I have been feeling pretty crappy from allergies and asthma recently but I decided that no matter what I would do some housework this weekend because I have Sunday off. I actually feel worse like I may be developing bronchitis (hopefully not pneumonia). So I have definitely been taking a lot of breaks and avoiding anything too dusty. I have managed to wash a few loads of laundry and hung up some of the clothes. I have washed some dishes and I sorted a box of papers into “save”, “recycle” and “shred”. I hope to feel well enough to take some stuff to the recycling place tomorrow.
Bumping this thread. Again.
Remember when I said I wanted to start clearing out the garage? I’d get around to it in October? Well, I finally got after it on Sunday. I’ll generously estimate that I removed or organized 25% of the existing clutter.
I’ve promised myself that I will do more this upcoming Sunday.
And now, having publicly declared my intentions, I have no choice but to follow through.
Am I right?
Right.
Now, for my update, which is a bit of a crisis: due to this goddawful winter the garbage men have not been able to collect the garbage for nearly 6 weeks. Yes, that’s right a month and a half.
First, the dumspter filled up.
Then the snowplow buried it, and the mess froze solid.
They physically can’t get the truck into the area the dumpster is.
Needless to say, this is NOT a good development.
One good thing: because I have cut down on what comes in the house there is much less waste to begin with. I also compost my kitchen scraps, so dealing with those is no problem. Well, I have to trudge through hip-deep snow to get to the deposit site, but disposal is not a problem for that.
I discussed the problem with the landlord and we have the trash neatly stacked in an unheated part of the building’s utility areas. He assures me that either the trash guys will be making pick ups again or as soon as he can get his utility trailer into the parking area he’ll make sure it’s gone. He’s actually pretty pissed off/torn up about it, as he does feel that he’s letting us tenants down on this but really, there is so much snow and ice that many in our area are having trash pick up problems.
I am still keeping up with the dishes, and I’m ready to throw out the old magazines - as soon as I can get my pick up out of the snowdrifts, load it up, and haul them to the recyclers, which will take paper (obviously, at this point throwing them in the dumpster isn’t going to work). I’m also (mostly) keeping up with putting the laundry away.
We’re remodeling our house and I’ll say it’s an expensive way to de-clutter, but boy is it working!
We moved almost everything from the bedroom and kitchen out to the garage and every single item is being re-evaluated before being allowed back in.
I also got a new garage out of the remodel and am instituting a strict use of 5S principles in organizing it. Nothing will be in drawers or behind cabinets, everything is stored on hooks or in clear bins. I’m not even allowing any permanent horizontal surfaces, the only work table is mounted on hinges on the wall and will be folded up when not in use. I’m trying to make the garage “clutter-proof”.
We’re moving sometime between May 2nd and May 15 and at this point I have packed… 5 boxes. I was on a mission to throw stuff away and I was using out 2 bags a week limit to do so (since we have less than a bag of garbage each week normally) but that hasn’t happened since I cleared out backlog out in early January.
If I don’t get motivated soon I’m going to really hate myself sometime around mid April when the panic sets in.
To be entirely fair I’ve spent the last 4 weekends either packing or moving for my two friends who are also moving this year. Friend one moved last weekend, friend two has her house on the market so we spent two weekends packing up stuff into storage to make her house look more spacious.
I spent 1.5 hours on the filing!
I’d say it’s about 1/3 to 1/2 done, some of that remainder being really old stuff that will mostly be tossed or shredded, the most recent stuff has gone through what I call “first sort” where it lands in categories like “Bank ABC” or “Health Care” but not date or otherwise ordered beyond that. It’s not a perfect system but it allows me to find what I need when I need it.
Also have more old magazines piled up to go - but we still are having trash pick up problems. I’ve almost got a pick-up load of stuff to go to the recycler, though, so I’m thinking loading the old magazines in with the aluminum cans and scrap iron would be a good idea.
That looks like a great app, but why do they have to plaster the word “f&#k” all over it? I personally don’t mind the word, but I am trying to set a non-swearing example for my school-age kids, so it makes the app unusable for me.
In other news, I donated a mini-van’s worth of toys and clothes to the church preschool rummage sale, and took another trip to Goodwill to donate a few boxes of other miscellaneous stuff. The garage is starting to look better!
We expect to put our house up for sale soon. A lot of stuff has been discarded (including several things I have since had to replace, but that’s for another thread) but I have to start packing things up.
I have one box almost filled. Woo-hoo.
I really hate this.
I’m not sure if this qualifies as irony but it does tickle me. I have a pile of magazines which need to be read before being sorted/tossed. Many are Oprah magazines and many of those contain articles about decluttering. Yes, I will get around to reading them one day.
I wonder how I should (or even if I should) save the articles on decluttering. I’ve never worked out a really satisfactory way of saving articles I’ve read in magazines. Apart from the pile-on-top-of-each-other-for-years-on-end-and-then-throw-out system.
Scanning helps me. I have a folder on my computer desktop for things to read. Things take up much less space there.
Of course scanning takes time. And if you don’t have a scanner or a printer that can scan, it’s not an option.
Before computers were ubiquitous, I used to tear out the articles I wanted to keep and toss the rest of the magazine. It at least reduced the volume of stuff I retained. If you don’t have a scanner it’s still an option.
I’m also trying to move to more e-keeping of things like that.
I didn’t go all the way through this thread, so I beg your pardon if this has been addressed - but has anybody read Getting Things Done? (Amazon link)
I have an organization/clutter problem and I think it is the best book ever. it is not just for a white collar desk person, but for anybody with paper in their life. 
How is it “the best book ever” and could you be more specific in what it applies to and how it helps?
I don’t have a scanner and I have, in the past, torn out articles I’ve wanted to keep but, failing a system for keeping them, I have never been able to find interesting/useful articles later on when I’ve wanted to read them.
I just downloaded the Unfuck Your Habitat app. Will give it a try when I get home. I’ve so far gotten the pile of papers that were threatening an avalanche in the foyer sorted and mostly all in the recycling bin, and the kitchen is under control for the first time in a while. The place is picked up enough for company, but there’s still much to do! Maybe this will get me going on my days off, and at least for a few minutes a day. It’s not that I don’t have time, I’m seriously happier on the couch, and that needs to stop.
Yeah. I reckon this is my major, if not my only, problem. Ever since I got a laptop (a few years ago), I sit on the sofa (with the foot thingy reclined) and faff around on the 'net, watching TV as well if it’s evening. At least when I had a desktop, I had to get out of the other room sometimes. Now all my free time is spent lazing. I hardly even read anymore and I used to be a voracious reader.
Oops: edited to add - I look forward to reading your opinions about the app you’ve downloaded.
Talking about zero world problems…
There’s a ton of stuff I’d like to toss, rooms I’d like to paint and so forth at the flat I’m renting but - it’s Grandma’s flat and Grandma’s stuff and I can’t just go and do it and I’ve got all this free time now and it’s killing me! At least once the electrician has put up cables all over the place (outside the walls by my brother’s recommendation, because that way it will not require a bricklayer either now or when I need to “reconfigure”) I’ll be able to paint some of the rooms…
Anybody got a room that needs painting or stuff that needs tossing? EU preferably, that way I don’t need to worry about border guards.
Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a “tossing vacation” here in scenic Northwest Indiana? We’ve got… well, we’ve got lots of snow, to be honest. About a meter and a half. Admitting, it does sort of obscure the view, especially where they’ve plowed it up into giant piles. And, yes, you’ll need a coat. Maybe several. Lots…
We’ve made the decision that we ‘ought’ to move in the not-very-distant future. Like not right away, but within two years. Basically we’re getting older, and doing yard and house type maintenance is becoming a serious drag, and we’ve always had way, way more space in this house than two people need. So, a nice two bedroom condo sounds very appealing. Hey, maybe even somewhere warm? Because I’ve had it with snow.
Anyway. We’d already gone through a major decluttering a couple years back, but that was a decluttering aimed at fitting nicely into a four bedroom house with lots of closets, full attic, full basement, and garage. So, another Great Decluttering has been declared!
First up, the basement. The goal is to end up with NOTHING in the basement besides furnace/waterheater/laundry equipment and maybe a few tools. Otherwise, if we’re not using the whatever NOW it’s gotta go. No more ‘just in cases’ we go back to that hobby/sport or someone we know needs furniture or a 30 cup percolator
My parents did that sort of downsizing and it worked out pretty well for them. I think they got a lot more enjoyment out of their later years when they no longer had to worry about house maintenance. I think my dad might have liked it so much he shucked a lot of what was left after mom died before moving in with my sister, he’s actually got room for more stuff in his “father-in-law” apartment but he seems very happy with the pared-down lifestyle.
Unfortunately, their decluttering was partly responsible for my house getting out of control but that is my problem and responsibility.