Declutter Motivation

What motivates you to declutter?

I have just begun again this week after reading a hard copy of 3 posts that I had printed out some time back. After going through these articles, I made me a working list and stuck to it rather well this week. I've gotten quite a bit done in the kitchen area which always seems to be my worst. Maybe you can find some motivation there as well. Check it out here. I would start with parts 1 and 2 first even though this link is to part 3. This link has all parts linked so that is why I chose it rather than linking to the different parts.

I haven't read the Emilie Barnes book that she refers to yet. I'm still batting back and forth whether or not to purchase it from Amazon. I did go there and preview some pages which gave me even more ideas. Those ideas plus the articles got me started with my daily lists this week.

I still have quite a bit to do in the kitchen, but it looks so much better. I think rather than moving on to another area of the house this next week as I am more accustomed to doing, I will just hold steady and keep on doing more in the kitchen. Everything else can hold its own for another few days.

Declutter Begun Again

It has been over a year since I did any posting about decluttering. That's not to say that I haven't decluttered anything. I just haven't written a post about it. Over this past week, I have been going through the kitchen and throwing out lots of things:

1. Recipe books that I have never used and have never even looked at but thought I would
2. Cereal that was out of date last year (how does this stuff get pushed so far back in the cabinet?)
3. Plastic containers (this things seem to get in my cabinet and multiply like rabbits and where are the lids -why don't they multiply, too?)
4. Stale bread and crackers
5. Dish cloths (one day I don't have a single cloth in the cabinet and the next day it won't hold them all - the mysteries of below the sink)
6. Food that I bought on sale that I thought we would eat
7. The dreaded vegetable bin (some of this stuff I wasn't even sure what it HAD been)

So, here I go again, trying to declutter a little each day. Don't know if I'll have the opportunity to blog about it every day, but I will try to keep you up to date as much as I can.

What are you decluttering this week? Leave me a comment so I know I'm not all alone out there in this cluttered world.

Declutter Day 42

Today we have cleaned out closets and it was a huge job. The room where our exchange student will be staying was used for storing things that we hadn't gotten around to putting anywhere yet. Yes, we've lived here 3 years and still have boxes of stuff that hasn't been put away. I probably should have just tossed that stuff (since I haven't needed it in 3 years).

Most of the stuff was decorative things that I hadn't decided exactly where to use or if I wanted to use them. I also had stuff that belonged to my grandmother that has sentimental value but really doesn't go with my home.

Here's a better breakdown of what we did:

• all holiday decorations to the attic (we had Halloween and Thanksgiving and even some Christmas stuff that needed to be organized and put in one place)
• box of enamel pots (still haven't decided what to do with these - maybe on the tops of the cabinets like they were at the old house)
• sewing material and supplies (gathered these together in one place so I know where to find them) - I left the sewing machine in that closet because I don't think I have enough space for it elsewhere and it won't interfere with any of her things
• blankets and bedspreads - these were placed in two of those space bags and will be stored in the hall closet once I go through it - I was amazed at these bags and how much they shrank
• school papers from our little one - I had already gone through these and saved only the ones that were special to us - I have them in a clear box that will be stored in the top of my closet
• bed linens for the camper were returned to it
• several other items were sent to our local charity store - mismatched sheets, old picture frames, etc.

I intend to post a picture of that room when I am done (probably another day or so).

Declutter Day 41

Today I have decluttered literally a ton, but not at home. Today was the day to clean up the old computer lab along with its cabinets, drawers and storage towers. We (my little one, six students helpers and two teachers) worked nearly 5 hours to go through the whole area and toss items that were old, broken, obsolete or just plain unusable. I wish I had taken pictures, because the students would feel so good about all the help they gave.

Here's some of the things that made up that "ton" - we didn't weigh it but it had to be close to that:

• old software with its documentation and users manuals
• dictation equipment and curriculum materials
• calculators
• textbooks
• printers and printer parts
• keyboards (with some kind of connection that I have never even seen)
• broken mice
• decorative posters and other items
• old assessments and worksheets
• broken furniture

We did recycle everything that we could and all of the technical equipment is sent to one area in our county where it is auctioned off. The furniture that is still usable was put in an area at our school where others have an opportunity to use it.

It was a very successful day. The lab is looking more like a lab and less like a trash dump, but I am really tired. Now to get everything set up next week.

I've still got to finish our exchange student's room. She'll be here in a couple of weeks. The room is shaping up and starting to look more like a bedroom instead of a storage area. I've still got to do the closet, but I've got to get my closet straightened up first. Maybe tomorrow!

5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

This is turning out to be a very busy week with technology work for school, teacher training and vacation bible school, but I do have my 5 Things I Can Live Without this Thursday. So here we go:

1. too many school supplies - do you know teachers hoard these things for lean years (kind of like this one) when there just isn't any money - I still had way too much stuff
2. too many unread magazines - I have a stack that I put on the sofa two weeks ago and I still haven't had time to read them - they are going out in the recycle
3. curbside recycling - this isn't one I chose but our area is discontinuing this after Friday of this week - there wasn't enough money to fund this program in our rural area - now we'll have to sack it up and take it to a recycling area which will be a pain
4. mismatched pillowcases and sheets - how do you get more pillowcases than you have sets of sheets for? - I can see needing a few extra pillowcases but I had 9 that had no matching anything
5. boxes (well, one box and one laundry hamper) of stuff from car - we cleaned out the cars a week ago and still hadn't put up all the toys and clothes and junk from the car - most of this belonged to my 5 year old and I thought it had been put away - we are vowing to start cleaning out the car every day rather than just once every whenever

So what can you live without this Thursday? I couldn't get the Mr. Linky to cooperate with me today, so if you'll leave a comment then I'll come back and add the links. Come on. Join in. I want to see what others are doing without. I need the inspiration this week.

Back from Vacation

We have been on vacation and so posts have been very few in the last week or so. We had to get ready for vacation and then we were gone for several days. It was a fiasco at the beach (the mosquitoes tried to eat us alive), so we left midweek and came home. Then we went to our local state park and just relaxed for a few days.

Anyway, we are back and are now getting ready for our exchange student who will be here in less than 3 weeks.

I did get our inside freezer cleaned out and defrosted last week in the middle of our vacation. All of those fresh vegetables that had been put up had not been organized - just thrown in the freezer. We still have corn that will have to be put up either this week or next so that will be busy.

Stay tuned for more decluttering. I'll be working at school this week for several trainings and some computer repairs that need to be done. I'm sure I'll find plenty of decluttering that needs to be done there as well as here. It seems that clutter is a lot like rabbits and just continually multiplies.

5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

This week has really gotten away from me. It's Saturday morning and I just realized that I hadn't done 5 Things I Can Live Without THURSDAY. So it's a little late, but here goes:

1. scratch paper - I had given my 5 year old some old paper to use as scratch paper but he has scattered it everywhere - so I'm rethinking this and probably just going to put it in the recycle bin next time


2. toddler undies that are too small - our little one has grown out of several pairs of his 4T undies so we have gathered up all those in that size and discarded - I knew it was time when he asked me about the "marks" they were leaving on his waste because they were too tight


3. grease stains on shirts - I'm can't seem to get them out with anything - if you have suggestions other than those I've tried let me know (Dawn detergent, Spray and Wash, Oxy clean powder)


4. tired feet - between working several days this week for 10 hours a day and putting up vegetables during the evening, my feet are killing me


5. old sheets - I hate when sheets get those knobby places in them - we have thrown out several sets that were past their prime

So, what can you live without? Link or post a comment and let us know.