DECLUTTER IN FEBRUARY!

J3nnyBeanz
J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
edited February 4 in Challenges
Wellness is not only physical but mental and emotional. This February, everyday declutter one thing in your life!

My house over all is in order but my bedroom, which should be a safe, serene space is clutterville.

Take time to choose just one thing for each day. Make a list so you can sort out what needs to be done and as a bonus you get to check it off as you complete it.

Here's some ideas. Email spam folder, sock drawer, closet, email in box, medicine cabinet, cabinet under your sink, glove compartment in your car, one desk drawer.... and so much more!

Here's my list:

*All emails that are not needed in all folders
* pair up the sock drawer
* playroom closet
* bedroom closet
* center console of my car
* my trunk 🤦‍♀️
* the corner in my room...I know which one
* other closet in the playroom
* top of my desk
* the drawer under my bed that I don't even know whats in it
* clean up the glass on the floor of my office that's been there for 5 months
* organize my bedside table
* clean out my medicine cabinet
* throw out or donate work books, journals, goal books that have been started and never finished or never used.
* the fridge and deep clean
* drawers under my closet I'm wasting space, idk whats even in there anymore.
* my side of built-in cabinets
* under my car seats
* fundraiser stuff put in office
* drawer in the green thing in the bathroom
* photos in my phone
* dog supply basket
* Julian's desk drawer
* foot stool - all the crap sitting on it
* that thing with stuff all in it on the ottoman.
* the freezer
* snack cabinet
* my medical supply drawer
* my underbed draw with lots of stuff I might use one day
* 2 boxes from the basement
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Replies

  • LoveyChar
    LoveyChar Posts: 4,336 Member
    I love this and I'll be on board soon! Hopefully today!
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    Today I did all my emails and the thing sitting on the ottoman!!!
  • LoveyChar
    LoveyChar Posts: 4,336 Member
    Today I walked into the vision center at Walmart and I said to the lovely lady associate as I handed her a bunch of old glasses that were being thrown out at a store I worked in and I rescued (people left behind) because I was going to find a place to donate them, "I'd like to recycle these, please." (Biggest run-on sentence ever)

    "And, I'd love to," she said. Win, win!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,713 Member
    I organized my spice rack. As one spice bottle got low I would buy a replacement, which sat in front of the rack until needed; occasionally, I'd forget I already got a replacement and bought another; over time, the entire area in front of my spice rack became filled with new and/or half-filled spice bottles, making it hard to find the one I actually needed for a meal. So I pulled all the replacement bottles aside onto an empty shelf in the pantry above the rack, leaving only the ONE bottle being used until empty on the rack itself.

    Now if the spice I need is empty, I look on the shelf above; and if I take from the shelf above, then and ONLY then do I add the spice to my grocery list.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    LoveyChar wrote: »
    Today I walked into the vision center at Walmart and I said to the lovely lady associate as I handed her a bunch of old glasses that were being thrown out at a store I worked in and I rescued (people left behind) because I was going to find a place to donate them, "I'd like to recycle these, please." (Biggest run-on sentence ever)

    "And, I'd love to," she said. Win, win!

    I love this!!! I'm adding this to my list. I have my sons glasses. As he grows out of the I put them in a drawer.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    Today I cleaned out my sock drawer. Of the whole cluttered draw there were only 7 actual matching pairs. Since I only use a sock for one foot usually I'm okay with this. I threw out socks that were stretched out or had holes. I was going to use them as rags, but I already have a bin full 🤣
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    nossmf wrote: »
    I organized my spice rack. As one spice bottle got low I would buy a replacement, which sat in front of the rack until needed; occasionally, I'd forget I already got a replacement and bought another; over time, the entire area in front of my spice rack became filled with new and/or half-filled spice bottles, making it hard to find the one I actually needed for a meal. So I pulled all the replacement bottles aside onto an empty shelf in the pantry above the rack, leaving only the ONE bottle being used until empty on the rack itself.

    Now if the spice I need is empty, I look on the shelf above; and if I take from the shelf above, then and ONLY then do I add the spice to my grocery list.

    I do this too. I currently have 3 jars of oregano sitting in my cabinet lol
  • LuckyStella1
    LuckyStella1 Posts: 15 Member
    Started reading “Decluttering at the Speed of Life” in January in preparation for a full house clean up starting in February.

    So far:
    -purged one bookcase of roughly 50 books, half of which are antiques and too fragile to read
    -met with a jeweler to refashion broken/not wearable pieces
    -went through the bathroom cabinets and tossed all the old makeup, hair products, and crap I never use
    -started cleaning my office. I retired Jan 1, and I don’t need any of that stuff anymore. Ever.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,254 Member
    My house needs this! Unfortunately, when you live with a hoarder it's tough to declutter when she is watching! lol
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    xbowhunter wrote: »
    My house needs this! Unfortunately, when you live with a hoarder it's tough to declutter when she is watching! lol

    That has to be so hard! I'm here for you if you need me.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    Started reading “Decluttering at the Speed of Life” in January in preparation for a full house clean up starting in February.

    So far:
    -purged one bookcase of roughly 50 books, half of which are antiques and too fragile to read
    -met with a jeweler to refashion broken/not wearable pieces
    -went through the bathroom cabinets and tossed all the old makeup, hair products, and crap I never use
    -started cleaning my office. I retired Jan 1, and I don’t need any of that stuff anymore. Ever.

    This is awesome!!!! It's motivation to get me to clean out my bedside tables! I go over what I'm going to do and then walk away! That's what I'm conquering today!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,713 Member
    Finally got around to clearing out all the dishes in the sink, including hand-washing those couple pans which don't fit in the dishwasher and which I'd told myself I would get to "eventually."
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    @nossmf didn't that feel good!!!
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    edited February 7
    I finally cleaned my bedside tables!!! Is that what they're called? Night stands?
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,713 Member
    Never realized how cluttered my work desk has become with assorted papers and used sticky notes. Took the entire stack to the shredder, and now the only things on my desk are computer, phone, and family photo. Desk somehow seems bigger now, lol.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    @nossmf my desk might be the last thing I do, just looking at the stacks exhaust me!

    Today I started going through notebooks, magazines and papers I have in the bottom of my closet. I still have more to go but its a start.
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,294 Member
    I'm going to start small, today, decluttering the the thousands of pens and pencils I have around the house.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,713 Member
    Nothing done last night, my daughter got hired for her first job after graduation, we spent the night celebrating with ice cream and family board games.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    Last night I cleaned out my fridge and freezer. My original plan was my desk but I can't face that yet.

    @nossmf congratulations to your daughter!!!!

    @AdahPotatah2024 i need to add that to my list!!
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,294 Member
    It might be a week's project!😋
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,713 Member
    I can't take credit for it, but my son got fed up with the food pantry, pulled everything out (and I mean EVERYTHING was spread across the kitchen counter and dinner table), then systematically put everything back in a way where it's no longer visually cluttered, everything is easy to find.
  • LuckyStella1
    LuckyStella1 Posts: 15 Member
    I tackled the mail and “VERY IMPORTANT PAPERS” pile. Turns out they weren’t actually that important…

    Shredded most of it, everything else went into labeled folders or the memory box for sorting again some other time.

    Saving the pictures and cards for another day helps keep me on track instead of wandering down memory lane and avoiding the task at hand. When the memory box is full, I’ll have to sort it and make decisions.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    edited February 10
    I love that you have a memory box!

    I think my pantry will get done today.
    Last night was spent getting my son packed for a camping trip with the scouts. I fell asleep at 9pm which is 4 or 5 hours earlier then usual! So nothing got done.
  • Surrealmuse
    Surrealmuse Posts: 16 Member
    Love this challenge! Just what I need as we're trying to sell our house and definitely need to declutter after being in the same house for 20 years. I've already started this week a little and got caught up on several months worth of mail (I do email/autopay) so a lot is just junk. Today I'm going to brainstorm with my husband and make a list of all the things we need to accomplish to get the house ready to sell and tackle some tasks.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    I am tackling my basement over the course of this week. There's so much down there I feel frozen just thinking about it! I'm giving myself some grace and time to fully complete this!

    @Surrealmuse welcome!!!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,713 Member
    My wife's gotten into the spirit, and asked me to haul all the large boxes filled with miscellaneous things from under the basement stairs, up two flights to the bedroom, for her to go through. She didn't toss a single thing, but she did consolidate everything into fewer boxes for me to haul back to the basement, which makes the space beneath the stairs look just a little bit neater.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    @nossmf that's great! Even if nothing got tossed at least you know what's there. I dud half of my desk today. Tomorrow I'll tackle the other half!
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,294 Member
    I'm going to finally,today, put 3 boxes of my uncle's stuff from the 80s into a shed. It's been in the living room for 3 weeks while I'm recovering from falling on the steps right on my tailbone. :s
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    I'm finding that my procrastination is both a blessing and a curse LOL. While I procrastinate about doing one task of decluttering I end up doing others so either way something is getting done. Even if it's not what I initially set out to do.
  • J3nnyBeanz
    J3nnyBeanz Posts: 134 Member
    My goal today is to get rid of at least 3 boxes from the basement. I had a huge yard sale and I'm finding that things I did not sell I felt had value still and could sell again at another garage sale. I'm finally going down there and getting rid of things to donate or throw out.