November 2011 Declutter Club

[Christmaslvr]

It's a dreary day here today, so I'll be inside all day. We seemed to have accumulated tons of papers/mail and really needed to corral it all into one place. So I did just that this morning...sorted it all into piles for filing...hope to get to the filing part over the weekend. I really need to go through my file box and see what I can let go of...and I need to buy a new file box/drawer/cabinet thingy!

 

[SparkleNana]

November 7th, Sunday. EEEEKKKKKK!! Time is really going fast!

No decluttering yesterday.... an exhausting day with dd and dgs.... and then gift-shopping in the late afternoon/early evening. Tired.

TODAY.... I will do a "big push" to get the Halloween decorations.... AND the outdoor furniture cushions.... up into the attic! And there are lots and lots and lots of them. They are covering the living room. And they all have to go into bags for storage.

 

[luludou]

DD is giving away a bag of stuffed animals... yay! out the door. Decluttered some papers yesterday

 

[missjane]

Wow! Time is really moving. I have been juggling things in my mind all morning about how I can get into the storage shed to work today....didn't get that done at all yesterday. I decluttered some paper work yesterday.

SN, is there some way you can label your bags...so you know what's in which bags instead of being like this year where you "discovered" each as you opened it?

 

[Gingerbug]

Overall...EVERYONE is doing GREAT in the declutter club...honestly this thread has been my fave for 2011....I have managed to get a lot of stuff out of the house but there is a lot more work to do.

I started the office in October and it looks tons better but there are still some shelbves and drawers to go through. Also I notice as so often happens...things are starting to pile up in there again. I just have to come to terms that decluttering is a constant process. Well once you get a MAJOR declutter done it's a lot easier but you have to keep on top of it...or oh boy...its a mess again!

So my goal for November is still the office (although I'm sure I'll hit some Christmas stuff too) This works well because my gift closet is in the office and I'll need to be going through gifts etc...

1. I need to clean out the gift closet and ship my friend's family in Mexico their gifts...by Mid-November....to allow plenty of time to arrive...you just never know with the mail especially once it enters Mexico. Last year I shipped December 1st and one box didn't arrive until December 27th. YIKES I will also get the elf, stockings, and gift stuff better organized in the process and START WRAPPING

2. I will clean off the Cubby bookshelf and the floor in front of it...YES...I said floor...things piled there...The room is small I need to GET RID of STUFF.

3. I will work on two drawers....only two because this is a busy time of year...and there are like 11-13 drawers in this little room...all crammed with craft and other stuff...YIKES


:santa:

 

[Ahorsesoul]

This week I've managed to get one trash bag filled with items to take to the thrift store. It's just odds and ends of things I've found in the house. I'm keeping a trash bag hanging on the laundry room door so it's easy to toss items into it.

 

[SparkleNana]

Sunday... Noon. I'm taking a break. Dishes and routine things. Working on the Halloween and summer furniture things. Ugh! My reward: a nice birthday dinner held at another family's house!!! And then.... a new Masterpiece Theatre movie on public television!!!

I am.... considering.... atrip to take donations to the thrift shop. Dangerous.... because it is Half-Price Day.

 

[SparkleNana]

November 7th... 3:30. Another break. I've almost finished gathering up everything... that needs to go up in the attic!!

I DID go to the thrift shop, with donations. And I did NOT buy anything.

Back to gathering everything up for the attic!

 

[holidayhelpelf]

General Decluttering

I don't have any Halloween stuff to declutter, I decorate mostly for fall, very few things for Halloween. However, this year has been our year for decluttering. DS moved out in May and that seemed to truly spur DH on. He's now willing to clean out and purge stuff I've wanted him to do for years. We have purged a ton of stuff from this apt. and we're not done yet. It feels so very good to clean out and everything has gone to someone or somewhere it can be used/do some good.

We are turning DS's room into a craft room/office and decluttering even more while doing that. Anyone have any great tips for organzing the room? I'm thinking things like over the door organizers, etc. Love this thread.

 

[SparkleNana]

November 8th, Monday. In spite of polite email reminders.... all the Halloween decorations and all the outdoor furniture cushions.... did NOT get put up into the attic!!!!! AACKKK! It looks like a battlefield in here!

HOWEVER... I AM going to continue working. Decluttering!! Cleaning!!!! Organizing!!!!

Those things WILL get put up into the attic..... eventually!!!!!

Holidayhelperelf.... the BEST thing for me is to: get rid of stuff! Because... I have TOO MUCH stuff for my small space!!!!

 

[missjane]

I did get to work for about 30 minutes in the storage shed, which will translate into more decluttering in the house later because some things in here will eventually go out there! I hauled out two bags of trash. One I had already bagged a long time ago and never taken it out...but it's progress! YEA!

 

[goodpace]

I donated 3 large bags (lawn and leaf size !) of clothing from my DD's closet to a friend who is going to be a missionary in Haiti. Also sent the remainder of Halloween candy to college with both of my DD's!

I love this thread. It keeps me inspired to declutter. I will be doing more after I move in a couple of weeks (YES...AGAIN!!!!)

 

[ChristmasRose]

I have a couple of bags of clothes to donate, and will find more. My goal is still to get my sewing room/office de-cluttered by Christmas. I managed to donate a few books -- I have enough quilting, knitting, sewing, rug hooking, etc., books to open my own library -- so I got some just-lying-around books put in the shelves, and I went through a huge pile of papers, and shredded a lot, including sales receipts from 2008!! What a disaster area! remember when SparkleNana said her guest room looked like a small landfill? Mine did, too. Now it looks pretty good, but the sewing room has taken it's place as the current small landfill in my house!

 

[sierra_mtns]

DH gathered up our Halloween stuff yesterday and put it away this morning. We had separated it all out before we put it up, and had donated all the stuff we didn't want to the 4-H rummage sale set for February.

I put away all the Halloween from the office this morning...and threw away stuff that wasn't used and too old and icky to use. (No one else ever looks at these things!)

 

[missjane]

I worked in the shed about an hour tonight. I have been a part of three school consolidations and each time I dumped desk files into boxes. Tonight I went through all of them. Basically, all I kept was the hanging file folders and one personnel file. Slow, baby steps, but I will be worth it in the end.

 

[jampss]

Great Idea!

This week I've managed to get one trash bag filled with items to take to the thrift store. It's just odds and ends of things I've found in the house. I'm keeping a trash bag hanging on the laundry room door so it's easy to toss items into it.

I like this! I think I'll get a box for us, though. We also do a Christmas Swap ... a bunch of homeschooling families all bring their unwanted items to a church room and for three days we have a free yard sale like thing!

:gingerbread:

 

[Gingerbug]

Haven't gotten much out of the office ....BUT did get the items I need to ship out of the gift closet and into boxes.....will mail them either Saturday (which is what I hope) OR Monday out the latest!!!

:rudolph:

 

[luludou]

Jampss I love the idea of a free yard sale... get rid of what you don't use and make someone else happy!

 

[jampss]

Fun!

Jampss I love the idea of a free yard sale... get rid of what you don't use and make someone else happy!

Thanks! Yes, it was fun. We've done it for three years. Everyone drops off on Monday and then we sort it out and families can come for the next three days dropping off more and taking home new stuff! Then we donate left overs to a ministy!

 

[SparkleNana]

November 11th, Thursday. What wonderful, imaginative ideas you guys are posting! And... you are still thinking about decluttering.... although we are in "the really busy time of year".

Baby Steps are continuing for me. Baby Steps.... in pretty much everything that I am doing. It's a darn good thing that "Baby Steps"... is an approved method of approach to Life!

Thursday.... trash and recycling to the curb. Try to get as much as possible....Out The Door. I've been adding an hour of "decluttering in the garden" every day. It is a real treat.... to be outside.... in the beautiful fall weather!

How are YOU doing?