All these posts about cleaning...
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive October 2004:
All these posts about cleaning...
Okay, so my house isn't spotless. It's not a pig sty either, though. My problem seems to be I have too much stuff!!! We are looking at moving next summer to a bigger house (with a bigger yard! yeah!), but I don't want to spread my clutter, I want to get rid of it. I sit in my living room and look at knick-knacks and think, *gosh, I don't need those* but never get rid of them. Some do have some sentimental value, but most are just little things I've picked up here or there. I admit, I'm a thrift store person and can't pass up a good deal! I can work on that, but I need to deal with the stuff I've already got. I HATE having garage sales. It always feels like a waste of time and I feel I'm just passing my "junk" to someone else. I have no problem giving clothes away to friends with younger kids, so that's not a problem. I also have a filing problem. Well, I guess it's a LACK of filing problem! lol I tend to stack. Right now my table is cleaned off, but I've still got like three or four stacks of papers and things on my counters and breakfast bar. DON'T suggest Fly lady. She's way to much for me! lol Ya know what I need??? Clean Sweep. That's what I need. My house isn't NEAR as bad as some of those (well, the master bedroom is getting there!), but I grew up in a house that was cluttered (mainly because of lack of storage space) and I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I admire my sil. She can throw out ANYTHING!!! It kills me to see her throw out good stuff, but her house is SO NEAT and clean! SO, any suggestions??? Anyone want to come organize my house and help me get rid of some stuff? Dh would love this, too. Okay, I've gotten that off my chest. 
I won't say Fly Lady, but I will say try a Fly Lady tip. Every day or two go around your house and get rid of 27 things. You can throw out the bad stuff and donate the good stuff. Do a little at a time. Don't try to tackle the whole problem at once-that's just too overwhelming. Good luck!
Good tip, Melanie - I'm also a firm believer and utilizer of the '15-minute-at-a-time' decluttering. It's amazing what that's done to my home!
Thats a really good tip Melanie I am going to try it.
Cat I hear what you are saying, I have so many things here that I should get rid of. DH's mom and dad passed away and he insisted on taking ALOT of what I call junk from their house. I have to get him to get rid of at least some of it! Them 3 years ago my parents moved from their house so I have alot of stuff from their!!!
Time to do a total junk sweep of my basement and shed!
Maybe is I use Melanie's tip and start doing it that way I could get it done in say about.....a year...lol
If you don't want to throw it away donate to the church thrift store. Little by little.
I wish our churches around here did things like that. I have to travel 1/2 hour and borrow a truck to take it to the nearest Salavation Army.
I'll have to try that, Melanie. Thanx for the tip. We did end up cleaning some junk out of the garage a few weeks ago. We joked that the trash people probably thought we were moving! lol Maybe I'll have to designate a space in the garage for "stuff to donate" and have ARC come pick it all up. Our church is so small we don't have anything like a thrift store. There are several Good Will stores and Salvation Army stores around, though (and ARC). Shoot, they're half the reason I have so much stuff! lol *sigh* Now, when to start...
We've moved twice in the past 5 years. Both times we really did some decluttering. Threw lots of stuff away.
My MIL always gets on our case for throwing stuff away. We threw away a 20 year old sewing machine that was broken. She had a come-apart. She said "why do you always just throw stuff away? It could have been fixed" Yeah...maybe it could have, but we didn't need it anymore.
We don't have a place for donations. Sometimes I sell items on e-bay.
It feels so good to be decluttered! (even if it doesn't last forever) I told DH we should move every two years just so that we are forced to go through things and get rid of junk!
I agree with Robin, anything that might have any value ebay it Otherwise pitch or give to charity Good luck. That's what I've been doing this summer. Believe me once you declutter one room, you will want the whole house to feel that way. It is such a good feeling and you can do it
My younger dd's closet has been a dumping ground! We wanted to get rid of stuff and it all got thrown in there. We were talking about watches yesterday and she says her watch is in her closet! LOL! Yikes! She can hear the alarm going off, if she is home at 7:40am!
I would venture to say that most of the stuff in there is probably junk. I think we are going to tackle it this weekend. Why should I buy her a new watch, when she really already has one!
I'm sure she would love to have her closet back!
What's Flylady ?I've seen it mentioned before,and I'm curious as to what that means.
Flylady She offers a cleaning routine through emails, but apparently a LOT of emails.
We got rid of some camera stuff on ebay and I bought a scrub top that I ended up not liking and it's got two bids on it so far, so that will be going. I have a couple more that I'm not wearing, so eventually will sell those, too.
Scrub Top
I also have a coat I need to photograph and sell because I don't like the coat and would like a different one.
Don't forget to try Freecycle either Cat. Also, I tried Flylady once about 3 yrs ago and hated it. I started again a year ago and love it---I think I've matured--LOL. Anyway, think about it...those shows like Clean Sweep really don't help. Yeah, they come in and help you get organized in 2 rooms and everything is great, you get rid of a lot of junk, etc. However, if you don't learn the tools to declutter, get organized, and stay organized then in 6 months you are in the same boat again. They don't show you the follow-up on Clean Sweep but I'm sure that if they did over 80% of the houses would be cluttered and messy again.
One thing that has helped me is to look at my rooms with a critical eye. Yes, I have had that knick-knack sitting on my piano for 6 years and someone special gave it to me. But do I like it...no, then out it goes. It's served its time and now it can go to bless someone else. I am very sentimental, but I have started not holding onto things just because so and so gave them to me or they commerate an event. I still have the memories so I don't need the objects. I am so much happier since I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff. I still have a little ways to go, but my house is almost totally decluttered by doing a little at a time. Also, even if you don't like Flylady you might want to check her site for "how to de-clutter." You don't have to sign up for the emails to read her advice and suggestions and they really do work. And a good bargain doens't mean you need it---you'll have to try to break that cycle, tough as it is, I know. Flylady says to ask "Do I/will I use it?" and "Does it make me smile?" If not....out it goes. Good luck!
I have an ugly knickknack that I think I want to get rid of. It was a wedding present from someone I barely knew (think it was DH's side of the family.) I don't think we have seen them since we got married and that was almost 17 years ago. I wondered recently why I still have the thing! Ugh. Time to get rid of it.
The ornament on my piano with my house handpainted on it by a dear friend who died a few years ago from colon cancer, is staying, however, since it's irreplacable. I got it for Christmas the first Christmas we were in this house and I knew DH had had to get her a picture of the house about 6 months before that, since she was so busy painting ornaments for many people. DH didn't always plan that far ahead for Christmas!
A friend of mine who has absolutely no clutter in her house, not even in the kids room, not even a magazine on the coffee table, said "You have to be willing to get rid of stuff that is still good." That is a hard thing to do. Once we were at church together where we volunteered to sign people up for the church directory. After it was over, there were a handful of pens and pencils left there that she picked up and said, "Does anyone want these?" When no one answered, she threw them in the trash. I realized, "Ah ha! That's how she does it." I will never get to that level, but I'm trying to inch towards it.
I hear ya! We have lived in 9 different places since we got together 12 years ago so that helps declutter the big stuff!
My problem is PAPER...it's an unending pile! So much of it comes into the house and it's so hard to keep up with the filing. I have two children that are constantly bringing home loose papers from school..drives me nuts. I'm sure my parents (I'm a teacher) don't think we do anything since I don't send home piles of worksheets all the time. When we do do worksheets I hole punch them and put them in duotangs so that my parents don't have to deal with the papers.
Does anyone have suggestions for getting rid of the paper clutter????
I throw away most of the stuff my son comes home with.
As far bills and other important papers, I have two file cabinets and expandable folders (red ropes we call them at work) and I have a folder for each category - credit card statement, cable bill, EOBs, pay stubs, 401(k), brokerage account, medical test results, son's evaluations, letters I've received from president, FBI, congressman, whoever, in response to letters I've written them, articles published by me and other family members, 9/11 newspapers, ...you get the idea. Then you just label the red robes and just drop in the paper. It's fast. I don't worry about date order or punching holes. Just drop it in the right folder. As I get a new category I review the old ones and see if there's a whole folder I can get rid of. If not, I start another one.
If I get too many books, I sell some to the half price bookstore - esp children's books.
When I went through my grandparents house when they both passed, I only kept geneology stuff, very old pictures, long descriptive letters and that's about it (as far as papers). I threw out old tax forms, pay stubs, meaningless correspondence, cards that only had a signature on them, pictures of people I didn't know who they were (unless they were historical in nature or part of the geneology), medical papers, social security stuff, (their wills had already been through probate), work related mail, bank statements, etc. You just have to toss it! Some of the bigger stuff we sold on ebay.
Knick-knacks - give them to your kids to play with and they will eventually end up in the trash, but not before a lot of good play came out of them. My son and his friends love the knick-knacks - they're heavy, they're interesting, they're breakable, they're unique, the kids love them and they play real life Animal Crossing with them (or store, or house). They bury them, play with them in the mud, and my son gives some away. I figured this out when my son was young and we'd go to the junk store near our lakehouse and he'd pick the most unusual stuff that he wanted - jewelry boxes, gemstone covered mirrors, bizarre homemmade ashtrays (we don't smoke and he didn't know their original purpose), heavy figurines and all this stuff was dirt cheap. The other kids were fascinated because none of their toys actually weighed anything and I've noticed kids like heavy things (not too heavy). The kids want to feel something, like unusual texture or weight. Maybe I just got a bunch of SI kids around here, but really the knick-knacks are great toys. When they break, they are tossed.
I also throw away much of what my 3 kids come home from school and church with!!! I only keep special art projects. I use to save everything they did when they were younger, until I realized it was pointless!
We do a *little* something each day. When I bring the mail in I immediately go through it and throw out the junk mail, I put bills in the bill holder, and whats left lays on the end of the bar until dh gets to see it. Then we disperse it somehow. If I didnt do this I would have a mess of papers on the bar. The only mag's we keep are my Southern Living's and dh Sailing mag. Everything else we look at and then throw away shortly after.
Kids bring home a Tuesday folder, I go thru it immediately. I throw out junk, fill out forms, sign weekly progress reports and give them back the folder. If I need to keep a *reminder* that was sent home I fill the date/time/activity in on my calendar and then hang the reminder on the side of my frig. After the event I pull that down and trash it. Kids Football schedule and Soccer schedule I hi-lite our teams games and hang on the kitchen cabinet until the season is over then I trash them. The monthly volunteer schedule for the kids schools, again hi-lite my name/day/time/activity i am scheduled to help with. When I have done my time --I trash it.
We have a *Hot Spot* (flylady lingo--and i am EX flylady. yuk!) on the counter in the kitchen where we come in from the garage when we get home. I have a basket on the counter and a drawer where we can put some things. Everything else I have to go thru every day or two and either trash/put in file pile/put away... If I have company coming and dont have time to go thru this *pile* I set it in my laundry room or closet until they leave. LOL! Hey~ my counter looks clean.
As for 'knick knacks', I dont really like knick knacks. lol More to dust if you ask me.
I am pretty ADD (and admit it!). I do have decorations-- just ones that i really like and a minimal amt...I personally cannot function in a home full of *clutter*.  I will become overwhelmed and then do nothing at all. I do like to bargain shop, but I am kind of wierd about shopping. I dont like to buy something just because it is a great deal. I only buy it if it is something I need/will use *and* it is at a great sale price. I also dont go shopping that often. I find that helps me cut down not only on spending--but being tempted to buy things I dont really need. Oh and I shop with lists... I try to stick to the list as much as possible. Certainly have days where I veer from the list.
I have no problem with keeping my home picked up and fairly organized *most* everyday. (we have days where we arent home at all!! so I have to catch up the next time we are)
I do have trouble finding time to deep clean as consistantly as I should. ugh!
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