Declutter challenge - 90 days - clean up in 2016

[Rosy]

@microspice

Today, I'm kind of taking it easy, but I've been scanning more paper and tossing/filing as needed. I am really finding that it is a daily - or at least weekly - beast that needs to be tackled. I now understand how it got so out of control in the first place.

And even though I already took a bunch of stuff for donation, I've already started another box that currently has 3 items in it. After I do some laundry and tidying up around the house, I'll get after those bathroom cabinets like I said I would.

I think paper clutter is depressing - just looking at it makes me feel defeated. I'm just happy that for the moment I am motivated especially after finding over a hundred bucks in old accounts:)

Hmm, maybe that is what I should have done all along - have a box sitting there waiting to be filled and taken away on an ongoing basis? Not a bad idea - a rolling purge on steroids:)

@jooles - Good luck with those fifteen boxes!:)

[Rosy]

@moongoose

Now that is an interesting correlation:

My dream is to move out of the much hated rural, don't-like-outsiders wee dinky town where we currently live. Less crap would make moving much easier. My current biggest fear is getting stuck here long term. The kids are getting into it and talking about wanting to pare down and donate some of their toys??!!??! It almost seems like this process is taking on a life of its own.

Too much change/decluttering or no such thing as long as we keep things we value/use? Donate or shove them in a corner of the basement? Stop decluttering or damn the torpedoes (or in this case the irrational feeling of poverty...however true it might currently be)?

Maybe decluttering is proving to become the catalyst in uniting everyone to get ready to get the hell out of there:)

Naw - don't stop now, you are on a roll - it just feels a little scary that's all. Examine that feeling of irrational poverty ... discuss it and then move past it.
 No shoving anything in the corner in the basement:)

[Rosy]

Paper clutter: Hit and miss - damn!
Found a huge stack of paper clutter I'd deposited on the chair in the dining room, because it wouldn't fit on top of the table anymore. Could have cried when I saw that - but ticked me off bad enough that I started sorting it all out right along with my first cup of coffee on Saturday morning. Good riddance!
 
Otherwise - I took a time out this weekend and today - starting back in, still on that dang bedroom closet on Tuesday and Wednesday.

[Cassie]

You guys are all doing great!  I find that the more i de-clutter the more i want to do it. YOu will find the spot that feels just right to you.

[Ready2Go]

1/14
-Started the records purge.
-Gave DH a challenge: 10 items a day to toss/donate.  Four days of success so far!
-map everything to your new house. 

1/20
-DH is keeping up with the purge 10 items a day challenge. Ten days at this challenge so that's 100 items!!
-Records purge still a work in progress. Mainly because I need to spend a lot of time helping DH with his items.
-Mapped our furniture to the new house. So far it looks like we have an extra bedroom set, desk, 4 large chairs, and a huge old dining table that's currently used as a desk.  New house has 3 fewer rooms than current house. 

82 days to go...


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[FrugalLakes]

For me the best rule is:  One new thing comes in, three old have to leave.  Allows me to update when I want to and end up with less!

[alleykat]

For me the best rule is:  One new thing comes in, three old have to leave.  Allows me to update when I want to and end up with less!

Oh interesting, usually it is one new in, one old out.  This is even better.

[NeverLost]

I hope I'm not too late to join!!!  I have been itching to get some decluttering done and now is the perfect time!  Since Christmas we've had 2 other Christmases and 2 graduation parties along with out of town family members so not only do I need to declutter, but my house is really a mess.  I have been on the waiting list for the "Life Changing Magic of Tidying up" and just got the email that it's in!  I plan on picking it up tonight.  This week I am going to just get my house and laundry in order but this weekend by parents are taking my kids out of town and I am taking full advantage of it.  On the agenda:  cleaning out my large closet (never been done, lived in the house for 7 years) and at least starting to clean out our storage unit. Other things on the 90 day agenda are cleaning out all the bathroom(s) items, cleaning my son and daughters closets and paring down my towels/sheets.  My hope is to start using cloth napkins daily, however I don't know that I will have enough to do so.

Mongoose- My kids are 6 and 8 and I have to go through their toys when they aren't around.  It just makes things so much easier so they aren't looking at crap at the bottom of the toy chest and suddenly wanting to keep it despite having not even remembered it existed for a year :)  I try and do it around every 6 months or so.

One issue I have is homework and other paper like bills, etc.  Where do you all keep this stuff?  I have one drawer in my kitchen but it has things like stamps, pens, etc so it can't really fit paper.  I find that no matter how much I try I can only keep the counter on the top of it completely clean for a day or two before things start piling up again.  I have a computer on it so I can't really put anything large.  How do you all manage papers?

[Rosy]

Welcome to the challenge TealBlue!:) You can join in any time and set up your own 90 day challenge time frame - it helps to have a deadline and a plan as to what exactly you want to accomplish.
I waited for that KonMarie book from the library for over six weeks and when I finally got it, I was disappointed, but hey. It seems to appeal to almost everyone else - so go for it!:)

Update: Still working on my closet - dragging my feet...

@readytogo - where did you find that cute little timer? Please share - I love visual aides:)

[Rosy]

For me the best rule is:  One new thing comes in, three old have to leave.  Allows me to update when I want to and end up with less!

Oh my - that is more ambitious than I can handle right now. I am so proud of myself to have installed and actually manage to live by, the rule of one in and one out for my books and magazines - works wonders. But three? Girl - I am in awe:)
Maybe in my next life:)

[Nancy]

I'm in! Everything I went through last year has stayed decluttered (hooray!). Before April, I'd like to go through the rest of the stuff.

-Bike stuff
-gardening stuff
-random misc. stuff (this means "valuable" stuff that I don't want must leave the house)
-gifts received this year
-sentimental items (photos)

One weird thing that I found was if I felt like I "should" sell something because of its perceived value, but I didn't want to/was unable to, it just stayed in my house. I happily give away  a lot of stuff that I could sell, so it's strange that any items strike me as things that must be sold. I think I mostly feel this way about stuff that was given to me (a gold watch, for example). What strange faulty thinking is this?

[Ready2Go]

@readytogo - where did you find that cute little timer? Please share - I love visual aides:)

Timer is an emoji on my iPhone. Apple added a ton of new ones few months ago.


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[MicroSpice]

@TealBlue – I have a couple recommendations about paper, and they’re similar to what’s been suggested. It’s long, so brace yourself!

All of the paper that comes into our house – mail, bills, forms, artwork, receipts, catalogs, coupons, magazines – goes into one central location, which happens to be a letter tray on our desk in our home office. For you, it can be a box on the kitchen counter, or a basket by the front door, as long as it is ONE place where all the paper goes. Family members will need to be trained, but it’s doable.

Then, this paper gets processed. Every. Single. Night. Typically for us, this happens after I put BabySpice to bed, around 7:30. It helps to have a set time everyday that you know is for processing the paper. It’s a mini-commitment you make to yourself.

Processing involves taking a look at each piece of paper – one at a time – and immediately deciding what to do with it.
- Artwork from daycare? It gets scanned so I can throw the actual piece away (no guilt, although if it’s something really great, I will display it. She’s not yet 2, so this hasn’t happened yet).
- A bill to be paid? If possible, I pay it immediately. If not, I enter the details into YNAB for the next payday and if I need to keep the bill or envelope, it goes back into the letter tray for processing at the appropriate time (when I pay it).
- Receipts? Into YNAB and then thrown away. If we need to keep the receipt for a potential return, it goes into the appropriate person’s wallet (i.e., whoever will be returning the item if necessary).
- Forms? I take care of it right away. Fill it out and either mail it, put it into my bag for the next day, or give it to whoever needs to turn it in/deal with it.
- Coupons? They go into a mini accordion file that lives in my purse.
- Sometimes we get something that needs to be physically filed long-term, and we have a filing system for this, as well. I just put it away immediately.

For your kids’ homework, it might make sense to get a stacking tray, with a slot assigned to each kid (or the hanging folders mentioned earlier). Then it’s their responsibility to fill and empty the folder/slot each day – they do the processing!

If you have one, central location, you will always know where something is or should be. I highly recommend reading Dave Crenshaw’s book or taking his Lynda.com training, “Time Management Fundamentals.” It’s what helped me get a handle on paper and email (my inbox is at zero almost all the time and has been for almost 6 months). I’m still working toward a “paper-free” system at home (except for the obvious documents), but I am so much closer and so much more on top of it than I’ve ever been. I don’t want to say it was “life-changing”, but it was pretty damn close.

[norabird]

I always think there isn't that much for me to declutter but I know I have a drawer with tons of stuff in it in my nightstand. Will put order into it tonight or tomorrow!!

[NeverLost]

Thanks Microspice!  I am seeing now that my problem isn't necessarily that I don't go through those things, it's that I don't have a good place to put them.  I have an entryway table, but I don't really want that stuff front and center for guests, and my catch all place for now also has a laptop on the counter so there isn't really room for both that and a paper area.  Plus, I need a place where my kids can reach.  We do have a home office, however it's upstairs and the kids do homework on the kitchen table so that isn't convenient.  I will have to figure out a good spot...

[Mongoose]

Wow! Lots of inspiration to continue here.

I always think there isn't that much for me to declutter but I know I have a drawer with tons of stuff in it in my nightstand. Will put order into it tonight or tomorrow!!

Just did both DH and my night stands. Stuff we want/use is consolidated into our small headboard that has a bit of storage. Rest of it...and the night stands are gone. It is very organized in comparison.

Maybe decluttering is proving to become the catalyst in uniting everyone to get ready to get the hell out of there:)
Naw - don't stop now, you are on a roll - it just feels a little scary that's all. Examine that feeling of irrational poverty ... discuss it and then move past it.
 No shoving anything in the corner in the basement:)

Interesting you should mention that. We are deliberately trying to use this as part of the "its-not-debt but pants still on fire" motivation to work harder to get out of here! Kind of a physical activity (get rid of crap...easier and cheaper to move! Yay!) to go with building income, etc. Also finishing DIY house repairs so house will hopefully sell when the time comes. Basically, I'm trying to view it as all part of setting us up to depart the second we get enough money. When not plagued by irrational panic that is...

[Rosy]

@ microspice - thanks for the paper clutter tips. Will look for Crenshaw's book and as of right now I will implement the "deal with it immediately" frame of mind about dealing with mail.

Forgot to update: 70% done with my side of the closet - one box and one fourth of all clothing set aside for donation just today. To be continued...

[norabird]

Did the nightstand! Cleared out some things for donation/give-away and got rid of some paper and consolidated the rest. It turns out I have a very organized system of little file folders when I bother to put everything away. Thanks past self! Feels less jam-packed now. Discovered a little three-pack of journals I need to give to someone. I have so many blank journals. I hardly use these anymore, since my cell phone notes section has taken their place. But it's hard for me to give them all away in one fell swoop. Did place a few into the out boxes. Also decided to donate two old pairs of eyeglasses. I had four spares!! Down to two now--still more than needed, but better. And realized I have a warm winter hat I don't actually like the look of which can be considered fully redundant, and went through my belts again to get rid of another one. The belts are pretty redundant and unused; I must have changed up my wardrobe since the time when I felt the need of them. I hope to be able to let go of one or two more by the time I'm ready to send in my next thredup bag.

[Mongoose]

Tackled the teeny tiny closet in the master bedroom. Found the floor (haha...really we aren't slobs...it was covered in unpacked boxes). Found a whole 13 gallon bag of clothes to donate and ironed/organized the rest. It looks so much better that I keep opening the door to stare in almost every time I pass it (still crowded though because 2 people are sharing a 3'x3' space and we have all our shoes and hamper in there but that doesn't bother me). The rest of our clothes are now in one shared dresser except for a few "interview/good" things we keep in the guest bedroom closet.

Also decided to donate two Adirondack chairs that were our living room furniture before we inherited a couch and love seat. They have been lurking in the way in the basement since we moved.

This weekend DH has off so I have an ambitious list [possibly too ambitious:-(]:
- prime and paint the unfinished drywall ceilings (almost the whole house...ugh!)
- clean out, organize and paint inside the bathroom cabinets (2 bathrooms)
- tackle the kids closets and hall closet
- sort/organize DHs clothes that I wasn't sure what to do with
- work on the basement/garage (boxes dumped when we moved in and untouched are keeping me from getting my car in out of the snow! Grrrrr!)

[Rosy]

@norabird

and went through my belts again to get rid of another one. The belts are pretty redundant and unused; I must have changed up my wardrobe since the time when I felt the need of them. I hope to be able to let go of one or two more by the time I'm ready to send in my next thredup bag.

I find the same thing - my wardrobe preferences and style changes and then I no longer wear or use things I once coveted and lived-in in the past.

What I found, now that I am done clearing out my side of the closet is that I own a lot of washed out, tired tops really only suited for nightwear or gardening. Too many to keep, yet I am reluctant to let go.
But I am not giving in to the urge of keeping them all - this is a purge and a purge it will be.

I am reminding myself to keep only items that I really like, that fit well and are in good condition. Solution - keep maybe max five total. I bought a lot one year and now they are all wearing out at the same time. I know I will never wear those tops out of the house again - so I really need to let them go if I want to have air and space again.

Bonus or reward: I get to buy three new short sleeved tops and I already have a couple of gift cards to my favorite stores - so it will be free new clothing:)
I didn't want to run out and randomly purchase new clothing, especially since I indulged in three new maxi dresses for a change from my usual attire - that I am delirously happy with it turns out:). They are solid colors, t-shirt style which lends itself to endless opportunities to accessorize and they are beyond comfortable.

Good thing I put off any purchases - because the other discovery is, that I literally only own two nice short sleeved tops. 

The rest of my tops are sleeveless with only one new addition last year and maybe six the year before, so I plan to add one new sleeveless top and perhaps a new short, because it's Florida and you can never have enough shorts and sleeveless tops for summer. All in all I am donating a lot more than I am keeping - so that is a good thing:)

Not done sorting the pants, steeled myself to get rid of all those capris that I never wear - they fit me like a saddle on a sow and were a complete waste of money - just not a good look on me. No new capris either, but I need one pair of black jeans. My last pants purchase was two years ago when I hit pay dirt and bought several pair at once. So one new pair is all I need and in my book, one new pant in two years is definitely frugal:)

Long sleeved tops - sorted out a few, keeping the rest - no need to buy new, our cold weather season is too short to justify buying much. Wearing out what I have for now.

Dresses - I really like dresses, but I have had a hard time unlocking myself from the "suitable for work at the office" mindset. I am retired in Florida for gods sakes - why do I need to wear or even own a corporate uniform?
In my delusional state, I bought party and work clothes, neither of which I have much occasion to wear any longer, but they are mostly timeless styles, so I'll keep the ones I can wear to dinner or a wedding or a party. Sorted out the last of the "office uniform".

I will look around for some fun sundresses and resort wear style clothing - probably will buy one of each to put a little pep in my wardrobe.

Shoes - still sorting out. Will look for a new pair of low heeled black sandals and pick up a pretty new pair of flip-flops for fun. That's all.

Whew - thanks for helping me sort out my thoughts and needs y'all.

Back to finishing with my side of the closet - hallelujah.

[norabird]

Mongoose that is a great list! Rosy, I enjoyed your breakdown. Sometimes it just takes a fresh eye to get a little more sympathetic.

[Squirrel away]

I threw away a photo frame, it was up on the wall but it had a scratch on the glass. I realised when I looked closer that it wasn't even glass, but plastic. I don't even remember buying that!

It's not really decluttering but I moved my cable for my kindle and my phone charger into two little boxes in the porch so I have a lovely clear office desk. It just has my laptop, phone, my teacup and a lovely bunch of white roses in a glass vase. :)

[Rosy]

Welcome to the challenge @Nancy.

One weird thing that I found was if I felt like I "should" sell something because of its perceived value, but I didn't want to/was unable to, it just stayed in my house. I happily give away  a lot of stuff that I could sell, so it's strange that any items strike me as things that must be sold. I think I mostly feel this way about stuff that was given to me (a gold watch, for example). What strange faulty thinking is this?

I know the feeling - it makes me cringe that not only am I giving up something of value, but I am a loser financially speaking, because I could have received good money for the item if only I had made an effort.

Good luck with your purge and decluttering goals, Nancy.

@londoner -
 

so I have a lovely clear office desk. It just has my laptop, phone, my teacup and a lovely bunch of white roses in a glass vase. :)

Oh, you are so speaking my language:) Haven't started on my study yet, it will be about a week long project, but I've promised myself that when I am done, there will be a lovely bouquet of flowers from my garden or maybe I'll splurge and indulge in some yellow roses, because I can:)

In the meantime, I will enjoy a bouquet from my Florida garden on my dining room table, because it is finally, at least for a while - clear of papers to be sorted.
We have an open kitchen with a dining area and of course while I'm in the process of decluttering the bedroom, all misc. item that now need a new home land there for a day or two - grrr.

[flan]

I just picked up Brook Palmer's Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back book, so I'm in! I got the book yesterday, so let's say my 90 days starts today [01/22/16] and will go until [04/22/16]. So far I've signed up for a "really really free market" item exchange sort of thing next weekend and also a clothing swap in Feb. Let's see how I do!

[NeverLost]

Rosy- Roses sound... appropriate :)  I am jealous you live in a climate to consider bringing in your own flowers now.  I have a foot of snow!

Got the closet project started last night.  I had a huge pile of hand washing crap (I hate hand washing) and finished it all.  Went into every room in the house and grabbed laundry, changed sheets, took towels, etc.  Now I have only 2 or 3 loads of laundry left and everything in my house will be clean.  I hate laundry and am always behind or always have a clean load on the couch.  It's really annoying and I think that by having less clothes this problem will be better.  I wanted to start from scratch when I purge clothes and linens.  My kids are getting picked up from school my by parents so I have all night tonight and tomorrow while my husband is at work to work on this!  I plan on heading home from work, pouring a large glass of wine and getting at it! I took a "before" photo as the results of this will be shocking I'm afraid!  I am getting a bit concerned though about having very few of my clothes "spark joy," (konmarie method) but I am determined to give it a shot. 

[birdman2003]

What do you do with old electronic devices (digital cameras, Dell Pocket PC, 2nd Gen iPod Touch, etc...) and their assorted cables and accessories?

[norabird]

I think best buy takes donated old electronic stuff. Some cities have recycling events for this too.

[therethere]

This is my sticking point too. Electronics. Its sickening to think I carry and move around toxic obsolete space junk purely because I can't figure out how to responsibly get rid of it! DH constantly says we can't get rid of them because we need to destroy the hard drives. Yet he offers no solution and we move them from place to place. What are we going to do collect all obsolete electronics for the rest of our life like a ball and chain (dramatic but at this point that's how I feel since we have an entire closet devoted to this still packed from our move 6 years ago!!!)

I looked up through our city website and they have a list of options for various recycling places for computers but its difficult to find one singular place that will take everything at a low fee. The most important part to me is having everything recycled and the hard drives cleared properly. Our city had an index for various recycling places  but it will take a few trips since places that recycle DVDs and wires are separate from the ones that would recycle computers and destroy hard drives. Best of luck finding a place in your area!

I started a box last week with all the electronics and my goal is to finally get rid of everything by the end of the month. I still have another session or two of gathering more and probably sorting by recycling station (I still think I have to go to 2 separate places) before I can make the final move.

[Squirrel away]

I decided to get rid of one of the wooden boxes by the porch (charity shop) and I threw away an old cosmetic powder brush. I put all the recycling out in the bin too.:)

Oh, you are so speaking my language:) Haven't started on my study yet, it will be about a week long project, but I've promised myself that when I am done, there will be a lovely bouquet of flowers from my garden or maybe I'll splurge and indulge in some yellow roses, because I can:)

Sounds gorgeous.:)

[megasaurus]

DH constantly says we can't get rid of them because we need to destroy the hard drives.

I'm currently in the process of getting rid of several hard drives -- if your hard drives are still functional and could be worth donating or selling, I'd recommend the program Eraser, which can safely destroy all data that's ever been on them.

(Tip: The program gives you various options of methods you can use to write over the drives, ranging from going over it once with pseudorandom data, to a 35-pass method of patterns. Feel free to do your own Googling, but after a few minutes of research I determined that most of the shorter methods are more than enough -- i.e. it would take a Herculean effort, tens of thousands of dollars, the most advanced technology available, etc, to recover data from a drive that's been written over several times in such a way, and even then it's probably not possible. I picked the DoD 3-pass method -- if it's good enough for the Department of Defense, it's good enough for me! The reason you don't want to use a method with a ton of passes is because it will take *forever*. The 3-pass took 32 hours for my 1TB drive, so you can imagine how long a 7-pass or 35-pass would take for multiple drives.)

[therethere]

Thanks! I'll have to look into this more. I did feel guilty about destroying the hard-drives in the two working laptops. Basically committing a working machine to a landfill for a million years. There are a few that are dead or in non-working computers also.

[norabird]

I may try Eraser! I have an old laptop I want to recycle and need to attempt to clean it of data first.

[MicroSpice]

Everyone seems to be kicking some serious butt!

@TealBlue - I am almost finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and it really has me re-energized. I have rid myself of a LOT of things since we moved into our house almost five years ago, but this definitely takes it to another level. I have found some of it a bit hokey (really, my purse is not alive and I don't feel bad leaving my things in it when it's the bag I use 98% of the time), but I do like the intentional and mindful thought processes she uses in her approach.

Last weekend and this week were not particularly productive, but I seem to be getting to a place where it feels like we have the right amount of items. ManSpice's clothes are still an issue, but he tells me he's going to take care of it soon. Although, I'm betting it won't be until football season is over, seeing as how his beloved Cardinals have their eye on the Super Bowl. Ugh.

Anyway, back to my weekly goal list. I decided to keep it running so I can appreciate our progress as well as what we still have left to do:
- Linen closet
- Coat closet
- BabySpice's room
- Storage furniture (trunks, sideboard, TV stand)
- Hall bathroom
- Master bathroom
- ManSpice's clothes/shoes
- ManSpice's desk
- My desk
- Filing cabinet
- Old laptop (back up, clean, and give to sister)
- Garage (this has seen great progress, but has a ways to go)
- Back yard
- Shed

[Rosy]

@Cai - welcome to the challenge:) - let us know how and what you like about the book.

@Megasaurus Thanks for the tip about the eraser for the hard drive - we have one of them sitting in the carport, so maybe I can talk Mr. R. into erasing and taking it down to the dump or whatever.

Update:

1. Finished my side of that infernal closet - re-organized and steam mopped the floor.
2.Now I need one of those under the bed organizers on rollers for my shoes - so I can just pull them out, without having to crawl into the closet.
It is quite low too, so it doesn't interfere with clothing either.
3. Steam ironed up a storm - even things I've never once ironed before.
3. Next I'll make up a few lavender sachets to hang in my closet for a nice scent

Question:
4. Gotta figure out a way to illuminate a closet with no electricity and a sliding door - any ideas?

5. Cleared out - sorted - wiped down the built in dresser in the closet. Yay! - one big trashbag for donation and a big bag of trash - definitely need new undies now:)

6. Next week I'll sort out the four shelves above - organizing open shelving always makes an immediate positive impact - looking forward to seeing some instant gratification:)

Then it is time for Mr. R's side of the closet - wish me luck:)

@MicroSpice - same here -Mr. R. is a big football fan, but I don't mind working around the football schedule as long as he is available to help me until the game starts:)

[Mongoose]

4. Gotta figure out a way to illuminate a closet with no electricity and a sliding door - any ideas?

Not sure how you feel about a battery option since you would have to change them (some folks seem opposed to having to buy batteries) but we are in the process of switching from bare bulbs in the closets to motion sensor operated lights run from batteries. They can be mounted on the wall to shine directly towards the clothes and, bonus for me, they can't be left on! DH is horrible about turning off lights and I was afraid he was going to start a fire leaving the light on (bare incandescent fixture 10" from the shelf).

We picked a model with good reviews from HD I think.  I think they were $14 each.

[Well Respected Man]

Not sure how you feel about a battery option since you would have to change them (some folks seem opposed to having to buy batteries) but we are in the process of switching from bare bulbs in the closets to motion sensor operated lights run from batteries. They can be mounted on the wall to shine directly towards the clothes and, bonus for me, they can't be left on! DH is horrible about turning off lights and I was afraid he was going to start a fire leaving the light on (bare incandescent fixture 10" from the shelf).

We picked a model with good reviews from HD I think.  I think they were $14 each.

You can put LED bulbs into a regular socket, and they don't get nearly as hot.

I'll join the challenge now, as I'm in my annual declutter mode. My wife is sort of on board, and has some projects for me. I've also promised to dedicate 3 hours to help her with her clothing issues: closet in the bedroom, closet in the guest bedroom, large bureau in the bedroom.

Areas to declutter now through 4/23:
 - woodpile - move empty racks, secure tarp better
 - bureau top
 - t-shirt drawer - move holey ones to rag bag (or maybe dog bed, I like that creative use by many ITT)
 - bedside table
 - office shelves - books, photos
 - help move wife's off-season clothes to the freed-up basement closet
 - books in the living room - I need to fight the urge to rage when I tackle this area
 - recover photos from old hard disk - move boxes from basement closet to crawl space - probably putting off the day of reckoning, maybe I'll look at some of the boxes
 - office papers to shred
 - office miscellaneous junk to deal with
 - pantry dead/live batteries/light bulbs
 - extra Ikea furniture in the basement
 - basement work bench
 - the "antiquities" in the basement -- we stored a bunch of junk from my MIL's move for five years in a storage unit, and now a lot of it is still in storage in our basement.
 - cables and electronics in the basement
 - basement bathroom - currently has a shop vac, cooler, space heater, panes of glass, all the usual bathroom necessities (also try to get it working again)

Following 90 days:
 - remnants of my wife's stitching business in the basement
 - hazardous waste drop-off (this is always on Saturdays about once a month in the warm weather, and I can never get it together to go)
 - back of house - wood racks, hoses, yard waste, old bike
 - shed - old bikes
 - workout area - remove tub, lay down mats, organize weights and equipment

[Mongoose]

This weekend DH has off so I have an ambitious list [possibly too ambitious:-(]:
- prime and paint the unfinished drywall ceilings (almost the whole house...ugh!) Didn't even start this. Too busy cleaning other areas.
- clean out, organize and paint inside the bathroom cabinets (2 bathrooms) Postponed until today when I have less kid "help".
- tackle the kids closets and hall closet ugh!) Done. Also did closet in guest bedroom.
- sort/organize DHs clothes that I wasn't sure what to do with Done.
- work on the basement/garage (boxes dumped when we moved in and untouched are keeping me from getting my car in out of the snow! Grrrrr!) Huge progress here. This took a long time so we didn't get to the ceiling painting.

We did some furniture rearrangement to open up space and repurposed a shelf to help the kids get their toys organized (at their request...yay!). We discovered that the cheap platform for our not cheap mattress was broken (didn't know cardboard would be a major component of a bed?). So, we made a new low-profile platform for our bed from wood left over from our outbuilding construction. It took 3 hours, cost $0 and used up the wood we had stored in the basement (major help in cleaning out the basement too!).

This week I'm going to try to get those bathroom cabinets cleaned and painted. We also have a large batch of donations to go to goodwill (mostly furniture we were given but don't need and some clothes). We also need to offload the broken bed platform somehow. We will target the ceiling painting and finishing the garage for the next time DH has the weekend off.

[misshathaway]

4. Gotta figure out a way to illuminate a closet with no electricity and a sliding door - any ideas?[/b]

I have one of these in my pantry. Not motion-triggered. You have to touch it lightly. Has about a 4 foot radius. Not floodlight bright but good enough to distinguish items.

Amazon $7.99
OxyLED T-01 DIY Stick-on Anywhere 4-LED Touch Tap Push Light

[horsepoor]

Made some minor progress this weekend, but not a ton.  Put a few more things from the back yard in the queue to be disposed of, fed some scrap wood into the trash.  Sold a juicer on Craigslist (for a profit, yay!).  Got the greenhouse cleaned of excess nursery pots, dead plants and random trash, so it's ready to go into service for this spring.

Best thing this weekend was DH going through his stuff and burning/recycling a bunch of paper and disposing of old defunct power cords and things.  He's got bigger fish to fry (like a closet full of dress shirts he never wears and a giant guitar amp when he only has acoustic guitars), but I'll take the baby steps.

[Rosy]

Wow - you guys are rockin' it:)

@horsepoor -

He's got bigger fish to fry (like a closet full of dress shirts he never wears and a giant guitar amp when he only has acoustic guitars), but I'll take the baby steps.

Yup, I hear ya on that one. As soon as football season is over I'll be lobbying for Mr. R to take care of some long ignored paper clutter and his insane collection of T-shirts. I think he's ready, but he needs a nudge to start and seeing me de-clutter is having a positive impact.
He did give up his old guitars a couple of years ago in a garage sale and was pleased to sell it to someone in the neighborhood who was happy to have it. There is something to be said for the old "well, it is going to a good home" analogy.

Update:
1. Picked up that very long, but shallow, heavy duty plastic under bed storage box on rollers I wanted from Bed, Bath.... Fits perfect in my closet for shoe storage beneath my clothing. I plan on asking for empty shoe boxes at the shoe store so they will stay put, nice and neat.
It is a pleasure to see them all at a glance.
2. Thanks for the tips on the lighting - brought home two versions of battery operated LED lights. One is a set of two puck type lights that swivel and come with a remote control. The other is a "pull string" look LED large lightbulb that you basically tie to the rod.
We'll see how they work out.
3. Dealt with the fall out from clearing the closet - things that needed to find a new home: canvas and frames and padded shipping envelopes.... even two sets of sheets, brandnew, still in the package.
Cleaned and sorted, but could not get myself to donate yet - feeling a bit under the weather, not a good time to make decisions, probably will give to canvas to an artist friend....

[Rosy]

Welcome to the challenge @Well Respected Man:)

You know looking at your list suddenly makes me feel better - man, that is a long and involved and may I say ambitious list too.
Well, then - let us know how it goes, it is good to know we are not alone in declaring war on clutter. 

I plan to take stock Feb 5 - which is one third of my challenge time, hopefully, by then I will be completely done with the bedroom, sigh, feeling a bit depleted and anxious/overwhelmed today.

[norabird]

Everyone else is being so aggressive and ambitious! The blessing of a small place or am I a slacker...
Took a big cardboard box into recycling downstairs (not sure why I'd waited a week on this), threw out three alkaline batteries I was planning to recycle on realizing they aren't recyclable, brought in cord from trimmed installed light fixture to drop at best buy. I started trying to wipe my hardrive last night which is sloooooow going--it's a mac, so eraser won't work. Also decided to post it on CL in case anyone can use it and might give me some cash--don't care how much. I have two laptops right now (one more recently from a friend) and never use them so the oldest should really go.

Posted more light fixtures on craigslist and still lowering the rug sale price to get that out of my living room....and want to see if I can find some unused brand-name winter hats for sending to thredup. I think I have more winter accessories than I need...

Also trying to reseason a cast iron which for some reason feels like decluttering. It keeps smoking and I keep mistreating it and I very much want to get it right! Also moved some platters and cake pans and pie plates to a higher storage shelf to allow more room for my tupperware. It's stuff I use and want to keep[ for entertaining but don't need it all so accessible, so things feel more usable now!

[EngineerMum]

I'd like to join in. I probably won't match the time frame, since I'm starting late, and my end date is whenever I end up having to move, but I need the motivation. MY rental home is being sold so I'm going to be given notice some time soon, and the less I have to move the better.
Tasks that I know need doing
Sell baby seat
Clothes to op shop
Return things to big sister
Sort out which books are keepers, read the others and get rid of them
purge skin care since I can't use it anymore
give hand me downs to appropriate person
Sort out toys for things missy has grown out of and pass on
give good crockery and glasses back to h to keep for now
start collecting boxes

[Well Respected Man]

Areas to declutter now through 4/23:
- woodpile - move empty racks, secure tarp better
 - bureau top
 - t-shirt drawer - move holey ones to rag bag (or maybe dog bed, I like that creative use by many ITT)
- bedside table
 - office shelves - books, photos
 - help move wife's off-season clothes to the freed-up basement closet
- books in the living room - I need to fight the urge to rage when I tackle this area

 - recover photos from old hard disk
 - move boxes from basement closet to crawl space - probably putting off the day of reckoning, maybe I'll look at some of the boxes
 - office papers to shred
 - office miscellaneous junk to deal with
 - pantry dead/live batteries/light bulbs
 - extra Ikea furniture in the basement
 - basement work bench
 - the "antiquities" in the basement -- we stored a bunch of junk from my MIL's move for five years in a storage unit, and now a lot of it is still in storage in our basement.
 - cables and electronics in the basement
 - basement bathroom - currently has a shop vac, cooler, space heater, panes of glass, all the usual bathroom necessities (also try to get it working again)

Following 90 days:
 - remnants of my wife's stitching business in the basement
 - hazardous waste drop-off (this is always on Saturdays about once a month in the warm weather, and I can never get it together to go)
 - back of house - wood racks, hoses, yard waste, old bike
 - shed - old bikes
 - workout area - remove tub, lay down mats, organize weights and equipment

Well, I got a good start yesterday. Cleaning out my t-shirt drawer was fun. Each stupid t-shirt that I would never wear in public, or was worn out or too small got tossed in a pile. At the end, the drawer was full, but the pile was as big as what was in the drawer! The dog's bed is now plumped up, and I have a source of rags if I ever run out.

In cleaning out the living room bookcase, I found a few toys, spider webs, dust, insect parts, live spiders, a hair thing, and a shark's tooth. Tossing the books that I'm never going to read was good. I even tossed some computer books from my office shelf to make room for gardening books. I shelved books that were on the floor, including two atlases :-( and a compact Oxford dictionary, as well as a pile of books on an end table. All humor books ended up in the (now decluttered) bathroom shelves. Tossed the 2008-ish road atlas of the U.K. and the 2003-ish U.S. one. Kept the more compact Netherlands one, which my daughter will hang on her wall.

[Mountainbug]

I'm a little late too, but I'd like to join! After several rounds of unsuccessful "cleaning" I think I need to commit to more serious de cluttering. After reading this thread it seems like everyone is making great progress and this is a great place for motivation.
I'm due to have my first baby in early March so that would be my deadline. While I have gone through and purged a ton of stuff, there always seems to be more and I get really frustrated at the state of our house (mess does not seem to bother my husband, go figure). We will probably be moving this year also, so I'm hoping this will make that transition easier also.

Goals so far:
Clean office/spare room (paperwork, closet, miscellaneous piles)
Organize/purge converted garage
Decide what to do with all our sports equipment (we have a collection of semi-unused things like baseball mitts, soccer ball, dumbbells et c)
Purge bathroom cabinet
Deal with old laptop

 

[Squirrel away]

I got rid of two shabby Ikea tables today and I also threw away the end of a bottle of foundation.

[Rosy]

I'd like to join in. I probably won't match the time frame, since I'm starting late, and my end date is whenever I end up having to move, but I need the motivation. MY rental home is being sold so I'm going to be given notice some time soon, and the less I have to move the better.

Welcome to the challenge @EngineerMum:) and Mountainbug:) - you are not too late at all, this is a 90 day challenge for decluttering in 2016 - you set your own start date and then your challenge time frame would be from say Jan 26 to March 26, 2016.
It helps to have a timeframe and we can all use the motivation given here to see us through to the end.

[Mongoose]

Ok. I am now officially annoyed at my bathroom cabinets. They are small and weird shaped and have no shelves. I just spent 2 hours trying to organize them and they are just as bad and as cluttered as when I started. I am about ready to start screaming! I have no broom/hall closet in this house so all my cleaning supplies are in there too. It's not like I have 40 spare bottles of shampoo or anything. I either need to dump stuff or make shelves. We use all of the stuff I saved and have no more than one of each item (spare toothbrush, new bottle of shampoo). Ugh!?!?!?!? I guess I need to try to go make some shelves.

[MicroSpice]

@Mongoose - Would baskets be helpful? It at least helps to compartmentalize things and prevent them from falling over and making a mess. You can get stacking bins/baskets at most home places for a reasonable price (HomeGoods, Tuesday Morning, Dollar Store, etc.). Or shoot, if you have some shoeboxes hanging around your house, that could be an intermediate fix before you get shelves in place. Just a thought.

[Rosy]

Mongoose - if it is weirdly shaped, just install a few shelves to fit your needs.
If it is not too shallow, you might want to just pick up a metal shelf unit to place inside - they come in all configurations and might be a sensible and reasonably priced addition.