2024 Organizing & Decluttering Thread

A truckload already this year? That’s impressive!





If you’re still getting unwanted emails even though you’ve unsubscribed you can always set up a rule to delete them as they come in.

For Pinterest what I do is set a timer (Alexa) for 5 minutes and start at my first folder. I just go through one pin at a time and decide if it still really interests me. If it doesn’t, delete. Be honest with yourself. Is this something you’re really going to reference again? Or something you want to have the time to reference again but probably never will? And if it’s the later, by the time you get to it the information may well be dated and a new search would provide to be more fruitful anyway. Since I’ve been on Pinterest so long there are a lot that don’t interest me anymore. There may even be entire folders that don’t interest me. Or that I’ve admitted to myself I want to be a person who does (whatever interest) but I’m not and having the folder is just weighing on me. Don’t underestimate the mental weight, it’s huge.

You have to decide, do you want a catch all or a good place to come for references and inspiration? Does looking at pins/posts for things you don’t do, food you don’t make, or clothes you don’t fit into motivate you or make you feel guilty and full of I shoulds?Make it work for you. 

Also, if it’s a recipe make sure and check if the link still works. Lots of them don’t. If it still sounds amazing to you, Google with the information that you can still see on Pinterest and then upload it using the Paprika app if you find it. Heck, I recommend doing that even if the link does still work. It’s what I do with Pinterest and Instagram recipes when I make them. And when I go searching for a recipe in either of those places I make sure and delete any that no longer sound appealing as soon as I make that decision. 

Instagram is new for me so that’s all current. But I would tackle it the same way. 

I start with the first folder most of the time but sometimes there are particular folders I want to clean up either because I’ll have a lot to delete (I do this when I need to see quick wins) or it’s an area I’m currently pretty interested in and I want it more usable. Whatever motivates you is where you should start. 

I also like to organize within categories within my Pinterest folders, makes it much easier to reference down the line for me. But if that doesn’t appeal to you, or sounds too involved, skip it for now. You can always change your mind later.  

It’s rare I stick to the 5 minutes simply because it feels good getting rid of things and I usually want to at least complete the folder. But if I had to sort of force myself to start I don’t push it because I don’t want to make it a task I dread doing. 

The next time you decide to spend 5 minutes on the task you can start at the same point to see noticeable progress faster, or start wherever you are motivated to. There are no rules, just do whatever makes you want to keep doing the task! Consistency will get the best results, so long as you spend your 5 minutes on a consistent basis (whatever that may be for you) you will see progress!

One thing about going through this process is that it makes me a lot more selective about which pins/posts I decide to save so I don’t undo all of my hard work. Until I’m manic and then all bets are off 

From what I understand, that is pretty common. And I wish they’d let us know what the net savings/damages for the planet are between not recycling, and recycling but using so much water to prep things for recycling, or oil to go overseas and/or causing so much pollution in the recycling process. I’m happy to do my part and then some; I just wish I was more confident in my knowledge of the outcome of the many processes. 

Today’s task from the My Simpler Life Declutter Calendar:

Declutter your nightstand drawer.

Bonus: Take everything out and wipe the drawer clean before returning the items you decide to keep to the drawer, maybe consider organizing them as you do it.

I keep a couple of baskets and a clear plastic divided tray similar to this in mine. It makes it so much easier to organize (and therefore locate) my medications, medical supplies (blood glucose, heart rate monitor, etc), and misc odds and ends in there. If you do use one like this I recommend getting one with, or adding feet to the bottom to stop it from sliding when you open the drawer. I use baskets I no longer like the look of in here because they’re still functional and I only see them when I open the drawer. They’re not sitting out staring at me and taunting me. 

They are on every school supply list every year and my kid never uses them all either! For some reason, they end up in the bottom of a drawer or bin and I can’t find them when it’s time to pack up her supplies at the beginning of the year so I always end up buying more, or the list specifies some weird size we don’t already have. 

Took DD's outgrown trail trousers to her Girl Scout meeting - they'll be passed along to a troop member who can fit them.

Making progress - worked in my office/craft room this morning. Cleared all the piles, went through my desk drawer, went through my file box, shredded a ton of stuff, put a book in the donation box

I watched the first episode of "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" on Peacock today and I read a piece from the Minimalists about decluttering your fantasy self.

I also picked out a couple more things to donate (a coffee table book about the Civil War and a fall themed decor piece), but I need to actually get them out of the house. I'm hoping the weather/road are good enough for me to get out tomorrow- I need to mail back my old work laptop/accessories, as that will be a huge weight off of my shoulders!

DD17 pulled a small pile of children's books off her shelves - they're going to an elementary teacher friend for either her classroom or a co-workers (I think a couple might be too young for 5th grade)

One of the best things I did to help with the whole declutter/fix up home/organize all.the.things mode we have been in is turn create a project room to use for these purposes. It used to be our master bedroom while some repairs were taking place, all of that room while we were in decluttering mode was wonderful! Now it’s the room intended to be the guest room. It’s separate from my craft room, is only intended for items temporarily to declutter, organize, fix, finish projects (not craft related), or otherwise install in our house. For example: art to have framed and hang, videotapes to go through and decide what to have permanently transfered, same with old phones and other dated mediums, items to repair, photos to organize, lamps to refinish, etc. Items that are too large for this room are in a corner in the garage. So all the in-progress stuff is contained in one area in the house. If it’s an item in the rest of our house it’s not clutter, not in need of repair, and is organized. Which helps make for a really peaceful house.

I lined the walls with the 6 ft plastic tables, and each one is set up for different things. The floor is a hard surface and my chair is on wheels. This helps a lot with my physical pain issues as I can just roll around as needed. Our donation box, a large trash can and a large recycle bin are in here as well. It’s a one stop shop for all things to do, I almost never have to leave the room when I’m on a roll. 

• Incoming/TV Desk. Holds file system for incoming mail, has an intended space to serve as catch all for things DH doesn’t know where I’d want them and I’m not available, and a TV. This is right as I enter the room so easy to access
  
• Office Type Work Space Desk. The desk facing the TV is set up with some office supply items, my recipe planning binders, and the last of the huge lot paperwork I am working on. (Originally paperwork had its own table so that I could spend 5 minutes sorting throughout the day and leave everything as is when I wasn’t working on it.)
  I use this as my work space for dealing with incoming paperwork, meal planning, working on the remaining paperwork lot. I keep this clear unless I am sitting at the desk working on something so I always have a space to work. 
• The repair/refinish desk. have a space to do repairs and refinish type projects here. I use the other half when I’m working on other types of smallish projects that I don’t want to clear away every time like going through a box of video tapes or CDs. Confession time. This table also has 2 or 3 medium size baskets/bipins with smaller items I just haven’t made a decision on how to deal with yet. When I’m in a decision making mood I go over and flip through everything and pick something to make a decision about then deal with it right then. So much better having it all these smallish items spread throughout the home. 
• The big project desk. When you need a lot of space for an ongoing project. Great to be able to sort and leave things mid session without issue. For a while this was used for paperwork and always had some sorting going on it. While I was in declutter mode I’d gather all like things (books, DVDs, CDs, clothes, games, jewelry, purses and bags, etc.) here. It helps so much to have everything in ONE space so you see how much you really have, and how a few different items serve the same purpose. Do at least your initial purging here. Then, when you feel you’ve gotten rid of as much as possible, take it back to where you’re going to store it. Knowing you only have the allotted space for these items, starting adding back favorites first. When you’re out of space what’s left needs to go. Or you need to rework your space by taking away room from another category. Make this decision now and clear the space from the other category before storing these items. 

Underneath the tables I don’t use to sit at are the projects to do in their own box or bag. I just used whatever ugly box, zippered bag, or laundry basket I had lying around. Boxes are stacked neatly and labeled on the ends so it is easy to see what is in each one without getting on my hands and knees. One table has all of our excess laundry baskets (we don’t use these for laundry), clear boxes, bins, etc. under it. 


My goal by the end of this year is to make this room irrelevant. And going forward, I think I will keep half a shelf, and only half a shelf, in the garage to store these type of projects that we can’t get to immediately. And I’ll use the time I’m currently using for this huge project to take care of these items on a weekly basis. My preference is to fix things as they break, install things as we purchase them, not let dated media/paperwork/photographs pile up to where they become a project. It’s what we aim for with new items and issues now, and is definitely a work in progress with my health issues and trying to play catch up with the large amount of work still have left to do.

But I have to remind myself, we have made HUGE progress. Decluttering and Organizing are ongoing projects because your needs will change or you’ll find over time a system needs to be tweaked. Items you thought you had to have are easier to let go of. For us, decluttering is in the maintenance phase now. Lots of house projects have been completed. We’re barely adding to the things that need to be done, and are removing much more. All but the kitchen and garage are organized. Those need major tweaking, other spaces just need minor tweaking. Progress not perfection.

If you have a room, part of a room (take apart the guest bed for a while), or space in the garage that you could dedicate to something like this I can not recommend it enough. If you don’t have that much space, and are going through the declutter process, the best thing you can do to help yourself is have a table or two set up strictly for this to use as described above. That way you don’t have to move things because they’re in the way while you’re in the middle of a declutter session, and you can easily come back and work on it even when you just have a couple of minutes. Try and set it in an out of the way place so it doesn’t affect the functioning of your home and drive you crazy. Or conversely, in front of a TV or where the kids do homework so it’s easy to multitask. [/b]

For those items that you’re trying to use up and think will take a couple of months, have you considered removing your current versions of these things and putting them in a bag under your sink? I did that for everything I could and it made the process go a lot faster. Also, some of these small items can be great for travel!

Here’s the info on their site: www.crocs.com/takeback.html

There’s a Crocs store in my general area so I’m able to take them there. 

If I’m not mistaken, DSW also has a collection box in their stores for shoes that you want to donate but they have to be in good, wearable condition. I think they give you a coupon or something for every pair you donate there.