2024 Organize & Declutter

[nikiz628]

Happy Monday, friends! 
I hope everyone has a wonderful, warm, and productive week. 

I just wanted to share a random tidbit that has been helping me. I saw a tiktok from an ADHD support account that had a little song with the words "Don't put it down, put it away." It was basically a reminder for those that struggle with cleaning and clutter to actually PUT the item away vs. just sitting it down in the room it goes in. I don't think you need to have a disorder to use this helpful hint, I myself do not have ADHD. But I do find myself singing it in my head when I am carrying stuff around the house now. It's been very helpful because I am definitely one that will move the items to their proper room to put away later, which just makes me have to deal with said item twice. 

[finnime]

Beautiful work, startsmart.

[Empire the P.A.]

I did it! I finally dropped off the donation items that were sitting in my car. I had to go to a second Salvation Army store but it is done. The first one I went to had no available parking nearby and I had too much stuff to carry far. 

[Iggy aka IG]

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  I am a few pages behind here due to being out sick, but I wanted to check in.

Over the weekend:
-5 loads of laundry including sheets and throw blankets
-Emptied, reloaded and started the dishwasher
-Got in some reading
-Meal planned for the week
-Processed boiled eggs, produce, and overnight oats
-Baked cornbread, flax seed muffins and biscuits (winter nesting has set in)

And, most notably, I revisited the to do list I made late 2022.  Wanting to get something done that didn't involve stirring up a lot of dust, I removed the wax off of my crystal candleholders.  This had been on the list since Halloween 2022.   It took 10 minutes. 

[TheOtherMe]

I am guilty of putting things down but not away.  I am very guilty of this.  

[Sharon]

This afternoon when I went to install my new combination smoke/carbon monoxide detector I discovered that it wouldn't fit on the base of the one that I was replacing.  They are the same brand but the new base is smaller.  I took down the old base, then painted that little area.  I will come back to that project later.

I also got some of the snow off the tarp on the swimming pool.  The snow is starting to melt and we are having enough issues with rain water weighting down the tarp.

This morning I ended up doing a load of laundry because my breakfast attacked me.  I had made a very nice breakfast sandwich and I knew the egg was still runny but that is normally okay.  I bit into the sandwich and egg yolk squirted all down the front of my bathrobe.  It also got some on my cheek somehow. 

[finnime]

DH has been going through his clothes, so I must do that, too. He has filled the hamper. I'll run a few loads of laundry and drop off the donations this week. That should do it for the primary bedroom, except I still need to find places for some Stuff I brought up from the basement.

Everything's in progress but nothing is quite done yet.

[startsmart]

The hot water came back (again) yesterday and I took a long shower. Dishes and laundry are mostly caught up and the weather should stay above 30F for a few days. The cabinet painting is going well, having the doors laid out on the table is saving me a lot of time. 

[TheOtherMe]

May I ask why your hot water keeps going out?

I made a very good decision last night.  With ice predicted overnight, I decided to let my trash go for another week.  My driveway is a sheet of ice this morning.

[Iggy aka IG]

Yum, Sharon, I love what I call "dippy" eggs!  Sorry it went everywhere!

Good job on the clothing review, finnime.

Lungs are getting clearer day by day.  I've been making a point to walk around fussing about the kitchen and here at the office to regain strength.

Yesterday:
-Emptied 3 boxes and put away their contents here at the office
-2 emptied boxes will go into the recycling bin, one will be used to start another Goodwill box at home
-I'll do a quick load of laundry tonight which involves stairs, also good for the lungs

[debthaven]

LOL at being attacked by your breakfast Sharon ! You made me laugh. 

I'm glad you're feeling better Iggy aka IG . 

I was sick last weekend ... I actually stayed in bed all day Friday. 

DD is here for 2.5 days! We're so happy to see her.

I'm hoping to help DH do more on his Shitepile this week, and ideally his closet too. I'm still on a (too) reduced schedule until my 4 staff classes start again in mid Feb. I finally feel like I have more energy now that we're back to above-freezing temps.

They're replacing the boiler part on Thursday. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Sorry you were also sick, debthaven.  'Tis the season apparently.  

I woke up at a decent hour today, took the garbage out and then stopped at Wally World for a few things.  Oh, how I love to go in there early in the day when it's not so crazy.  

[Iggy aka IG]

Per TheOtherMe's suggestion several years ago, I chatted with XM radio today to lock in another year of "promo" rate which is 2/3 less than the regular.  I also confirmed with the customer service rep there is no savings advantage to paying annually.

[TheOtherMe]

I picked up my fresh cooked meals today.  I think I have found the best time to pick up.  They open at noon.  The time I got there right at noon, there was a line.  Not doing that again.  

Since then I was getting there about 12:15 PM.  Still a line and last week women were standing in the doorway talking.  It was not with the owner.  Because of the snow I needed them to leave so I could get a parking place.

Today I got there about 12:30 PM.  No line and much easier to find a parking spot.  So I will shoot for 12:30 in the future.

I didn't realize until today I am supposed to return the box they put the food in.  I have 3 boxes in my garage so they are now in my car for next time.

Most of the items I but are in reuseable containers so I wash those and return them.

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 24, 2024 14:52:51 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Per TheOtherMe 's suggestion several years ago, I chatted with XM radio today to lock in another year of "promo" rate which is 2/3 less than the regular.  I also confirmed with the customer service rep there is no savings advantage to paying annually.

I don't think they do the annual payment any more like they used to.  My promo rate expires in 12 months but they didn't want the money when I called.  I pay monthly.

[debthaven]

We took DD out to dinner and dropped her at DS2's apartment. She has a very early train home tomorrow. This way she can take an Uber to the station, and we don't have to get up at 4.30. 

I'm washing her bedding before DS1 & Co arrive in about two weeks. (The grandkids sleep in DD's room.) Lots of comings and goings these days!

[Sharon]

This afternoon I got the one combination smoke / carbon monoxide detector installed.  That will allow me to eliminate the one carbon monoxide detector that was in the hallway about 5 feet away from the smoke detector.

 I then went and took out screws all down the length of the hallway and filled the holes.  I think it was two owners ago who put up all the yard art and what appears to be indoor art.  My hallway isn't that long, it has 4 doors off of it and a floor to ceiling linen closet at the far end.  I pulled out 4 sets of good sized screws that also had the anchors in the wall.  They must have had heavy art all the way down the hallway.  There was also a single screw, again with an anchor, above one of the bedroom doors.  There is a good size mirror in the hallway that was there when I moved in.

I think I will try and paint the hallway this weekend.  It is an off white so it won't need to be primered.  I got another combination smoke / carbon monoxide detector when I was out running errands yesterday and I will put that one in the family room.  It will mean I have to take down the new smoke detector that I just installed.  Again it will allow me to eliminate another carbon monoxide detector only which was also in the room.  I will move the new smoke detector that is in the family room to my bedroom.  All the detectors in this house seem to be reaching the 10 year end of life mark so might as well get them replaced.

[snapdragon]

Haven't done much of anything today. 

I plan on washing my dishes and wiping down the kitchen tonight. 

Roofers will possibility be here tomorrow depending on weather. 

[debthaven]

DH and I went through all his shirts, t-shirts and pants today. We have a big bag for the donation bin. I also straightened out his piles, they'd gotten messy.

I'll get to the donation bin later or tomorrow. Done

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Checking in......

glad to see you fine people keeping up with stuff!

Life has been tough the past 1-2 weeks. Not doing too great with the household, but I'm thankful that I don't have to get ready for the cleaner on cleaning day because there is so much going on that the house is indeed a much lower priority. And I'm glad I don't have to fake caring about it when I don't have it in me.

Just keeping up with the easiest of it, and then addressing the worst of it when it gets too distracting.

Hopefully not too much turmoils this weekend, and I can catch up on a bit of it. But still not going to put much pressure on myself.....Will just put in a performative effort rather than trying to get it all sparkling like I would like....

At least temps are up, snow melting and the house is as toasty as I want it to be.....

[jerseygirl]

Curious What do you need to do to get ready for cleaners? I just leave new clean sheets and towels out so they can change

[TheOtherMe]

Since part of the charge is for time, I pick up all of the clutter and put it away.  I clear the countertops in the kitchen and bathroom.  

They can get in and out faster that way.

My cleaners to not change my towels and sheets.  They clean and leave.

[Iggy aka IG]

jerseygirl, the night before my housecleaner visit:

-Wash the majority of the dishes
-After supper I move the stove grates, wipe down the large chunks, spray the stovetop down with a degreaser and let it soak for a while
-If applicable, put away the Crock Pot and/or toaster for less items for L to move
-Pick up anything off the floor on my side of the bed such as water and lotion bottles
-Close the door to DH's Man Cave
-Lock the roll top portion of my desk.  Not that I don't trust L, I just like my privacy with certain things.
-DH clears clutter from his living room side table
-Put shoes into the coat closet, if applicable
-Pick up my side of the walk-in closet if applicable.  Currently it's a mess from being out of town and subsequently sick.

The morning of:
-DH and I both completely clear off our bathroom counter again, for easier access.  Plus, I don't want cleaning product overspray on my toothbrush.
-Make the bed
-Put away any dishes in the dish drainer
-Take out the garbage

[soupandstew]

I haven't done much in the decluttering department the past week, but it will get bumped up the priority list next week.  DH has several bags of clothes for Goodwill and I have some too so we'll swing by the drop-off site.  

[moneysquirrel]

jerseygirl -- My list is similar to TheOtherMe and Iggy aka IG. I try to clear all flat surfaces of things.  I do my own linens and towels.  My majorJust  areas that I want cleaned are vacumning, bath and kitchen, mopping and dusting.  Including ceiling fans and window sills.  I try to limit items that would have to be moved to make things go faster for them.

[moneysquirrel]

The last few days have not been as productive as I would have wished.  The main water main for the area broke and the water pressure was non-existent for several hours and then we were under boil water advisory until about an hour ago.  Therefore no laundry was done recently and is on the list for tomorrow.  I think that I will also begin the process of moving my plants back outside and hope no additional need to move them again will occur.  We also have had several days of heavy rain and more expected tomorrow.  

I am keeping up with most things but spending a lot of time on the computer.  A few naps on those rainy days have also occurred.  Classes started back last week so I am getting back into a routine.

Take care all!

[debthaven]

We don't do much to get ready for our cleaner, except for stripping the bed and starting a load. The cleaner changes our sheets too jerseygirl   . I do the towels. 

We have a big Lagostina pressure cooker. At some point a part disappeared. I kept hoping it would turn up. This week I ordered a replacement part on Amazon. For 15 euros, we have a pressure cooker again! It's so satisfying to repair something rather than replace it. 

I remade DD's bed so we're ready for the next visitors in two weeks. 

Sorry to hear about the water issues moneysquirrel . Hope everything is back to normal now.

Courage Rukh O'Rorke !

[TheOtherMe]

My cleaner comes monthly and I'm not good about putting things back in their place.  I do bring on some of this myself.

I usually put the cat toys away the night before but some have always been brought back out.  Sometimes I find them and sometimes the cleaners find them.

[startsmart]

Today was fairly productive! I got the house cleaned up and finally moved the Christmas bins to the laundry room (final stop: garage). I had a friend over for dinner which I made in the instant pot and it was great. Then I gave my friend the small calendar my mom sent me for Christmas which is not my style at all. So technically 1 item out the door!

The boxes with donate items are mostly full so those need to go to the car tomorrow.

I have all the veggies and chicken ready to make a curry tomorrow which I’m very excited about. I just need to make or buy some naan for the meal.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Jan 25, 2024 12:35:11 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Curious What do you need to do to get ready for cleaners? I just leave new clean sheets and towels out so they can change

as others mentioned, it's really just putting things out of their way mostly.

For me the kitchen is one area - it is making sure the dishes are done, and putting things like condiments into the cabinets. Decrumb if neccessary 

Making sure all cat boxes are scooped, sides wiped a bit if necessary, and any excess litter swept up as I prefer that not be vacuumed.

I try to make sure that anything chunky that I wouldn't want to go up the vacuum if I was vacuuming is swept as she will vacuum anything.

Make sure that any cleaning stuff is ready - like if mop heads and cloths were left in washer previous time or anything low like murphy's.

I keep large plush throws over the couch due to cats, so I would strip those for washing and so she can vacuum the couch.

I attend to any cluttery hot spots, or anything that - oh how embarrassing! that I wouldn't want anyone to see. Like a stray pair of ripped up underwear was on top of the hamper I'm just gonna wash those and use one more time before throwing away! But - Not like I want anyone to see it.