June 12 Weekly Challenge: Declutter Fest 2017
themedalist
Posts: 3,218 Member
Theme: Healthy Practices
Challenge: Declutter Fest 2017
I have been waiting for this week to arrive.
A few days ago my daughter asked, "Hey, can we clean out the closet? It's getting really hard to find things in there and there are lots of things we don't use anymore". This was on top of our observations that the kitchen was pretty messy and the dining room needed straightening up as well. And don't get me started on the garage.
I've held off on these projects because I knew Declutter Fest would soon be here and this is the week! If you're wondering what decluttering, cleaning, and organizing have to do with better health, there are at least two interesting connections. When we're working on house projects like these, we're not sitting. We are up and moving around and this light to moderate activity has lots of health benefits. In addition, for many people, clutter is a source of stress, guilt, and can inhibit focus and productivity. Clutter becomes an array of visual cues of projects we haven't finished. The articles below go into greater detail as to how clutter affects our stress, productivity, brains, and indeed our lives. Not good. So this week.... let's bag, tag, recycle, and reorganize! We will feel great when we're done!
This Week's Challenge: Whether it's one project worked on over the week or lots of smaller projects, let's get these projects done. I'm looking forward to hearing what you accomplish this week. Post a picture of your finished project if you are so inclined!
Wednesday Check-in: The Wednesday updates post seems to work well so let's make that a regular feature. Look for a new post this Wednesday. Please let us know how it goes for you this week! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress and I'm sure others are too. We can all learn from each other.
Make it a great week!
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Suggested Resources:
Why Mess Causes Stress: 8 Reasons, 8 Remedies
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/high-octane-women/201203/why-mess-causes-stress-8-reasons-8-remedies
How Clutter Affects Your Brain (and What You Can Do About It)
http://lifehacker.com/how-clutter-affects-your-brain-and-what-you-can-do-abo-662647035
The Emotional Toll of Clutter
https://experiencelife.com/article/the-emotional-toll-of-clutter/
The Cost of Clutter: How Clutter Affects Your Time, Money, and Stress
https://www.verywell.com/the-cost-of-clutter-3144688
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Challenge: Declutter Fest 2017
I have been waiting for this week to arrive.
A few days ago my daughter asked, "Hey, can we clean out the closet? It's getting really hard to find things in there and there are lots of things we don't use anymore". This was on top of our observations that the kitchen was pretty messy and the dining room needed straightening up as well. And don't get me started on the garage.
I've held off on these projects because I knew Declutter Fest would soon be here and this is the week! If you're wondering what decluttering, cleaning, and organizing have to do with better health, there are at least two interesting connections. When we're working on house projects like these, we're not sitting. We are up and moving around and this light to moderate activity has lots of health benefits. In addition, for many people, clutter is a source of stress, guilt, and can inhibit focus and productivity. Clutter becomes an array of visual cues of projects we haven't finished. The articles below go into greater detail as to how clutter affects our stress, productivity, brains, and indeed our lives. Not good. So this week.... let's bag, tag, recycle, and reorganize! We will feel great when we're done!
This Week's Challenge: Whether it's one project worked on over the week or lots of smaller projects, let's get these projects done. I'm looking forward to hearing what you accomplish this week. Post a picture of your finished project if you are so inclined!
Wednesday Check-in: The Wednesday updates post seems to work well so let's make that a regular feature. Look for a new post this Wednesday. Please let us know how it goes for you this week! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress and I'm sure others are too. We can all learn from each other.
Make it a great week!
...................................................................................................................................................
Suggested Resources:
Why Mess Causes Stress: 8 Reasons, 8 Remedies
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/high-octane-women/201203/why-mess-causes-stress-8-reasons-8-remedies
How Clutter Affects Your Brain (and What You Can Do About It)
http://lifehacker.com/how-clutter-affects-your-brain-and-what-you-can-do-abo-662647035
The Emotional Toll of Clutter
https://experiencelife.com/article/the-emotional-toll-of-clutter/
The Cost of Clutter: How Clutter Affects Your Time, Money, and Stress
https://www.verywell.com/the-cost-of-clutter-3144688
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Replies
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I am so excited about the Declutter Fest 2017!
About six weeks ago this coming week opened up for me to have more time than usual to be by myself. My husband has something that he will be doing specifically this week, and I have no grandchildren coming over, and something else was cancelled. I had decided that this would be the ideal week that I could devote some extra uninterrupted time to decluttering the back room and begin to put things back to order as it was before my brother's accident. And then proceed from there to other rooms or areas until the week is finished.
I also hope to devote some of this time, weather permitting, to working on the ongoing outside yard and garden cleanup project.... another kind of decluttering for sure.
And then the Declutter Fest landed on the same exact week!! The timing couldn't be any more perfect!
:flowerforyou:
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loved the suggested resources this is a great way to get up and moving and get organized my apartment is quit small so not a lot of clutter really here but I do have a closet and I can go through.
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@themedalist I am in for this one! I have a lot of decluttering to do as well as helping my husband build our deck. We may be moving the end of August so I put my garage sale on hold that I was working on last month because there is so much more that would go and I only want one garage sale this summer!3
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At Christmas time I read Marie Kondo's book, The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up, and have been wanting to take on my house. Today I plan to start in the kitchen. My plan is to tackle one room peer week for deep cleaning. The kitchen is actually one of the easiest rooms for decluttering. Because it is quite small, I've always had to keep things to a minimum.2
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I'm in the middle of Spark Joy by Marie Condo. I think it's the companion book to The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up. (77tes, we could trade!!!) I got stuck on sorting and removing books and am moving forward with all things paper. But as I write this in my sewing room, I can see there is a major problem in here since it seems to have gotten way out of hand in SO many ways! If I stick with it, by the end of this week, it should be picture perfect...LOL! Definitely better though.3
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@nebslp , I know Kondo recommends starting with books, but in my house, I think that would sidetrack me. And as for my boast about not having much clutter in my kitchen - well, I've got a car trunkful of items for Goodwill, and I've only finished the cabinet above the fridge.
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@77tes, I started with clothes, then went to books. Kondo said never stop to read...yeah, right...and if you get stuck to go buy a big bookshelf to display all of your books instead of having them in drawers or boxes. Good Will and charities are great places to take things.3
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This is for me "the never ending story". I have to clean up 4 person's messes (myself included), and I admit being not so tidy myself. My other half gets things out of the way rather efficiently, but his idea of decluttering is to put it in a box and out of sight, so I prefer doing it myself even if it takes more time.
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I've been decluttering for about the past month, of course I now have a pile of give aways. When I'mm thru I will call veterans to pick up. My biggest project is my daughter had an upstairs bedroom and she want a downstairs. So we tiled her floor and got rid of old carpet. She painted the room and moved her furniture in. Now the room upstairs is a total disaster. Plastic boxes everywhere, she is a saver and much of the stuff is good just don't know what she is saving it for. She says when she has her own place. Ugh. As soon as she has a little break from nursing school again we will tackle more of it.2
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I'm in for it! I have several areas that I need to de-clutter in my house. I will start in the living room, putting away things that don't belong there.2
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I just glanced through the Marie Kondo book on decluttering and I think I misspoke. I couldn't find anywhere where she said to buy a big bookshelf to keep all of your books on. I guess that was my own interpretation based on not wanting to get rid of any of them! What our minds will tell us when we're in denial!!!4
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This is perfect timing! I had knee surgery today so am rather sedentary right now, and while I sit and ice my knee I'm noticing so many area that need to be decluttered! It's driving me crazy. So tomorrow when I'm allowed to remove ace bandage and put on TED hose, I'm going to begin. I don't know where to begin. Every closet, room, drawers, cupboards,etc. need it!
And I also have books that will need a bigger bookcase because I cannot throw or donate all my books either! Lol!
Tracie in WI
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@OConnell5483, I hope the recovery from knee surgery is smooth!
@77tes, I'm definitely opposed to Kondo on the book recommendation, then. I could never ever get rid of all the books I've read! I actually so the opposite: I try not to buy books unless I've read them and know that I will want to reread them and therefore should own them. Of course, I still get gifts and occasionally pick up something I intend to read and haven't gotten to yet, but I am definitely a sentimentalist when it comes to books.
I am curious about the underwear folding trick now, though....
I've set aside a big bag of clothes for donation (or, alas, garbage if it's socks that are totally falling apart), and I'm about halfway through tidying up my desk, which periodically becomes a surface for clutter instead of a usable space.3 -
@OConnell5483 Ouch. I hope your surgery makes your knee so much better. Maybe you can sift through papers while your icing your knee (something I need to do, too).
@fitphoenix , Yeah, I do need to go through my books because the floor of my house may soon cave in if I don't. Seriously, we have multiple bookcases in every room except the Bathroom and Kitchen), but that will be the hardest. There are a bunch of videos demonstrating Kondo's folding technique. Here is one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tglp9eWQEhY 1 -
This is my short week at work so this is the perfect challenge. I will not be able to post any updates until the end of the week. Hopefully I will get my scrapbook room decluttered and I will try to tackle my living room (after laundry day...I despise folding clothes) and kitchen. WooHoo!!!
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I got a lot of items out of the house this weekend! 4 bags donated, a couch removed, and much more to go!5
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