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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jan 1, 2023 18:00:15 GMT
Happy New Year!!! 🎉 Here's a toast to all that the group has decluttered, organized and purged during the past year! 🥂 May 2023 be a happy, healthy and productive year for each of you as we all work towards our goals of organized and peaceful lives! Welcome to the thread with no pressure or hard and fast goals. We all work at our own pace, post when we can, offer support and suggestions always. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone here from last year and hopefully new participants as well! Where else where you find friends who will clap and cheer because you threw something in the trash bin?  For those who were with us last year, how did you do with your goals? Are you at a place you can live with, or do you still have work to do (🙋🏼♀️ slowly raises hand)? Just now went over my 2022 goals. On the surface I failed miserably, but there was progress of some sort on nearly all of them. This year the major house work is done and I can focus more of the specific areas of decluttering/organizing. I will list those in a separate thread. Below I will be listing links to organizing products we've found useful as it could be handy for those just starting on their own organizing projects. If you have something you would like to see added, please let me know and I will add it. I think having it in the initial thread makes it easier for anyone to access. ********************************** LINKS TO PRODUCTS & WEBSITES RECOMMENDED AND/OR LINKED THROUGHOUT THE THREAD:External Floppy Disc Readers - Good for sorting through & retrieving information from old floppies we run across during decluttering. External CD Readers (PC) - Use to get information from old CDs. They also make versions for Mac computers. Museum Putty & Clear Museum Gel - Use to hold drawer organizers in place, keep artwork from shifting on the wall, keep breakables from being knocked over. Clear is good for glass shelves or the clear organizer bins ArtBin Storage for Threads - Excellent stackable storage bins designed to hold various types of thread/bobbins in the craft room. mDesigns Storage Bins & Drawers/Amazon - Affordable alternative to pricier bins. iDesign Organizer Racks for Cookie/Baking Sheets & Cutting Boards - This is a 3 slot organizer. The link also has 4 and 6 slot organizers which will work for skillets and/or pot lids. mDesign Home Decor & Home Organization Solutions - this is their own website and you can order directly from there. Inspiration Sites:mDesign - Instagram - great photos and reels, many from professional organizers YouTube - Dana K White (A Slob Comes CleanDecluttering/Organizing Books:Decluttering at the Speed of Light (Dana K White)
Organizing for the Rest of Us (Dana K White)
Apps to Help Organize/Declutter:Recipe Gallery App - Apple app - $2.99 * Little or no typing, capture a recipe in seconds with the iPhone or iPad camera * Built in Web browser to capture recipes from the Web * Quickly add recipe bookmarks to Recipe Gallery while browsing in Safari |
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Post by dmopal on Jan 1, 2023 18:27:48 GMT
I would like to join your group. Started working again (after being an at home mom for 25 years) and my home is struggling. Looking forward to getting my act together!
P.S. I tried the link but couldn't click on it.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 1, 2023 19:17:54 GMT
YAY for another year!😁
I just looked at my goals from last year.
I did not make a capsule wardrobe, nor did I make a priority of clothes shopping for myself. Oops.
I did, however, manage to really tackle the important paperwork binder. I feel very confident that I can turn to the appropriate tab and get exactly what I need.
I still struggle with the volume of school papers coming home weekly. I've been tossing them monthly, but have already had two instances when I needed to have them to "prove" my student had done his work.
The toys no longer stress me out. I bought even more bins with lids, toys are mostly in the basement, and just brought up when the urge strikes for a particular toy. All video game stuff and all Lego stuff stays on the first and second floors (so, not in the basement).
I need to think for a moment about my goals for 2023 before I post them.
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Post by ntsf on Jan 1, 2023 19:18:32 GMT
i. made great progress last year.. I have plenty of work to go!!!
so you will be seeing me.. when I finally do something
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Post by Lexica on Jan 1, 2023 19:23:56 GMT
I want to join in the organizing and decluttering! I never got the chance to get all of my things pared down before my move, so I have to do it now. My plan is to have all the actual furniture that I am keeping brought into the house and the kitchen and master bedroom boxes only. I am pretty sure everything in those boxes will be kept.
Everything else will remain in my huge 3-car garage as I go through each box and decide if I want to keep it, donate it, or sell it. I am setting aside one of the bedrooms as a "keep it, but find a place for it" staging area for those boxes. The garage itself will be for the sell it/donate it boxes. Once everything has been sorted, I will either have a yard sale myself or hire one of those estate sale companies to sell from the garage. I don't want people coming into the house itself.
The house I purchased has wood flooring throughout most of the home, but the previous owners covered it with berber carpeting. I've hired a company to pull the carpeting and sand down the floors to return it all to wood. They come on Monday to strip the carpeting and pad away to see what we have to work with.
Once the floors are finished, I will send for my furniture. And get painters in here. My son said I should have had the painting done before the floors, but I think it is a chicken/egg situation. What I will do is have the floors finished, and then the painters, and then the floor guys back to install the baseboard so that they are fresh and clean and don't have any bleed over from the walls being painted.
I also don't care for what they put in the 3 bathrooms or the kitchen, but I will probably end up living with it until I save up enough to have them done the way I want. Once I decide what that is.
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Post by rst on Jan 1, 2023 19:25:57 GMT
I made progress last year, but still plenty to take on.
In the month of January, throw out / donate / pass along 23 items every day. This can be as big (furniture, appliances, books) or as small (empty thread spools, broken pens, junk mail) as the day allows. But having a set number keeps me focused and somewhat amused. I figure that as I age I will continue getting rid of more and more stuff each year, with the end result that my kids don't have to do huge sorts and purges when I'm deceased.
On that cheerful note, my best success last year was in making progress with my sewing and crafting spaces. I finished up almost 20 long standing WIPs and UFOs, plus donated or re-allocated several others. I made a good start this morning with decluttering the sewing space in preparation for 2023 sewing challenges, and with an eye toward keeping the space tidy and usable.
My biggest challenge this year will be continuing to very carefully and strategically encourage DH to deal with some of his junk. We did make a little progress last year, moving a "work bench" into the house area so he can strategically store all of his tools and projects in one area without having to go out to the garage or shed. Baby steps there.
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Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,883 
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Post by Just T on Jan 1, 2023 19:55:34 GMT
This is the perfect thread for me! I am getting divorced, so sometime this year, I will be putting my house on the market. I have lived here for 28 years, and there is so much crap to go through and get rid of. I've been doing things here and there, but it's time to get serious about it now.  |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 1, 2023 19:55:34 GMT
Okay, my goals for 2023:
Do not take on any more house renovation projects this year, barring emergency (fingers & toes crossed)
Likewise, no big garden projects.
Continue on my Use It Up toiletries challenge. I have not bought shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, or soap for months as I use down what's already here.
I will add to this list as it comes to me.
My overall goal is to simplify, so I'm not always cleaning around things, not always finding a new place to store things.
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Post by ntsf on Jan 1, 2023 20:09:51 GMT
I am trying to use up stuff in freezer/pantry. to get a handle on it.
I have very very little pantry storage.
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Post by originalvanillabean on Jan 1, 2023 20:16:42 GMT
Excited to join!
Goals:
Purge and reorganize craft room (decide which hobbies and supplies to keep, or NOT)
Purge and organize office
Get rid of 300+ CD’s (I know)
Elfa our kitchen pantry or custom solution
Go through coat closet
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 1, 2023 20:30:28 GMT
This is the perfect thread for me! I am getting divorced, so sometime this year, I will be putting my house on the market. I have lived here for 28 years, and there is so much crap to go through and get rid of. I've been doing things here and there, but it's time to get serious about it now. You won't regret taking the time to purge! You can keep what YOU want and not worry about what the asshat would have to say  |
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 1, 2023 20:33:12 GMT
I did really well last year. I had the motivation of a move after 35 years in our house. I can't begin to guess how many trips I made to Goodwill, plus had a full truck from 1-800-GOTJUNK removed. That was a lot of garage stuff, some furniture beyond donating, etc.
Now that I have been here 7 months, I need to go through my closets and storage area again.
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Judy26
Pearl Clutcher
MOTFY Bitchy Nursemaid
Posts: 2,974
Location: NW PA
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Post by Judy26 on Jan 1, 2023 20:48:54 GMT
This is the perfect thread for me! I am getting divorced, so sometime this year, I will be putting my house on the market. I have lived here for 28 years, and there is so much crap to go through and get rid of. I've been doing things here and there, but it's time to get serious about it now. You’ve already got rid of the biggest bit of useless clutter! Everything from here out is icing on the cake! |
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schroema
Full Member
Posts: 497
Jun 24, 2019 14:58:49 GMT
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Post by schroema on Jan 1, 2023 20:56:48 GMT
Joining in… I NEED to get my house decluttered. My goal is to start in my bedroom in January and tackle one small area ( one dresser drawer ) a day and see how that goes. Then in February move onto a different room. I’m hoping by keeping it slow I’ll stick with it.
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Post by Linda on Jan 1, 2023 21:16:01 GMT
Some progress on my goals and overall pretty happy. Bold are done, red not, green some progress
Goals for 2022
House
-get the old house on the market and hopefully sell it -unfortunately didn't happen
-organise and purge Christmas items as I pack them up at Epiphany - and do the same for the other holidays as they come along
-keep tweaking organisation, limit stuff coming in, and continue to declutter
Scrapbook space
-declutter a bit but mostly use up more stash. I'm starting the year on a spending freeze spending freeze didn't last long, lol
-complete some albums and get them scanned
Sewing Space no progress here really
-I'm aiming to sew at least once a week and focus on using patterns/fabric I already own. Not freezing though because I'm giving myself permission to buy for specific projects that I'm going to work on right away (not for future needs)
-get my treadle up and running
Family Archives
-finish pulling photos from CDs and photo cards
-organise printed photos chronologically and purge as needed some progress but not done
-go through at least one memorabilia box and decide what to keep and how to best store it and label it - not yet
-continue attempting to date and label pre1900 photos some progress but not done
Genealogy
- finish updating my Irish lines research - progress but not done
- write the Irish lines up nope
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Post by Linda on Jan 1, 2023 21:23:39 GMT
thinking about my 2023 goals...
House
-get the old house on the market and sold
-continue reading through and moving along books
-focus on using what I have and not buying more
Scrapbook Space
- use stash!
Sewing space
-sew from stash
-aiming to end the year with less fabric than I started with (current yardage = 117.5yd)
Family Archives
-continue organising/labelling/identifying digital photos
-get 1970-1975 physical photos labelled and organised
-do through one box of memorabilia and organise/label
Genealogy
-finish updating the Irish lines
-write up the Irish lines
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jan 1, 2023 21:23:50 GMT
An easy toss item today: Last year's calendars.
I purposely only buy generic Dollar Tree calendars each year so that I have no sentimental attachment to them, and feel no reason to keep them after the year is over.
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Post by cecilia on Jan 1, 2023 22:05:48 GMT
Took down tree and got in shed with ornaments and wrapping paper.
Been working on laundry too.
I need to go outside and work on the backyard. It is supposed to storm tomorrow.
Going to try to go on a spending freeze for a bit. I want to go back to MO on a buying trip
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Post by epeanymous on Jan 1, 2023 22:08:37 GMT
I was all ready to start this and then our trash collector this week (this has happened a few times) accidentally collected our trash can into the truck. They are replacing it when they next collect our trash, but in the meantime, in a house with eight occupants this week plus NYE guests, we now have literal bags of actual trash all over the kitchen (we can't leave it outside because we have raccoons). Ugh! It will have to wait!
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Ryann
Pearl Clutcher
Love is Inclusive
Posts: 2,641
Location: PNW
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Post by Ryann on Jan 1, 2023 23:01:10 GMT
Joining in! After DW retires this summer we're moving out of state. We've been in this house 9+ years and have a garage that seems to multiply it's contents overnight! DW has the task of downsizing the garage and her hobby related items. The rest of the house will mostly be mine to do. We do have a couple renovations that need to be done before we sell - update bathrooms and replace the kitchen sink/countertops. After speaking to a realtor this list may grow. I want to get the house listed for sale by mid-April if possible. Here are my initial thoughts for action: January- Purge clothes/shoes/accessories
- Sell exercise equipment
- Purge bathrooms
February- Purge craft room
- Begin packing board games
- Sell small kitchen appliances (Creami, KA mixer w/ ice cream attachment)
March- Purge kitchen/bar
- Sell Fiestaware dishes
- Begin packing craft room
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Post by cecilia on Jan 1, 2023 23:12:06 GMT
Joining in! After DW retires this summer we're moving out of state. We've been in this house 9+ years and have a garage that seems to multiply it's contents overnight! DW has the task of downsizing the garage and her hobby related items. The rest of the house will mostly be mine to do. We do have a couple renovations that need to be done before we sell - update bathrooms and replace the kitchen sink/countertops. After speaking to a realtor this list may grow. I want to get the house listed for sale by mid-April if possible. Here are my initial thoughts for action: January- Purge clothes/shoes/accessories
- Sell exercise equipment
- Purge bathrooms
February- Purge craft room
- Begin packing board games
- Sell small kitchen appliances (Creami, KA mixer w/ ice cream attachment)
March- Purge kitchen/bar
- Sell Fiestaware dishes
- Begin packing craft room
We moved about 5 years ago. Went about 50 miles. It wore me out. We had about 4 yard sales, had numerous trips to Goodwill, and the local thrift store done a pick up of the big stuff. We also got a larger booth at the then local flea market and had a ton of stuff set out for bulk trash pickup. It seemed like we didn't make a dent in our stuff. At all. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 22, 2024 8:52:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2023 23:16:52 GMT
I have a tote of Christmas decorations to get rid of.
I'm swapping out my reusable bags for a different style. Each time I get a new one, I take the old one and fill it with stuff I've set aside to donate. Those bags are easier to deal with than boxes, mostly because I never have any big boxes on hand. I have four ready to go. I just need to verify the donation hours and go out there. One place is on the other side of town and the other is in the middle of a construction zone right now.
I have a craft area that needs to be purged.
I'm hoping I can get DH to install pull outs and inserts for the drawers to get the kitchen a little better organized.
I need three or four totes to separate the other seasonal decorations I'm buying. Then to find a good spot for them.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jan 1, 2023 23:36:19 GMT
One of my goals last year was to finally finish each of my sons’ scrapbooks through their high school graduation. Instead, we brought my mother here to live with us in February, began hospice care, and she died here in July. So that goal gets moved forward to this year.
I did gather up old videotapes of my kids though. I sent a big order to be digitized and already got it back. The second big order is being processed now. My boys are really excited about being able to access them easily - especially the two who now have children of their own.
— edited to add:
The point of both being that once I deal with each of these projects, I can get rid of all the stuff needed to do them. I’ll be happy to not have scrapbooking guilt hanging over my head and to have that closet space back!
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Post by Lexica on Jan 1, 2023 23:36:31 GMT
This is the perfect thread for me! I am getting divorced, so sometime this year, I will be putting my house on the market. I have lived here for 28 years, and there is so much crap to go through and get rid of. I've been doing things here and there, but it's time to get serious about it now. Yes! Do it now and you won't end up like me! Just make sure you don't get rid of something that the soon-to-be-ex will claim that he wanted. Then you will have to pay him for it. And you will need to give him half of the money for anything you sell, assuming you acquired everything after your marriage and it is half his. |
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 1, 2023 23:41:59 GMT
This is the perfect thread for me! I am getting divorced, so sometime this year, I will be putting my house on the market. I have lived here for 28 years, and there is so much crap to go through and get rid of. I've been doing things here and there, but it's time to get serious about it now.  We moved after 33 years in our previous house. I really wish we had have time to go through it all. It was such a whirlwind. Thankfully I have had this year to do it, but you are so smart to do it now. We've taken one trailer full of furniture and close to 20 SUV loads to Goodwill. It feels so good to declutter and update some things. When you get ready to pack, go to Safeway or your local grocery store and ask for apple boxes. Those things are so dang sturdy (if you don't use a moving company). |
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 1, 2023 23:45:22 GMT
Joining in! After DW retires this summer we're moving out of state. We've been in this house 9+ years and have a garage that seems to multiply it's contents overnight! DW has the task of downsizing the garage and her hobby related items. The rest of the house will mostly be mine to do. We do have a couple renovations that need to be done before we sell - update bathrooms and replace the kitchen sink/countertops. After speaking to a realtor this list may grow. I want to get the house listed for sale by mid-April if possible. Here are my initial thoughts for action: January- Purge clothes/shoes/accessories
- Sell exercise equipment
- Purge bathrooms
February- Purge craft room
- Begin packing board games
- Sell small kitchen appliances (Creami, KA mixer w/ ice cream attachment)
March- Purge kitchen/bar
- Sell Fiestaware dishes
- Begin packing craft room
This looks like a great plan. I still need to purge more in my kitchen. I used Hello Fresh for two years, so most of my cooking stuff wasn't needed. Now that I am back to more diverse meals/cooking, I need to really think about what I want to keep. |
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Post by bc2ca on Jan 1, 2023 23:58:55 GMT
I will purge a few more holiday decorations before everything gets packed up today and tomorrow. The 17 year old tree is the biggest question mark. As far as I'm concerned, it can go in the trash, but DH has a harder time letting go of things like this. He will retrieve all the lights first if we do purge it and if he can't let go, he has to find room in the garage.
The garage is mostly his territory although he did ask what was in two purple bins yesterday. They are full of Easter decorations that I've already emptied out. A few things went in the trash and most will be photographed and offered on our Buy Nothing group next week. Anything still in the house next Sunday will be donated.
Another big project for me is retrieving photos from my old iMac and MacBooks so that they can be donated (?) or trashed. My goal is to get that done before the end of January.
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Post by getting started on Jan 2, 2023 0:09:17 GMT
I started decluttering last year but without any real goals. I just kind of cleaned out whatever bothered me most at the moment. This year my goals are - basement shelves, my closet, seasonal items.
The thing that helped me most last year was our neighbourhood's new Buy Nothing group. I had a much easier time parting with things when I knew they were going to be used by someone that really wanted them.
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,446
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Post by amom23 on Jan 2, 2023 0:09:17 GMT
DH and DS are on a golf trip so I've been making lots of progress putting away Christmas and deep cleaning the house.
As I've been decluttering lately, I've been storing the items in the basement since there were things I wasn't sure about keeping. Well I've started going through the boxes again and setting aside the stuff to be donated. I'll keep at it and what is being kept will get stored more efficiently. Thankfully much more is going than is being kept. I plan to straighten the storage corner up in the attic tomorrow. There are empty boxes up there that need to go. I have plans to reorganize the mudroom entrance part of the garage, but that will have to wait until the weather warms up. DH and I have some house projects we need to get busy working on this winter.
It is true what they say........a decluttered and organized home is so much easier to keep clean!
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scrappinmama
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,120
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Jan 2, 2023 0:23:21 GMT
Last year I picked a room per month to focus on. I did not do the garage or basement. Those will be my goals this year. I did go through a closet today. I go through those a couple times a year and this one was due. Happy decluttering, everyone!
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