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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Dec 31, 2018 22:53:05 GMT
Happy New Year everyone! I'm starting off a bit early as I will be busy tomorrow. This year we are going to try doing a monthly thread, rather than a year long one. Perhaps doing that will keep me more on track later on during the year! I am also taking the monthly goal approach with my crafting as well. I made a great deal of progress in 2018, but there is still so much more to do. My goals for January: * Christmas - put away the first week (in the boxes and back in the garage!) Done! 1/1/19*Guest Room - Start working on the purge in there, add things to the cedar chest Didn't happen.*Sewing Room - Complete 3 projects (small counts!) and declutter/purge 1 fabric shelf Completed 2 projects, purged 1 shelf of fashion fabrics. 3 pieces added to donation/eBay piles* eBay - Continue to list from my pile. No trips to thrift store until Feb. 1. Win/Lose situation here. I did go to the thrift store this week (3 in fact  ), but I didn't buy a single thing! *Garage - Go through 4 bins of papers and shred most of it. Didn't happen due to weather.* Digital Photos - Organize and purge duplicates/blurry & bad photos from my computer Done. 1/7/19. Anyone else have their goals set for January? What is high on your priority lists? Can't wait to get this year started! ETA: Forgot to add in cleaning up my digital photo files on my Mac. I spent yesterday cleaning up all the document folders and financial folders. They are now uploading to the cloud. |
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,867
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Dec 31, 2018 23:37:11 GMT
Thanks for starting the thread! Looking forward to participating more this year! My house needs a ton of work!
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Dec 31, 2018 23:47:01 GMT
Thanks so much for posting this thread!
I'm already looking forward to taking down the tree tomorrow. All ornaments to be put away, tree out of the house, carpet vacuumed.
Also going to put away front window display and other Xmas decor.
Going to switch out calenders, and write down appointments & school functions.
This week I'll go through my ebay stuff and toss what I don't think will realistically sell. The mental burden of it is getting to me and I did promise myself to get it out of my sight in the new year.
I need to upload the rest of December 2018 photos and place a print order.
And I'd like to start thinking about pulling together a capsule wardrobe for myself.
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Post by peano on Dec 31, 2018 23:55:58 GMT
My main projects I’ve got planned are to totally redo our pantry because there’s no organization and I can’t find anything. I’m also planning on making half of our long rectangular living room an office space where my computer will be. The current office space upstairs will become a dedicated craft space—one that needs massive purging and reorganization. These should keep me busy for a while.
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Deleted
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May 4, 2024 11:44:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 23:56:18 GMT
Thank you for beginning a new post. I followed the one from last year even though I wasn't posting most of the time.
Yesterday, I hauled 5 boxes of household goods.... a working coffee pot (I upgraded) a service for 12 of milk glass dessert plates & cups (I'll never use them) toys my grandsons don't play with (or the couple that have obnoxious noises) and a huge bag of decent clothing. Some are nice that have never been worn. All taken to the local thrift store that benefits our small town food pantry.
I hope to do this once a month or more. I have 2 new grandbabies due in this new year and I think that will be the last of them.... When they outgrow my equipment....I'll donate that, too.
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Post by freecharlie on Dec 31, 2018 23:57:47 GMT
We are putting up two walls of drywall in the basement tomorrow. Then I will put Christmas away.
I am also going to go through and get rid of some sheets and pack the others by bed
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Post by cawoman on Jan 1, 2019 0:10:10 GMT
I didn’t participate in 2018.
My list for January:
Go through all the Christmas stuff. Downsize a lot. Let daughter go through what I’m getting rid of and donate the rest.
Go through my dresser and toss things that are older and organize what is left. Do the same with the closet.
Go through cabinets in dining room. Purge things we aren’t using.
Organize pantry.
I’m hoping posting here will help keep me accountable.
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Post by deafpea on Jan 1, 2019 0:34:12 GMT
Happy New Year!
I read the 2018 thread to motivate myself and I did post a few times. I hope to be much more active on this thread in 2019!
My January goals:
1. Get my paper piles dealt with.
2. Clean out the file cabinet.
3. Get my containers emptied. (When I'm trying to clean a room quickly, I dump everything that doesn't belong in there in a container of some sort--a bin, a laundry basket, a box, whatever. It works but the problem is it takes me a while to get around to actually emptying the container. So the goal is to get them all emptied. And when I fill one up--plan time to actually empty it and not just leave it)
4. Find out where I can recycle old batteries, electronics, CFL light bulbs, and printer toner cartridges and get all that stuff out of my house/garage.
I started today--it's cold and windy outside so I figured why not. A friend of ours has a son in a dance class and they are collecting stuff for a fundraiser. So I'm getting stuff ready for that. I've got a kitchen garbage bag full of stuffed animals. I've got several boxes of clothes and assorted stuff.
Today I dumped a bunch of batteries into a box for recycling. I gathered a lot of papers in my office for recycling. I've gone through a few bins and gotten the contents sorted and put where they belong, whether in the garbage, recycling, donation box, or their proper home. I made homes for the new games we got for Christmas. I put our small game stuff (card games, dominoes, Qwirkle game bag, Clue pieces, etc) in an Ikea TJENA box and that lives on the other half of the game shelf. I put the boxes for the new modem and cable box in recycling and reorganized the miscellaneous electronics box. My DH (my in-house tech support, LOL) went through the electronics box and took out the cables we don't need, so now I have an electronic recycling box.
I've also put away and straightened stuff in my office and the spaces I have already done look great!
Merilee
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 1, 2019 0:55:25 GMT
I will probably take my tree down tomorrow. I am liking shiny ornaments more and more, so I think I'll donate most of the fabric, more country style, ornaments. I also want to go thru every Christmas bin and donate more of the decor.
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Post by katlady on Jan 1, 2019 1:03:07 GMT
I am going to try the 30-day minimalism game. This last week I did a light purge and clean of the house. I managed to make the spare/craft room usable again. Everything I am keeping is in the closet, a lot went out the door, and the only things left on the floor of that room is my scrapbooking stuff where my goal is to use it or toss it in 2019.
I know there is a lot more I can purge, just ran out of time this past week. So I think the 30-day game thing may be helpful. I am going to see if I can do it every month in 2019.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Jan 1, 2019 1:08:03 GMT
This month, I hope to:
1. Organize and put away all of my holiday decorations by my son's birthday on January 3rd. I have Dia de Muertos, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas mixed in several bins.
2. The Playroom: purge and reorganize. Halfway there.
3. Clothing: purge, organize and store my older son's clothing for the day the younger one grows into it.
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camcas
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Post by camcas on Jan 1, 2019 1:19:59 GMT
My goal...books ,purge the books.....soooo many books
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Deleted
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May 4, 2024 11:44:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2019 1:28:16 GMT
I really need to tackle our basement. I have boxes for the boy scout garage sale. If that falls through for some reason, I'm dropping them all off at a local charity store that's run by the local Catholic Church. Just have to wait for them to announce their collection dates.
DH's grandmother passed away this year. His grandfather has moved in with an uncle temporarily. If it works out, they'll be selling the house. That means 60+ years of stuff to go through. We're bound to end up with some of it out of guilt. Then I have to wait for an acceptable amount of time to get rid of it. Until then, it'll sit in the basement that somehow breeds more junk in the dark of the night.
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
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Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Jan 1, 2019 1:37:09 GMT
This thread is very timely since I've spent the past two days purging.
Yesterday - I went through everything in my clothes closet and chest of drawers and removed all items that didn't fit or I just don't really like. I have a lot of "what was I thinking" items that even made DH shake his head.
Today - I cleaned out the bathroom closet, hall closet and the closet in my craft room.
Tomorrow I'm starting on the kitchen. That Fry Daddy Jr will be finding a new home along with some tart pans, mini cheesecake pans, pie plates, cheap skillets.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 1, 2019 1:52:42 GMT
deafpea - It sounds like you are the first out of the gate this year! You are off to a great start! I am going to try the 30-day minimalism game. I haven't heard of this. Do you have a link? I admit, I'm an organizing junkie and love to collect methods and programs! That means 60+ years of stuff to go through. We're bound to end up with some of it out of guilt. Then I have to wait for an acceptable amount of time to get rid of it. Until then, it'll sit in the basement that somehow breeds more junk in the dark of the night. My sympathies. We went through the purging of the "family cr@p" last year. DH and I were both the sentimental ones of our families and ended up with SO much. Once you get the guilt behind you, it gets easier to pass that stuff along. Buried in that guest room project of mine is more of the family stuff, but thankfully all the big stuff is gone now. Good luck!
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Post by katlady on Jan 1, 2019 1:59:23 GMT
**GypsyGirl** www.theminimalists.com/game/You basically get rid of one item on Day 1, 2 items on Day 2, etc. At the end of one month you’ve gotten rid of over 400 items. I don’t plan to be strict about it. If on Day 3 I find 20 things to get rid of, I’ll count that for Day 20.
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Post by Pahina722 on Jan 1, 2019 2:10:14 GMT
I have six trash bags of clothes three boxes of books in the back of my car ready to drop off at Goodwill on Wednesday. My big goal is to have the library purged so that I can use half the shelves for my yarn stash. The three boxes represent two shelves of the 36 in there, so I have a long way to go. Since I’ve switched most of my reading to ebooks and have a huge stash of those, I don’t need all these books stacked three deep on the shelves, but I DO need somewhere to keep the yarn neat and organized so that I can tell what I have.
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Post by destined2bmom on Jan 1, 2019 2:19:07 GMT
I didn’t participate much last year. But I am already planning my January.
Put away Christmas items.
Clean out and organize master closet and master bathroom.
If I get through those before the end of the month; I will add on more things.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 1, 2019 2:23:44 GMT
My big goal is to have the library purged so that I can use half the shelves for my yarn stash. I like your priorities!  We got rid of close to 300 books in 2018 (wish I'd kept better track) and haven't missed any of them. More will follow this year. Like you we've switched to mostly digital reading, both books and magazines. |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 1, 2019 2:56:23 GMT
My goal...books ,purge the books.....soooo many books I did that last year. I read on my kindle now, except for the rare library paper book. We still have tons of kids paper books, but I feel it's important to have physical books for kids. |
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Post by scrapbookwriter on Jan 1, 2019 3:18:11 GMT
I haven’t participated in this thread before, but I’d like to this year.
Today I organized all the returns from Christmas and my capsule wardrobe shopping. The packages are in my car ready for the post office or mall on Wednesday.
Tomorrow we take down the tree! I will miss the bright and shiny lights and sparkles. January is so dreary here. I will focus on the fresh start that the new year brings. We have new drapes coming in soon so that will help with the winter blahs.
First goal: de-clutter my craft and scrapbook supplies. I’d like to cut my stash in half.
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Jan 1, 2019 3:25:57 GMT
Deafpea, we recycle batteries and lightbulbs at Ikea. With the 9 volt batteries you should tape up the contacts so they don’t short out other batteries and start a fire. Also check with your fire department if they have a re-cycling plan.
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Post by katlady on Jan 1, 2019 3:35:06 GMT
deafpea Target and Best Buy will recycle toner cartridges for you. There is a bin at their entrances. Best Buy will recycle a lot of items! Home Depot will take batteries and lights. I take my burnt out fluorescent bulbs there, you know those long 4’ ones.
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Post by auntkelly on Jan 1, 2019 14:46:59 GMT
My goal this month is to purge all the Christmas decorations we haven’t used in the past two years. It’s going to be a chore. I went overboard decorating our house in Houston. When we moved back to Oklahoma two years ago, we decided to downsize and bought a house that was 1/2 the size of our Houston home. I’ve pared down the decorating as well, so I don’t need nearly as much stuff. I concentrate on making my tree and fireplace mantle really beautiful and that makes me happy and causes much less stress. However, I’ve got to reorganize the storage boxes in the garage and get rid of the excess decorations.
My other goal this month is to pare down my pantry and make it more user friendly. I’ve got lots of silver serving pieces I no longer use in there. I have two silver tea sets which belonged to my grandmother and mother. I don’t ever use the silver and I don’t really want to display it. I’m usually good about getting rid of sentimental stuff, but I just can’t give away the silver. It was my mom and grandmother’s pride and joy.
I’m going to store the silver in the attic and free up space in my pantry for food and serving pieces I actually use. My kids will have to get rid of the silver when I die, but we only have Christmas decorations and old tax returns in the attic now, so they won’t have much to go through and get rid of.
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ddly
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Posts: 3,947
Jul 10, 2014 19:36:28 GMT
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Post by ddly on Jan 1, 2019 15:14:08 GMT
I have spent my holiday break doing some organizing. We had a mouse in the pantry so that got an overhaul. I have the Rubbermaid plastic coated wire shelving. I put linoleum squares on it so stuff sits properly. I replaced that and bought containers for all baking stuff, fridge shelf containers to sort rice, pasta, packets, etc. I spent more than I wanted but it was worth it. It’s a small space so it’s more useful when it’s organized.
I’ve been sorting clothes. I feel like all I need for the remainder of the winter is a beige long sleeve T-shirt. I’ve gotten rid of stuff I didn’t wear last year and won’t wear this year. I don’t have a lot of clothes and I like it that way. I find quality items I love and everything goes together.
My DH is the problem. I’m slowly trying to get him to organize his crap. I divorced three years ago and had my house down to an almost minimalist place with lots of light and open space. Less is best for me and my house is small. DH moved in with lots of big furniture, including a piano, and we’ve had to work to get things to where I don’t feel like I’m being smothered when I walk into a room. Unfortunately, that’s downstairs. The office and bedroom upstairs are still filled with his boxes. By month’s end, my gol is to have the bedroom sorted and looking like a bedroom.
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Post by alsomsknit on Jan 1, 2019 15:27:10 GMT
I need to get the boxes of books where they belong. One to my sister for her little one and one to the library. Then, there are the Boy’s books to deal with.
The little tree needs to leave. I just don’t know what to do with it. Likewise, the huge fish tank. *sigh*
Debating the ornaments, too. Some of them are a mess.
Tossed some things from the fridge yesterday and a pair of sandals.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2019 15:33:12 GMT
I have six trash bags of clothes three boxes of books in the back of my car ready to drop off at Goodwill on Wednesday. My big goal is to have the library purged so that I can use half the shelves for my yarn stash. The three boxes represent two shelves of the 36 in there, so I have a long way to go. Since I’ve switched most of my reading to ebooks and have a huge stash of those, I don’t need all these books stacked three deep on the shelves, but I DO need somewhere to keep the yarn neat and organized so that I can tell what I have.  to encourage y'all who are dealing with books.... I had the same problem. I will confess, it's taken me more than a year, but this is 90% of our books. They all belong to dh, who really doesn't read much. I have talked him into donating a lot and some I confess, I sneaked out of the house without asking. I'm the reader in the family but I get 99% of my books from the library. I'm so happy with my progress.
This is the other side of the room where I just finished going through toys that I keep for grandchildren and organizing them. They play with all of these when they visit, including the stuffed animals. They love those things and beg their mother to let them take them home, but NO! You have too many at home already. |
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Post by ameslou on Jan 1, 2019 17:06:42 GMT
My goals include:
Whole house decluttering in advance of possibly listing our home for sale this summer.
Repainting the main living areas
Anyone know what to do with used car booster seats? For reference, my youngest is now 12!!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 1, 2019 17:24:06 GMT
Anyone know what to do with used car booster seats? For reference, my youngest is now 12!! Will thrift stores take them? Or do they have an expiration date like the car seats do now? I’ve got lots of silver serving pieces I no longer use in there. I have two silver tea sets which belonged to my grandmother and mother. I don’t ever use the silver and I don’t really want to display it. I’m usually good about getting rid of sentimental stuff, but I just can’t give away the silver. It was my mom and grandmother’s pride and joy. I’m going to store the silver in the attic and free up space in my pantry for food and serving pieces I actually use. My kids will have to get rid of the silver when I die, I'm in the same situation. I have my mother's on display right now but it needs polishing. I think I am just going to get those bags for storage and put it away with my MIL's. My house isn't formal like it used to be and they don't really fit in, but I'm not willing to ditch them just yet while there is a chance that DD might want them at some point. This morning I went through the pantry and did a mini purge. All the junk food has been put out on the island in serving bowls and I told them that what was left at bedtime was going in the trash. Refilled the nut containers, cleaned out the cookie/sweet jar and put the odd pieces of chocolate in there with the cookies. Tossed a couple of expired things. I need to empty the pantry drawers and wipe them down but will save that for another day. |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 1, 2019 17:37:52 GMT
ameslou Car seats should be tossed. 12 years is too old for them to be reliably safe.
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), but I didn't buy a single thing! 
