2021 Declutter Stuff & Organize Your Life

[tcu2003]

Peter Wash isn’t doing his 31 day decluttered challenge to start the New Year this year. 😕 He’s too busy filming his tv show, so I am on the hunt for something new.

Right now I think I’ll try 2 different ones. The first is a 15 day challenge (but for 30 minutes per day) - it’s called Declutter Like a Mother. The first day was a bathroom, so I worked on side of our master bath. I definitely threw out a ton of stuff, so I can see progress.

I also found a 31 day challenge here:

www.frugalcouponliving.com/declutter-your-home-checklist/

Day 1 is Holiday Decorations and Cards. That’s on our to-do list for tomorrow, so I’ll report back.


We got maybe 4-5 inches of snow today, so we spent some time outside decluttering snow from the driveway, lol. Which was a double win - time spent outside and somewhat of a workout.

[moneysquirrel]

Iggy aka IG -- Glad that you have put the reminder in place.  I use the Google Keep App on my phone as my reminder to self.  Every morning it reminds me to take a medication.  It is a new one for me and the only one I have to take in the morning.  Without that reminder I am sure that I would forget to take it often.  I am getting better and often take it earlier than the reminder but I am keeping that reminder active.

Took today as a rest day.  Got a few things done but on the whole I rested a bit.  I will need to try to get an early start and get to the grocery early tomorrow morning.  I have to take my car in for that body work on Monday so I want to get a few of the errands done before then. 

I usually keep the major part of the Christmas decor up until January 6th but I will start prior to that clearing up some of the smaller holiday stuff. I have two smaller trees up in different areas of the house that will be cleared up and packed away before I start on the main events.  The smallest one was the one I previously used in my classroom before I retired and is currently on my kitchen table.  Living alone means that I still have room to eat there and the tree makes me happy.  Those lights are the only ones that my neighbors can see during the season.   The other small tree is in my bedroom and was purchased when I had a lot of renovations done on the house after Katrina and could not put up my larger tree.  Lots of my tiny little ornaments are on that one.  Also have lots of things that my DMom crafted for me and those items brings joy.  She will be gone 5 years at the end of this month but those items remind me of her enjoyment of the holidays and in a way installed in me my joy of holidays.  Looking around the house during any holiday season reminds me of her spirit as she gifted us (my siblings and I) with many handmade items.

In  a way, my crafting is an extension of the skills I learned from her and several of my aunts. I just have expanded on those skills and added others as I grew older.  In fact even in these golden years I am still adding to my skills. Keeping the brain and hands active makes life enjoyable.

Happy New Year to all of you.  Wishing all of you a healthy, peaceful and wonderful 2021.

[busymom]

Hi Kids!  I'll be working on the decluttering front here as soon as I "declutter" our house down South.  We're dealing with more delays.  Maybe the sale will complete next week, or maybe not (we've been dealing with this since November).  


If DH can assist, we'll try & take the tree down this weekend.  We always keep it up until the New Year.  Once the Christmas decorations are down, then hopefully I can get back into the "real" world.  

[debthaven]

Happy New Year friends! Hoping that everyone has a happy, healthy and fruitful year. 

startsmart thanks for the new thread and for keeping us going. :-)

Rukh O'Rorke congrats on the refi! You can get a lot done with that amount!

moneysquirrel I love how happy those trees make you.

Sharon you've gotten so much done since last January!

Iggy aka IG you seem to have been able to enjoy your weekends more with your new organization.

busymom fingers crossed for the house closing!

laterbloomer you should post an updated list for this year. :-)

I have no big projects for this year, I just want to continue to keep on top of everything. 

The basement storage room is still the only messy area in the house. I've given up on badgering DH about it to keep the peace. 

I reorganized two of the kitchen cabinets yesterday (with DH's help because I can't reach the top shelf). We now have a "Christmas shelf" for the kitchen items DH only uses at Christmas.

I also track my marking here because it keeps me organized and accountable. As always feel free to ignore those posts ;-)

After wrangling the dining room table down to the basement, we realized it was too difficult to bring it back up just to bring it down again when the new table arrives in mid-Feb. So we left it in the basement and brought the garden table inside instead. It looks fine with a tablecloth (which we don't usually use). 

I don't know if I have become lazy, or if I've finally embraced my inner laziness, or if I just don't have much energy these days because Covid/teaching online is so exhausting. 

PS DS3 and I took down the tree ornaments today. We'll leave the tree and lights till 6 Jan.

[TheOtherMe]

I haven't taken down any Christmas decorations yet and as long as they make me smile, I am not going to.  The live flowers are looking pretty sick so they will probably go in Monday's trash.

My 3rd load of laundry is in the dryer.  I'm quite proud of myself for being that far along at 9 AM.

DN3's fiance stopped by yesterday to bring Christmas gifts.  We were both masked (at my insistence) and stayed more than 6 feet apart.  They gave me a Christmas ornament with an etching of mom and dad on it.  I so appreciated that and I appreciated having human company for a couple of hours.

[debthaven]

What a lovely gift TheOtherMe !

[wvugurl26]

When we put ornaments on the tree for Christmas there was $50 in DH's ornament from 2015. That was his first one from my grandma so I gave him a pass.

[NoNamePerson]

I want to apologize up front for this post but the minute I saw it thought of pEEps here. And I promise not to post “stuff” like this in the future and if asked I will remove it since this is a serious thread

[tcu2003]

I think I’m going with this challenge. I can post daily if anyone besides me is interested, or also post the entire list now.

31 Day Challenge

www.frugalcouponliving.com/declutter-your-home-checklist/

Day 1 - Holiday Decorations and Cards.
Day 2 - Kitchen Cupboards

[Blonde Granny]

If you never hear from me again, this is your only warning: I am going into my closet in a little bit, this is scary.

My closet it now organized, and 4 loads of laundry has been washed and is drying...yes, I'm cheap and the clothes and sheets are drying are on hangars and drying racks.  I'm in no hurry, so why spend money to dry them in the dryer. (I have a neighbor who thinks I have lost my mind), but if it was good enough fro my 99 y/o Mom when she died, it's good enough for me.

[debthaven]

NoNamePerson that is hilarious!!!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Dec 31, 2020 21:50:09 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

This year I will be sorting through DH's comic books and looking around for some knowledgeable people in the world of comic books, Transformers and Star Trek: The Next Generation so I can unload all that and find the front room again.
I also need to work on the kitchen since I ripped the paneling off the walls. That's my project for now. I'm still debating pulling the rest of the cabinets off and going with open shelving above and a couple of tables below. Who knows.

those could be worth some money, so be cautious of the advice!!

[startsmart]

This year I’m tracking my cleaning chores in a bullet journal and I think it’s helpful to do one task every few days for the monthly list. Yesterday I cleaned out the fridge, wrote down what I have and cleaned it. I have a stainless steel model so I also condition the metal every month or so.

Christmas decorations are going upstairs and it feels really good to have the living room back in order.

[Lizard Queen]

So far today:
Water consumed
Items discarded + added a few more

On agenda:
Stairs
Veggies 
Clean an area

Add: 
Practice flute (so I don't embarrass myself in a few months)

[laterbloomer]

So some of these things are going on their 3rd year on the list. In my defense I have ended up doing things not on the list.

1. Install closet organizer

2. Paint den (these 2 are left over from the last 2 lists)

3. Install new backsplash in kitchen.

4. Paint my bedroom. (these 2 are from last year's list)

5. Replace all the laminate in my house. (a wish list item that has been bumped up)

6. Turn one of the spare rooms downstairs into my home office.

7. Clean up and repaint the other spare room downstairs. (These 2 are new to the list but will probably get done first)

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Jan 1, 2021 23:48:14 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Peter Wash isn’t doing his 31 day decluttered challenge to start the New Year this year. 😕 He’s too busy filming his tv show, so I am on the hunt for something new.

Right now I think I’ll try 2 different ones. The first is a 15 day challenge (but for 30 minutes per day) - it’s called Declutter Like a Mother. The first day was a bathroom, so I worked on side of our master bath. I definitely threw out a ton of stuff, so I can see progress.

I also found a 31 day challenge here:

www.frugalcouponliving.com/declutter-your-home-checklist/

Day 1 is Holiday Decorations and Cards. That’s on our to-do list for tomorrow, so I’ll report back.


We got maybe 4-5 inches of snow today, so we spent some time outside decluttering snow from the driveway, lol. Which was a double win - time spent outside and somewhat of a workout.

that would sure never work for me! Day 17 basement and attic? I could do a full 40 hour week on the basement alone I think, and maybe not be done!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Good to read what everyone is doing/what's on your minds.

was super tired yesterday from a game night that ended around 6 a.m. NYE. Not feeling too bright this am either, but feeling a bit better after several cups of my homemade ginger tea.

Still, going to be another non-prodcutive day for me, may be a nap on my horizon....

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2021 10:27:06 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

If you never hear from me again, this is your only warning: I am going into my closet in a little bit, this is scary.

                     YES  and I've done a good job.  Now....what can I do for tomorrow??

I know...for tomorrow: clean and straighten my kitchen pantry, and go out to the garage and straighten out the steel shelving where all my "the world is ending" Clorox, and all other stuff I thought I needed.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2021 10:14:44 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

I want to apologize up front for this post but the minute I saw it thought of pEEps here. And I promise not to post “stuff” like this in the future and if asked I will remove it since this is a serious thread

This is fantastic!
We actually did this to my mother's house once. We were moving, but we were between houses for two months. We stashed a bunch of stuff in her house. Since she's a dirty hoarder, she didn't notice until she started the moving process a few years later. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2021 11:13:25 GMT -5 startsmart said:

This year I’m tracking my cleaning chores in a bullet journal and I think it’s helpful to do one task every few days for the monthly list. Yesterday I cleaned out the fridge, wrote down what I have and cleaned it. I have a stainless steel model so I also condition the metal every month or so.

Christmas decorations are going upstairs and it feels really good to have the living room back in order.

Well, you know me! I'd love to see pictures of your lists!

[Lizard Queen]

Jan 2, 2021 12:04:47 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Jan 1, 2021 23:48:14 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Peter Wash isn’t doing his 31 day decluttered challenge to start the New Year this year. 😕 He’s too busy filming his tv show, so I am on the hunt for something new.

Right now I think I’ll try 2 different ones. The first is a 15 day challenge (but for 30 minutes per day) - it’s called Declutter Like a Mother. The first day was a bathroom, so I worked on side of our master bath. I definitely threw out a ton of stuff, so I can see progress.

I also found a 31 day challenge here:

www.frugalcouponliving.com/declutter-your-home-checklist/

Day 1 is Holiday Decorations and Cards. That’s on our to-do list for tomorrow, so I’ll report back.


We got maybe 4-5 inches of snow today, so we spent some time outside decluttering snow from the driveway, lol. Which was a double win - time spent outside and somewhat of a workout.

that would sure never work for me! Day 17 basement and attic? I could do a full 40 hour week on the basement alone I think, and maybe not be done!

Same here, but even if I  do one day, it'll be better than if I  ignore it like I want to do.  Maybe I will work on this list-- very slowly. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2021 12:29:51 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Good to read what everyone is doing/what's on your minds.

was super tired yesterday from a game night that ended around 6 a.m. NYE. Not feeling too bright this am either, but feeling a bit better after several cups of my homemade ginger tea.

Still, going to be another non-prodcutive day for me, may be a nap on my horizon....

This is the season for napping! 

[Lizard Queen]

A note on my declutter numbers: I count anything that had residence in my home prior to the current calendar year.  It makes beginning of the year numbers easy to increase, while numbers later in the year are harder. My goal is giving throwing away 1 item each day × calendar month, so 1 each day in January,  increasing to 12 each day in December.  I'll allow current year purchases for gifts, to make workload a little easier on special days when I'll be busy entertaining (holidays/ birthdays).

(If I calculated correctly, this equals 2382. I'm okay with that. The more the better. I'd really like to discard 10,000 items, but trying to keep it realistic.)

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

My winter break is winding down. I have to actually physically go to work on Monday. My college classes resume on Monday also. I don't post too much during those busier times. I do at least read through this thread almost every day though. 


For today: 
I have a chore list of ten tasks. 
I also have the exercising and finishing a work project. 



I've also decided that I'm going to track what I'm purging this year. I don't know that I'll have a goal because I've no idea what's reasonable. Maybe I'll see how January goes and then decide based on that. 

[chiver78]

I have successfully decluttered my car of golden retriever fur. 🤣 next up is the heavy XL tote that is in my reading nook. I think it is really old office stuff that I should be able to mostly pitch. once that is empty, I can list this tote and an identical one that has already been emptied on the local Buy Nothing site. Im getting annoyed with the girl that wants my moving boxes. she was supposed to come by last weekend and she still hasn't been by. I'm about to move on.

[nidena]

If I had to guess, I'd say I just got rid of 100 more items of clothing when I took that latest purge to Style Encore and the Goodwill.  Three paper shopping bags full and a good 10-20 items that still had tags; some of them that I bought YEARS ago because they were size 12 and I haven't been a size to fit into them since 2011.  

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Jan 2, 2021 12:29:51 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Good to read what everyone is doing/what's on your minds.

was super tired yesterday from a game night that ended around 6 a.m. NYE. Not feeling too bright this am either, but feeling a bit better after several cups of my homemade ginger tea.

Still, going to be another non-prodcutive day for me, may be a nap on my horizon....

napping completed!! very productive 

[azucena]

Christmas put away along with lots of random crap.

Finished hanging up the last of the home decor that never seems to get hung on the walls.

Running robot vac every day. House is looking pretty good.

[Blonde Granny]

Jan 2, 2021 11:13:25 GMT -5 startsmart said:

This year I’m tracking my cleaning chores in a bullet journal and I think it’s helpful to do one task every few days for the monthly list. Yesterday I cleaned out the fridge, wrote down what I have and cleaned it. I have a stainless steel model so I also condition the metal every month or so.

Christmas decorations are going upstairs and it feels really good to have the living room back in order.

That is really a good idea about the tracking cleaning etc.  My neighbor a few years ago showed me her little green striped book.  She rights down every little detail of what gets paid, what all the bills were, when she filled RXs......etc.  I now do the same with my little pink striped book.  Guess I'll add a few more things to track tomorrow.

Thanks!!!

[startsmart]

Chloe - if I keep up with it I may post some pics, right now it’s pretty bare! I am working to make my “spring cleaning list” which I plan to do in July this year.

Today I replaced two more light switches which is great BUT one of them had a stripped out screw so the replacement doesn’t fit in very well. I think I’ll have to replace the whole gang box but it works for now. Started touching up the wall paint in my room, there were some spots along the ceiling that didn’t get a solid second coat.