2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[startsmart]

Welcome to the 2023 Declutter thread!

If you are ready to simplify, get more organized, clear the clutter and track bigger projects in your life then you're in the right place. Members track everything from gift buying, grading assignments, phone calls, laundry, bills to pay and keeping papers organized.

Jump in at any time to share what you need to get done, encourage each other and track your wins.

How does this work?

• Post your goals - lists and pictures are welcome and "progress pics" are always fun!
• Share questions when you have them and support and encourage each other.
• Please don't post simply to lecture, mock or stir things up.
• If you're inspired by an organizer or business, feel free to share links to their content.

Basic Rules for the thread:

1. Be encouraging to one another

2. Updates as often as you wish

3. You don't need to respond to other posters but it is a great way to participate and support each other

4. Feel free to track anything to stay motivated however there are dedicated threads for losing weight, saving money on groceries and eliminating debt so check those out if you want more in depth discussions.

5. Remember when giving advice that we rarely know the whole story and this is not a place of judgment. Try not to take offense when others make suggestions to you and use the private message feature if you'd like something to remain private. You may always edit or delete a post but doing so will not remove quotes from other posters.

Set a Goal

Some posters will be attempting to downsize a specific number of items, it's not required or even necessary, do what works for you. You can also set a goal like "have a peaceful office space" or "keep the kitchen table clear" if that's more realistic for you.

Moderators: Please keep the 2022 thread live through Jan 3rd

[moneysquirrel]

startsmart,  Thank you for starting the thread.  I will be back for the adventure.

[laterbloomer]

Okay, I'm in again. Full disclosure, my list is ongoing, I put new items on it as fast as old items get finished.
1. Redo GW's room for GW2. New flooring and painted.
2. Fix hairline crack in foundation.
3. Finish laundry room (get drywall finished, paint walls and put in flooring)
4. Paint downstairs bathroom.
5. Get second set of stairs off back deck which will make back corner of yard usable.
6. VPL flooring upstairs.

[startsmart]

I think I’ll kick off January with organizing one space per week. This week I think I will tackle the short white bookcases in my office.

Thankfully I have Monday off from most client work so some extra time to prep and clean this week.

[debthaven]

Happy New Year friends!

DH had promised to clear out the basement by Christmas ... never happened. 

E and I sleep in DD's room when they're here. The room is a bit of a mess. DD has (neatly stacked) totes from when she moved out of her ex's place over a year ago. She comes back in January, so I'm hoping she'll sort through those things. Her desk was a mess when she arrived, and she took care of it. 

There's a trundle bed in that room. I want to get new, matching sheets for those 2 beds because one day I will be in that bed rather than in a crib. I'd like to do that in January.

We're also looking into double-glazing for the French doors but I fear the cost will be prohibitive. I have someone coming for an estimate this week, but of course I need a few. DH has to measure them this week.

DH is having knee replacement surgery mid-January, so that will be the priority.

I feel like I didn't reduce my hours enough. I have to go into Job 1 one day/week (except for one week in Jan when I have to go in twice.). I have to go into Job 2 one (shorter) day/week. I generally WFH on Thursdays. I'm off Mondays and Fridays but that may change during DH's surgery/convalescence.

PS I just ordered the new sheets for DD's room from Ikea. I paid 6e delivery, but we spend more than that when we go there. 

[TheOtherMe]

The bathroom needs painted.  Besides no one wanting a job this small, I don't know what I am waiting for.

Keep on decluttering and organizing, especially paper.  My focus will be on paper this year.  I have financial receipts going back to 2000.  I do not need those for any reason.

[catsareme]

1.  Paper declutter and filing. 
I did so well at the beginning of 2022 with decluttering paper, but you wouldn't know it by the looks of my desk right now.  We had family visit at Thanksgiving and I "hid" the excess paper clutter in my cedar chest.  Now I have that mess plus the additional pile on my desk.  

2.  Reorganize kitchen/laundry storage areas. 
Today I cleaned out the cabinet below the laundry room sink and reorganized a shelf in the pantry.  Yup, only one shelf but it's start.

3.  Sort/reorganize hall storage closet.

4.  Sort/organize garage holiday closet.  Guess I better head there now.  This year's Christmas decorations are still piled on the dining room table.    

[debthaven]

Sounds like you're making good progress catsareme !

I am a bit of a pyromaniac ... I get motivated to burn paper clutter. We now have a fireplace insert, so I can't burn papers in the fireplace anymore. 

But I can still burn them in the fire pit LOL!

TheOtherMe I subscribe to two local Facebook groups. There are often people who are looking for people to do small jobs ... they ALWAYS get several responses. Personally I'd try that, and ask for photos/references from past jobs/an in-person meeting. A lot of people are looking for (extra) work these days, and a bathroom is indeed a small job (although of course you want it to be done well!)

Other thought ... have you asked your contractor? He may know somebody who either lives nearby or is doing a job near you who'd be happy for the extra work. 

laterbloomer is GW2 the one with the baby? Does that mean the baby is still living with you? Is the handy young man still living with you too? (Please feel free to ignore these questions ... I just find your fostering young adults and chill attitude about people coming and going fascinating and extremely admirable!)

[laterbloomer]

debthaven GW2 is a different foster I had when she was about 10. She had emotional issues at that time that I didn't have the experience to handle. I had to let her go and have always regretted it. She got counseling and has become a lovely young woman. She's 19 now. Unfortunately her family is still troubled. She got in touch in November asking if I had room. I made room.
In the meantime GW has decided its time to move in with her BF. (She's 26) She should have her stuff out by the end of January. I will fix up her room, move GW2 in there, and I will get my office back.
I hope you can follow all that lol
The handyman boarder is still here but he has had health issues surface. They think it might be Parkinson's (it runs in his family) but they are waiting on results from some tests.
It hasn't been boring around here.

[debthaven]

I am following.  You are truly amazing laterbloomer .  Wishing BW the best. 

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 1, 2023 15:17:30 GMT -5 debthaven said:

TheOtherMe I subscribe to two local Facebook groups. There are often people who are looking for people to do small jobs ... they ALWAYS get several responses. Personally I'd try that, and ask for photos/references from past jobs/an in-person meeting. A lot of people are looking for (extra) work these days, and a bathroom is indeed a small job (although of course you want it to be done well!)

Other thought ... have you asked your contractor? He may know somebody who either lives nearby or is doing a job near you who'd be happy for the extra work. 

I will try that once the holidays are over.  I really don't want some college kid doing it.  The other problem is people don't want to drive the 25 minutes out here.  It looks better than it did because they covered over the oil from when Lucy rubbed on the wall while I went to the bathroom.  They did some work on that part of the drywall so it's mudded over.

My contractor recommended a guy who goes to Arizona from October through April.  He said if I call him, he well get me in touch with him.  He said he is excellent.

[Sharon]

I'm pleased with what I got done today.

Bathrooms cleaned, towels laundered and put away.

Litter box cleaned

Then I started on putting Christmas away.  I had to put up hooks for the outdoor lights and actually still have one more section that needs hooks.  The hope was that with the hooks I could minimize ladder time but still have my outdoor lights on the house.  I'm quite pleased that I was able to take all the lights down without the use of a ladder.  We shall see how well it works next year for putting the lights up.  I cleaned out the tote that stored the outdoor lights and got rid of some strings of lights that I had never used or no longer used.  I also got rid of various hooks/fasteners etc that I have tried over the years. 

After that I got both trees down and did a little organization work on the ornament storage but that is pretty much if it's in the box it goes on a tree type of thing.  Where the organization happened is in the boxes where I store the other decorations I put out around the house.  I've got two plastic grocery bags full of stuff to toss.  I would like to get DD's okay on the one bag, but pretty sure she will give the go ahead.  I haven't quite gotten the two boxes consolidated down to one but progress has been made.  The items would probably all fit in one plastic tote but I like to use boxes that held computer printer paper because they are smaller and I like to think it helps to minimize breakage etc.

I also labeled some of the boxes so I don't have to keep opening them to see what's in there.

[mollyc]

My goal is to spend 2 hrs a week thinning things out and catching up on all of the stuff that has gotten out of hand. That’s vague I know but I don’t want to commit to any specific tasks. That’s usually one of the things that sabotages me. I start something, DH disagrees about that being the thing that should be done and I either do his thing instead or my thing incompletely or nothing. This way hopefully I’ll just get back to my thing later. In theory, I could ignore DH but after 30 years I’ve no patience with his BPD and I’m not nice.

I’ll try to declutter that too while I’m at it

[finnime]

My goals are more in the vein of organizing, which I'm really weak at but DH is strong, than decluttering. I do have decluttering to do, but organization is the big one.

I pulled enough Christmas Stuff out of the basement to please us. Now before I put it back I want to go through all we have, purge some errant items and organize the rest for next holiday season. That's the first goal. Beyond that I have organizing to do in the office, in the basement generally, and with my tools. I have 3 tool bags and they're each a mishmosh of tools, equipment and miscellaneous supplies.

Before all that I'm going to hang up some pictures. I borrowed DSis's level to do this. Note to self: buy level.

[laterbloomer]

I got Christmas put away yesterday. Today, I want to clean the fridge and wash the floors. I love it when the house feels all clean.

[TheOtherMe]

The shower curtain that was in the bathroom before the remodel is going out in the trash tonight.

[raeoflyte]

This is copy/pasted from the new years resolutions thread for my goals with my house.

Eta...the house. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what I really want. At the top of the list is decluttering the "oh shit" rooms/areas. The places I hate for anyone to see they're too filled/messy.
Secondly I want to find a system that keeps the house play-date ready 95% of the time. In my mind playdate is looser than company ready. In the past I make lists and systems and yes, everything should be done every day, but we're not at a time of life or the kind of people that that is sustainable. So I think I want to spend each month trying some different upkeep/organizational systems. Years ago I think @pants suggested a 5-4-3-2-1 that was working for them, and I'll include the 15 minutes a day family pick up. Probably try one of my lists for a month. I'm open to suggestions too. 😊

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 2, 2023 10:31:01 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

The shower curtain that was in the bathroom before the remodel is going out in the trash tonight.

Shower curtain and 2 bags of trash are at the street.  I never have two bags of trash so I don't know how that happened.

[saveinla]

Happy New Year to All !

I am reading and following, but dont want to commit to anything as of now. 

[nikiz628]

I posted a list on the 2022 thread that I found in a decluttering group. Last night, I sat down and made my own version. (if you click the image, it should open larger for easier reading) 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Hi friends!
I've lost momentum on my dissertation. If I'd had a good start at my new job and been able to keep up on my dissertation, I should have been done with it by the end of May 2023. (That's when the people in my cohort will be done; at least I assume they're all on that track.) In some portions of my brain, I'd like to just quit and remain "All But Dissertation" for the rest of my embarrassing life. However, in the majority of my brain and according to DH and my daughters and one step-son, that's not a choice I shall be making. (The other step-son isn't anti-dissertation; he's anti- "having a piece of paper to show accomplishment". But that's just for him personally. He thinks it's unlike me to be this overwhelmed and he says I'll be fine. He's just the one who's like "no one needs a doctorate!". )

Anyhoo, I need to accept that I cannot continue to do all.the.things I usually do and complete the dissertation this calendar year. I almost want my dissertation chair to either kick me out of the program (which is not something that anyone but me even considers a realistic scenario) or tell me it's okay that I had a hard start to my new job and I can still do this stupid dissertation thing. I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS!!! Being an an adult is STUPID. Dissertations are HARD. My new job WAS WAY MORE SCREWED UP than the district let on! 


Regarding this specific thread though, if I want to get my dissertation done by the end of September 2023, I need to let go of completing a full deep cleaning of the entire house every month, having everything properly decorated for every holiday/season, read for pleasure. DH and I will keep the house straightened up of course and it certainly won't get "gross". DH has no problem increasing the house cleaner's hours. (She's like 12 years old though and not fantastic at cleaning. Okay, she's proficient, but she's not reaching the level I want it done to.) I can listen to Audible during my commute. I'm not sure there's too many holidays from now until fall; it's just that from Thanksgiving until Dec 30th, I only spent two hours on my dissertation. I feel so guilty. But, we did host two big Christmas parties and two regular sized Christmas dinners and did tons of fun family stuff. AAARRRGGGHH!

I'd like to use this thread for this year to set hourly work time goals each week and specific dissertation tasks. 

Thanks for letting me vent. 

[tcu2003]

It’s the start of a new year, which means I’m back to try, try again. Actually, 2022 didn’t end up being too bad overall with regards to decluttering and organizing (mostly concentrated in the first quarter and last quarter of the year), I just got busy with life and didn’t post here much. But there is still a ton to do.

Major goals for the year are to get my home office organized and purged and decluttered, and similar for the master closet. I’m also going to copy the idea of getting my house play-date ready.

[Sharon]

I spent most of today getting primer on the walls in the kitchen and eat in kitchen area.  Unfortunately I wasn't quite able to finish the first coat.  I just got too tired and learned long ago to not push it when painting and I'm tired.  That just leads to more messes that need to be cleaned up.  The kitchen walls are/were turquoise which isn't ever a color I would choose for walls.  What makes it worse is that area only has a window over the sink for light and then whatever light filters in from the family room.  The light into the kitchen window is further blocked because it sits under the covered deck.  The kitchen is dark, dark, dark and have such a strong color doesn't help.

The family room that is off the kitchen area was added later so originally there was a sliding glass door off what would be the dining area.  The dining area is a good sized space and from pictures that were left with the house they used it more as a family room area.  Someone somewhere along the line added two Solatubes but they don't really do much to add any light.  I can tell that it is going to take two coats of primer to cover that color but at least I got a start. 

[stillmovingforward]

Keeping it simple: 2 things this year.
1) Clean and organize our mud room. It's big and has so many boxes of people's momentos in it.
2) Clean the yard. For health reasons, I have been unable to work in my yard the past few years. I want to get it straightened up this year. And start figuring out how to make it less intense to care for.

[raeoflyte]

So to start off, I got dh and the kids to commit to 1 daily chore everyday. DC will feed the dogs, ds will take out the trash and recycling, and dh will check the litter robot everyday and empty/refill as needed. It's not much, but I stressed it has to be something they can do every single day regardless of what else is going on. I think we'll do the same with a weekly chore each. Hopefully it will cut down on my mental load. It's definitely not the only chore they'll ever do/help with.

The kids do their own laundry and I told dh last night that depending on how I rearrange the bedroom I might get him his own hamper and he can do his own as well. I have some guilt there - I guess it feels like I'm punishing him, but there has never been any reason that I took on so much more housework. He'll never carry the load, but he can be responsible for himself.

I should really order a dishwasher today.

[debthaven]

I should really order a dishwasher today.
With a family of four raeoflyte , yes you should. It'll make all your lives easier.   The daily and weekly chores sound like a good system!
Hang in there Knee Deep in Water Chloe . You can do it. 

I've dealt with tons of paperwork today ... It wipes me out and it never ends.

I'm dreading going into school tomorrow.   (Job 2 starts this week, Job 1 starts next week.)

PS I just booked one night in a hotel near the hospital where DH is having his surgery, because the hospital is at least an hour away. It's free cancellation. It's a splurge but going back and forth for 5-6 days is going to be exhausting.  

 

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you for the new thread, startsmart .

I copied and pasted my 2022 goals, and they basically remain the same for 2023, LOL.

Iggy's 2022 goals:

~Declutter some pounds
~Declutter some CC debt
~Organize the 25+ years' worth of photos
~Rearrange my home office to make space for the comfy reading chair I posted about not too long ago
~Repaint the powder room and replace the vanity...?

I did declutter a total of 30 pounds last year, but some found their way back.  Same with some CC debt.  So, I've been thinking about fine tuning the way I speak to myself:

Instead of losing weight, I will gain health
Instead of losing debt, I will gain financial independence

And instead of buying more new books, saving links and DVR programs to watch/read later, I am going to address the current backlog.

[Sharon]

Today I started decluttering my shyte pile shelves.  In my office area is a built in china hutch.  The top part is just open shelves.  One shelf holds my manuals for work and the other two have ended up being a dumping ground for stuff. 

One of the items was a stack of weekly newspapers from my former hometown.  I was saving them to do the sudoku puzzle that is included each week.  I don't see myself having any chunks of free time in the near future so they are now in the garbage.  I've also started sorting the rest of the piles into like items so they can be properly filed.  Most of the stuff is stuff I do want to keep but just haven't dealt with for several months, such as the receipts and manuals for my new furance, AC unit, and new hot water heater.

[laterbloomer]

I cleaned the oven today. First I ran the self cleaning feature then I used some oven cleaner on the door. After that I scrubbed. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than I thought it could get.

[snapdragon]

I actually got to the massive pile of clothes on the bed and they are folded & put away.

I turned on the dish washer this morning so I shouldn't need to wash dishes for the next few days.

I got the trash out of the house also.

I also revised my money journal to reflect 2023 and the increases along with a new travel line for searching my next home.

I need to physically write out things to take care of so it is visible and not just online for the glee of being able to check or cross it off. I am pretty sure I need the visual especially the upcoming months with getting little nuances taken care of before putting the condo up for sale.