2024 Organize & Declutter

[raeoflyte]

I got a jump on decluttering for the year but I need to borrow my dad's truck to get it all hauled to good will. Will call him in just a few minutes to get going on that.

I'm going to really focus on my stuff, what my parents have left here, and keeping my kids on track before hounding dh on his stuff. But his stuff cannot expand either, and my patienceisnt endless.

Does anyone have a pre-made bullet journal or printable bullet journal they like and would recommend?

[azucena]

Just went thru DD11s room in about two hours. She asked for help getting things sorted and situated. Two small trash bags left.

[startsmart]

Jan 1, 2024 13:42:04 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Does anyone have a pre-made bullet journal or printable bullet journal they like and would recommend?

I just get the Essentials brand from Amazon because their 192 page journal runs under $15. It doesn’t have any grids set up so you may need a ruler and pens. I love my journal, it’s been set up for a few weeks now and I’m starting to fill it in today.

[Pink Cashmere]

Jan 1, 2024 13:42:04 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

I got a jump on decluttering for the year but I need to borrow my dad's truck to get it all hauled to good will. Will call him in just a few minutes to get going on that.

I'm going to really focus on my stuff, what my parents have left here, and keeping my kids on track before hounding dh on his stuff. But his stuff cannot expand either, and my patienceisnt endless.

Does anyone have a pre-made bullet journal or printable bullet journal they like and would recommend?

Just curious, what do you mean by premade?

I always just buy and use a blank journal (I always buy Moleskin, but they aren’t inexpensive).

[Pink Cashmere]

I’m in! I decluttered my desk today, and I’m embarrassed to say how much crap I threw away.

I don’t have specific goals in mind yet, but my whole house is in need of decluttering and organization. I will probably just be doing random areas that get on my nerves, until I come up with some kind of plan. Cooperation would be even better, but I’m not counting on that. I actually like (for lack of a better word) getting rid of crap, because I really enjoy the end result.

I NEED to do this for my sanity!

[Empire the P.A.]

Tonight the garbage goes out to the curb so opened my fridge to check what needed to be purged from all the holidaying:
1. leftover ramen spice packets
2. McD’s chicken nugget sauces
3. leftover mystery meat  
4. wilted red cabbage

to be continued….

[momof3]

I'm in for this challenge.  I don't have specific goals in mind but bigger projects will include decluttering the crawl as the holidays come and go and I pull bins out to decorate/toss and declutter the garage in the spring.  Over the next couple of weeks I want to work on some closets and kitchen cabinets/drawers.  I'm hoping to average 30 items a month.  Happy New Year!  

[jerseygirl]

Well sold most of YDSons rock records on eBay for nice amount - almost $1000! Plus cleaned up corner of a closet
I listed some of my jazz records but no takers . Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane. Surprised no interest in these jazz greats. So not decluttering that way
While Jerseyguy is in rehab, I’ve been going down to basement daily and filling up 2 kitchen large bags to throw away. But would take me years just 2 bags/day. But I do feel I’m doing something
I’m not sure about books. Mom was a librarian and both Jerseyguy and I were voracious readers. Mostly kindle now so not adding. But the books we do have are like old friends, LOTS of old friends!

[raeoflyte]

Jan 1, 2024 17:25:43 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Jan 1, 2024 13:42:04 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

I got a jump on decluttering for the year but I need to borrow my dad's truck to get it all hauled to good will. Will call him in just a few minutes to get going on that.

I'm going to really focus on my stuff, what my parents have left here, and keeping my kids on track before hounding dh on his stuff. But his stuff cannot expand either, and my patienceisnt endless.

Does anyone have a pre-made bullet journal or printable bullet journal they like and would recommend?

Just curious, what do you mean by premade?

I always just buy and use a blank journal (I always buy Moleskin, but they aren’t inexpensive).

I like a lot of the the bullet journal style - but I hate my handwriting and I get hung up on the set up piece if it. I would rather just jump in with a pre-made -basic- template.

[Sharon]

The Christmas stuff is down and put away.  I also able to consolidate a couple of boxes by getting rid of a few things.  Then I started looking for some coins that I know I have but can't find at the moment.  I found some others, but can't find the box I was searching for.  Once I get all the small amount of coin sets that I have rounded up I want to see about selling them.  There isn't anything overly valuable but if I get a few dollars and some things our of the house it will be a win.

I dug out my great aunts crystal set and was trying to research and perhaps sell it on replacements.com.  When I was having issues uploading a photo I decided to set that aside for another day.

[Lizard Queen]

I never could wrap my head around bullet Journaling, but I used to use this planner, which is sort of along those lines:
www.amazon.com/Essential-Monthly-Weekly-Planner-Easy/dp/B0CHSF9S21/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=135OGDE6IKOPD&keywords=vertical+weekly+planner+2024&qid=1704155112&sprefix=vert%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-3

I really liked it, but needed more room to write my schedules in. I don't know if this is what you're looking for, though. I'm mostly just using an excel calendar template now for all the schedules.

[Pink Cashmere]

Jan 1, 2024 18:54:55 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Well sold most of YDSons rock records on eBay for nice amount - almost $1000! Plus cleaned up corner of a closet
I listed some of my jazz records but no takers . Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane. Surprised no interest in these jazz greats. So not decluttering that way
While Jerseyguy is in rehab, I’ve been going down to basement daily and filling up 2 kitchen large bags to throw away. But would take me years just 2 bags/day. But I do feel I’m doing something
I’m not sure about books. Mom was a librarian and both Jerseyguy and I were voracious readers. Mostly kindle now so not adding. But the books we do have are like old friends, LOTS of old friends!

2 bags/day IS doing something!

I felt the same way about my books, and I had them all over my house. In addition to my overflowing bookcase, I had them in piles and in totes, even in my attic. I had books I was required to read in high school books, I bought when I was a young teen, and every book I bought from my late teens. I kept them ALL. Until maybe 7 years ago, I read 2 or 3 books/week, so that was an LOT of books in my house. And like you said, they were like old friends. I was really kind of weird about my books. But I finally got to the point that I could bear to part with some of them, with the goal of only keeping what would fit in my bookcase. I didn’t manage to get that far, but I did let a LOT of them go.

[Pink Cashmere]

Jan 1, 2024 18:58:40 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Jan 1, 2024 17:25:43 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Just curious, what do you mean by premade?

I always just buy and use a blank journal (I always buy Moleskin, but they aren’t inexpensive).

I like a lot of the the bullet journal style - but I hate my handwriting and I get hung up on the set up piece if it. I would rather just jump in with a pre-made -basic- template.

I get it on the handwriting! And mine isn’t even consistent, it’s all over the place, depending on the day lol. Sometimes it’s okay, sometimes it’s terrible. Sometimes it’s as neat and uniform, as if it was typewritten. Other times it’s in italics, which is sometimes neat, but often not. Sometimes it’s in cursive, or a mix, which is all over the place too.

Does that mean I am a crazy person for real?

Please don’t take any of this personal or as judgement…. For ME, I’ve learned that if I keep my bullet journal simple, I am more likely to use it regularly. I try to use one of my best handwriting styles when I first set it up, but it’s whatever after that lol. And I keep the way I use it simple. I tried for decades to use planners and such, and bought a new one every year, but none of them ever really worked for me, for one reason or another. Then I discovered bullet journaling and got hooked. And just because I’m a busybody, here’s a link that I like for keeping it simple. 

link


I promise I won’t be offended at all if you don’t want to even click on the link or whatever. I get it that you gotta do whatever works for you.

[TheOtherMe]

There are some books I have not been able to get rid of.  They mean too much to me.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 1, 2024 13:42:04 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

I got a jump on decluttering for the year but I need to borrow my dad's truck to get it all hauled to good will. Will call him in just a few minutes to get going on that.

I'm going to really focus on my stuff, what my parents have left here, and keeping my kids on track before hounding dh on his stuff. But his stuff cannot expand either, and my patienceisnt endless.

Does anyone have a pre-made bullet journal or printable bullet journal they like and would recommend?

I think it depends on what you mean by bullet journal. 
Erin Condren and Happy Planner have great stuff that is both organized and pretty. 
Full Focus planner is plain but excellent regarding zeroing in on goals. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 1, 2024 17:11:37 GMT -5 startsmart said:

Jan 1, 2024 13:42:04 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Does anyone have a pre-made bullet journal or printable bullet journal they like and would recommend?

I just get the Essentials brand from Amazon because their 192 page journal runs under $15. It doesn’t have any grids set up so you may need a ruler and pens. I love my journal, it’s been set up for a few weeks now and I’m starting to fill it in today.

raeoflyte , oh, if you mean a blank notebook with dot or grid pages to create your own, then I'm all about leuchtturm1917

[moneysquirrel]

I use a dashbook planner from Happy Planner.  I am a list maker and retired so this type of planner is best for me.  I moved to this type of planner after using a notebook for years.  My lists are a lot shorter than before as a lot of "school activities" are no longer needed and this type of planner works for me.  Also I can add additional pages as needed.  

[debthaven]

My house is a wreck. I've been vacuuming every other day and I keep up with the kitchen but with 2 small kids and the bad weather it's really been non-stop. 

DS1/DDIL/E/I leave Thursday. My cleaner usually comes on Wednesday but this week she's coming on Friday, after they leave. She'll clean and help me remake the beds. She also agreed to do an extra hour this week. 

I go back to work on Friday, but WFH. I need a vacation after my two weeks off with kids and grandkids LOL. 

One definite goal for January is to declutter the pantry/fridge/freezer ...

[tcu2003]

I'm back. No specific goals other than send out more than what comes in, and continue to declutter. For starters, I want to make sure I spend at least 5-10 minutes per day that I'm home (so giving myself grace on travel days and days where I go from work to kid stuff to bedtime routine) on decluttering and/or cleaning. 

I started with decluttering the produce/crisper drawers and bottom shelf in my fridge this morning when the chicken I had marinating leaked all over.    That definitely wasn't on my list. 

Our Christmas decorations are mostly put away, so hoping to finish that tonight. 

DS(11) went through his pants drawer with me today, and we pulled out all the ones that were too short and/or small. I have those in a bag to drop off at a friend's house for their son, but need DS to go through his shirts drawer first so I can just drop them all off at once. 

[moneysquirrel]

Between the trash going out tonight and the donation pickup this morning 102 items have left my home.  Glad to get those items out of the garage.  I am sure that a new bag of donations will be started soon as I still have several pieces of clothing that I have not tried on yet.  

[anciana]

Took down the wall calendars since I bought the new ones that I wanted to put up. Slow start but, progress, ha! 😉

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2024 15:39:27 GMT -5 debthaven said:

My house is a wreck. I've been vacuuming every other day and I keep up with the kitchen but with 2 small kids and the bad weather it's really been non-stop. 

DS1/DDIL/E/I leave Thursday. My cleaner usually comes on Wednesday but this week she's coming on Friday, after they leave. She'll clean and help me remake the beds. She also agreed to do an extra hour this week. 

I go back to work on Friday, but WFH. I need a vacation after my two weeks off with kids and grandkids LOL. 

One definite goal for January is to declutter the pantry/fridge/freezer ...

Yes, but it's a wreck because your family is there. And that's great! 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Okey dokey! I need to officially start myself on this thread!

For the time being, I think I'll just set some January goals. It seems more realistic for me at this particular juncture. 




For January, 
I need to 
Put away all of the winter decorations (this will happen at the end of the month)
Solidify cleaning lists for each room area of the house
File the Pile
Set up my new camping trailer
Complete at lest 30% of the kitchen cleaning list
Clean garages #1& #2

[finnime]

It will be strenuous but I want to end this month with: guest room cleared of all photography supplies, photos stored away; primary bedroom cleared of superfluous clothing and miscellany; holiday decorations stored away. I also want to lose some weight, but that's an ancillary goal. Decluttering and organizing are the big ones.

[debthaven]

finnime since I think you don't have guests staying for long periods, is there a closet in the guest room that you could use part of for the photography supplies? It might be easier to find a way to store those items upstairs, since you use them so often during part of the year. 

Just a thought. 

I changed our bedding today to make it easier for the cleaner on Friday. I changed DS2's after Christmas, so only 4 beds to remake on Friday.

[raeoflyte]

Thank you for the planner suggestions. I'll look through them more this weekend.

I really am looking more for something that is pre-printed. So when I fall.off the wagon but want to pick it back up mid March I'm not creating new pages just to even start. Because that just doesn't happen.

But reading your posts and trying to come up with answers when I didn't have time to post made me realize it's the goal tracking stuff I really want. I like to be able to make a quick mark or color that I accomplished something and then sit back and see the trend. The last couple years I have too many goals I'm trying to track so that's another thing I need to think on.

[anciana]

Jan 3, 2024 9:08:48 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Thank you for the planner suggestions. I'll look through them more this weekend.

I really am looking more for something that is pre-printed. So when I fall.off the wagon but want to pick it back up mid March I'm not creating new pages just to even start. Because that just doesn't happen.

But reading your posts and trying to come up with answers when I didn't have time to post made me realize it's the goal tracking stuff I really want. I like to be able to make a quick mark or color that I accomplished something and then sit back and see the trend. The last couple years I have too many goals I'm trying to track so that's another thing I need to think on.

After all these talks of planners, I ended up going to Walmart to check some out for this year. I use medium size ones as journals so not really as they’re meant to be used. And I need to see them in order to figure out if I’d like them, online ordering would be hard for me here. But, I noticed they had different kinds, like a budget planner, fitness planner and the one I think you might be talking about if I’ve understood you correctly, a task planner. It was this one:
www.walmart.com/ip/1735082485
Pen + Gear Task Planner, Undated, Emerald Green Paper Cover, 112 Pages, Medium Size

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you for the new thread startsmart .

I'll start by listing what I did over vacation, and then move on to this year's goals:

-Finished the 2024 calendar mailing-Yay!
-Cleared off my home office desktop
-Hosted Christmas and an early New Year's Eve gathering
-On actual NYE, DH and I had steak and shrimp, and we watched the original 1960 Ocean's Eleven.
-Completely put away holiday decorations
-Swept the main room floor (despite the fact we have a faux tree, it still drops needles)
-Leftover holiday snacks were packed up for lunches, sent with DH to his work, or stored in the back pantry for future entertaining.
-Tossed two pairs of old skivvies and a holey t-shirt
-Helped DH and the neighbor move my treadmill downstairs
-Next up in the Cardio Cave is to redecorate.  It will go from an ocean theme to a rock n' roll one.  Details to follow as changes are made.
-Started a puzzle DH bought me, did a bunch of reading, and played too much of a video game.

Iggy's 2023 goals (copied and pasted from last year):
~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...?


The results:
I ended the year up 6 pounds.
I did pay down one credit card, but bought tickets for this weekend, so it's a wash.
The photos remain untouched
The treadmill has been moved as mentioned above.  I need to figure out this month's budget before putting a shout out on my social media for a used chair.
The powder room also remains untouched.


Also from 2023:
-And instead of buying more new books, saving links and DVR programs to watch/read later, I am going to address the current backlog.

Results:
I bought just one book, saved a few links for later reference but did delete a bunch, and we no longer have a DVR, so that's irrelevant.

Happy New Year, everyone. 

[startsmart]

Yesterday I got all of Christmas taken down and organized back into bins. I have a few kitchen items to wash and pack today and then need to labe the bins again. The labels I used last year are on the floor of the garage.

I have been keeping up on household chores so there’s not much cleaning to do. I’ll likely have enough for a load of laundry today and I want to bake some cookies but otherwise a pretty normal day.

[soupandstew]

We took the first of two loads of Christmas stuff to the storage locker before lunch.  Second load will have to go this weekend because I'm tied up with the plumber tomorrow and Friday is 100% chance of rain. I also went through a compartmented organizer in the office and ditched assorted recipes I'll never make, business cards, flyers to events attended last year etc.-it filled a plastic grocery bag.