Kid's Dresser 2nd day - Week 4 Day 2

Today is the second kid's dresser.  It would be a good idea to write down what you need of each item.  Our drawers are for play clothes and we hang up our school/good clothes.  It helps keep it separated in their minds.  Then as you go, sort the clothes into stacks.  I usually pull out things with stains and tears for the trash bag or since we use rags a lot to be cut up for rags.  Things that are too small I put in the donate pile, at least for the youngest child.

Today I found 18 things to throw away or donate and now I have two kids' dressers done.  That makes me happy.

Total for the challenge: 251 things; Goal is 170 things

Keep pressing down,
Steph

Kid dresser 1st day - Week 4 Day 1

Last week while I was frantically searching for a retainer for my son, Tank, I went through all his clothes.  Grandma had come for Thanksgiving and given some new and needed items, so it was a good time to do a purge.  She gave nine items.

His drawers were packed full.  My husband begs me to only leave what is minimally necessary for life in their drawers. He feels that too many clothes really just make it super difficult to keep what we have nice and to keep them in order.  I agree, but I don't do great with this.  It would also help my laundry situation if I would do this.  When their drawers are full and they have more laundry to put in them, they don't.  The clothes end up on the floor and after a day or two go back in the wash unused. 

So I tried, I really did, but there were some special t-shirts that I left in his drawer.  I saved some things for his little brother and donated some.  I was very selective about what I saved because we usually get clothes from Grandma. 

I purged about 20 items from his dresser.  Some were donated and the others were thrown away.

Total for the challenge: 213 items; Goal to date: 160 items.

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Storage room 1st day - Week 3, Day 5

It's after Thanksgiving and I still haven't gotten back into the groove of normal life.  I just want to do my own thing and not worry about the things that need to be done.  I missed this post yesterday because of procrastination.  But I did get it done.  So here it is!

This day is the storage room - Day 1.  But it just needed things to be put away and cared for at this point.  I mean we haven't even done the kid's clothes yet so... I rearranged my schedule for what we are doing and moved the second day of this room to after all the closets and dressers have been gone through.

Here's what my new schedule looks like:

Week 1

1. Kitchen drawers
2. Kitchen cupboards - upper
3. Kitchen cupboards - lower
4. Kitchen junk drawer
5. Kitchen linens

Week 2

1. Kitchen other or pantry
2. Kitchen cookbooks and recipes
3. Videos, CDs and DVDs
4. Your desk or work area
5. Children's books - Day 1

Week 3

1. Children's books - Day 2
2. Adult books - Day 1
3. Adult books - Day 2
4. Medicine/vitamin cupboard
5. Storage room

Week 4

1. Clothing - Kid dressers - Day 1 This is where we will start tomorrow.
2. Clothing - Kid dressers - Day 2
3. Clothing - Kid dressers - Day 3
4. Clothing - Kid dressers - Day 4
5. Clothing - Kid dressers - Day 5

Week 5

1. Clothing - Kid closet - Day 1
2. Clothing - Kid closet - Day 2
3. Clothing - Kid closet - Day 3
4. Clothing - Master bedroom dressers
5. Clothing -Master closet

Week 6

1. Hallway
2. Storage room
3. Decorative items in living areas
4. Garage - Day 1
5. Garage - Day 2

Week 7

1. Barb’s closet
2. Laundry room
3. Scrap shed
4. Backyard shed
5. Kid's school supplies or backpacks

Week 8

1. Holiday supplies
2. Kids' toys - Day 1
3. Kids' toys - Day 2
4. Closets
5. Any other area that has not been addressed yet

This is how it looked when I started.  Mostly I just straightened things up.  Actually looking at the picture, I realize there is something in there that needs to go with us to Wisconsin when we go for Christmas.  So I'll pull that out today and put it in the van that will go.  We won't use that van until we go anyway, so it won't be in the way and (this is the most important thing) I won't forget to do it later. :)

Outside chairs and furniture usually gets put here, so the hall tends to get  a bit crowded.  I do need to go through the totes to find out what should be thrown away or donated.  I may just have to do that after this whole 8 weeks is done.  I keep seeing things and areas that should be part of this challenge.  Each house would be different - different rooms etc.  Probably not too many would have 5 kid dressers and 3 kid closets.  As they grow up and leave the house, I am getting fewer kid dressers but will still have the closets, though probably not with their things just mine. Oh dear!

I didn't throw anything away.

Total for this challenge to date: 193 items; Goal: 150 items

Keep pressing on,

Steph

The bathroom closet/medicine cabinet - Week 3 Day 4

This is our bathroom closet.  We keep towels and hair things and a first aid kit and everyone's individual boxes for their own personal hygiene items.

It took me less than 15 minutes to straighten this and organize it, but I like how it looks now.  The kids' bins are less than beautiful, but everything is where it should be.  We aren't striving for perfection, just efficiency.

Perfection makes it too daunting to keep up.  We want something that we can keep up with, to some degree.

I was able to find 5 things that needed to be thrown away and nothing to give away.

Total for the challenge:  193 items  Goal was: 140 items

Keep pressing on,
Steph

My books Day 2 - Week 3 Day 3

Again today it was mostly organizing and straightening.  It didn't take anywhere near 15 minutes.  But it's nice to have it clean, dusted and looking neat again.

Total items for today: 0 

Total items for the challenge: 188 items.  Goal: 130 items

Keep pressing on and Happy Thanksgiving,

Steph

My books Day 1 - Week 3 Day 2

Our books are kept in our room and usually aren't something I'm going to purge too much.  But as you can see it does need some straightening and cleaning up.  Egg cartons in the bedroom may seem strange and it is.  My husband is preparing to incubate eggs to increase our flock, so we are keeping the eggs in our room so I don't accidentally use them or put them in the fridge.

Ah, I just love making things new or at least look better. 

Again I found 0 items today to throw away or donate, but I found several items that belong in the garage and other places in the house.

Total for the challenge: 188 items.  Goal for today 120 items.

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Children's books, Day 2 - Week 3 Day 1

Again, here is my before picture, after we had started cleaning some.

I didn't find anything I was ready to get rid of on this side.  But it's all organized. My helpful books and National Geographic books are on the top shelf.  Gardening books, art books and extra books are on the second shelf.  History books and dictionaries are on the third shelf.  Then science books and piano books are on the shelf above the encyclopedias.  It feels good to have that organized and I found some books that I'd like to use with the kids that pertain to the things that they are currently studying.

Total items found today: 0 items

Total items for the challenge:188 items.  Goal was 110.

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Children's Books Day 1 - Week 2 Day 5

We had already started cleaning before I took a picture.  This job is always hard for me, but today I decided that we would keep the special books that we've outgrown, and give the others away.   I also thought it would be helpful to keep a few littler books (cardboard ones) for little people that visit.

On the left is the books that aren't school books, on the right is the bookshelf with homeschooling books - history readers, science readers, some of my educational books and the bottom row of shelves all the way across is encyclopedias and childcraft books.

Today we'll work on the children's books.

I found 27 books to pass on to others.  We also cleaned up the game pieces and toys that we were laying on the shelves.  Why do they put those things on bookshelves?

It seems I always have a box of game pieces that need to be sorted.  At least if we're playing a game and missing a piece we can look here for it. 

My boxes for sorting - one was burn trash and the other was dump trash.  We don't have regular trash pick up here so we burn our paper and collect our non-burnable to take to the dump about once a month.

Total items for the day: 27

Total items for the challenge: 188 items.  At 10 items a day, I should have 100 items.

Next week we'll only do three days. For Christmas we'll skip Christmas Day and then also New Years' Day.  So we should finish by January 5th

Keep pressing on,

Steph

Your desk or work area - Week 2 Day 4

Today is desk day!  I didn't realize how much I would find today.  I had started this project before we even started the de-cluttering and you can see that I had much left to do.

I was able to get it all cleaned up - again with the help of the kids.  I usually have them find all the pencils and put them where they go or find their own things and put them away. 

I went through my Thirty-one business supplies and found many old catalogs and things.  I always save one so that I can check prices, but I found multiples of catalogs.  I store these in the bottom drawer. 

It was so nice to have that project tackled and finished!

Total things found to donate or throw away: 66 items

Total for the challenge: 161 items

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Videos, DVDs and CDs - Week 2 Day 3

This is a huge project in our house.  So I worked for my fifteen and then did another.  I also have had a cleaning project on my to-do list - to get all the cords hidden  behind the beautiful entertainment center my guy made for us last Thanksgiving.

CDs

Video games and cords everywhere

DVDs

 NO CORDS!!!!  Yay!

It took a bit longer to get all this done but with the help of my kids we succeeded.  We'll call this cleaning.

Total items found to donate or throw away: 3

Total items for the challenge: 95

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Kitchen - Cookbooks, recipes etc.

 I found some recipes that I was missing!  I love it when my de-cluttering project helps me find things I've thought lost forever.

I found four things from this project. 

And then my daughter told me she had some clothes that didn't fit, so I had three more items to add to my count.  

While I was cleaning today I found two more items.  So now, I am up to 9!

My total for the challenge is 92!

Keep pressing on,

Steph

Kitchen - other or pantry - Week 2 Day 1

It's pantry day - this seems like a big ordeal to me, but I just have to set my timer.  This may take a couple of tries, I have two areas.  Probably the best idea would be to split it into two days.  Just pick one thing and put it in the box, the trash can or the laundry basket.  

I know what is in my pantry now and I can find what I need.  Flour is on sale this week and now, I have room for more flour.

Today I found 19 things to throw away, nothing to donate.  And I can find stuff now! I also took a few minutes to do some cleaning.  My littlest needed a math incentive, so I let him sweep and then go do five problems, then mop and go do five more problems.  He loves to help so it worked!

Total for the challenge: 83 items

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Linens - Week 1 Day 5

Today is kitchen linens.  I already worked on kitchen towels and dish cloths, which we use often and a lot.  I do dishes by hand and will continue until we get a dishwasher some day.  I think that will be after our kitchen is re-modeled. 

I only had tablecloths and napkins and runners to de-clutter.  So my job was easy today and I did it in almost half the time.  

I have one drawer in the guest room for tablecloths and linens.  Some of them were my grandmother's and I'm not willing yet to part with them.  I looked through them and found some with stains.  So I started a load of wash with some Oxyclean and set the cycle for soak.  When that's done I will see what items make the cut.

For today's challenge, I have two things to donate.

Total for the challenge: 64 items

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Junk drawer - Week 1 Day 4

Today is the junk drawer.  Yuck!  Everything goes in this drawer.  I organize it often, but it is perpetually cluttered.

I found 3 garage door openers that go to a garage door that we had to replace, an old Menards coupon book, a half of a comb, an old retainer with a broken case (Yuck!)  3 orthodontics tools,

Things that go somewhere else... corn seeds, magnifying glass, CD covers, ports and charging cords (I need to find a system for that, hmm... maybe I need a new Thirty-one bag for that), crayons and colored pencils, protractors, and lots of trash.  I can't believe the things that were saved!

I love that I can see what is in each spot now.  I'm not sure how long it will last.  And why is my picture on its side, even though I took the before picture the exact same way I took the after-picture? 

Total things donated or thrown away: 22 items.

Total for the challenge: 62

Keep pressing on,
Steph

Lower cabinets in the kitchen - Week 1 Day 3

 Today we are working on the lower cabinets in the kitchen.  These cabinets get the most unorganized out of all my cabinets.  I would love to have drawers for my lower cabinets.  I think that would help with the organization factor.

This cabinet is a hard one to keep clean - bowls, lids, tupperware, containers and all those things that get thrown in there.


Here's what I found - a crockpot that doesn't have a lid, a cloth napkin (that has no others to match), a meal saver with plastic, another coozie, a rack which doesn't have roaster, and a few other things.

I found a total of 15 things to donate or throw away. 

Total for this challenge: 40 items.

Have a great day!  

Steph

Upper kitchen cupboards

Today it's time for the upper kitchen cupboards.  We're having company tonight so this is stressing me out a bit; but if I set my timer and limit myself to the timer, it should work.

In my kitchen there are nine doors to upper cabinets.  Some areas are just storage and some are used regularly.  This means that some of them will need more work than others.

Some of these cupboards, I just straightened things up and found a bit of trash.  A couple of them held some things I don't use.  My dad recently brought me my grandma's everyday dishes, so we'll use those cute bowls for ice cream, instead of the old thrift-store finds we had.

11 items to donate/sell for me!  I also had a few things that ended up in the trash.

Total items de-cluttered for this challenge: 25

Keep pressing on!

Steph

Kitchen drawers

Today, we are going to de-clutter the kitchen drawers.  I have a junk drawer in my kitchen but this drawer will not be included in that group today.

In preparation for my de-cluttering project, I did the dishes, and started a load of laundry.  I also filled my sink with warm soapy water to help with any quick clean-up things that I want to do.  I know I have some drawers that I should wipe out when finished.  I realize this will cut down on the amount of time I can de-clutter, but I really want to have the area de-cluttered and clean.  So I'll try to find a way to do more than one session today if possible.

This is how my drawers looked to start.  I decided that several of these drawers are, for the most part, organized - my silverware drawer, my hotpad drawer, my spice drawer (which does need cleaning) and my towel drawer.

I chose four to organize today.

Before

I went through each drawer and was able to finish in the 15 minute allotment, although I still had things to put away and some sorting to do.  My kitchen drawers can use a bit more help with straightening and cleaning but I'm super excited that I got my goal done!

after

I ended up with 7 things that went into the trash can, besides plastic and paper trash.  And 7 things went into the donate box.

 I also found a bunch of birthday items in a drawer.  It was making it super cluttered.  So I made a box for my birthday things and will keep it in my guest room closet.

I am very excited about how it went.  I'm also thankful I didn't pull everything out and get bogged down, because I just found out I'm needed at work this evening.  Now, I can work on supper and cleaning up the house, so it will be ready for me to leave it for awhile. 

How did it work for you?  Were you able to stick to the timer?  Did you find at least 10 things?

Total items for the challenge to date: 14 

Have a great day and keep pressing on,

Steph

Areas to declutter

Today you can look over this list and see if there are any areas that you have in your home that aren't on this list.  You can also see if there are some areas you don't have.  For example:  I have a current running system for my kids' artwork and school papers so I won't need to do that on that day.  I can use that for a catch-up day or I can plug in an area that isn't on this list.


Week 1

1. Kitchen drawers
2. Kitchen cupboards - upper
3. Kitchen cupboards - lower
4. Kitchen junk drawer
5. Kitchen linens

Week 2

1. Kitchen other or pantry
2. Kitchen cookbooks and recipes
3. Videos, CDs and DVDs
4. Your desk or work area
5. Children's books - Day 1

Week 3

1. Children's books - Day 2
2. Adult books - Day 1
3. Adult books - Day 2
4. Medicine/vitamin cupboard
5. Children's art work

Week 4

1. Magazines and newspapers
2. Decorative items in living areas
3. Furniture - throughout the living area
4. Clothing - Kid dressers - Day 1
5. Clothing - Kid dressers - Day 2

Week 5

1. Clothing - Kid closet - Day 1
2. Clothing - Kid closet - Day 2
3. Clothing - Master closet
4. Clothing - Master bedroom dressers
5. Bathroom #1

Week 6

1. Bathroom #2
2. Entry hall/mudroom closet
3. Shoes
4. Garage - Day 1
5. Garage - Day 2

Week 7

1. Craft or sewing supplies
2. Laundry room
3. Linen closet
4. Backyard shed
5. Kid's school supplies or backpacks

Week 8

1. Holiday supplies
2. Kids' toys - Day 1
3. Kids' toys - Day 2
4. Closets
5. Any other area that has not been addressed yet

Have a great weekend!

Steph

Decluttering - why and how

I'm ready to start de-cluttering again.  It seems that it's something we're always doing around here.   I am so excited!  I love to clean up my cluttered spaces and make them functional.  I hope you'll join me on my journey, but if you just want to tag along and laugh along with me at the things I find, you are welcome!

First, let me talk about the why of de-cluttering - SAVING $$$, time, and sanity. 

• $$$ - you won't be purchasing more of an item when you realize how many you actually have
• time - you won't spend a lot of time searching because you know you bought it, but where is it?
• sanity - see the first two!  

Tomorrow, I will post a bit more about where we'll be working and in what zones.  But for today, I just want to lay out some rules.  Oh, no!  Rules?!  Yep, a few rules so it will be fun and not make life crazier (or is it more crazy?).

Rule#1:  We want this to be FUN!  And in order for that to happen, see Rule#2.

Rule #2:  Set a timer and stick to it.   We don't want to end up having all of our regular things forgotten.  For me, this would be easy.  "Feed my family? Clean my table? Do my dishes? Laundry?  Who needs to do that? I'm de-cluttering!"

Rule #3: Do not take everything out of the area you are working in!  Your timer will go off and you will be left with a bigger mess. 

Materials you will need:  

• a trashcan or trash bag for trash
• a box for donating
• a laundry basket for items that don't belong in that area

Now you need to decide if you'll do a garage sale or just donate the items.  I have participated in a garage sale once.  I don't really have the space to keep a lot of stuff because of all the construction zones in my house.  So I donate as I go.  

If you're donating, you'll have to decide where to keep it until you can make a trip to a donation place.  We have a few in town here and I have one place where I like to donate our things.  I have a to-do list organizer on my phone and on Wednesdays, it says Donate clothing.  Piano lessons and errands are that day, so that gets included in, if necessary.

Now for the plan:

First, gather your trashcan and box.  Go to the area we are working on set your timer.  I am going to say 15 minutes.  You'll be surprised at how much will get down with just that little bit of time.

For example sake we'll say we are working on drawers.  Open just the one drawer.  Do NOT empty it all at once.

Take an item out of the drawer.  Ask the questions. "Do I use it?  Do I need it?"  If the answer is yes to either of those questions, then you can decide if it belongs back in that drawer.  If it does, place it on the counter top nearby or some clean surface and start again.  

If the item is useful, but doesn't belong there place it in the laundry basket to return to a different room at a later time. 

If the answer is no to both questions, you may ask "Is it sentimental?" or "Is it beautiful?" These two questions can really help you keep a lot of stuff that you maybe shouldn't. I think we should allow for them, though, because in my mind there are items that fall into that category.  

This really doesn't have to take a long time to process each thing.  It can be done fairly quickly and should be or you'll get discouraged and never do this again.  :)  If you have no idea why you bought that thing-a-ma-jig and can't figure out how it is even used, decide between the trash bag and the donate box.  Someone may consider it a find, if it's in good shape.

When your timer goes off, you may take your trash bag, donate box and laundry basket out of the area.  Put the trash bag and the donate box in a closet for tomorrow.  During the rest of the day, you can put all the things in your laundry basket away.  Time for another 15 minute timer?  Make it a game with your kids.

There is no rule that says you cannot do this more than once in a day.  BUT... don't let your other chores (those ones that never seem to get done or always need to be done again) get lost in the shuffle.  Make sure that you just take baby steps and don't expect giant leaps.  This is a 8-week trip and we don't want to use up all our energy on the first day.

Tomorrow is project day around here because my man will be home and we're still putting up fence and working on projects for neighbors.   So I'll do a quick post about where we'll work and Monday we'll get started.

Thank you for joining me!

Keep pressing on,
Steph