Keep on not-keeping
It's so cute that I thought I could get our whole house / lives decluttered in only two years! I'm sure normal people do this all the time but I keep getting distracted and stalling out. I'm chipping away, though, I swear. I realize probably no one else will care one whit about any of this, but having it all here helps me stay (somewhat) motivated because I can see how far we've come. I think MB is feeling a little bit of despair over how bad things still look, but I have a strong suspicion that most of what's left is baby stuff and that as we unpack / use / pass on those things this year, the clutter that remains will drastically and quickly be pared down to a noticeable degree. Also, I think my definition of clutter and his definition of clutter vary from each other a bit. I don't necessarily count boxed-up things that I KNOW I will be using as clutter, but he definitely does. So, po-tay-to / po-tah-to.
Year one post: Housekeeping
Year two post: Year of decluttering II
The master list of things thrown away / accomplished is pasted below, but I'm going to start a fresh list for this year, too. As before, throwing out includes throwing away, giving away, donating to Goodwill, or selling, so most of the stuff on my list will (hopefully) not be stuff that went to the dump.
Throw Out All the Things
34. big box of magazines given away
35. half pickup-load of cardboard hauled to recycling center
36. non-liked ceiling fan from baby's room taken down and freecycled
37. old stand mixer / blender / processor given away
38. unused basement cabinet freecycled
Boxes taken to Goodwill: 2
Organize / Update All the Things
1. Nico's playroom reorganized / rearranged (even though we did it before the new year, I'm counting it)
Decluttering & Organizing Goals for 2013
1. convert guest room to baby's room
2. move wireless / printer setup from baby's room to master bedroom
3. finish clearing everything stored in the open from master bedroom
4. move crib from Nico's room to master bedroom, changing table to baby's room
5. reorganize / optimize linen cabinet
6. reorganize / optimize / pare down craft supply closet
7. move all important papers to basement filing cabinet
8. hang
2013 Consignment & Craigslist Profit: $82
2011 & 2012 Progress:
Throw Out All the Things
1. a big bag of non-preferred plastic food storage containers freecycled
2. four reusable water bottles freecycled
3. the old gas stove in the basement scrapped
4. non-Vista-compatible flatbed scanner given to MB's coworker
5. the remainder of Nico's powdered baby formula given to my coworker
6. all the expired food that was collecting dust (and guilt) in the pantry thrown out
7. National Geographic subscription allowed to expire (I'm counting this since for years I got the magazine but never made time to read it.)
8.
9. leaky exercise ball that I never used because it was always half flat thrown away
10. 90% of the empty boxes from the shelves in the furnace room recycled
11. outdoor trash can full of crap from shed thrown away
12. bag of cat-hair-covered curtains from our last apartment + raggedy old throw blanket thrown away
13.
14. one box of items posted on freecycle
15. worm composting bin cleaned out and loaned to my workplace
16. five (!) boxes of books donated to a fundraiser sale for the dog rescue that saved Indy
17. six boxes of stuff + a spare crock pot, dust buster, and rocking chair sold in a yard sale / packed up for consignment / donated to Goodwill / freecycled
18. set of extra (crappy) hand weights freecycled
19. garbage bag full of bubble wrap and packing peanuts freecycled
20. cool but space-hogging never-used owl mug tree set consigned
21. five pairs of too-small / raggedy jeans Goodwilled
22. kitty litter box freecycled
23. basket of expired baking chips thrown out (sadness!)
24. two shopping bags full of lotions, soaps, and other pamper-y stuff donated to women's shelter
25. whole bunch of old earrings passed on to mom and sister
26. four cool (but stored under the bed since JUNE 2004 WTF) Japanese panels consigned
27. two old TVs freecycled
28. giant box of borrowed maternity clothes returned to friend
29.
30. five pairs of old glasses donated to the Lions Club
31. box of wire hangers freecycled
32. old cabinet, spare high chair, and unused tent sold on Craigslist
33. three CD racks and a box of stuff consigned
Organize All the Things
1. Nico's bitty baby clothes sorted by size into plastic tubs and carried up to the attic
2. outgrown Nico jackets, bitty baby items / toys, and bitty baby bedding / swaddlers sorted into plastic tubs
3. currently-too-big Nico hand-me-downs sorted by size into boxes and stacked in the closet
4. outgrown Nico baby gear Tetrised into guest room closet
5. quote obtained for list of small home repair items we can't complete ourselves
6. breast pump and accessories washed and packed away
7. small home repairs done!
8. shed cleared out and organized
9. last of yard sale remnants sorted into three boxes for consignment and one (small!) one to keep
10. one box from bedroom pile sorted and put away
11. hand weights moved into a basket on the entertainment center instead of lying on the floor and serving as dog hair traps
12. breakfast nook / mudroom organized and top of dog crate cleared
13. whole bookcase of college books and notes carried down to new storage cabinets in the basement
14. basement decluttered!
15. gift wrapping supplies sorted and moved from guest room to basement
How many gift bags does one family need? Probably not this many.
16. two shelves on living room bookcase cleared / consolidated to make space for Nico things
17. buffet storage decluttered and reorganized
18. space cleared on top of bookcase for Nico's library books
19. bathroom cabinets purged of all unused and unneeded items
20.
21. all my pre-baby clothes removed from guest room closet and stored neatly in my own
22. guest room bookcase cleared of non-kid stuff
23. two of three bookcases in master bedroom decluttered & reorganized...now that they've been cleared of the useless hoardy crap, I have an ENTIRE shelf empty for more books!
24. After two years and 14 days, I finally framed Nico's hospital photo and newborn footprints. Hopefully it won't be another two years before I hang them on the wall. (Though he shouldn't feel too neglected. I've been married for seven years and still haven't framed a single wedding photo.)
25. busted drawers replaced with nice window bench
26. VHS movies moved into cabinet in playroom
27. third bedroom bookcase decluttered and organized
Decluttering & Organizing Goals for 2012
2. finish clearing LAST box
5. reorganize / optimize linen cabinet
6. reorganize / optimize / pare down craft supply closet
7. move all important papers to basement filing cabinet
8. buy a new shredder and take care of stacks of to-shred papers
10. hang diplomas, family photos, art, etc.
11. transition Nico into big boy bed
2012 Consignment & Craigslist Profit: $231
I actually find the decluttering process fascinating, possibly in the same way people are fascinated with the remodel of my house.
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