Yeah man! That is a very doable place to start. Thanks for sharing and know I am cheering you on.
Oh I like a challenge. Wish I could grab a roll of bin bags and give you a hand… or multiple squid hands
Believe it or not, I’m about to declutter three unopened weird liqueur bottles that I just dug out from the back of a kitchen cabinet. They were gifted us at different times, and they must have been sitting there, forgotten, for actual YEARS. They are, like, specialty drinks from random places we’ve never been. I showed my husband and he’s like WTH are those. And I mean, even when I was drinking, that kind of liqueur drink was yuck. So out they go!
Oh, and I’m proud that I tackled family sock drawers this morning. Those drawers had been harping on my mind for months! I chucked out seven worn-down pairs, put away a few to mend, and sorted the rest. Yay me! Sock princess.
I think when it’s our own stuff it feels like there is alot more than there than there is. Looking from the outside things aren’t bad
When doing mine I had to go each day at it and when dinner time came round I would stop. A fresh perspective the next day always made it easier to go in again.
You got this
I started this morning and got overwhelmed pretty quickly. I felt like giving up. Especially when went into the closet and saw that there’s absolutely no room in there (hence the clutter in the room).
I kept at it though, despite being overwhelmed. I now have 3 bags of trash, emptied 2 laundry baskets of old clothes, and just put the 2nd load of clothes in.
I’ve been bouncing from corner to corner rather than focusing on one spot. It seems to be easier to handle.
Here’s one corner; these items will make their way to a permanent home soon.
Good for you for pushing through! I also dragged my heels a bit and found it easier to sort of bounce around areas, I wonder what that’s about? For me it’s probably that each pile isn’t necessarily all similar stuff. I worked through most of the day and made what feels like small but visible progress. I had one bag of trash and one bag and two small boxes for donation. Also got Christmas put away. I think what feels important to me is finding actual places for things that didn’t previously have homes. That’s been a huge issue for me. Slowly but surely.
My wife comes home Tuesday night, so I want to get as much done as possible! It’ll be a pleasant surprise, I hope. She does tend to freak out when I clean because she thinks I just throw everything away (I don’t).
You are the hero in your own cleaning episode! Nice work!
Fingers crossed that your wife will be happy.
What a huge difference
I bet you feel alot better. You will get there, you have done well today.
I do! 5 bags of trash, a half bin of recycles and boxes, a large pile of donations, and not on the 4th load of laundry… I feel I made good progress today, and I still have a good 3 hours left in me.
Brilliant! I need to get some organising fine before my vacation is over.
Been doing that all day! Within my room, in the kitchen, and laundry. It’s like I can only get so far in one area and instead of standing I just move on to a different area.
Im getting there!
I need get involved in this thread, I moved 2 months ago and just placed shit in random places, spend more time looking for something than I use it for, I’ll start with cupboard today, then just try to keep it tidy…
And by placed I mean dumped, and by dumped I probably mean threw stuff into a cupboard without looking what it was first
Well, I did the opposite of decluttering and brought a whole box of things out from my parent’s house… But in fact, this is another type of decluttering: helping them clear stuff out of their home, both for practical now-reasons (too much stuff) and for future reasons, which at 83 they are now starting to see clearly. So my mum cleared out a cabinet of trinkets, put the things out in a couple of boxes, we chose what we could put to good use, and I brought the rest home to donate. I know my parents are not up to this part of the task, and so I’m happy to do it for them, while removing the unwanted things straight away will prevent any potential salvaging.
So, decluttering while cluttering. Does it even make sense?
It makes SOOOO much sense! And good for you for starting it now.
After my dear dad passed away, my mom (just turning 80) was moved quite quickly, and their home of 44 years pretty much emptied and listed for sale. (I requested more time with/for this, but sigh, that’s in the past now.)
I’ve always been pretty minimalist myself, but I ended up taking more of their stuff and storing it to give myself time to go through it, distill it into what to keep, donate, recycle, etc. This was 5 years ago! Some of what I took I use now (like mom’s stainless steel mixing bowls - a wedding gift - that will outlast all of us) but lots is memorabilia.
My current decluttering project - started two weeks ago - is just that: Project Memorabilia. Photos, cards, papers, etc. mostly. It’s mostly fun, and when it’s too much I back off.
But yeah - those cabinets full of trinkets! Part of me wonders if they’re a secret form of revenge on the younger generations…
Yeah! That’s how it’s done!
Your on a roll
You have done alot.