2021 DECLUTTERFEST
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]✅Feb 1: moved various things to where they belonged in art studio & from front entry
✅Feb 2:
* Emptied, decluttered, cleaned, and then organized drawers in bathroom.
* Tossed/recycled old packaging, instruction booklets, way out of date makeup, stuff I never use. Went through my travel items to make sure none needed replacement.
* Consolidated bandaids, alcohol wipes, etc. recycled unnecessary extra packaging in medical drawer.
* Went through shelves under my sink, tossing things, putting misc items where they belong, etc.
* Made all drawers & shelves spacious (so when we take one, the rest don’t fall like a house of cards
Insight: Everything has stayed remarkably clean & organized. There are still a few things here & there I should toss, but I love them, so I kept them again.
Future Plan:
Feb 3 & 4: counting Feb 2 towards those days. Took over an hour
✅ Feb 5: Thoroughly decluttered the last two bathroom drawers & folded all the towels a large Marie Kondo! 😄 Figured out a much better way to store all hair-related tools, products, decorations for hair that took less space! 45 minutes
✅ Feb 5: On a roll, I decluttered some of items in cutlery drawer that we don’t use, folded all kitchen towels & aprons. Reorganized drawers so one is just towels & the other now has sponges, dishwasher pods, etc. 15 minutes
Feb 6 -8 will count towards my Feb 5 work. (Put away laundry,,gathered gloves & hats.,
✅Feb 9: 1:15 hours
Scrubbed shower thoroughly.
Master Bedroom: Cleared, decluttered tops of 2 side tables & dresser. DUSTED & cleaned all objects & surfaces. OMG. Some vacuuming.
✅Feb 10: sorted items from 2 drawers, emptying the drawers. Dusted/cleaned the drawers & mirror thoroughly.
Placed some of items where they belong (it was fun to see we’d created places for some of these things since I last went through.
Found a bunch of various cards: library cards, gift cards, various cards. Laid them out in dresser I cleaned Feb 9 to ponder. Then found the container of gift cards, many expired. I first re-found them back when I first began in 2015...SO sad these gifts from students’ had expired & I hadn’t used them because I worked all the time. (AND I didn’t realize they expired and/or drew down a monthly amount.) Ironic.
So... I spent an hour going through them, pitching them next to trash can. Kept my spirits up.
But I’d told myself whatever $$ I could get from these cards could go towards a new sewing machine or a Cricut...maybe even both if I’m lucky.
Google’d California law on gift cards. Doesn’t allow expiration or the dormancy fee. 😁
And then got a magnifying glass & read that at least in 3 of the cards, they never lose their value. 😁
Retrieved all cards from next to trash can!!
Called & was given directions how to get replacement cards on-line - tried that tonight & it didn’t work - will call again tomorrow.
Spent an hour with a guy on the phone to get checks cut for 4 of our cards. We’ll see. Very odd call. Looked up their ratings later & everine is unhappy with them. But I gave it the old college try.
I have 2 more places to contact tomorrow. One has passed off their gift card business to a website that had broken links.
I might just go to a Wells Fargo & see if they will try lol.
[if the wonky guy comes thru I’ll have $540
And if I can get website to work tomorrow, I’ll have another $430 fingers crossed 🤞🏻
And even if none of it comes through, I’ll know I did all I could. And I’ll let it go.
I also found $70 of Barnes & Noble so I’m gonna wear my heavy duty mask & go on a field trip there tomorrow probably❤️
Total time 2-3 hrs.
Feb 11: next: call the rest of the gift card places.1 -
wow Maddie! 2-3 hrs... That is amazing. You are truly motivated!! I do have a little trouble sometimes following your posts when you quote and update because it's hard to see what is new vs the quoted history.
Thank goodness your husband's filing system works for him. My ex's was just out of sight out of mind. When we were clearing out the garage all those boxes had to be gone thru to find trash vs good stuff...
It's so nasty pouring rain and 30 degrees right now. I want to just go back to bed altho I have like 5 more xoom work calls today. And of course my electric blanket picked this week to die (after 6 years). Amazon to the rescue because like the post service they deliver regardless of snow or ice. LOL.
Summerlookingatclutterthismorningdoesthatcount?1 -
February 10 - Just a little bit of decluttering. Cleared the table beside my chair where I keep my books and journal which had collected papers.
@texasgardnr clearing the top of the dresser is a good idea. I need to do that.2 -
SummerSkier wrote: »wow Maddie! 2-3 hrs... That is amazing. You are truly motivated!! I do have a little trouble sometimes following your posts when you quote and update because it's hard to see what is new vs the quoted history.
Thank goodness your husband's filing system works for him. My ex's was just out of sight out of mind. When we were clearing out the garage all those boxes had to be gone thru to find trash vs good stuff...
It's so nasty pouring rain and 30 degrees right now. I want to just go back to bed altho I have like 5 more xoom work calls today. And of course my electric blanket picked this week to die (after 6 years). Amazon to the rescue because like the post service they deliver regardless of snow or ice. LOL.
Summerlookingatclutterthismorningdoesthatcount?
I should have mentioned...he has 25 years or more of these boxes right next to his Bill paying area!0 -
My declutter hopes and dreams kinda went by the wayside for a few days. 3 days of impeachment trial viewing was perfect for getting my knitting done, but the house has had to wait. I finished clearning up the upstairs loft area where the toys are and now it looks more like an adult playroom with my serger and cricut machines taking up table and desk space. I need to buy blinds for the windows after 20 years they're very brittle and some are broken, but I guess that's not decluttering. I went through all of my travel things and recycled a lot of brochures.
Looks like I'll have a few more days of lots of sitting so when I finish my knitting hopefully tomorrow, I'll sort my family history papers and try to organize them soon. My husband and I went through our important papers and got a safety deposit box at the bank for them. I didn't think about making copies until they were at the bank
My plan is to clean all the closets downstairs (bedroom, kitchen, living room, and back entry). Then I can move my pictures to the entry since that was what I had intended to do when we remodeled 2 years ago. (imagine a snail icon here)! 2 1/2 weeks to get 'er done! 2 -
My declutter hopes and dreams kinda went by the wayside for a few days. 3 days of impeachment trial viewing was perfect for getting my knitting done, but the house has had to wait. I finished clearning up the upstairs loft area where the toys are and now it looks more like an adult playroom with my serger and cricut machines taking up table and desk space. I need to buy blinds for the windows after 20 years they're very brittle and some are broken, but I guess that's not decluttering. I went through all of my travel things and recycled a lot of brochures.
Looks like I'll have a few more days of lots of sitting so when I finish my knitting hopefully tomorrow, I'll sort my family history papers and try to organize them soon. My husband and I went through our important papers and got a safety deposit box at the bank for them. I didn't think about making copies until they were at the bank My plan is to clean all the closets downstairs (bedroom, kitchen, living room, and back entry). Then I can move my pictures to the entry since that was what I had intended to do when we remodeled 2 years ago. (imagine a snail icon here)! 2 1/2 weeks to get 'er done!
@nebslp
That is a ton to get done in one month!!!!1 -
@MadisonMolly2017 you were very persistent about recovering $ from your apparently expired gift cards. That was a lot of work and hopefully a lot of recoverable 💲 .
February 11: today I quickly looked through the left side two smaller drawers in the dresser and decluttered several things that I was ready to donate this time. It is certainly freeing to quickly realize when it is time to pass something on that was in the maybe stage before. That is one of the reasons I love a second or third pass through. My mind seems to see the same things differently over time.
🤠🌺3 -
MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »]✅Feb 1: moved various things to where they belonged in art studio & from front entry
✅Feb 2:
* Emptied, decluttered, cleaned, and then organized drawers in bathroom.
* Tossed/recycled old packaging, instruction booklets, way out of date makeup, stuff I never use. Went through my travel items to make sure none needed replacement.
* Consolidated bandaids, alcohol wipes, etc. recycled unnecessary extra packaging in medical drawer.
* Went through shelves under my sink, tossing things, putting misc items where they belong, etc.
* Made all drawers & shelves spacious (so when we take one, the rest don’t fall like a house of cards
Insight: Everything has stayed remarkably clean & organized. There are still a few things here & there I should toss, but I love them, so I kept them again.
Future Plan:
Feb 3 & 4: counting Feb 2 towards those days. Took over an hour
✅ Feb 5: Thoroughly decluttered the last two bathroom drawers & folded all the towels a large Marie Kondo! 😄 Figured out a much better way to store all hair-related tools, products, decorations for hair that took less space! 45 minutes
✅ Feb 5: On a roll, I decluttered some of items in cutlery drawer that we don’t use, folded all kitchen towels & aprons. Reorganized drawers so one is just towels & the other now has sponges, dishwasher pods, etc. 15 minutes
Feb 6 -8 will count towards my Feb 5 work. (Put away laundry,,gathered gloves & hats.,
✅Feb 9: 1:15 hours
Scrubbed shower thoroughly.
Master Bedroom: Cleared, decluttered tops of 2 side tables & dresser. DUSTED & cleaned all objects & surfaces. OMG. Some vacuuming.
✅Feb 10: sorted items from 2 drawers, emptying the drawers. Dusted/cleaned the drawers & mirror thoroughly.
Placed some of items where they belong (it was fun to see we’d created places for some of these things since I last went through.
Found a bunch of various cards: library cards, gift cards, various cards. Laid them out in dresser I cleaned Feb 9 to ponder. Then found the container of gift cards, many expired. I first re-found them back when I first began in 2015...SO sad these gifts from students’ had expired & I hadn’t used them because I worked all the time. (AND I didn’t realize they expired and/or drew down a monthly amount.) Ironic.
So... I spent an hour going through them, pitching them next to trash can. Kept my spirits up.
But I’d told myself whatever $$ I could get from these cards could go towards a new sewing machine or a Cricut...maybe even both if I’m lucky.
Google’d California law on gift cards. Doesn’t allow expiration or the dormancy fee. 😁
And then got a magnifying glass & read that at least in 3 of the cards, they never lose their value. 😁
Retrieved all cards from next to trash can!!
Called & was given directions how to get replacement cards on-line - tried that tonight & it didn’t work - will call again tomorrow.
Spent an hour with a guy on the phone to get checks cut for 4 of our cards. We’ll see. Very odd call. Looked up their ratings later & everine is unhappy with them. But I gave it the old college try.
I have 2 more places to contact tomorrow. One has passed off their gift card business to a website that had broken links.
I might just go to a Wells Fargo & see if they will try lol.
[if the wonky guy comes thru I’ll have $540
And if I can get website to work tomorrow, I’ll have another $430 fingers crossed 🤞🏻
And even if none of it comes through, I’ll know I did all I could. And I’ll let it go.
I also found $70 of Barnes & Noble so I’m gonna wear my heavy duty mask & go on a field trip there tomorrow probably❤️
Total time 2-3 hrs.
✅Feb 11: next: call the rest of the gift card places.
Did this. Recovered some funds & found some had been turned over to the state- could not find info to get those paid to us...
The last card, I need to call back in a week.
I will call the “state” card folks to find our which state & contact info... next week most likely
Break: Feb 12: Had the most decluttering fun ever! 😃 Heavily masked (surgical with reg blue one underneath) AND the 4 Bookstore Gift Cards, and went to the bookstore. Found my two favorite magazines!! And two awesome books. Also found a super cute card for our son’s next birthday & one for my husband on Valentine’s.
Decluttering: 3 cards (one still has $5.73 which legally I can ask for, but I’ll be back to get the magazine next month! 🤣
Anti-decluttering: 2 books, 1 magazine that I keep (it’s like a book) & one magazine I will likely tear our a few pages & recycle/turn into collage papers. LOL
A gain in terms of stuff lol
AND
A gain in terms of happiness, positive reinforcement of tough jobs, and creative inspiration & techniques❣️
Next up: those department store gift cards - hopefully on-line!
Feb 13-16 Likely a decluttering break due to all the time Feb 10-11.
Feb 17 Next up will be retrieving all hats umbrellas gloves from the entire house, garage, & vehicles!!
Feb 18 Declutter hats umbrellas gloves. Put them in locations that make sense.
Currently thinking 2 sets in each vehicle & 2 sets in sailing/camping bag & 2 sets in our walking stuff area. I have to think about winter/summer... Suggestions?0 -
Maddie askedFeb 18 Declutter hats umbrellas gloves. Put them in locations that make sense.
Currently thinking 2 sets in each vehicle & 2 sets in sailing/camping bag & 2 sets in our walking stuff area. I have to think about winter/summer... Suggestions?
I need more hats and gloves please........honestly I wasn't going to run when it was below freezing but taking over a week off is just too much so yesterday I piled on ALL the stuff and went for a jog. I wasn't cold but I felt like I was dragging a ball and chain it was difficult. I realized about half way thru that the face / neck warmer over my mouth and nose was making it difficult to breath.. (I can't run in a mask either) and it got better after I pulled that down. It was 29. This morning it is 25 feels like 15. Sounds horrid but then I look at the next few days and think well it might get 30 later. Now they are saying we won't get above freezing barely until next Wed. wow.
@nebslp I honestly can't sit and watch the trial without getting upset so I just take my sound bites later from the different news sources and Heather Cox. I really just want it to be done so that that person who craves so much publicity won't get anymore. My blinds and curtains are all at least 20 years old also. Most are doing pretty good tho. When I moved here I hired a blind person (hahahaha) to come in and do them and so far mostly they have held up. The ones with small issues I just work around.
As far as decluttering. Well lethargy begets lethargy. I haven't quite gotten back to the filing but I do have the shredder and label maker and all ready and I think it will kick off a little bit later when I do some bills and "file them".
@texasgardnr I totally agree with you and Maddie about how over time our vision of different things changes. And second and third passes are wonderful. Plus when you are doing the first one you can be a little more lenient if you know you are coming back to it again.
My brother sent me some old family videos that he must have sent to get digitized from that old tape, and one of my nephews in Canada also posted on facebook.
I am talking REALLY old. Like 65 years ago. I have no idea where they came from. Video in the 50’s must have been pretty rare. He says he has a box full to go thru from my parent's house.
Anyway, it was very poor quality and moved around a lot but I could see my Mom when she had just had my oldest sister and I barely recognize her she looks so young. I do recognize my 2 grandmothers and one grandfather but some of the other adults I don't know.
Funny but they spent a lot of the video on the child, and I would have wished they would have spent more on the adults…. Of course now with so much vid and photo technology it’s not as important. It was also pretty cool to see my other brother who passed away at 39 in the early 90's as a young child interacting with my other brother and sister. I wasn't born yet. Anyway, that's how I spent a lot of time yesterday and it was kind of fun.
Summer2 -
Again just a bit of decluttering since I’ve been dealing with a headache.
February 11 I cleared my dresser top - thanks for the idea @texasgardnr
February 12 I cleared the dining room table (which also functions as my desk and sewing table). It really wasn’t too bad.2 -
MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »]✅Feb 1: moved various things to where they belonged in art studio & from front entry
✅Feb 2:
* Emptied, decluttered, cleaned, and then organized drawers in bathroom.
* Tossed/recycled old packaging, instruction booklets, way out of date makeup, stuff I never use. Went through my travel items to make sure none needed replacement.
* Consolidated bandaids, alcohol wipes, etc. recycled unnecessary extra packaging in medical drawer.
* Went through shelves under my sink, tossing things, putting misc items where they belong, etc.
* Made all drawers & shelves spacious (so when we take one, the rest don’t fall like a house of cards
Insight: Everything has stayed remarkably clean & organized. There are still a few things here & there I should toss, but I love them, so I kept them again.
Future Plan:
Feb 3 & 4: counting Feb 2 towards those days. Took over an hour
✅ Feb 5: Thoroughly decluttered the last two bathroom drawers & folded all the towels a large Marie Kondo! 😄 Figured out a much better way to store all hair-related tools, products, decorations for hair that took less space! 45 minutes
✅ Feb 5: On a roll, I decluttered some of items in cutlery drawer that we don’t use, folded all kitchen towels & aprons. Reorganized drawers so one is just towels & the other now has sponges, dishwasher pods, etc. 15 minutes
Feb 6 -8 will count towards my Feb 5 work. (Put away laundry,,gathered gloves & hats.,
✅Feb 9: 1:15 hours
Scrubbed shower thoroughly.
Master Bedroom: Cleared, decluttered tops of 2 side tables & dresser. DUSTED & cleaned all objects & surfaces. OMG. Some vacuuming.
✅Feb 10: sorted items from 2 drawers, emptying the drawers. Dusted/cleaned the drawers & mirror thoroughly.
Placed some of items where they belong (it was fun to see we’d created places for some of these things since I last went through.
Found a bunch of various cards: library cards, gift cards, various cards. Laid them out in dresser I cleaned Feb 9 to ponder. Then found the container of gift cards, many expired. I first re-found them back when I first began in 2015...SO sad these gifts from students’ had expired & I hadn’t used them because I worked all the time. (AND I didn’t realize they expired and/or drew down a monthly amount.) Ironic.
So... I spent an hour going through them, pitching them next to trash can. Kept my spirits up.
But I’d told myself whatever $$ I could get from these cards could go towards a new sewing machine or a Cricut...maybe even both if I’m lucky.
Google’d California law on gift cards. Doesn’t allow expiration or the dormancy fee. 😁
And then got a magnifying glass & read that at least in 3 of the cards, they never lose their value. 😁
Retrieved all cards from next to trash can!!
Called & was given directions how to get replacement cards on-line - tried that tonight & it didn’t work - will call again tomorrow.
Spent an hour with a guy on the phone to get checks cut for 4 of our cards. We’ll see. Very odd call. Looked up their ratings later & everine is unhappy with them. But I gave it the old college try.
I have 2 more places to contact tomorrow. One has passed off their gift card business to a website that had broken links.
I might just go to a Wells Fargo & see if they will try lol.
[if the wonky guy comes thru I’ll have $540
And if I can get website to work tomorrow, I’ll have another $430 fingers crossed 🤞🏻
And even if none of it comes through, I’ll know I did all I could. And I’ll let it go.
I also found $70 of Barnes & Noble so I’m gonna wear my heavy duty mask & go on a field trip there tomorrow probably❤️
Total time 2-3 hrs.
✅Feb 11: next: call the rest of the gift card places.
Did this. Recovered some funds & found some had been turned over to the state- could not find info to get those paid to us...
The last card, I need to call back in a week.
I will call the “state” card folks to find our which state & contact info... next week most likely
Break: Feb 12: Had the most decluttering fun ever! 😃 Heavily masked (surgical with reg blue one underneath) AND the 4 Bookstore Gift Cards, and went to the bookstore. Found my two favorite magazines!! And two awesome books. Also found a super cute card for our son’s next birthday & one for my husband on Valentine’s.
Decluttering: 3 cards (one still has $5.73 which legally I can ask for, but I’ll be back to get the magazine next month! 🤣
Anti-decluttering: 2 books, 1 magazine that I keep (it’s like a book) & one magazine I will likely tear our a few pages & recycle/turn into collage papers. LOL
A gain in terms of stuff lol
AND
A gain in terms of happiness, positive reinforcement of tough jobs, and creative inspiration & techniques❣️
Next up: those department store gift cards - hopefully on-line!
Feb 13 Maps. Soldering irons, reorg of some art/crag mags - began sheet music 1.5 hrs
14-17 Likely a decluttering break due to all the time Feb 10-11.
Feb18 Next up will be retrieving all hats umbrellas gloves from the entire house, garage, & vehicles!!
Feb 19Declutter hats umbrellas gloves. Put them in locations that make sense.
Currently thinking 2 sets in each vehicle & 2 sets in sailing/camping bag & 2 sets in our walking stuff area. I have to think about winter/summer... Suggestions?0 -
Again just a bit of decluttering since I’ve been dealing with a headache.
February 11 I cleared my dresser top - thanks for the idea @texasgardnr
February 12 I cleared the dining room table (which also functions as my desk and sewing table). It really wasn’t too bad.
@77tes I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with a headache & I hope it is behind you now.
Clearing those horizontal surfaces makes such a difference!2 -
February 15 and 16 - I worked myself through a bag of sewing scraps. It had some of the satin from my wedding dress and tulle from my veil. It also had a couple finished quilt blocks.
I guess I’ll donate the random bits of fabric. Here is the before picture. There’s no after picture because it is put away.
2 -
February 17 - went through one bookshelf and eliminated a short pile of books. For me it’s impressive I could let go any.
2 -
February 18 - I decluttered a drawer
February 19 - I went through my sock drawer and threw out a pile of worn out sock. I was tempted to toss all the pantyhose, but I probably will wear a dress again in the future, right.
I though about throwing out all my non-sports bras since all I’ve worn since March are sports bras, but I decided that I should keep a few in case I ever appear in public again. 🤣
Pile to toss from Feb 18 drawer
2 -
February 18 - I decluttered a drawer
February 19 - I went through my sock drawer and threw out a pile of worn out sock. I was tempted to toss all the pantyhose, but I probably will wear a dress again in the future, right.
I though about throwing out all my non-sports bras since all I’ve worn since March are sports bras, but I decided that I should keep a few in case I ever appear in public again. 🤣
Pile to toss from Feb 18 drawer
Bravo @77tes!2 -
@77tes Sports bras are awesome! Not quite as good as going braless 🤫 but bearable. I think I got rid of my pantyhose because I will NEVER wear a dress again and I needed something to tie up my plants with😆. You’re getting a lot accomplished this month.
I’ve been finishing up all the small projects I had started in my sewing room. Tonight I finished sewing the back seam of a stocking hat I made several years ago but then I decided to make a flower to put on it so it’s still not done😟. Also finished weaving in yarn tails on a hot pad square I made a long time ago. I stuffed a Minecraft character pillow that I sewed last summer. And finished the binding on a hot pad. So that’s the kind of decluttering I’ve been focused on. My goal is to finish all started projects this year. I have two quilts started so it may take a year! I have a container that I use to put in a slip of paper saying what I started, finished, or worked on that day and date it. At the end of the year I’ll pull them out and be able to see that I actually accomplished something. I cleaned my living room closet today but have the tablecloth shelf to look at yet. I have too many but it’s hard to part with them.2 -
What I thought would be an easy finish up in my living room closet ended up taking several hours. I gave one tablecloth to Good Will but kept all the others. My mind didn't see plastic or oilcloth tablecloths that I inherited, it saw potential waterproof beach or shopping bags, so they went back in the closet. I also store 7-8 original camera/binoculars/phone boxes in there. I went through all of the multi-language books and cardboard packing and ended up with a ton of recyclables. Now I have to figure out if I should recycle the empty boxes as well, but if there's one thing I love to collect, it's got to be sturdy containers (eye roll)! I'll think on it awhile. Maybe I'll only keep a couple. Baby steps.2
