What did you declutter today? Part II

[My English Castle]

Since Disney Steve's decluttering threat seems to have vaporized (Jeffrey and Nate are on the job looking for it), I thought I'd start another one. I NEED the accountability and the sense of accomplishment DS's thread provided.
So--since Monday I've decluttered 16 books, some to friends, and 8 to freecyclers.
Today DD's outgrown dollhouse went to a woman doing children's play therapy in the inner city.

Everyone else?

[disneysteve]

Thanks for starting a new thread. I was waiting to see if the old one reappeared before I did that but we can continue on from here.

Tuesday was almost a complete loss for me. I left the house at 7:30am and returned home at 10:30pm. I did manage to pack and ship one book that I sold on half.com. I also went through the day's mail putting almost all of it into the recycling bin.

So far today, nothing, but the night is still relatively young and trash and recycling get put out tonight so there's still time. I'll post later or in the morning.

[disneysteve]

I'm back. I spent 20 minutes in the basement and cleared off one shelf of a shelving unit. A few things went into recycling, several went into the trash, a couple got added to a box to give away and the rest need to be prepped to try and sell. I started to condense something that will be sold but didn't finish that task tonight.

[marvholly]

Thank you English. I had planned to restart on Sat if Steve did not and the old thread was not found. Will do the same on the frugal board for the MIA thread on Sat if not restarted/found. I will not be doing anything today or Fri - I am booked to the eyeballs both days.

additional for Tue: Went thru a box of extra personal care stuff. Tossed the expired. Donate remainder to local food pantry. Gave my Dad a laundry bag. While getting dressed I happened upon my belt holder. I seldom wear any belts and those I do are generally on the hangar w/the clothing. Also, these accumulated eons ago when I was smaller/thinner. 14 belts into the Salvation Army box.

Wed: Had not planned to declutter but as I was doing windows fell over some stuff. Three old phones: One was NOT working. The 3 cordless you cannot get replacement batteries. All tossed. A cord for???-tossed. Computer cord-put away. Piece of left over from flood junk-tossed. 2 heavy duty extension cords-put with other extension cords. Six baseball size caps-added to my Salvation Army box. Also, ½ box of pipe cleaners-put in car for DGD1 projects. I had saved 2 coupon books I got this week for DD2 (Huggies & Similac) which I moved to the car since I am seeing her and DGS1 Thur.

All in all feeling pretty accomplished since I also washed all the windows in all 3 bedrooms, master bath, the utility room and the kitchen – All in about 2 ½ hours.

No New Clutter
Grocery ads reviewed, list made, papers into recycle.
New magazine came. Read, clipped what I wanted and remainder into the recycle bin.

Note: I decided Wed was to be a liquids, fruit, veggie & salad day for at least breakfast, lunch & snacks. I am trying to drop about 10 lb and have hit a known plateau of mine. I KNOW the best way to break this is 1-2 days of that type diet, esp since I am meeting DD2 on Thur (lunch and/or dinner out) and am going to a wedding on Sat. Once I significantly break a plateau, even if I go up the next day or so, I can more easily continue loosing weight.

Also, since I read my mail in the kitchen I moved the shredder there so I can kill all those cc/balance transfer offers/checks & other ….junk immediately.

[My English Castle]

The university's privacy policy demands that anything written by a student and not returned has to be shredded. I took a big armful down to the shredder today, separating out things like paper slips and binders.
Last night as I was putting autumn decorations up, I decided some were too far gone. A papier mache pumpkin head and a punch of other assorted crud hit the garbage can.


Much more to go!

[disneysteve]

So far today, got a few more files cleaned out in my desk drawer at work. Threw out/recycled a few things in my trunk.

[minnie1928]

Here I thought I was going crazy because I couldn't find the original thread!

Yesterday I got rid of the supplies I used for my daughter's 7th bday party via FreeCycle. I also massively cleaned the kitchen island which had become the "Island of misfit stuff". Took much of it downstairs and added it to my donate pile. I'm sensing that my donation will be happening late next week or the following week.

I had another moving quote yesterday afternoon and he came in about 2000 lbs less than the first guy. Could be just measuring differences or it could be because of my continued decluttering. I'm going to go with decluttering...it makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.

[marvholly]

Did nothing on Thur (visited/had lunch w/DD2 & DGS1). Prob will do nothing today as I need to finish house chores (cooking, laundry, clean fridge), get a haircut & visit my Dad. Will do nothing on Sat as I have a manicure/pedicure appointment(am) & a wedding (eve).

Sorry did review 1 'saved' magazine this am and recycled the entire thing.

Feeling guilty already.

[disneysteve]

The next couple of days will leave virtually no decluttering time so I'll be sure to do my one thing a day. This morning, I tossed a couple of items out of the medicine cabinet in our bathroom, things we simply never use. When I got to the office, I labeled two new hanging files in my desk drawer that is newly uncluttered and put away some papers from a new project we are involved with.

That may be about it for today.

[LittleGopher]

Last night I finally went through my work folders, that have been a catchall since I started this position three years ago. At least it was one spot where I threw all things work related; you know, the stuff that you vaguely think you have to keep. Turns out I really didn't have to hold on to some of it, so I shredded or recycled about half and organized the rest in a 3-ring binder.

I also pulled together and organized the loose medical paperwork piling up since the summer (I'm off work in the summer, but you wouldn't be able to tell from some of my piles!) I figured out from the EOBs what has been paid and what bills to expect, exactly where we're at with our health spending acct, and pulled together paperwork into its own file for my youngest regarding some educational evaluation and testing we're in the midst of. Whew - I may not have actually decluttered any physical items, but definitely cleared out some mind clutter!

[marvholly]

Had not planned on doing anything but routine house chores this am BUT while so engaged & here on the net I

Found a pair of summer pants I had NOT worn this year & a shirt of late DH that I cannot use so moved to my Salvation Army box
2 old mailed coupon books – recycled
2 old (>1 year) magazines – reviewed, cut wants, recycled
OLD, damaged muffin tin – used this am and trashed

I did accomplish about ½ my chores list including making meatballs and individual meatloaves.
Got 9 servings from a 20 oz pkg of ground turkey + some TVP, seasonings & chopped veggies.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by marvholly

Had not planned on doing anything but

I'm finding that keeping decluttering in mind is making me do things I normally wouldn't do. Rather than passing something on the stairs, I take it up. If I look in a cabinet and see something I've been meaning to get rid of, I get rid of it right then even though that isn't why I went in the cabinet. Since starting the initial thread (which is still MIA) I have noticed that I'm being a lot more efficient and productive overall, both at home and at work. I'm not letting reports and charts pile up on my desk, for example, because I want the desk cleared by the time I leave each day. It is all a result of the decluttering process.

[snafu]

WOW! marvh & DS fantastic major advance! keeping ads, mags, mail, charts, reports from piling is a giant step forward. Your determination to declutter influences all following this thread. BTW, if you come across the following... aerosol inflator, bottle water, duct tape, dashboard sun protector, rain poncho, mini 1st aid [pharm. pill holder], flares + WINTER: jumper cable, candle/match, energy bars, flashlight, newspaper[insulation], knit cap, socks, mittens, sample sz. carpet for traction, sm. bright colored fabric sq. [emergency flag] ...please stuff these into an old sport bag or back pack and leave in the trunk of your car. Suggest you keep your phone's auto charge cord in the car...not the box it came in as DH is prone to do.

Winter storms can blow in unexpectedly and you will already be prepared to cope.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by snafu

keep your phone's auto charge cord in the car

Off topic but if you need a new auto charger, get it on Amazon. We were in Target a while ago and I was going to buy a car charger for my iPhone. It was $23. I got one on Amazon for $3.95. A few weeks later, I got another one when DW got her iPhone and that time found one for $2.19. Both had free shipping. So before you buy anything in a regular store, check Amazon.

[My English Castle]

We lost one of our charging cords, and I asked freecycle if any one had one. I got dozens of offers. Apparently people hang on to the cords even after the technology is gone!

I'm cleaning today so am getting rid of lots. Call me bad mommy, but lots of DD's little never-used toys are going in the charity shop bag. I hate Happy Meals for that reason alone.
I've also thrown a bunch of magazines and other crud into the recycling bag with more to go.

I've just listed more shoes and stuff on freecycle too, so maybe I can get rid of them this weekend.

[minnie1928]

Today I Freecycled an old desk chair that we no longer need. I'm still new to Freecycle, so I only do one item/day.

[disneysteve]

I just wanted to share that I just finished printing a set of participant nametags for a religious retreat I am in charge of this weekend. Why am I sharing that here? I printed them on ivory cardstock that I didn't even know I had until I cleared the area next to our computer that I posted about on the first version of this thread. I had a full ream of the stuff buried among the clutter.

This just goes to emphasize that we are not decluttering just for the sake of decluttering. Getting rid of all the extraneous stuff actually helps you better use the stuff you do want and need.

[gambler2075]

Finally got paypal payment for my old laptop... they sent a box to me with UPS receipt, so all I had to do was pack it in the box and mail it back to them...

Hello **** ********
Thank you for sending in your device to us. We have received it and we want to process your hassle-free payment immediately!
Our expert technical report regarding your Gateway (W730-K8X) Order ID: (XXXXX) is complete.
Pending your approval we are prepared to offer $82
Simply click the link below to accept the offer and your payment will be processed with in 24 hours! If you are unable to click the link simply copy and paste the link into the address bar of your web browser.

Initially they said I would get 170$ for it, so I was a little disappointed with 82$. Oh well. At least it is out of my house. I bought it for ~900$ about 6 years ago, and used it daily for a good 5 years, until it started crashing every day, so I guess I am happy with getting anything for it.

g

[snafu]

If you have a hard copy of the $ 170. offer...or can print it...I suggest you send a fax [copy] to the writer and the person offering $82. $88. is a significant sum, worth following up. I feel these firms get away with this too often because people are reluctant to complain. There are interesting figures about how many people buy a particular electronic device because there is a 'manufacturer's rebate' BUT choose not to fill in and mail the coupon back to obtain the rebate that started the initial purchase decision.

[disneysteve]

I read some newspapers and got them into the recycling bin.

I spent most of the evening preparing for an annual religious retreat I'm in charge of this weekend. At the start of the night, I had papers and folders spread all over the sitting room floor. By the time I was done, though, I had the stuff we need to take with us packed and ready to go and everything we didn't need to take piled up neatly. I need to go through it all as there is quite a bit of stuff that I can recycle but I'll wait until after the program. Then I'll go through everything before packing it all away for next year's program.