2024 Organizing & Decluttering Thread

I have some things I need to get done this weekend, so I’m posting here to keep myself accountable! First, we need to get some basic cleaning done. But I also want to do a quick clean out of the garage and my car (probably more of a deep clean of the car). I also really need to do some yard work but I HATE yard work. Ugh. I have a few pictures that need to be hung and that needs to happen this weekend as well.

I’ve been talking to my brother RE: decluttering and he made a great point. He’s been going through some stuff in his garage and has been asking himself, “Would I be willing to pay for a storage unit to keep this thing?” Because in reality, if you are keeping stuff you really don’t need and that’s taking up space in your house, in effect you ARE paying for a storage unit.

Had to do a major purge of the guest room today. We're having a stair lift installed tomorrow for our lake cabin neighbor who will be staying with us for at least the next month as she rehabs from her heart attack a few weeks ago. It will be nicer for her to be in our guest room vs. the front room futon she’s been sleeping on for a week, but that meant some junk had to GO, lol. I have another whole box of clothes for Salvation Army, a smaller box of summer stuff that will get donated to the nicer free donation place, and tossed a bag of DD’s outgrown socks and almost new underwear that I was going to give to my sister for her grandkids but she never made it here this year. It kind of kills me to throw away perfectly good things, but those types of items can’t be donated and I don’t know anyone locally I could give them to who would want them. I threw away the clock radio that I couldn’t get to stop beeping when I went to change the time after the power went out.

Anyway, I got the bed made up with fresh linens, washed the comforter, vacuumed the room and emptied out most of the tall dresser so she can use it for her stuff. Moved some of the boxes of DD’s storage stuff to the top shelf to make room for a laundry basket in the closet. It looks good now and is ready for her to move into that room tomorrow.   After that, I can flip my futon in the front room back into a couch and that room will be more functional too.

What an incredibly kind thing for you to do for your neighbor! ❤️

Was a rough weekend due to the Fibro. Today has been particularly hellish. Immobility is miserable.

As a result, I used up some of my sticker and Washi tapes in creating my bullet journal. Chester has been keeping me busy, which put the bullet journal on hold, with half of October and through December needing to be done.

I have a box of cardboard that needs to be taken to recycling. It’s my last hope for finding my lost ring. Haven’t had the energy to bother with the garage.

Well, let's see.....


In the month of October I have decluttered:

My clothes dryer (and had to buy a new one).

My dishwasher (and had to buy a new one).

So, basically, I've decluttered my bank account of pesky "extra funds." LOL

Some months everything happens.


Outside, in the yard, I cleaned up branches that had been too thick for my little chipper to chip up, by sawing them into <1 foot long sections and layering them in with my compost. They won't break down completely in a one year cycle, but they are out of sight.

I still have five 6"+ diameter x 3 foot long logs that the utility company sawed off trees and just let drop into my yard. Apparently it's not part of their job to take them (the rep said when I called), and trash collection won't take anything that big. I'm still puttering with the idea to either saw them into smaller chunks, or to make a little raised bed with them. 

The house feels overstuffed because we are in that in between seasons part, where some days it's still 80 degrees F, and some days it's 30 degrees F overnight. There are big fluffy blankets, sweatshirts, and yet still numerous pairs of shorts everywhere, it seems.

I don’t like the bank account decluttering That stinks that you have had so many issues. We have as well. Some were planned (new flooring) some not (new kitchen appliances, water damage in the bathrooms). We are still trying to figure out what we are doing with the bathrooms. I finally got someone to give me a quote so now I’m waiting to hear from insurance if they will give more money. 🤞

Today I am going to get some yard work done. I hate yard work but my flowers have gone to crap this week so they need to go. I really need to clean out the crawl space and will do some of that next weekend when I get the rest of my clothes switched over from summer to fall/winter. That will be such a chore.

Only sold 3 things at Arts and Crafts fair so I am storing a lot for next year. May end up donating some of it though.

About to do a reset at booth so will have some stuff to donate.

Took recycling off Saturday, minus the cans. My Dad has been taking them to scrap yard along with scrap metal he gets in sheds.

I can't remember the last time I posted in this thread. We've mostly recovered from Helene - my car is still in the shop, but it should be ready next Wednesday. We also had the "opportunity" to do a deep clean of the fridge and freezer because our power was out for a week. The restaurant I was working at is still closed because the town's water and sewer systems are still being repaired. I have never been so thankful to be on a well/septic system! The restaurant being closed means I have plenty of time to declutter, although I am also working on applications for more permanent employment.

I did go away this weekend for my college's homecoming, but I was relatively restrained in my purchases. I didn't buy any tshirts (which I think is a first), but I did get a free one at the parade. I also only bought a rain jacket, but I needed a new one, and this one is lined with a sweatshirt type material, so it will work for most of the year when it is also cold when it rains. I guess it helps that I detest the new logo that is on much of the apparel, so it greatly limited my options. 🤣

I have slowly lost more weight, so now my XL clothes are too big. I am trying to be thoughtful of what I purchase, because I had gotten some things in a smaller size, but never had the occasion to wear them before they became too big. I missed the window on donating some clothes, because all of the local places are inundated with clothes after Helene. My dad is visiting, so I may have him take the clothes back to S FL with him to donate. I'll keep the coats and anything super heavyweight, as people will need them here when the weather turns. I also need to decide if I need to keep anything in bigger sizes, and if so, what my limit should be (for reference, I am currently fitting into size 10/12 jeans and M/L tops (depending on cut/fabric), while I have clothing all the way up to 2X and 22W - I think I previously got rid of all of the 3X/24W stuff). Would appreciate any advice you all may have on that front

I need to list some stuff online to sell! I came across my Le Creuset Star Wars collection and I'm pretty sure I have duplicates of one or two of the Droid mini coquettes. I looked online, and people have C3PO listed at $150ish, and I couldn't even find R2D2 listed, except in a set for all three for about $400!

No big strides, just small steps.

Went through the pens in my scrap stash and the desk in the family room. Tossed a couple of handfuls that had dried out. Still need to go through the stamp pads and toss whatever is no longer useable.

Took cardboard to recycling.

Have inadvertently done a no spend, use the food that we have. The cabinets are starting to look bare. The snacks were non-existent, minus my GF crackers. Ha! The freezer is in need of being filled. The refrigerator has hit a fantastic time to wipe the inside down.

Still need to return to the garage. Tossed a handful of stuff yesterday, but wasn’t really in the mindset for any of it.

The puppy is doing a number on the throw blankets. There are 2 destined for the trash. DH does not supervise him well.

Need to buy blankets for both beds. The existing ones are starting to fray. That’s more of a one in, one out deal though.

ETA: My car loan is now paid off. 

I'm trying to work on my mental health this week - easier said than done after this election.

Anyways I've cleaned out the fridge, did a food inventory of the meat/protein on hand and went through my recipes and recipe books.  I've also worked on various cleaning projects.  

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve checked in here. It’s been a little crazy around here since the end of September when our lake neighbor came to stay with us to recuperate at our house after having a heart attack in mid September. I’ve been taking her to and from her appointments because she can’t get her rollator in and out of the car by herself and walking any distance is still a challenge at this point so that’s been keeping me busier than usual.

We got Halloween put away, the front room put back together and the stair lift installed so all that is good. Our power went out for a couple days a couple months ago and when it came back on our TV was fried. So for DH’s recent birthday he bought a new one, but it was bigger than the old one, so a massive cleaning of the TV stand happened. OMG the dust in the back was so bad! Moved a bunch of the older video games to a different shelf, so now I have a pile of assorted stuff that DD needs to go through that came off the shelf. The rest of the house is in decent shape, other than the main floor office and my studio which is a dumpster fire still. I did spend a couple days cleaning off my studio work tables so I’d have space for my upcoming sewing projects which was good.

I’ve been wanting to take all of my older long sleeve shirts to the lake cabin but didn’t have anything that I liked better to replace them with. So today I hit JCP and bought five new long sleeve, v-neck shirts and will take all of the older ones to the cabin and leave them there the next time we go.

Took 2 loads to GW, one load to local thrift store so far this week. Have another load ready for GW and a bag of Elvis' old toys for shelter.