@nebslp wrote: "So wait "there is a declutter notebook?!!!!!!!I know!!! Why haven’t I thought about this!?? What a great way to see how far you’ve come and what’s next on the decluttering agenda! Thanks, "

My notebook is just a simple spiral bound notebook that is sold at bargain prices when it is back to school time. I scotch taped small Post-it notes through out the notebook on the top corner of various pages and labeled them for rooms/ areas/ or kinds of clutter as I continued decluttering during the spring of 2019 declutterfest and beyond. And I have continued to use it and add new areas since then. I write only general notes to help me know what section or drawer for instance, that I worked on so I can revisit later and know that it had a first or second pass through already, or know where I stopped during that session. I definitely do not list everything that is given away, donated, or trashed. Those are history!!

@MadisonMolly2017 wrote: "decluttering ebbs & flows for most of us! I’m finding shifting from that to cleaning to organizing & back keeps it fresh! "

So true and well said!

I never knew there were combination cutting. pressing mats! Somebody was resourceful and came up with a solution to reduce stuff in a sewing or multi use creative room or space!

Thank you to everyone who recently shared photos!! Loved them, especially the flowers!!

Are we still looking for the missing socks? Or iron?

or perhaps... Waldo? 😲 (do you know Waldo has been looked for over and over again for over 30 years! I learned this from a book blurb on Amazon when I wanted to make sure I spelled his name correctly. A 30th Anniversary book was published in May of 2017!


@nebslp I Googled answers to your question: "I think some of those spices may be beyond being old and are close to being ancient, but how do you know? I have started to write the date on any new spices I buy, must have started that in 2016. That’s one way to know how long I’ve had them."

I found some interesting as well as informative answers to your spice question. Enough that I'm leaving it up to each one to research the question if anyone is currently wanting answers when decluttering their spice cabinets.

However, I wanted to share this tidbit of trivia (or information 🤦‍♀️) that I came across

"Do Spices Expire?

The brand states that if you see "Baltimore, MD" printed on your McCormick spice label, that spice is at least 25 years old. Now that's some old spice in your spice cabinet. Current McCormick spices will read "Hunt Valley, MD" because that's where they are currently manufactured. Additionally, McCormick hasn't used rectangular tins for herbs and spices in 25 years, so if you have any of those lying around, go ahead and toss 'em because yes, spices do expire."

from https://wideopeneats.com/mccormick-spices-expire/

Note: This page has some other information about spices further down, that some may be interested in. It is dated March 2020 so at least it is a newer page.

🤠🌺

September 15

This day I focused on what I called in my notebook 'general paper'. That is my nebulous term for paper that just seems to collect, and creep around, and hang out in random places, especially where my buddy P. Tiger hunkers down and becomes quite invisible for the most part (🌿🐯🌳). I have no other notes for it so I'm certain it means that I went about looking on flat surfaces or in my 'basket' and other other places in my home that attracts paper. I also listed mail, periodicals, and miscellaneous papers and shredding. Mail would only be 3 days at most, if even that, since I noted nothing paper wise on Monday and we just had a weekend. Thankfully mail has not been a real issue for me since I learned how to deal with it in my early FlyLady days.
On Tuesday/Friday mornings I often go around looking quickly for anything that I can put into my bag for recycling paper. Those days are my area's trash pickup days and I use that fact to remind me to check for stray paper or flyers etc of any kind. It is easy to surmise that I captured said papers and shredded some also.

September 16

Notes say first pass through "saved important papers" in the banker box, which would be beside the file cabinet where I put files or mini piles of paper that I had been uncertain as what to do with them at that time, or just not ready to work through them yet. Or they are files removed from the cabinet that need a second look through before declaring a first pass completed and ready to be returned. Sometimes I need to create some distance, and in doing so I often achieve some clarity of mind the second time I look through them. Notes said that I put aside about 1/2 of them to be shredded, tomorrow, while doing a quick recheck of my decision to shred at that time. Again, I gave myself space to make certain that I made good decisions to shred these papers. Often times when I do this I will peek back through the paper that went back into the file and sometimes rethink a few of them... and off to the shredder they go (just when they thought they were safely hidden in the file 😆😱)

September 17

Notes: "Lots of shredding"

September 18

Notes: Bills, mail, paperwork, purge & shred

September 19

Notes: Miscellaneous paper decluttered, and shredded

September 23

I had watched on YouTube recently where the woman said that when decluttering a lot of paper she had several categories planned, with spaces devoted to each category, such as creating a dedicated pile, a box, a bin etc, where she would place each paper into its own category.

I made that concept work for me by writing with a bold black marker on pieces of white notebook paper 😁 📄 my categories, and then spreading them the width of my empty table that I can now use as my workspace. Thus, instead of taking each individual paper to completion, I would now separate the whole pile/ folder into my categories. Then I would deal with each category as a unit! Like an assembly line worker working on one piece of the car. I'd be focused on only that category after sorting.

My categories were 1. 'Keep for filing' (wherever it is supposed be filed), 2. 'Keep for filing: 'insurance related', (this paper will have various names of the file as time goes on- cross out the current word insurance and then write new file name. (This category is only for whenever I might be focusing on one sort of paper to file). 3. Action needed (phone call, mail etc). 4. Recycle. 5. Shred.

September 24

Sort, save, shred (Medical papers)

September 26 and 28th

These were the days when I was going over those old files that needed both my husband and I to go through together, and when the unexpected 'part two' of my mid month NSV happened.

Digital decluttering.

September 29

Shred and act on miscellaneous paper

October 2

Sorted neighborhood newspapers, inserts & coupons, mail and various papers from the past several days and my Friday hunt for any loose (🌿🐯🌳). (maintenance paper (declutter) day).

🤠🌺