Thursday, December 18, 2014

Decluttering 2014

We actually had snow fall yesterday morning. It did quit and eventually the sun shone. It is cooler out but not bad; around the freezing mark.

We have spent a lot of time decluttering in 2014. Both upstairs and downstairs. Have we got it all done? No, we haven’t. But I want to get it done for several reasons that will unfold over the next year.

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I will have to say that the upstairs of our home is 95% decluttered. That last 5% is going to be the death of us but we know we have to do it. I have spent 3.5 years getting to this point and it was hard work to start with. The  upstairs I did alone as the Spousal Unit was busy renovating. I literally made every decision on what to keep and what to remove. What I was unsure of or the Spousal Unit questioned went downstairs. It was added to the piles of stuff down there.

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The downstairs was our priority in 2014 though we had done some decluttering in 2012-2013. We grunted and groaned, sorted and tossed, gave away, and put away many items. In the process a huge load went to a young couple for their new home, many loads went to thrift shops, and a few loads to the dump. I would say we are 75% decluttered down there. We will continue to work on the basement in 2015. There is still a lot to be removed that we literally don’t need or won’t use.

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Sewing room 2009 the day after we moved in.

I am not typical when it comes to decluttering or purging. I bring it in fast and I can get most of it out fast. I do start the process slow as I form a plan in my head and give myself permission to let it go. Then I dig in and get the job done. I make piles for keep and donate and toss what needs to be tossed immediately. When in the groove, I can stay at it for hours. My road block is emotional attachment of which I have to work through mentally and emotionally.

But, like others, I had to learn how to declutter/purge and it started years ago. I have read a lot on decluttering and here are some of the websites I have read and followed.

1. Fly Lady is where I started. Way back when we lived up north and were moving and I was working full time. Those 15 minutes a day were great and I moved from room to room cleaning up the clutter. I then broke the house into zones and followed her instructions from the launch pad when we moved into a modular home. 

In the midst of using Fly Lady, I watched a lot of Peter Walsh’s Clean Sweep shows. He was an inspiration when I was feeling discouraged or defeated. I was able to move forward with Fly Lady but what I didn’t realize was I was putting a lot into storage to move to more total square footage (aka this present house).

2. Home Storage Solutions 101 came into existence after we moved into this house and I had to deal with a hurried up move and huge renovation. Shall we say that we unloaded the moving van, I set up what the Spousal Unit needed for 11 months of living alone and headed back north to work. I did that in less than a week. Literally, the house was full except for the room that was to become the sewing room. When I came home to visit, I prepped the next room that was to be renovated. That meant moving boxes and tubs into the newly renovated sewing room. And doing it quickly as I was always short on time. 

At first, I followed what Home Solutions 101 said for the room we were renovating upstairs. As we took the room apart, I purged, decluttered, and put only what we wanted back in. I used the 52 week challenge (found at the bottom of the page) and put into an order that suited us. It worked for us. Today, it is modified as I am getting things more under control.  

I found and read several other sites on home organization. Some were overwhelming, others a repeat of the above. Here are two sites I just found and am deciding if they are keepers or tossers.

10 Decluttering Principles to Help Anyone Clear the Clutter

I have not read any more but this page as I went immediately to the guest’s own blog.

365 Less Things

So far a good read. I will give myself a month to make a decision of keeping or tossing. What I like about this blog is the writer doesn’t take you down the road to minimalism. It is where you want to go. For us, it is minimalism and I know this isn’t for everyone.

2015

Our goal is finish the renovations and decluttering of the place. In some cases, such as the sewing room, I have literally called it purging. Where there is too much, we want less and have it under control. That will include organizing a lot of items both inside and outside of this house.

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We also want to do some fix ups and repaint some of the walls. I will do a deep scrub again this spring and put a new finish on the laminate floors. Outside the fences need painting and some areas of the yard need finishing up. A new fence needs to replace an old one. We are preparing for the future.

Until tomorrow………………….

2 comments:

  1. Some very good information there. I do admire your determination in doing this. We have been doing a de clutter the past two years as we kniw that eventually we will sell this house and buy a condo.

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  2. Anonymous11:26 AM

    Gosh, I had no idea these links existed. I particularly like Fly Lady and am so glad you shared the links. Thank you.

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