TO DECLUTTER or not.....
Ivie I
5 years ago
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K R
5 years agoAngel 18432
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Aren't decluttering and reorganizing 2 separate issues?
Comments (11)I think they're separate issues, but closely linked. You can have an organized home that's very cluttered--that's me, actually. Most of the things I truly need on a daily to monthly (and sometimes beyond) basis, have a home. I can find them. I can get to them when I need them. That's organized. But I've also got too much stuff sitting around the house. Things I don't use (or that other people in my home own but don't use). Then there's you, it sounds, w/ much less extraneous stuff, but perhaps not all of it as easily accessed when needed. Unfort., your organizing solutions are going to be pretty individual. Some ideas frm the rest of us can help, but it's hard to tell which ones. Some stuff to ponder: -is stuff stored near where you use it? This might cue you to move things from one cabinet to another--if you're always getting up and walking somewhere to get a tissue, you need to move the tissues to near that chair. Sometimes this leads to counterintuitive storage--I keep my pantyhose in the nightstand, bcs I sit on the bed to put them on. I keep my bill-paying box in the DR, bs I use the DR table. -are there tasks that mean you have to walk all over to get the stuff you need? (me and paying bills, for example, until recently--stamps in one drawer, trash can somewhere else, check a third place, pens somewhere else, envelopes another place) This might lead you to creating little "capsules"--a bill-paying box for me, or a baking center in the kitchen, or a "writing notes to the teacher" center in the dining room. -is there stuff that falls down, gets jumbled, gets shoved over so it's hard to get to? This could lead you to drawer organizers, baskets inside kitchen cabinets to hold spices, shelf dividers to keep stacks of sweaters from falling over, etc. Do you often have to pick up one thing to get to -another? plastic bins in stacks, perhaps? This might lead you to closer shelf spacing, or to drawers instead of bins, or something. Which might mean it' easier to get the stuff you use. And if you don't put stuff back in the spot you pick for it, why not? First, be sure there's a "hole" in its right spot, as Julie says. Second, each time you are tempted to just shove it in the cabinet, ask yourself, "which is harder: putting it in the right spot, or looking for it later?" Also, make things easy to put away, even if it's harder to get them out. If you won't put it in the place you've designated, maybe that's a cue you should reconsider where you're storing it. Another thing you might do to get yourself to put stuff int he right spot is, label the spot. Put a sticker that says "green casserole" on the shelf where the casserole goes....See MoreDecluttering questions
Comments (14)Talley Sue, that's an interesting perspective. I have come to the opposite conclusion - if an item is donated, I figure it creates jobs in my community - but then, my "charity" of choice is Value Village. I like its vibe in my community and that it provides that many local jobs. I feel like I'm donating to my local economy. I certainly throw away or recycle what needs to go - I don't want to burden VV with excessive disposal costs, after all. There was a time I was so environmentally conscious that I would throw nothing away that could remotely be re-used, but then I realized my house was functioning as a large dumpster :-) And now I have so many more recycling options that I let things go more easily in that direction. I don't want to clutter their shelves with junk either! I think another issue I've become aware of is sending things back into the economic pool while they are current, rather than waiting until they are obsolete. This would apply to electronics and fashions, especially. Either that, or keep till truly vintage :-) I do make these decisions very difficult for myself, but I know that my priority is to avoid regrets - I have so many already to keep me lying awake at night that I don't want to add any new ones. My goal is to feel good about the decisions I make, even if they are delayed. Karin L...See MoreCan't hide from it any longer...time to de-clutter!
Comments (24)I have to say decluttering is not all its cracked up to be. I went through a big one recently. Now I must admit... it felt so liberating... but there was a catch to that liberation. See, I was in the process of getting rid of a lot of things when one day I got a flyer on my door stating that a charity would be coming by and if I would like to donate then all I have to do is leave my bag on the front lawn clearly marked and they would pick it up. WHAT? someone is coming to get my junk? YES!! I had a week. and silly them for thinking it would only be ONE bag. They asked for it they are going to get it!! I thought this was soooo wonderful so I got busy. On the day of pick up I spread a large tarp in my yard and filled it with bags and bags of everything under the sun; from clothes to DVD's and VCR tapes, to books to old pots, pans and knives to furniture to whatever. I went through every room and purged and then went through them and purged again. On the day of pick up they left a few things behind that they decided they did not want either and I just put a "free" sign on it and it was gone by the end of the day. OMG you can never imagine how great this felt. I danced through the house in my new spaces. The elation did not last long though because while I love the way it made my house look so much neater there was a huge problem. NOW I CAN'T FIND JACK IN HERE. Say what you want but when you live in a lot of clutter there is a method to the madness and you know where everything is. For example... I moved my uniform shirts into a pocketbook rack in my closet. I thought this will be neat to have everything right here in one place. Made sense at the time. Next week I could not find them because I forgot where their new place was. It took me over three weeks and after ordering new shirts to find them. Oh yeah and not to mention that when I can't find something I assume I gave it way by accident. Like my uniform shirts, a pair of new shoes I still had in stretchers, and other stuff. COme to find out later I had them, I just couldn't find them. I damn near got in my car and drove to the charity place 4 hours away to see if they would let me go through my bags to find all my missing stuff. LOL. Okay so now to what to do about the dishes. I gave away things I wanted to hold on to for dear life as well. What I wound up doing is calling my daughter and nieces and gave them the story about the responsibility of being keepers of certain things in the family and I told them how important it was to preserve this stuff and NEVER give away. My nieces took the holiday serving platters and a few other things they really needed in their kitchen. Years ago I gave my son a whole china cabinet and it was full of dishes. It made him feel important and he thought it was impressive to be in his 20s and have a china cabinet already full of good china. I doled it all out like that and being that they know I am the family "stuff" keeper they felt it an honor to keep it for the family. Welp I hope that helped just a little bit, if nothing else but to give you a smile....See MoreDecluttering while moving back into your kitchen - does this work?
Comments (29)I think this is a great idea. When I unpacked boxes from the restoration people, I didn't have a kitchen. Microwave, the Freezer half of a side-by-side and a rolling dishwasher that drained into a hole in the floor. Glamorous. Didn't spend much time in there due to the lack of heat, walls, flooring, blah blah blah. I've since built, found and refurbished cabinetry. I have SO MUCH CABINET SPACE showrooms would be jealous. Ironically, I've also purged so much crap it's embarrassing. As I actually went to put things into the drawers, I realized I didn't need 3 rolling pins, even antique ones, since I don't bake, nor have a DH to beat with it. I was never going to make cheese with that kit. 90% of the spices I had I used once. I sorted out and donated 3 different and full sets of dishes. I gave my sister our family Lismore Waterford and other things like that. She entertains, I do not. I gave away entire pots and pan sets. I like pans and pots, but I don't need 7 different frying pans. I even have my grandmother's Farberware. Oh, there's more, but thankfully I can't remember. I do subscribe to the statistic that once you put something into a file cabinet, chances are very high that you'll never look at it again. I'm trying to resist loading up all this cabinetry with things I'm never going to use. So far, so good. Everything's on the counter....See MoreJ J
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