2024 Organize & Declutter

[saveinla]

We have someone who is staying for a month in our city and needed quite a few things for the kitchen. I was able to give them all my extras. If I get them back, it's fine, but if I don't get them also, I should be fine. Guess that will be most of my decluttering this month, since we will be too busy with lots of visitors staying with us and too much to do at work and home. 

The house is well maintained, so at least that is a good thing. My kitchen has been getting a workout since Dec 18th and will be that way until end of Jan. Hope everyone is having a great start to the NY. 

I still want to retire at 55 later this year, even though I may not enough saved and do not have a pension. But how much is enough - seems to be an existential question.

[TheOtherMe]

I was quite ill when I retired at 47.  For me, I had earned a pension and it was the best decision I ever made for my health.  

I know on paper, it looked like I shouldn't do it.  My dear friend has told me many times over that he knew if I didn't do it on the early out offer, I wasn't going to live to 55 when I would get full retirement.  

[nikiz628]

So far, everything that I have decluttered is in limbo in my garage. I asked H if he could set up a few tables out there so that I can sort it by sell/donate- and then get photos of the sell stuff to actually get it listed on FB. We have a lofty goal this year to get the garage back to usable space. It's been a Hoarders episode for years. We don't really need or care to park in it, but I would love to turn it into a game room/hang out of sorts for my kids to use when they have friends over. Its detached and not super close to the house, but next to our pool and outdoor bar & grill area, so I see a lot of potential in this idea. But step 1 is GET THE CRAP out. 

[wvugurl26]

The last time DH took stuff to donate for me one bag was missed. I was so annoyed. But not annoyed enough to take the bag myself.

I'm going to finish the desk area organization project this weekend. And get the 3 sets of Christmas gifts wrapped, packed and ready to ship on Monday. My motivation was just gone in December to do anything.

[startsmart]

I am decluttering some freezer items and making soup (chicken breasts, tomatoes, frozen veggie mix plus fresh peppers, onions, black beans and rice). While that I cooking I am sewing up burp rags in the living room.

Some of you may have been around when I was making the burp rags from 2015-2019 for a local charity in California. Now they’re just gifts for friends. Well one friend has a 6 week old and asked if I could make more since they’re so handy. It prompted me to get the fabric out and start finishing (I have WAY too much fabric lol). I am hoping to get another 8-12 mailed out to them on Monday.

Otherwise I may get motivated to change into old clothes and start painting! I have 3 projects to do and it’s just cold enough I haven’t started. It snowed Friday but the majority has already melted.

[soupandstew]

Jan 6, 2024 7:33:47 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

So far, everything that I have decluttered is in limbo in my garage. I asked H if he could set up a few tables out there so that I can sort it by sell/donate- and then get photos of the sell stuff to actually get it listed on FB. We have a lofty goal this year to get the garage back to usable space. It's been a Hoarders episode for years. We don't really need or care to park in it, but I would love to turn it into a game room/hang out of sorts for my kids to use when they have friends over. Its detached and not super close to the house, but next to our pool and outdoor bar & grill area, so I see a lot of potential in this idea. But step 1 is GET THE CRAP out. 

I love your idea for transforming your current garage space into something your kids and their friends will treasure.  Family time is prime time for sure

[TheOtherMe]

I have been decluttering computer files.

[debthaven]

I tried to replace our everyday glasses ... we're down to 12 from 16 after the holidays. The store no longer has them (it's going out of business), and I can't find them online. Oh well. 

I'm having a quiet weekend after having the kids and grandkids here for 2 weeks. Work wise, I'll have an easy January: the students go back mid-Jan, and my staff classes only start in mid/late Feb. That means a small paycheck for those months, but you can't have everything. I'll only be at school one day/week until late March. 

That's a long time to have visitors saveinla ! Do you have a break here and there between guests? If you opt not to retire yet, could you go down to PT, or work PT as a consultant?

nikiz628 that sounds like the perfect "pool house"! 

I remember the burp rags startsmart ! We are decluttering our freezer too ...

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

seriousthistime, that is a lot of traveling and tasks! 

nikiz628, that bonus room sounds like a great plan. 




I'm struggling with productivity today (Saturday). DH and I did have one good hour during which we put away some more of the outside room party decorations away  the already-packed boxes and totes of Christmas decor up on the shelves. 

[raeoflyte]

I didn't accomplish much in the decluttering front but I cleaned up my desk a bit and moved the piano back since dh moved the tree. Tomorrow I'm moving my desk again. Ive been really struggling to find a good wfh space lately.

My planner came and I need to get it started.

Dh worked on fish tanks. The patio is a mess but inside has progress.

[Sharon]

DD and family came over today and DSIL installed the curtain rod for the patio door in the family room.  We got the drapes hung up.  It is nice to have drapes in that room now.  It is really starting to look nice with drapes and the new furniture. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 6, 2024 20:17:21 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I tried to replace our everyday glasses ... we're down to 12 from 16 after the holidays. The store no longer has them (it's going out of business), and I can't find them online. Oh well. 

I need to replace ours. I think we only have 10 tall ones left. They're so beat-up at this point, they always look dirty

[Empire the P.A.]

I am a slow starter so I have to make small goals in the decluttering. If I aim too big I give up. So I walk around and randomly pick a drawer or cabinet to go through and clear it out and rehome things to a better spot or throw out the random junk that was left there for some unknown reason. I find stuff that I had forgotten I had or where it was kept. Sometimes I keep going but usually I stop with the one spot I chose, I’m lazy like that.  I feel accomplished just getting something done.
One good habit that I started was going around the house on garbage night and finding things that need to be tossed. 

[finnime]

Got to sort and store Christmas over the next 2 days. With that space cleared I can make progress on other fronts: photography stuff, wardrobe, office stuff. Also need to tackle a huge drawer in my kitchen in which I stowed myriad utensils and tools. It's a sort of advanced junk drawer at this point. I have a lot of specialty cooking and baking items, many of which landed in the drawer. Need to sort it out because it's so jammed it's of limited use.

I'm taking a leaf from your collective books and tossing one wardrobe item for every one I bring in. To go this week will be: 2 tops, 1 pants, 1 slippers, 1 sneakers and 1 sweater.

[debthaven]

finnime Ikea has different sizes of cutlery/kitchen drawer organizers. I'm sure other places have them too, but we don't have as much choice here. 

ETA: I was unclear yesterday. I was hoping to replace the broken glasses ...

[seriousthistime]

I love the IKEA kitchen drawer organizers.  I even moved them from CA to IL with all the other stuff, hoping they'd fit in my new place.  They were actually too deep (front to back) to fit so I brought them to DS's house and he sawed off about an inch from one end to make them fit.

Once I get the new kitchen done, I can trek to IKEA again (the three places closest to me are 2-3 hours away) and shop for more organizers.  Other stuff too, of course. 

[azucena]

A friend and I have an ikea date today. Great place to just wander and chat.

[wvugurl26]

When I was organizing my kitchen, I bought an adjustable bamboo cutlery organizer and adjustable bamboo drawer dividers on Amazon. I also got a lid rack and pan organizer. I like IKEA but it's at least a 2 hour round trip in good traffic and traffic is rarely good coming and going.

[saveinla]

Jan 7, 2024 10:24:27 GMT -5 azucena said:

A friend and I have an ikea date today. Great place to just wander and chat.

Get a good walk and have a great snack or dinner also

[finnime]

Drawer dividers are a good idea in general. I've got bins in the huge drawer right now. The problem is that it's so deep from top to bottom--20" or so.

[wvugurl26]

One thing I saw for super deep cabinets was to put round containers in and put the cooking utensils and such in those. My problem drawer is only 7 inches deep so it doesn't work. The other one of that size holds the dish towels and pot holders. I haven't found a good solution for that drawer. I did purge it and I got a small round crock for the counter. The tongs live there and I try to keep at least 1 rubber spatula, spoon and spatula in it.

[TheOtherMe]

If the weather that is forecast happens, my recycling will not be going away this week.  We are to get about 6 inches of snow starting Monday evening.  I will take the trash out tomorrow afternoon before the snow starts, but the recycling is not full, so it can wait.

I will most likely be hauling the bin back to the garage in snow and I am not doing any more than I have to.  Yes, the trash HAS to go this week.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I am both proud and embarrassed to state that I just tossed 26 rags. TWENTY-SIX. 
We downsized our camping trailer, and I'm setting up the new one. 

I also tossed 20 other items. They were duplicates or expired food. 

[busymom]

We're taking down the Christmas tree tonight (the twelve days of Christmas is officially over).  


I sorted through some of my 2023 paperwork yesterday, and shredded what I can live without.  There is still too much paperwork around here, but I'm trying to thin it out.

[Lizard Queen]

I looked high and low for kitchen drawer organizers that would fit our drawers without sliding around. I found some on ikea's website. They fit great front to back, but are too wide side to side. The way they're shaped, though we should be able to shave them down to fit, but my DH doesn't want to try that. Still, I'm much happier with these than the prior ones.

I haven't been decluttering much since the end of year push. I'll ease back into it. We've been dealing with our dog, and now my DH is set on taking her back to the pound tomorrow. She's sweet and cute, so I'm sure she would be readopted. I still don't think we gave her a fair shot, but she was never what I wanted in a pet in the first place. She was exactly what my DH wanted, but his anxiety has gotten so bad he can't deal with her. My older son is very attached and upset, but not enough to put much more effort into caring for her.

As far as planners/calendars go, I love checking out various ones. I'm very calendar driven these days--so much so that I type out calendar in excel and print it the current month to stick on our fridge. I've also been writing out a more detailed weekly one for the fridge. This week there's a really cute kitchen calendar at Aldi that I got, and I'm really digging it. I've also got a paper planner I use, but it's hard to keep up when there is so much going on all the time. It's easier for me to figure out the logistics when I stare at the one in Excel. Last year, I was really into the habit trackers, but I discovered that I can only focus on a couple things at a time. You can buy planner stickers for that sort of thing, though.

Well, at least we got Christmas put away this afternoon, and I put a dent into Mt. Washmore.

[moneysquirrel]

All of the Christmas decor has been picked up and stored away.   The house looks so empty without all of the holiday cheer.  May be putting out Mardi Gras stuff out later this week.  I only have a few items that I display so only one small area gets the treatment.

Did several chores this morning/afternoon as I had some spills and had footprint evidence so I mopped the kitchen and bath today.  My cleaners have cancelled tomorrow so I am glad I took care of that today.  It was driving me bonkers to see all the footprints.  Also picked up several of the flat areas that tends to collect stuff.  Started shredding papers (my old shredder came back to life.  Will be keeping the one I just bought as I have no idea how long the old one will last.) and managed to shred five grocery plastic bags of paper.  Will have several more bags before I finish taming the paper clutter that got out of control the last few months.  I try to shred as things come in the mail but that didn't happen for a few weeks so the paper monster reared its ugly head.

Will be waiting for a new appointment with the cleaners -- evidently there have been some personnel changes so a new team/person will be coming but logistics have not been worked out as of yet.  

I will be starting a new donation bag this week.  I am beginning the annual/semi-annual sweep through the dresser drawers, closets and other storage areas in this house.  I have also thrown out several items this week and I am sure that others will also suffer the same fate.  Making progress but slowly.  

Keep up the progress all! Will check in when I can.

[raeoflyte]

Dc was willing to donate several big toys. So we got those, plus a toy box, and a box of board games we don't play out of the house. The kids are ready to get rid of the loose Legos so I'm waiting to hear from sil if she wants them for the niblings. We have a lot of those. There's hope for the basement.

[Sharon]

We had an unseasonably nice day today, blue skies, no wind, and not freezing cold.  I worked outside for a little over two hours, raking leaves.  The fresh air and sunshine were good for the soul.  I also got all the waste baskets emptied and the trash taken out.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I think DH and I were pretty productive today without being overly intense.
Except for one area we cannot get to without moving the new trailer, it is set up with our stuff. 
Speaking of drawer and cabinet organizers, those are essential a camping trailer--so I have lots! 
For keeping them from sliding around, some of them come with feet. However, I tend to line the cupboards and drawers with anti-slip material. 

Except for the winter decorations that I'm keeping up through January, everything Christmasy is put away. 

I also brushed the dog and cleaned up a sore he's created. He's chewed into his back left leg.   My only departure from the house today was to go buy more dog shampoo and a different type of anit-itch/soothing hot spot spray. 

[azucena]

Jan 7, 2024 11:14:17 GMT -5 saveinla said:

Jan 7, 2024 10:24:27 GMT -5 azucena said:

A friend and I have an ikea date today. Great place to just wander and chat.

Get a good walk and have a great snack or dinner also

Check and check. Left dd11 playing cards with her dd16 in the Cafe which gave us 90 uninterrupted minutes. They joined us for the last 45 mins and each whined a bit.