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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 2, 2020 5:26:30 GMT
Happy New Year! After taking a poll last month, it was decided to continue with a monthly thread for the Decluttering & Organizing peas. I noticed that there were 110 votes and didn't realize that so many were interested in our thread! I hope that all of you who voted will take the time to join in and post, even if you aren't actively organizing at the moment. The more, the merrier! How are you approaching your 2020 goals? Have you bothered to even make a list? I'm a list maker and have started lists for my sewing/quilting goals, one for my photo/slide organizing, one for household tasks and another one for items I need/want to have framed. I find the act of crossing off a completed task if very rewarding. That leads me to believe I was probably motivated by gold star stickers in kindergarten! I will be adding a new goal list this year - one where I keep track of the fabric that comes in the house vs the fabric that is used up. The idea is for more to have gone out in 2020. Debating whether I'll add this information to my monthly thread post, or perhaps starting a separate thread, posting at the end of each month. Looking forward to hearing what everyone wants to accomplish in 2020, as well as see your goals for January. I'll come back and post mine tomorrow. ETA: Totally forgot to add this last night as one of my January questions/prompts! Do you have certain decluttering tasks that you always do in January? If so, what are they? Mine is going through the medicine cabinets/toiletries/makeup in the bathroom and the refrigerator/pantry. Expired items, things that will never be used (that last bit of rice, etc) get tossed. While doing that, I make a shopping list of anything that needs to be replaced.
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Jan 2, 2020 5:52:07 GMT
My goals for this month are:
- have our curbside trash container completely full each week, and fill the recycle container even more than we usually do
- bring one bag or box to donate every week
- I also want to drop off this weekend a gigantic teddy bear that is bigger than me and a student desk to Salvation Army. Both are in perfect condition. I wish I could have done it last month because they are both nice enough to use as gifts.
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Post by bc2ca on Jan 2, 2020 5:58:13 GMT
How are you approaching your 2020 goals? I have printed a few goal/habit trackers that have the whole year on a page so I can see at a glance how I'm doing. I will track walking, yoga and meditation. The yoga is a new one this year and I hope to take a class at least once a week. My big January decluttering and organizing project is to take on the office/craft room. I already use Evernote to inventory my stamps & dies and want to add embossing folders, stencils and embellishments into it as well. As always, I need to get ruthless about clearing out supplies that I haven't used in forever and won't miss if they are donated.
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camcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,967
Jun 26, 2014 3:41:19 GMT
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Post by camcas on Jan 2, 2020 6:30:20 GMT
I really want to have a go at a capsule wardrobe for work I’ve been getting inspiration from the Vivienne files for some time now
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Post by disneypal on Jan 2, 2020 8:41:47 GMT
I read these threads but rarely post. My goal this month is small and simple...I have a catch-all bar stool with lots of papers and things on it - it keeps piling up so my goal for the month is to clear it off and keep it that way.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 2, 2020 10:25:11 GMT
Thank you for continuing this thread!😁
My 2020 decluttering goals are:
To give away the large ride on toddler summer toys that are stored in the basement. There's a little pool, a cozy coupe car, and a few other things. I hesitated last year because i wasn't sure if my youngest still wanted them, but it's been a whole year, they didn't get used this past summer, and they've been outgrown. (I don't know why, but it makes me sad, so I'm dealing with those feelings)
I want to buy a clear over the door shoe organizer to replace my fabric one. I use it in my bedroom to stash often used toiletries. The fabric one is really good at hiding miscellaneous items, so I want a clear one so that I'm not tempted to do that anymore.
To continue to routinely delete junk emails from my inbox. I had done it last year after it built up, then let it go again, then just did it again the last week of December. I currently have one email there, and want to keep it clean. I've set up filters, and have been unsubscribing to many.
I want to continue to keep paperwork neat. It's pretty good right now, but i know how easily it can get out of control.
I don't keep lists about decluttering, other than on this thread.
I do keep lists about everything else in my life, it seems, because i just can't seem to remember everything for all of us anymore without one.
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 2, 2020 13:24:25 GMT
LavenderLayoutLady I understand! The hardest things I purged were the Little Tykes kitchen and shopping cart. My grandchildren loved them and were so much fun to watch play with them. But, they are 11 and 16, so those days are gone.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 2, 2020 13:58:31 GMT
Thanks for continuing these threads. I will be needing the inspiration. All small goals have currently been eclipsed by the fact that we closed on a new home this week. January will be for moving.
Fortunately, we are under no pressure to get out of our current home quickly so we plan to carefully assess each item BEFORE taking it to the new home in a Marie Kondo sort of way. I want to be very intentional about what goes.
My husband and I have discussed the fact that there's no "later" for us now. This is likely our final home until we age out of it! So no need to take sealed up boxes of stuff for later. We either love it and plan to use it... or it goes away. In theory, it sounds very simple, right? It's going to be harder to put into practice but we really plan to try. It will come much easier for me than for him. I'm going to need y'all to send me patience. Lol.
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Post by Skellinton on Jan 2, 2020 14:03:36 GMT
I need to purge and organize my toys. I am a pre-k teacher with limited storage at school and I have lots of little kids in my life, so I tend to keep toys and games at home that either visit school or the kids in my family. Right now they are piled up in bins in various rooms of the house. It is ridiculous. I need to find bins that match for stacking purposes and one space to store them in. My goal on Friday is to go through them and see which ones I can donate and then get the others in labeled bins. After that is done then I will see where they can all be stored.
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Post by Linda on Jan 2, 2020 14:19:45 GMT
goals for 2020?
#1 is get mum's house cleaned out and sold. I'll be spending about 3 weeks up there this month working on that. Hopefully I can get enough done that my sister and BIL can finish up and get it on the market
#2 is limit how much I bring back from mum's house AND organise what I do bring back. I know I'm bringing back a sideboard and a coffee table/side tables and the slides and the rest of the photos.
#3 is make a dent in scanning photos and typing up mum's handwritten memories (100+ memories - each 2-9+ pages long) and figure out storing and sharing. So far I'm using Google Drive to share but that's really a temporary solution.
January goals?
Obviously working on mum's house for most of the month. I do have an 8-cube unit arriving today or tomorrow that'll is planned to hold photos/slides coming back from mum's house - it's taking the place of a broken futon which needs to leave.
I'm hoping DH will finally get my closet rod up in my half of the closet this month. He asked what I wanted for Christmas and that's what I told him. He has the supplies already - it's matter of making time. [backstory - someone (not I) overloaded their half of the closet rod/shelf about 5 years ago and the whole thing came tumbling down. He replaced his side and made a wooden shelf to separate the sides (we won't talk about the fact he put it on my side so I lost a foot of space). But he never got around to replacing my side, sigh]
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Judy26
Pearl Clutcher
MOTFY Bitchy Nursemaid
Posts: 2,834
Location: NW PA
Jun 25, 2014 23:50:38 GMT
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Post by Judy26 on Jan 2, 2020 15:18:57 GMT
I am going to start using a planner again for work and personal life. I really enjoy using one but I lost that joy when my dad was sick. It’s been over a year since he passed and I think I am out of my fog I have been in since. I usually go through all closets and cupboards in January. I skipped last year so it’s a necessity this month. I want to set up my finished basement as an exercise studio and craft room. Hopefully I can get that done by June so I can focus on the deck, yard and cottage during the summer months.
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Jan 2, 2020 15:29:23 GMT
I went to Ikea yesterday and bought $600 worth of furniture for my craft room. It's currently a disaster, or as my SO calls it, a closet. I have craft supplies all over the house. By the end of next week I hope to have it all put together, and I can get started organizing and purging. Right now, when I try to organize I get overwhelmed and just shut the door.
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Post by tentoes on Jan 2, 2020 15:51:09 GMT
Thanks for continuing the decluttering posts for this year. This is going to be a hard year for me with a bunch of life changes. I'm going to be moving to a much smaller space. So, with that goal in mind, I have a LOT to sort through and get rid of. I really don't know quite how to prioritize but I have to learn quickly!! I am thinking this move will take place sometime this coming summer, so I need to get on the ball and get busy. When I get things sorted out in my head, I'll put it on paper.
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Post by bunnyhug on Jan 2, 2020 16:31:13 GMT
I am a pretty organized/tidy person, but I also love to tackle a mess and sort it all out ... so I tend to let an area get all untidy so that I can 'rescue' it I was just walking through the house and getting ridiculously excited that my set of library card catalogue drawers need attention, not to mention my back hallway/mudroom closet! On my secondary list for the day/weekend is to pay some attention to our basement storage room--my kids put the Christmas bins down there, and I'm pretty sure there was zero putting the bins onto the shelves happening! Decidedly less exciting than drawers and closets, it's time for my annual filing cabinet purge ... it seems like the insurance company sends giant envelopes of documents every week or two, so that file alone is taking up way more than its allotted space! I hate cleaning the filing cabinet, so that's what I put off, and that's what I'm going to use this thread to keep me accountable for!!!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 2, 2020 17:11:05 GMT
So nice to see everyone this morning! I edited my initial post with a question I forgot about last night. Be sure and check that out!
We've already made a start on decluttering this year. DH went through his closet and added quite a bit of clothing the donation box. A suit, a blazer, 3 Tommy Bahama shirts and 9 t-shirts (mostly those free giveaways, unworn). Still needs to go through his sock drawer this weekend. Because he needs a Tall all those freebie shirts are too short and he never wears them. His goal this year is to no longer accept those t-shirts.
I am going to list my major 2020 goals here so that I can refer back to them in a year's time. Hopefully most, if not all, will be marked off!
2020 Goals:
1. Declutter and organize the guest/junk room by category: *DD's old toys * eBay pile (sell or donate) *Framed artwork/photos *Deal with 4 remaining boxes from Mom's estate *Dresser - purge and organize all 12 drawers 2. Sewing Room: * Complete 5 quilts in progress, and 3 more that I have supplies for * Begin garment sewing again, using fabric & patterns on hand * End 2020 with less fabric than I started with. Keep track monthly. 3. Photos: * Scan remaining slides (11 carrousels) and donate the carrousels * Purge all duplicate photos (pre-1998) * Organize and scan old family photos (several smaller storage bins) 4. Travel: *Visit those last 4 states (Michigan, N. Dakota, Alaska & Hawaii)
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Post by Linda on Jan 2, 2020 17:30:32 GMT
Do you have certain decluttering tasks that you always do in January? If so, what are they? I organise my digital files and delete unneeded ones and make sure my backups are up to date (I have carbonite which is automatic but also an external hard drive I backup manually to) and clean out my email inbox
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jan 2, 2020 18:51:12 GMT
JANUARY
Empty (finally) our storage unit! It had been full with household items, dishes, holiday decor and we’ve been paying for months and months and I’ve donated 95% of what I’ve cleaned out of there already. I’ve kept very little—it’s been MIA for so long it no longer brings me Joy or us needed!
Instead of bringing everything home to sort through, I go over and either do a trash & donate haul—I’ll fill my SUV up with stuff to donate and run the rest to the dumpster, then I go directly to the good will drop off.
On other days, I’ll select bins and bring them home, put the bins by my dining room table and immediately go through them sorting, cleaning, grouping items. I gave a box set up for more donations, I arrange anything I want to sell and photograph it, then box it up as the lot I’m selling, and I have bags for family and friends—once full, put the bags all in my car and I grab a coffee or tea and drive all over delivering them!
I’m so close to being done and I’ll have that burden off my shoulders.
It’s then onto super organizing our holiday/seasonal decor in bins (also 2/2 way done with this) so that we can just grab the appropriate stuff and not be searching all over when we want it.
I’ll be selling off, donating, giving away items as I go.
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Post by tentoes on Jan 2, 2020 20:45:16 GMT
In January, I take the tree down. This year, that will include going through all the ornaments (again) and getting rid of all that won't fit on my new smaller tree. I'll do that as I take down the tree this coming weekend. Having the move in mind, I really HAVE to get rid of a LOT of stuff. I'm going from a 1300 sq foot house to a 300 sq ft. (plus bathroom) MIL area at my son's home. It DOES have two huge closets. One is 8 foot and the other is 12 foot. There are a lot of shelves in the larger closet. I will take photos of it this weekend so I'll have that space in mind as I go through things at my home. My ddil is an organizational wizard, so I'll have plenty of help to maximize the area. So far, I'm taking my bedroom set, my chair, tea table, loveseat, and my digital piano. I will either take my wall unit or my storage cupboards from the scrapbook room. I won't have room for both--so that is sad. I have a ton of scrapbooks and boxes of photos that HAVE to go. I think I can talk one of my daughters into taking my scrapbook supplies. (tons of that!) She has room for it though. I switched to digital a few years ago, so really don't need all that stuff anymore. I think I'll have an area in the 4 car garage for storage too, and I am thinking of buying a shed and having it over there too. I have a shed here, and it is full of stuff--but it's all organized, and I know what I can get rid of out there. I already have several empty storage containers from my last purge out there.
I've got so much going through my head I have a headache!! Time to switch gears.
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~Susan~
Pearl Clutcher
You need to check your boobs, mine tried to kill me!!!
Posts: 3,258
Jul 6, 2014 17:25:32 GMT
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Post by ~Susan~ on Jan 2, 2020 21:26:05 GMT
Thanks for continuing these threads. I am going to do my best to contribute more.
As for decluttering, I am going to pick one area at a time and thoroughly go through it. I think I even have convinced my DH to get on board with this. I will update as I go along.
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Post by bunnyhug on Jan 2, 2020 21:53:50 GMT
I’m already off track 😫. My 16 yo ds can’t find his ID/driver’s license, so we have spent far too much of the afternoon cleaning his room ... he definitely has his dad’s messy tendencies and not my obsessively tidy ones! I can’t wait to be done in here and be able to go do my ‘fun’ chores 🙄
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,389
Aug 16, 2014 23:15:53 GMT
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Post by peaname on Jan 2, 2020 22:06:30 GMT
I like to take a week off in Jan to deep clean and declutter. I start making a list beforehand so I can cross things off and stay focused.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 2, 2020 22:23:21 GMT
Do you have certain decluttering tasks that you always do in January? If so, what are they? As most everyone does, I generally do a quick purge of Christmas decor since I've had it all out and it's cheaper to replace/replenish with the after-Christmas sales. But I also focus on household linens in January because that's the traditional time for 'white sales.'
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Post by maryland on Jan 2, 2020 22:32:05 GMT
My goal is to get my family to declutter their stuff that doesn't bring them joy. But that's unlikely, so I am planning to declutter my stuff even more. Getting rid most of my childhood Christmas decorations and most of my scrapbook stuff! I haven't scrapbooked since 2007. Then I will have an empty few shelves in a cabinet in the basement that I can use to store my everyday stuff (we really have no place for my stuff, so I am excited! For the past several months, before I buy something I force myself to think of where I would store it, and would it always be in the way. That really helps me with "impulse" shopping. I even have been doing it with food. Our grocery store is just a few miles away, so I can go every few days to get something when needed. My pantry is tiny and we don't have many drawers or cabinets in our kitchen. So I need to try a declutter/storage solution as our pantry is always a disaster.
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Post by maryland on Jan 2, 2020 22:37:30 GMT
Thanks for continuing these threads. I am going to do my best to contribute more. As for decluttering, I am going to pick one area at a time and thoroughly go through it. I think I even have convinced my DH to get on board with this. I will update as I go along. How did you convince him? That's great, I hope you all are sucessful in your decluttering! I think my husband would declutter more, but he has been busy with work, and has no desire to declutter on his days off. I am a sahm, so I have all the time to declutter and I have to keep reminding myself that most people don't have all the free time I do. I have offered to declutter for my family but they aren't interested!
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Post by maryland on Jan 2, 2020 22:39:04 GMT
I like to take a week off in Jan to deep clean and declutter. I start making a list beforehand so I can cross things off and stay focused. Will you have the house to yourself? That sounds like a great plan!
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Post by auntkelly on Jan 2, 2020 22:47:55 GMT
I have been working on a major purge of Christmas decor all day. I'm getting rid of about 2/3 of my holiday stuff, and I have a lot of holiday stuff!
This year, we were traveling over Christmas, so all I did was put up the tree and nativity and decorate our mantle. I realized I didn't miss all the extra stuff. I went shopping in my own Christmas bins and changed the color scheme of my Christmas decor from traditional red and green to turquoise and gold, which goes looks great in my home. (The only thing I bought was a few rolls of turquoise ribbon which I used to make a tree topper and wind through the tree). I thought it would be hard to give up all the stuff that I have had for years, but it feels great to get rid of it!
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Post by KelleeM on Jan 3, 2020 0:16:09 GMT
Yesterday I went through 7 dresser drawers, two had no clothes in them just miscellaneous stuff. Since my dh passed in October I’ve been putting off dealing with some of his things. I went through most of his clothes very soon after his death and donated a ton of stuff. The drawers yielded a pretty sizable bag of trash, a small bag of donations and a lot more space for the things I kept.
I took down one tree (we put up two small ones) and packed away a lot of decorations but didn’t go through anything...I know I should have. I tasked dd with taking down the second tree.
I don’t have any usual schedule for purging...dh was great at it. He was big on organizing as well.
My goal for January is to get the desk in my bedroom sorted out and get all of dh’s photos in one place, to go through kitchen cabinets, including canned and dry goods and purge/organize. I’ve already told dd she’s helping me with that.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,170
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Jan 3, 2020 0:38:04 GMT
I’m going to be having work done in the master bathroom (painting, tile above the shower, new counter/sinks, and new flooring) so I guess the first area I’ll tackle this year will be the bathroom cabinets.
So much that needs to be done, but as I will be retiring at the end of this school year, I’m going to have plenty of time to deal with purging and cleaning and organizing then.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 3, 2020 1:17:05 GMT
January tasks always include taking down the tree & doing a thorough vacuuming.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jan 3, 2020 2:36:28 GMT
Well...I got 2 SUV loads brought over today and I’m on the last bin from those loads—it’s full of ribbon and trims.
Now I’m going to reload my SUV with the stuff I sorted out here to donate, and I took a lot of photos of the stuff I’m selling and have already listed half of it (sold $20 so far, whooooo hoooo!).
I have a few bags of art magazines and books I’m dropping off to my friend tomorrow on my way to donate.
I’ll then swing by the storage for another load if it’s not raining too hard.
If I keep up this pace, I’ll be out if our storage unit by this weekend!
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