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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 14, 2024 14:06:50 GMT
I did that with a quart size bag of keys. I put all the unknown keys in a bag after I moved with a throw away date on it of one year. It felt good to toss them. I think keys have a special magical power to reproduce when they are tossed together in a dark drawer! And it never fails, as soon as I throw a pile of them away, I’ll find a random Master lock with no key attached. 🤦🏻♀️ |
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Post by dewryce on Apr 14, 2024 14:24:41 GMT
adding cords and cables to my to-do list. I wonder where my label maker is and whether I have label tape? probably not. I don't think I have a power cord for mine. I giggled when I read this because my label makers (upstairs/downstairs) are my “pry it from my cold dead hands” item. Some people it’s craft supplies, for others it’s books or recipe books, many are photos…and I’m sitting here guarding my label makers with my life  |
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Post by Linda on Apr 14, 2024 14:56:17 GMT
dewryce - and so far I haven't figured out where I stashed mine...it's not in any of the obvious spots. Well I have a deep clean of the house planned starting Wednesday (waiting for the last of the house repairs to be done) and presumably it'll show up then
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 14, 2024 15:12:50 GMT
dewryce - and so far I haven't figured out where I stashed mine...it's not in any of the obvious spots. Well I have a deep clean of the house planned starting Wednesday (waiting for the last of the house repairs to be done) and presumably it'll show up then Well while you are deep cleaning, will you keep an eye out for my vintage Laura Ashley straw hat please? I have searched high and low and cannot find it! Beginning to think it is at DD's, but she swears not. Considering her inability to ever find anything right in front of her, I'm not betting on that! That's on my list today or tomorrow - raiding her closet - since I have to go get a couple of dining chairs anyway! |
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Post by Linda on Apr 14, 2024 15:31:35 GMT
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Post by dewryce on Apr 14, 2024 18:10:06 GMT
Daily declutter task from My Simpler Life Declutter Calendar:
Plan a menu of fresh food for the week.
It looks like today it’s time to declutter our fridge!
I got through my 4 boxes of hardware last night and I might be able to condense it down to 1 box! Everything is in 2 boxes right now, though they’re not filled. But I’m going to try to combine some sections. I also went through all of the small boxes kept separately in their own boxes and 90% of that is gone, in total I’m thrilled to have decluttered well over 50%, probably closer to 70%.
My other decluttering for today is to go through our electronics accessories bin. No hopes as to how much I’ll get rid of, my goal is to look at these through my new, more critical lens.
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Post by Linda on Apr 14, 2024 18:14:38 GMT
Almost done we have 2 weeks left. This week we are going through storage of holiday decorations (take the opportunity to think about how you want to decorate seasonally if you do this) holidaygrandplan.com/cleaning-grand-plan/Holiday Deco/Storage: As I recall, we had only to find and sort those holiday decorations. This covered ALL holidays. and all things pertinent to those holidays,too. (like the red/white/blue centerpiece for the 4th, the Thanksgiving candles and wreaths, and centerpieces, etc.) I believe the idea was to group these all together in ONE box if possible to be added to the storage area (WHO HAS THE ROOM?). This is to free up space in the house and kitchen cabinets by removing these non-essential but occasionally needed holiday items. The “storage” reminder at the end of this week’s title was to give some people more time on that very difficult area in our homes. After the previous weeks of the grandplan. the storage areas are FULL of stuff that must NOW BE FACED !!! Are we going to hang onto our “junk” or clear the clutter??? Only you know yourself. so what’ll it be?? You might as well check on all the other decorations while you are in the process or storing the Christmas decorations. Mark those boxes well and make a list of what you want to replace. |
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Post by Linda on Apr 14, 2024 18:15:45 GMT
Plan a menu of fresh food for the week. Yay one that I'm ahead on. Saturday is shopping day for me and I cleaned out the fridge, planned a week's worth of food using my leftover produce and the new farm box, and prepped vegetables for the week. |
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 14, 2024 18:18:46 GMT
Article in the NY Times today: Get Organized Quickly With These Decluttering 'Sprints'. Three projects that can be taken care of in under 30 minutes. The first one was "Let go of mystery chargers and cords".  Great minds think alike!  The other two are 'dig out under your sink' and 'declutter your car'. The expert the author of the article spoke with was Melissa Dilkes Pateras, an organizing expert and author of “A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home.” Note: Gift article so anyone should be able to read. |
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mich5481
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,761 
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Post by mich5481 on Apr 14, 2024 18:58:51 GMT
Article in the NY Times today: Get Organized Quickly With These Decluttering 'Sprints'. Three projects that can be taken care of in under 30 minutes. The first one was "Let go of mystery chargers and cords". Great minds think alike! The other two are 'dig out under your sink' and 'declutter your car'. The expert the author of the article spoke with was Melissa Dilkes Pateras, an organizing expert and author of “A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home.” Note: Gift article so anyone should be able to read. I saw that article and was going to share it! 😀 |
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amom23
Drama Llama
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Post by amom23 on Apr 14, 2024 19:07:55 GMT
Last week I did a good purge of my bedroom walk in closet and bathroom vanity. I then cleaned out the hall closet where we keep out of season coats and all the luggage, etc. Everything that was donatable has already been dropped off. So far this weekend I've straightened out the pantry and fridge and I'm defrosting the big deep freezer as I type.
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Post by dewryce on Apr 14, 2024 19:53:47 GMT
Plan a menu of fresh food for the week. Yay one that I'm ahead on. Saturday is shopping day for me and I cleaned out the fridge, planned a week's worth of food using my leftover produce and the new farm box, and prepped vegetables for the week. Nice! Article in the NY Times today: Get Organized Quickly With These Decluttering 'Sprints'. Three projects that can be taken care of in under 30 minutes. The first one was "Let go of mystery chargers and cords". Great minds think alike! The other two are 'dig out under your sink' and 'declutter your car'. The expert the author of the article spoke with was Melissa Dilkes Pateras, an organizing expert and author of “A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home.” Note: Gift article so anyone should be able to read. Thanks for the article, that is hilarious, what a coincidence! My vehicle is one place that used to be super easy to keep clean. Without fail I clean out the car every time I stop anywhere and also when I get home. At lights and in car washes I dust and wipe things within reach down, products are kept in console. And when I stop for gas I go around the rest of the car and wipe things down, make sure the back is straightened, etc. It was always so calming to get in there. *sighs* Now I hare it with DH who decidedly does not automatically do those things. You could fill entire trash bags from his vehicle. To his credit, he has gotten so much better at cleaning it out when he gets home. But the crumbs  Last week I did a good purge of my bedroom walk in closet and bathroom vanity. I then cleaned out the hall closet where we keep out of season coats and all the luggage, etc. Everything that was donatable has already been dropped off. So far this weekend I've straightened out the pantry and fridge and I'm defrosting the big deep freezer as I type.  |
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Post by Linda on Apr 15, 2024 0:24:08 GMT
Finally packed up the Easter decor (no judging, lol). This was our last Easter with some of our kid traditions (colouring eggs, Easter egg hunt, Easter Bunny) so I went through and pulled out the plastic eggs and the egg dying stuff to donate. Gave DD her Easter basket to keep or not keep - her choice - and set aside the older kids' baskets to see if they want them. I went from two Lent/Easter totes to one.
I also finished transcribing one of my mum's travel journals so now it's in it's final storage location (in a page protector with a sheet of cardstock identifying it inside an archival box) and it's off my desk and my to-do list. The transcription has been uploaded to Google Drive where it is shared with family members. We decided as a group that there was no point of me scanning the journals when I'm the only person who can actually read her writing within the immediate family.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 15, 2024 12:45:28 GMT
Monday is trash day, so every Sunday is fridge decluttering day, LOL. Nothing drives me more batty than realizing that there’s something moldy in the fridge and the trash truck just went past!  I have a couple gray Duluth Trading t-shirts and I don’t know where they went, so I probably should reorganize my shirt shelves and go through them again and see if I can find them. This might not be the week for that though because it would take more time than I know I would have. I need to look and see when the clothing donation place will start taking warm weather clothes again, they usually close for accepting donations for a week or two when they switch seasons. I really need to vacuum today, especially upstairs. Shedding season has commenced and I bet I can fill the entire canister with the dog hair just from my bedroom.  I hurt my shoulder again a week ago raking and putting in docks at the cabin so I’ve been avoiding doing it and it shows, ugh. |
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Post by dewryce on Apr 15, 2024 14:11:13 GMT
Daily declutter task from My Simpler Life Declutter Calendar: Discard old makeup. Ugh, they just had to go there. I have a lot of makeup and skincare trial sizes that I really want to try out, though I go through that desire in waves. I call it my scientific experiments and even keep notes, ha! So while I do not want to get rid of everything, I could probably thin it out though so that I’m trying the expected best of the best based on reviews and for skincare, based mostly on ingredients. Okay, so I’m committing to myself to only keep the top 5 in each category (yes, they’re separated by type  ). This one is going to be hard! linda My brother is 10 years younger than I am so for quite a long time after I moved out and got married my DH and I, along with my sister and her husband, would come home for even the small (to us) holidays. Those are some of my fondest Easter memories! And this should make you feel better….one year my mom put our Easter baskets under the Christmas tree . You have inspired me to scrap the ‘Merry Easter’ cards I have planned using the photos from that particular year! Monday is trash day, so every Sunday is fridge decluttering day, LOL. Nothing drives me more batty than realizing that there’s something moldy in the fridge and the trash truck just went past! It’s tonight for us, and it drives me batty too! I hope your shoulder feels better. |
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Post by Linda on Apr 15, 2024 18:24:58 GMT
linda My brother is 10 years younger than I am so for quite a long time after I moved out and got married my DH and I, along with my sister and her husband, would come home for even the small (to us) holidays. Those are some of my fondest Easter memories! And this should make you feel better….one year my mom put our Easter baskets under the Christmas tree . You have inspired me to scrap the ‘Merry Easter’ cards I have planned using the photos from that particular year! big age gaps here also - DS is 32, DD turns 24 in 3 weeks, and younger DD is 17. We decided when my youngest was a baby that 18 was the magic age when you switched from being a kid (Santa presents, birthday faery, Easter bunny, St Nicholas...) to being an adult (all your xmas presents are wrapped even your stocking and from someone (not Santa), you get Easter candy but not a basket or egg hunt, mum still sends/gives you a chocolate orange and an ornament for St nick but unless you put it in your shoe - my older kids do - it won't be in there). It just seemed the fairest way of handling it to give each kid 18 years of the kid traditions each. And yes - do scrap those photos! And you'll be pleased to know that I have found my label maker and I've ordered label tape and a power cord for it (it didn't come with one originally) Should be here on Wednesday and then I'll start tackling the cords etc.. No make up here and my skincare has two entire items (Noxema for cleaning and a morning moisturiser/sunscreen) so I think I'm good there. |
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Post by bunnyhug on Apr 15, 2024 20:47:50 GMT
The local women's emergency shelter put out a plea last week for suitcases and duffle bags that their clients can use to transport their belongings from the emergency shelter to their next-step housing, since many have to flee with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs. I'm going in to do my first ever volunteer shift with them on Thursday, so today I went through our suitcase closet and came up with at least a dozen of various vintages and sizes. A couple still had airline tags on them--one from 2013 and one from 2016! The suitcases I'm getting rid of just aren't airplane friendly, and I think the biggest one probably weighs close to 50lbs empty, lol! The closet has so much more room now, and it still contains a dozen bags!
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 15, 2024 21:24:59 GMT
I sold our heavy old (but otherwise still functional) suitcases at my (hopefully LAST ever) garage sale for about $10 each. We replaced them with two sets of much lighter weight spinners that nest inside each other so they only take up half the storage space.  I got the whole house vacuumed which is always such a huge task. It will be SO much easier when the whole main floor is hard surfaced flooring (hopefully that will happen this summer). I hate carpet. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 16, 2024 2:32:30 GMT
The local women's emergency shelter put out a plea last week for suitcases and duffle bags that their clients can use to transport their belongings from the emergency shelter to their next-step housing, since many have to flee with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs. I'm going in to do my first ever volunteer shift with them on Thursday, so today I went through our suitcase closet and came up with at least a dozen of various vintages and sizes. A couple still had airline tags on them--one from 2013 and one from 2016! The suitcases I'm getting rid of just aren't airplane friendly, and I think the biggest one probably weighs close to 50lbs empty, lol! The closet has so much more room now, and it still contains a dozen bags! I don't have extra suitcases but I have several Thirty One bags that I don't really use anymore. I wonder if there is a good place to donate them? That is one group of items that I am often resistant to donating because many are new or like new. I bought some years ago but my friend had a TON of different ones that she gave me when she moved. |
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Post by dewryce on Apr 16, 2024 2:56:28 GMT
The local women's emergency shelter put out a plea last week for suitcases and duffle bags that their clients can use to transport their belongings from the emergency shelter to their next-step housing, since many have to flee with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs. I'm going in to do my first ever volunteer shift with them on Thursday, so today I went through our suitcase closet and came up with at least a dozen of various vintages and sizes. A couple still had airline tags on them--one from 2013 and one from 2016! The suitcases I'm getting rid of just aren't airplane friendly, and I think the biggest one probably weighs close to 50lbs empty, lol! The closet has so much more room now, and it still contains a dozen bags! I don't have extra suitcases but I have several Thirty One bags that I don't really use anymore. I wonder if there is a good place to donate them? That is one group of items that I am often resistant to donating because many are new or like new. I bought some years ago but my friend had a TON of different ones that she gave me when she moved. What is the most you think you’d use at one time? You could pick your favorites of each type/size to reach that number and donate the rest. We still have one of the big totes and an insulated bag which we use for outdoor activities, a shopping bag we use for various things, and a small bag to match that I use to take things upstairs and downstairs. They really are great quality! And I bet women at a shelter would love to have something nice like that if you do decide to donate them. |
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Post by dewryce on Apr 16, 2024 3:01:51 GMT
I got through all of my sample makeup and got rid of a huge amount, so much that I was able to condense it from two bins to one. I’ll aim to work on the skincare tomorrow and get rid of at least as much, over 50%.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 16, 2024 13:02:24 GMT
The local women's emergency shelter put out a plea last week for suitcases and duffle bags that their clients can use to transport their belongings from the emergency shelter to their next-step housing, since many have to flee with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs. I'm going in to do my first ever volunteer shift with them on Thursday, so today I went through our suitcase closet and came up with at least a dozen of various vintages and sizes. A couple still had airline tags on them--one from 2013 and one from 2016! The suitcases I'm getting rid of just aren't airplane friendly, and I think the biggest one probably weighs close to 50lbs empty, lol! The closet has so much more room now, and it still contains a dozen bags! I don't have extra suitcases but I have several Thirty One bags that I don't really use anymore. I wonder if there is a good place to donate them? That is one group of items that I am often resistant to donating because many are new or like new. I bought some years ago but my friend had a TON of different ones that she gave me when she moved. For things like that, honestly I would probably try to sell the new ones on Marketplace or somewhere first and any that didn’t sell I’d consider donating. When my friend moved a couple years ago, she sold a TON of household and craft things on Marketplace. I couldn’t believe all the stuff that actually sold. |
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Post by dewryce on Apr 16, 2024 19:57:00 GMT
Daily declutter task from My Simpler Life Declutter Calendar:
Turn ratty towels into rags.
If you don’t use towels as rags other options are to use your rattiest towels become as cleaning towels. For when you need to dry something icky like the floor. Animal shelters also take linens. But if you don’t have the bandwidth for that right now then toss them, just get them out of the house!
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 16, 2024 22:08:53 GMT
Daily declutter task from My Simpler Life Declutter Calendar: Turn ratty towels into rags. If you don’t use towels as rags other options are to use your rattiest towels become as cleaning towels. For when you need to dry something icky like the floor. Animal shelters also take linens. But if you don’t have the bandwidth for that right now then toss them, just get them out of the house! If you have a pet that goes to a groomer, you can ask if they can use your old towels. My groomer is always asking people to donate used towels because she uses dozens a week and they get worn out being washed so often. |
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 17, 2024 1:00:54 GMT
Daily declutter task from My Simpler Life Declutter Calendar: Turn ratty towels into rags. If you don’t use towels as rags other options are to use your rattiest towels become as cleaning towels. For when you need to dry something icky like the floor. Animal shelters also take linens. But if you don’t have the bandwidth for that right now then toss them, just get them out of the house! I donate my old towels and bath mats to a local pet rescue. They are always happy to get them. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 17, 2024 2:25:31 GMT
I have been severely lacking in the motivation and energy department lately. I am putting my goals for tomorrow here so that I will report back to you guys!
1) exercise in the morning
2)start to clean out my son's room. I have a bunch of things in there that either need to be returned or put in the crawl space. I just made a list of the stores that I need to return things to and will put the note on my dashboard. Tomorrow I need to move the stuff to my van so that it is there when I am driving by one of those stores.
3) Depending on the time, I will start to switch out some of my summer shoes and clothes. I have the bins in my son's room. He is coming home next month so the room needs to be cleaned out well before that.
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Post by ntsf on Apr 17, 2024 2:47:07 GMT
I actually got dh to go through a small stack of pants and 4 went into donation bag.. I took three bags.. mostly his old suits and drove them downtown to a church that serves people with challenges. I arranged to have our old entertainment system hauled away (it is in ok shape but no one wants these).. and I have the replacement furniture in my living room.. and got dh signed up to move tv out of cabinet thursday morning, then put it back together when it is on the new furniture. then I have 20 boxes of stuff in living room to go through and get rid of.. dh will be gone next week and I have big plans to move a lot of stuff out. I also emptied out one of many boxes I had in basement from dad's house. and a major reorg of my craft space may also come next week. I have so much going on.. and the first weekend in may all the family will be taking what they want from grandma's house.. and most of that will migrate here.. as one lives overseas, one lives across the country and there are a few things I want. my goal is by august to redo the living room, and two bedrooms upstairs...
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Post by dewryce on Apr 17, 2024 8:00:09 GMT
Daily declutter task from My Simpler Life Declutter Calendar:
Sort one container in the linen closet.
Now it’s my turn to be ahead of the game. The linen closet is where my extra make-up and skin care is, and I’m almost done. I was able to condense items and take out another bin last night. Went from 3 bins to 2 in the skincare section. Now I only have the hair & body bin and the face mask bin to go through.
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Post by lg on Apr 17, 2024 12:32:10 GMT
Came home to find dh had gone through his closet and gotten rid of about 15 items. Peas, that man still has and fits into clothes from high school (+20 years ago!) so I’m so proud of him! I wish this was the case for me too 😂
Now to hide the extra hangers do he doesn’t buy too many more clothes…
I swear I just heard the closet sigh in relief.
As for the linen closet I just majorly reorganised mine and am happy to report there are no more items to go 😇
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Post by Linda on Apr 17, 2024 14:11:33 GMT
I am putting my goals for tomorrow here so that I will report back to you guys! you've got this! Sort one container in the linen closet. another area I'm ahead of the game - I don't HAVE a linen closet Came home to find dh had gone through his closet and gotten rid of about 15 items. woohoo ntsf - sounds like you'r doing great |
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I hurt my shoulder again a week ago raking and putting in docks at the cabin so I’ve been avoiding doing it and it shows, ugh.
). This one is going to be hard!
