2019 - Organize Your Life & Declutter Your Stuff

[imanangel]

Jan 12, 2019 12:07:54 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Angel, chili!


I'm about to head down stairs into the basement. not sure what or how much I will accomplish today, but wish me luck. and, if I don't post back in a few hours, send help! 😉

Girl, I can only eat so much chili. 

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 11, 2019 14:47:16 GMT -5 debthaven said:

My very close friend A has been away for 2.5 weeks. She's back, so I'll see her Sat morning. I'm not proud of this but frankly it was a relief to have a few weeks off. She is my friend whose DH committed suicide 3 years ago. (OMG 3 years already?!) Am I a terrible person for considering using this "break" in our regular habits to go down to every third Sat morning?

 

I have found there comes a time when I need a break from the problems of my friends. This might be the time to go seeing your friend A every third Saturday.  You have to take care of yourself.  

That will be easier than finally having had so much and never being listened to myself that I cut off all contact.    I actually enjoy the time I used to waste using all my emotional energy on someone else.  

[debthaven]

never being listened to myself

Thankfully she's not like that at all. I just know she gets lonely on weekends. But I probably will cut back to every 3 weeks, or at least stop feeling guilty if I don't go every other week.

Hope you feel better soon Finnime.

[startsmart]

This morning I am decluttering emails and then going outside because it’s a gorgeous day!

The papers piled in the office can wait until it starts raining again but I might search for the bulb planter and get some flowers in the ground!

[chiver78]

I'm alive! 

progress was definitely made, although it doesn't look like it at first glance. I've got some stuff "resting" on a shelf rather inefficiently for the moment, will do more in the morning. now, lunch/shower/football. I managed to get enough either pitched/re-sorted/repacked that I was able to break down TWO moving boxes for the recycle bin. I need to upload pics of things to the FB marketplace as well. some of it is bulky, hoping it goes quickly. 

[ners]

I am impressed with all the progress everyone is making.  

I feel like such a slug

I am going to set a goal of 1000 items for the year.

So far 2 of 1000.

[debthaven]

Glad you made it back out of the basement chiver78 LOL.

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 12, 2019 13:21:22 GMT -5 debthaven said:

never being listened to myself

Thankfully she's not like that at all. I just know she gets lonely on weekends. But I probably will cut back to every 3 weeks, or at least stop feeling guilty if I don't go every other week.

I know you and A are good friends and I remember the shock when her husband died.  You have been a good friend to her.  She may still have some crisis moments (or not).  You have been there for her.  No guilt needed on your part.

I finally got fed up when my friend would not listen to me about a specific issue I was having and kept talking about politics--even after I asked her to stop 3 times.  The first time I said please, the second time I didn't say please and the third time, I hung up.  

Have not called her again and she's one of those people who doesn't call anyone.  So it's all on me and I'm not going there any more.  It's not good for my mental health.  

[TheOtherMe]

I have made a very tiny start on the t-shirt closet.  Two shirts are in a bag to go to Goodwill and I've moved a tote in there in case they are any I want to keep but not wear.  

I am hoping that I am far enough along in the process of letting stuff go that the tote will remain empty.

[startsmart]

File this under definitely not on the list this week but I'm so glad it's done! The weather was so nice today and the latest storm skirted us so we got maybe 30 minutes of rain yesterday. I was able to get my lawn mower running and mow the front lawn after the grass has gone wild out there. 

Also gave away another plate of cinnamon rolls to a neighbor and got the dog's nails trimmed. Not incredibly productive day but I'm getting there. 

[Sharon]

I didn't get as much done as I had hoped to but still made good progress.

Bed changed

3 loads of laundry done

Lawn mowed

Back deck/patio raked (leaves gone)

Went threw the bug spray etc in the garage and got rid of several cans that were basically empty

Found a whole bunch of old gloves in the bottom of one my garage buckets (this one holds hand gardening tools), kept the two pair I actively use and tossed the rest

Got rid of a couple stacks of plastic pots from the nursery

Did a quick once through in the pantry and got rid of several items

Started washing the windows.  I hate that job.  My windows are all sliders and they have indoor storm windows that are also sliders, so basically all my windows are double the work.  It has been so long since I have done that job I decided to break it down into parts. Today I did the window(s) over the kitchen sink.  Those ones are always so hard because of the faucet and the sink and you have to climb on the counter.

[wvugurl26]

All the stuff I put in the shred pile Thursday night has now been shredded. The shredder only overheated once.

[TheOtherMe]

One side of the t-shirt closet has been sorted and I have two bags to drop off at Goodwill when I take dad to lunch.

[Malarky]

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked this week.  I had the time but not the ambition.

Made it to the gym twice with DH.  We'll see if I can get him to go back next week.  

I'm really good about washing and drying laundry-not so good at putting it away.  This week I did three loads-wash/dry/put away.  And while I was at it I found 38 items to donate.  Recycling is next week so I'm going to try to go through some more linens and see what I can add to the bag.

I'm on top of most of the Peter Walsh challenges.  Most were already done and just needed tweaking.  I'm saving junk drawer for last.  Mine is actually a small bureau in the dining room.  Two drawers are completely organized...two are complete shambles.   

[dogmom]

Been going along here. 

Yay though, I have three, soon to be four bags of donation to go.  Yesterday Amvets called for a pickup.  Soon enough to not have to load up the car and take to Goodwill.

Have been doing declutter with clean.  Like the living room.  Start at one corner, anything that doesn't need to be there that is mine (DH can get a little possessive on his stuff) I decide there and then if I want it there, or actually get rid of it.  Book shelves, done, dusted and waxed... windows washed... Going along.

Did get thru a stack of old paperwork that I took out of a file.  98% shred, recycle.  Part of a file cabinet drawer in the office cleaned out.   

It's rather haphazard the way I'm doing it, but, if I touch it, a decision needs to be made.

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments. 

[mathsplosion]

Slowly getting my systems back in place. 
Priorities this week:  shred old paperwork, get caught up on my grading, research grad schools.  
I have been exercising more, so that's a definite positive!

[tcu2003]

Peter Walsh’s 31 Days to Get Organized Challenge:


Day 1 -Set up a donation bin. And, everyone in your house finds 5 items to place in the bin.

Day 2 - Shoes. Gather all of your shoes up from your closet. If they have dust on them, don’t fit, etc, put them in your donate bin. Only keep shoes you love, wear, and that fit you well.

Day 3 - Home Safety. Being organized is not just about closets and files, it's also about ensuring the best life for you and your family. The New Year is a great time to check smoke detectors in your home. Make this your 10 minute challenge for the day and make your family a little safer in the process!

Day 4 - This year’s challenge Mantra is “No more later” aka stop procrastinating. Today's challenge is to contact someone, preferably by phone, that you’ve been putting off. It could be a friend, family member, for more coworker, etc, but do it today!

Day 5 - The Junk Drawer.

Day 6 - Holiday Decorations. The holidays are over and it's time for the decorations to come down.

Day 7 - Bathroom cabinets! Pick one bathroom cabinet, and get rid of anything too old, expired or you don’t use, and put everything away in its proper space.

Day 8 - Plastic Food Storage Containers.

Day 9 - Hanging Clothes. In his video, he says that anything that has dust on it needs to go.

Day 10 - the mail. If you have mail pretty much all over your house then today's the day we're going to get that sorted out.

Day 11 - under the sink.

Day 12 - Clear out old magazines, catalogs, flyers, etc.

Day 13 of #31Days2GetOrganized - Gift wrapping is easy to collect and easy to let get out of control. Scraps of beautiful paper, bows, ribbons, tapes, scissors... the amount can easily pile up! Today, let's get that sorted out! #GiftWrap #ItsAllTooMuch #LetItGo #NoMoreLater

#31Days2GetOrganized

[tcu2003]

My youngest had a stomach bug that resulted in upchucking 4 times in the wee hours of yesterday morning, so yesterday involved a whole lot of laundry. Thankfully, everything got washed, dried and put away, except for the few things that need ironed, and those things are in my ironing pile.

I’m sitting on an airplane about to leave town until Tuesday for work, so nothing much will happen in the next couple of days.

[debthaven]

Ouch sorry about your DD! I hope she's feeling better now.

DH and I went for a walk today. Laundry caught up, dishwasher emptied.

Back to a normal schedule tomorrow ... I'm teaching 20h/week instead of 24-25h/week, still over 3.5 days.

[WholeLottaNothin]

I went through my closet. Only a few things found to donate. I wear more from my closet and forget about my dresser apparently. I need to do the kids stuff but I'm waiting for some more ambition. We did donate what was in the car this morning. Got 3 more bags to go already.

[TheOtherMe]

Two bags were dropped off at Goodwill.  I have to go to town tomorrow so I am hoping to go through the other half of the t-shirt closet, the Paul McCartney half of the closet.  

[msventoux]

Finally went through the last stack of magazines and got rid of them. I used to love magazines, and still love the idea of them. But I bought a few subscriptions last year and never read any of them. Now to remember I’m no longer a magazine person and not get sucked into any more subscriptions.

[nidena]

Jan 13, 2019 15:40:37 GMT -5 msventoux said:

Finally went through the last stack of magazines and got rid of them. I used to love magazines, and still love the idea of them. But I bought a few subscriptions last year and never read any of them. Now to remember I’m no longer a magazine person and not get sucked into any more subscriptions.

I just subscribed to one because I realized that with what I had paid last year, buying them at the drug store, I may as well subscribe and save money.

[nidena]

I wonder if the Goodwill (and other donation places) count on December and January to acquire the majority of their items?  There's a slew of donations in December to get those last tax deductions and then, in January, it's people getting rid of all their purges--either to make room for what they got over the holiday or because it's just the time to "start fresh" and "clean the slate".

[debthaven]

Probably nidena .

We don't get tax deductions here (France) for donations of items, only for donations of money.

My kids were all born between late May to early Sept, so I always tried to get them to go through their rooms in either summer or late Oct (fall break), to "make room for Christma/Hanukah". But that was just decluttering, no tax deductions to be had. But I always made a conscious effort to get them to get rid of old clothes/toys BEFORE Christmas rather than afterwards.

I actually remember asking about the tax donations, many years ago. The donation place looked at me like I had 3 heads. They said, you are very welcome to donate money if you want a tax deduction! I said thank you, I'll think about it. And drove off LOL.

To be honest part of me dislikes that practice, because there is too much mindless spending and polluting. Too many items end up in landfills.

[NoNamePerson]

Jan 13, 2019 16:11:26 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Probably nidena .

We don't get tax deductions here (France) for donations of items, only for donations of money.

My kids were all born from late May to early Sept, so I always tried to get them to clear out their rooms either in the summer or the late Oct fall break, to "make room for Christma/Hanukah". But that was just decluttering, no tax deductions to be had.

I actually remember asking about that years ago. The donation place looked at me like I had 3 heads. They said, you are very welcome to donate money if you want a tax deduction! I said thank you, I'll think about it. And drove off LOL.

To be honest part of me dislikes that practice, because there is too much mindless spending and polluting. Too many items end up in landfills.

Ripping off money is much more profitable than ripping off a bunch of used clothing and such. Ok, I am jaded to the nines on some things. Sorry

[debthaven]

I'm very jaded too, no problem NoNamePerson ! But I also think that the US tax deduction for donated items helps to fuel spending/the economy but also fills up landfills.

I think it is good to be mindful of one's spending, but that's just my opinion.

[TheOtherMe]

I can't remember the last time I subscribed to a magazine.  I was tossing them without bringing them in the house, so I stopped.

[saveinla]

Jan 13, 2019 16:06:16 GMT -5 nidena said:

I wonder if the Goodwill (and other donation places) count on December and January to acquire the majority of their items?  There's a slew of donations in December to get those last tax deductions and then, in January, it's people getting rid of all their purges--either to make room for what they got over the holiday or because it's just the time to "start fresh" and "clean the slate".

My son's high school band used to do an annual donation drive to Goodwill in the 3rd week of January - when people were seriously decluttering.

People would bring in so much stuff. The band got money from Goodwill and the people who donated got receipts from Goodwill - win win for all

[paynointerest]

I watched one episode of  Marie Kondo's "Tidy Up" on Netflix and got some inspiration and thought it would be fun to join this thread.  Last week I took a small bag of clothes I have not worn in 2 years and some kitchen items that I have only used once in the 14 years I have owned them so I have a head start

I'm going to list the items that I want get rid of so over the course of the year to keep it documented in one spot.

Home Office

• Shred documents that are over 10 years old and no longer needed
  
• Organize my tax documents
  
• Organize the linen closet
  
• Clean off my desk

Home Kitchen

• Focus on making meals that use ingredients that have been sitting in my cabinets/freezer for a long time
  
• Get rid of cooking items that I don't use anymore
  

Work office

• Throw out papers that are over 5 years old that I will never read again
• Shred old exams cluttering my file drawers
• Organize my files related to the program I direct -- throw out any unnecessary paper work

Home (misc)

• Recycle magazines that I have not read in years
  
• Organize photo albums and donate or throw away albums that are not filled
  
• Donate books that won't be read or are no longer needed