The Food Cupboard: A Quick Tidy Up

Posted on October 1, 2018 by

Whilst trying to find something in the messy food cupboard this weekend, I decided that it was time to remove everything and have a re-sort. I didn’t have much time as I needed to go out, but I knew it wouldn’t take long.

This is what I threw away which was mostly out of date stuff and empty packaging. It felt really good…

I ended up with practically one whole shelf free at the end of it, so it gave me a chance to space things out a bit. We might actually use what’s left in the cupboard now, instead of not really knowing what is there and buying more of what we’ve already got.

Less than one hour later…

Until next time…

Advertisements
Posted in decluttering, Inspiration | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Paper Clutter Update

Posted on September 18, 2018 by

You may be wondering if I ever went through that whole box of paper (reference Paper Clutter). The answer is yes; I got rid of two thirds of it and placed the remaining one third back into the plastic filing box (at least, that’s what I’m calling it for now). I then cleared the desk and surrounding areas of papers and added the important ones to the temporary filing box.

So, why didn’t I just file this stuff in folders/files as I went through it? You may have read in previous blogs that the phase I’m firmly planted in at the moment is ‘removing the trash’ not organising. This is a much quicker way as it required less decision making (which I liked the sound of). All I have to do is ask myself if the piece of paper is worthy of a space in my future files, rather than exactly where it will be filed.

I do have a filing system buried behind all of these boxes so I’ll get to that in the organising phase and everything will look lovely (well, that’s the idea anyway).

As I look around the spare room, things are feeling clearer and I haven’t organised a single things yet, just removed stuff. Over the last 3 weeks, as well as sorting out paper clutter, I’ve taken 6 bags to the charity shop and thrown out at least 3 bags of rubbish.

So, you could say that it’s going well.

Until next time…

Posted in decluttering, Inspiration | 2 Comments

Paper Clutter

Posted on September 9, 2018 by

I’ve just opened the lid to this box in the spare room and I’m faced with paper from about 3 years ago (I think). There are similar boxes and piles around this room and probably other rooms (I haven’t delved into those corners yet).

So, the phase I’ve been working through over the past few weeks is ‘removing the trash’, so it should be quite easy to get through this box quickly. I have a shredder, a rubbish bag and a box for papers that I want to keep (the contents of which I will probably put back in here afterwards).

If I can work at a steady pace, I should get through this in around an hour. Maybe I’ll keep this blog in draft until then…

…One hour later, and I seem to have spread across the room as I keep finding things that the children might want to keep. They have been laughing at some of their drawings, written notes etc. So, I may be only half way through the box but I’m welcoming the interruptions and giggles. Never mind, I’ll probably finish the second half of the box whilst they are asleep tonight.

Until later…

Posted in Inspiration, Toys, mess and clutter | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Decluttering vs. Cleaning

Posted on September 2, 2018 by

Decluttering can either be a short warm up for cleaning or take a whole day to move everything out of the way before getting out the duster and hoover. The latter meaning that you possibly never get around to the cleaning.

I’ve always known that decluttering and cleaning were completely separate activities, and I still spend a lot of my time on the clutter rather than the cleaning. Having said that, the daily clutter routines that I now have in place (see previous blogs) are helping me tremendously.

What is also going to help me move forward even more today are the concepts below. I noted these down on my phone this morning as I was walking back from the gym listening to the last chapter of Dana K White’s book Decluttering the Speed of Life:

CLEANING: this needs to be done over and over

DECLUTTERING: once it’s gone it’s gone and you never have to deal with that particular item again.

That’s motivation enough for me to get back into the spare room today and purge some more stuff.

Until next time…

Posted in Getting organised, Household chores, Toys, mess and clutter | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Clutter barrier items

Posted on August 27, 2018 by

We all have items in our homes that are barriers to decluttering. When I come across these types of items, they can literally stop me in my tracks and I either stop decluttering or move them to another area of the room or house.

Today, I got past a few of these items. I think that it helped that I was listening to a decluttering book at the time, because it completely altered my frame of mind. I picked the items up and put them in a charity bag. It was hard, but I did it. Thoughts were going through my mind at the time about how much I paid for the items or that someone I know might want them. I tried to change my mindset by thinking about how much I value the charity shop that I donate to, so I imagined someone buying the items and looking after them for me, instead of them being in my spare room for the next 10 years.

I talked to my partner about this to see if he could help me make sense of what was going through my mind and he said ‘other people needing these items isn’t our issue’ and suggested taking photos of them as memories. He made me realise that just giving them away would free the space and allow me to actually use it to relax. He thinks so differently to me.

A clutter barrier item

As part of my decluttering project, I’ve decided to make a list (and take photos of) the items that I come across that literally stop me delcuttering. Then, at some point in the future when I’ve put the new space to good use (which is still a very scary thought and feels a long way away) I will look back at what had been stopping me all these years.

What’s stopping you decluttering?

Until next time…

Posted in Inspiration, Me time, Toys, mess and clutter | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Clutter tips that stick

Posted on August 25, 2018 by

In Dana K White’s other book called How to Manage your Home without Losing your Mind’, she suggests ‘doing the dishes’ every day in order to keep on top of things in the kitchen. This doesn’t just mean washing up. The idea is that you clear and clean the kitchen counters, removing, washing and putting everything away. Every day.

No matter how tired I am in the evening, the surfaces get cleared, everything goes in the dishwasher and it gets switched on (even if it’s not full). I then sweep the floor which means that I’m moving clutter from corners as well.

This, combined with the start at the front door decluttering tip that Dana K White suggests in her other book Decluttering at the Speed of Life’, is helping me keep on top of the clutter downstairs.

When I get up in the morning, this decluttered space feels really good. I’m not saying that it stays clear, as life happens, but at least I know what I have to do daily to put it right.

Until next time…

Posted in Getting organised, Household chores, Toys, mess and clutter | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Enjoy life’s moments

Posted on August 23, 2018 by

I recently watched a film called ‘The Convenient Groom’ and the following few lines stuck in my mind:

“Everything in life is temporary. You’ve just got to enjoy life’s moments while you have them”.

It’s really made me think about everything I do and appreciate even the smallest moments. The children grow so fast and each of their stages of growing up are ‘moments in time’. Things that have frustrated me in the past, I’m now embracing instead, and learning from them.

Until next time…

Posted in Inspiration, Learning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment