down and we packed the ornaments, but he cannot find the box where we stored the stuff from the great room that we removed in order to decorate. LOL, he even labeled the box where he stored the stuff, and eventually we will find it. More than likely, the box ended up in the attic.