2019 - Organize Your Life & Declutter Your Stuff

[debthaven]

Welcome back megaptera. I am so so sorry for your immense loss.

[raeoflyte]

Jan 18, 2019 13:17:00 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Welcome back megaptera . I am so so sorry for your immense loss.

So much this.  

[Chocolate Lover]

Jan 18, 2019 13:21:11 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Jan 18, 2019 13:17:00 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Welcome back megaptera . I am so so sorry for your immense loss.

So much this.  

Me too. I can't really say it better than Debt did. 

[plugginaway22]

So sorry for your loss, I cannot imagine what you must be going through, Megaptera.

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 18, 2019 13:17:00 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Welcome back megaptera . I am so so sorry for your immense loss.

I can't say it any better myself.  

[nikiz628]

megaptera-  Welcome back. I am so sorry for your loss. 

[debthaven]

This weekend (updated)
- update online class spaces/Fri
- mark 4 second-year finals/Fri
- mark 3 first-year final grammar/vocab /Fri
- mark 3 first-year final essays
- Quickbooks (ongoing, they say they've resolved the issue)

I was angry at myself for being too lazy to do those 7 finals today, so I did part of the last 3.

Car update: DH called about that cute car twice, they never called back. DH was not thrilled about a used car. Turns out the new Ford Fiesta has a sunroof (option) so we will probably buy one this year. It's not nearly as cute, but it's more reliable, and we can do a trade-in. There are sales this month so DH wants to go tomorrow. I want to wait till the summer sales, so we'll see.

[TheOtherMe]

I've been useless to do much of anything since I talked to my niece.  I know I did the right thing by talking to her, but my mind keeps churning with all the what ifs and how this will all play out and with worrying about dad.

I loved when my car had a sunroof.  I missed it when I traded the 19 year old car in.

[megaptera]

Thank you everyone for your condolences. 

TheOtherMe: Hugs for you and your dad.

I think I'm going to add the pantry declutter, along with DS2's room, to the list this weekend. Not sure if it will happen, since I need to watch the Chiefs beat the Patriots on Sunday. 

[countrygirl2]

I finally got my red Christmas curtains down in the bedroom.  I washed the windows and put my blue sheers back up.
I also washed the bottom windows in my office wasn't long ago I washed the top and in the laundry room.  Little grandsons handprints were
still there. I guess I will put DD's winter drapes up and wash her windows tomorrow, had cellular blinds but going to get really cold out.

[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 - Gift wrap

Day 14 - space underneath your bed

Day 15 - Getting the fridge & freezer organized.

Day 16 - "The Lower Third Technique"! (For those notmwatchint the videos on Facebook, it’s basically to take a stack or pile of clothing and focus on the bottom 1/3 of the stack, as you’ll likely find you can donate most of that part of the pile).

Day 17 - Bills & Receipts.

Day 18 of #31Days2GetOrganized has you back in the kitchen dealing with the cupboard that holds your cups and mugs. One of the quickest ways to get a disorganized kitchen looking more organized is to attack this one cupboard. Because when you've gotten rid of the excess cups and mugs - and you can finally close that cupboard door easily - you'll know you can get your entire kitchen back under control! #Cups #Mugs #ItsAllTooMuch #LetItGo

#31Days2GetOrganized

[tcu2003]

Jan 18, 2019 13:17:00 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Welcome back megaptera. I am so so sorry for your immense loss.

Ditto this.

[tcu2003]

Jan 18, 2019 17:24:48 GMT -5 megaptera said:

Not sure if it will happen, since I need to watch the Chiefs beat the Patriots on Sunday. 

Are you in the KC area or an anyone but the Patriots fan? 😉

[tcu2003]

Minimal decluttering accomplished this week due to work travel and busy evenings, but I did manage to sort through a box of C’s papers and art from kindergarten (which was last school year) and got rid of most of it, so yay.

DH and I are hoping to be able to tackle some more stuff this weekend, so hopefully I’ll have more to report throughout the weekend.

[plugginaway22]

Took DH clothes shopping, which happens rarely because he is thrilled to wear things that are dated and old and comfortable!  Came home with a bag full of new clothes, plus what he got for gifts this year, and we did a major purge of his closet and dresser.  What motivated him was seeing a few pics of himself with the baby.  Now that he is a grandfather I said, 'Do you want to look like a sloppy old Pop-Pop?'  He picked out a dark grey sweater that zips and said 'I look like Mr. Rogers'.
I did a minimal sweep through my closet because I have been keeping up with it.  One item I haven't been able to do is my scarf collection, must be 100 (anything from silk to wool to fake fur).  I would like to pick out what I wear the most, then lay all the rest out and offer to my DDs.  

Bad weather headed our direction so good time to get moving on de-cluttering and organizing. I bought everything to make lasagna tonight.

[nidena]

Jan 19, 2019 8:22:59 GMT -5 plugginaway22 said:

<snip>
I did a minimal sweep through my closet because I have been keeping up with it.  One item I haven't been able to do is my scarf collection, must be 100 (anything from silk to wool to fake fur).  I would like to pick out what I wear the most, then lay all the rest out and offer to my DDs.  

<snip>

I don't have 100 of them but I did go through my collection and sent what I never wear to my Second Mom.  She shared, last month, that when you get to her age, you hate your neck and wear scarves all the time.  Since I have so many--WHBM sells some beautiful ones--I sent my extras to her.  She got them Wednesday and loves them.  


My desk got messy again.  Are there little aliens that make the papers rub together and multiply?  I'll be tackling that after I complete my homework--it's the last term before the first graduation.  
I'll also be tackling the cat box--little suckers just don't stop making a mess--and cleaning up the bits of the house that got messy this week.  
Oh, and laundry.  Must do laundry.  I'm out of undies.  Undies are necessary.  No commando here.

[megaptera]

Jan 18, 2019 21:39:24 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Jan 18, 2019 17:24:48 GMT -5 megaptera said:

Not sure if it will happen, since I need to watch the Chiefs beat the Patriots on Sunday. 

Are you in the KC area or an anyone but the Patriots fan? 😉

I AM pretty much an "anyone-but-the-Patriots" fan, but I'm also originally from (central) Kansas where everyone was either a Chiefs or Broncos fan. (Caused some contentious family gatherings at the time.  )


Adding two loads of laundry to the list. So for this weekend:
1. Declutter/organize DS2's room. 
2. Organize pantry.
3. Two loads of laundry.

Have a great weekend everyone.

[TheOtherMe]

Called sister to see what plan was for the weekend since today is dad's 95th birthday.  She had already made reservations at a place for tomorrow.  Of course, she hadn't told me.  

I did tell her a few things I've noticed but she just glosses over them.  Snow is predicted for Tuesday.  That is when dad has his doctor's appointment.  She said she will reschedule if it's snowing.  

She said since the roads are so bad she will have her son drive her so dad can get his DQ today.  We are going to his favorite place tomorrow, a pizza place called Happy Joe's.  He loves when they sing to him and he gets a free sundae.  

I have three things I need to do today.  I put two of them off yesterday.  Not going to do that today.  

I need to start getting ready for the house to be cleaned next Friday.  

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 18, 2019 12:44:53 GMT -5 megaptera said:

Hi everyone, I think it's time to jump back in.
I've got some difficult decluttering to do; my DS1 suddenly and unexpectedly passed away at the beginning of 2018. It's been a year of grief and healing, and continues. He wasn't living with us at the time, but we acquired all of his possessions. My DH, bless him, went through and discarded/donated what he knew I wouldn't want to keep (DS1 had some hoarding tendencies). Everything else is in boxes in the guest room; I will go through it someday. Or not.
In the meantime, I've been working on the rest of the house, and want to continue. I did pretty well when we moved into this house a couple of years ago, but need to get rid of more. Please help keep me accountable.
This weekend I'll work on DS2's room and more importantly, teach him how to keep it up. (He's 15; wish me luck.)
We've watched a few episodes of Tidying Up. While I don't usually follow Marie's method of decluttering (but I'll try it), I love her attitude and her ritual of greeting the house and thanking items; it all speaks to my hippie-heart. 

Oh my. I have no idea what to say except that I'm sorry. I know that's not good enough. 

I"m glad you're back here. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 18, 2019 21:39:24 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Jan 18, 2019 17:24:48 GMT -5 megaptera said:

Not sure if it will happen, since I need to watch the Chiefs beat the Patriots on Sunday. 

Are you in the KC area or an anyone but the Patriots fan? 😉

I know this wasn't directed to me, but I'm an anyone but the Patriots fan. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 19, 2019 8:22:59 GMT -5 plugginaway22 said:

Took DH clothes shopping, which happens rarely because he is thrilled to wear things that are dated and old and comfortable!  Came home with a bag full of new clothes, plus what he got for gifts this year, and we did a major purge of his closet and dresser.  What motivated him was seeing a few pics of himself with the baby.  Now that he is a grandfather I said, 'Do you want to look like a sloppy old Pop-Pop?'  He picked out a dark grey sweater that zips and said 'I look like Mr. Rogers'.
I did a minimal sweep through my closet because I have been keeping up with it.  One item I haven't been able to do is my scarf collection, must be 100 (anything from silk to wool to fake fur).  I would like to pick out what I wear the most, then lay all the rest out and offer to my DDs.  

Bad weather headed our direction so good time to get moving on de-cluttering and organizing. I bought everything to make lasagna tonight.

I'd just like to say that I now feel better about my scarf collection of like 15 scarves. 

[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 - Gift wrap

Day 14 - space underneath your bed

Day 15 - Getting the fridge & freezer organized.

Day 16 - "The Lower Third Technique"! (For those notmwatchint the videos on Facebook, it’s basically to take a stack or pile of clothing and focus on the bottom 1/3 of the stack, as you’ll likely find you can donate most of that part of the pile).

Day 17 - Bills & Receipts.

Day 18 - back in the kitchen dealing with the cupboard that holds your cups and mugs.

Day 19 of #31Days2GetOrganized has us working in the garage - easily one of the most overhwelming spaces in any home. Today I challenge you to tackle just one small area of your garage... it's all about just getting started! Please share what area you conquered! #Garage #LetItGo #ItsAllTooMuch

#31Days2GetOrganized

[Sharon]

Off to a good start this morning. 

1. Bed Changed

2. Laundry Started

3. Dishwasher emptied and dirty dishes now in dishwasher

4. Hand washed dishes done

5. New Drapes hung in the living room- They are a little too long but I think it can be fixed with a new rod.  I have a sunken living room with a patio door that is raised about 6" from the floor, so you step down into the living room and then back up to go out onto the back deck.  It was some former homeowners weekend type project.  For years I have had drapes that were too short.  They put just a standard patio door panel on there and called it good.

6. Bills paid

7. Shredding done

8. YNAB updated.

[countrygirl2]

I am working in DD's bedroom been putting it off.  She is not happy.  I bought 4 more 20 and 30 gallons containers. They were Xmas ones on sale at Walmart.  I filled 2 with those Monster High dolls again, I bet there are a 100 or more of those things in the basement and a case of stuffed animals. There may be more in another cabinet I can't get to.  I'm taking a stand out and stuff off shelves.  She is not happy, it is so dusty in there I could not reach stuff.  I just took a break, back in to vac, hubs moved the bed out so I can get to the windows.  I also want to go through her dresser drawers again and delete stuff.  I did her closet awhile back, she is adding junk way slower since Toys R Us closed, that was where most of these came from.

She is always dragging snack stuff home she does not need, some I slip out and give away.  I just got little grandsons box packed to send him some little things, a few of her stuff.  I have another for DIL of craft items that were on sale and going to get some stuff out of the basement for her.

Ok, back at it, some is going to donations!!

It is now 33 and wind to 10 they are calling for 30 to 40 mph so will be cold in here I imagine. 

[WholeLottaNothin]

Finally got the Christmas tree and decorations put away. I've never had it up this long.

[WholeLottaNothin]

Megaptera- I am so sorry for your loss. My sister died suddenly and unexpectedly in October and we haven't even started going through her stuff yet. She was a bit of a hoarder, she called it collecting, so just thinking about it is overwhelming. Her DH has said she had 4 closets, 2 dressers and piles of other clothes that wouldn't fit anywhere else. It's going to be a long process

[finnime]

megaptera and WholeLottaNothin, I'm so terribly sorry for your losses. I wish I had magic words.

[countrygirl2]

To the people needing help, we tried Adult protective services and they did nothing.  We asked repeatedly, nada, nothing.


Wow, its snowing or sleeting out there and blowing, looks awful.  Glad we are not out.  We had to move the truck out of the garage for the skunk smell it was awful.  I don't know where hubs is, I hope he wasn't silly enough to take off for the hardware in this.  It wouldn't surprise me.


Back in DD's room, down to washing the windows, I cannot find her drapes.  I washed them and put them away somewhere.  Then clean a container in there and dust the top of her shelving and the top shelf.  It's so much better.


Ok, all done except for her ceiling fan, not today, have to get a taller ladder.  I still haven't found the drapes, drat.


I have something beside or under one of my implants, it is hurting like crazy, need to get a real thin piece of floss and see if I can get it down and get whatever out.

[nidena]

With today's weather, I haven't *felt* like doing anything BUT I pushed through.

Cat box cleaned
Dishes done
Three loads of laundry washed, two put away, third in the dryer, fourth in the washer
Even put away the pile of socks that have been sitting on the dresser for more than a week--I use the KonMari method of rolling pairs and putting them upright in shoe boxes.  I have one for short socks, one for long socks, and one for pantyhose/tights.  There's a fourth for gym socks.  They're not rolled in pairs but singles, instead, because they're all the same kind of sock so if one gets a hole or goes missing, it's not a detriment to the whole collection.
Desk is cleaned up a bit
Homework is done except for the reading for International Mgmt--my only Grad School class.

[debthaven]

This weekend (updated)
- Quickbooks (ongoing, they say they've resolved the issue)

Hope we can get QB sorted tomorrow, I have a lot of marking coming up. Worked on lines. Laundry/kitchen/Shitepile are caught up.

We did not go to the Ford dealer today. There will be other "Ford Days".