Day 52: Spotting Future Clutter

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Sandra Madeira

I fitted in a lot today: taking my girls to the dentist, going to work, running errands and then came the lovely part – having a facial and hair cut before going out with some really good friends for a meal.

My girls loaded and unloaded the dishwasher for me during the day which was a lovely surprise, and then hung up some washing without any fuss. Less for me to do this evening.

So, where did I fit in a quick bit of decluttering?

There were a couple of bags of random clutter lurking around the dining room… the usual dumping ground (must work on resolving that one!)

Future clutter if not dealt with

I can speak from experience that random items in bags can turn into future clutter. They end up taking up permanent residence ‘somewhere’ and become a list of items that no one can find.

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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, delegating, Getting organised, Household chores, Inspiration, Wellbeing, working mum | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Day 51: 15 Minutes Until Midnight…

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Sandra Madeira

I haven’t done any decluttering this evening and I’m not likely to either as it’s 15 minutes until midnight. I popped into the kitchen to get a drink of water and was faced with this:

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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Getting organised, Household chores, Inspiration, Time management, working mum | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Day 50: Repeating Decluttering Steps

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Sandra Madeira

As I moved the washing basket and other items from the bed and back to the ironing board this evening (a reverse of this morning when my husband ironed his shirt) I thought about how the ironing board was clear a few weeks ago (13 Days In Decluttering Mode).

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Day 50: Is it Worth Trying to Sell Unwanted Items Online?

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Sandra Madeira

When I sorted out the shoe cupboard the other day (61 Pairs of Shoes and 4 Cans of Paint), I left a pile of shoes and other footwear to be ‘dealt’ with (sell, give to charity etc). They’ve been cluttering the corner of the dining room since then, and have been really annoying me.

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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Getting organised, Inspiration, recycling, working mum | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Day 49: It’s Recycling Day, Yeah!

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Sandra Madeira
Recycling bins

Although it’s not the nicest of jobs, I do like it when this fortnightly event comes around when I can put all of these three bins out at the same time. As all of the recycling leaves by the back door, it really does make the house feel lighter somehow. My usual routine goes something like this…

  • The indoor food caddy gets emptied into the almost full orange bin outside
  • I look around for any stray plastics, glass and paper, which includes a quick run around the house (particularly bedrooms)
  • I rip up all of the cardboard that has arrived over the last two weeks, instead of my old routine of just storing them in the garage (which was where I was about the put the one below just in case I might need to take the fan back!)

So, did last week’s step work?

When I wrote the blog Does ‘Emptying the Bins’ Count as Decluttering? a week ago, I introduced a new little step and asked the rest of the family to start putting plastics and paper in the separate sections of the pullout bin in the kitchen. I’m pleased to say that most of the items have ended up in the right bins (although I did have to move a couple of plastics from the non-recyclable bin this evening).

It’s going to take everyone a bit of getting used to, but we’ll get there in the end.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

(Author of https://mywritingnotebook.com)

Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Getting organised, Household chores, Inspiration, recycling, working mum | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Day 48: Is it a Clutter Problem or is it Poor Decision Making and Time Management?

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Sandra Madeira
Letting go of the pretty dresses and skirts

I don’t hoard on purpose. I don’t collect things or have an urge to keep going out to buy things. What I do actually do is avoid making decisions about the stuff that I do have.

This year I am getting better about the time management side though. I am carving out daily time to tackle the unwanted items and blogging about it (which gets me writing every day – something I am very passionate about).

Some days I do just ten minutes decluttering and ten minutes writing, and some days I do more. It all depends on what else is happening. I’ve learnt this week not to put pressure on myself to do it. And not let anyone else put pressure on me either.

My excuses in the past have been:

  • I can’t make decisions about everything, so it’s going to take years to go through it all
  • I don’t have enough time to get rid of all of this stuff
  • I’ll only move it to another room for future sorting, so it’s not worth making a start
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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Getting organised, Goals and direction, Inspiration, recycling, working mum | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Day 47: Shiny Taps Again

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Sandra Madeira
ecover limescale remover

My friend told me about the ecover range of products, which are apparently more environmentally friendly than some of the other cleaning products out there.

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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Getting organised, Household chores, Inspiration, working mum | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Day 46: Stress and Clutter on Your Shoulders

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Sandra Madeira
Stress and Clutter on Your Shoulders

I had a bit of a lie in this morning being the weekend. My lunchtime meal with my friends had been cancelled, so pottered about the kitchen, moving my body as I knew that it would ease the aches and pains around my head and shoulders. I’ve been getting these sorts of pains for years and I’m usually quite good at preempting them by relaxing just in time.

Not this time; it sort of crept up on me as I finished my work on Wednesday evening. As I closed my laptop, that I’d been hunched over for a few hours, I felt the niggly strain in my shoulders and ignored it. All I could think about was getting some decluttering done that evening and the next morning.

I got up Thursday and ignored my body telling me to relax and decluttered the plug holes in the bathroom and did some cleaning (as I couldn’t have a bath until I’d done that – there’s always something to stop me relaxing). I did have a relaxing bath but not as soon as I neeed it. Now the pain has lasted for two days which is standard for me when I ignore it.

Your body knows when you try to trick it.

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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Health and wellness, Household chores, Inspiration, Me time, Wellbeing, working mum | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Day 45: I think I’ve Earned a Day Off From Decluttering

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Sandra Madeira

It’s been 44 days since I started my challenge to take decluttering seriously and make small daily improvements around the house. Some days I’ve gone over the top and worked myself too hard like yesterday, so I gave myself permission to avoid it today. My head and neck felt tense giving me a horrible headache.

Today was a family day.

I started the day with a bowl of porage and slice of lemon in water.

I did ten minutes in the gym followed by a relaxing session in the steam room, jacuzzi and sauna, which eased my head and neck-ache a bit.

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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Fun and relaxation, Health and wellness, Inspiration, Me time, Quality time, working mum | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 44b: Decluttering Plug Holes

Posted on February 13, 2020 by Sandra Madeira
Using a metal sink unblocker to de-hair the pipes in the bathroom

I didn’t expect to have to do this today, particularly on my day off, but oh well! I thought that I would clean the girls’ bathroom as that’s the only one with the bath in it. That way, I could have a nice relaxing bath later after my decluttering session.

I noticed that the water wasn’t draining properly. Then I recalled that the girls had mentioned this to me a few times, but I kept putting off looking into it. They have long hair, so I knew that there was probably hair down the plug.

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Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Getting organised, Household chores, Inspiration, working mum | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments