75ers' Organizing/Decluttering Support Group

Several of us have discussed partnering through decluttering projects this year, and this thread is meant to facilitate discussion, highlight useful books and websites, and support each other in our goals in this area. Anyone may participate--you don't have to commit to partner or any other criteria. If this interests you, speak up. Also, if you have good resources to share, please do. I will post my favorite and most helpful resources in the second message, and will be glad to add yours. In the third message, I will list those who are participating by partnering on their projects--remember, that is not something you need to do to comment or even be a regular here, but it will help those of us who are doing so to stay in touch.

Feel free to post your own personal goals in this area as well as your progress!

Organizational/Decluttering Resources:

Home Storage Solutions website--this is a good entry point: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-january.html?utm_s...

A Slob Comes Clean: Reality-Based Cleaning, Decluttering, & Organizing
https://www.aslobcomesclean.com
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff** MY favorites!!!

Apartment Therapy--January Cure: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/features/january-cure

The Spruce--Swedish Death Cleaning checklist: https://www.thespruce.com/swedish-death-cleaning-4801461

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by K. C. Davis

https://www.Flylady.net

https://clutterbug.me. (Note: I am a Bee)

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/features/january-cure

https://cleanmama.com

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life by Matt Paxton

Do Less by Rachel Jonat

https://tidylifehappywife.com/decluttering-rules/

So pleased that Roni is keeping this group going. I am the type that has to revisit the tidying up & decluttering activity all the time. Stuff creeps in and Mr. SM and I are simply not good gate keepers.

Tidying & decluttering books restate very similar tactics, so it wise to read several different authors for finding the valuable insights for your preferences.

We've improved our awareness of where our weaknesses are for acquisitions and what prevents us from making effective decluttering decisions. This reading and mental preparedness is key to tackling the decisions.

Top 4 Books to read if you haven't done so.
Do this over a time, maybe one a month.
Tip: Clearing out the accumulation of years and years requires several rounds of culling and then reassessing months later, as you rummage in the cupboard, boxes, closets looking for the whatsit.

Carlson, Julie: Remodelista: the Organized Home
★ thinks outside the box ~ ample storage is not necessarily a good thing. Example: in North America, we've been conditioned to think that huge closets are desirable; but the truth is this encourages you to lose track of what you have (and what you hardly ever wear, leading to overaccumulation).

Fortin, Cary T. and Quilici, Kyle L. New Minimalism
★ geared to the North American home: describes archetype profiles to choose strategies to cope with idiosyncratic blocks to simplifying. This is a must-read to discover your personal difficulty in making decluttering decisions.

Kondo, Marie The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Particularly helpful:
★ simply having less (plays into Dana White's idea of 'container')
★ work by categories, not by everything in a room ~ more effective than dealing with an array of different items stored in that space

White, Dana K.: Decluttering at the Speed of Life
★ Container Theory ~ a shelf, a box or whatever, is an inspiring way to decide on what to throw away/donate/sell/put in the recycle cart. Once the "container" is filled, everything else in the category is surplus.

Next post, I will share specific snippett's from two other authors for coping with the trickiest decluttering: sentimental momentos, family keepsakes, collections, and photographs.

I just joined the 75ers this month and I am finding so many helpful, useful threads tucked here and there.

Over a decade ago I was a fly baby and I still use some of the techniques I learned from FlyLady. Things like shine my sink and use a timer and finding a hot spot and setting a timer for 15 minutes to put out a fire.

I have a lot of stuff, probably too much stuff, but my main focus is organization rather than decluttering. I'm not hesitant to get rid of some things but other stuff it's hard. I do get collection notifications from a local non-profit pretty regularly and I keep a box by the door to collect donations to goodwill so I don't keep stuff kicking around the house.

I lost about 50 lbs and one of my big struggles is identifying and getting rid of clothes that are too big anymore.

I look forward to following this thread and encouraging myself and others to keep at it.

Starred!

I love to organize yet I have piles, everywhere. Go figure.

Starred! I'm here complete with my mess, which is slightly smaller than it was this time last year, but still needs to get a lot smaller than that.

My biggest success last year was probably replacing my desk. It was a beautiful old thing, with lots and lots of storage. When I cleared out that storage I found multiples of just about everything. The new desk - smaller, and adjustable between sitting and standing positions - has no storage at all. I bought clear plastic drawer units with small drawers, and sorted as I stowed things. I then labelled each drawer, to be doubly sure of what was in it. No more buying extra paperclips because I can't find the two boxes I already own. No more discoveries of multiple boxes of ballpoint pens, doubtless so old that none will actually write. And the extra space in my office has allowed easier access to things that had been hard to reach, some of them being boxes of random clutter from decades past.

FWIW, I didn't replace the desk as a decluttering move; I replaced it because the ergonomics were terrible when using it as a computer desk, and I wanted to get rid of my chronic backaches. So the sorting happened mostly when I needed to use particular things, rather than as a dutiful chore. That very much helped me get it actually done.

Added this to the group wiki!

I don't have a book to recommend, however, I decluttered room by room 4-5 years ago and adopted the "one in, one out" policy. This applies to clothing, books, Christmas ornaments, towels; everything but consumables. What this has really done is prevented me from buying things, that I don't need. If I want a new shirt, for example, which one am I going to donate? The answer is I don't want to get rid of one, ergo, I "can't" buy one. I have avoided numerous impulse purchases over the last few years due to this "rule." Just yesterday I had $127 worth of "stuff" in my Amazon cart. I reasoned they were all on sale and marked down 40% AND I have a Christmas gift card. Then I stopped and thought, if I buy that kitchen gadget, which one am I going to pitch? If I buy that nightgown, which one am I going to pitch? And slowly but surely (it took 2 days and was done with reluctance) everything was removed from the cart. This does not apply to ebooks, as they take up only virtual space.

>6 ArlieS: I think that's an admirable philosophy. Too often, I root around in desk drawers (that somehow keep becoming over-filled) and I vow to "sort this mess later". Except later never happens.

This over-filled "container" is one of my kryptonite fallibilities. I have never solved the problem even though I follow the like-with-like and everything-in-its-place advice (Andrew Mellen, Unstuff Your Life!).

Posting about Mellen reminds me, I was going to add to >3 SandyAMcPherson:.
Andrew Mellen's decluttering advice was somewhat flawed (I rated it 3½ stars because of some counter-productive ideas), but there were really effective passages that spoke to the philosophy of why we collect things and how to sort out our feelings about letting things go.

Another super helpful book for me: Peter Walsh, Let It Go
Especially effective in addressing downsizing under difficult circumstances such as moving aged parents out of their familiar home or coping with all the angst after a death in the family: a very relevant situation as my family negotiated the cleaning out of a beloved grandmother's house. Walsh's advice was invaluable.
★ wisest counsel: need to acknowledge (in order to make decisions) that items are nostalgic collections and out-of-date furniture ~ Walsh's writing is a gentle approach to gaining a good insight to the Western world's penchant for too many inherited 'treasures'.

Lastly, Jay, Francine Joy of Less.
Particularly helpful: dealing with sentimental and nostalgic items. Jay's advice resonated with us as a family because the decorative items felt so impossible to cull.
★ Detach yourself from the duplicated items; simplify how much 'stuff' is on display at one time. One of my favourite phrases was to be useful, an item must be used; that's the catch: most of us have items that are potentially useful things that we simply never use.

One of my daughters came up with a super effective category as we culled our family home and then I approached my home: besides the categories of (1) save this for sure, (2) donate, (3) recycle, (4) trash, have a section for (5) I can't decide right now.

In our immediate family, we labelled boxes (yes, everyone had their own box to store things as can't decides) with the date and stowed them in our basement for 6-months ~ even marked the calendar to check.

I was flabbergasted what a difference 6 months made. Nothing got saved from my boxes. Mr. SM kept about half his stuff (and a year later, he sold it all at a garage sale). My daughter had 1 very small box and took it with her when she went home.

Perhaps this is a possible technique for other folks' quandary of decision-making. I've come to realize that I have a limit to decisions made in a span of time. I simply run out of the ability to decide. Turns out that my sister-in-law does too.

She articulated it this way: "I get to the point where I just want it all to _go away_ so I cart it all off to donate". Unlike me, who also is fed to the teeth, I just quit culling and leave it for months, and in some cases a year. Then I have fresh eyes to reassess. I have a great fear I'll declutter something and then grieve its loss.

I hope this is helpful for somebody here on Roni's thread. I like reading how other people have managed even if it's currently a defeat. I think time is our ally here. We don't have to do it all at once, even if we are moving. The move itself is overwhelming.

>8 Tess_W: Tess, we just adopted that philosophy last year!
It is awesome, and such a good way to look at purchases. I so wish I had used the idea before getting into such an over accumulated mess! I blame my susceptibility to sales and now deliberately don't look "just because".

>9 SandyAMcPherson:, >8 Tess_W: - This is my life. It's a full time job, more so now that I am retired! The kitty litter I buy for my cats comes in boxes and after emptying the litter into jugs (that I can more easily carry upstairs to the bathroom, I wipe out the boxes and use them as my donation boxes. I always have one or 2 open in my spare room and try to always add something to the box every time I go into that room. Whether it's books, clothing, knickknacks, or whatever, I have tried very hard to stick to this plan. Once I have 2 or more boxes filled, I call one of the donation sites and they come pick the boxes up.

I am another member of the *multiples* club and I truly hate not being able to find something I am sure I have, only to go buy another and come home to find the original.

And yes, the *time* thing describes me, too. I get in the mood to declutter and go at it gung-ho for awhile, then fizzle out and just can't, any more. For example, let's take books. I am sure I don't need to be embarrassed in this group to admit that I have books everywhere. Everywhere! I only buy books that I think I want to read. But the overflow go into waterproof Rubbermaid bins in the basement's crawlspace. So, not long ago I decided to go through those bins (and shelves in various rooms) and remove anything that I didn't think I would read in the next year, let's say. I was honestly surprised at how many books I took out that made me wonder why I ever bought them at all. I brought several bags of these discarded books to the used bookstore to sell (they only pay a pittance which is still better than nothing at all) and whatever they didn't take, stay in the bags in the trunk of my car and get dropped in Little Free Libraries whenever I happen to pass one. Truth is, I still have a long way to go in this particular task but it honestly felt good to start!

Same with clothes. Anyone else have an actual (or mental) separation of clothes? Those I used to fit into, clothes I just can't get rid of because maybe I will fit into them someday, clothes that are actually too big but I keep just in case I gain weight again, and on and on.... I do get into that mind set of trying on everything once in awhile and pieces do find their way into my donation boxes but not nearly enough. Mostly from the category of clothes I will never fit into again... Most recently, I found a blouse that is just hideous. Did I really buy that? What was I thinking? Into the box it went. I don't even think I ever even wore it. Sheesh.

And the paper clutter.....that could be a whole thread all by itself...

>11 jessibud2: I'm with you on the clothes, and the paper. Oh, the paper!

The project for this winter is my office closet. I've been accumulating stuff for nearly three and a half decades. I found folders of financial records from 1989, three cities ago. The closet is about 10' x 4' of floor space under a steeply sloped roof so no vertical storage. Amazing how much stuff fits in there. Once I organized my books last winter, I knew the closet would be next so I've had the year to mentally prepare. Mostly I've just sighed in despair without developing a plan, but I forced myself to get started during this week off work. On day one I acquired boxes. On day two I put books in a box which occupied about 15 minutes. This somehow was enough to kick me into gear. On day three I did real work for several hours. I've done enough in a few days to realize how much more needs to be done, but it's progressed from daunting chaos to manageable sub-tasks.

So far, in approximate order:
* Boxed up books that I deaccessioned last year, to take to the public library book sale. These had been stacked in front of a closet door so it couldn't fully open.
* Boxed up pay stubs, checks, bank statements from 1989-2015 (when I moved to my current house), to take to a shredder. This cleared out one and a half 2-drawer file cabinets.
* Organized and significantly reduced the contents of another file cabinet and moved it from the other side of the office into the closet. This cleared space under a table.
* Moved the empty file cabinet to a back corner of the closet because it doesn't have to be accessible, and blocked it with a heavy obsolete work computer that isn't mine and has been occupying premium space in front of things I want to get at since it was replaced in 2019.
* Collected financial stuff from 2015 onward into one location for later sorting and filing. I did a round of sorting a couple of years ago but had no place to put the results.
* Moved three boxes of non-electronic office equipment (e.g. paper trays, pen holders) to a less accessible location in the center of the closet, because they are the least of my problems.
* Moved three file cabinets of old letters and photos to a more accessible location where the boxes and old work computer had been.
* Separated out old laptop computers w/ data that'll need special treatment.
* Boxed up computer peripherals (e.g. keyboards, mice), to take to the hazardous waste facility.
* Collected miscellaneous electronic accessories (e.g. cords, cables) into storage bags for later sorting. This consolidated various containers in the closet and cleared a shelf on my desk.
* Moved a set of drawers that had been holding craft supplies from downstairs to upstairs, and organized office supplies (e.g. pens, staplers, paper clips) from various containers into it. Craft supplies are another project for the future.
* Sorted discards into recycling where possible and trash otherwise.

My office now looks like a disaster hit, but everything not in the closet has a known destination when the world resumes post-holiday normalcy, and it's glaringly annoying instead of out-of-sight-out-of-mind so I'll be forced to deal with it.

>13 qebo: That sounds like a tremendous amount of work and progress. Congratulations. It's inspiring.

Here is Taylor's annual breakdown of 15 minute daily tasks. You can get the monthly calendars broken down by day for free by signing up for her newsletter. She sells preprinted packs and coaching, but you can get her numerous articles for free. She emphasizes you don't have to follow this calendar in terms of when you do the tasks--you can start anywhere and go in any order. I find it useful to have a lot of the detail work already done for me. Last year I followed her calendar through the kitchen and laundry room, and then got caught up in outdoor work and didn't follow through for the rest of the year. So this year I will start with basement, which also necessitates photographs, before moving on to my biggest challenge, the 9 weeks of paper and digital information.

52 Week Organized Home Challenge Schedule For 2024
https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com

Week 1: Kitchen counters and sink (Jan. 1)
Week 2: Kitchen cabinets and drawers (Jan. 8)
Week 3: Pantry and food storage (Jan. 15)
Week 4: Refrigerator and freezer (Jan. 22)
Week 5: Recipes (Jan. 29)
Week 6: Recycling / trash cans (Feb. 5)
Week 7: Coupons (Feb. 12)
Week 8: Meal planning/grocery shopping (Feb. 19)
Week 9: Laundry room (Feb. 26)
Week 10: Laundry schedule (March 4)
Week 11: Cleaning schedule (March 11)
Week 12: Morning & evening routine (March 18)
Week 13: Basement (March 25)
Week 14: Garage (April 1)
Week 15: Attic (April 8)
Week 16: Addresses & contact info (April 15)
Week 17: Mail (April 22)
Week 18: Bills (April 29)
Week 19: Receipts & tax documents (May 6)
Week 20: Filing system (May 13)
Week 21: Magazines & newspapers (May 20)
Week 22: Passwords, manuals/ warranties (May 27)
Week 23: Home office (June 3)
Week 24: Email & digital information (June 10)
Week 25: Bathroom (June 17)
Week 26: Makeup/cosmetics (June 24)
Week 27: Linen closet (July 1)
Week 28: Master bedroom closet (July 8)
Week 29: Master bedroom (July 15)
Week 30: Jewelry / accessories (July 22)
Week 31: Shoes (July 29)
Week 32: Back to school (Aug. 5)
Week 33: Kids’ closets (Aug. 12)
Week 34: Kids’ bedrooms (Aug. 19)
Week 35: Seasonal clothing switch (Aug. 26)
Week 36: Yard / garden (Sept. 2)
Week 37: Toys and games (Sept. 9)
Week 38: Vehicles (Sept. 16)
Week 39: Entryway / mud room (Sept. 23)
Week 40: Living room/family room (Sept. 30)
Week 41: Dining room & entertaining (Oct. 7)
Week 42: Photographs (Oct. 14)
Week 43: Crafts (Oct. 21)
Week 44: Books (Oct. 28)
Week 45: Emergency preparedness (Nov. 4)
Week 46: Medicine/first aid supplies (Nov. 11)
Week 47: Purses and bags (Nov. 18)
Week 48: CDs and DVDs (Nov. 25)
Week 49: Holiday decorations & gift wrap (Dec. 2)
Week 50: Home inventory (Dec. 9)
Week 51: Pets (Dec. 16)
Week 52: Family calendar (Dec. 23)

Home Storage Solutions 101: A Place For Everything That Matters
Get Free Emails With Plan To Declutter & Organize Your Home Here: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/tips-on-getting-organized.html
Copyright 2011-2024

>15 ronincats: - Thanks for the list summary, Roni. I am not sure how I did it but I did manage to find and print out her monthly calendars last year. I clicked on your link to get them now, it took me to her page that said to click something else to get them, I clicked that and it said to join for free. I am already on her list but I tried again and it said I am in the database and that's where it stopped. So, to be honest, having your list summary is all I actually need. For someone who is focused on decluttering, I find her site and emails very cluttered. And she sure tries to sell a lot of *stuff* (stickers, etc) that seem rather counter-intuitive if you are trying to get rid of the unnecessary in your life. I am not in the States so I couldn't get her daily texts if I wanted to but I would never sign up for that; it would drive me batty.

I can email anyone the download that contains the page above plus the monthly calendars if you want to PM me your email address. I agree, getting to the calendars on her website can be a hot mess. I do find the weekly emails from the newsletter to be helpful in breaking down the tasks.

Thanks, Roni. I think I will just use the condensed list you posted in >15 ronincats: for now. If I feel I need more, I can pm you my email address. If I am honest, I could really just use last year's calendars and go by those. I barely touched any of it last year (hangs head in shame...;-)

>15 ronincats: For me, some of these are zero, and some could occupy months. It's useful though to have a list to assess what applies.

I haven't read any of the decluttering books. What works for me is:
* Know my limitations. I won't sustain a full year on domestic tasks.
* Choose a focus, something that's chronically bothering me. I don't want to deal with it, obviously or it wouldn't be in this condition, but I'll feel so much better when it's done. Last year I was literally tripping over books on the floor. For several years things I want to get at in the office closet have been layers deep so I give up. A prime candidate for the future is the basement; I don't, and deliberately won't, expect to get to it this year.
* Do something every weekend over the winter. I can will myself through 15 minutes. Generally once I get started I'll continue for a couple of hours, and progress becomes inspiring.
* Put blinders on. Everything else goes into superficial maintenance mode; it doesn't get any better, but it doesn't get any worse either.

>17 ronincats: Sending an email.

>20 elorin: The list above and then the monthly calendars start on page 15 of the attachment I sent you. That's what I print out.

>19 qebo: Yes, some of these are zero for me too--namely, attics and kids. Of course in San Diego it was basement and garage. I just take those as a gift.

>18 jessibud2: They are just the same, just with the new dates on them.

>21 ronincats: - Perfect, then! :-)

For those who are new on the thread this year, I moved in June of 2021 halfway across the country to be back in the middle of Kansas near my mother and sister after my husband died suddenly in October of 2020. I had been in a three bedroom bungalow with a large (and full) attic for 42 years at that point. I spent 6 months getting rid of at least 60% of my possessions (including 25 bins of clothing in the attic, most of which were either too small or too large, and all of which were in good shape--went straight to the Battered Women's Shelter) but only 33% of my 4000 books, and then moved into a larger 4 bedroom, full basement, two story bungalow here, where all my remaining stuff fit just like magic with a few storage spaces still unfilled. So it was a forced declutter/organize situation with a time limit, and it was tremendously stressful there and I love, love, love my house here. Last year it was the kitchen that needed tweaking, and I can tell that my belongings are starting to settle into places that are unplanned, and the basement table full of family photos has yet to be organized, so while there are areas where I am miles ahead (having tossed all the correspondence and financial records since the 70s, for example, excepting the last 7 years), there are definitely areas that need me to start being mindful and to maintain this year.

>21 ronincats: Thanks so much! I'll print it soon.

I’m glad to see this thread is continuing in 2024.

While I don’t have masses of things that need to be cleared out/decluttered, I do want to make sure that what I have is organised well. I am hoping to be able to move house in 2024 and will therefore, unlike most people here, need to buy a lot of new things for my new place. But I want to keep on top of things so that when I do get somewhere to move, I can proceed with the moving process as smoothly as possible and not have it turn into an overly stressful chaos.

I also do have a bit of a magpie syndrome when it comes to certain items and tend to buy more of them even when I know I don’t need it. I’m trying to get better at that and therefore am not allowed to purchase any more new skin care products, crossword magazines or pharmacy supplies until I’m literally about to run out. Yarn is also on the restricted items list, but there are exceptions there.

>11 jessibud2: >12 elorin: Yes, the paper is my biggest bugaboo. And clothes are starting to be a problem. I think working on my bedroom will be a way for me to start this year. I got the bed cleared off before I left for New Years with family, so I have a start.

Thanks Roni, for getting this thread going again.

And Jessi, I love your idea of the open box to fill up. Think I'll try that one in the bedroom, and can drop things off after work.

My project, my MAIN project in 2024 is the living room/den.

To be fair, both my dh and I have been pack rats all our lives. He's disabled now and refuses to let anything go, so I'll just concentrate on my stuff.

We have a small house (1100 sq ft) with small closets, a broken attic door (I need a handyman), no basement. All the bedrooms are being used.

My living room list:

* Desk (piled high with "to be filed", I hate filing)
* Bookcases (two stacked, it covers a window)
* Corner...just STUFF "stuffed" next to the desk
* Boxes (I am a box collector, partly because I like to send things to my granddaughters)
* Clutter

I worked on it some last year, after my father passed away and I had to go through his stuff. I cleared out enough to add my small desk, but now it's covered...

In early December I did a partial reorganization of the tiny closet by the front door, and will do more when I put the Christmas stuff away...when? Ha!

It's inspiring to read about everyone's specific "bugaboos". I certainly relate to the paper and photograph sorting.

I'm trying to understand what my family wants in terms of vintage photos. Should I scan them all? Then what? Will anybody care about the actual albums? And negatives!!

I have a Xerox copy-paper-sized box full of old negatives which seem in excellent shape. I am reluctant to get rid of them, due to a theft (and destruction of) the original photo albums (decades ago, never had the heart to sort this at the time).

I have no way to easily figure out what the negatives are. Anybody here know how to examine those? It's very weird for the colour film and not so much for the B&W, though the 35 mm is a challenge. So, any hints would be very welcome.

>28 SandyAMcPherson: there are negative readers, I think. I know there are slide readers.

You could take the box to a photo store (yes, we still have one here, locally!) and see how much it would cost to print thumbnails of the negatives.

When my father died he had a briefcase fairly full of old photographs. I don't have a scanner, so I arranged them neatly in bunches of 6 or so, and took a photograph with my phone or digital camera of each bunch. Then I shared them with my sisters. They had the option to keep it as a collection of six or so photographs on the image, or edit it into individual photos. And the quality of the digital camera photographs was amazing.

I'll confess right now (well, it's hardly a secret) that I'm a hoarder and I can't get rid of anything - just in case it might be useful for ... something. But I am fanatic about organising (though I also procrastinate a lot). Last year (2023) we ripped out and renovated our kitchen (and, to a lesser extent, other parts of the house (without the ripping out)) which, at least, gives me a chance to reorganise. I also took over a small room from my husband which is next to the study so I moved my bookshelves in there and filled up the rest of the space with more bookshelves. Which means that I can reorganise the study, too.

My plan is in my head so (apologies for hijacking this thread - please skip ahead if you want) before I forget, this is the gist of it.

- ☑️ I've shelved the books that were sent off to storage in my new library but I did have a heap of books that needed new dust jackets (because of the climate, I put dust jackets on my books), so those will need doing and then shelving.

- I already started a project to catalogue the dies, stamps and other accessories for my new pandemic hobby; I bought a die-cutting machine to make birthday cards for family members who are scattered across 4 continents. I've sorted them into small drawers that sit on the shelves (they're from Muji - a bit expensive but they fit nicely, look nice and stack together). I need to finish cataloguing so I know what I've already got.

- I also already started a project to catalogue the ingredients in the recipes in my cookbooks. A bit (okay - very) tedious but this way if I buy a bottle of some exotic, expensive ingredient for a recipe the thinking is that I can more easily find another recipe to use it up. And, yes, I know, internet. But I have a bookcase worth of cookbooks that I really ought to start using. I bought, years ago, the Macgourmet app. Unfortunately there are issues with it, but fortunately for me, they don't affect the way I use it.

- And I need to buy a bookcase for them to go downstairs near the kitchen.

- I need to re-file our papers, for which I've bought and constructed a filing cabinet. But now everything is e-documents so I'm not sure how much I need to do. Our existing system is a bit haphazard and filed in ring-binders and box files which take up a lot of space so I'm hoping to go through it and move stuff we need to manila files and hang them in the filing cabinet. For which I'll have to negotiate with my husband who's not keen on changing what we have.

It doesn't look like much - I'm sure there was more - but it will be painstaking work. If only I'd done it as I had gone along ...

As for clothes, I lost over 10kg this year and am back to what I weighed before I got married. My clothes size (I hadn't really registered) gradually expanded as I did, though my vanity kept me buying the same size on the label until very recently - just a baggier fit. I'm hoping the weight stays off but I'm not holding my breath just yet (oops; pun unintended).

Best of luck everyone!

>30 humouress: I appreciate you sharing your efforts, it may help someone if only by encouragement.

As an older person who realistically is facing a move within the next ten years or less, this is an enormously helpful thread. I go in small bursts of purging but lose big chunks of time during gardening season (why do I have 3 shovels?) and get awfully tired during the darker months. I need to keep at it steadily and in smaller doses because I'm simply not capable of major efforts of time and energy any more. So I'm starring this thread in the hope that all of you will keep me motivated and moving.

>32 tiffin: I make lists, and update them as needed. It helps me to focus.

>33 fuzzi:: Another great list maker here. I couldn't function without them!

>28 SandyAMcPherson: Will anybody care about the actual albums?
If nobody current, someone in a later generation will almost certainly appreciate that you preserved family history. I'd think the most important thing is to identify the people in the photos, and the date and place they were taken, if you can. You should be able to get everything digitized.

>30 humouress: now everything is e-documents
I'm getting ruthless about financial stuff. I used to keep everything: pay stubs, bank statements, mortgage and insurance and utility invoices, taxes. After searching online for what's necessary for how long, it's down to taxes and major items such as the house, and maybe the current year of the other stuff for convenience though it could all be reconstructed through online accounts.

>32 tiffin: older person
This is a motivation for me also. I'm approaching retirement and strenuous yard work is decreasingly attractive, so while I don't have a plan to downsize, I have a vague plan to plan. Also after a year and a half of family emergency with my father's stroke and eventual death, and my mother's cognitive decline and transfer into skilled care, I'm mindful of the work involved in dismantling a household under time pressure. My dining room is still occupied by boxes of their legal and financial files and I'm just keeping up with the immediate bills, too tired to sort through it all.

If you recall, last year around this time Simplify Days offered a free workshop on organizing the information coming into your home. Shelley provided an excellent summary for us in the thread, but if you would like to participate, the information just came out for this year's workshop.

"organizing and simplifying your information is not the same thing as other organizing and decluttering projects. Information is not like food where you can easily say: "Oh my canned goods go here and my drinks go here."You can't look at your paperwork and say, "Green papers here and red papers here."

In this FREE workshop, you're going to start looking at information differently than you ever have before. You're going to be building a system for your information. And pretty soon, just like you know where your t-shirts and sweaters go, you'll understand what categories there are for information and how to organize that information.

Pretty soon you’ll know exactly how to handle all of the paper that comes through your front door so that it never piles up AGAIN!"

Right, I'll believe that when it happens, but here is the link to register:

https://simplifydays1.lpages.co/workshop/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medi...

And it IS January, so everyone is conducting a cleaning or decluttering project.

Here's Taylor's 365 day plan: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-january.html

If you don't want to take a year to do it, then here's a month plan.
https://tatertotsandjello.com/january-declutter-challenge/

Another 365 plan: https://everydaysavvy.com/clean-organize-365-january/

Clutter Challenge: a January home reset: https://cleanmama.com/clutter-challenge-home-reset-january-week-1/

The January Cure, a free guided program designed to help you reset and refresh your space in under three weeks: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/features/january-cure

31 THINGS TO GET RID OF IN JANUARY FREE DECLUTTER CHECKLIST: https://organisemyhouse.com/january-declutter-checklist/

JANUARY 31 DAY DECLUTTER CHALLENGE! http://smallishhome.com/january-31-day-declutter-challenge/

JANUARY DECLUTTER DETOX: 31 DAYS TO LESS STUFF & LESS STRESS IN YOUR HOME: https://lifeatcloverhill.com/january-decluttering-detox-31-days-to-less-stuff-le...

30 day Declutter Challenge: https://queenofclean.blog/wp-content/uploads/planners/January-Declutter-Challeng...

Mom4Real: https://www.mom4real.com/4-week-cleaning-and-organizing-checklist-and-challenge/

Organized Mom Challenge: https://theorganizedmomlife.com/decluttering-challenge/

How To Declutter And Deep Clean One Room Per Month In 2024: https://www.southernliving.com/home/cleaning-and-housekeeping/monthly-house-clea...

And this is only about half of what popped up when I searched January Cleaning Challenge, but I figure I've cluttered up your options enough!

>37 ronincats: thanks for that information!

>38 fuzzi: You're welcome. I realized I'd spent my 15 minute decluttering time researching that instead of actually, you know, spending any time on my house.

>15 ronincats: Oh nice list to tackle decluttering!

Hi I'm new to this thread. When I moved into my townhome over 4 years ago, I told myself: for everything that comes in, something must go out. Well... it hasn't really happened. Even though I'm good at sorting my clothes, the rest gets neatly put away and often forgotten.

Here are two resources that helped me in the past:
Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston; I liked it because it helped with the flow and comfort of home

Does this Clutter Make my Butt Look Fat? by Peter Walsh; this is more about healthy eating, but it shows how clutter can have a very real impact on our health

I'm going to stick with the kitchen tasks for the first few weeks, as they will be fairly light after last year's redo, until I get Christmas put away. That will be next week's main focus after Epiphany on Saturday, and then I will move to the basement on the week of the 21st (and probably another week or two after that--it's a big area and then there are those bins of photos down there). So far, this week's tasks have been, adopt daily kitchen and cleaning routine, clear off counters, declutter appliances.

My current clutter situation isn't too bad, but there are always smaller jobs to be done and an overall need to keep the house looking decent.

This month I reinstated my weekly house cleaning routine, tackling one section of the house on Mon/Tues, the Kitchen on Wed, and the third section on Thurs/Fri. Guest rooms are upstairs out of sight, so they get my attention prior to use.

Last year I reorganized my kitchen cupboards, so they are in good shape. This morning I went through my spice rack and discarded the expired spices.

Some other jobs:
* Clothing and shoe donation: will this be the year I convince my husband to donate the clothing in the attic that he hasn't touched for three years? 😃
* Garden Storage: I did a bit of work on this in the fall, and would like to finish the job in March. Basic cleanup and decluttering is always in order, and we've also discussed shelving and lighting options that might make it more usable.
* Attic and Basement: These areas need to be tidied up once a year.
* Review paper files: another annual task.

>40 Cecilturtle:, >41 ronincats:, >42 lauralkeet: Interesting ideas and book refs.
I like the idea of a calendar-based scheme. This could be a workable agenda in our house. If there's a focus for each month on a specific task, it would be less likely to have the realization that "all of a sudden" our house is stuffed to the rafters.

I read Karen Kingston's book when I was immersed in decluttering extensively (after two family elders had separately passed away, in different locales). I know some folks like that new-age vibe but it kind of put me off. At the time Let it Go was the most useful book. Both times, Mr. SM brought home unsorted boxes of doodads and nostalgic items. For me, other books resonated a great deal more with our mindset. Both of us struggle greatly with sentimental items.

Maybe that is the secret: depending what's happened/happening in one's life affects the strategy to choose how to manage culling and tidying 'in the moment'.

We're much better gatekeepers now, keeping a close eye on what comes in. So ~ rhetorically-speaking ~ every Christmas season, we seem to fall on our faces. Where/what is the hook that puts gate-keeping aside? It's a peculiar 'moment', isn't it? Very evocative of childhood, family traditions etc.

Now today (Epiphany and Ukrainian Christmas) I will decide why do I want to keep Christmas cards (?) and then recycle the cull tomorrow.

>43 SandyAMcPherson:: I turn Christmas cards into gift lables, tossing the ones with writing on the back of the design, cutting others to fit parcels. I keep them in a shoebox sized box that I get at Michael's craft shop. The only ones I truly keep are the handpainted ones from an artist friend of mine which are too precious to toss.

We're sentimental sort-of-hoarders too. We have a lot of furniture and bumph from both of our families, as both of our remaining parents died within the last three years. In the case of my FIL, he was really struggling with giving up his home at 100, with no one wanting his French Provincial style things, so we ended up with his dining room set to help him with a bit of a meltdown. Three years later, it's still here. *sigh*

Lost and found this thread again and restarred it. I'm taking a look at the simplify paper clutter class, because that is my WORST bugaboo.

Saw this on Facebook just now, thought it might be helpful!

I am announcing that Sunday is now my personal official accountability day. I will post what I have accomplished the previous week, and what I plan to accomplish in the following week.

Watch this space tomorrow.

This weekend, the focus is on boxes and bags o' paper, which have been occupying disproportionate mental space if not much physical space. I pay nearly all invoices online, so most of the paper is redundant and the remaining dribs and drabs haven't seemed worth bothering with but have accumulated since I moved to this house in 2015. I took the usual walk outside before the weather turned bad, and for the rest of the snowy day I've been cozy inside. I walked a mile and a quarter inside, according to the FitBit, carrying the unsorted stuff downstairs to the living room where I can spread multiple piles on the floor with HGTV for ambience, and the sorted stuff upstairs to the office. I separated everything into general categories such as house, utilities, car, financial, insurance, medical, then subdivided further. I've now dealt with all of the miscellaneous minor stuff, few items in lots of categories; it is either filed or in the shredder box. What remains is the major stuff, lots of items in few categories, which was already roughly sorted so is mostly a matter of arranging in chronological order. Someday I might cull the tax folders, which I've kept organized all along but I really don't need them back to 1987. (What happened to the years before? I don't remember.)

Our house has pretty good storage, quantity-wise, but a lot of it is narrow and deep so, quality-wise, it's not ideal. I have a few areas I'd like to tackle in the coming months - coat closet in the foyer, hall bathroom closet, built-in office cabinet, and paper files. I have the first of these slated to be tackled this coming week (it's also the easiest, no coincidence...). I'll try to remember to report back!

I just happened upon this thread! Serendipity for sure! My house is 1,047 square feet and I have a garage with a studio over the top. My basement is unfinished storage, and is full. Or perhaps I should say FULL. I'm a packrat and it doesn't help that I have been rewarded for keeping random things because they were actually useful and we didn't have to buy something. However, we have been in our house 27 years and it is time to clear some stuff out.

I appreciate all the links you all have provided, and hope to find at least some of them helpful. I tried to read that Kondo woman's book, but hardly agreed with anything she said - except for the tshirt folding method. That works a charm. I like having appropriate quality tools, I love all my stuff, am an artist, knitter, crocheter, seamstress, quilter, weaver - I have beads, fabric, pens - all the fun things. I'll have to start a more thoughtful curation process.

If anyone knows of a decluttering method for people who actually love stuff and have many hobbies, that might be helpful. I kinda feel like the people who write those books haven't got any hobbies and really don't understand people who do.

Separate issue - My brother and I are both worried about our folks' stuff and what the heck we are going to be faced with. They are in 3000+ sq ft of jam packed stuff. Both are packrats from families of packrats. (My apple didn't fall far from the tree!) It's going to be a challenge if there is a required move or when (may it be far in the future) they pass.

>50 ell-in-or: except for the tshirt folding method
Hah, that was the one takeaway for me also. I didn't read the book but saw videos.

>50 ell-in-or: our folks' stuff and what the heck we are going to be faced with
It may partly depend on whether you want to keep any of it and have to make decisions. There are services for house clearouts. When my mother had to downsize, we hired a company that specializes in moving the elderly, and they whisked away all sorts of stuff to their warehouse, and sent occasional checks as they sold it. When the owner of the house next door to me died, her brother hired an auctioneer to deal with everything, and on the day of the auction a crowd gathered on the front lawn to bid on not only the house but all of its contents e.g. furniture, garden tools, decades old Christmas decorations.

>44 tiffin: Hi Tui, Sentiment is a difficult feeling to ignore. So I understand the difficulty to "let it go". I posted at >9 SandyAMcPherson: some approaches that worked for us to deal with hoarded items.

The best was my daughter's tip:
put everything you have hoarded (and want to cull at least part of it) in a box by category (like, clothes and shoes in one box, knicknacks in another, rarely if ever used kitchen stuff etc.). Label each box with a list of what's there and date it. Leave it in a storage spot (we had to use our garage in the spring).

Look at the stuff in 6 or 12 months (not sooner). The space in your home will feel surprisingly wonderful. The stuff you boxed up will lose some of its pull, so you can choose what to let go to the donation/charity shops.

I hope that helps.

re Christmas cards: we don't send cards or give gifts anymore, except to immediate family ~ on their birthdays!
Christmas is too silly with gifts, so we only send an activity card (stickers, puzzles, etc) to the kids (under 18) with money inside. --- actual folding bills, which is very exciting for them. They get to decide what they would really like. We make sure to send very modest amounts, so it isn't a bonanza.

It's the cards we receive that I love "too much". A solution appeared just this very week! I found out that one of our local seniors homes accept card fronts (no writing on the inside) and the staff use these at Christmas to decorate the common rooms and share with the residents if they want something seasonal in their apartments.
I had never heard of this, but it is a lovely way to pass on the prettiest of cards. This is apparently something that is collected only in the first couple months of the year. It's a local place, run by one of the churches. I plan to ask around at other places like that, since I really need to unload years' worth of saved cards.

DONE with the sorting and filing of paper! All that consternation, and really it took just chunks of two days to go through two boxes and two bags, with a ruthless eye. The only items in the current bin are reminders of two financial tasks, two magazine subscription renewals, and three local membership renewals. This means also that the scope of shredding is known, so I've staged the boxes near the front door for transport soonish.

The office is still in disarray because I don't have the space downstairs for everything that will go to the recycling facility. Also the entire closet is not done, it is just much tidier and accessible.

There's a BBC programme called Sort Your Life Out where a family with cluttered houses call them in. The general gist is that they hire a warehouse (or other large space nearby) and empty out the house, collating things in the same category in one place so the family can see exactly what they have. Then the family (kids included) have to go through and cull maybe 50% of their stuff and then the team help them organise the rest as they return it to their home. It does make me shudder a bit because I know from experience that I couldn't do that. My mum (who's not a hoarder - my parents always ruthlessly get rid of any existing clutter whenever they move) gets fed-up with my mess and decides to help by going through my stuff too fast for me to properly let things go. I can actually let go of a bit, but I have to think about it first :0)

This week I've been working on my study on and off. My first plan (before I can really start on >30 humouress:) is to clear the two tables. It doesn't look very different but I have been organising drawers and cupboard shelves as I put away. Sometimes I come across stuff that goes into already organised spaces, which then need to be reorganised and that slows the process down some more.

Small steps.

ETA: >50 ell-in-or: Last year I stayed with my sister and she asked me to help her with her Art room. Like you, she's into painting and crafting diverse types of art. She had already bought large boxes (the fabric covered type) in co-ordinating colours to fit on her shelves but she hadn't got further than that. So we emptied out the shelves one by one and collated everything into different piles according to type of craft. She took care of any discarding and I was free to sort the piles into the different crates and organise them on the shelves - and also the drawers she has (the 3 stack rolling type), for smaller stuff (pens and so on).

So much easier to organise someone else's stuff than your own.

>52 SandyAMcPherson: Elementary schools and Scouting groups would probably be able to use the old cards for crafting. Two of my friends teach art at elementary schools so I'm always saving odd things for them to use (right now it's light cardboard like cereal boxes).

>54 humouress: So much easier to organise someone else's stuff than your own
THIS!!!

I made some modest inroads this weekend.

The Christmas decorations and wrapping stuff have been placed in see-through storage boxes, labeled with contents, and put back in a tiny closet by the front door.

I emptied the bookcases in the living room, and put my unread books back, alphabetized by author (of course). All my dad's Robert B. Parker books were placed in paper shopping bags and will be taken to the thrift store this week.

It's a start.

Good work for week one, peoples!

Accountability post:

This week was kitchen counters and sink on the 52 week challenge. I've been pretty good at maintaining what I did last year, so I cleared and wiped the counters and sink, and moved on. I gathered up all the kitchen and bathroom holiday linens as well as the holiday cats flannel sheets on my bed and got everything washed and dried and put away. Reorganized my kitchen linen drawers in my dining room cabinet wall and have room to keep the holiday stuff up here rather than toting it down to the basement. Intended to fold and put away all my Christmas tops, socks and jewelry today--I have it all moved onto the spare bed andhave a bin specifically for that that goes in the spare bedroom closet, but--my cat was sleeping on it all afternoon. Mañana. Also next is getting ornaments off the trees and into their containers. By the end of this coming week I want to have all the Christmas decor and trees back in storage in the basement. Projects--I need to get into the garage and carve a tile and do my winter sowing, but first need to organize and prioritize my seeds. Since it will be raining and snowing for the next few days, the seed thing should happen.

Them's my goals.

>2 ronincats: Naturally, the books mentioned look great. My first inclination is to obtain them...What an oximoran, ie, trying to cut back on acculating books, while wanting to buy books that help break the habit of collecting.

I was successful in boxing approximately 100 YA books to give to a grand daughter of a friend.

I'm setting a goal here for accountability.
Finances will be super tight for a few weeks so I can't buy the containers I want until late January/early February. Having said that, I want to get the Christmas stuff sorted through, purged at least partially, and out of cardboard and into labeled transparent or partially transparent containers.
I am in WA instead of TX until Wednesday, but my achievable goal for this week is to get the holiday stuff out to the garage by next Saturday.
I start daily 15 minute decluttering/cleaning/organizing on Thursday after we get home, probably starting with unpacking as a first.

>59 elorin: our local Aldi's has had clear boxes with red lids for sale in December for the last couple years. I bought some in 2022 when they were reduced, and use them for Christmas stuff. The red lids help identify what's in each box.

>57 ronincats: but--my cat was sleeping on it
Aww, can't disturb the cat!

Anyone got any ideas/ advice on organising spices and herbs?

I buy the usual small bottles from the supermarket and when I was on holiday I picked up a set of 12 spice containers but they're a bit bigger than the bottles (maybe twice as large). I haven't geared up with my cooking yet although that's the plan; in this warm, humid climate I can't keep spices/ herbs (especially if the containers aren't airtight) for too long though being dried does help them last a bit.

I have a 2-tier "lazy Susan"-type spinning rack over the counter where I do mixing and measuring. If you Google spinning spice rack I think you'll find some in the $15-20 range. I also use empty & cleaned pill bottles to store spice mixtures I make.

Because I buy some if my spices at the DeKalb farmers market & they come in round containers with flat tops, I can stack these on the shelf next to the spinning rack.

I keep the ones on the spinning rack in alphabetical order. The stacking ones have the most recently used on top.

>59 elorin: I also need to do the 15 minutes/day thing. I did it this morning and took out the trash. I have a small pile of things on my bed to re-home tonight.

Want to buddy up to keep accountable? And encourage each other?

>60 fuzzi: I know what an Aldi's is but there isn't one in San Antonio. :( Red lids would be helpful. I'll check Amazon.

>64 markon: That sounds terrific!

>63 markon: Thanks. I’ll take a look.

>65 elorin: I forget what brand containers I’ve used for the Christmas stuff but they’re all the same so they stack nicely. I have a Brother label maker for which I can get different coloured label tapes so I use red and green for the Christmas boxes :0)

I gave up completely midway through last year. In my defense, I did star this thread now, and I cleaned out one kitchen drawer today. Actually, I just rearranged its contents. :D

>62 humouress: like @markon I have a "lazy Susan", but mine is clear acrylic, one tier. I found it at Aldi's for less than $10.

It looks kind of like this, but mine is 12" in diameter:



I bought three. Two hold my spices, the third one holds my supplements.

Currently all the spices (both jars/bottles and bags corralled into plastic bins) are on the bottom two shelves of one of the overhead kitchen cupboards. The plan when I move is to have spices in a shallow drawer, either in jars like these or in regular jars held in place by a set of holders like this.
In the summer house we have little shelves like these on the inside of the door of the cupboard above the stove. (I know that’s not a good place to store spices.)

>67 SqueakyChu: Start where you are! I also didn't get far last year, but I'm trying again.

>68 fuzzi: I like the idea of using one for medications/supplements.

>69 PawsforThought: If I had enough drawers, I would try that. Maybe when I move in a few years.

>71 SqueakyChu: I'll give it a try! Thanks for your encouragement.

>70 markon: thanks!

I also write on top of the cap the first initial/an abbreviation of the supplement's name, like "Z" for zinc, or "Q" for quercetin.

>72 fuzzi: I do that, too, for all of my spices (or I'd never find them!). I do have them arranged alphabetically, but the most used are on a cabinet over my microwave, while a ton more of them are in small rectangular boxes under my kitchen sink. I also have empty small bottles stored in a hall closet because I like to grow herbs in our garden, dry them and use them. I do need to toss some extra bottles. I'll work on that this week. Small goals work!

>73 SqueakyChu: I keep spice bottles that have lids with a "half moon" opening for measuring with a spoon. Some spice brands just have an opening or a shaker top, so I transfer the contents to the older jar so I can use my measuring spoon.

Thanks for all the ideas on spices.

Currently I’ve got them lying down on a shelf in the pull-out unit. We have far fewer now than we had before we packed our kitchen stuff off to storage for the renovation :0)

I’m deciding whether to leave them in that shelf, put them in a shallow inner drawer (which would be quite handy but the deeper drawer has cooking utensils and I don’t want to mix them in case of spillage) or in one of the upper cabinets to the side of the hob. I like the idea of the lazy Susan but I have decreed that my countertops shall be empty because I got so fed up of the clutter in the old iteration of the kitchen. (Which makes the placement of the microwave an issue.)

>74 fuzzi: I dispose of most of those shaker tops, and, like you, just use one top for each bottle. Otherwise it’s too much work!

>55 booksonthursday: Those are good options and I hope it pans out for folks.
I used to donate saved cards for the daycare at the schools my kids attended; then later to the elementary school near our house.

Not anymore though.
The schools and daycares don't allow a lot of today's over-embellished cards so they just don't accept any. I understand all the glitter is problematic and the younger kids can't have the embellished cards for safety reasons. Makes sense, I guess.

This was why the seniors' centres and community activity rooms were such a welcome discovery. I also donated a lot of partly used rolls of new wrapping paper as well as the folded packs of decorative paper and new ribbon spools when we emptied a relatives' home after they passed away.

I think I posted this last year, but over the last 50 years I have accumulated quite a bit of clutter in organizing and cleaning books. Here is my shelf. My favorites by far are the two orange ones in the middle by Dana K. White--one is for managing and maintaining the home and one for decluttering. Her concept of container is a life-changer.

>78 ronincats: Agreed, Dana really nailed it with Decluttering at the Speed of Life.
I'm interested in her other book you mentioned, about managing and maintaining the home. Please can you specify which title is the one on your shelf?

>79 SandyAMcPherson: How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets

>80 ronincats: Thanks Roni. Looks like I can borrow it from our PL via Overdrive.

I managed to get the suitcase and bags in the house before we went to bed last night, despite the urge to wait for morning.
This morning I set a 15 minute timer and emptied the laptop bag and carry on and started tackling the suitcase. After noon I set the timer again and got the suitcase emptied and stowed away and all the dirty clothes into the hamper. There's still stuff from the trip to put away (on the spare bed and massage table) but I feel like I can do another 15 minutes later on today and put the unpacking completely to bed.

>82 elorin: Way to go! (says the woman with a few items still in her suitcase who arrived home late January 2.) I do have this weekend off, so hope to finish emptying it, along with some other tasks. I managed 5 minutes decluttering before work this morning, and hope to finish clearing the bedside table tonight.

Well, after putting it off all week today I finally did it. I took down Christmas, binned it up (4 bins, one large box holding all the Jim Shore and other boxes for figurines, 3 ornament boxes, and two Lego boxes), 4000 steps and 8 active hours on my Fitbit. But before I did that, I cleaned and reorganized the three drawers in my bathroom vanity and the one desk drawer in my library table in the craft room. So I'm calling it a day.

Just to say, there is no competition here. I'm here to support whatever you find it in yourself to do, and so are the others. It may be a lot, like I did today, or just a few minutes, but it's ALL progress.

There is a closet here in my study, which has a narrow door with two little alcoves to each side. Because one of Wallace's many dog beds lies across the door, I pretty much ignore it but in the interests of purging I thought I should have a look in it. *groan* Three large Rubbermaid totes full of photographs going back to the advent of photography. All loose. All requiring sorting. Garment bags. A shelf full of odds and sods like pickle crocks from the mid to late 1800s. Tubs with Rubrik's cubes and a pink plastic dolphin water pistol. I thought, "I just can't face this right now", vacuumed up the German Shepherd hair that had rolled under the door, shut the door, and put the dog bed back across it.

All is not lost, however. I have worked out a solution for sorting and tackling the photos. The longest journey has begun with the smallest step.

>84 ronincats:: Christmas has left the building here too--well, decamped to the basement store room. Well done, Roni!

Same to you, Tui! And I have several of my own rubbermaid totes full of family photos in the finished room in the basement. I haven't worked out a solution for tackling them yet, or the will power, but one of these days...

Solutions for photos - get the family in to help? Mind you, I can't see my boys being remotely interested.

But it's worth it. My pre-i-cloud era photos (including my kids' baby photos) are stuck on a passworded laptop somewhere. I have to get around to breaking the password (hoping I can get it to run at all) and downloading it to some media that won't become outdated five minutes later.

And, as my aunt reminded me the other day, we lost a lot of my parents' and grandparents' era photos when the family home was raided (all people evacuated safely prior to that; gosh, it's nearly 4 decades ago already). Some of the photos were salvaged and one of my other aunts sends us slide shows for each person's birthday. My cousin has colourised the black & white pictures, which really brings them to life.

This afternoon I sorted two drawers of photos, and consolidated them into one drawer, in labeled envelopes instead of haphazardly strewn. Roughly sorted. Into family, friends, specific locations and eras. The best of the family photos have duplicates in albums, and most of the rest can be disposed of, but that's a decision for another time. The other photos wouldn't be meaningful to anyone else, but are a bit of nostalgia for me from pre-digital times, so I'll hang onto them for now.

Congratulations on the photo sorting. One of the wonderful things my parents did was an album of Moms side & one of Dad's, labeled. They also did an album of each child of our growing up years as Christmas presents one year.

>90 markon: My mother put together family albums (a copy each for me and my two brothers), going back a couple generations when possible, about a decade ago. So I'm nearly certain that all of the printed family photos I have are either duplicates, or school photos and Christmas cards and such. I'll keep them since I have them, but I don't feel especially sentimental about every year in the life of my brothers' kids, who are all adults now. I had several stray baby photos that I wasn't sure about (family? friend? no date to indicate, no background for context); I have trouble enough telling adults apart, babies are impossible. I may have other family photos in digital form, but that's another, and much more daunting, task.

Another drawer in the office closet, with two bags.

One bag contained cards and letters from friends. This was the easier to sort through; organize by person and drop into file folders that already existed, discarding a few strays I had to think about (who is this? oh, a colleague from two decades ago). The file folders of friends, which go back to the 1980s definitely and maybe to the 1970s... some of these will be discarded, but I'm not yet sure where to draw the line so that's a job for another time.

One bag contained cards and letters from family. This was more difficult to sort through, and involved decisions. The first pass was keep vs discard; do I really need birthday cards and Christmas cards going back three decades? Nothing on them but a signature, and although I have many of the envelopes it'd take forever to match up and put into chronological order. If I keep them, this sets a precedent for another drawer which I suspect contains mostly the same. So, get rid of them now and be done with it. The remaining items will need a second pass.

>92 qebo:: This was a chore I tackled a decade ago because, frankly, it was getting ridiculous. I had birthday cards from my first decade of life with my beloved Grandma's signature on them, etc. I think the big deciding factor was having moved my folks out of their home and having to deal with my dad's sentimental not-quite-hoarding but definitely keeping too much bumph. While it was fun to look at my grade school report cards, I knew my lads wouldn't have the slightest interest in my stuff like that, and it would just be trouble and toil for them.

So I looked at each card from the long gone grandparents et. al, faced up to the fact that all of those people live forever in my heart and memories, and despite a slight twinge, put them in the garbage. Now as an old woman, I'm glad I did. Tossing stuff mindfully, saying farewell to it with love and respect, is far better in me 'umble opinion than having a dumpster in the driveway as we had to do for my folks.

I’m following along with you on this thread and will make updates as I declutter. I wanted to share a tiny little decluttering with you because I thought it was a little funny.

I use the clean back sides of printed paper to print a daily crossword and other word puzzles. If there is still blank space after this, I trim it for scratch paper.

I was rapidly running out of printable paper, so I grabbed a folder of old, obsolete financial reports from the file cabinet, sorted through it, and came up with several sheets of puzzle-printing paper! Ta-da!

Karen O

I have spent much of this weekend in a rare surge of energy and have been going through magazines. Let's just say: EEK. As with most things, I do need to have a look-through before tossing but I managed to pull out only a handful of articles I want to read (as in, haven't read yet!), set aside a few for a friend to use for art (colourful pages, etc) and most of the rest went directly into the recycle box. I am nowhere near finished but the momentum is there and I continue to go through them. It does feel good to empty those magazine holders, finally. I no longer subscribe to magazines (except digitally) and don't buy many any more so those holders should not be getting filled up again. That is the plan!

Like Karen, I also use the backside of printed paper for everyday note paper. I am a list-maker so I always need/have paper for that. Last year I was given one of those page-a-day calendars and have almost finished using the blank back of each of those pages. I also cut off the blank parts of envelopes or other paper that makes its way into my house, to use as note paper.

I love reading about everyone's decluttering challenges.

Photos: My younger son took my dearest photo album (with the oldest pictures in my family) to his house to copy the pictures. He never gave it back. He's the child who is interested in genealogy. The funny thing is that album is so dear to me, and I've seen it so many times, I have every one of those pictures fresh in my mind. I do, however, have to urge him to return at least one picture of my mom to me. I don't think I have any in my house now, and she died in 1970...but she is still well imprinted in my heart.

Magazines: I subscribe to one magazine, and two newsletters. I also have one magazine subscription I receive as a gift annually. I have a magazine rack in an upstairs bathroom. As soon as I get a new magazine/newsletter, I put it in front of the rack and recycle the oldest magazine/newsletter. I have learned NOT to look through their pages before I do this!

Greeting cards: I cut them with a papercutter which I bought at a craft store (Michael's). I make them into bookmarks which I slip into each book I give away in my Little Free Library. I use the blank part of each card (if it has such a part) for my clipped-together pack of note/scratch paper.

Yarn and craft supplies: Help me here! :D

>95 jessibud2: ohhhh magazines. You've reminded me of a task that needs doing. The magazines are not out in plain sight but they are still there, no longer of interest.

>96 SqueakyChu: I had to be brutal about craft supplies. Am I likely to take up the craft again? If not, I donated supplies to a Sunday school or family with kids or school or daycare or something. If yes, I organized the supplies and labeled them with a date. It's about time for round 2 and I'm hoping those labels will help keep me honest about whether I will ever use the supplies or not.
Yarn I stopped working with anything but bulky yarn and I donated all the rest of it.

I just found this thread. My house is a mess. Ever since I went back to working full-time, it has gotten out of control. I need to declutter and organize, but just thinking about it (or reading this thread) make me tired! My biggest mess is paperwork. So much of it has to be saved for practical/legal reasons. My filing cabinets runneth over. I'm terrible about filing, so stuff piles up -- especially if I don't have a file already where it logically fits.

I've given myself permission to organize and declutter in bite-size pieces. If I say "I'm going to do all my decluttering/organizing of x" I give up before I start. If I say, "I'll spend a few minutes sorting Y" I often spend a good deal of time once I get going.

>99 tymfos: Welcome in! I live by my timer, and when I explained how I use my timer in house organization to my mom I bought her 4 different timers she can use.
I have committed to 15 minutes per day starting on January 11th (I was traveling before then) to work on my house. I give myself permission to work longer if I have the energy, and if I am low on spoons I give myself permission to set the timer for less or even skip a day with no need to make it up later. But when the timer goes off I take at least a 5 minute break before diving back in. It makes it much easier for me to stay on track and focus for the duration of the timer.

>98 elorin: I am going to start with yarn. I have three ongoing knitting/crocheting projects started. I won't tell you over how many years! My daughter-in-law and another relative are going to be doing some crocheting at my house tomorrow maybe (it's my husband's birthday). I pulled out my projects today so maybe I can share some of my yarn with them. Then I'll have to figure out how to store it all. I don't want to give it all away because I love doing it (although I never do it). Go figure!

ETA: I found some great boxes into which I can store my yarn. I had recently received book donations for my Little free Library in them but I can no longer use them for books because they are too heavy when filled with books. Yarn won't make them too heavy! Yay! I wish I could find my old knitting needles and crochet hooks now, though. To where have they all gone?!!!!

>99 tymfos: I understand. I am an organizer by nature but I despise filing. I have a huge stack on my little desk that I need to go through. Now that my dh is on disability I have to keep all the receipts, in case SSDI requests an accounting...

>101 SqueakyChu: We had a business and had to/have to keep all receipts. I ending up just putting them into manila envelopes by subject (e.g. contracts, receipts, etc.). Then I put the stuffed manila envelopes in a large box by date order, also dating the outside of the box. It does take up a lot of room, but I rarely had to go into them. It works fine as long as you keep the box with the most recent dates easily accessible.

Thanks Roni, for setting this thread up again. I participated last year, but didn’t get to a lot of decluttering.
But I did make progress, as I finally am ready to let go some of my books! Last year I couldn’t let a single one go, but the house is overflowing and I need to make space. So now I have set up some rules, like am I going to want to reread the book? No: it can go. I found some second-hand bookshops, and there are Little Free Libraries in the vicinity (great!).
Still lots to do, most of it paper stuff. So this year I’ll be visiting this thread regularly.

>104 EllaTim: Thank you for donating your books to Little Free Libraries. I have had a Little Free Library for ten years and am so indebted to the kind people who donate books to ours. Not only do I get books to circulate more, but I’ve met and made friends with many people I never met before in my community. It’s really a win-win situation!

>101 SqueakyChu: I met and fell in love with Lion brand Homespun in 1999. I started a king sized blanket that year and l'll let you guess when I finished it. (Hint: we don't call it the 10 year blanket for nothing!) Here's to hoping you come across the hooks and needles soon!

>106 elorin: This group and my daughter-in-law actually convinced me to go through my yarns! I just now finished this task and love my organization. All of the yarn are in three cubical boxes which are labelled and easily stacked. I found my hooks and needles. The needles went into one of the three cubical (cardboard) boxes (along with some batting). The crochet supplies and crochet hooks went into one of those rectangular clear zipper bags in which sheets are sold. I piled that, along with my two crocheting books and one knitting book in a corner of my daughter's old room so that it will be easy to pull out or access all these supplies when company comes tomorrow. I hope to actually start a new project or finish the three projects I've started in the past. Each of those is in its own bag with handles. Yay!

I did see that there is a Needleworks group here. I might join that as an impetus to get started. I used to love doing needlework so much. Now I find myself either on the computer or my phone. I need to get back to doing something more productive than just scrolling my time away.

Next project: Collecting clothing and household articles to donate to my local charity, Interfaith Clothing Center. It's one of my favorite charities. I used to be a vounteer there many years ago.

Maybe if I state here that I will do this...I might actually do it! Who else wants to do something similar with me? :D

My declutter this week that was way overdue: the footgear shelves on one end of the clothes closet.
Out went shoes I never wear anymore (heels, ya' know?) and fancy suede boots, one pair is high-ankle, one was knee-high.

The boots are like new and that is probably why I was so reluctant to part with them. But in our climate (featured a wind chill of -47 oC yesterday), thinly insulated winter boots are ridiculously inappropriate.

Thanks for everyone's stories, they really help me focus and stay motivated.

>107 SqueakyChu: I did see that there is a Needleworks group here. I might join that as an impetus to get started.

You’re more than welcome to join us!

>107 SqueakyChu: - My friend's church runs an Out of the Cold program in the winter for homeless people. I try to donate something to them each year. I just pulled 2 pair of warm mittens and a warm scarf out of my storage box in my hall closet and put them in a shopping bag. Later, I will go through my sweaters and see what else I can add. I will drop it at her house once my bag is full, this week. Most of the things I put into my usual donation boxes are picked up by one of 2 charities and then they sell the items to places like Value Village, in order to raise funds. I do this for my convenience, mostly, I guess, but with Out of the Cold, I prefer to make sure the items I donate go directly to the people who need them, in a timely matter. In past years, I have also donated coats and boots. I am one person and can only wear one item at a time. Doing this on a regular basis also makes me see how MUCH I have. Not necessary...!

So. Just organised my 'fridges. For reasons best known to my husband, we have two fridges* which has been annoying me for a while since stuff gets duplicated and then goes off faster. We went through everything and got rid of expired items. So now the thinking is that whatever we're currently using (opened bread, milk, leftovers etc) goes in one fridge and things that aren't opened, for the most part, go in the other. There's suddenly almost a whole shelf empty now (admittedly we haven't done the weekly grocery shopping yet).

Since, between the two, we have 3 different size fruit and veg bins I can split the produce up; I've only fairly recently discovered that some fruits and vegetables produce more ethylene gas which spoils other types faster. But further research proves .... confusing. Apparently, ideally, you should store just about everything separately but we don't have that much space. I finally put the berries in one bin, the green leafy vegetables in another and the lemons, limes, tomatoes and broccoli in the other. I've put the tomatoes in one of those boxes that claim to keep produce fresher for longer though the last time I tried it, it didn't really work. Let's see how that goes. If anyone has any advice on this, it'd be gratefully received.

*My ambition is to reduce it to one fridge, or one stand-alone French door fridge and one stand-alone freezer because I never have enough freezer space for the way I want to cook. Growing up, our family managed perfectly well with one fridge, but that was admittedly in a temperate clime. Here in the tropics we have to keep a lot more types of food at lower than ambient temperature or (like my flours) somewhere that will prevent insects getting in.

>110 jessibud2: that's a lovely way of helping others.

>111 humouress: I store my produce in the drawers, but I first put them in bags with ventilation holes, the same ones that grapes come in.

>108 SandyAMcPherson:: Back in my yoof when we did a stint in Toronto, I used to call those thin leather boots city slicker specials. Love my Sorels with the warm felt liner! Well done for getting at a job like that.

>107 SqueakyChu: Congratulations on going through the yarn and finding those hooks and needles!

>110 jessibud2: I prefer to make sure the items I donate go directly to the people who need them, in a timely matter.

Me too, Shelley. Interfaith Clothing Center (and the rest of this charity) is wonderful. They have a nicely-arranged shop which has shopping days for those people known to social services. They can come and take what they want, free of charge. They even have a locked clothing closet with "Dress for Success" clothing that case workers can use with their clients to pick out professional clothing, handbags and shoes for clients to use for job interviews. There is a children's play corner with tons of books, all of which are free for them to take home. As you probably have already guessed, when I worked there in the past...I worked in the books section! I also knitted baby blankets to give away there. I should get back to doing something like that.

>111 humouress: I vote for one fridge and one standing feezer. We have had that for the past forty years(!), and i just love it. I use the freezer to store grains, nuts, meat, vegetables in bulk, produce harvested from our garden, and leftover meals. In case of snow emergency (or even during the pandemic), we don't worry about our food supply.

I only store tomatoes at room temperature unless they are cut. I keep only fruit in one bin and only vegetables in the other bin.

We have a French door fridge which I love. That's because it has HUGE freezer space at the bottom. That freezer space is only for those items I use most often.

We live in a temperate climate, but freezing food seems to make sense nevertheless. It keep nuts from going rancid. It kills any bug larva that might be in grains. It prolongs the time we can eat vegetables we harvested from our garden.

>112 fuzzi:

I store my produce in the drawers, but I first put them in bags with ventilation holes

Same!

>114 elorin:

Congratulations on going through the yarn and finding those hooks and needles!

Thanks! Now I have no excuse for postponing my ongoing projects, do I?

Oooh, I admire anyone who can live with just one freezer and feel that they’re managing fine. We currently have two full-sized and two half-sized, although post-holidays we managed to empty one of the smaller ones and turn it off. We have way too much fruit, berries and mushrooms to only have one freezer. Where would we put the rest of the food? ;)

>117 PawsforThought: Well...both my refrigerator bottom freezer and our upright freezer are fully packed!

Now my freezer is chock full of pawpaw puree (from fruit of our tree) and "Savta's tomato sauce" (made from the cherry tomatoes harvested from my husband's garden). The plan is to use them up over the winter. Haha! Good plan..whether or not it works.

Thank you, all, for the inspiration. I spent three hours today going through papers/receipts etc. that were stuffed in boxes on top of my desk. I have filed them all in three tab file folders, labeled, and placed alphabetically in a plastic storage box. I'll keep them there just until I set up a filing system/box. I know I have a spare file box or two, somewhere...complete with hanging folders to keep the tabbed folders from sliding.

It's amazing the difference 15 minutes makes. The big 9 drawer dresser in the bedroom is overwhelmed with stuff. I set a timer and made a dent today and will continue chipping away at it at least daily.

Meanwhile, I am embracing the desire to live less cluttered/disorganized and I notice a difference. My main mantra is "don't put it down, put it away".

>120 elorin: "don't put it down, put it away"
Perfect mantra.
In our house we need that mantra, especially for the sitting room 'coffee' table.
We're subject to 'HSS' (Horizontal Surface Syndrome). Side tables, dresser tops, and the top of book shelves accumulate items like magnets attract iron.

I've cured myself of displaying copious knicknacks that used to decorate these surfaces (which then became too time consuming to dust thoroughly).
Unexpected result: the clutter was more evident. Now the side tables only have the Bose music player and a place to put down coffee mugs which are so obvious that they do migrate to the dishwasher quite quickly. Still have a cluttered coffee table though.

>120 elorin: What I like is it makes me guilt-free - I only have to do fifteen minutes a day, not tackle a whole room at once.

>121 SandyAMcPherson: HSS is a new-to-me term, but I definitely have it. I'm working on clearing the top of the file cabinet next to my bed tomorrow.

>121 SandyAMcPherson: I've cured myself of displaying copious knicknacks that used to decorate these surfaces (which then became too time consuming to dust thoroughly).

This is why I have so few decorative items at home, and also why I despise furniture that have very low legs. If I can't easily clean, it's not coming into my house.
The trend, at least in interior decorating magazines and on TV, of having things piled on the floor, or curtains pooling, baffles me. Why? You can't vacuum properly.

>121 SandyAMcPherson: we joke about our family expression "for now" as in "I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this, I'll put it in this drawer for now..."

My mother was a "piler" as I am, piles of books, magazines, articles, other paper items that need attention.

Any open horizontal surface is almost immediately covered with some item needing a more permanent location, or my cat.

>120 elorin: etc. I've gradually added staging areas at strategic locations: inside the front door, at the bottom of the stairs, at the top of the stairs, etc. They are allowed to accumulate miscellany, but are positioned so any item that belongs elsewhere is already on the way to its destination, and I can grab it and move it further along as I'm wandering about. I've also gradually added hooks and shelves and bins and such based on how I actually do things rather than how I would aspire to do things in an ideal world. For example, I am never going to arrange the clothes I wear daily on hangers in a closet, or roll socks into pairs; annoying and tedious maintenance when they're just going to cycle through the laundry again within a couple of weeks. I will however spend 5 minutes to take items out of the laundry basket and hang them on hooks or toss them into a drawer so they're categorized and accessible.

Himself is a HSSer, sometimes to the point where his piles topple over.

>123 PawsforThought: I so agree with that baffling curtain bottoms pooled on the floor fashion.
Also, piles of things are definitely not attractive in our house because of the house dust problem. Aesthetically, to Mr. SM and myself, it is unappealing as a decorative arrangement. Others may like it but try cleaning around these piles and see what a chore that is!

A big help to me was learning that having heavy upholstered furniture set away from the walls actually helps the cleaning aspect but also, 'lightens up' the space. I was surprised how nice our living area looked and we really did have a more conversational setting with the seating pulled a little closer towards the central part of the room. I thought it would look crowded because it is not a huge room but the opposite was true.

OK, not exactly a decluttering comment. Maybe someone here might like to try this out to create an airy look, though.

With three dogs and three cats I live in a house perpetually invaded by dust bunnies. I worked on the dresser again today and unveiled numerous dust bunnies but that means I made it to the top of the dresser! It felt fantastic to uncover the gorgeous wood surface (once I wiped it down). It's going to be amazing when it's done.

>128 elorin: my feet were cold. I was looking for my down slippers under my bed and discovered the carpet was covered by a thick layer of blond dog hair. It's not an inch thick, but still...

...I asked my live-in adult son to take care of it while I am at work, as vacuuming makes my allergies go crazy.

>129 fuzzi: "as vacuuming makes my allergies go crazy" - what a great excuse for not vacuuming! Glad you have someone who can take care of it for you.

>128 elorin: Congratulations! I unearthed one dresser this weekend, and hope to get the second one tonight.

When I tried to take two big gar bags of decorator cushions in to Vinny's yesterday, there was a sign on the receiving door saying that they weren't taking donations at the moment because they are "full to capacity and beyond". I think a lot of us are trying to purge our over-stuffed homes in claustrophobic January when we can't go oot and aboot unless we're skiers, which I'm not. A big truck from their other storefront was in the parking lot, however, and the very nice driver said he'd take the bags to the other shop for me.

Now to do a serious edit of the linen cupboard and the off-season tote bins!

Loving all the activity here, and celebrating all the successes small and large!

I've slowed down as I've picked up a head cold which has lowered my energy level. I participated last week in the Simplify Days workshop and got all my paperwork filed plus a system for incoming paper set up. Other than that, I've been maintaining--laundry folded and put away, the week's jewelry laying on the dresser put away, shoes put back in the closet, kitchen cleared and cleaned. I need to get my seeds sorted so when this arctic chill finally abates I have a plan for winter sowing. Basement projects still await, as do some information organizing ones.

>129 fuzzi: I highly recommmend a robot vacuum. We have had one for years, and I love it. It vacuums the floor daily, does well with picking up hair, takes up very little floor space, and works great for those with allergies to dust (me!).

I was going to pick one of the books recommended upthread, and borrow it from a local library, both to provide new ideas and to maybe get my decluttering process moving again. But when went to the library in early January, I found Organizing for the rest of us : 100 realistic strategies to keep any house under control by Dana K. White sitting on the new books shelf.

I'd read that author's Decluttering at the Speed of Life last April, so I picked up this newer book, figuring that while it might lack much that was new to me, it would at least provide a review and perhaps a bit of a pep talk.

It performed pretty much as expected. I'm now just barely restarted my decluttering efforts, but only to the point of continuing my decades long effort to catalog all my books. That effort has morphed over time; it started as "what a wonderful huge library I have; let's display it," with a side order of "and not accidentally repurchase books I already own." Now I'm much more likely to ask myself "will I ever want to read that book again", and deaccession it if the answer is clearly "Hell, No". So it counts as decluttering, with an implicit goal to deaccession enough books that they will all fit on my shelves, with no extra stacks of books, not even on the top of shelving units.

In other trivial decluttering successes - I'm down to *one* pair of walking shoes, pitching multiple well used pairs that were "wearable but ...". For my next trick along those lines, I should reduce my dressy shoes down to a single pair - I rarely wear such shoes more than once or twice a year, so a single pair is more than enough. (Yes, plenty are still quite usable, if a tad dusty; I'm sure some "dress for success" charity would love them.)

>133 SqueakyChu: thanks for the suggestion.

When my ancient (1978) Eureka upright vacuum died a year or so ago I splurged on an Oreck. It does a fantastic job.

Since he's home keeping an eye on his father my son has been taking care of most vacuuming for me, woo! I tried to train him well, but...he doesn't quite "get" the deeper aspects of cleaning, hence the need for a little instruction and encouragement.

I will keep the robot vacuum idea in mind.

>130 markon: my eyes swell and my nose stuffs up when I vacuum or dust, so yes, it's a great excuse. :grin:

>135 fuzzi: The advantage of the robot vacuum is that it goes easily under furniture such as beds, chair and sofa. The upright is probably stronger, though.

I regularly look online at The Vancouver Sun newspaper and came across Attacking clutter an item at a time.

I found this article revealed a few new pointers for me, and may perhaps add to some of the conversation on this thread. I especially had fun with the author's very userfriendly website. Love her free downloads. Very accessible!

>137 SandyAMcPherson: That was a good article. I'm checking out the website tonight.

Wow! I spent several hours organizing and filing papers. It's not all done, but it's a lot more organized than it was. I also requested and downloaded 2 shipping labels for TerraCycle programs I participate in (Tom's of Maine and Late July). I can send out those hard-to-recycle items I've been collecting for those programs and clear a bit more space.

>139 tymfos: How does Terracycle work? I’ve seen the products but have never recycled them.

Phase one of family / friend file cabinets complete! This morning I went through another drawer of cards and notes that have accumulated since I moved to this house 8 years ago. Anything consisting of card and signature only I've decreed ephemeral, which takes care of the bulk. I separated the remaining family items into parents, brother 1 & offspring, brother 2 & offspring, cousin, and filed them accordingly, not in order because many are undated. I'll probably cull more in the future. Not many friends go back far enough for paper communication, but a few send annual updates or handwritten notes with Christmas cards and I'm hesitant to discard just yet. I had a stash of stuff from a trip to Japan in 2010, bags within bags never unpacked. I put the maps into an existing bag of non-USA maps, and the postcards onto a shelf with other travel items. The result is: two occupied file cabinets with two drawers of friend/family file folders, a drawer of moderately organized photos, a drawer of old school and job stuff that needs attention; and one entirely empty file cabinet with three drawers.

The office closet is not done, but it is no longer bursting with chaos.

>141 qebo: That sounds very satisfying to report. Great job.

>141 qebo: Well done, you!

>141 qebo: good start!

>78 ronincats: Roni, do you remember where you acquired the very nice material containers located under the books?

I purchased nice plastic containers with lids that snap. I'm working on getting tbooks in order. It is a never ending task

>140 SqueakyChu: I haven't purchased any of their recycling products, but they also have free recycling programs offered by different brands for items that are hard to recycle elsewhere. https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades

>147 tymfos: It turns out that I do buy some of these products (Acure, Tom’s of Maine), but a different way to recycle every product?! How much more difficult can these manufacturers make recycling?! I am saving your link, though. Thanks for posting it.

>134 ArlieS: Thanks for the heads-up on the new Dana K. White book, Arlie. I will buy anything that woman writes.
>145 Whisper1: I'm pretty sure I found these at Target, Linda, several years ago. But it doesn't look like they still have them.

This cold has slowed my organizing efforts down, unfortunately. But I love what you all are doing.

>149 ronincats: cold has slowed my organizing efforts down
Here too. I have bags and boxes of stuff that should go elsewhere, for shredding and recycling, but what with snow and cold I feel extremely unmotivated to put everything in the car and traipse around the city.

However, my 15 minutes of decluttering today consisted of tidying the office, putting piles of recycling into bags and placing them by the front door; I've been wending through debris to get to my desk for three weeks. So the office now looks almost exactly as it did when I started. To everyone else, as nobody but me has ever seen the inside of the closet.

We skipped a day then did double yesterday. The dresser top is cleared /straightened over the first set of drawers so a little more than 1/3. In addition to the 15 minute timer sessions I am trying to pick something up each time I walk past and evaluate if it belongs on the dresser or elsewhere and take care of it. We are approaching the area that is covered with stuffed animals, all of which I took off and dusted yesterday before putting them back.

I have tentative plans: today take everything off from the cleared section and dust/polish the neglected wood. When the dresser top is completely cleared, sort through the drawers one by one. When the drawers are done, review and purge my jewelry collection.

Apologies for too much detail, but thanks for the support of others with similar goals.

>145 Whisper1: Linda, Menard's has them and even though they don't have any stores in PA, you could order them given how inexpensive they are.

https://www.menards.com/main/storage-organization/storage-totes-bins/decorative-...

>151 elorin:
"sort through the drawers one by one. When the drawers are done, review and purge my jewelry collection."
I need to do the same thing. And a great deal more.
After much procrastination I'm ready to commit to it .

>153 nrmay: Here's to the energy to make plans and keep them!

>145 Whisper1:, >152 ronincats:- I have seen baskets like that, or similar, at places like Home Sense and Home Depot. I bought a small one to keep the cat toys in. One of my cats chooses his toys from it on a regular basis. Now, if only I could get him to put the toys back when he's done playing, we'd be in business. I know, good luck with that, lol

>151 elorin: don't apologize, you may be inspiring someone.

>151 elorin: Detail is good. Reading about other people's efforts is what might motivate me off the web - and out of a book - long enough to make progress with my own mess.

One thing I'm trying to do is find e-versions of the books I haven't read or might reread (Gutenberg etc - I couldn't afford to buy them), so that I can get rid of the paper copies. Another is getting rid of my copies of all the classics I might get to some day - I can get Pride & Prejudice etc from any library on no notice, so I don't need a copy in my house. That should cut down my books quite a bit.

I have a lot of single pages of magazine that I wanted to scan (so I tore them out of their magazines). I now need to a) look at them and decide if I actually want the info, b) actually scan (or photograph) them, c) digitally store them in a way that I can access them. If I could start, I could probably get a lot done before I ran out of energy or time (timers don't work all that well for me, unfortunately). But before I can do that I need to clear my desk enough that I can look at them and get at the scanner...

I’m starting up again clearing out my mother’s photograph/newspaper article/whatever 3-ring binders. I’ve got boxes and boxes of this stuff, and it’s been sitting for years. There is worthy-of-saving stuff in the books, and the binders themselves are lovely, so can’t just toss everything.

I’m scheduling a binder a day; that is very do-able, and I shouldn’t get burned out.

I’ve already done today’s binder, and am holding myself back from starting another. I want to keep my can-do attitude. Cheers!

Karen O

>159 klobrien2: Pacing yourself is good - If I tackle too much in one day, it doesn't get done properly and then I give myself a day off and it takes a while to restart.

>151 elorin: Detail also gives me hope that I'm not the only one in this boat.

I have a second dresser cleared off, and am going to start trying to deal with the clothes that didn't get put away. Perhaps I can donate some.

>158 jjmcgaffey: For me, timers are about manageable goals and giving myself permission not to do the big task (getting to the scanner for instance) all at once. Can you break it down into smaller steps and tackle one small step at a time as a way to get started? If you're familiar with project management it would be similar to mapping out the WBS.

I am home today, unexpectedly, and once I sorted out my missed work and appointment I slept until after noon. I finally got up about 3 and tried to tackle the dresser top. I only had enough energy for a few minutes, and I didn't set a timer, but we still made visible inroads. We are more than halfway done, maybe 2/3. I continue to pick up jewelry boxes and small trinket boxes and open them and try to sort the contents each time I pass. I found a gift bag of yarn that needs to be wound, a pride flag that needs to be donated, and masks 🎭 to hang in the bedroom. I am creating a to do list to append to my present plans, things that need done but are too involved to include while clearing the dresser. I'm excited at the progress and looking forward to seeing the task finished.

I recently needed a computer tool (I'm a self-employed computer tech) that I _knew_ I had, probably several of, but I couldn't find it. I did a lot of sorting of boxes of computer/electronics stuff, and pulled out a bunch of ewaste (both things that are actually broken beyond fixing, and things that while they work fine are so obsolete as to be useless (USB 1.0 hubs, slow routers, weak chargers...)). That was good (and I did eventually find the tool I needed).

I tend to work in bursts when there's something I actually need to do - that's why I'm aiming at the scanning pages, it will get me to clear off my desk, which always feels good. Also working on getting rid of clothes that either need repair that isn't going to happen, or that don't fit and aren't going to, or that never really fit or suited me. I have a huge heap of "to be worked on" clothes that I'm gradually going through and winnowing down.

I am so enjoying all the activity here! When Arlie mention a Dana White book I didn't have, I immediately acquired it with these results:

Book #10



Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White 223 pp.

Dana is my favoritest author in this area of all of them. Her writing spoke right into my heart and has helped me maintain my "new" house in comfort and style. This book is her third and there really is nothing new except in how the book is organized, in 100 bullet points. Excellent as always, but I would recommend getting (I had to buy these in dead-tree format as reference works) the first two instead. Indeed, after reading this, I had to go and immediately reread...

Book #11



How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K. White 240 pp.

...and it was just as good as always. Clutter is "anything that gets out of control in your home". "Stop treating your house like a project. Do the dishes." Declutter the most visible areas first. Never pull everything out. Pull out one item and make a final decision about it. Trash, donate or in its home. Never put anything anywhere temporarily. View your house as a container. Let the container set the limits. And so much more, but these are the structural concepts.

I cleared the entrance to a bedroom closet this morning and vacuumed. Have two purses to sort through tonight, and put two items of clothing in the donation pile.

Hi everybody! This thread is so invigorating. What I want to say, crazily, is that it is fun to read the posts. A lot of what everyone writes about was a road I travelled several times in the last 5 or 6 years. I took way more time to get off my duff and do the sorting and decisions. So way to go y'all.

Important alert!! for those clearing family memorabilia
^^^^^^^^^^
Last weekend, we (as in Mr. SM and myself) finally brought 3 boxes from the basement to the sitting room from settling his mom's estate (10 years ago... blush).

Most everything else is sorted and donated or given away now. These boxes are packed with "the tough to decide about": photo albums and framed pictures, 90% of them family from very young stage to married, as well as my MIL's sisters and her parents.

We decided to take everything out of the frames (the largest was only a 10 x 12", most were 7 x 5" or thereabouts). Frames were to all be donated.

Well, 😳😳 o-m-g... at least half of the photos in the frames had folding money stored, where it was not visible between the backing and the mat . On the oldest (MIL was from England), were some pound-sterling notes. One of the Canadian bills was a 1937 issue when George VI (Queen Elizabeth's father) was the king.



Our Canadian $20 has (I think, always) the British monarch featured. (The King or Queen is our "head of state" even though Canada is an independent country. Yeah, I know... how retro).

There isn't anything of great value in this stash, mind you, so no incredible rarities, but still, it was so unexpected. Mr. SM immediately phoned his siblings who also had a share of the framed photos and albums.

We were not alone in tardy decluttering! Apparently the sibling families were like us and had also never unpacked everything since the estate was dispersed. My SIL said she had planned to simply donate all the framed photos intact because she already had copies of all the pictures! I believe there was new incentive to start going through their boxes!

I thought I would report this anecdote here, in case anyone finds themselves in similar circumstances.

>166 SandyAMcPherson: That is an amazing story, Sandy!

>166 SandyAMcPherson: what a find!

Don't blush about the boxes stored for ten years. My mom passed in 1994, but one box of her papers and effects was moved with me when I relocated to NC in 1999. It was moved four more times until I finally opened it for a serious sort, about 20 years after originally assembling the contents.

>151 elorin: too much detail
Not at all! Though the details differ, it is reassuring not to be alone in the inadvertent accumulation of stuff.

>166 SandyAMcPherson: at least half of the photos in the frames had folding money stored
Well that is incentive!

>166 SandyAMcPherson:- wow, Sandy, what a find. And you'd probably get a fair bit more than $20 for the King George bill!

I agree, for what it's worth, it does feel inspiring to read about everyone's journeys in this thread. The knowledge that *I am not alone* on this road, is comforting - and helpful!

>166 SandyAMcPherson: That's an interesting inheritance :0)

What a good story! Good for whatever impulse made you check those frames. When Himself's aunt Lil died, he and his dad found money tucked all over her little house, even in the seam of wallpaper! And yes, in the backs of framed pictures: she was English too!

>168 fuzzi: Great story.

Reading along here.

Thanks everyone for your comments and adding little snippets, of a similar nature, too.
>172 tiffin: I'm pleased to hear that others found money likewise stashed.

I think this was a very common place to conceal funds all across Europe and from anecdotes I've heard from houses being looted in the near east, common there as well.

>170 jessibud2: Apparently not much beyond a +5% value if you sell to a dealer. Mr. SM put it in the safety deposit box along with some old Newfoundland (pre-confederation currency) with the idea of selling to a collector. I have *no* idea how he will go about that.

>174 SandyAMcPherson: But if it's in a safety deposit box, it is no longer in your house. Decluttering success!

I am embracing Dana White's definition of clutter as anything you consistently find has gotten out of control. The first area is paper clutter, and I participated in the Simplify Workshop a week ago and have set up an inbox and simplify station to deal with that. I know what my problem is there--I simply don't deal with it on a timely basis and let it pile up. So setting a time every week to deal with it is essential.

Boxes are another area. I hoard boxes. I used to need them to send stuff to family when I lived in San Diego, but now I am where most of them are and only need to send stuff to my nephew in Florida, and most of the stuff I send is gifts via the Internet. Also, cat litter boxes piling up in the basement. I need to come up with a plan for this.

Then there is my craft room. Putting beads back after crafting for a show has been an issue. My craft room incorporates 4 different crafts. Beads and wirework are the materials that tend to get out of control. The yarn and the sewing materials are organized, and the glazing/painting of clay objects coming in from the pottery studio also are contained for the most part. Here is my craft room.

This is my craft/work table. It moves up and down so I can sit at it to work on wire and bead craft and raise it to cut fabric. This is the most out of control.

The beads and wire (other than spools on the rack above) are supposed to be stored in the wire Elfa carts in the background, not living on the auxiliary TV tray space in the foreground. You can see the yarn is pretty well organized, by weight, in the rack to the left.

I am very proud to have organized my findings and seed beads, clearly labeled, on this bookshelf, along with craft books. The plastic container on the floor next to my library table is what I take with me to craft shows.

You see the rest of my books in that room, almost all SFF, and more recent than the ones on the bookshelves in the basement, and the threads on the wall to the left. Sewing baskets on the floor (fabric is organized in 4 bins in the closet) and some of my favorite tchotchkes in front of books on the shelves.

So--it's getting beads back in the wire shelves (organized by color) in picture 2 and clearing off the work table so I can actually work at it that needs to happen. Stay tuned!

The dresser top is semi-stalled (a box of scented oils and lotions, each to be tested for being rancid or separated, nowhere to put it while we test the bottles, and can only check one or two per day because the scents overwhelm each other and you can't tell what you are smelling after two) but I didn't let that stop us. We have 9 dresser drawers and we went through 4 of them today. Shorts was easy (donate anything too big to wear), same with lingerie (separate the pajamas for a different drawer), and PJs. Socks was harder but in less than 30 minutes we pulled out 55 pairs of socks to donate (and now the drawer opens more easily). Tomorrow some more oils and one of my wife's drawers, or two!

My craft stuff is mostly organised, especially now that the sliding cupboards for my books have been moved next door and I can see more than one cupboard at a time. My latest (and biggest) craft interest is a pandemic hobby; card making for family, for which I've bought (amongst other paraphernalia) stamps, metal dies and embossing folders. I've got them in mini drawers (from Muji because they look nice, they stack together and they pretty much fit the shelves exactly) and categorised by theme (birthday, celebration, nature).

I do have a confession to make, though. I was starting to lose track of what I have (balloon dies, for example, come in different sizes, shapes and configurations) and though I tried putting everything on a spreadsheet and including pictures it didn't really work (the pictures on a spreadsheet are too small to see the detail). But I do happen to be a member of this wonderful cataloguing site so I've started adding my items to my catalogue - and it works brilliantly! However, it is primarily a site for books but I know other members find it useful for a whole host of things too.

>175 ronincats: nice to see your work area. I recall seeing photos of the one from your house in California, and there was some story about the carpet/rug on the floor.

Stuff that sticks in one's brain...

>176 elorin: yippee!

I need to go through my husband's dresser. He puts socks and shorts back even if they've developed holes. :LeSigh:

>175 ronincats: Nice to see your crafting space Roni. I'm sure when you sit down to it you'll clear your crafting table & TV tray.

>176 elorin: Congratulations on not letting the essential oils stop you from making progress!

>177 humouress: Glad you found a solution that will work for you!

I did a detail sort this morning of some papers (shred, discard, file), unmated socks - one pair salvaged and the rest put in a bag in the rag pile for dusting, and two purses - one discarded, one ready for use when I'm tired of the one I'm using now.

>175 ronincats: Hi Roni, your craft/work table, in the photo above, looks like mine did in December.

I had a mini-open studio event in the first week of January so stuffed all the disorganized textile and card crafting paraphernalia into a large UHaul box (already owned) and "hid" it in the basement.

Yeah, I know. That does not count towards decluttering and tidying up...
However, the exercise revived my determination to keep the paper crafts separated from the sewing materials.

I cleared out a basement storage cupboard recently and donated all (yes! *all*) the partly-used gift wrap and bows to a charity. We mostly don't send gifts anywhere now. For wrapping family gifts, I make fabric bags with sewn on ribbon tie-ups, so hardly ever use the paper. Everyone likes the cloth bags because it is so reusable. I have a ridiculous amount of suitable fabric to use up.

Now the paper crafts are in their own space and since it is a seasonal activity, I don't need the supplies stored in my studio. Why didn't I think of that before? (rhetorical question)

Your craft activities are considerably more diverse than mine and I don't go to craft venues to sell things, so I think you've done really well in the organizing arrangement. I hope you can clear your work table ~ that horizontal space (in my life) is so tempting to park 'stuff'.

Today's storage hint:

You know those clear plastic zippered bags that you buys sheet in? They make perfect storage bags for smaller things. What's inside of them is easily seen, easily accessible, yet kept in one spot so individual items can't mix with other things. I was arranging some small clothing pieces and mini backpacks in them today. Wow! Everything looks so organized! :D

>181 SqueakyChu: Oh absolutely! We love those things from linen purchases. My favourite thing to keep corralled are the winter 'his' and 'hers' gloves.

I also store the embellishment yarns and fancies that way too (which I use in textile work).

>183 SqueakyChu: I've used them for "his" and "hers" socks for a long time, but today I started putting more of those bags to work for other coralling! :D

My yarns are now in HUGE boxes. I just can't give them away. I just started knitting again! Who knows which of those hundreds of skeins of yarn I'll need? I will share a few with my relatives, though.

One fun thing that I do when I close up a box for storage is to put the date on the outside of the box. Some of those dates are from pretty long ago! That means it's time to look through those boxes again (and redate them)!

>183 SqueakyChu: I like your zippered bags suggestion. I taught myself to knit about 15 years ago, bought dozens of skeins of yarn. I've not knitted in years but I still have all those skeins in a large wicker basket and bags in the closet. I am planning on taking up knitting again once I retire, but putting them in clear totes makes sense.

>184 fuzzi: That’ll be great because you can see all the colors of yarns at once! You can also use the zippered bag as a bag to hold your yarn while knitting. Just open the zipper a bit and keep the bag on the floor! :)

>181 SqueakyChu: One of my cats loves to get into any yarn sitting out on current projects, so I use those zippered bags to hold the pattern, crochet hooks and scissors and yard for each project.

I've gotten some of those boxes they advertise on Temu (not from Temu) - have you seen those? Collapsible plastic boxes with multiple openings - at minimum, top and one long side. At max, top and four sides open. Either way, you can stack them and get at stuff in the lower boxes without having to lift off upper boxes; also they're translucent so I can see, at least vaguely, what's in them before opening. Now, I haven't actually _put_ anything into these boxes...but they should be very useful, particularly for yarns and fabric. Currently I have huge piles of totes containing those things (which is better than originally when they were scattered in multiple places, but see above about lifting off the top boxes...). I'm playing the traffic jam game - must move these to make space to shift those which will let me get at the other...

I am trying to get rid of things too - I have quite a bit collected for removal from the house, donation or Freecycling. The next step is to actually _get_ them out of the house... So then I'll have enough room to rearrange my craft materials and get rid of what I won't use (fabrics I don't like the color or texture of, yarns that are too light or bulky or weird (eyelash yarns...), stuff for crafts I was interested in and haven't started and don't intend to start). Yard sales are dangerous places...

Once I get started, there should be a huge cascade effect of reduction (and also, I'll know where I have X so I don't have to buy another one when I need it. I've done that too often over the last couple years, argh). I really need to start with the donations, now or as soon as possible.

Email! It goes back to 1997. I've been contemplating cleanup... and doing nothing. However, a few days ago I realized that I hadn't received an expected notification, investigated and discovered that my Comcast email changed something and was refusing to let my Gmail get at it, and therefore I wasn't seeing it because I never check Comcast directly. I fixed the problem, got deluged with three weeks of mostly junk with a few welcome items mixed in, and cleanup of that mess got me motivated to continue for another couple hours. Mostly this was organizing into existing folders and setting up more automatic filters (I'm on lots of mailing lists, and involved in a number of organizations that include email exchanges between individual members), but also included some ruthless deleting and recognition that I really don't need to keep folders of impersonal email.

>188 qebo: I have several gmail filters also, and I try to do a cleanup once a year. I usually go one filter at a time, and filter that further by date. For example, anything older than dd/mm/yyyy, or year-by-year chunks. The first time I did this it was really onerous. But it's easier now that I've cleared out the really old stuff. Have I retained some of the "really old" emails? Yes, and I'm okay with that, because it was a conscious decision which I reevaluate every year.

I realize this method is not for everyone. Some people actually enjoy having this record of their lives going back several years. For them it's like having a scrapbook or photo album.

>189 lauralkeet: scrapbook or photo album
Yeah, this is about it. The problem I have is where to draw the line. Family and friends definitely keep. (OTOH, I have relatively few photos of people and don't display them. The visual is just not a thing for me.) Organizations... borderline, really shouldn't need to go back years, but every so often e.g. a decision was made and it's handy to have this in writing, and many of these people are friendish acquaintances. So in general, keep correspondence. This is fine if filters are in place and specific people get auto-plopped into buckets, but the people change and I fall behind and then I have a bunch of strays. What I definitely don't need is a bazillion mass emails from issue-oriented organizations. I aspire to catch up, and I never do; if I didn't read it when it arrived, that's it, not gonna happen, and if I really want to know what's up they have a web site.

>187 jjmcgaffey:: I have a foolproof method for getting the bumph out of the house: I put it in the back of the car in its bags and boxes. We have two big old German Shepherds who need that space to ride in, so the bumph has to be disposed of quickly.

>191 tiffin: I put it in the back of the car
This is my strategy also. And typically I cart it around all winter... and then I need to clear space for plants so that's when I deal with it.

There's a local operation called Creative Reuse which takes donations of craft supplies. Or so I've heard and so the web site sez, with a list of acceptable items. Also sez call to schedule donation drop-off. I have two bags of stuff accumulated over decades that I don't expect to use, and put in the car a couple months ago. I HATE making phone calls, thus the delay in followthrough, but today I called and... the good news is there's no need to schedule a single bag, the bad news is the only donation they'll take for now is fabric. Some of it is, but mixed in with other things so I'll have to reorganize.

>185 SqueakyChu: wow, like that idea! It would help keep pet hair out, too.

>186 ronincats: oh, this too.

>192 qebo: yep, yep.

Between yesterday and today all of the oils have been tested and the rancid ones ditched. We cleared the top of the dresser and wiped it down with the wood cleaner and I snapped a pic.

Over the course of this project many things made their way to better homes (Goodwill box, trash, elsewhere in the house) but the things that still live on the dresser have been wiped down, dusted off, and sorted through. The height above the dresser top of "stuff" is now measurable in inches not feet.

Next up: the 5 remaining drawers.

>195 elorin: Very nice!

>195 elorin: Nice! Looks beautiful.

When my husband's laundry was finished I had him bring the basket back to the bedroom. I pulled all the socks and shorts out of his dresser drawers, dumped the clean laundry on the bed, and together we went through it all, matching socks and looking for items with holes. I also had him separate the socks he doesn't like because they're too tight on his ankles.

His dresser looks SO much better now, and I have a bag of socks in good condition for the thrift store/shelter.

Not much, but it was something.

>198 fuzzi: I think your work was spectacular! Very efficient, and getting the two of you working together was great. Kudos to you!

Karen O

>192 qebo:: You made me laugh because I'm a gardener too! The dogs keep me more honest than bags of sheep manure and plants do, however.

>195 elorin:: You must feel a real sense of accomplishment.

>201 tiffin: Seeing the cleared, cleaned dresser top was amazing!

We made our way through three more drawers - one I didn't even realize was it's own whole drawer (pantyhose and stockings). Two left, one I hope to tackle tonight. It's not out in the open so it's not as visually satisfying, but still I know we're making progress and weeding out things we don't use.

>199 klobrien2: thank you!

>202 elorin: making progress is what it's all about.

Google keeps nagging me to buy storage, nope. So this weekend I finally went through my photos on my phone and either deleted them or moved them to the SD card. Now the Google red warning bar has receded some.

Oh, and I assembled the filing box and put some hanging folders (empty) within. Maybe I'll move some manila folders that aren't empty into the box this week.

>203 fuzzi: Buying storage space? Congratulations on decluttering your Google drive instead!

I took a kitchen garbage bag of non-fitting clothes to Goodwill this morning.

I'm also working away at knitting myself a scarf, and hemming the blackout cloth I bought to make curtains for my mini-SUV in hopes of car camping this spring and fall.

>204 markon: I deleted 1600 emails today...

>205 fuzzi: Whoo hoo! Good job!

>205 fuzzi: Good on yer. Sometimes I have a target of reducing my e-mail numbers by, say, 100 (but I do give them a quick glance to make sure they're not essential, like account set up details) and feel exhausted when I make it - but the next day the number seems to go up by twice as much. So I am in awe of your 1,600.

Which reminds me; I need to investigate a message that popped up briefly to say my mobile phone storage is running out. It shouldn't because everything should be on the cloud. Better check my cloud storage too.

>206 elorin: >207 humouress: thank you!

Now, Google needs to update. When I go in to the entire account it says I'm at 13 of 17gig used, but I'm still getting a 17 of 17gig used, and "You're full, buy storage!" message when I access my photos. Hello?

>208 fuzzi: - Beware. I got something like too. Directly to spam.

I'm dropping a note here to set my intentions. I moved in December so downsized a lot of stuff, but also ran out of time to get through everything before the movers arrived to load.

What's left:

binders - finish the paper purge and reorganize and repackage what's left, get rid of now-empty binders

nonfiction books - update LT catalog and tags, shelve

photos - sort, downsize, organize

projects - actually work on them and reduce my to-do piles

And then there's the digital decluttering: emails, photos, downloads, etc.

Most urgent item is the books staged in piles in the living room, taking up all the floor space. Now if only I could stop reading long enough to deal with what's in front of me...

>210 justchris: Welcome! Paper is my nightmare. Do you at least have shelves for the books?

>211 markon: I do have shelves for the books! The question is whether the 2 bookcases I took with me are sufficient for the nonfiction after downsizing (left the third behind). Also, I have a surprising amount of extra room on my mmpb-sized fiction shelves to move some of the smaller nonfiction, such as memoirs and nature writing over there. I dunno, though, mingling functional groups. Cats and dogs playing together!

And I had previously placed all the binders on top of the 3 bookcases, so again, it will be interesting to see if they'll fit once I've downsized them. I can only hope.

I don't really buy much fiction anymore, beyond interesting anthologies that don't fit on the fiction shelves anyway, but still keep adding to my nonfiction collection. It all feels kinda hydrological--will the erosive power of downsizing balance the sedimentary accretion of book-buying? What kind of new oxbows will develop? Hopefully no flash floods.

Tonight is doing double duty. I pulled out almost all of the jewelry in and out of boxes hidden on a lower level of the cat tree. Decisions were made and items were put in the donations pile. There were aha! moments, too. (That's where that watch went! My kitty ears and devil horns! My jade!)
I didn't set a timer, but I am sure I spent more than 15 minutes at it.
So I am planning on a timed culling of the drawers before lights out. One and a half drawers to go.

>213 elorin: keep on keeping on!

My W2s became available, so now my brain is focusing on doing my taxes.

I made a folder for all the forms that have arrived in the mail...

>195 elorin: So satisfying to clear a surface!
>205 fuzzi: Amazing how quickly email proliferates into 100s and 1000s.

>214 fuzzi: taxes
The one category of bureaucracy that I keep current and organized. I'm self-employed so I have to do quarterly estimates, which is a nuisance, but also forced me to devise a routine. Anything relevant that arrives in the mail goes directly into a folder. Filed forms go into a folder labeled with the year. So all I have to do is get out the previous year's folder for reference, and fill in the same forms and boxes each year. So far no complaints from the IRS. The downside is it consistently takes about two hours and I know this, so I tend to procrastinate.

Everyone is doing so well!! I've not managed a lot (including that craft table) but I did get one thing done today. Clothing that had been in the garage for the last 9 months to get donated was collected (thanks to our 60 degree weather!) and brought in to be re-washed, and this time it is going directly to a donation box, not my garage!!!

Taxes are also in my future. I'm just waiting for the last forms to arrive.

Oh, digital clutter! I do a clear out once or twice a year, but am notorious for letting it pile up. I currently have 55,784 messages in my inbox, 41,172 of which are unread, so it's time to do a major cleanup again. Even though I try to unsubscribe as much as possible. I'm just bad at it.

>216 ronincats: That's a lotta email. Whenever I get my email cleaned up, I unsubscribe vigorously as email arrives, for a few weeks. Then I let up, and buy or donate or express interest and neglect to uncheck a box and get auto-subscribed and the cycle repeats.

I challenge you to do this today or tomorrow:
Clean out *entirely* one small drawer in your kitchen. Tell us what you found!

I did this today, but my husband complained it was an inopportune time because I found some of his tools (including two utility knives and two screwdrivers) which he then had to put away elsewhere so they wouldn't get lost again. I found eleven half-used set of matches (I wondered to where they had all gone!). I found a parking pass (which expired in 2010) for our street. I found a pack of glue sticks for a glue gun I no longer have. I found one clothes pin, but I have no idea why it was in that drawer in the first place. I found a bag of curtain hooks, but I haven't hung curtains in years! I reorganized the drawer, replaced those items which were correctly stored there so now that drawer is clean and uncluttered. Time? Maybe twenty minutes.

The dresser is done! All drawers have been gone through and at least partially purged, everything on the top is dusted and has been gone through with some reorganization in the meantime. In addition, I reached in to the shelf on the cat tree where some jewelry boxes have been stored and did some dusting and purging for donations and some "OH! That's where that went!" While I was on a roll, I went through all but one door of the jewelry armoire in the bedroom. I put some things in the donation box and had a major Whew! moment when I lifted the top lid and saw my missing! jade bodice knife. I have been looking for it for probably the past year every time we went to an event in corsets/renn faire garb.

Today we opened up under the sink in the master bath and for 15 minutes looked in bags and boxes, purging bottles of lotion obviously past their expiration date, marking things to donate, and reorganizing what's left.

The next week (or weeks or days, however long it takes) we will continue in the master bath, first under the sinks and then the counters and then the medicine chests.

>219 elorin: Woo-Hoo! Congratulations!

>218 SqueakyChu: Sounds like an interesting exercise. Will give it a try.

Not a drawer, but I got a big job completed today.

I hate filing. I have had to file in almost all my jobs, but I still despise it.

Today after doing morning errands and putting dinner in the slow cooker I decided to sit for a few. It didn't last. My dog had chewed the bag my brand new vegetable garden seeds were in, so I sorted all the seed packets, and secured them in a plastic tote.

But it didn't end there, I kept going.

Did I mention that I hate filing?

I tackled the towering piles of papers on my desk, and those that I'd collected in a box. Three hours later I was able access my desk, the surface was mostly clear, and all the filing (accounts, repairs, maintenance, purchases, and medical receipts going back months) was completed.

It feels good.

>221 fuzzi: Awesome! That's an accomplishment!

>30 humouress: Progress report:

I have just about finished wiping down and putting dust jackets on the new books. The table I borrowed from another part of the house to help with the process has been moved out and the recliner that has been in storage while we did the renovations is now installed as a reading chair in my study.

Unfortunately the three old book cupboards which we built my new library room around look like they've developed mould so that's a set back. I'm going to have to deep clean those and all the books in them (again), once my hands recover from this round of cleaning. But you see why the book jackets.

The spices (thanks for all the suggestions) I moved to a drawer and am using cutlery inserts (since they gave them to us with the new kitchen) for the small bottles. It's not a perfect fit for the spice bottles but it works well enough. There's room for the larger items (like salt) to stand up in the drawer next to the inserts. The logistics seem to work - let's see if that's their permanent home. I did have to show my son where I'd moved the spices when he was cooking his lunch for the next day but even he seems happy with it (or I'd have heard about it by now. Often.)

I've catalogued a few more dies, just to clear that table so I could use it for the books, but that's an ongoing project with no firm deadline (a problem with most of my projects). I had to clear the table by today because if the chair didn't come back this weekend it'd be another couple of months before we'd be able to bring it back.

The next problem is that, having accomplished a project that I've been racing to finish, I feel at a bit of a loose end - even though I still have all these other projects waiting. I have to pick one and go for it - but there are so many ...

:0)

>221 fuzzi: Woot! Excellent work! I too hate filing and have accumulated lots of papers that I need to deal with. Especially with the relocation, I have files to take out of the active accounts filebox and into archive/shredding. Sigh.

My main accomplishment over the weekend is shelving most of my books and updating LT accordingly. I originally was only checking the "My Library" collection but opened it up to all collections, which has turned up quite a few outdated items. So I feel like I'm making good progress on my LT cleanup. The inventory feature is really handy!

I still have a little bit of open shelf space and have a few piles of books to fill those gaps, but I'm left with 3 boxes that won't fit on the furniture I have because I left one whole bookcase behind during my relocation. I am thinking I need to find a new furniture item that's wide enough and with sufficient clearance to accommodate the baseboard heater, maybe 1-2 shelves, and it can double as my TV stand.

I also came home with a new desk and sit/stand converter and got them set up and office supplies, etc redistributed. My home office and living room are now set up and functional without boxes and miscellaneous stuff cluttering them up! I unpacked the remaining boxes (DVDs and wall/shelf art) this morning.

The 3 boxes of books, 5 file boxes, and 8-10 boxes of binders and accumulated pamphlets and other papers/publications are stacked out of the way for future organizing/decluttering pushes.

>224 justchris: wow, sounds great!

My filing folders are in a cardboard box designed to hold hanging folders. I don't have any place to put a filing cabinet without blocking the AC/heat register (vent).

>221 fuzzi: Good for you!

>224 justchris: Well done! That's a big couple of days.

>221 fuzzi:, >224 justchris: Congratulations to both of you!

>218 SqueakyChu: OK, I took up the challenge. I have 4 small drawers in the kitchen. 3 of them are coherent: silverware, prep utilities such as can openers and paring knives, baking utilities such as rolling pins and measuring cups and measuring spoons. The 4th is the miscellaneous drawer. I tidied it during 2 stints of making coffee today. Collected categories of items (e.g. rubber bands, keys) into sandwich bags, moved some items (e.g. glue, batteries) to office drawers that have already been organized, disposed of tangled debris (e.g. old twist ties, rusty safety pins). I found two tire pressure gauges to go with the one in the car that I bought recently, no other surprises. Also found two pocket flashlights but I have these everywhere.

>229 qebo: Great job! I find cleaning out & organizing our two kitchen junk drawers enormously satisfying. I'm probably due for another round of it, to be honest.

>229 qebo: Heh! There were also two flashlights in the kitchen drawer I cleaned out, but I left them there (on purpose). I think it’s fun to find surprising things in drawers we clean out! :)

You guys are inspiring!
I have this warning from gmail too, all the time. Very annoying. Now downloading pictures, hoping to get rid of it.
I decided to get rid of a pile of books (they are in the library, so I can easily find them again). Now what to do with them. They’re old, and small pockets. Moved one to a Little Free Library. Maybe the rest to a thrift store?

I need help organizing all my books in a certain way- especially by like genre what would be the best way?

>233 Owltherian: Best has to be defined by you. Some folks prefer alphabetical by author, others by increasingly refined subgenre categories, still others by order of reading preference, or even what fits where in the given space.

For example, at my previous home, I separated mmpb by genre: speculative (filling 1.5 bookcases), mysteries (filling 1/3 bookcase), other (remaining shelves of second bookcase)--all vertically separated from each other, then started with women authors at the top, followed by POC authors, and finally white male authors, and generally starting with longest series in chronological order and working my way to stand-alones and singletons at the very bottom, and anthologies last.

In my new home, I decided to go from largest collections by author at the top, all the way across adjacent bookcases and work my way down to singletons, leaving the lower-right section vacant, which I am now filling with mmpb nonfiction because I don't have enough shelf space in my 2 nonfiction bookcases for all of the books.

My trade paperback and hardcover fiction live in crates, and each crate has a different focus: feminist and queer anthologies, POC anthologies, other anthologies, single-author omnibuses, individual books, favorite author collection, etc.

>234 justchris: I usually go by author but I'm not sure that's the best way for me to organize them and i constantly want to change it.

>235 Owltherian: Then maybe start organizing by author and then play with it until you find something that works better for you? As long as you're enjoying the process, no reason to organize once and done forever.

>236 justchris: Yeah, my ADHD doesn't help with trying to organize, but i try anyway.

>230 lauralkeet:, >231 SqueakyChu: Bonus decluttering was my key chain. As I was gathering keys in the drawer, I removed 2 from the key chain (a storage locker? a padlock? I haven't used either in years and now I know where to look if I ever need them) along with a tag from an auto mechanic that went out of business, and rearranged the others so I don't have to sift through them to unlock my front door at night.

>238 qebo: Nice about the key chains. I tend not to throw them out. If I have extra key chains, I try to slip them, one at a time, into my Little Free Library to see if anyone will take them. :D

Tonight I was sifting through some old papers in a metal cabinet. My challenge to all of you about that will come soon. :D

>232 EllaTim: I rehome some books to a church charity thrift store. The proceeds actually help needy people. Some books I drop off at the oncology clinic at the hospital, to give people something to read while waiting. And occasionally I drop off books at our town's only used book store.

>235 Owltherian: I've got mine grouped by genre and to some extent by subject (fiction vs non-fiction), and within a genre/subject alpha by author. That way if I want to read a particular kind of book I know where to look, and (assuming I can remember the author's name) where within that area.

The problem comes when I have...oh, a fantasy or SF mystery (does that go into spec fic or mystery? Depends on how it strikes me...but sometimes it strikes me differently different times so I look in the wrong area). Or a non-fictional story about animals, but most of my books about animals are fiction and I don't want to separate them. Or one about the history of, say, geology - history? Science? Some of them are more biographies than anything else... etc. Oh yeah, and author pseudonyms...by real name or the name on the cover? Depends.

And I must admit that for the last...5 years or so, I have read _vastly_ more ebooks than paper books...so my shelves (and boxes) are just sitting there getting dusty. Ebooks are so much easier to find... what I need to do is obtain ebook copies of all the books I want to reread and get rid of the paper copies. But then I don't have books to lend to hook someone on a good author. But I don't actually do that very often... And then there's the books I haven't read yet, or have read and can't remember my opinion of (or, why I (try to) review everything I read. It's just so _I_ can remember what I thought of them at the time). That would be a lot of ebooks to obtain somehow, and I don't even know if I want them...

After culling bathroom organization (unopened make up, serviceable make up brushes, etc) for a few days I offered it to a girlfriend (if you don't want it, throw it away) who excitedly informed me that her 5 year old will love to play with anything she doesn't care for.
At the same time I gave away the queen sized bed frame.
Hurray for getting stuff out of the house!

>235 Owltherian: LT could be useful for deciding how you want to organise your books. I have my fantasy & sci-fi in this account and keep the books in one set of bookshelves, organised by author and then by series. I customise the 'other call number' column to keep them in order. I have a 'hardback/ paperback' collection and various 'e-book' collections on LT so I can see what I have either all together or just in that format.

My other books (mostly non-fiction) I keep in a different account, which I organise by Dewey Decimal (or Melvin Decimal on LT).

My kids' books are a bit disorganised at the moment but, as they are in two different rooms, I put a note in the 'private comments' column as to location - which is probably as far as I've got with their books. They are also tagged by age group - though now they're teens that's a bit irrelevant. (Tags will be visible to other people on the book's work page, comments are only for your own book and private comments can only be seen by you (when you're logged in to your account).)

So there are different ways you could utilise LibraryThing to help you. Are you aware that in the 'Your Books' tab there are 5 different ways you can look at your collections (A - E) which you can customise via settings? And in addition to the LT collections (eg 'your library', 'wishlist' etc) you can create your own? Sorry if you know all this already; I see that your account is brand new so I'm assuming that you may not.

>241 jjmcgaffey: But then I don't have books to lend to hook someone on a good author.

You do plenty of hooking on LT, thank you very much.

>244 humouress: Oh good.

Just did a bit of cleanup - went through a tote box of yarn and discarded (for donation) a largish bag of perfectly good yarn I'm never going to use (novelty, colors I don't like, too thin (I knit in worsted, basically)) and moved the keepers to one of those boxes with a side opening. Also put the variegated on one side and the plain colors on the other, with a canvas box of tools and patterns in the middle. This is great - though I have another, larger, tote of yarn plus various smaller containers (from a knitting bag to several bankers boxes). Not sure how many boxes I'll need for my keepers - but less stuff and more easily accessible is a Good Thing. The other thing I need to do is write down what I have - what colors/patterns and how much, as well as where - so that I _don't_ buy any more when I already have what I need for the next project. But just having them more easily searchable will help.

>242 elorin: woo hoo!

>244 humouress: hahaha! True.

>224 justchris: What is this LT "inventory feature"? I'm sure I could use something like that.

I'm reading How To Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind now that my library hold came in. It's hilarious and so relatable.

>245 jjmcgaffey: And another question, what are those boxes with a side opening? I have bins stacked on top of each other and I too frequently want what's in the bottom of the stack!

>247 SandyAMcPherson: You find it at the bottom of the tags drop-down menu when you look at your inventory. It'll open up a first column with grey circles that you click on to turn either green or red.

OK. I took a screenshot but can't get it to display here. You can see it at https://www.librarything.com/pic/10578726.

>248 justchris: I didn't know about this feature! Thanks for the screen shot. Once you enter "take inventory" mode there's also a link to a short help page: click here.

>248 justchris: Thanks for your help.
I found the inventory link right away. Strange I never looked at that drop down menu before.
One thing that's not (apparently) explained is if the red 'absent' includes DNF books. I also assumed that my designation of read but not owned under "collections" doesn't change, though I have private notes when I declutter a book (to differentiate from a library loan). Maybe that's too much discrimination?

>241 jjmcgaffey: Are ebooks really easier to find, if you don't remember the title or author?

The organizational features of my elderly kindle are maddeningly primitive, designed perhaps for someone with an order of magnitude fewer ebooks.

I'm not up to date on ebook software solutions; I may well never read an ebook ever again, since I've been avoiding plane trips for decades. (The only thing I ever liked about ebooks was their weight - I can bring a dozen books on a trip without making my suitcase impossibly heavy. In fact, I can and did bring hundreds.)

Maybe the user interface has improved since I was last paying attention.

>250 SandyAMcPherson: Inventory doesn't change anything else, though you can use it with Power Edit to change a bunch of stuff. It's not meant to consider reading status, only physical presence, but again you could use it for DNF if you wanted to.

>247 SandyAMcPherson: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=collapsible+stackable+storage+bins Yes, that's exactly what's good about them. Some of them open five ways (all four sides, the top comes off); some only have a door on one long side ("front")(and the top comes off). Either way, you can have a tall stack and access the stuff in the bottom one without having to unstack anything. All of them have wheels; some have teeny tiny ones that will work sort of OK on hard floor and not at all on rugs, some have much larger wheels. They all stack, some lock together so they're one solid stack. And one thing I've learned - if you want to stack them, _get them all at once from one seller_. There are thousands of tiny variations, even among ones that hold the same amount, and they won't stack smoothly between types.

I learned about them from Temu ads, but I don't buy from Temu; they're all over the place now, though (once you know to look!).

>251 ArlieS: I don't use Kindle - either a physical one or the app. I have no idea what their organization is like (it's certainly limited in the Digital Content page, which is where I mostly interact with them). I put all my ebooks into calibre (www.calibre-ebook.com) on Windows, which...actually just recently got a full-text search (which is kind of ridiculous, but also kind of amazing) for many types of books (not pdfs, though you can list them and click to open in whatever PDF reader you want). But even without that - I can generally remember author or title or series or something, or when (approximately) I got it, or something else I got around the same time. Also both calibre and Calibre Companion on my Android devices have a "find random book", which I use when I don't have anything in mind. The other advantage of calibre is that it can take ebooks from anywhere and put them all together - so I don't have to remember if I bought it on Amazon or Kobo or got it from the library or from Project Gutenberg or....

>252 jjmcgaffey: Thanks for the Inventory menu insights.
Is there a help link for Power edit?
I would like to select all the relevant "Absent" titles and add the appropriate ones to a "decluttered" collection; the others (read but unowned collection) were borrowed.

Also, stackable bins url.
I wish I knew about that option a few years ago. Brilliant idea...
I bought stackable wire racks a few weeks ago to store my fabric stash which I am using on current projects (& want easily-accessible), ➙

These work okay, but I should have considered the problem of dust accumulation!
I did at least find racks that fit inside my studio closet.

And recently, I sorted all the non-batik categories (except the blues) into those bins that would have been better put in the stackable kind that >252 jjmcgaffey: Jennifer suggested.

>254 SandyAMcPherson: Is there a help link for Power edit?
I couldn't find one, Sandy but that doesn't mean there isn't one LOL.

Try this: go to Your books, and find the row of icons across the top (Collections drop-down on the far left, Settings on the far right). Two icons to the left of Settings is a lightning bolt. That will turn on power edit. From there you can select the books you want to work with, and change tags or collections en masse. You can also delete books, change the media or language, and (under Miscellaneous) change the From where? field. When you're finished power editing, click the lightning bolt again to return to normal mode.

Hope this helps ...

>253 jjmcgaffey: Calbre is great. I use it for organizing books I want to read on my Kindle. I agree, Kindle’s book collection is difficult to manage. But from Calibre on PC you can get a good list of the books on your Kindle.

This is for those of you with a home shredder. Let's get those old papers out of your house. I weighed my old documents before shredding them.

My challenge to you is to beat my running total of old documents shredded in 2024.

Updated 02/10/24: my running total is: 3 pounds, 11.0 ounces. :D

Oof. Today was the makeup and cosmetics. I went on an organization spree last year so I had sorted categories to consider, which made today easier. Some decisions are easier to make than others. The lipstick bin was last and I threw out 1/2 to 2/3 of what I looked at. But now I won't be intimidated by going under the sink for something. We started on the counter top but didn't finish.

You all are amazing! And I did not know that about the Inventory tool--that is going to save me so much time. One of the projects that I have been putting off is updating my LT catalog after shedding around a thousand books (out of 3000 or so) before I moved, thinking I would have to go to each one individually to change it from in my library to read but unowned or deaccessioned. Hopefully this will make things go a lot faster.

>248 justchris: Oh, that's new. I have one view of my catalogue (B) where I included the Inventory column in Settings - but I can never remember what I designated as red, green or grey when I come back to my catalogue after a while.

So I experimented with Inventory from the tags drop down menu and it looks like it works the same way. But how do I get out of it? Now I have an inventory column in all my views including 2 in my B view.

>251 ArlieS: My solution was to use different Collections on LT because I was starting to get duplicates or I knew I had something but couldn't find it.

>247 SandyAMcPherson: I have a few boxes from Ikea with a sloped front and hinged lid in two sizes. I've had them for at least a decade but I assume they still do some version of them. I'll see if I can find a link.

ETA image:

And, of course, you can remove the whole lid (if there's nothing on top of it). This is the Sortera range and other manufacturers have similar types.

>253 jjmcgaffey: Calibre sounds good.

I haven't tried to use Calibre for a while - I had problems with it handling kindle and kobo - it handled kindle fine, and then amazon updated and it didn't work any more. Never could get the few kobo books I had in it. May have to try again.

I've been reading Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White. It has had the effect of letting me know I'm not as bad as I thought I was because I do a lot of the things she suggests. It did, however, remind me that I am indeed a procrasticlutterer who has a tendency to walk by things and not see them. A good point too is that organising is NOT the same as decluttering, i.e., buying more tubs, bookcases, and the like aren't going to solve the problem of too much stuff. I'm a whizz at organising but that isn't what's needed: true decluttering is.

I really liked her take on *containers*: your shelves, fridge, drawers, closets are containers which only hold so much. When they are full, they are full. Work within the actual size of your container, removing things you don't really like and don't need or won't use. It's pretty practical advice and very do-able.

So thanks to whoever suggested her books somewhere up this thread.

>263 tiffin: "... who has a tendency to walk by things and not see them": That could be my middle name. I've lived with so much stuff I didn't have time, space, energy or familial agreement to address, for so long that it's difficult for me to notice much of it.

My mother called this the "sock on the mantel" phenomenon. After an odd sock has been left on your mantelpiece for a few days, you stop noticing it at all, let alone thinking of it as something that ought to be moved to a laundry hamper or sock drawer.

>255 lauralkeet: Hi Laura, nice to "see" you! Thank you for posting some tips.

I didn't know about the lightning bolt so that was interesting. I selected all the books in my "read but unowned" collection (455! so you can understand why I wanted to batch edit).

However, once I had those specific books displayed, there was no way that I could see to change the mark to red (from the greyed out circle) to indicate "absent" in the inventory page.

I'm not sure how power edit can change this, because the options are so restricted under the lightning bolt options ➙ ringed in dotted green oval



Maybe more computer-literate folks see the obvious way to do that, but that's not me!

>263 tiffin: That would be me! I'm a huge fan of her books and the container concept has been life-changing for me. Also guilty of the procrasticlutter thing too.

>261 humouress: Thanks for posting the photo. While these look good for open spaces, I have that closet restriction (the ol' Dana White container philosophy, right?). So need a stacking setup to conserve space. I also live in a province with no Ikea... the closest one is in Edmonton, Alberta (about a 6 hour drive west of us).

I'll probably keep the bins I own and try to prioritize my fabric stash on the wire shelves for projects in progress. I'm really aiming to embrace the Dana philosophy of not buying more storage options, unless I can make a big difference to what is currently in lidded bins that are in a stack in the basement.

A message on downsizing books in your library...

As a steward of a Little Free Library, (the Little Free Library of Twinbrook (#7720), I highly recommend you use those to give away books. It's such a win-win situation. It allows you to share books with others, and it provides those books to others for free. Your books will continue to travel and be read, rather than just sitting on your shelf (although I know they had been loved by you for may years).

How to find a Little Free Library near you? Just check out this map. As my granddaughter Isabel would say, "Easy peasy, lemon squeezey!" :D

>257 SqueakyChu: I once had a shredder, but it’s disappeared. I can just weigh my paper stuff. When I get around to it, it’s really my greatest challenge.

>269 EllaTim: Well, I recycle most paper, but the documents I shred are those with personal information that I don't want to put in the bin to be cycled without shredding. Fortunately, I am allowed to recycle my shredded paper in our recycling bin, but it has to be secured in a paper bag.

Once a year or so, my synagogue hosts a big shredding event for people without a shredder. People can bring boxes of documents and leave a donation.

>265 SandyAMcPherson: Sandy, I've used the power edit feature extensively to update tags and collections, and I guess that's what I thought you were asking about. The inventory feature is completely new to me and I'm not sure if or how power edit can be used with that. I will defer to those who have used the inventory, maybe someone has figured this out.

>249 lauralkeet: Thanks for sharing the link to the Inventory help page! I haven't seen that before.

>250 SandyAMcPherson: Inventory is a manual operation, so green and red can mean whatever you want them to mean. In my case, green is physically present in my personal library and confirmed in the process of unpacking and shelving in my new home. Red refers to those that I deaccessioned--I ran out of time to take care of these things while packing, so I just entered a private note for books that I downsized while packing. Now I am changing their collection status to DNK and marking them red in inventory as I shelve stuff in the relevant category. My LT library shows 3000+, so I've been approaching the inventory function by a combination of tags and targeted search terms to pull up the relevant LT records to check against. I've been systematically updating my tags as I go as well.

I still have 3 boxes of unshelved books and my cookbooks to inventory. When I'm done with all the physical books, I'll then look at all of the LT records with grey inventory buttons and make corrections as needed. In the case of books that I borrowed from the library or bought and gave away as gifts, these will remain gray because they were never part of my personal library.

>252 jjmcgaffey: I've stumbled over the power edit function but never actually used it.

>253 jjmcgaffey: I've used Calibre in the past, and it's worked well. Currently, I'm using the Kobo app to read ebooks I've purchased and Libby for ebooks and audiobooks I borrow from the library, so I haven't done much with Calibre in the last year. I still have a bunch of free stuff from Project Gutenberg and the like in my Calibre library. I broke down and started using the Kobo app because too many items involve DRM and couldn't be read using Calibre.

>257 SqueakyChu: Sadly, no home shredder for me. My ex kept it, and then I used the one in the cohousing business office and shredded as I went along from week to week. I'm accumulating items that need shredding, such as checks for my previous credit union accounts. Keeping my eye open for community shredding events, or maybe ask at my new credit union if I can drop off items for secure shredding.

>260 humouress: Go back to the Tags dropdown menu and pick something else, such as Tags, to drop you out of Inventory mode. Tags will take you to the Tags page, and then you can just click on My Library to get back to where you were.

>263 tiffin: I am certainly using the container concept to set limits on domestic growth. But it's a work in progress. I'm planning on one more shelving unit in my living room to accommodate my remaining 3 boxes of books, but then that's it. The challenge will be downsizing once I hit the limits vs just squeezing more stuff in. I'm there already with spices and probably cookbooks.

>268 SqueakyChu: LFL is definitely my plan for the handful of books I'm downsizing on the other side of relocation. It's not worth the effort to take them to a bookstore.

Here's the Power Edit help info: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/HelpThing:Your_Books/Power_Edit

>265 SandyAMcPherson: I meant the other way around - select the individual book inventory marks to make them red (or green), then use Inventory view to see only the books that are red and Power Edit that set into a collection. Power Edit does have quite limited abilities - there are so many things that I wish I could do on it that just aren't available.

>272 justchris: Thanks :0)

A different approach - (slightly) tongue in proverbial but with a certain element of truth it has to be said. (written by myself a few years ago on a long dead blog).

The Ig’s life changing science of chucking your crap out, Northern style.

In the past it was April and the ‘spring clean’, but now due to the absence of proper seasons combined with self-righteous internet folk ,and the constant desire need of the masses to take advance from a complete stranger (ahem) on how to change/improve your life – it’s time to declutter/go minimalist in January.

Helped along by an unhinged Japanese woman who thinks I should thank my tatty old boxers for their long standing support of my tackle. Not. going. to. happen.



Some tackle yesterday, but neither supported or thanked.

In the old days; like most things, this was a lot easier and simply known as ‘chucking sh*te out’ and was often done by your Mum – usually when you weren’t around to object.

‘Those original boxed star wars figures you were saving ? Well you weren’t obviously playing with them, so I gave them away to the (annoying) kid down the street ….’

The Ig; being a Northern male, has understandably unique abilities.

These cut through the modern crap that is our present world, and I will explain how to do this properly – and the only thanks you will need to give is to me.

It also involves a good scoop of bevy as well.

Step 1:

Night before – get skip delivered/car ready – clear boot of car out and park it as near as possible to your ‘sorting zone’. Should be ready without distractions for putting crap into it.

Step 2:

Drink booze. Your choice, your limits. I won’t judge.

Remember though we are looking for the sort of grumpy, pissed off, bit of a headache hangover tomorrow – but still physically capable of lifting and throwing things.
Not the vomiting your guts out, crying for your mum/lost Star wars figures sort of epic.
Maybe stay off the spirits.

Step 3:

Wake up – drink tea/coffee, take painkillers. Bacon rolls are on hold till the jobs done though. Move ALL your the crap to the sorting zone. This needs to be as far from it’s original location as possible.

Now applying the the Ig’s 1st rule of work:

Hangover + work to be done before breakfast = total absence of sentimentality in any form.

Throw it all in the skip/boot of the car.

You really want to keep that broken bit of crap ? Going to carry it all the way back to the loft are you ?

‘But, in the future I might’ … IS IT worth taking it ALL THE WAY back up three flights of stairs with your pounding head? No, thought not.

Get it chucked son.

It you have any worrying ideas that you (or another foolhardy soul) may retrieve or start to re-consider your actions- get out your favourite fixing hammer and get medieval on it shouting:

‘Why, for the love of Cantona’s upturned collar did I buy this pish in the first place ? Was I shopping on hallucinogenics ?’.

Hit your finger as well for extra penance.

Now drive to tip / get skip collected and then get fired into your well earned dead pig on bread/tasteless vegetarian alternative.

Step 4:

Lie on the sofa with another brew/big block of chocolate, watch the football and congratulate yourself on another job well done.

>270 SqueakyChu: I like that idea, the annual Shred-a-Thon!

I see gardening on my weekend To Do, not sure what organizing I'll accomplish.

It reads like a lot of accomplishments were reached this week. I'm impressed.
As for me, the master bathroom is done. It could use a bit of spit and polish (the faucets and the mirror need some love) but I tried to be honest and brutal about whether I would actually ever use all the stuff I collected. A lot of cosmetics made it into the trash bin as well as items that went into the donations box. Even threw away a ton of combs that collected in the drawer - why did I have 12 combs?

This thread is proving to be such a good tool to me with my personal decluttering efforts.

Just wanted to say that there is a great TV show, “The Gentle Art Of Swedish Death Cleaning,” that might be interesting to you. The show is based on the book, but consists of real-life cases of declutterers who are assisted by three Swedish facilitators (an organizer, a designer, and a psychologist). I just watched the third episode. The show is on Peacock.

A small achievement: I removed a first folder of paper stuff. From 2019. It felt really good!

I’m still stalled. Okay, to do list for tomorrow:

- ✔️put away the last bits of things that came off the table in a hurry and shoved in a corner so it could be moved

- (including, I admit, the last handful of books)

- put away ironed dresses (which will involve *sigh* some sewing)

- catalogue a few more dies

- ✔️as a reward, do some crafting.

>280 EllaTim: Well done! You’re way ahead of me. (I’m not even contemplating paperwork yet.)

I went through a drawer of stationary stuff (tape, notepads, string, white-out). Lo and behold! I discovered about a dozen different knitting needles I never knew I had. These are going to come in handy as I’m starting to knit again.

Here’s a challenge for you: Clean and organize any random drawer in your house. Come back and tell us the BEST item(s) you found in that drawer that you either “lost” or never knew you had in the first place!

Have fun!

>280 EllaTim: woo hoo!

My coworker sent her spouse over to help with handyman stuff that neither Ron nor I can do. A couple weeks ago he fixed the pull down attic door and a ceiling fan that had stopped working. Today he installed a new fan in the kitchen and reattached another one in the spare bedroom..

How does this relate to decluttering?

The ceiling fan that we had to take down was stored in the shed, up in the loft, and now that it's gone there's a big area available for storage. And that means reorganizing!

Stay tuned.

>283 SqueakyChu: My cupboards and drawers are usually fine. It’s the exposed surfaces that are a problem. I’m a procrastinator, on top of everything else, so if I can’t put it away properly it hangs around. And then more gets added to the pile and it becomes a bigger job …

Growing up, my sister’s room always looked tidy because she just shoved everything into her cupboards (which I, at some point, would get fed up with and tidy for her). My cupboards were pristine - and, yes, they did actually have stuff in - but good luck getting into my room.

Meanwhile … I’d better get moving with those ironed clothes …

ETA: or maybe I’ll just read for a bit.

>285 humouress: read! Read!

My eldest sister was also a "stuffer"! 😂

>286 fuzzi: I did read :0) - though I also got through half the dresses/ sewing.

You could never open my sister's cupboards for fear of being buried beneath an avalanche of clothes, literally.

I did the fridge this afternoon. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be vis à vis ancient best by dates but I was ruthless regardless. So nice to sit down with this guilt-free cream Earl Grey cuppa!

I need to do the topmost drawer of the freezer, before it gets completely stuck. It’s too full, and I have waited to long to defrost. I’m certain I will find stuff, and I will be making jelly tomorrow. But how to defrost just the top of the freezer?

>289 EllaTim: I was searching "use blow dryer to defrost freezer" (to check my memory) & came across this:

https://learn.compactappliance.com/defrosting-freezer/

caveat reader

We didn't get to 15 minutes a day this weekend, celebrating my wife's birthday, but we did do 15 minutes+ today. Both medicine chests and a beginning on the secretary (my bedside table). That will be slow going but I am determined to whittle it down 15 minutes at a time.

I did many 15 minutes worth in my bedroom this weekend, and have another bag of clothes to donate, as well as more floor space. Today I will not do 15 minutes, but did cook some soup, wipe down a closet door, and take out the garbage before I set off for my late day at work.

Well, I finally and completely inadvertently fulfilled Madeline's challenge today. I finally decided to actually stop procrastinating and order new paper filters for my little robot-vacuum. It's 2 and a half years old and I've just been blowing the dust out of the two filters that came with it. There were two places the paperwork could have been, and it was in the second--the top drawer of the coffee table in the living room where the remote for the vacuum lives. But when I dug into that drawer to get it, there were still Christmas things, papers I didn't need, an unopened furniture marker touch-up kit that I would never have looked for there, and masks. Now it's all tidied up, with only the paperwork to do for the vacuum and the living room tv in there, and the other stuff that "belongs" there (pencils, bookmarks, remotes for tv and vacuum, different coaster sets, KU basketball schedule and school song-playing keychain).

>292 markon: >293 ronincats: yippee!

New challenge. I did this one myself today.

Find a tall stack or pile of something (or preferably lots of things). Sort through them. Tell us the best thing you found!

So I did that today. I found crossword puzzles to save for my friend. Books to register and release in my Little Free Library. A book that I hope to read. Best of all, I found lots of recipes, one of which (a soup recipe) I’m making now!

I guess organizing is nutritive! LOL!

Today (tonight) my plan is to organize the shelf of mostly "stuff to donate" that sits in my front hall, and take several boxes/bags down to the car. Then drop them off tomorrow. If I can empty those shelves, I have room to put more stuff to get rid of...it works better for me that way, when I find one or two things and it's not enough for a donation trip but if I don't put them someplace in particular they'll just slip back into the general chaos.

However, the shelves are also handy for putting other stuff on - stuff I want to keep, or donate someplace particular, or the like. So it'll take a bit of sorting. Time to get working!

>296 jjmcgaffey: I have boxes, and sometimes bags, that are entirely earmarked for donations. There's still a risk of losing the whole partly-filled box, but very little risk of mixing wanted stuff with the unwanted.

All in the car now - I'll drop them off later today. Now I have a nearly-empty shelf rack...start assembling the next lot! And this time try to box and list them as I gather them, to make it simpler to get them out - but it works either way.

>297 ArlieS: I'm really good at putting things on top of things...or just, you know, balancing something on the edge of an open box and then... Actually, I have no idea how it happens, but I know it happens. So I take precautions. I got the rack at a yard sale, and set it up specifically to hold stuff on the way out. Someday I'll find another use for it, but its job will go on for a good while yet.

>283 SqueakyChu: I loved this challenge.
I needed a kick-start to look for our set of napkin rings (sterling silver).

I put them away last year and then couldn't find them again after paper serviettes season was over (hot, summer, no ironing, eating on the patio).

I ended up sorting out a 5-drawer section in our basement. No napkin rings, but I tossed out loads of miscellaneous drivel that the gremlins (sewer people) had stuffed in there.

The best thing I discovered~
I found the long-mislaid set of child-sized china tea service: saucers for tea cups, sugar jar (with a lid), and creamer. The cups have long gone. Thrilled to discover, despite such a few pieces because this was my grandmother's from when she was little, so originated in the 1890's. My grandchildren are enthralled with the idea of playing with Great-grand's items.

Re the napkin rings, found them yesterday in an anti-tarnish bag mislaid at the back of the buffet cabinet when I wanted the large serving platter for Valentine's Day treats. So win-win.

>286 fuzzi: Yeah, me too. I am so obviously a "stuffer'.
>295 SqueakyChu:, so that lets me out. I hate piles of things, let alone a tall one!

>299 SandyAMcPherson: What a winner, Sandy! A china tea set! I loved playing with one as a girl. I was really disappointed when I got an adorable hand-me-down set (a cheap Barbie set) from a friend and my daughter never played with it. However, guess what?! I saved it, my granddaughter loves it, and she plays with it all the time! I'm thrilled. I think every little girl should have a china set (by that, I mean not plastic dishes).

Glad you found the napkin rings. *thumbs up*

I hate piles of things, let alone a tall one!

Heh! That's better for you. :D

>299 SandyAMcPherson: I am both a stuffer and a piler depending on the circumstances. But definitely lots of piles.

My organizing goal for the last couple weeks has been my financial mess. I managed to find all of the necessary documents, both digital and physical (then scanned), for my tax appointment next week and upload them to the client portal. Plus, I caught up on entering receipts into my accounting software through today and fixed some of the autopay settings so hopefully those work now to pay my monthly bills. What's left is the pile of statements and invoices and fixing some minor accounting glitches from the last couple months.

So not my tallest pile per >295 SqueakyChu: but certainly the most urgent one. Made progress but not done yet.

Over the weekend, I'd also like to put away the last of my fabric stash from unpacking my last boxes and totes. Not downsizing per se, but definitely decluttering.

Today I had to run an obligatory errand near the shredder place, which prompted me to move the to-be-shredded boxes from my front vestibule (where they have been sitting since shortly after >53 qebo:) to the car, and transport them to their destination. That's 35 years of financial documents gone. This frees space in the staging area for recycling which should be next out the door.

>302 qebo: Yay to a decades-big accomplishment!

>302 qebo: wow, great!

We sold my dh's truck to a friend yesterday, so I had to empty it of "stuff" before the buyer took possession. My organization task was to sort through and either toss or find a home for each object. The 6 quarts of 10w40 went to our son, who can use it in the 2000 Camry. Assorted tools were moved to the shed for further inspection and distribution, but the tire pressure gauge and multi-head screwdriver went into the Highlander's glove compartment. Some of the more useful auto-related stuff like jumper cables, rubber tie-down straps, and a tire iron also went into my Highlander. There was an almost full jug of antifreeze (!!!) in the truck that I placed in a tote box and secured to the cargo area of the SUV. Assorted clean paper towels, plastic bags, and microfiber cloths were stuck in the tote around the jug to keep it upright...those ALWAYS come in handy.

Then I spent the afternoon working on my raised bed gardens, preparing for planting.

>302 qebo: Fantastic accomplishment

This thread is such a boost to my own decluttering efforts! “Good job!” And “Congratulations!” to all!

I think we should probably start a new thread—ronincats, could you do that? Thanks!

Karen O

>306 klobrien2: Wow, I hadn't realized how many messages we had accumulated, just being happy at how invested everyone was. Certainly!