Cutting the Clutter for Christmas!

[ChristmasPir8]

tomorrow I am draggin DS2 and 3 into their room kicking and screaming I am sure to get in there and do some major work. Need to find a way to keep it as fun as poosible. I am going to do like they do on some of those shows like clean house where i am taking their 3 laundry baskets and lable them keep (for those things that we are keeping but don't have the place for it yet until we clean some more), donate for stuff we don't want any more (it will go into yard sale or the DAV is coming by on Monday some stuff will go there) and Trash (I'll line it w/ a garbage bag). Maybe I'll get one more to put into the attic to rotate w/ other toys we might have up there they would like to bring down.

 

[Winged One]

I have made some progress!! I went through the paperwork basket last night and sorted 2/3 of it. There is a large bag of papers for recycling, a smaller bag of papers for shredding/burning, and most of the rest is now sorted into categories for filing.

I also brought down 2 of the household bills and records files (the insurance one will follow) and decided that as we are now in the house for over 8 years, I can start to get rid of the utilities bills that are over 4 years old. Savings and financial records I will keep, but old gas and electric bills can be dumped.

The kitchen table and floor were both covered with piles of papers last night, and there is still another couple of inches to go, but there is at least some organisation coming from the chaos.

And DH had managed to clear off another pile in the dining room on Saturday - lots of which was dumped and the rest found proper homes.

Baby steps.....

 

[luludou]

Good job wingedone!! Paperwork is the worst to get rid of.

 

[SparkleNana]

Skynrdfan - welcome back from vacation! I think you are absolutely right about "routines have to come first"! Which is frustrating when you really want to dig right into a project...... but you have to take care of ALL the details of daily life (Buy the food, put it away, get it out and cook it, clean everything up and put stuff back away, REPEAT!) So..... what can we do... except.... Baby Steps. 15 minutes at a time (with a timer - which makes the time pass quickly -- for some reason!)

Today -- I am going INTO the refrigerator!!!! It is BAD, friends! BAD! Doing a little bit here and there just hasn't cut it! It needs a MAJOR job! (And.... for those on the Summer Holiday Grand Plan.... this week IS the kitchen week.) But... that's not why I'm going into the refrigerator. There are TWO reasons. First... we may leave on Sunday for a week or so. (Things that are bad now would be unbelievable if left there that long!) And the second reason is.... I just don't think I can stand it any more.

This is another reason why our routines and keeping up with daily life are so important. I am sure that guests would enjoy my clear entry and clean living room. HOWEVER -- if they got a peek inside the refrigerator.............. Yes, you DO know what I mean.

And.... IF we want our homes to be calm and pleasant for Christmas...... having a swamp inside the refrigerator does not add to the Christmas wonderfulness!

I guess that's why we are here on this thread..... encouraging each other on.....

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

I am amazed that you are all still de crapifying even with the extraordinary temperatures that you have been having.
SN inside the fridge is probably a great place to be on a hot July day. Having a clean, well organized fridge will make christmas entertaining so much easier for you, and why not do it in the "quieter" months.

Keep going everyone, as every little bit helps.

 

[Winged One]

We have wet and miserable weather, which is back to late spring temps (16-18 C today) so perfect weather for decrapifying, if we had time.

Last night, we continued the great paper chase!! The bills and bank accounts and insurances paperwork from the past 4 years (yikes - had it really been that long??!!) was all filed. We took anything over 3 years old out of the utilities files, accounts that are now closed we reduced to opening and closing paperwork, and generally got rid of a lot of older paper. DH spent the evening shredding, until the green bin was FULL! I had a large bundle of other confidential paperwork with me this morning to put into the office conf waste system (I have bags of it every week, so an extra 1/8 bag wasn't going to make a difference). And we also put a load of non-conf papers into the green bin as well.

The kitchen table got cleared off again - so we can eat there tonight. But I still have a bundle over a foot high to finish filing. And another bundle to put into the box of instruction booklets (I think we need to go through that box too, but that will definitely wait).

A builder was over last night to check out the attic, as we are getting it converted to a useful room. And he commented on how much stuff we have up there. Which we already know is going to take some amount of sorting. So I think I will have to dedicate a couple of days to that before the builders start (moving it to temp offsite storage), and then at least another couple of weeks getting it all organised once they're finished. Ugh

 

[luludou]

Winged one... wow a new room!! That'll help keep things clean & get rid of some in-case stuff.

 

[Kim Loves Snow]

Wingedone - A file box for instruction manuels. Brilliant! I have stacks of those and just did not know what to do with them. Thank you!

I need someone to kick me into action. I feel like all I do is run, run, run and there is never any time for working around the house. Oh how I wish I could take a month off from work. For those of you who have restarted your cleaning, what did you do to strike the motivation flame?

 

[AnnieClaus]

Kim-
What really helped me get a lot of those pesky chores off my "to do" list and do some organizing was about 6 weeks ago when one weekend I did 10- 30 minute chunks of cleaning/organizing.

I did 5 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday.

I want to do it again too!
You want to pick a weekend to do it?

Annie

 

[SparkleNana]

Kim Loves Snow and Annie Claus -- How about THIS weekend???? (So... that would be Friday 7/16, Saturday 7/17 and/or Sunday, 7/18)!!!!

I remember that weekend, Annie Claus! And.... it worked AMAZINGLY WELL!!!! To just set the timer... and go to work! I did not do a lot of "advance planning". I just "started in when the timer went off. AND.... I modified it into "15 minute sections" for me. It was amazing. Just chugging along got A LOT done!

 

[Kim Loves Snow]

I can only do Sunday after Church but I'm up for that! We, of course, have to go out of town yet again. I'm trying not to complain but I REALLY want to stay home one weekend. Last weekend we had DH's family reunion, this weekend we leave Friday and come back Saturday night. We are going to celebrate Father's Day with my sweet, sweet father. The next weekend after that DH's family (another branch???) is having yet another family reunion which I'm trying to get out of because I have to work all day Friday until about 3:00am on Saturday morning and I REALLY will not feel like getting up at 8:00am and driving four hours. I'm trying to be patient and thoughtful because DH says he wants to "show off his new wife". Grrr. The weekend after that we are having DSS's birthday party for which no planning has been accomplished. The weekend after that is a DH family members wedding - out of town - and we'll be gone Thursday - Sunday. I'm ready to pull my hair out by the handfuls because soon after that the kids will be back for good and it will be time for school to start and NOTHING will have been accomplished. I'm so frustrated I could cry. Wow...what a vent! Sorry about that ladies!

 

[AnnieClaus]

Kim- I know how it is to have weekend after weekend with stuff/trips planned and you never can just BE AT HOME! And then when you're finally home, you are so exhausted all you can do is basic stuff like laundry.
Things may settle down more for you once school is back in session.

For me- this weekend is pretty packed. I might be able to squeeze a 30 minute session in here and there.

Next weekend- I was thinking of going out of town.

So, that would put me to weekend- of the 30th. Which would be ok- because our 1st wrapping party is on the 1st.

Or- maybe we could do (5) 30 minute sessions this weekend, instead of 10.

Annie

 

[skynyrdfan]

Yeah, I just got back from a mini-vacation Monday and found out that I am working this weekend and probably next. In 95 degree heat it gets quite draining and I don't want to do anything when I get home.

 

[Colleen in PA]

I'm so frustrated I could cry. Wow...what a vent! Sorry about that ladies!

Kim - I feel your pain! I've been with my inlaws without DH for the last 2 weeks (with my boys). Since technically I can work from anywhere as long as my internet connection is good, I had to "bite the bullet". What bothers me the most is when people say "wow, two weeks of vacation...it must be nice!" How to explain that working after the boys are asleep and dealing with DH's family and two overactive boys all day is NOT a vacation for me? HANG IN THERE! My time here is my sanity saver!

 

[Kim Loves Snow]

Oh, Colleen! I love my inlaws very much, but two weeks without DH and with just me and the boys would put me out of my mind I think! DH is like you. He can work from anywhere as long as he has internet so I totally get it that it's not a vacation! You hang in there too!

Sorry to all if I sounded like I'm the only one dealing with real life! I know we all are everyday. I guess my plans are always bigger than life and I get frustrated when it's slow going. I appreciate all of you so much. Thanks for letting me have a whiny moment! :0)

 

[snowqueen]

Kim. I know how you feel. Besides ending up baby sitting, we're getting company at various times this summer also. We're having guests this weekend and then in August, two sisters-in-law are coming up and one with her husband. I don't know for sure how long they plan to stay(great huh?) and then the one sister-in-law will be back with her husband the following week. I'm going back to school the 20th of August , so all of my plans for doing things this summer have gone down the tubes. All of this has really cut into my Christmas countdown. I had all kinds of plans to get ready for it but life is crazy here. Don't worry about venting. We all do that from time to time on here.

 

[SparkleNana]

We are on the thread BECAUSE we DO want to get prepared for Christmas 2010...... and it IS frustrating to us when Real Life keeps getting in the way!!!!!! we can almost get "whiplash" when we think lovingly of our plans..... and then get dragged away from them by even more varieties of "real life events"!!!!!!!!!

At least we DO have this thread.... for encouragement.... and helping us appreciate ANY thing that we are able to get done!!!!!!!!

 

[AnnieClaus]

I think we all need to put life "on restriction" like its a naughty child- for maybe a 3 day period and all we get to do is stay home and work on our to do lists!

Annie

 

[Kim Loves Snow]

Annie - What a wonderful idea! No phones, no email, only MHH and checks on my TO DO list. You know there are those people who say they could not retire because they would not know what to do with themselves. Let me tell you, I would have NO problem filling my time!!!

 

[AuntJamelle]

I hear the pain on being gone all weekend! I know that is coming back into our lives all too soon. Lately, we have been the opposite - staying home all weekend (other than shopping/errands) except for a rare social visit with friends.

It is just easier to stay home with the baby!

In between work and housework and baby and sleep there is precious little time for anything else. But DH and I try hard.

I haven't done anything in a few days but I did get the office/craft room de-cluttered. Took out a huge trash bag of trash and brought a bag of items to Goodwill.

FYI - I organized our manuals and warranty paperwork into a large binder last year. Clear page protectors hold them - handles the odd sizes well - and often 2-3 are in the same page protector, back to back, so you can see them as you flip through. I organized the binder into sections, tools, large appliances, small appliances, house (windows, furace, etc.) and so on...

At this point I need to purchase a second binder so it is not so crowded.

I also went through the closet in the baby's room and pulled out ALL the clothes that are already too small for him and there are ALOT!!!

DH went and bought some new plastic totes and I filled 3 of them with baby clothes! I need to fill the others with all my maternity clothes but haven't gotten there yet.

We donated some other baby things to Goodwill and now the closet in that room is MUCH better!

Next project - bathroom cabinets!!! We have such a small amount of storage it always gets cluttered right back up again. Going to try and think creatively.

Maybe medicines need to be moved elsewhere. I don't know why, but some people just find it impossible not to snoop in bathroom cabinets!!!

The door on ours squeaks so whoever does it is always busted - but people still do it - even the guy that came to fix our satellite T.V. did it! Drives us crazy!

So I'm thinking of moving meds and stuff like that into our bedroom closet - not sure yet. And that would free up a TON of room in the bathroom for the stuff we use to get ready in the morning.

DH also bought a couple of hooks to install in the bathroom that will work well for my hairdryer, etc.

Slowly, slowly, we are making progress!