2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[debthaven]

snapdragon are you retired, or just taking an extended break from work? Feel free to ignore my question! 

I'm done with work for the week! I'm working a lot more next week.

This week
- car check-up (DH)/Wed
- my check-up/Thurs
- flu shot?/Fri
- take art supplies to V?

[Iggy aka IG]

Nov 10, 2023 14:44:09 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Speaking of, I've kept up on the dishes since Wednesday.  This weekend I plan on storing the Halloween decorations, consolidating items from the right hand now gym closet with the left-hand side.  I want to dedicate the right-hand side closet and cubbies to hand weights, towels, etc. (I may have already posted this.)  I also want to display a few things which inspire health and happiness, and I'll ask DH to do so as well.  And though we had it unplugged until our Halloween party, we're going to keep the mini fridge plugged in for water purposes.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone.

I took yesterday off from work.  Since last Friday:

-Did 4 loads of laundry including our sheets
-Kept up on dishes
-Packed 3 and a half totes worth of Halloween decorations and rotated them with Christmas totes into the closet
-Still need to toss a few old pillows from the removed guest bed.  To keep the dust off, I'll place the two newer ones into a never used plastic bag for future guests.
-The comforter from the above will go into the camper, the quilt was washed last weekend, folded and stored in the guest bath linen cupboard.
-A framed, cute picture of DH and me is now displayed in what I named the Cardio Cave (get it?  Similar to a Man Cave but.... )  I chose the picture specifically because it was when I was extremely focused on cardio years ago.  And, well, it's a cute picture. 
-All tax documents were put into the plastic envelopes discussed several pages back, labeled, and put into DH's file cabinet.  They take up an entire file drawer!  I put the emptied two boxes into the garage.  My home office is really starting to clear out.  After paying bills this week, I want to put a shout out on social media for a gently used leather chair and ottoman.
-I picked up my side of the walk-in closet and rotated warm weather shirts for cold.

Which leads me to (please forgive me if I've already asked this here):  Do you keep documents from paid off items such as vehicles and school loans?  If so, for how long?

[Iggy aka IG]

Nov 12, 2023 17:28:28 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

[snip]

Iggy aka IG --Re: Flowerpots -- Sometimes when I purchase a terra cotta flowerpot I paint it.  Started during Covid and have done several over the last few years.  I seal it with modge podge first, then paint with acrylic paint (a lot from WM @50 cents a bottle),then reseal it when I finish.  I have used stencils for most of them -- flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, hearts, etc.  This  time I went rogue -- lots of triangles, rectangles, circles and just squiggly lines.  Then decided to add words (using a Sharpie -- original brand-- as it doesn't run) like smile, sing, dance, etc. inside the shapes. {{ Note : brands other than Sharpie had run when I sealed an earlier one so now I make sure to always use the sharpie brand. }}  It gives me a creative outlet and one that I can use around the house.  

moneysquirrel the flowerpots sound adorable!  You sure are creative.  

[debthaven]

Wow Iggy aka IG you have been busy!!!

I previously mentioned that DH promised to do 2 boxes per week ... he started to do 3 last week, and planned to finish them on Sunday. We were out for 16 hours on Sunday, so he didn't finish. But he drove me to/from the concert Sun night, so he gets an extension LOL. 

He found a bunch of art supplies that I offered to a primary teacher friend. She wanted to pick them up on Sun, but we were out.

I just texted her to say I'll be home all day tomorrow. I hope she picks them up tomorrow, but she may not. (Primary school kids have Wed afternoons off here.)

Worst-case scenario I take them to her this weekend, she's local.

[snapdragon]

1- start to work on putting clothing away in the dressers

2- work on the secretary and get some things styled -- partially done 
3- get new shelving pins for TV cabinet

4- work on getting bathroom stuff put away or re-homed

5- work on top of coffee table so it can be placed in LR

6- get small shelving put up and styled in MBR - Done
7- put tools and garage things into garage
8- put together the media cabinet
9-set up TV's and everything that goes with em.

[TheOtherMe]

Iggy aka IG wrote: Which leads me to (please forgive me if I've already asked this here): Do you keep documents from paid off items such as vehicles and school loans? If so, for how long?

I tend to be anal retentive on things like this.  I keep documents on paid off vehicle loans.  I guess I worry it may somehow come back to haunt me.  I don't know how.  

When I packed to move here, I finally got rid of all of the closing documents for every house I had ever owned.  I had been living in apartments for 5 or 6 years and nothing on them would apply to a future tax return.

[debthaven]

Iggy aka IG sorry, I DID see your question, but I didn't think there was any point in answering since I'm not in the US. 

Here you can google "how long should I keep my paperwork for?" You get an official government table telling you how long you need to keep different paperwork.

If they have it here, I'm sure they have it there too! I'd add your state to your Google search. 

This said, I'm like TheOtherMe , I err on the side of caution. 

 

[wvugurl26]

I tend to keep the final statement showing zero or a paid in full letter far longer than necessary. I will probably keep the letter about my student loan forgiveness forever.

I've heard horror stories about one cable company in particular sending people to collections five six years later for supposedly not returning equipment. Most people of course don't have the receipt to prove they did so.

I do have one single folder for paid off/ final bills. It's usually only a single page or two so it doesn't take up a lot of room. I could scan them as well. I've set up a similar folder as I close out my grandma's stuff.

[finnime]

Paid off statements and large appliance materials I've been awash in. I still don't have a good system for managing them. Moving last year helped me get rid of a bunch, but also generated a lot of new hard copy. Paperwork rather than electronic copy is my downfall.

[debthaven]

This week
- car check-up (DH)/Wed
- give V art supplies/Wed
- doc appt/Thurs
- flu+Covid shots/Thurs

My friend V picked up the art supplies today.   

[azucena]

Appliance manuals are easily available online. Usually the model number is listed somewhere on them. We def toss all of ours and have been able to google what we need.

[TheOtherMe]

Nov 14, 2023 19:11:51 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I tend to keep the final statement showing zero or a paid in full letter far longer than necessary. I will probably keep the letter about my student loan forgiveness forever.

I've heard horror stories about one cable company in particular sending people to collections five six years later for supposedly not returning equipment. Most people of course don't have the receipt to prove they did so.

I do have one single folder for paid off/ final bills. It's usually only a single page or two so it doesn't take up a lot of room. I could scan them as well. I've set up a similar folder as I close out my grandma's stuff.

It wasn't a cable company, but I did get sent to Collections over a $10 bill for something that I had paid.  It was the final payment on a loan and I did have the paid in full copy.  

I have a friend who last I heard was still being charged for not returning a modem for the internet.  I always printed those off the UPS site and kept them.  She didn't but doesn't like making phone calls so she just kept paying.

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you so much for answering my question, ladies!  debthaven, I'll look up US guidelines.

-Off to get my do done.
-It's accounts payable day today.
-Grocery pickup this evening.

Hope everyone is doing well.  

[busymom]

DH is home from work today, so we went through our entire pantry, threw out the few items that had expired, wiped it down & attempted to organize it so everything we need for Thanksgiving should be easy to find.  

[Sharon]

My new ceiling fan arrived yesterday.  I'm working with the electrician to get on the schedule to get it installed.  At the same time I will also have the 6 recessed lights replaced in the family room and the one over the kitchen sink.  The ones in the family room are really ugly with these discolored yellow plastic rings on the ceiling.  There aren't any covers just light bulbs up there.  That will be a couple more items crossed off my house to do list.

I have a two and half page list, room by room, of everything I want to do or change in this house, and painting didn't even make the list because that was just a given.

This is the fan I picked out.

[debthaven]

I don't see a photo or link Sharon . 

This week
- car check-up (DH)/Wed
- give V art supplies/Wed
- doc appt/Thurs
- flu+Covid shots/Thurs

[jerseygirl]

Sharon I love that fan! Where did you buy?

[finnime]

That's an elegant fan, Sharon.

[Sharon]

Nov 16, 2023 10:57:41 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Sharon I love that fan! Where did you buy?

Home Depot.  It is a Minka-Aire light wave, but without the light.  It also comes with a light but I didn't want or need a light.

[startsmart]

I’ve finally got my 2024 journal set up because how is it almost 2024 already? There’s a lot of pictures but it’s online here if you’re interested: imgur.com/gallery/aMjsZWL

The comments made the laugh, they range from “you’re insane” to “you must have your life together!” And I’m somewhere in the middle!

Not much in the way of cleaning or organizing today but I do have to play catch up on other things.

Could also use good juju for a potential job, I spoke to a friend yesterday and it sounds like a good fit, she made an email intro and I need to get a call scheduled so I can wow them.

[debthaven]

I googled it ... it's lovely Sharon !

Wow startsmart that's impressive! But definitely too much for me lol. Sending good juju for the job!!!

We picked up frozen pizza on the way home from getting our flu and Covid shots just now. We're planning to watch the first half of season 6 of The Crown. (DH is a fan.)

[moneysquirrel]

Nov 12, 2023 17:59:25 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

Upcoming goals:

*House Cleaning -- tomorrow 
*Sales tax form finished and mailed -- three fourths finished 
*Fee for the last show to mail off this week 
*Zoom with a friend 
*Classes
*Packing -- I will be with family due to surgery and for the holidays Started
*Mail hold
*Monthly bills -- Expecting at least two this week  Only one left -- not received yet.  Should be coming in next week.
*Stretch goal -- get the Christmas tree up this week as I will still be restricted the week after Thanksgiving for a few days.  May not get it decorated completely but if its up then I can do a little at a time while activities are curtailed.
*Usual household maintanence Ongoing
*Laundy -- get everything clean before I head to DS 
*Dishwasher -- do a final load before I head to DS
*Fill up car before heading to DS
*and many more that I am sure that I have forgotten.

ALSO:

*HVAC service was done (Semi-annual checkup)
*Medical bill paid

I am hoping to get the rest of these chores done this weekend.  

[moneysquirrel]

Sharon  -- Like the fan

startsmart -- Very detailed planner.  I'm more of a ""jot down a few things" planner.  I also don't track as many items.  I do track books/audiobooks read and craft/beading projects completed among a few other things.  

[jerseygirl]

Startsmart I would find that journal overwhelming!! Seems it would push me to do much more than I’d want. That would be annoying
Good for you if you enjoy

[TheOtherMe]

Nov 16, 2023 19:16:48 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

Sharon   -- Like the fan

startsmart -- Very detailed planner.  I'm more of a ""jot down a few things" planner.  I also don't track as many items.  I do track books/audiobooks read and craft/beading projects completed among a few other things.  

This is me.  I could not keep a planner like that.  I could not keep a journal like Chloe's either.

We all keep planners in our way and mine is not detailed at all.

[wvugurl26]

It's a good idea to have all the stuff combined together. I tend to end up with various pages all over.

[jerseygirl]

I hired an efficiency consultant years ago. She recommended I keep a simple spiral notebook . Just write day/date and what I planned for the day. I did that at home and still do. Cross or check off items when done - or move to next day. Work was more elaborate but still rather simple. At first I kept a separate notebook for my charity work but no longer.
I’m pretty good at estimating what I need to accomplish and can do in a day. I write summaries of phone calls and resolutions of problems or phone numbers used to resolve a situation . Efficiency person said keep the notebook for the year. I often go back through pages to find outcome of a problem or task. I write appointments (and mileage) on a calendar that I keep on my desk. Also keep appointments on my phone but the paper calendar is useful at tax time. Since I keep tax materials for 7 years I can find old appointments if needed

[moneysquirrel]

Nov 16, 2023 22:12:10 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

I hired an efficiency consultant years ago. She recommended I keep a simple spiral notebook . Just write day/date and what I planned for the day. I did that at home and still do. Cross or check off items when done - or move to next day. Work was more elaborate but still rather simple. At first I kept a separate notebook for my charity work but no longer.
I’m pretty good at estimating what I need to accomplish and can do in a day. I write summaries of phone calls and resolutions of problems or phone numbers used to resolve a situation . Efficiency person said keep the notebook for the year. I often go back through pages to find outcome of a problem or task. I write appointments (and mileage) on a calendar that I keep on my desk. Also keep appointments on my phone but the paper calendar is useful at tax time. Since I keep tax materials for 7 years I can find old appointments if needed

 That is what I started doing a while back.  Then a few years ago I purchased a disc planner to test it out.  I don't use stickers but like the flexability of adding pages as needed besides the monthly and weekly sections.  I have pages for the books and projects as mentioned earlier.  I also keep track of all medical appointments on one page -- makes it easy to schedulet those appointments the following year for a year and a day later then current year one was.  Also any online purchases I made.  There a section in the front where I started tracking my steps -- my watch is attached to the phone and I can go back several weeks to update that page.

I plan to save the dividers from previous years and relabel them for those pages I want to keep -- medical, etc.  The other pages I will shred after a while.  Eventually I will use one of the old planners just for my projects.  

[debthaven]

It's interesting to see how everybody organizes themselves ... I use my printed schedule from Job 1 for day-to-day life, but I see myself going back to a Pocket Filofax after next semester. 

I also keep a plain spiral notebook ... and I use a lot of post-it notes, because it's easy to stick them on my bag, or my computer, or the front door. 

I keep a multi-year, running list of medical appointments on my computer so I can see when I last saw a doctor, and when I need to go back.

Speaking of doctors, I finally managed to find a gyn who accepts new patients.

[finnime]

I keep an Excel worksheet listing with all my todo's, notes and plans. I update it every day and x off things as they're done. It's handy for finding phone numbers and other miscellaneous on future days, too. Works for me. I'm really bad with paper, but good with electronic files.