Author Topic: March Decluttering Challenge  (Read 11205 times)

Off the Wheel

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #50 on: March 04, 2018, 06:09:54 PM »
I'm in! A few months ago I tried the get rid of 1 thing on day 1, 2 things on day 2, etc, but will be honest and say I got overwhelmed mid month and fell off the wagon.

This time I will commit to doing one "space" a day. Depending on my mood and energy, that could be as small as a bedside drawer, or as big as the living room. That feels more management.

And since I'm 4 days in, I'll have 4 spaces to catch up on! Since I currently have laundry in and my sock drawer is definitely a space that needs help, I might start there. :)

Fresh Bread

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #51 on: March 04, 2018, 08:14:45 PM »
I'm in! A few months ago I tried the get rid of 1 thing on day 1, 2 things on day 2, etc, but will be honest and say I got overwhelmed mid month and fell off the wagon.

This time I will commit to doing one "space" a day. Depending on my mood and energy, that could be as small as a bedside drawer, or as big as the living room. That feels more management.

And since I'm 4 days in, I'll have 4 spaces to catch up on! Since I currently have laundry in and my sock drawer is definitely a space that needs help, I might start there. :)

Yes, when I did that version I just started decluttering digital stuff like photos on my phone in the second half of the month.



I'm still doing ok, the shredding is continuing and I put away 3 things today! I've got some books on the doorstep waiting for someone to pick up. Tomorrow will be a charity drop off which will remove a couple of boxes from the house and garage.

Off the Wheel

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #52 on: March 06, 2018, 10:52:20 PM »
Update on my 'space' clean up:

1 - Bedroom nightstand
2 - Master bathroom cabinet (WHY do I have so many bobby pins? I can count the number of times I've used them in the past decade on one hand.... my wedding.)
3 - Guest bathroom cabinet
4 - Electronics side table/drawer thingie (very descriptive. Also, why so many cords?! And THREE CAMERAS?!)
5 - Paper bin (so many old bills - that have been paid, but left to rot)
6 - My wallet! I was tired. :)

Fresh Bread

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #53 on: March 06, 2018, 11:15:54 PM »
Today I did a full clear out / tidy of our pantry. I had one open bag of nut meal and an open bag of dates that I suspect critters were living in so I decluttered them to the bin... I also matched jars to lids and tidied loose stuff into glass storage so I'm feeling pretty on top of things. Plus my shredding pile has halved and we're only a week in.

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #54 on: March 07, 2018, 07:56:32 PM »
Progress on the master closet today. It's amazing how certain spaces disappear from your conscientiousness. There's a drawer in the closet that I haven't opened in years. I kept looking past it today until finally realized it was there and, yes, I should probably open it too.

Found some bags I can use for grocery shopping and put them in the car. That should help with my other goal of not using plastic bags when shopping.

I'm simultaneously loving the progress I'm making in the house and dreading the remaining spaces because they are (ever-daunting) closets. But onward and upward!

Mongoose

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #55 on: March 09, 2018, 05:05:13 PM »
Not my desk area but worked on the kid's rooms. One is done and one about halfway there. Oldest has the smaller room but the biggest attachment to stuff. It's okay...we'll organize instead of forcing anything. Our goal is to move the most used stuff out in the open and put the things that aren't played with out of the way.

Second half of the room may not get done today but we got a good start.

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #56 on: March 10, 2018, 06:37:14 AM »
Went on a midnight decluttering rampage last night, which likely has more to do with pregnancy hormones than this challenge, ha. But, I identified a bunch more stuff for Goodwill. This morning I went through the pantry, which was actually in pretty good shape, and cleaned out my purse and diaper bag. We'll drop things off at Goodwill this morning when they open.

Carrie

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #57 on: March 10, 2018, 07:46:31 AM »
I've packed up a bin of fabric scraps to take to do a demonstration on how to turn fabric scraps into something beautiful. By the end of the day I hope to have no scraps and six pieces od fabric art to put up for sale in the gallery. My sewing room is becoming bare and I love it.

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #58 on: March 10, 2018, 11:29:12 AM »
I've packed up a bin of fabric scraps to take to do a demonstration on how to turn fabric scraps into something beautiful. By the end of the day I hope to have no scraps and six pieces od fabric art to put up for sale in the gallery. My sewing room is becoming bare and I love it.

This is so awesome.

PS--post pics?
« Last Edit: March 10, 2018, 11:44:05 AM by wordnerd »

Drole

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #59 on: March 11, 2018, 07:16:20 PM »
Emptying vacation home for aging parents. Thankfully my mother did much of the little stuff, but it is hard to find a way to dispose if ancient mattresses for free. I don't want to pay $60 to get rid of them.

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #60 on: March 11, 2018, 07:40:37 PM »
Emptying vacation home for aging parents. Thankfully my mother did much of the little stuff, but it is hard to find a way to dispose if ancient mattresses for free. I don't want to pay $60 to get rid of them.

If it's still serviceable, the Salvation Army will come pick it up for free. You can set a pick-up time for the truck online. Or, you can also post on a local FreeCycle group to see if someone will come take it.

If it's really far gone...in my county at least, you can also leave furniture on the curb with your trash for pick-up by the garbage truck. Or you could rent a truck and do a dump run with the mattress and anything else that needs to go (should be less than $60 for the day).
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 07:48:33 PM by wordnerd »

Fresh Bread

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #61 on: March 11, 2018, 08:14:19 PM »
Emptying vacation home for aging parents. Thankfully my mother did much of the little stuff, but it is hard to find a way to dispose if ancient mattresses for free. I don't want to pay $60 to get rid of them.

If it's still serviceable, the Salvation Army will come pick it up for free. You can set a pick-up time for the truck online. Or, you can also post on a local FreeCycle group to see if someone will come take it.

If it's really far gone...in my county at least, you can also leave furniture on the curb with your trash for pick-up by the garbage truck. Or you could rent a truck and do a dump run with the mattress and anything else that needs to go (should be less than $60 for the day).

We have a fixed fee at the tip of $65 per mattress! It's a 'problem waste' like car tyres, which also have a high fee. If it's not too old someone might take it as a freebie but I think that's only really viable if you say "been in guest room, slept on for two nights".

LWYRUP

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #62 on: March 11, 2018, 08:36:51 PM »
i am so in!

We are having insulation added to, and shelving put in, our attic this month.

We cleaned our attic so it is ready for the work and in the process donated two boxes plus a nativity set to goodwill and put a couple less useful items in the trash.  We have some items goodwill didn't want or that were too big to carry in the garage awaiting craigslist for free postings.

Once the attic work is done, we are going to move a lot of boxes from our basement and garage up there.  (We had some deaths in the family so are currently working through a lot of surplus stuff.)  We'll go through some of it in that process and wait a year to tackle the rest.

We will probably have a good two or three trunk-loads of stuff gone by the time all is done. 
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 08:42:55 PM by blinx7 »

Drole

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #63 on: March 12, 2018, 04:45:24 AM »
Emptying vacation home for aging parents. Thankfully my mother did much of the little stuff, but it is hard to find a way to dispose if ancient mattresses for free. I don't want to pay $60 to get rid of them.

If it's still serviceable, the Salvation Army will come pick it up for free. You can set a pick-up time for the truck online. Or, you can also post on a local FreeCycle group to see if someone will come take it.

If it's really far gone...in my county at least, you can also leave furniture on the curb with your trash for pick-up by the garbage truck. Or you could rent a truck and do a dump run with the mattress and anything else that needs to go (should be less than $60 for the day).

We have a fixed fee at the tip of $65 per mattress! It's a 'problem waste' like car tyres, which also have a high fee. If it's not too old someone might take it as a freebie but I think that's only really viable if you say "been in guest room, slept on for two nights".

These are honestly *at least* 50 years old.  There's a hay-like substance in the box spring. 

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #64 on: March 12, 2018, 06:52:43 AM »
Emptying vacation home for aging parents. Thankfully my mother did much of the little stuff, but it is hard to find a way to dispose if ancient mattresses for free. I don't want to pay $60 to get rid of them.

If it's still serviceable, the Salvation Army will come pick it up for free. You can set a pick-up time for the truck online. Or, you can also post on a local FreeCycle group to see if someone will come take it.

If it's really far gone...in my county at least, you can also leave furniture on the curb with your trash for pick-up by the garbage truck. Or you could rent a truck and do a dump run with the mattress and anything else that needs to go (should be less than $60 for the day).

We have a fixed fee at the tip of $65 per mattress! It's a 'problem waste' like car tyres, which also have a high fee. If it's not too old someone might take it as a freebie but I think that's only really viable if you say "been in guest room, slept on for two nights".

These are honestly *at least* 50 years old.  There's a hay-like substance in the box spring.

Ha--sorry, friend! Maybe see if any horses in the market for hay? ;)

Sibley

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #65 on: March 13, 2018, 12:42:16 PM »
Emptying vacation home for aging parents. Thankfully my mother did much of the little stuff, but it is hard to find a way to dispose if ancient mattresses for free. I don't want to pay $60 to get rid of them.

If it's still serviceable, the Salvation Army will come pick it up for free. You can set a pick-up time for the truck online. Or, you can also post on a local FreeCycle group to see if someone will come take it.

If it's really far gone...in my county at least, you can also leave furniture on the curb with your trash for pick-up by the garbage truck. Or you could rent a truck and do a dump run with the mattress and anything else that needs to go (should be less than $60 for the day).

We have a fixed fee at the tip of $65 per mattress! It's a 'problem waste' like car tyres, which also have a high fee. If it's not too old someone might take it as a freebie but I think that's only really viable if you say "been in guest room, slept on for two nights".

These are honestly *at least* 50 years old.  There's a hay-like substance in the box spring.

Ha--sorry, friend! Maybe see if any horses in the market for hay? ;)

This might be crazy, but can you disassemble and throw out the pieces?

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #66 on: March 15, 2018, 06:50:07 PM »
It's the Ides of March, which means we're halfway there. How are people doing? I've at least made some progress on all the areas I wanted to, but I'm definitely running out of steam. Anyone still going strong? I could use the motivation.

Fresh Bread

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #67 on: March 15, 2018, 09:17:54 PM »
On the odd day I forget, but I have been sticking to it more or less. I was using the Habitica app last year but stopped when I was away and then couldn't get back into it.

The most sticky clutter is still hanging around e.g. I have a few things to repair and then sell but I haven't done it yet. Maybe I should set a deadline - if it's not done by end of March, it goes out as is - either rehomed or to the bin. I guess the house is slightly tidier because of my daily putting away habit - hubby noticed the other day and mentioned it. The shredding is decreasing but I just added another pile of old card statements. Thank goodness for electronic bills - 95% of the paper mail I get now is stuff from the tax office or other potentially scary government stuff.

My wish for March 31 is a clear dining table. It's unrealistic to hope for an empty to-do list (because life) but I hope it's very tiny and I can just have fun on my four days off at Easter.

LWYRUP

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #68 on: March 17, 2018, 12:37:16 PM »
i am so in!

We are having insulation added to, and shelving put in, our attic this month.

We cleaned our attic so it is ready for the work and in the process donated two boxes plus a nativity set to goodwill and put a couple less useful items in the trash.  We have some items goodwill didn't want or that were too big to carry in the garage awaiting craigslist for free postings.

Once the attic work is done, we are going to move a lot of boxes from our basement and garage up there.  (We had some deaths in the family so are currently working through a lot of surplus stuff.)  We'll go through some of it in that process and wait a year to tackle the rest.

We will probably have a good two or three trunk-loads of stuff gone by the time all is done.

Today is the day of moving stuff into the attic.  In the process, I gave away five big wardrobe boxes and someone is coming by to pick up an old functional light fixture.  I get so happy when my stuff can find a good new home.  I don't even care about getting any money for it.

Sometime this or next weekend, there will be another trip to goodwill and dump.

LWYRUP

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #69 on: March 17, 2018, 03:23:29 PM »

Here are some pictures from our attic project.

We cleared out our attic (we recently had our roof done, so in addition to getting the boxes out, there were nails and screws and dust everywhere and we cleaned it all -- gross).  We hired a contractor to come in and add a lot of insulation and install shelving that we purchased.  We had to pay for this, but our energy company is going to give 50% of it back as part of a rebate program, and then we should also see lower energy bills going forward.  We also got extra storage space, lofted above the insulation on the sides.  (Note, there is also insulation in the middle -- blown in under the floorboards, which were then topped with hard packs of foam and then covered with the plywood.) 

We spent all day pulling boxes from our office, basement and garage and organizing them.  We have a lot of baby stuff we want to keep in case we have a third, and we also have a lot of stuff from DW's parents house.  We decided it would be best just to put in the attic now and then she can go through it at her leisure when she is ready.  We also gave away a few things on craigslist, will give more to goodwill and will do a run to the dump of things nobody wants. 







This project is a win-win-win.  Energy company rebate.  Attic looks great.  Extra storage.  Lower energy bills.  Good for environment.  Hopefully less drafty house.  Could help on resale (hopefully not for a long time).  Got to remove clutter from other parts of house and store it in an organized fashion.  Gave away stuff which will be reused.

We have a babysitter coming for a fundraiser at our kids' school!  :)  Which is right in the neighborhood, so we will walk. 

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone!

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #70 on: March 17, 2018, 03:47:17 PM »
Nice attic pics, blinx! Thanks for sharing!

LWYRUP

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #71 on: March 25, 2018, 06:03:31 PM »

I've given away TEN craiglists for useful free items that I didn't think goodwill would want.  Plus we've made two goodwill trips. 

Feels good!

Fresh Bread

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #72 on: March 25, 2018, 07:26:47 PM »
Nice attic.

I finished my shredding pile so that's pretty cool. I've been putting things away and decluttering daily.  That includes going through a pile of CDs that have been sat on a shelf for ages. I'm chucking and backing up as appropriate. I even found a place that recycles the discs. I may have fallen behind on my weeding task though :(

Drole

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #73 on: March 28, 2018, 07:00:06 PM »
I've spent about a month and a half emptying a backhouse storage and emptying my folks' vacation home. Current result: my own home is a disaster zone. 

I've given carloads to my favorite little thrift. So surprised they don't run away when they see me pull up. 

Two dead rats and 1 dead field mouse so far. The mouse was actually quite pretty.

wordnerd

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #74 on: March 31, 2018, 05:31:48 AM »
I haven't been super consistent (got into deep cleaning rather decluttering for awhile), but I'm finishing the month strong. I cleaned out my walk-in closet to make myself a "writing nook." I really wanted a separate space to write that I don't use for anything else, so this is my first attempt. I also found some of my old notebooks and got to revisit how 20 year old me wrote...Memories...I'll drop off some stuff at Goodwill this morning, and that'll be about it.

Thanks for playing everyone!

Mongoose

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Re: March Decluttering Challenge
« Reply #75 on: April 01, 2018, 09:18:38 AM »
We didn't get the decluttering done because we discovered a rather major water leak during heavy rains. Actually two. So we decided to address those issues instead.