Decluttering Thread?

[icedcoffee]

It's been a while since we had one (I think) and I always find them helpful to energize me.

I'm continuing to make progress on my home office declutter! In the past I think I've let perfection get in the way of progress. I gave away a bunch of half used office supplies on Buy Nothing this weekend. So nice to just have less stuff!!



Tossed a bunch of old mix CDs, wiped my old ipod and sold it.


Recycled about 200 greeting cards from various showers/birthdays/baptisms.


Today I want to wipe an old computer so I can try to bring it by a place that buys old computers tomorrow.  It's the only access to a CD drive I have left but the computer is so old I don't think it's even worth holding onto.  It was slow when it was new!

What are you working on?

[chilerellanos]

Oh, I need this thread badly!

I just moved last May, and already feel surrounded by my stuff. I really haven’t bought anything new, so I think I just need to get rid of stuff.

[devonpow]

We cleaned out our freezers this weekend and it was oddly satisfying lol. My panic buying from TWO YEARS AGO now, plus the fact that we get a monthly meat delivery from a local farm means both freezers were totally stuffed and impossible. I took everything out, scrubbed them down, tossed a bunch, reorganized. So satisfying.

The big thing to reorganize and clean out is our garage. But it’s not heated so I’m not touching it until spring.

[candreco]

I'm trying to work on the little places- this weekend DS and I cleaned out his cart of crap and school supply bin so we could condense it all down to just the cart, organized in a way he can actually see all of the art supplies and use them. Recycled so many half done drawings, and rediscovered some of his favorite ones.

Other spots on the list are my makeup (so much old to toss and unused to donate), the bajillion pens/markers/pencils/etc accumulated on the breakfast bar, wall basket of school papers, things like that.

[icedcoffee]

Oh--I've also been working on trial and sample sized body products. Using them up. I always tend to throw them in a drawer. I'm using them up and anything left by 6/30 goes in the trash.

[ssmjlm]

We’ll I’ve been in Lego hell most of the month. We have the water park all together with every little piece. The amusement park is next.

I gave away a bunch sweaters and leggings on but nothing and have a few more things up.

I think I need to do another towel purge from our hall bath.

Our garage needs some love from the various outdoor stuff my kid has outgrown, but not until it’s warmer.

[mlkgls]

I feel like my entire house needs decluttering. It’s usually fairly company ready, but I often feel overwhelmed at how much stuff we have. I saw a FB meme last week (lol), that has stuck with me. I have no idea how to pip, but it boils down to 1% is always better than 0%. I’ve been trying to break the rooms down into smaller pieces so they don’t feel quite as overwhelming.

I have tackled my kitchen baking cabinet and my craft closet recently, but I need to work on the rest of the cabinets and my @@ds’s clothes/toys.

[cjcouple]

Perfect timing!

I have this closet in my garage that goes under the stairwell. I really need to go through and purge most if it a d reorganize I've so seasonal items can be placed in there. Summer items for winter and vice versa.

I also need to do my attic but that needs to wait for weather to cooperate.

My kids also start a new semester so we cleaned out their back packs

[icedcoffee]

Jan 31, 2022 9:15:33 GMT -5 @meepmeep said:

I'm also working on my home office. I've done an initial pass and tossed/given away/recycled a lot. Now I have a bunch of piles I need to deal with - paperwork/admin stuff to do or file, electronics to either update and use or wipe and donate, throw pillows and other items the puppy chewed up and need to be repaired/cleaned or tossed, etc. It feels overwhelming because I work from home and work in this room up to 10 hours a day already, so the last thing I want to do is spend more time in here organizing stuff after work. I'm trying to to the Pomodoro technique (25-minute timed sprints with 5-minute breaks in between, and longer breaks after 4 sprints) - doing 2 pomodoros each day until I work my way through the piles. Then I get to do fun stuff like rearranging furniture and hanging new art.

Sounds like we're in a really similar boat.  I find office stuff overwhelming also because some of the tasks take a while or become rabbit holes.  Like wiping electronics or a pile of papers that needs to be put into a photo album.  BLAH.  I'd never heard of the Pomodoro technique but it sounds similar to what I was doing.  I like it.

I've also been turning off my camera on some calls so I can go through a pile or whatever.

[preppy]

We have a dumpster right now cause we finished a garage build and all the construction scraps are being loaded in and I am 100% taking advantage and throwing out all the things.

I am very diligent about de-cluttering and obsessive about not keeping things that don't have a purpose so a dumpster is a dream for me.

I also have a closet company coming today to get a quote on a build out which will make my closet more functional. I have one quote already, getting one more today then have the last person coming Friday for a third. I am really excited.

Also can I just say that I dream about quitting my job and being a professional organizer? Ah that would be my favorite.

[maudefindlay]

preppy I follow a couple local personal organizers on IG and I love watching their stories each day. So relaxing and satisfying.

[Gato]

I cleaned out my freezer too. It WAS satisfying! And a little sad... there was meat in there marked from 2017. Which means I moved it from our condo in 2020. WHY??? We're vegetarian now, lol, so it makes even less sense.

I want to tackle my crazy basement next, but it will require a stiff drink, maybe, and everyone out of the house so the kids won't hear me cursing.

[lust2hart]

If anyone is looking for a good resource/inspiration, I really enjoy watching The Minimal Mom's YouTube videos.

[macmars45]

I need to do my closet. It's a huge mess. Same for my laundry room but it's more complicated in that I need to buy storage cupboards and get them installed first. It feels really overwhelming.

The garage will wait until spring as it's not insulated.

[Bernadine]

Jan 31, 2022 9:40:07 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

preppy I follow a couple local personal organizers on IG and I love watching their stories each day. So relaxing and satisfying.

Anyone you recommend following?

I started cleaning through dd’s toys with her yesterday, and omg, she’s a little hoarder. We’re making some progress, though, hoping to finish it up tonight.

[melmel48]

I have 4 boxes of stuff ready to go to Savers. Except they have been sitting there for months and I just don't have the energy to bring them downstairs to my car and actually go to Savers. This thread is exactly what I need.

[sillygoosegirl]

Last weekend a week ago, we went through all the crap in the master bathroom, including most of the under-sink stuff, all the medicine cabinet stuff, and the big pile of crap on the windowsill. Felt really good. This weekend we spent taking down the medicine cabinet and building better storage for the bathroom. (Because when you only have 26 inches of clearance between the sink and the wall, you really don't want a medicine cabinet that sticks 6 inches into that space.)

I'm trying to psych myself out for moving on to the master bedroom. Especially my dresser and the closet. I have this vague plan of working outward room by room from the master bathroom.

My other big decluttering win lately was building pullout trays for under the couch for @@@ my kid's Legos and misc other small things. Because even though I'd like to get rid of my kid's toys, having a good "away" for them is the next best thing.

[VillainV]

We’re moving this summer and are about to put our house on the market, so we need to do ALL of the decluttering. I’ve done some already, but there’s so much more left to do (toys, books, clothes, all of the random crap in the closets…)

[glw]

I bought a used bookshelf on FB marketplace and set it up in my home office over the weekend. Now I need to bring home my work-related books from my soon-to-be-forfeited office space and arrange them. THEN I need to tackle the 15+ years of papers in my filing cabinet. It's easier to keep stuffing them in there than shredding all the old stuff and I'm so behind.

[icedcoffee]

Oh...I also need to get the playroom under better control. I was lost for a bit because I need more bins, but the bins I love at Target seemed to disappear, but I noticed this week an almost identical bin (just rounded corners instead of square) is back. If you're looking for good toy bins. These fit perfectly in the Ikea cube furniture. The small fits 3 to a square, medium 2 to a square and large 1 to a square. I like them because they are clear, have multiple sizes and they are CHEAP.

They do crack and break eventually with rough kids, but at that price I don't care. I sent my H last week to pick up like 20 of them.  I plan to pack up some toys to bring to the basement and hide for a bit so I can rotate them back in once we get bored.

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[Doggy Mommy]

I've done a lot in the last few months because of house projects. We got new carpet upstairs, so we had to empty out every closet. We had a big donate pile and trash pile from that. Then we got the kitchen cabinets painted, so again we had to clear out every cupboard. I had 3 boxes and 2 bags of stuff to donate after that.

The big problem areas left are a closet in our bathroom that just tends to collect crap, my craft room (more like organizing rather than decluttering), and the garage. We'll have to wait until it's warm out for that.

[icedcoffee]

And when our hot water heater leaked this old roll of carpet we had got wet so...oh darn, we had to trash it. Such a loss. LOL

[Aloe Vera]

My main goals are bringing old computers to a recycling center and giving old towels to an animal shelter.
I have a pile of magazines that I've never read (automatic subscription from buying something online) that I need to offer on my buy nothing group.

[maudefindlay]

Jan 31, 2022 10:15:02 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Jan 31, 2022 9:40:07 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

preppy I follow a couple local personal organizers on IG and I love watching their stories each day. So relaxing and satisfying.

Anyone you recommend following?

I started cleaning through dd’s toys with her yesterday, and omg, she’s a little hoarder. We’re making some progress, though, hoping to finish it up tonight.

The ones local to me are:
The Baer Minimalist
The Simple Life Indy
Keep It Simple Indy

The bloggers Chris Loves Julia hired pro organizers Neat NC before Christmas and they did practically their whole house.

I also follow:
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Marie Kondo
The Home Edit

[circa1978]

We cleaned out the laundry room closets this week. One of them we are making into a mudroom style bench with hooks and the other had just become a total catch-all for crap coming in and out of the garage or kitchen, like DS's Halloween costumes and a hot plate from our reno last year. About 1/3 went back into the garage, 1/3 into the basement and 1/3 to trash or Goodwill. I would really like to get that room finished because it's still got outstanding projects from our kitchen remodel and we ended up taking the door off at that time so I see it all day every day.

[icedcoffee]

OMG. You guys I just found a CD and put it into my computer to see what it is. It's all of My AIM conversations backed up. Including with 2 of my ex-s. Save me from myself.

These convos are so embarrassing. Shoot me.

[midwestmama]

This is one of my goals for 2022.

I started with the living room, because it seems like the easiest. What I have left now in the living room is going through all the DVDs from when the kids were little (e.g., Barbie movies, Dora & Diego, etc.). I know some of them are scratched, but not sure if it impacts the playability of the disc. Do you typically just throw those away, or would you just include them when you take items to donate?

I have a long way to go, but it feels good to at least say I've started.

[Susie]

I have been Buy Nothing'ing a lot lately, and I need to keep going.  This weekend I gave away the wrapping paper that "Santa" used this past Christmas so it can't be discovered by my 6 yo.

One of my downfalls is that I'm simultaneously trying to declutter my dad's house.  Every time I visit, I bring home more crap of my mom's that he will never use (her clothes, stuff related to her hobbies, etc.) and it's a fresh wave of stuff I can give away on Buy Nothing, but it takes time and energy.  It gets overwhelming fast.

[icedcoffee]

Jan 31, 2022 12:12:26 GMT -5 midwestmama said:

This is one of my goals for 2022.

I started with the living room, because it seems like the easiest. What I have left now in the living room is going through all the DVDs from when the kids were little (e.g., Barbie movies, Dora & Diego, etc.). I know some of them are scratched, but not sure if it impacts the playability of the disc. Do you typically just throw those away, or would you just include them when you take items to donate?

I have a long way to go, but it feels good to at least say I've started.

I'd donate or list for free on FB or Craigslist.  Someone may want them.

[bex1973]

Jan 31, 2022 10:59:03 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

OMG. You guys I just found a CD and put it into my computer to see what it is. It's all of My AIM conversations backed up. Including with 2 of my ex-s. Save me from myself.

These convos are so embarrassing. Shoot me.

Samples?  LOL