What did you declutter today? Part II

[marvholly]

Grandkids bday party is today and one of my gifts is a pkg of playdoh. I stopped at Dollar Tree Fri to get some cookie cutters but they had NONE.

Went into a kitchen drawer this am. Found 5 + another item I have not used in YEARS. six items out of my house today.

[disneysteve]

I've been away from this thread for a while - hanging my head in shame. Honestly, the house has stayed fairly close to where we left it but we've all been really busy lately and decluttering has not been at the top of our list of things to do. That has changed this week, though, as we have about 20 people coming for a party tomorrow. I'm on my way to the supermarket and when I get back from that, I'll be spending the rest of the day cleaning and decluttering. DW did quite a bit yesterday as she is off on Fridays. And when this party is over, the cleaning must continue as Passover is just 2 weeks away and we host our family dinners. I'll report back later.

[disneysteve]

I've spent most of the day so far cleaning. Not quite as much decluttering as actual cleaning (dusting, vacuuming) but I did go through the large pile of newspapers and recycled everything but the Parade magazines and the travel sections from past weeks. I usually save the business sections and local news sections but at this point those are all outdated and not worth keeping.

DD cleared out a crate of books from the family room. I think she kept them all but found spots for them on her bookcases in her room.

A number of things got back into the basement for storage as they were no longer needed where they were on the main floor. One box got packed up for Goodwill.

[marvholly]

It’s a new month so today is time to review my saved inserts and my clipped coupons for expireds. I only clip coupons for things I regularly use/pass on to family & friends. I save the inserts for things I would buy/try/donate in case a REALLY good deal (FREE) comes up.

[marvholly]

Did my federal & state tax returns today. Did not get rid of anything but all those spread sheets, w-2's, 1099's, cc statements, utility bills....are now collated & filed.

[snafu]

Digital de-clutter

For those who still have 2010 e-mails in your INBOX; take a couple of minutes to create a folder named '2010.Archive' and 'Move' anything dated 2010 [or earlier]

Remember to keep your e-ddress book current and back-up this important tool.

Any e-mails that require action are best tagged 'unread' if they still need your attention.

[creditcardfree]

For those who still have 2010 e-mails in your INBOX; take a couple of minutes to create a folder named '2010.Archive' and 'Move' anything dated 2010 [or earlier]

Great tip! I have folders for online purchases, vacation itineraries, school and extracurricular activities for the kids, as well as a folder for emails from special people in my life. I do occassionally check the folders for outdated emails.

[Frugal]

What did I declutter today? Well, I saved money by cleaning out our computer desk cabinets, and finding some items I needed to sell on E-Bay, like a digital camera and an I-Phone charger. I also found some old items that were sorely needed. It helps to start a little spring cleaning early in the season!

I also cleaned out my coupon organizer, and got rid of coupons that expired 3/31/11. I do this the first week of each new month, and it allows me to make room for new coupons I find in sales fliers, and in the newspapers, as well as online.

I also decluttered my file cabinet, and helped to organize bills. Decided to throw out some old food and grocery receipts from 2009; decided it was not necessary to keep receipts that long (used to hear from my dad that you should keep all your receipts ten years, but I don't find it necessary to keep them that long)!

[My English Castle]

One more of DD's coats went to our admin person today. She's happy; I'm happy. I just need to keep moving more more more.

[khosta]

My roommates are moving out in May - though I will miss them dearly because they really are the best roommates ever - I also cannot wait for themt o leave so I can declutter and re-organize the whole house!!! This makes me so excited!!!!

[shanecurran]

This last weekend I gave away dog toys, a small kennel, and a dog food container to a friend. It was time: my westie passed 3 years ago and we do not plan to get another dog. I gave some old comic books I was saving to my friends son who will enjoy them more. I also disposed of old car parts that I will never use including the stock radio that will never return to my car.

[disneysteve]

We are enjoying the lack of clutter that has resulted from all of our cleaning over the weekend to prepare for our party. It feels so much nicer to walk into a room that doesn't have stuff piled on the flat surfaces and floor. Now the challenge is to keep it that way. We need to maintain the place clean for the next 2 weeks due to hosting Passover dinner so hopefully that will give us time to keep in the habit of not allowing the clutter to return.

[disneysteve]

A few days ago, my wife suggested that we clean out our bedroom closet. I said that since our daughter would be out of town this weekend and we had nothing to do, we could tackle that on Saturday. So this morning after breakfast, we got to it. We have a fairly small walk-in closet with one hanging bar on either side with 2 shelves over each bar. We decided to work from the top down and started by taking everything out from the 4 shelves. We also added a few things from the closet floor to that pile.

We then went through everything we had pulled out, decided what to keep, what to trash, what to give away. We dusted off the shelves and anything that was going back in, and returned the items we wanted to keep, making sure to put them back in a more orderly fashion. A number of things went into the Goodwill pile. A few things went into the trash. We consolidated some stuff to take up less room. And we now have the shelves looking much neater with less junk piled on them.

We didn't get to do the floor of the closet today so that will be a project for another time, but we're happy with the results so far from cleaning off the shelves.

[snafu]

Great going all on de-cluttering. It's so much easier to keep up the house when float surfaces are clear of clutter and every item in the closet is ready to be worn, no rips, no stains, no missing buttons, not ugly but flattering.

[marvholly]

I’m finally BAAAACCCCK!!!

I managed to do 3 of 10 drawer interiors in the kitchen in 2+ hours this morning. I tossed 21 handfuls of …..junk. I put 3 items in the donate pile. I moved a BUNCH of other items (tools, antiques/collectables/office supplies/leather luggage tags) to where they “should” be. Crediting myself w/24 items in declutter.

Two of the drawers have flatware. One set is from when I married in 1969 that I moved to the stove/work area and the other I have had 15-20 years. I have NOT cleaned out those flatware holders in those 15-20 years. For the time it took to wash the holders I think it would have been more economical to just get new ones at the dollar store.

I still have a full trun and a carton of stuff in my car and another in my foyer to donate and I am NOT counting those items until I actually drop them off. Because of the $$ of gas I am holding back on going out of my way to do the donations.