Declutter / organize / clean! Spring is here!

[Silent1CB]

Oh, I love Flylady!!!

I had another thread just the other day looking for something a little less intense than FlyBaby. Any ideas?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35919674#post35919674

 

[EllaM]

After years of wishing I could get through all the clutter, this year I'm finally doing it. My cousin got layed off and his brother is a general odd jobs person. So I recruited them, rented a dumpster and we spent the last week going through the house room by room. (It's my parents house so I have 4 generations worth of clutter to get through.)

I was hesitant on the dumpster rental. I didn't think we had that much to dump. Most of it would be donatable. But my cousin insisted. Boy was he right.

First we tackled the basement where all the broken things too big for the trash man went to die. Then the garage where it went awaiting to be removed on a good day (or lived outside in the first place like the old tractor with 4 flat tires). Next came the mud room and laundry whcih went from a place to store coats to the overflow pantry with the addition of a chest freezer (that ended up buried in canned goods). And last came two bedrooms that was overloaded with childhood memorabilia, unused Christmas presents and clothes meant for donation.

We've already packed up a 20 yard dumpster and are 2/3rds through another. Meanwhile the salvagable donations were collected by neighbors and the rest left for charity pickup this week.

And now we have rooms so empty there's an echo. Of course that means we follow up with deep cleaning and fresh paint. My neighbors went from being curious and concerned (they thought we were moving or had a fire) to being really envious at our aggressive housecleaning.

The biggest pain of it all is the stuff we inherited from other family members. Seems whenever my siblings moved and were trying to clear their clutter to sell their homes the extra bits ended up in our basement. When my grandparents died their extra bits ended up in our house. Even the nieces and nephews had a habit of leaving old toys here.

 

[Silent1CB]

After years of wishing I could get through all the clutter, this year I'm finally doing it. My cousin got layed off and his brother is a general odd jobs person. So I recruited them, rented a dumpster and we spent the last week going through the house room by room. (It's my parents house so I have 4 generations worth of clutter to get through.)

I was hesitant on the dumpster rental. I didn't think we had that much to dump. Most of it would be donatable. But my cousin insisted. Boy was he right.

First we tackled the basement where all the broken things too big for the trash man went to die. Then the garage where it went awaiting to be removed on a good day (or lived outside in the first place like the old tractor with 4 flat tires). Next came the mud room and laundry whcih went from a place to store coats to the overflow pantry with the addition of a chest freezer (that ended up buried in canned goods). And last came two bedrooms that was overloaded with childhood memorabilia, unused Christmas presents and clothes meant for donation.

We've already packed up a 20 yard dumpster and are 2/3rds through another. Meanwhile the salvagable donations were collected by neighbors and the rest left for charity pickup this week.

And now we have rooms so empty there's an echo. Of course that means we follow up with deep cleaning and fresh paint. My neighbors went from being curious and concerned (they thought we were moving or had a fire) to being really envious at our aggressive housecleaning.

The biggest pain of it all is the stuff we inherited from other family members. Seems whenever my siblings moved and were trying to clear their clutter to sell their homes the extra bits ended up in our basement. When my grandparents died their extra bits ended up in our house. Even the nieces and nephews had a habit of leaving old toys here.

WOW! Good for you! I wish my parents would do that because its not a job I want to have to do later.

When you are done, can we hire you?

 

[Iott Family]

I had another thread just the other day looking for something a little less intense than FlyBaby. Any ideas?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35919674#post35919674

mainstreetmom.com has a few good lists that I have incorporated into my childrens daily tasks and tweaked for my flybaby routines. Its simpler than a control journal and I laminated it and posted each sheet on my fridge and we use a dry erase marker to mark completed tasks then wipe off for the next week.

http://www.mainstreetmom.com/print/hometasks.htm

http://www.mainstreetmom.com/print/monthlytasks.htm

http://www.mainstreetmom.com/print/errands.htm


HTH!

 

[Silent1CB]

mainstreetmom.com has a few good lists that i have incorporated into my childrens daily tasks and tweaked for my flybaby routines. Its simpler than a control journal and i laminated it and posted each sheet on my fridge and we use a dry erase marker to mark completed tasks then wipe off for the next week.

http://www.mainstreetmom.com/print/hometasks.htm

http://www.mainstreetmom.com/print/monthlytasks.htm

http://www.mainstreetmom.com/print/errands.htm


hth!

yes! I'm going to copy this over to the other thread too. Thanks.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Today I went through the Easter decorations, and actually got rid of what I didn't put up.

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

Ok, I really need to do this since we're hoping to move this summer! My plan is to attack the attic this weekend!! Wish me luck!

 

[mickeywho?]

Today I went through the Easter decorations, and actually got rid of what I didn't put up.

This is a great idea! I try to do this with every "season". My Christmas, Easter, St Pat's, Valentines.....decorations go up, and I try to limit it to my favourites in the boxes, then when they are repacked anything that wasn't put out is OUT! It's a slow process, as I do tend to add a few new things, but it certainly helps a lot. We went away this past Christmas. I wanted to decorate but just hated the idea of having to repack it all back up after coming home from a holiday. So I put out ONLY my favourite things - I got rid of sooo much stuff! Awesome!

This week my goal is to CLEAN out the master bedroom closet. I've been doing it 10 minutes at a time since Monday. Nearly done! So far, I have 4 large garbage bags of donations...don't know how it all fit in there in the first place!

 

[Silent1CB]

I emptied out a storage area where I had excess supplies for a independent contractor job I no longer seem to have. Took them down to the Community Center where they can use some of it for Arts & Crafts supplies.

And now DH can store some of his stuff in that area.

Also dropped a bag of clothing in a Goodwill bin.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Yesterday, I tackled clothes!! - I weeded out my storage bins in the laundry room, and completely organized DH's dresser. (And I cleaned out the computer desk!)

 

[briannesmom]

Ok you all have inspired me to get moving. I have a whole winters worth of clutter in this house. I have gotten 2 postcards in the last week from the Kidney Foundation and Veterans about donations. One will have a truck on my street doing pick-ups on the 1st and the other on the 9th. I have a ton of my DD's outgrown toys and clothes that can be donated or sold on Craigslist. I just need to get working!

 

[Silent1CB]

I had to gather up all the clutter from our guest room so company could stay over Easter weekend. The room looks so good. But everything is just in boxes & moved to our bedroom. I'm going to go through it 15 minutes at a time rather than just putting it all back.

 

[cybrkitn]

I had to gather up all the clutter from our guest room so company could stay over Easter weekend. The room looks so good. But everything is just in boxes & moved to our bedroom. I'm going to go through it 15 minutes at a time rather than just putting it all back.

Sort of reminds me of what we do (to an extent). When we are cleaning up the house to get ready for company, everything gets moved to our room. Unfortunately, it has a habit of staying there and our room looks more cluttered than it is already.

We don't have much closet/storage to begin with (we live with DFIL). I've gone through a lot of items over time and threw out a lot. But we still have an overflow of stuff that I don't know what to do with and no place to put it. So those things are boxed up or in shopping bags in our room I'm at my witts end with all of this clutter upstairs .

 

[Good Ol Gal]

I'm trying to de-clutter also.

I couldn't get one of the kitchen cabinet's closed so I took a pan out that we haven't used in a LONG time to donate (nice glass pan).

DH sees in on the floor in the kitchen where I tend to put donation stuff and says

"don't get rid of that! that would be perfect for DS's house!!!"

Mind you.... DS is 15!! I don't anticipate him needing it for quite awhile

It seems every time I try to get rid of something he finds a reason to hold onto it

 

[Imzadi]

If you have an Amazon Kindle account, this Kindle eBook is free for a very short time, (like a couple days only):

Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home (Kindle Edition)

by Sandra Felton

Book Description:
"The Organizer Lady™ makes it easy for readers to develop strategies for mess-free living. Author of the best-selling Messies Manual, Sandra Felton shares her insight on the best ways to bring out the hidden beauty in messy houses. Included in this comprehensive guide to "cleaner living" are 100 little-known housekeeping tips, inspiring testimonies from recovering Messies, strategies for living with a disorganized people, and action plans to help win the clutter war. With enthusiasm and humor, Felton makes housekeeping easier and less overwhelming for the organizationally challenged.

Develop strategies for mess-free living! Everyone wants a beautiful home--one that welcomes visitors gracefully and provides a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But as we go through life we acquire all sorts of stuff that clutters up our lives and our houses. And a beautiful home is just not possible if every nook and cranny is considered fair game for storage! Now you can win the clutter war. Sandra Felton, The Organizer Lady, shares her insight on the best ways to bring out the hidden beauty in messy houses. She makes housekeeping less overwhelming for the organizationally challenged with

* interior design tips
* inspiring stories from the organizing trenches
* advice for coping with a messy spouse or child

Don't settle for a messy house. Learn the strategies you need to get organized and stay organized. Who knows? The house of your dreams could be right under your nose."

 

[disykat]

I consider myself pretty clutter free, but I'm tackling my bathrooms today. I tend to collect makeup and I don't know how - since I don't wear much of it! While I do go through my bathroom on occasion, my boys are so low maintainence that I haven't really worried about theirs. I just realized there are bathtub toys under their sink and they are 14 and 17!