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 Cereal that was out of date last year (how does this stuff get pushed so far back in the cabinet?)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.

No Decluttering Recently??

I haven't gotten much decluttering done recently. This is what I have been doing - vegetables. See my blog at http://grocerysavingsforrealfamilies.blogspot.com/ to see my progress with that.

This week I'm working on getting the house straightened back up so we can go away for a few days. I hate to return home to a messy house.

So my decluttering has been put on hold for just a little bit to get some other things done, but I have been busy.

5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

I relaxed so well on Monday that I am having trouble getting back into the decluttering mindset this week. On Tuesday morning, my little one said that Monday was a wonderful day and there was no way that Tuesday could be any good. As far as decluttering for me, it wasn't.

Then on Wednesday he had some dental work done that he had to be sedated for so we had to watch him very closely all afternoon and evening. I thought that when we had our dog treated for heartworms years ago and had to keep her quiet and calm for about a week that was an impossible goal. No way! Try keeping a rambunctious 5 year old quiet and calm for an evening. Talk about impossible!!

Well, to get on with the work for today, here's my 5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday:

1. my husband's cluttered and out of control outside shed - I think I may tackle that thing next week - we've been putting up vegetables and I can't even get in there to put the veggies in the freezer - ARGH!!
2. freezer burned meat - we bought 1/2 of a cow last year and I didn't realize that we had nearly 30 packages of hamburger that had not been used - it's all freezer burned and awful now - I'm kicking myself for that - just think of all the money that was thrown away - ARGH!!
3. toddler bed - we're getting rid of it - our neighbor is having a little one and wants it so it's going
4. stuffed animals - I have secretly gotten rid of several of these this week - there were quite a few of these "stuffed" in the camper - they got removed and gone through without notice - do you find it hard to remove some of those toys unless your sneaky about it??
5. magazines - I am vowing to stop subscribing to ANY magazines for a while - I don't ever seem to have time to sit down and read them before the next one comes in - sometimes I have 2 or 3 of them before I take time to look at them - they obviously aren't on my priority list so why am I wasting the money??

Well, there's the 5 for this week. Want you join in and share? You can use the comments section or the linky.

Declutter My Mind Day

Today was a day to relax and declutter my mind. First, Boo and I went with my best friend and her son to Chuck E. Cheese's and played games. We all had such a wonderful time. We didn't spend any money, because we had some accumulated unused tokens from other visits. Since that venture didn't cost us anything, we decided to go to the cheap movie theater and see the Hannah Montana movie. It was awesome! Both of our boys love music and love cowboys and farms so this movie was great for them. They also think Miley Cyrus is the greatest girl (they are only 5 and 4 but already starstruck with her). Afterwards, we ate and did a little school shopping.

It was a wonderful day to get out, clear my mind and get some much deserved "no thinking" time. Needless to say, the only decluttering that got done was from my mind.

Don't forget to stop and smell the roses sometimes (or for me, it's more like stop and spend some wonderful, fun time with my little one while he is still little and wants to spend time with Mama). To quote Hannah, "life's a climb, but the view is great."

5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

The DSL is working again and I am ready for 5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday. These things center around what has been going on at our home this week.

1. Dial up - I had forgotten just how slow it is - I think I would rather have no Internet at all
2. Outgrown toys - we decluttered in my son's room and found several large items that we got rid 0f (toddler table and chairs set, toddler recliner, small fold out couch)
3. Paper piles - I went through several stacks that I had stashed
4. Cluttered countertops - we had to clear these off this week because we have been putting up vegetables from the garden
5. Too many cups - we decluttered lots of cups from the cupboard this week - how do we accumulate so many from Subway, Zaxby's and every other fast food place?

So there are my five for the week. What can you live without this Thursday? Link up and share.

DSL Problems

I haven't posted anything since last Friday because my DSL has been dying a slow death over the weekend. My provider is sending someone out tomorrow to check on it. Needless to say, I won't be doing much posting until it gets fixed. This dial-up connection just takes entirely too long.

I have been decluttering in the interim time. Our camper needed lots of declutter work and it is now ready for our upcoming vacation. I'll try to post some pictures once all is working again.

I will still host 5 Things I Can Live Without on Thursday (even if I have to go to the library or the neighbor's house). Until then, I'll be working just not on the computer.

5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

It's Thursday again! One day closer to the weekend!! Of course it is also time for 5 Things I Can Live Without. Since I have been decluttering several areas this week, my list is going to be longer than 5.

1. Cell phone chargers for phones that we no longer own - how do these things not get removed from our home when the old phones go?
2. Diaper bag - found one of these in the back closet - my baby is 5 years old
3. Crochet needles - found several in the back closet - I haven't crocheted in so long that I don't even remember how
4. Car seat accessories - these were found in the back closet as well - why are they not with the car seat?
5. Dried up glue and glue sticks - found these in the drawers
6. Owner's manuals for appliances that we no longer own
7. Disorganized closets and drawers - it is so much nicer to have areas where can locate your stuff
8. Out of date fruit juice - found in the camper - I don't think I want to give my child something that expired in 2007
9. Christmas To-Do pads - found in one of the drawers - I let Boo have these to color on - I didn't use them at Christmas and probably won't use them in July either - why do I waste good money on this crap?
10. Wooden paper plate holder - this was just taking up space on my counter - since I'm not using paper plates much any more it has been holding several of my trivets - the problem is that it can't hold them all - so I have trivets in several places - I have gotten rid of the holder and put all the trivets together

So what can you live without? Take a look at what you have decluttered this week and share with us. Post your link or just leave a comment. Happy decluttering!

Works for Me Wednesday - Timers

TIMERS! That's what works for me.

I use my timer to

• keep me focused on the job at hand


• keep working at a job even when I may want to stop


• remind me when something else needs to be done (i.e., clothes moved from washer to dryer, 5 more minutes to bedtime, etc.)


• get us out the door in the morning


• take shorter showers


• declutter multiple times a time but not all day


• challenge me to hurry and not get bogged down


• remind me to stop working on the computer

What works for you? Visit We Are That Family for more ideas.

Declutter Day 40

Today I have tackled the back closet. Do you hear the horror movie music in the background? I did when I opened the door. SCREAM!!!!!
























Now, I'm hearing the birds singing and the crickets chirping and the soft sound of a cool breeze.








Once again, I can't believe all the stuff that was in there that really didn't need to be. Plus, we have some free space available in there now.





I love this hanging organizer. I put items in there such as

• gloves (which we aren't needing right now but they still need a space)
• glue that I don't want my 5 year old having access to
• glue gun
• bug spray
• flashlight (again away from the kid - he loves to run down the batteries
• cleaning cloths
• summer pool items

I have linked this post to Work on It Wednesday. Visit there for more inspiration.

Declutter Day 39

I have finally gotten all those kitchen drawers finished and am now ready to post my before and after pictures. It always amazes me how much gets tossed into these drawers and forgotten.

Before:

and After:

Routines and Schedules Help With Decluttering

Routines and schedules tend to help me with my daily life and decluttering. After some prompting by Joy at Just Organize Yourself in this post, I have decided that I need a summer schedule to be sure that I am getting as much done as possible. I have been feeling overwhelmed lately and have not been spending as much time with Boo as I would like to. I want him to remember the summer months as fun times and not Mama trying to declutter all the closets.

So this week I am making an attempt at creating and using a schedule. I will probably find that I need a couple of schedules (days that I need to work or attend trainings, days at home, days with outings), but for now I am focusing on the days at home.

7:00 - 8:00 a.m. Breakfast, dishes and cleanup, 1 load of laundry

8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Decluttering and cleaning up the zone area for the week, 1 load of laundry

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Reading and learning time with Boo

10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Play time with Boo

11:00 - 12:00 p.m. Lunch, dishes and cleanup

12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Nap time for Boo and individual play time (if shorter nap)
Computer time for Mom (bills, blogs, email, etc.) and more declutter time if needed

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Screen time for Boo (TV, movie, video game, computer)
Mom finishes up any household chores

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Cut and Write time for Boo (can also be science or craft time)

4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Dinner, dishes and cleanup
Boo can play outside if not too hot (this Florida heat has been so bad this past week that I haven't let him out in it too much)

6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Games and reading time as a family

7:00 - 7:30 p.m. Bath

7:30 - 8:00 p.m. Pickup time around house

8:00 - 8:30 p.m. Family devotion time with Boo, then Boo to bed

8:30 - 10:00 p.m. Adult time for parents

We may have to change around a few things, but we are going to try to stick to this attempt at a schedule this week. The only thing that I didn't slot for a particular time is gardening and taking care of the animals. We'll try to work around the hot weather for these things.

Declutter Day 38

Today I decluttered at school. When we got out, I left my room just as it was. I'd had enough that week and knew that I would be back to clean and straighten up. Boo went with me this afternoon and here is what we got accomplished:

• textbooks put on cart to be moved to book storage room
• new computer table put together and part of the computers moved to it - this table has a back tray to hide the cables so everything looks more organized - I have one more to put together and organize but there wasn't enough room to get both of them done without moving some other furniture
• moved extra desk over to my teacher desk to make an L-shaped workspace (added more storage and work area)
• organized differentiated instruction materials for easy access
• decluttered printer areas and reorganized
• decluttered magazines and reorganized
• old computer monitors moved out from under computer tables - these need to be gone through to determine what still works but now they have been moved to a place where I can check them out
• moved unassembled computer carts for the lab out of my classroom and into the lab - they just got put there when they were delivered and we haven't had a chance to get them assembled yet - there's more room in the lab than in my room

My classroom looks like a whirlwind has gone through it, but at least the decluttering and reorganizing has begun. We'll probably go back on Monday and do a bit more. Needless to say, no decluttering got done at home today.

Declutter Day 37

Today I have worked on Boo's clothes drawers. He had quite a few things that he had outgrown or that were really worn. We are also thinking about vacation and what will need to go with us then. We've gotten the shorts and shirts gone through and the drawers look much more organized. (He was having trouble putting away his clothes, because there just wasn't any space.)

When I was going through my Google Reader this afternoon, I ran across a post at Small Notebook with a wonderful idea for packing kids clothes for camp or vacation. I love this idea for the camper since we have such limited space. I'll post my pictures a little later today.

5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

Today is Thursday once more which means it is time for 5 Things I Can Live Without. This week I have gotten rid of several items that I can definitely live without. Those list of items include:

1. sofa pillows - we got rid of these several days ago and it is great - no more moving pillows to sit down and no more picking up pillows that have been strewn all over the floor
2. dining chair cushions - since getting rid of the sofa pillows has been so liberating, I'm going to send out those dining chair cushions as well
3. flip flops that hurt my feet - doesn't everyone have a pair of these - you know the ones - they were so cute but you can't wear them more than 2 minutes
4. old purses - I hold onto these for way too long - if it is torn or something is broken, just let it go
5. heavy curtains - I have removed the roman shade type curtains that I had in my bedroom from the windows - I left the valance - it is so much "cooler" looking
6. I know there are only supposed to be 5, but I can really live without this 100 degree heat that we are having in Florida. Anything that helps us feel cool is wonderful right now.

Join in and tell us what you can live without. I'm trying Mr. Linky again, but if it doesn't work or if you don't have a blog, leave a comment either directing us to your post or sharing your 5.