2018 Get Organized & Declutter Your Stuff

[ilovedolphins]

I will be so glad to get my house decluttered.  Then maybe on my days off I can do fun stuff and not have to worry about going through all this stuff.  I need to just spend a certain amount of time on decluttering and still enjoy some of my days off but once I get started I just keep going.

I am 55 and when I get older I hope to sell my house and just rent a place.  There is only one apartment building in our town so not having to do lawn work and snow shoveling may not be in my future.

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 7, 2018 16:17:48 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Jan 6, 2018 17:38:13 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I have never understood people who keep so much stuff in their garage that a car won't fit in it.

That is something I have never done and don't think I ever will.  I was taught well by my parents.  

And I see a lot of that here, because there are no basements.  It is so irritating when people have three cars and use up three unassigned parking places because they have so much stuff in the garage!  Then there's no parking for guests.  

I applaud all of you who realize that storing things is not about finding the right size totes.  A friend of mine is convinced she doesn't have too much stuff; she just hasn't organized it properly, so the solution is to buy more totes (that she hasn't used yet). But because there's still stuff not organized yet, the solution must be MORE totes.  She, too, has not parked in her garage because, you know, too much stuff in the garage (and basement, and attic). 

Since I have been on my own, I only lived in two homes that didn't have basements.  However, it was when I was much younger and had not accumulated as much as I have now.  Both had attached two car garages.  

When I moved to the mountains, I had a 500 sq ft house.  That was the biggest mistake of my life when it comes to housing.  Thankfully I was renting.  I did have a storage unit.  I didn't have storage units in the two apartments I lived in after that.  

Since I have moved here (9 years ago), I have spread out to fill the space.  I must reign it in if I ever want to sell it.

I have a very good friend who has never been able to park a car in her two car garage since I have known her.  I have known her over 25 years.  I do consider her a hoarder.  She says she is a sentimental pack rat.  She rents 4 storage units.  Yes, 4 storage units.  Her mother kept everything she ever had as a child and all of that is in storage as are all of her mother's clothes.  I am proud of myself for not feeling the need to keep my mother's clothes when she passed.

[hopetoberich]

What a slow day.
I had to do something so dishes, laundry and taking out the trash.
Made a hot Coco with coffee liquor in maybe that will help.

[nidena]

Jan 7, 2018 19:50:27 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Jan 7, 2018 14:34:42 GMT -5 nidena said:

I've owned, as a single person, since I was 23 (I'm not 23 any more lol) and I decided that I'll never own again...unless I have seven boyfriends that are all skilled in different vocations: plumbing, construction, etc.  My next place, I will happily rent...so long as it has all the amenities that I would like.  

One of my goals with decluttering is to get this house to a point where it can be sold.  I'm tired of being a homeowner.  When I was 30 and owned a house, I mowed my own lawn and shoveled my own snow.  I can't do those things any more (maybe I don't want to).  It would definitely simplify my life if I was renting an apartment.

I will not rent anything that requires me to do lawn mowing or snow removal.  

Lived in places with amenities and found I didn't use them.  My requirement is a garage.

I've shoveled snow--driveway is 75 feet long--but have never mowed a lawn.  I have a landscaper for that.  For me, it's the tens of thousands of $$ that I've spent on upkeep on my two, serially owned, houses.  With the first one, things that were just fine when I bought, wouldn't pass inspection when I went to sell six years later.  With my current home (owned since 2006), the eight new windows that had to be installed or I may as well have just written my whole paycheck over to the electric company for heating and cooling because they were nothing more than big single-pane holes in the walls, it's the new gutter guard, the a/c "repair" that needed to be done because the previous owner allowed their maintenance guy do some shoddy crap like having a return vent that wasn't actually sealed and, as a result, was sucking in the air from the crawl space below it, the new flooring because they put in cheap indoor/outdoor berber crap, the kitchen that hasn't been updated since the 1980s that will definitely need some work just to make it attractive to potential buyers, new doors because (for whatever reason) the previous owner thought it was okay to have a front door with a big ol' window as half the door (mind you, the staircase comes down to the front door (Hello, UPS man!)),
It's amazing what you don't know you don't know until you have to deal with it first hand.  
I don't plan on selling until Grad school is done and that's not until 2020 so I've some time to get the rest of the upkeep done.

[nidena]

Four storage units?!?  Holy hell!!  I have five closets and only two are full.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 7, 2018 20:48:48 GMT -5 nidena said:

Four storage units?!?  Holy hell!!  I have five closets and only two are full.

My reaction.  She gets no sympathy from me when the price increases.  I always start out with it's time to get that stuff home and she comes back with excuses of why that isn't happening.

[nidena]

I must be motivated 'cause I'm up before 9am.  

Today's "To DO":
Mail packages
Take hat boxes to friend
Take donations to Goodwill
Shovel the damn sidewalk
Take old books and old monitor to the bookstore
Get HDMI cable for new second monitor
Go to doc appt
Transfer music from old laptop to new tera drive
Get to the gym

I feel like I'm forgetting something but I can't think what

[chiver78]

one half-finished project is almost done and hung! I finished the cross stitch of the sleeping puppy this weekend, just working on the details of framing and hanging it.the frame I bought yesterday didn't quite work with the included matting, so I have to get creative. will post a finished pic when it's up    going to stop at the craft store tonight on dinner hour to see what I can find for matting. 

yay! 

[nikiz628]

Jan 7, 2018 17:06:56 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Jan 7, 2018 15:12:19 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

I managed to get most of our master bedroom decluttered this weekend. My side of the closet is now beautiful! H will go through his own clothing this week- he even said he knows he needs to scale it back. How many plain colored tshirts does one person need- especially when he wears a work tshirt 5 days a week!  I got my 3 drawer nightstand cleaned out and re-organized. I can actually see drawer bottoms now! I also did under our bed, which is where I store our luggage and box of scrapbooking supplies/printed photos (this box is on my list to organize this week). I also did my drawers in our dresser. 

Items purged to date: 127/2,018

Any chance you want to show us your beautiful closet

My DH has WAAAAAAY too many t-shirts. 

[

Sure! This is my side! Hanging tops are color coordinated. Drawers are organized. Shelves are as good as they will get for now lol.

[nikiz628]

Knee Deep in Water Chloe  I have serious heart eyes for your bujo. I use a happy planner myself, because paper planners are the best! 

[nikiz628]

Today's plan is to finish assembling the "art hallway" I've been working on to display my kids' artwork. I used up some scrap materials to make display boards with clothespins so they can rotate out their drawings of the week! This will eliminate a pile that's been sitting on my dresser for quite some time. I also want to tackle my desk area today, it's not bad, but needs a quick spiffing up. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Y'all have been busy!  I like it! 


Welp, I didn't get to Peter's "2 trash bag" challenge as planned.  I did, however, start the magazine challenge.  I really didn't think it was that bad.  Really.  So far, I've gathered 30 to leave the house, a few from 2015!  And, yes, I made a mental list of the ones I still subscribe to in order to make some decisions about future renewing.  Two are work related, however.  There are several issues which still need to go, but I had to start dinner, LOL.  So I then asked myself:  If I didn't think the mags were going to be that bad, what's the shredding/paper purging project going to be like in my home office?? 

Also completed:
4 loads of laundry
The usual boatload of dishes
Put away all Christmas decorations
Scrubbed 2 toilets
Dusted main floor
Put regular knickknacks back
Swiffered the entire main floor
Googled the best way to clean the floor under cabinets.  Hands and knees for me next Saturday apparently.
Prepped boiled eggs, produce and snacks for breakfasts and lunches
Made several new recipes

[busymom]

I'm still catching up on tasks that haven't been getting done while I was sick.  My declutter count is 24/2018.


My contractor is here.     Will catch you up on my repairs & remodel later.

[hopetoberich]

I am amazed at how much you all get done. You must be up 23 hours a day.

Clutter blindness didn't kick in this morning. What a mess everywhere

10 minutes tidying up and throwing out. Dishes collected and all in the sink.
Made fudge
Mopped kitchen floor.

So much to do.

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 8, 2018 11:54:37 GMT -5 hopetoberich said:

I am amazed at how much you all get done. You must be up 23 hours a day.

Clutter blindness didn't kick in this morning. What a mess everywhere

10 minutes tidying up and throwing out. Dishes collected and all in the sink.
Made fudge
Mopped kitchen floor.

So much to do.

[debthaven]

You guys have been so busy! nikiz628 that closet looks great!

DS3 left yesterday, and DS1/DDIL/Baby! left this morning. DS1 + co will be back in mid-Feb.

I started a load of the kids' towels. I'll switch out DS1's and DS2's bedding later this evening.

[startsmart]

I'm firmly convinced that decluttering and house maintenance is never "done" but just the part of adulthood that no one tells you about. I honestly don't mind the house stuff, sometimes it's a pain when there's an expensive repair or problem to fix but I love the process of fixing up a house so much that I'm planning to rent out this place and buy an old, crappier house to renovate in the next few years. 

Over the weekend I got the window trim in the garage installed + privacy film and I need to start installing the trim on the kitchen windows. In order to install kitchen window trim I have to replace the curtains and rods so I've been procrastinating on that for 6 months now. Also, if I can renovate the kitchen the way I want to then the window trim will stay but the walls will get tiled so I need to make sure everything is straight and even.

Jury duty this morning was delayed until Thursday which means 3 more days of waiting to find out what happens. I have clients in LA next Monday/Tuesday so I really can't sit on a jury but I still have to show up and tell them that. Glad I don't need to go outside today, it's going to be raining the whole day so I'm going to work on my business from the warm, dry house!

[nikiz628]

I went ahead and did my desk first. It was a quick decluttering/tidy up and I now have a peaceful area to work at!

[snapdragon]

I actually managed to get some stuff done this weekend.   

I put all my suitcases away and stored in the closet.

I managed to get some of mom's trinkets put away and condensed - and was able to collapse 5 boxes.

Trash and recycling is going to be tossed when I get home. 

3 loads of laundry done.

I found the drill and attempted to redrill the holes for the dinner chair that I reupholstered. My drill bit was not long enough due to the cross bars but I am attempting to borrow one from work or a friend. I will find out later today. 

Oh! I also vacuumed most of the house.

I also started a pile for donation.

[Iggy aka IG]

In reference to things never getting completely "done" as a house owner or even adult in general, I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like my life is one big to do list.

nikiz628, beautifully done!  And a nice use of space. 

snapdragon, using a drill!  Impressive.

[TheOtherMe]

Just called for Fedex to pick up my re-called fire extinguisher tomorrow.

Declutter 34/2018

[debthaven]

I switched out DS1's and DS2's bedding and washed the bathmat and towels from DS2's bathroom. Then I remembered the towels and bathmat from the upstairs bathroom. I'm on the third load of laundry. I was up at 5 today so I'm stopping there.

We forgot to take the wreath down when we put Christmas away on Sat. I'm leaving it there.

[Waffle]

 I didn't do much of anything last week other than maintain the progress on the first floor of the house. I did throw out two small area rugs yesterday - so I'm at 2/2018. I have a couple of piles of things to go to Goodwill - I'll have to count them before I put them in the car and go to Goodwill, which I will do sometime this week.

Tonight's must do: 1 load of laundry

                             make copies of paper work to take to tomorrow's lawyer appointment

                             wrap 3 Ebay items

                             Prepare 3 more letters to send to Mom's creditors.

                             Print the 2018 declutter sheets.

And my most important must do :   Go to bed at a reasonable time.   I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night - I've got to stop doing that!

Tonight's might do:   Start decluttering Ebay room  (one of these days, I'll figure out how to keep it neat) or declutter 1st floor office/guest room.

                                Price items for antique mall(s)

                                Take picture of things to sell on Ebay

                                 List items to sell on Ebay

                                Bookkeeping

                              

[nidena]

Jan 8, 2018 9:31:57 GMT -5 nidena said:

I must be motivated 'cause I'm up before 9am.  

Today's "To DO":
Mail packages
Take hat boxes to friend
Take donations to Goodwill
Shovel the damn sidewalk
Take old books and old monitor to the bookstore
Get HDMI cable for new second monitor
Go to doc appt
Transfer music from old laptop to new tera drive
Get to the gym

I feel like I'm forgetting something but I can't think what

Gym ain't happening...not with this crappy ice rain about to happen.
Music transfer is in progress
YAY!!

[nidena]

Donations
This is how I track my donations.

[finnime]

Jan 8, 2018 15:29:19 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I switched out DS1's and DS2's bedding and washed the bathmat and towels from DS2's bathroom. Then I remembered the towels and bathmat from the upstairs bathroom. I'm on the third load of laundry. I was up at 5 today so I'm stopping there.

We forgot to take the wreath down when we put Christmas away on Sat. I'm leaving it there.

One year that was crazily busy and I was just-divorced, I left our wreath in place for a while. Soon a pair of birds nested there, then raised two broods. I'm sure the neighbors noticed, but said nothing out loud.

[midjd]

Jan 8, 2018 18:30:16 GMT -5 finnime said:

Jan 8, 2018 15:29:19 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I switched out DS1's and DS2's bedding and washed the bathmat and towels from DS2's bathroom. Then I remembered the towels and bathmat from the upstairs bathroom. I'm on the third load of laundry. I was up at 5 today so I'm stopping there.

We forgot to take the wreath down when we put Christmas away on Sat. I'm leaving it there.

One year that was crazily busy and I was just-divorced, I left our wreath in place for a while. Soon a pair of birds nested there, then raised two broods. I'm sure the neighbors noticed, but said nothing out loud.

We have a spray (or whatever the term is for a horizontal bunch of fake flowers/twigs) that houses a couple of wrens. They’ve never built an actual nest, but every now and then they scare the heck out of us by fluttering at our heads when we open the front door. I think they hang out there to catch the bugs that swarm our two porch lights.

One unfortunate evening last fall I opened the door from inside and one of them made his way in here... the next 20 minutes or so was very National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I thought that would experience might scare them away, but so far it hasn’t...

[dee27]

Jan 8, 2018 15:29:19 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I switched out DS1's and DS2's bedding and washed the bathmat and towels from DS2's bathroom. Then I remembered the towels and bathmat from the upstairs bathroom. I'm on the third load of laundry. I was up at 5 today so I'm stopping there.

We forgot to take the wreath down when we put Christmas away on Sat. I'm leaving it there.

I have a motion sensor Santa face that says, "Ho, ho, Merry Christmas", on the front door. Strong winds can activate the sound like the night I awoke thinking someone was at my door at 3 AM. It was a loud reminder to take it down for the season.

[nidena]

Jan 8, 2018 19:47:34 GMT -5 dee27 said:

Jan 8, 2018 15:29:19 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I switched out DS1's and DS2's bedding and washed the bathmat and towels from DS2's bathroom. Then I remembered the towels and bathmat from the upstairs bathroom. I'm on the third load of laundry. I was up at 5 today so I'm stopping there.

We forgot to take the wreath down when we put Christmas away on Sat. I'm leaving it there.

I have a motion sensor Santa face that says, "Ho, ho, Merry Christmas", on the front door. Strong winds can activate the sound like the night I awoke thinking someone was at my door at 3 AM. It was a loud reminder to take it down for the season.

My parents have a m.s. moose that does the same thing.