I'm not formally extending my challenge, but just wanted to check in with some continued decluttering :) I got rid of an old chair that no one ever used but was taking up a whole corner of the living room, and consolidated a bunch of bits and pieces into my grandma's very cool mid-century modern hutch. It looks so streamlined and adult! I love it.
We stayed with friends over the weekend, and there house had SO MUCH STUFF it was unbelievable. We have the same amount of square footage, and our house feels pleasant, bright, and large...theirs was so cramped and cluttered. Sometimes it's a pain to keep fighting the invasion of The Things, but visiting their house was a great reminder of why it's important to be proactive instead of letting it build and build. I have a bad habit of comparing my house to styled photoshoots on Instagram and getting mad that everything is so messy, but in reality I think we're doing pretty well. Especially since my SO does his best to keep things up to my standards, but just is nowhere near my level of neat freak-ness.
The current de-cluttering task is disposing of our old dining room table. It's disassembled and 1/3 of the way out of the house...just gotta get the last 2/3 out of the basement and convince my SO that we don't need to hang onto the giant glass top. The living and dining rooms were in complete chaos for August and half of October with my grandma's incoming stuff + SO wrapping up work on the new table, and we ended up shoving a bunch of stuff into the basement so we weren't tripping over it. I'm looking forward to taking a couple of boxes to Goodwill this weekend!
@fluffmuffin: Amen to that! Visiting a friend's house that's stuffed to the max and then some is the best motivator ever to tackle the next de-cluttering project:)Update: Well - I'm getting an incredible amount of outdoor projects completed - none of which was on my list for this year:) What can I say, the kid is available to help for another week so the hell with my plan - I'm thrilled to have some serious muscle at my disposal:)
Completed - this week:Revamped outdoor storage and potting area.
Cleared out - cleaned and re-organized one shed.
Powerwashed all three sheds, two fountains, all stone borders, the entire fence, all the outdoor decor and furniture and every pot and saucer - and I have tons:)
Cut big branches from the oak tree and trimmed all the bushes.
Finished weeding the entire property - oh my those vines!
Re-worked the Secret Garden area, added more gravel - cut back the giant Bougainvillea and saved the bird bath from black muck and slime via the power washer. Happy birds!:)
Re-positioned both fountains (Mr. R.) - ordered new switch for the pressure washer.
Fixed chainsaw and hedge trimmer and the transport dolly - greased all the tools and implements.
Raked the property and disposed of about twenty bags and six big trash cans.
Set out all sorts of things by the curbside - all of it gone within 10-20 minutes. (Metal, furniture, garden doodads - son commented, "People sure like your trash, Mom:).
Almost done:Re-designed the veggie garden area - put down 60 plus bags of gravel with another 40-60 to go.
Finished 80% of the potting and repotting.
Next up: Trim the java plum tree.
De-clutter the back forty - this has been an ongoing project - in stages - and it looks like we'll finally git-r-done this week! Hallelujah:)
First gazebo cover we ordered - did not fit. New one arrived yesterday - we'll test the new canopy tomorrow and if it fits, we will sand and repaint the existing gazebo.
Decided to let the patio furniture go instead of trying to repaint and buying new cushions - with a bit of luck I'll find a good deal on a new or possibly a used set.
Unfortunately found more papers in the shed - WTH?! so now I have two three more boxes to sort through. Ugh!!!
I'll finish with the veggie garden this week - potting and a bit of organizing.
The kid volunteered to lay gravel in one more section of the veggie garden - Yay, it will look so good when it is all done.
Anyway - this is all the time (and help) I will get to finish all of my garden and outdoor projects - by this coming Friday. That means the de-cluttering of the studio and the house is not happening as planned - however, I may get a couple of hours here and there to at least move the de-cluttering and re-organization in the shed cum studio further along.
With company coming the week after I need to at least have the house presentable - we'll see how it all goes. It may not all get done as planned by Nov 9, but I am so happy to have the veggie garden, the secret garden, party central, the back forty, front and back patio and side and back yard looking it's best - that I am happy as can be.
Besides, I did make some unplanned for strides for the upcoming holidays - picked up all our toys for tots purchases already, picked up two gifts and two nice gift baskets I plan to put together. Plus, I also made great headway in redecorating the study, all I need now is a particular print I am dying to have:)
Mongoose - I feel for once I am keeping up with your speed and number of projects:) Mr. R. has helped out with several overdue maintenance projects and got involved with the lighting in the Secret Garden and re-wiring the fountain as well as sorting out why the pressure washer quit working.
Hope all your de-cluttering is moving right along as well!