2022 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[debthaven]

snapdragon  no worries, I am cutting back! But I wanted to reduce by 32-48 hours (10-15%), not by 70 hours (22%). That's a LOT, financially. These are individual classes, in person or on Zoom, with no marking. Even if I get just 1, losing 55 hours is better than losing 70 hours. The professor/staff classes are easy, and they're paid the same rate.

I gave up a heavy marking class, so I have 24 fewer student hours, and less marking.  

Also, I still need to do a certain number of hours in 2022. I'd rather do more in the longer/easier spring semester, and less in the shorter/harder fall semester. 

But thanks, I appreciate you looking out for me! 

This week (updated)
- write the last 2 Christmas cards/Thurs
- text L to set up a FaceTime/Thurs
- DH's Quickbooks

[Sharon]

This isn't exactly unpacking and getting things in order around the house but I brought in a few more boxes out of the garage and put them in the closet of the guest bedroom.  They are mostly books and I want them in the house where it is heated so they don't gather any more moisture.  There are still some boxes of books in the garage but progress has been made.

[Blonde Granny]

Thanks to everyone who helped and stepped in to get everything accomplished when I wasn't feeling well.

Admin

BG

[debthaven]

Sorry I wasn't aware of that Blonde Granny. I hope you are feeling better now. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 5, 2022 19:45:26 GMT -5 Sharon said:

This isn't exactly unpacking and getting things in order around the house but I brought in a few more boxes out of the garage and put them in the closet of the guest bedroom.  They are mostly books and I want them in the house where it is heated so they don't gather any more moisture.  There are still some boxes of books in the garage but progress has been made.

I feel like this is important.

[nikiz628]

Today I deep cleaned and organized our main bathroom. I cleaned out the cabinet and tossed old meds and random crap we don’t use. I took the toilet seat off and gave it all a good scrub down with Comet. Omg I clean my toilet two times a week, but never remove the seat. So gross. I will start taking that baby off at least once a week now to clean under it. I also spent some time tackling the hard water on our shower doors. The vanity drawers were vacuumed out and reorganized. The light fixtures and door were also cleaned. And I finished the room off scrubbing the floor tile Cinderella style. (It’s a small room). Tossed and replaced toothbrushes and loofahs. It feels so clean and ready for the new year.

[finnime]

I, and with my DH and DSis, we have been purging at a pretty good clip. There's just so much more to go. DSis and DB are heading back to Massachusetts this morning--they've been here a week. DB's car is stuffed with things we know we want to keep but don't need at home for the near future.

The house is shaping up pretty well. The one really problematic space is the utility room in the basement. I've stored, for now, so many boxes on top of the other Stuff that has been stored in there over the years. It has two metal filing cabinets, too heavy for me to budge, and a broken down heavy wooden built-in work table with two huge drawers that need to go. Plus, all the Stuff.

But progress is being made. Bit by bit. We'll get there.

[laterbloomer]

1. Paint inside my bedroom closets and armour done
2. Wash living room rug. done
3. Paint downstairs bathroom.
4. Get on demand water heater then finish laundry room.
5. Do garden and yard this spring.
6. VPL flooring for upstairs.

7. Laminate flooring for GW's room

Just wanted the thrill of crossing them off and I can only do that on my laptop, I'm usually on my phone so this was my first chance

[startsmart]

I have friends coming to hang out tomorrow (which has happened twice in 18 mo so BIG DEAL lol) so cleaning all the things. The downstairs is looking pretty good for tidiness, now it's just all the cleaning tasks. 

I am going to vacuum and steam mop the floors and hopefully get to some laundry today/early tomorrow. 

[Opti]

I got the wedding dress to the thrift shop to start its new life.    Dropped off a couple shirts too. Did not even get to browse. Given omicron, they are now letting people shop by appointment only.

Now to get my box of electronic stuff to the recycle center this week if possible.

[seriousthistime]

Paperwork taming is going well.  But paperwork taming generates more mess before it gets better.

I have piles of papers everywhere, organized loosely into stacks of similar things: shredding, insurance, medical, things to read, etc. 

So, now, on to taming the stacks. 

[TheOtherMe]

Taming paperwork or any room that is decluttered creates more mess before it is done.  That's why the organizer is helpful.  She taught me that is part of the process.

Today I plan to tame the boxes that were the Christmas presents for the cats.  They don't know Christmas is past, right?

[catsareme]

Sorted out the two freezers in the garage putting like items together.  DH loves to shop the Meat Managers Bargain Bin but even he admits we definitely do not need any more meat, or fish, for quite a while.  

Shredded another couple of envelopes full of old papers.  Progress in baby steps but at least I'm moving and in the right direction.  

Caught up on some mending.  Nothing major - button on a shirt, repaired one of my reusable shopping bags and fixed a small hole in DH's sweater. 

[startsmart]

Deadlines work for me so well it's embarrassing! I got the last bits of the bathroom ceiling painted today (the paint and brush and step stool have been in the bathroom for 2 weeks) and even though I'd like to roll on one more coat, it's looking much better now. I also cleaned around the toilet where the cleaner spilled and dyed the floor tiles blue. Luckily I'm replacing the floor anyway so it's not a major issue. 

The house is mostly clean and ready for guests tomorrow, the big task is vacuuming and steam cleaning the floor so I think once I put the dogs "to bed" I'll do that so it has time to dry and the smell to dissipate overnight. I feel all kinds of behind today but I think that's just because I have had longer meetings today and less time to do my stuff. Tomorrow will be busy as well but with a mix of personal and business stuff.

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 6, 2022 12:30:44 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Taming paperwork or any room that is decluttered creates more mess before it is done.  That's why the organizer is helpful.  She taught me that is part of the process.

Today I plan to tame the boxes that were the Christmas presents for the cats.  They don't know Christmas is past, right?

I got about 80% of it out of boxes and where it belongs.  Hope to finish the rest tomorrow.

The boxes are not going to the garage until Saturday as it's too cold out there when it's below zero.  

I am not expecting any more boxes in the foreseeable future.

[empress of self-improvement]

I'll be decluttering a cat on Saturday afternoon. One of my 2 fosters is being adopted

[Sharon]

I got 3 more boxes of books in from the garage this afternoon.  I think that is the last of the books.  At my last house I had a built in bookshelf in my bedroom.  I need to figure out something to replace that but at least for now the books are inside so they aren't gathering moisture and getting stinky.

[busymom]

I've got a lot of catching up to do on our house after the holidays.  We've completely lost control of the mess in our master bedroom.  After I slog through that, I need to work on getting our paperwork organized for tax time.  With the sale of our out-of-state house, it'll be messy for 2021.  Oh well.  One day at a time.

DD is still trying to organize her new home.  One gift she appreciated this year was a bookshelf from friends.  It even matches one that she already owns, so she gets to be organized in style.  

[megaptera]

I'm in this year. 

2022 goals:

1. Get rid of as much stuff as possible to make Goal #2 easier.
2. Move from Seattle area to (probably) somewhere in Texas.

The timeline for Goal 2 is kind of up in the air. I've already decluttered SO much, but ideally we'll downsize from a 3000 sq. foot house to about half that. I'm going to focus on at least one thing each week. This week, it will by my clothing. I only wear about 5% of what I own, this should be easy, right?

Looking  forward to participating this year.

[Empire the P.A.]

2022 plan

- Tackle the bedroom closets. I need to purge clothes I never wear.
- Go through shoes and really get rid of half. My feet can’t take uncomfortable shoes anymore. Anything with heels will have to go.
- Turn out my kitchen cabinets/drawers. I have way too many containers, bowls and other kitchen stuff. I have 4 dough scrapers!

I did buy a new shredder to replace the one that died so now my paper junk has been taken care of, mostly. 

[Empire the P.A.]

My above post is for this month. I don’t want to overwhelm myself with the billion other things that need doing. I’m a small vision type. One thing at a time or I would give up. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Good to see you, Empire the P.A.!!!  

[bean29]

Like Busymom I need to tame the clutter in the Master Bedroom.  First Goal is to get rid of the rest of the clutter on my chair and a half in my bedroom.  I also have to talk to DH about maybe dumping that one (It has a pull out bed and is very heavy) with the love seat he has in his office.  There were a lot of DH's clothes that I thought maybe should go to goodwill on it.  I pulled them out of the closet early last year and he never went through them.  I moved most of them to DS's old closet just before Christmas.

I also want to purge clothes I never wear from my closet.  Hopefully I can get DH to participate too.
I plan to send some boxes of pictures I have in my Master Bedroom Closet and in the basement out to be scanned, so I can get rid of the bulky boxes.  

I have to organize my receipts and file my paperwork so I can get started on my Taxes.

Tomorrow AM, I will take down the outdoor Christmas Lights and store them back in the correct spot in the garage.  I will actually probably be motivated to do this in the AM b/c they say it is going to be in the 30's in the AM, then it is going to get colder and sleet.
I need to deliver the old Christmas tree to DN.  

I probably need to help DH decide what to do in his office - he wants to install a new floor and he stashed the furniture he is going to use in the office in my parking spot in the garage.  I don't like scraping my car, go I have to get him moving.  

We want to refresh and update the house this year, so I am hoping we will find the time to go to the Home Improvement Show next Month.

[startsmart]

Well the house a very clean, I mopped last night before bed, cleaned the kitchen again and… my friends are sick and couldn’t make it today 😫

We rescheduled for next week so my new goal is keeping it clean all week.

I did install the next piece of plywood in the laundry room and will bring in the next sheet tomorrow. All of these pieces are fitting around pipes and doorways and such so it’ll be slower work for awhile.

[moneysquirrel]

Updating my list:

Jan 4, 2022 17:40:16 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

This week goals:
*Dentist Appointment
*Bank
*Grocery
*Renewal 
*Take photos for Etsy 
*Repair Necklace
*File the pile
*Finish taking down Christmas -- Almost done just two more items.  Will need to move the car so that I can store them and need to move car tomorrow so will do these then.
*Maintain progress in house -- Ongoing
*Organize at least two items

Have been getting my Christmas items stored away this week.  The bulk was done the last two days.  I store the wreath and another item in the garage and since I park my car in it those two things will be picked up tomorrow after I move the car.  The house is pretty organized and up to date.  I still want to go through my closet as I am sure that there are items in there that I can eliminate. I have filled up one box of donations so far and have started a second one.  Have not worked on any beading this week.  I have been using up some yarn pieces crocheting some dishcloths.  Some of the ones I did last year went home with my DSis last weekend.  So I figure I would do a few more and use up some of the small balls od yarn left from earlier projects.  I am also thinking about starting another scrap afghan as I do have some larger quantities of yarn left over from previous projects.  
I started much later this morning as I woke up much later than planned.  I didn't have  a long todo list for this day so I should be able to get everything done on that list.  

Wishing all a great weekend!

  

[laterbloomer]

I don't know why it can take me so long to do something that is relatively simple and makes a big improvement in my quality of life. I have been in this house 10 years. In winter cold air comes through my bedroom window. Not an outright breeze, but enough to be aggravating. 5 years ago I got a $10 kit to put plastic on the window. I resisted putting it on because I thought it would look tacky. I put it up tonight. I asked ISO and GW how it looked. They didn't know what I was about until I told them I had put plastic on the window. Tomorrow the living room windows get done!
ETA there is no more cold air coming through.

[nidena]

Jan 7, 2022 21:17:03 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

I don't know why it can take me so long to do something that is relatively simple and makes a big improvement in my quality of life. I have been in this house 10 years. In winter cold air comes through my bedroom window. Not an outright breeze, but enough to be aggravating. 5 years ago I got a $10 kit to put plastic on the window. I resisted putting it on because I thought it would look tacky. I put it up tonight. I asked ISO and GW how it looked. They didn't know what I was about until I told them I had put plastic on the window. Tomorrow the living room windows get done!
ETA there is no more cold air coming through.

I think I'm going to do something similar.  I currently have bubblewrap--pink, at that--taped over one window and am amazed at what a difference it makes in just the few days since I did it.

[finnime]

I'm sneaking in just to say, I could just everything in boxes, the utility room, the sunroom and the kitchen counter and feel only relieved.

[debthaven]

finnime I'm not sure I understand ... do you mean instead of going through everything? You've been making such fabulous progress in the house! Perhaps take a few days off? 

This weekend
- set up new online class spaces X 3/Fri
- text L to set up a FaceTime/Sat
- write the last 2 Christmas cards/Sat
- DH's Quickbooks

I just spent 1.5h sorting my teaching shelves and binders. Huge fire in the firepit. 

[finnime]

That is what I meant, debthaven. Just a couple dozen contractor's trash bags and I'd be done! Don't worry, I know I cannot do that in actuality. But a girl can dream.