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sciencelady 01-01-21 05:45 PM

2021 Decluttering Support and Motivation
 
Happy New Year everyone! I didn't see a new thread for this year so I thought I would start the new thread for 2021.

We post periodically when we are seeking motivation or advice on getting rid of the clutter. We also post when we have made progress.

fanofladyvols 01-01-21 08:04 PM

Thank you!

I started off NYE afternoon by decluttering the Tupperware cupboard. (What took me so long to do this??)

BunnyHop 01-01-21 11:59 PM

Thank you! I may not post often, but I'm making progress.

I had to laugh the other day when I realized I'd decluttered a cabinet but had left it totally empty despite the clutter elsewhere in the house. Guess I need to start figuring out where to store stuff I WANT to keep.

Vantreesta 01-02-21 12:48 AM

Thanks for starting us off, Anita!

I listened to the Organize 365 podcast on our walk this morning. Does that count?? :D

Anna, that's too funny! I'm not sure there's any empty spaces in our house!

Linda, way to go starting off the year with decluttering! The only house stuff I did all day was empty the dishwasher and put more in!

FirmDancer 01-02-21 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunnyHop (Post 2905265)

I had to laugh the other day when I realized I'd decluttered a cabinet but had left it totally empty despite the clutter elsewhere in the house. Guess I need to start figuring out where to store stuff I WANT to keep.

This is me! I had some major repairs done to my bathroom, had to take everything out. I want to re-arrange my "linen" closet and under the sink cupboard. Haven't decided how. So for now, all my bathroom items are sitting on the floor in a spare bedroom. I guess that should be the first think I tackle.

I have been de-cluttering and minimalizing for several years now, but there's always something to work on letting go of!

eventmom 01-02-21 03:00 PM

We had stack of things on a chair in our dining room. Most of it was DHs and he finally went through it - mostly (like 99%) things to toss (why why did they have to age indoors?) - at the bottom of the pile were some things that made it clear this had been cluttering our dining room for at least 5 years. sigh. but yeah!

fanofladyvols 01-02-21 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirmDancer (Post 2905307)
I have been de-cluttering and minimalizing for several years now, but there's always something to work on letting go of!

^^ This!

Quote:

Originally Posted by eventmom (Post 2905466)
We had stack of things on a chair in our dining room. Most of it was DHs and he finally went through it - mostly (like 99%) things to toss (why why did they have to age indoors?) - at the bottom of the pile were some things that made it clear this had been cluttering our dining room for at least 5 years. sigh. but yeah!

I think that's a HUGE victory! When something has hung around that long, I think it's harder to deal with. You made me laugh asking why things have to age indoors..haha!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vantreesta (Post 2905274)
The only house stuff I did all day was empty the dishwasher and put more in!

Vantreesta there have been days in my life, I count that as a victory ..so you get a fist bump from me! :heart:

DCW 01-03-21 09:03 AM

In March, I thought I had rounded up all of the lotions, sprays and soaps from Bath and Body Works. I didn't buy anything during their summer or Christmas sales. My assortment of stuff was getting thin. I was shaking tubes to get the last drop. So I figured I could buy some during their winter sale.

I was looking for something else and found 4 tubes of lotion. So I figured I just shopped in my closet and no need to buy anything.:p

Catahoula Cate 01-03-21 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCW (Post 2905655)
I was looking for something else and found 4 tubes of lotion. So I figured I just shopped in my closet and no need to buy anything.:p

This made me laugh. I've done that and come up with some fun surprises. :D

bzar 01-04-21 03:36 AM

reading everyone's posts, and i'm noticing that i'm great at making piles of stuff when trying to declutter.

i came up with what i estimate is 2 lawn bags of things to donate! and these are non-clothing things. objects, books....

i'm noticing a dark side of myself - i have an embarrassingly large collection of fitness DVDs, and this is not news! this is a re-run, a broken record, Bill Murray's Ground Hog Day!!!:eek:

what have I been doing all these years of accumulating things? i'm glad i got just a few things for Christmas that will get used and hopefully avoid being a future donation to Goodwill. i have also avoided buying anything online or in stores for myself for the past 6 weeks. because i have been home looking at all of the clutter, it has given me motivation to start paring down this mountain.

in archaeological terms, i've reached items that were acquired within the past 5 years to consider for purging.

Izzy 01-04-21 08:08 AM

Happy New Year.

I started the year, January 1, spending the entire day taking down Christmas stuff. This year I carried up the 6 bins and put things away in a more orderly fashion. While doing this I also organized my basement some. I plan to do more of the basement later this month. I made a pile for Goodwill.

The rest of the weekend, I did some deep cleaning and add more to my pile to Goodwill.

Overall a productive way to start the New Year.

Pam61 01-04-21 04:03 PM

Hello Ladies and Happy New Year!

I hope you don't mind if I join you for 2021. One of my goals is to get my house in order and decluttering will be a big part of that. I've only just begun.

I'm currently reading Dana K. White's book "Decluttering at the Speed of Light" to help with the motivation.

So far I've only tackled my clothes towards the end of 2020, and for January I'm looking at all of my kitchen stuff now.

Has anyone heard of Dawn from "the Minimal Mom." She has lots of YouTube video. And I've recently discovered Cassandra, who categorizes people's organizing styles into bug names...Ladybugs, Butterflies, etc.

Anyway, I've done very little because I like to read....and workout, LOL! :eek:

bzar 01-04-21 08:12 PM

welcome Pam!

BunnyHop 01-05-21 09:41 AM

Hi Pam!


As for me, today's goal is to assemble stuff and actually take it to Goodwill for donation. That should lessen some clutter, which will be a relief.

Recently discovered UnF*** Your Habitat, and will be exploring that next for more ideas.

fanofladyvols 01-05-21 01:03 PM

Welcome Pam!!

Thanks for sharing about Cassandra! She has a great on air persona. I couldn't get her quiz to work but I'm pretty sure I'm a butterfly with a lil cricket..haha.

Those descriptions were enlightening and will help me shift how I approach my household members. Love learning new stuff...thanks!! :)

Pam61 01-06-21 12:33 PM

Last night I attempted to organize my fitness DVDs, because they are overflowing and spilling out onto floor now. I made an even bigger mess by trying to categorize them, because I have more than I have the space for. :eek: I'm sure that's not surprising for you all, lol! :p

So, I have to quarantine, those that I'm not using, to get them out of my workout space...which is a cluttered disaster right now. Putting away those I'm not using will help me decide whether to keep or sell or donate...down the road.

So how do you all categorize your DVDs....(instructor, type of workout, brand/mfg.) I would normally save my prime spaces for my most used instructors or types of workouts. So....Cathe, KCM, Jessica, Leslie, Ellen...tend to be who I reach for. But, my yoga and pilates collections are huge...as is CS/Essentrics, kettlebells, ballet and barre. I've also really gotten into Tai Chi, and Qi Gong...so just too much stuff. What I use the least are step workouts and most of my barre, ballet, and pilates...so they will probably go...bye, bye. It's just crazy how much I've accumulated over the years. :eek:

So how do you all manage your workout inventory. What about fitness equipment...bands, tubing, balls, etc.

Thank you for the kind welcome, everyone!

Linda: Cassandra is a hoot! I watched her decluttering ten things from her kitchen yesterday and she started dancing and singing. She has such a FUN personality! Oh and she said that she doesn't know song lyrics and just makes up the words...except for Bohemian Rhapsody. She totally cracks me up!

eventmom 01-06-21 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pam61 (Post 2906353)
So how do you all categorize your DVDs....(instructor, type of workout, brand/mfg.) I would normally save my prime spaces for my most used instructors or types of workouts. So....Cathe, KCM, Jessica, Leslie, Ellen...tend to be who I reach for. But, my yoga and pilates collections are huge...as is CS/Essentrics, kettlebells, ballet and barre. I've also really gotten into Tai Chi, and Qi Gong...so just too much stuff. What I use the least are step workouts and most of my barre, ballet, and pilates...so they will probably go...bye, bye. It's just crazy how much I've accumulated over the years. :eek:

So how do you all manage your workout inventory. What about fitness equipment...bands, tubing, balls, etc.

hi Pam!
I have ended up with 4 sections - mostly because my DVD storage space has 4 sections. 1 has cardio; 1 has essentrics/barre/pilates; 1 yoga & stretch; 1 strength & cardio strength. Within each section I group by instructor.

I recently made my DVD collection look smaller by combining workouts - so I have 3 callanetics I kept - all three are now in 1 case. Joyce Vedral's 2 just joyces - 1 case. It seemed like a bit of cheat but my DVDs now fit in the space I've got.

The other thing I've done is found workouts (older ones mostly) on youtube and made a playlist and ditched the DVD. Not for favorite workouts, but older ones I was hanging onto for the 'just in case I want to revisit'.

All my equipment is in a built in cabinet in our bookcase. Not exactly organized but out of sight!

Vantreesta 01-09-21 04:43 PM

Welcome, Pam!

Yesterday I got all the Christmas stuff taken downstairs except for a garland I have to stand on the kitchen counter to take down. I worked on getting everything else back in the tubs so the tubs can go in the closet. I didn't go through any of it bc I put so little up this year that I didn't have much out or feel like getting it out. To be honest, now is not the best time for me to do that anyway bc I can't let go of anything remotely sentimental right now with the losses still so fresh.

Today I got the living room back to its normal arrangement, dusted and vacuumed and got all the dragons back to their home in and on the entertainment center. I had to laugh at myself last night. I spent some time tidying up all my papers & journals & all that stuff bc I'm such a nester and have everything on the loveseat with me. I got done & stepped back to look at it. Yep it's tidy alright. Tidy clutter! :eyeroll:

bzar 01-11-21 01:29 AM

yay Vantreesta!

i dropped off 3 large boxes of donations at Savers - clothing, books, knick knacks, old vhs movies.

i looked around but didn't buy anything. i saw Janis Saffell's Beverly Hills Pilates, but decided to put it back on the rack. :)

we cleared out an area in the sewing room for DS18 to put his new adjustable height desk that we got on sale at Costco. He just started freshman year in college and is doing virtual learning.

the sewing room is my She Shed: has my sewing and craft supplies, my workout DVDs, i had a TV set up in there and DVD player, it has a file cabinet, etc. but my son needs a place to study - he was cramped into his room with a tiny table for his laptop.

i got to see all of my DVDs together. i just have way, way, way too many.

fanofladyvols 01-11-21 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eventmom (Post 2906358)
hi Pam!
I have ended up with 4 sections - mostly because my DVD storage space has 4 sections. 1 has cardio; 1 has essentrics/barre/pilates; 1 yoga & stretch; 1 strength & cardio strength. Within each section I group by instructor.

The only difference that I have is my strength section is divided up into upper, lower, abs/core, and full body. Then those are divided by instructor. I do have sets that are in multi disk cases on their own shelf.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vantreesta (Post 2906943)
I got done & stepped back to look at it. Yep it's tidy alright. Tidy clutter! :eyeroll:

Vantreesta you have it in the staging area! At least that's what I tell folks here when I see them create a pile like that. :D I like it when that happens because boy does that pile get the ole bullseye from me. :eek:
Sounds like you were busy.. good job!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bzar (Post 2907136)
i got to see all of my DVDs together. i just have way, way, way too many.

Uh oh...that's not a reaction you want to have when you have them all together. They should bring you joy. The vidiot in me says put them back in different places again, lol.

Maybe you need to condense like eventmom has. This week i purged a few that were in my purgatory but I still have a few more there. I just don't want to be hasty because some DVDs are not easy to replace...at least not at the price I would pay.

eventmom 01-11-21 07:37 PM

I'm trying to do a bit of decluttering every day - toss or donate. Right now I'm sleeping in dd old room b/c dh tested positive for covid, so I've been getting rid of stuff she's done with. (back story here - our dd moved out probably like lots of other college kids - to a dorm, home, repeat, to an apartment senior year then got an apartment with her bf when that lease was up.) So she has way too much left in her old room. She's gone through some of it but with covid and her working crazy hours getting rid of stuff hasn't been a priority. since i'm crashing in there for now I've made progress.

My decluttering is often a small thing but it's progress.

fanofladyvols - it does help to have it sorted out by 'genre' doesn't it?

bzar - combining dvds into cases seemed like a cheat but it really has made it easier for me as everything fits in my space now.

fanofladyvols 01-11-21 08:07 PM

eventmom Sorry that your husband tested positive :( I am praying your husband has mild symptoms and for your health, too!

bzar 01-11-21 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanofladyvols (Post 2907302)
eventmom Sorry that your husband tested positive

same here!

i have a large lawn bag of items DS22 and i rounded up from the patio.

i also started another donate bag of items from inside the house. also created a box of books to be given to my niece.
Quote:

Originally Posted by fanofladyvols (Post 2907151)
uh oh...that's not a reaction you want to have when you have them all together. They should bring you joy. The vidiot in me says put them back in different places again, lol.

Maybe you need to condense like eventmom has. This week i purged a few that were in my purgatory but I still have a few more there. I just don't want to be hasty because some DVDs are not easy to replace...at least not at the price I would pay.

LOL. my DVDs have some sort of entitlement once they arrive in my collection. it's so hard to get rid of them because they've reached a high status in my belongings. but i have to come to terms with letting go of them. i am giving it a lot of thought.

Vantreesta 01-11-21 11:10 PM

My workouts is one area I have no intention of decluttering! :D

I don't read often anymore bc I won't put the book down to do anything else but I have a goal to read and then donate six books this year. The only hard part about this is I keep wanting to just read my favorite authors but I'm not getting rid of those books! So I hope setting this goal will help me read some of the others I have.

bzar 01-12-21 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vantreesta (Post 2907328)
I don't read often anymore bc I won't put the book down to do anything else but I have a goal to read and then donate six books this year. The only hard part about this is I keep wanting to just read my favorite authors but I'm not getting rid of those books! So I hope setting this goal will help me read some of the others I have.

there was a time when i stopped buying books, and got rid of books that were available in the library. this went on for >10 years. then i suddenly started collecting books, namely cookie cookbooks.

from that surge of collecting, i decided recently to start purging, and it was tough. i managed to choose around 10 cookbooks. 2 were donated and the other 8 i'm taking to a used bookstore to see if it's worth anything.

one of the criteria was if it was available in the public library, it was going. our public library has an online catalog. another criteria: if Amazon reviewers made negative comments about actual experience with the recipes, it was going. many reviewers never actually try recipes in books that they review - did you ever notice that?!

most of these books were bought for $1 and if any of the recipes caught my eye, i bought it. so easy to come, so hard to let go!

Vantreesta 01-12-21 08:45 AM

Jeannine, I haven't even thought about my cookbooks. I have two small bookshelves completely full of them! I had my own but then I also got most of my grandma's when she passed. I don't know if I'll go through and purge any of those or not.

I used the Bookmobile all the time growing up and devoured books, but as an adult I have only used the library for CDs and audiobooks and even that has been many years ago now. Since I can't let myself sit and read I couldn't finish books before they were due. I only buy books at thrift stores and flea markets though so at least they're all cheap!

eventmom 01-12-21 12:14 PM

thanks bzar and fanofladyvols (and anyone else who mentioned it) DH's case is very mild, like a sinus infection. I tested negative?? It was crazy b/c he goes to whole foods (b/c they are serious about wearing masks) and his pilates session (mask again careful) and that's all! we have no idea how he got exposed.

bzar 01-15-21 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eventmom (Post 2907389)
thanks bzar and fanofladyvols (and anyone else who mentioned it) DH's case is very mild, like a sinus infection. I tested negative?? It was crazy b/c he goes to whole foods (b/c they are serious about wearing masks) and his pilates session (mask again careful) and that's all! we have no idea how he got exposed.

i am glad he is doing ok. is the "all clear" period something like 21 days after diagnosis? do you have to go back and get retested?

my godfather was hospitalized in the early outset back in March. he was in the hospital for about 40 days, 3 weeks of which he was on a ventilator! and he was in great shape before contracting the disease. since May he has been doing fine. fortunately his wife tested negative - similar to your situation. they live in Virginia.

on the decluttering front, i gave 2 large totes of clothing to my sister to give to her daughters and grandsons. several pieces of the women's clothing (mine....ack!) still have tags - some nice DKNY shorts.

i have to prune my clothing collection.

lreidgreen 01-23-21 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vantreesta (Post 2907328)
My workouts is one area I have no intention of decluttering! :D

I don't read often anymore bc I won't put the book down to do anything else but I have a goal to read and then donate six books this year. The only hard part about this is I keep wanting to just read my favorite authors but I'm not getting rid of those books! So I hope setting this goal will help me read some of the others I have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bzar (Post 2907334)

most of these books were bought for $1 and if any of the recipes caught my eye, i bought it. so easy to come, so hard to let go!

I have started to read books on my shelf toward the goal of getting rid of them. I boxed up and donated a bunch last month that I knew I wouldn't get to and I just finished reading one this week that I am going to pass on to a friend. I hope to continue this habit but I am sure I will get sidetracked by books not on my shelf.
Jeanine: sometimes I just tear the recipes out of the cookbook and place in a my recipe binder and toss or give away the book.

lreidgreen 01-23-21 12:40 AM

I am shocked I tell you shocked that so many of us have issues with too many workout DVDs. :D
Our family room remodel has been postponed due to COVID. The only contractor we could find to do it is DHs friend who will need his help. It is not possible to stay 6 feet apart from someone while laying sheetrock so we decided to err on the side of caution. In anticipation of the project I started to declutter and remove stuff and I did manage to sell one of one of the 3 desks we are going to get rid of. It was the nicest one but I am glad we did it because it was a bear to move out to the garage and my son was around to help.
I have not been able to list my knee scooter on FB marketplace because they consider it medical equipment. I see others listed there so I don't get it.
I am feeling overwhelmed by too much stuff -yesterday a belated holiday gift from DHs friend arrived. One of the several wrapped packages included a piece of the Berlin wall (with an authentication certificate, FWIW) It set me off into a clutter related anxiety attack.
Decluttering win: Deciding to get rid of 2 "fancy" tablecloths that no longer fit my lifestyle.
Decluttering Goals:
File Cabinet contents (hope to get rid of half of the contents at least)
Another purge of books (my son recently tossed many of his college books as well as the ones I donated in December)
More household stuff
Get an authentication app so I can sell stuff on Amazon.
Donate the knee scooter if I can't sell it.
Possibly get rid of my rebounder that I never use.

lreidgreen 01-23-21 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pam61 (Post 2906064)

I'm currently reading Dana K. White's book "Decluttering at the Speed of Light" to help with the motivation.

So far I've only tackled my clothes towards the end of 2020, and for January I'm looking at all of my kitchen stuff now.

Has anyone heard of Dawn from "the Minimal Mom." She has lots of YouTube video. And I've recently discovered Cassandra, who categorizes people's organizing styles into bug names...Ladybugs, Butterflies, etc.

Anyway, I've done very little because I like to read....and workout, LOL! :eek:

I have/had the Dana White book which I like. I can't find it though. I might have decluttered it during my last book purge.
Where can I find Cassandra?

fanofladyvols 01-25-21 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lreidgreen (Post 2908771)
I have/had the Dana White book which I like. I can't find it though. I might have decluttered it during my last book purge.
Where can I find Cassandra?

Hey if this link below doesn't work search for Clutter bug on YouTube

https://youtube.com/c/OrganizedClutterbug

fanofladyvols 01-25-21 10:17 PM

I have taken Cassandra's advice and rearranged cabinet contents to make room for my daughter's nutribullet. Now both cabinets are uncluttered and things are easier to access that we use more often.
Got rid of some unused items and decluttered the cabinet above the fridge (aka the kitchen cabinet black hole. ) Finally, I decluttered the kitchen junk drawer.

Then I went through each room in the house looking for one item to eliminate.

I have a bag and a box full of items to go to the thrift store. :)

Catahoula Cate 01-26-21 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanofladyvols (Post 2909179)
Then I went through each room in the house looking for one item to eliminate.

That is a great idea! I think I'll try this method for a while and see how it goes.

I have a box for the thrift shop that is almost ready to go. I finally got back to selling on ebay and a couple books will sell. I've got a few other items in mind that I'd like to sell but haven't gotten around to posting. Prepping for taxes has led to some paper decluttering. I've still got more to do. In general, I'm off to a slow start for decluttering for the New Year but at least I've finally started!

fanofladyvols 01-26-21 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catahoula Cate (Post 2909346)
That is a great idea! I think I'll try this method for a while and see how it goes.

I took that idea from Cassandra!

And I love your Tom Holland quote!

Vantreesta 01-26-21 10:11 PM

This morning I listened to the One Organized Mama podcast episode called Is Your Home Depressing You. I haven't finished it yet but she had some good tips.

I've listened to the ClutterBug podcast too. The Easy Way Isn't Making You Happy episode really resonated with me and I have left it on my playlist to listen to a few more times!

bzar 01-27-21 04:55 PM

thanks for the referral - i borrowed Cassandra Aarssen's book as an Overdrive e-book from the library, and according to the quiz, i am a Bee.

my house is a huge "pile" zone as we go thru massive decluttering, spurred by 2 of my sons, DS18 and DS22.

at my physical office for work, we are in the process of moving to another building in April, however, we have been instructed to pack our things so that they can go into storage. we are all still working remotely, so they gave each person a chance to sign up for a slot to go into the office alone and pack.

i filled 1.5 garbage cans (the large round ones that fit a large lawn bag) of trash, mostly magazines, not to mention about 5, 3" binders of shred items that went into the shred bin. i also managed to consolidate some of my boxes into smaller boxes. i took 3 boxes home of "personal" items like paper goods, excess office supplies that i purchased on my own, etc.

on the way home, i donated a small bag of items to the thrift store. i browsed around but didn't see anything i wanted to buy except maybe some handles for beachbody resistance bands.:) still, i went home empty-handed, save for a coupon for donating.

DCW 01-27-21 06:39 PM

"Even an elephant can be eaten; one bite at a time". This is my decluttering mantra. I am tackling the small drawers and getting something done feels amazing. A friend loved my small writing desk and needed it. So it has a new home.

We are still tackling adult DD stuff but with her back home she is tossing her stuff left and right.:D

Our next big item is our China cabinet.:eek:. Maybe that will be this weekends project, emptying it. I am thinking of upgrading our regular dishes. We have mixed matches of everything. Some plates I have no idea how they got into my home.:confused:

bzar 01-31-21 06:02 AM

how could i forget? we arranged for "bulky pickup" to pick up this old "entertainment center" armoire-looking thing (huge and bulky) and a small desk. these were all hand-me-downs.

two other pieces of furniture might also leave our home. one is a loveseat and the other is an old telescope.

sherry7899 01-31-21 10:51 AM

bzar, I wish we had a bulky furniture pick up in our area! However, anything we put out at the curb does get taken by people who scour the neighborhood for things.

I ordered an Amazon Basics shredder that is coming today. We are expecting a blizzard, so I will have plenty of time to go through the mountain of papers we have.


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