What did you declutter today? Part II

[disneysteve]

This is a good time to consider your criteria for an end-of-the-year clear out of old paperwork no longer needed

This is also the perfect time to be decluttering stuff - clothing, household items, toys, etc. Everything you donate before 12/31 can be deducted on your 2010 taxes.

[marvholly]

Today is likely to be a cooking day as I have everything on hand for at least 1 new recipe and want to make a recent one again. Then, hopefully, I will actually CLEAN my kitchen. Very little further decluttering is likely to happen in the kitchen.

I partly sorted holiday gifts for the 4 grands yesterday (still need to wrap) BUT our get together has been delayed as 2 are sick and 1 seems to be getting sick. Thus, I have actually increased my clutter but this will be gone before the end of Dec. We just need to decide a new date that works for both DDs.

[disneysteve]

Having family over for dinner. That spurred some extra decluttering. I just went through all the mail, magazines and newspapers that were hanging around. Most got recycled, some got filed, a couple of things got trashed and the rest got neatly piled to be read.

Right now, I'm listening to a conference call for work and after that, I'll do some more decluttering.

[snafu]

Early December is a great time to create your own wrapping 'station.' One possible site may be the laundry both because the washer/dryer has a ready-made, large, flat surface for wrapping gifts/parcels as well as being out of the way of prying eyes. Gather together all your wrapping supplies [paper flat fold & rolls, tissue, ribbons, bows, scissors, cello tape, box cutter, tape measure, labels, stickers, tags etc.] You will know what's at hand and what needs to be replenished when everything is in once spot. If you have a shelf for your supplies, great! If not, shove paper rolls in an old pair of panty hose stretched on a hanger; convenient but out of the way, a shoe box can hold the other supplies

[marvholly]

Seem to be etting back into doing what I need to do.

I put the 3 new recipes I have made in the last month into my computer cookbook. This lets me:
1. File the print copy
2. Easily share w/others & family by email

This morning while checking holiday wrapping supplies I trashed 10 items, recycled 5 items and put 1 in the donate box.

I worked on one of the pkg of chicken I bought Wed. The $1.68 in chicken is going to result in 5 meals, 1 roasted, 2 Greek w/orzo, 2 Kung Pao. This also tries out a couple new recipes that have been cluttering my table.

Snafu
For once (holiday wrap stuff) we seem to be on a similar page BUT I prefer to use my kitchen table as it is somewhat bigger & I have 2 counters within easy reach for the tape, bows......

[snafu]

marvholly: Those chicken meals sound yummy. Have you listed Le Creuset for sale? Sadly there are none for sale in this region.

Perhaps I'm on a different page but I've observed clutter prevents people from getting things done, even things they want to do. Clutter causes wasted hours that are never recoverable. I believe clutter prevents goals and dreams from being attained.

[marvholly]

Snafu: I have not listed my Le Creuset as I am not finding anything to guide me on pricing.

More Friday Declutter:
I trashed a blouse that is in such poor condition I cannot/will not donate: plus 8 items tossed, 3 items to DGD & 1 item to donate box.

[snafu]

mh: Le Creuset's Enameled Cast Iron Collection If your Le Creuset items are in excellent condition, I would expect to pay 1/2 local, regular, retail price. If they have dings or gouges that don't affect cooking/cleaning I would expect a lower price. The point is to get a reasonable sum and allow someone else to enjoy using pots/pans/dishes you no longer use or enjoy. What would you pay to buy used, quality cookware?
The sum garnered can be the start of sums used to buy an item you will use, enjoy and love.

[disneysteve]

One of the minor downsides to my daughter cleaning in her room is that a number of items she didn't want or know what to do with ended up on my desk which had been looking pretty good until then. So today, I spent some time clearing it off again, going through the stuff she had deposited there and putting it all where it belonged. That process was pretty easy, though, since I now have a much better organized system and I knew just where to put everything. I also took care of some of my own clutter in the process like some investment statements and recent bills and receipts that had to be filed. I also cleared out a bunch of old bills from my file drawer and got them into the to-be-shredded bag.

[marvholly]

Snafu
Since my Le Creuset is from 1969 it is a color no longer made (orange) and several of the piecies are no longer available.

I am digging out from >5 inches of snow on Sat.

[snafu]

DS: totally fantastic! DD may not have know where to put items but knowing what is useful to keep and having a designated space makes It Easy! YaHooooooooo! I hope paperwork/desk time took no more than 15 minutes.
Big Secret #1. It saves time, effort and aggravation to remove items you don't use, don't need, don't love and find beautiful.

mh: I can't imagine why or how a discontinued color of quality cookware would affect it's purpose. I notice that TV Hostess/cookbook promoter Rachael Ray's line of pots & pans are identified by their orange colored parts. Would you be comfortable offering your cookware on Craig'sList and Kijji + name of your city [Kijji is local e-bay] at the price point you feel comfortable and add OBO [or best offer] to tell readers you are open to negotiation on price?

[marvholly]

I made 2 of my new recipes on Sun. The zucchini fritters are a keeper, just needs a bit of tweaking-add onion. The Greek chicken was also quite good but I will toss the recipe. It calls for & needs two $$$ ingredients I do not keep on hand (kalamatra olives & artichoke hearts).

Made the Kung Pao chicken last night. Another new recipe tossed.

Went over my pile of out of sight/out of mind (put away) recipes to try. Tossed 7 because I was no longer interested, too similar to something I already make or required ingredients I do not stock/too $$$.

Made a new breakfast type recipe this morning that I copied from an internet site. WAAAAY too bland for my taste. Recycling the print copy and deleting from my computer.

[LaVicky]

Christmas Decorations

Hey all,
For those who have a stash of decorations, now is a good time to sift out ones you dont use, ornaments, decorations, I know i have some I dont put out and stuff back in the box. So time to pull them out, give them away, donate them, put them on freecycle, get them out now so someone else can use them!

I also used freecycle to donate some electrical items I had, some scrap stuff, someone else can go thru and pull the scrap metal off. It was in a pile on the side of my house, I typically use freecycle for giving away free items, but I tried Craigslist with a free ad and I had responses in minutes and someone here in the hour hauling a truckload off.

So its a good feeling seeing stuff GO

I still have so much more to do. I inquired about a space in an antique store for some of the stuff I have. Its $150 a month and a good sized space, I have bulky stuff taking up my garage, heck its like paying for storage in a place I can display and sell it at the same time. I have a bunch of old film equipment, antique type, but heavy stuff I need to get out. Hoping to make a profit too, Ive been trying to unload it on craigslist but not a lot of luck, had a yard sale and sold about 4 of the items. So slowly moving along but I really want to clear my garage out.

[marvholly]

Ended up spending an hour today on the computer decluttering files & documents since I was deleting a recipe I did NOT want. Deleted 1 entire file and 24 individual documents (mostly recipes) that I no longer needed/wanted. There is probably MUCH more I could recycle but I am cautious.

Also did a bunch of computer maintenance like defrag and clear cookies.

[librarylady]

I decluttered a desk drawer in my office this afternoon. I have been stuffing things in there for awhile now. Got rid of a few things. A few personal things I will take home. Found new homes for some items. At least it is not as full now!
Progress!