2021 DECLUTTERFEST
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@SummerSkier That is good that your Purple Martin house is very stout and the gourds withstood the storm also. Your kitty 🐈 is also very fortunate to have you to take care of her during the storm . So far those are behind us, and now, at least for me it is back to the heat and dry weather of summer. High 90s and lows in mid 70s this week.
I just recently found that the oleander survived the freeze, and the various Lantana, and the different sages, and Red Bird of Paradise and the others larger plants have come back strong, especially after the storms. I've been cutting back the dead branches and working to tidy the gardens. Some I'm leaving wilder as they have burst into amazing bloom and I do not want to disturb except what is obviously dead to preserve the extra burst of bloom they are gifting me with. The lillies have come back better than ever. Most of the other bushes and plants in other areas are finally doing well also. I've been patient to let them alone to see what and how much survived. And it paid off. Very few of the potted plants survived, but the few that did are looking great. We bought 2 small hibiscus and hopefully they will do well and grow tall. I like them but they are hit or miss for me for some reason. And so my gardens grow....
@MadisonMolly2017 I really enjoyed reading your post! You have a terrific mindset and and well earned wisdom while working your decluttering plan! You are amazing in your accomplishments. Thank you for sharing with us. I am always encouraged when reading your posts 💗.
I love it @nebslp, that you actually did the math about how much one can actually accomplish time wise doing 15 minutes a day for a year. Thank you for doing that!
My timers are also my friend, whether it is working outdoors or in the house. I use them every day for one thing or another. Now I have a greater understanding and appreciation for how these minutes add up over time ⏰.
June 1- June 12 I have been cleaning up the backyard fence garden and the yard as well as the other areas in the back yard. And some in the front yard. I still have more work to do in the back as well as the side areas and also more in the front. With the increasing heat progress will be slower and I will have to water and keep tidy also. The back and front porches are completely clutter free (extra pots etc are in the garage and so on) again and tidy also. They are now completely cleaned up from the winter storms. All plants/pots have been attended to and doing well so far.
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I am cleaning out the kitchen cupboards and decluttering 30 things a day for the month of June. After I finish the kitchen cupboards I will move on to closets and decluttering 40 things a day. I cleaned and organized three cupboards today.2
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@texasgardnr Thank you for your very kind post. I do feel decluttering has changed our lives & contributed to our weight loss & maintenance. Both my husband & I love being able to find things easily & the reduced stress that brings!
Awesome job on your yard. I’m sorry you will have more extreme heat. We have just begun gardening (1st time ). Totally love the flowers & ferns. Today, I planted some pink ice plant a friend had to pull from her yard. I hope it thrives! My hubby finally got rid of our persistent arbor rat!!
Gardening is very satisfying & I’m finding it’s great exercise! Fun to have a new hobby with a master Gardener as my new gf!! Next up, she’s going to help me create a gorgeous pot of succulents from her plants❣️1 -
summerviking1 wrote: »I am cleaning out the kitchen cupboards and decluttering 30 things a day for the month of June. After I finish the kitchen cupboards I will move on to closets and decluttering 40 things a day. I cleaned and organized three cupboards today.
@summerviking1
WOW!! The first thing we decluttered was our kitchen. It was amazing. We then began cooking at home, which contributed to my losing 70+ pounds & hubby losing 35-40!
Congratulations!!
PS I also love all the arm exercise & steps decluttering gives me! You will love your NEW home!!!3 -
I really am enjoying this thread! I missed the update from @texasgardnr but am so totally pumped that so many plants and trees survived and came back stronger than ever. I know a LOT of folks here pulled their oleanders out but I always suspected that just like the fig trees they would come back from the root. What is interesting to see is that some of the branches on shrubs/trees which LOOK dead seem to come back with a new shoot also. So happy you gave everything a chance.
My Desert Willow which got hurt SO badly in the freeze is finally blooming and yesterday my heart soared as I watched my first hummer of the season on it early in the morning.
No decluttering here but I agree with Maddie that the kitchen cabinets would be an excellent choice. Honestly I rarely use them anymore since it is just me.1 -
@MadisonMolly2017 Awesome that it was bye bye to the rat. Now you can enjoy your space! I'm happy that you are enjoying gardening, And that you have a Master Gardener girlfriend to learn from and share the time together! That is a fun perk for you!! I do hope that your pink ice plant takes well to the transplanting! I had transplanted some blue pincushion flowers that I had in a larger rectangular shaped pot on the front porch for two years. At the end of last summer I decided that I no longer wanted them there. They lived there for two summers and the second summer was brutal. So I popped what remained of them into a small space in the back fence garden to give them a chance at survival. The other day I was astonished to discover them greening up and blooming. I may have to relocate two of the three because they like to sprawl about and they actually lived!.
@summerviking1 I like your decluttering plan! Kitchens are always a great place to start because of how often we get to see our progress. You might consider taking before and after pics of the different spaces. Like a pic of a drawer or a shelf and so on before/ after. It's amazing how when doing that we can see more progress than just looking with our eyes.
@SummerSkier WoW!! Your Desert Willow which was badly injured by the big freeze is actually blooming!! Awesome! I am not familiar with that plant so of course I googled it.... It has absolutely gorgeous flowers!! My Rock Rose came back and is blooming already! I have not gotten around to pruning the dead branches yet, but it is still lovely!
Of course I'm on the lookout for more of the terribly noxious (but deceivingly beautiful) Bind Weed.
I have not been inspired to declutter indoors lately. But I have removed a number of black trash bags of dead branches and storm debris so far. So that counts 😁.
Have a wonderful rest of the week 🌼 .
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Thank you @texasgardnr ! Loved reading about your thriving flowers!
I am wondering if I should have put ours in pots & now a 93 degree heat wave. Not even sure they have enuf soil. Fingers crossed!!
Great idea re: before & after decluttering photos! I should have done this - and with yard/gardening too!
Sounds like we are all making progress!!
YAY!
Maddie 🌸1 -
My Declutter process is ongoing since I did Home Solutions 101 a few years back. Once you get things organised it's relatively easy to keep it that way.
I reorganised my drawers so that everything is visible when I open them. I fold things so that they fit my drawers fairly snugly. I gained quite a lot of space when I did that. Mind you, I have managed to fill some of it up again.
I tend to just slot things in at left hand side, then I can see which items are not being worn and are candidates for decluttering. The bigger items on the right are space fillers. Keeping the clothes fairly tightly in the drawer means they come out of the drawer wrinkle-free. No ironing needed!
These were my drawers this morning after I put away laundry from yesterday. (DH loads the machine and hangs washing out. I bring it in, fold it and put it away)
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~ ~ Waving Hi Everyone ~ ~
My son & his Family are coming this week... so preparing for their Visit...
I am reflecting on a routine for decluttering and will be back to post after their visit (July 19ths)
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Little, unplanned “Decluttering Maintenance” things I did the past 7-10 days:
Decluttered the “glue” drawer
Tossed 15 old children’s old tape cassettes
Spiffed up refrigerator & re-stocked pantry from “back-up” supplies
Completely organized freezer
Pruned enough plants in backyard that the chopped items filled our large organic bin!
Decluttered bedside table, dusted
Straightened art studio (perpetual) 😂
One’s I can tell I’ll be doing “soon-is”
Stack of old work things I placed in guest bed (time for another pass through)
Stack of old teaching memorabilia (1/2 done but interrupted by son’s re-visiting- no complaints!!) so will likely finish that up soon-ish
Continued decluttering of tape cassettes. I thought I was done & found two boxes of them. Going thru commercial ones - then will bring out boom box to listen & decide on the rest.
Redirect last few remaining senders to my work email to my personal.
Move anything else or create back out of items I want to keep from work email. It’s quite old & I rarely use it. Time to move on!!
Organize stationery supplies I retrieved from attic3 -
Lots of little unplanned maintenance tasks completed about the house to keep the clutter at bay this week.
- bathroom counters
- Writing desk/gel pens/Sharpies
- Plastic food storage
- Fridge
- Kitchen counters
- Hair ornaments
- Recycle bins
- Replaced spent lettuces
- Dead-headed summer planters
- Kept laundry up to date
- Put away winter shoes
- Clear lounge before bedtime
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Terrific Terri!! @TerriRichardson112 !
My friend is tackling her house - inspired by my transformation- which makes me feel great to see her so energized and happy as she clears bags & bags.
I had decided I didn’t want to do any of the remaining categories, but after a call with her today, I went in & said “ok certainly you can do 10 minutes. Spent 30. LoL
So I’m going to do 10 minutes a day of the “I don’t want to’s”
July 13✅
July 14
July 15
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15 minute De-clutter - July
14. fridge/kitchen counters; crochet projects; sewing table
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@MadisonMolly2017 The “I don’t want to’s” are the worst. We should probably start with those and the rest would be cake!
Not declutter related but…Still on the road 🚘. I took my pills all but 2 days. That’s a win in my book! I usually lose focus when my routine is out of whack. 1/2 way through July already😲2 -
@nebslp
Well they are all sentimental & I think Marie Kondo pegged me correctly. By practicing keeping only what I love; I m
Now in Much better place to pitch.
It’s just stuff!
So I’m going to do 10 minutes a day of the “I don’t want to’s”
July 13✅30 mins
July 14✅31
July 15✅322 -
@MadisonMolly2017 - They are almost all “I don’t want to dos...” 😂
15 July
• Living room
16 July
•.Summer wardrobe
• decontamination bin
• sewing notions
• financial files
• clothes hangers
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TerriRichardson112 wrote: »@MadisonMolly2017 - They are almost all “I don’t want to dos...” 😂
15 July
• Living room
16 July
•.Summer wardrobe
• decontamination bin
• sewing notions
• financial files
• clothes hangers
OK, @TerriRichardson112 😂🤣😂
I’ll call them my Remaining I Don’t Wanna’s or my I REALLY Don’t Wanna’s
Hahaha
PS I found sewing notions fun
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🤣😂🤣
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It’s time for a makeover in my upstairs rooms. I started with decluttering my books. Today I got out every book that was in the main room and the piles covered the couch and chair, and there was a big pile on the floor as well🤪 I sorted by category…travel, birds and nature, kids’ books to keep, kids’ to give away, books to read and then decide what to do with them. I had already started reading those daily a couple of years ago (about 10-20 pages per day) and can get through about 1 per month. Those will go back in the drawer until I’ve read them and made a decision. That will take some time! But they’re slowly going out of my house one at a time.2
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TerriRichardson112 wrote: »🤣😂🤣
Hahahaa You are too much!! 🤣🤣🤣1 -
It’s time for a makeover in my upstairs rooms. I started with decluttering my books. Today I got out every book that was in the main room and the piles covered the couch and chair, and there was a big pile on the floor as well🤪 I sorted by category…travel, birds and nature, kids’ books to keep, kids’ to give away, books to read and then decide what to do with them. I had already started reading those daily a couple of years ago (about 10-20 pages per day) and can get through about 1 per month. Those will go back in the drawer until I’ve read them and made a decision. That will take some time! But they’re slowly going out of my house one at a time.
Oh Bravo @nebslp !!
I remember when you were reading those books!! It sounds like a lot of progress!
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I desperately need to do this! My house is always under construction as buying a fixer upper feels like. So it’s easy for me to let it go to *kitten* in the areas I’m unhappy with. I need to just be happy with what I have right now. And my husband *fingers crossed* will get to the house as soon as he has some down time!2
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So I’m going to do 10 minutes a day of the “I don’t want to’s”
Goal: 10 mins or more, no “roll-overs”
July 13✅30 mins
July 14✅31
July 15✅32
July 16 ✅40
July 17 ✅15
July 18 22 mins✅
July 19 10 mins✅
Week One: 7/7 180 mins wow 3 hours!!
July 20 ✅ 59 minutes
I had fun so I went much longer - reliving memories teaching 2000 or so!! Maybe it was good I cut myself off at 10 minutes yesterday
!!
7/21 ✅ 90 minutes (broke the back of this current job) one more small box to go.. then will do a final pass of all that I have kept, winnowing out more…then will mail the envelopes of school work to the former students who wanted them!!!
Yay!
7/22
7/23
7/24
7/25
7/26
Week Two:
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@MadisonMolly2017 Those minutes add up faster than you think! Good job!
@ama3387 welcome! Have you decided which area you want to start with?
@TerriRichardson112 it looks like you have quite a list! How’s it going?
There’s a central room on our second level that I’ve been working on since Saturday. I broke it down into projects.
1) Books ✅ for the most part. I have a bag to take to the library or Good Will, another one for gkids to go through, and a few odds and ends still waiting for me to decide on their fate. I ran out of room for them🙄 I need to read faster so I can discard some more. Or stop accepting books from friends that I read and return. Or stop ordering more from Amazon🙀😹
2) All other things made out of paper✅
3) Tomorrow…Boxes and containers that just need to go somewhere else…maybe the basement? Or out the door?
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~Waving Hi~ Wishing Everyone the Best And Success on Decluttering Adventures~
I have 2 Areas that I really want to DECLUTTER.... "My Craft room And my Storage area"... both are mainly crafting supplies....
I have wanted to get them done for a couple of years now.... SO... I figure this is a great time to start...
Thanks to the Suggestions from some Group members... I think I have come up with a realistic Plan for Success
My Plan is to Pick a SMALL section for each week... I figure that Way I wont be overwhelmed ... And I will feel Successful
one section at a time... I should be done By this time Next Year ... LOL ... At least I hope so
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~ 💕 ~🦋~💕~🌟~💕~🦋~💕~🌟~💕~🦋~💕~🌟~💕~🦋~💕~🌟~💕~🦋~💕~🌟~💕~🦋~💕~🌟~💕~🦋~💕~🌟~ 💕 ~~~ Waving Hi ~~ UPDATE .... July 23, 2021
Starting TODAY...... I WILL ....Do up to an hour of Decluttering/sorting/organizing Mon. Wed. Fri.
on Tues. and Thurs I WILL spend time crafting .......... (WEEKENDS are Free time for Hubby and me)
I have smaller areas I would love to Declutter/Sort/Organize.... I gave it some thought and decided to start with these while still in the warmer days...
Then When Autumn comes and I am in doors mostly... that will be the best time to work on my Craft And Storage area... It will definitely keep me busy.
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]So I’m going to do 10 minutes a day of the “I don’t want to’s”
Goal: 10 mins or more, no “roll-overs”
July 13✅30 mins
July 14✅31
July 15✅32
July 16 ✅40
July 17 ✅15
July 18 22 mins✅
July 19 10 mins✅
Week One: 7/7 180 mins wow 3 hours!!
July 20 ✅ 59 minutes
I had fun so I went much longer - reliving memories teaching 2000 or so!! Maybe it was good I cut myself off at 10 minutes yesterday
!!
7/21 ✅ 90 minutes (broke the back of this current job) one more small box to go.. then will do a final pass of all that I have kept, winnowing out more…then will mail the envelopes of school work to the former students who wanted them!!!
Yay!
7/22 10
7/23 90 minutes
7/24
7/25
7/26
Week Two:
Taking the rest of Week 2 off!0 -
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.~ Waving Hi ~
Wed. July 21 ....... 45 min .... 3 Drawers in bedroom...............................✔️
Fri... July 23 ....... 45 min ..... 3 Drawers in bedroom the other half .......✔️
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So I’m going to do 10 minutes a day of the “I don’t want to’s”
“Taking the rest of Week 2 off!”
I didn’t 😂🤣😂 I want to get this job DONE!
Week 1 3/13-19 3 hours
Week 2 3/20-26. 5hr 40 mins
Week 3
7/27
7/28
7/29
7/30
7/31
8/1
8/2
It’s taking vastly longer than I anticipated, but I’m definitely recycling tons.
I’m going to keep pitching papers/photos/videos until it takes up far less space. Two boxes..maximum 3!
Had a good 💡 idea
I’m going to repurpose my old class photo albums for my art, and just keep the special pages.
Pondering whether to scan /photograph much of this. That would be a job, but might make sense!! Pondering.0 -
On July 21 I wrote "There’s a central room on our second level that I’ve been working on since Saturday. I broke it down into projects.
1) Books ✅ for the most part. I have a bag to take to the library or Good Will, another one for gkids to go through, and a few odds and ends still waiting for me to decide on their fate. I ran out of room for them🙄 I need to read faster so I can discard some more. Or stop accepting books from friends that I read and return. Or stop ordering more from Amazon🙀😹
2) All other things made out of paper✅
3) Tomorrow…Boxes and containers that just need to go somewhere else…maybe the basement? Or out the door?"
4. Boxes moved or consolidated but still need to find a new home...probably the basement for now (lol and eye roll).
5. Cleaned off the desk, set up my cricut space, set up the TV, and just general clearing things out. Took down 2 boxes of prescription bottles that I will recycle.
6. Today...I have 2 old computers that need to go but the old HP has pictures from the old days (2008-2013) and documents the gkids wrote when playing school. Should be simple to transfer the pics to a flashdrive, right? That's what the lady told me at Staples when I asked if they did that because my other relic from the last century may not even have a port (I haven't looked yet) but I'm a bit nervous to try to hook that one up to the monitor. They do it for $70, so it's another project added to my list. Come to find out, the HP does have one USP port that I could put a flashdrive in...IF I didn't need to use it to plug in my mouse. So I thought I'd put the pics on CDs or DVDs. Nope, that wasn't working out well either. So change of plans, I checked out all of the old CDs and DVDs of pictures. 8 out of 22 worked, but I have 12 that I need to view and transfer to a flashdrive on a different computer. My new one doesn't have a CD player so the saga goes on and on and .... I'm going for a walk
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