Prosperous soul embraces creativity & mortgage neutrality

Humdinger1

@savingholmes you really have said it re permission; I hope you're giving yourself a pat on the back as it's a huge achievement. I come from a cluttered family; my mother didn't open a bank statement for 7 years at one point and the cupboards full of stuff you wouldn't give to a jumble sale had to be seen to be believed.  It was all emotional of course.  I swing between OCD and Steptoe's Yard.  By the time I get down to decluttering, I've usually had a few goes so the real final stage is never that bad.  My DH is naturally organised and can't understand that I have to announce my intentions, with quite the flourish; trumpets, drums and a town crier would all feature in my perfect scenario, if a full marching band was sadly unavailable.  I still hark back fondly to the time my father turned up at school one day to help me organise my desk.  I was only 5 and had already spread into 2 desks!  It's all deep rooted and fascinating I find.  Happy New Year to you and all your devoted admirers.   Love Humdinger xx 

savingholmes

jwil said:

I agree about the concept of the kitchen being tidy making everything feel better - I'm not particularly good at achieving it though!

Thanks jwil. I am determined to get there.

girlatplay said:

I have 7 pairs of scissors but I use them constantly.  I've not long bought 3 of them because 4 weren't enough!

Thanks GAP - just before xmas I got given a box with lots of new pairs of scissors in it even though I already have loads. TBF I exaggerated yesterday (not in how many I have but in the not knowing where any are).  MF - I have 2 pairs in the kitchen and currently I know where 1 in the lounge is - plus I have at least one pair in my craft drawer. I know I have loads more though - despite giving some to DS at Xmas. 

boxofpaws said:

I always make sure the kitchen sink is empty and the kitchen worksurfaces are clean before I go to bed. Before I start any kind of project, like decorating etc, I make sure the kitchen is tidy. There is other stuff that stuck as well, like we always squeegee the shower screen when we get out, stuff like that.

I did loads of decluttering last year, but the spaces are slowly being filled up by other peoples junk

I’m dreading when my mum dies having to declutter. She has so much stuff, and it’s all junk, but I’m sure it will all take on new significance if she’s not here.

I can’t get rid of ANYTHING of my dad’s

I think the kitchen sink being cleared and counters is a good strategy and I'm sure it would improve my self esteem. Still not there... The decluttering task is never ending but I am hoping if I am more organised - I will see what I already have and not buy more until I'm sure it's gone. I don't know if I even own a squeegee. May be one in the car? I am very proud of myself though as I have got rid of the bag that was in the corner of the bathroom and put the stuff on a wooden 3 tier organiser (that I already owned). I now know I don't need shampoo, sun cream, hair removal products, toothpaste etc for a very long time!!

On your Dad's stuff - it's all very recent for you - not surprising it's hard to let his stuff go. When you are ready you can choose a few favourite things to remember him by, thank the rest and release them K0nd0 style.

savingholmes

skint_spice said:

My kitchen is tidy at least once a day but not always.  That said the areas that guests would come into are usually quite tidy, a house move involving putting things into storage forced me to part with some things but yet to deal with my clothes, I got rid of a few the other day but I still have too many for a woman who lives in active wear and scrubs!

Well done you. ~Sounds like you are winning the leader poll for organised home on my diary so far!! Well done for what you have let go. 

MovingForwards said:

I wish my parent would have decluttered or stopped buying stuff and just adding it to the walls of unopened stuff. 

 I've heard a lot of people say this when they lose a loved one. I think if I don't change - my kids would say that of me.

Lookafterthepennies2020 said:

I like the idea of getting rid of the duplicates however I think I would have to start small 

Me too... I've started with asking myself do I prefer A or B. Or if A is looking a bit rusty or whatever letting it go and keeping B. 

I listened to a utuber earlier and she said - letting things go isn't wasteful - keeping stuff you're not using is wasteful. That actually helped. She went on to say I was wasting my space when I keep things I didn't want or need. That went in my journal. I need to repeat it to myself like a mantra. 

I got my labeller out last night and sorted the internal shelf area of my new writer's bureau (1930s style). It has about 7 slots - so I have labelled them and given stuff a place. Now I know I am a visual organiser - with a 'bee' style - I am finding it much easier to sort my spaces. It also makes sense why I have so many see through boxes in my house - and why I have a preference for them. I found and washed out an old 1kea 5 section organiser earlier and have put that in the middle drawer of the bureau. I've also started making a home for spare cables in there.

Since I created a dedicated space for batteries last night (including a separate one for suspect ones) - my brain is spotting them all over the house and telling me to clear them to where they belong. If I had done this earlier in the week I would not have had such a panic over batteries as I would have known some were on the landing window sill... [roll eyes]. I've also created a slot for lightbulbs - so hopefully they will be tidied away soon too. I am finding labelling my areas is one of the things making the biggest difference. 

Right - well I'm off to the PO to return a router otherwise I'll be charged £35. 

Good luck to those decluttering. Hope you all have a great weekend. For those of you ill at the moment - wishing you blessings and a speedy recovery.

beanielou

skint_spice said:

My kitchen is tidy at least once a day but not always.  That said the areas that guests would come into are usually quite tidy, a house move involving putting things into storage forced me to part with some things but yet to deal with my clothes, I got rid of a few the other day but I still have too many for a woman who lives in active wear and scrubs!

You have really nice pink trainers which I really liked 

beanielou

The DW is an intersting one.
I see where it is going with helping the kitchen be tidy but the MSE in me could not do that.

girlatplay

Going back to the scissors, I forgot I have two pairs in my sewing kit, a large dressmaking pair and a small sewing pair, so that's me up to 9 pairs 🙈

I also find that keeping the sink clear helps.  I have finally come to accept that dirty dishes are always going to come back, no matter how many times I wash them.  I find it easier to do them if the sink is clear to start with.  They all get piled at the side and I do them from there.  We do have a dw and that helps because I rinse them and stack the dw first, then I tackle the non-dw ones.  I still want to cry after LMG has cooked but I'm really trying hard to train her to clear up a bit after herself.

Also, there's my bed.  It has to be clear at all times.  I don't dump stuff on it unless it's clean washing that I'm putting away at that moment.  LMG's bed is covered in clothes, hairbrush, all sorts of nonsense and she just pushes it to one side and gets in the other.  I can't bear that for me.  It is complete laziness on her part.

I try to keep a couple of areas clear and, as someone else said earlier, I hope that one day all the clear areas will meet up.

beanielou

Unfortunatly people keep giving me books.................

jwil

beanielou said:

Unfortunatly people keep giving me books.................

Oh but books are pure joy though!

beanielou

jwil said:

beanielou said:

Unfortunatly people keep giving me books.................

Oh but books are pure joy though!

They are but it's the space.........

savingholmes

Humdinger1 said:

@savingholmes you really have said it re permission; I hope you're giving yourself a pat on the back as it's a huge achievement. I come from a cluttered family; my mother didn't open a bank statement for 7 years at one point and the cupboards full of stuff you wouldn't give to a jumble sale had to be seen to be believed.  It was all emotional of course.  I swing between OCD and Steptoe's Yard.  By the time I get down to decluttering, I've usually had a few goes so the real final stage is never that bad.  My DH is naturally organised and can't understand that I have to announce my intentions, with quite the flourish; trumpets, drums and a town crier would all feature in my perfect scenario, if a full marching band was sadly unavailable.  I still hark back fondly to the time my father turned up at school one day to help me organise my desk.  I was only 5 and had already spread into 2 desks!  It's all deep rooted and fascinating I find.  Happy New Year to you and all your devoted admirers.   Love Humdinger xx 

Happy New Year Humdinger. I love the way you write - it always makes me smile. I sympathise with the swing between the 2 styles. I also have to announce that I'm doing the decluttering... 

GAP - I've conquered the bed thing - but remember that stage of life. 

Beanie - I love books - but have been gradually letting mine going and switching to digital and even audio. It's helped a lot with space. I used to have I reckon thousands of books before... You have reminded me I have a crate full in the garage that I am planning to get rid of. I am considering offering them on FB first - but otherwise may put out for charity on Monday. I think at this point I just want to see some visible progress. I promise I will do a tally up of how many boxes, crates and bags I get to when it finally leaves the house. I'm cheating slightly as a couple of bags are DS's stuff.