Decluttering

Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies
Thread starter
Veteran
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
29,761
Purraise
28,149
Location
In the kitchen
I'm on a mission. While Rick is away in September, my goal is to work on decluttering. I have two places to concentrate: our computer room and the basement (and maybe a little on the bedroom). Rick will be in Vegas on union stewards training for about a week and then he'll come home for a couple days before leaving for Oregon to go over financial books. He'll be gone almost another week. That gives me some time to get some serious cleaning done (although Rick says that gives me time to completely mess things up).

I've asked Dear Richard to please try to get a trip to the landfill in before he leaves for Vegas in a week or so. We have some things in the basement that could be taken and that alone would really help with organization. We have paid a deposit on a new shed for our back yard; that will hold gardening tools and equipment, which will also help the basement. The shed will be delivered at the beginning of October; meanwhile we have to work on a pad for the shed. Our son is coming up at the end of September to help dig it out and stone/cement the area.  We are working in the basement; as we get some extra money here and there, we do something down there. Our goal someday is to have a family-type room in the basement with a bathroom and nice laundry room. Someday. Meanwhile, it looks like a hurricane hit it. I can't deal with it anymore. I have canning and freezing supplies all over the place down there and I need to get it all put away again. (I'm down there almost every morning on the treadmill and, everywhere I look, I see a mess.)

The computer room is a mess, too. Rick has been diligently trying to clean his desk, but in all fairness, it's the mail and the bills that make his desk a mess. We do have a basket for current mail, but he uses it for other stuff. To make things worse, he also has union stuff scattered about his work area. He does file our paperwork regularly, but not regularly enough. My desk right now isn't much better. My bookcase is in complete disarray and, honestly, I don't know how to deal with it all anymore.

We have a recycling event around the end of the October, so that will help us, too, as there are a few things in the basement that we can take there.

I really hate a messy house. It can be the cleanest house on earth, but it if there's stuff strewn about, it still looks messy. The main thing is trying to organize it all and I have trouble with that. Part of the problem, too, is that Rick is a packrat. And he doesn't put anything away when he's done using it. He throws it on his work bench in the basement. In the computer room, he just tosses stuff on his desk. Nothing is ever put away. And I cannot convince him to put it away because he thinks it's a waste of time since he's only going to use it again. Our house is small and that doesn't help the situation.

As much as I'd love to have a garage for our cars, I'm almost thankful that we don't. It would just extend the mess! 


What do you do when you declutter? How do you handle it? 
 
Last edited:

pinkdagger

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
2,158
Purraise
468
Location
oh Canada~
Wow, it seems like everything you do around the house is done on a hardcore level!


I declutter whenever the boyfriend leaves for a day or two, and it usually involves me picking up and throwing away or cleaning his one-time use things, getting rid of the things the cats have torn apart, and throwing away all the old art things I toss on the dining table. A lot of the old papers and bills and such we get, I give to the birds to shred so I'll take all of the smaller pieces and discard them. Our apartment seems to have a "regular" level of clutter, and of organization so aside from rearranging, dusting, and vacuuming, fortunately there isn't always a ton for me to do. I try to do it bit by bit every week or two if I can work around him without getting in his way or without him being too much in my way.
 

kimkats000

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
May 9, 2003
Messages
79
Purraise
3
Location
N. Florida
About once a month I will tell my husband------------I am going in the laundry room and the computer desk. He KNOWS what the means. If it is laying around I will pile it up on his side of the bed IF it looks like it is something useful or important.  If he does not put it up before bed time it goes in the trash.

This has worked wonders for our clutter.  I do NOT do clutter. It hurts my head LOL

Kim
 

denice

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
18,888
Purraise
13,227
Location
Columbus OH
I am really pretty good about keeping clutter controlled.  The only thing that stacks up sometimes are those darned credit offers.  I have tried to stop them coming but I still get them.  I always shred that stuff before throwing them away which is why they stack up.
 

sivyaleah

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
6,264
Purraise
5,229
Location
New Jersey
Timely thread.

Tom is gone for the weekend.  I have a cardboard box load of my own personal papers sitting in the coat closet.  Our house is really kind of small, and lacks adequate places to store all my financially related paperwork; house purchase, investments, banking, and other miscellaneous house stuff like major purchases/warranties, etc.  Since I'm out of the house from early am until late pm daily, other than weekends, it has a tendency to pile up quickly.  

I went through what was sitting out in various spaces a few weeks ago.  Had a big bag to go to trash (recycle).  

I promised myself I'd go through that box while he's gone.  I had too many errands to run yesterday and today have a few also.  He returns late tomorrow.  I'd really love to be able to tell him that at least some of it was dealt with.  

He HATES the paper clutter.  I do too, but am at a loss as to how to organize it efficiently and permanently.  I know a lot of it can be thrown out at this point. And, some of it might be better off scanned and stored electronically.  I was just reading this morning that a good way to get rid of little things we all tend to keep hold of is to take a screen shot of the information, then toss the original.  You know, things like recipes, phone numbers of possible contractors, birthday cards, etc.

It isn't like I can put that stuff in the attic or basement (too difficult for me to get to if I need it when he's not around).  We have very little closet space (old house, shallow and small closets with little available shelving).   I'm on the hunt for some kind of filing system which won't take up a ton of space.  I *might* have some room on bookshelves in the living room and office, if they are in something that looks nice.  It's a given that they have to look nice if they are out in the open.

This isn't my forte.  And I really do dislike being surrounded by too much clutter.  Never minded it when younger but now it's too overwhelming to look at.
 

larussa

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
4,899
Purraise
71
Location
Central New Jersey
Luckily, for the most part I live alone.  Russ spends a lot of time here but doesn't mess with my stuff, he has his own stuff at his home to mess with
 

Right now I do have a closet in this computer room which needs to be cleaned out and some stuff, or maybe a lot of stuff to be thrown out.  It's  just like anything else, I have to be in the mood and feeling good enough to do it.  Once I get started tho, I will clean up the whole mess.

The mess is mostly on the top shelf, there are so many picture albums from trips I have taken including Europe.  I was thinking of getting rid of them but I know I will be sorry if I do.  I just need to straighten them out and make them look neater.  Anyway I will eventually get to it, it's the 'getting started' that is the problem.
 

fhicat

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Sep 21, 2013
Messages
3,261
Purraise
635
Location
Orange party
 
Wow, it seems like everything you do around the house is done on a hardcore level!
Difficulty level: Asian. 


I usually am pretty good at keeping clutter under control, since I live with a roommate, and we just tidy things up regularly. I usually am the one to vacuum and dust the whole apartment, when my roommate goes to his girlfriend's place. Much easier to do that without someone else getting in the way. 
 My desk is usually clear of things because kitty likes to sleep on it, and he complains if there's no space for him to lie.
 

swampwitch

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 30, 2006
Messages
7,753
Purraise
158
Location
Tall Trees & Cold Seas Vancouver Island
With three humans living in a <1000 sq ft house, we can't have a lot of clutter. Also, clutter = chaos to me and I can't think straight so we have to keep it down.

The closets seems to really fill up, though, as does the basement, so I'm always pulling stuff out to donate. Our daughter's room was always a complete horrible mess but she seems to be getting a grip on it better now that she's 16, and she keeps it fairly decent. Her closet, though, is a nightmare and everything needs to be pulled out. She's suddenly getting a LOT of hobo spiders in her room, one or two a day, and they are pretty aggressive critters whose bites are severe. She's allergic to spider bites on top of it, and I am suspicious of all the stuff thrown into her closet, there might be a spider nest or two. Will make for a fun day, no doubt.

Looks like we will have lots of time to clean, since the BC teachers are striking ONCE AGAIN so school is not starting Tuesday. (The strike has been - ridiculously - going on for 12 years.)
 
Last edited:

pinkdagger

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
2,158
Purraise
468
Location
oh Canada~
Wow - what is going on with the teachers in BC!? That's pretty ridiculous. I've only seen my school go on strike once before the Christmas break for about two weeks, and other than that, there have only been talks of strikes in my old district. My university went on strike when I was a Teacher's Assistant, so to avoid crossing the picket line to work, the professor invited students down to his company's office for a tour.
They paid me well enough - and by far better than any other job I've had - that I didn't feel a need to get involved with the union, which I also personally thought was receiving a generous salary. I've never heard of any grievances last as long as twelve years.

I love how cleaning tends to revolve around getting other residents out of the house and out of the way so we can get to the real cleaning! This weekend we had company and I spent three days cleaning, and by the final day, I was getting weird looks for the amount of vacuuming I did both on and off the floor. I like my place as dust and feather and fur-free as it'll get. I know it won't last long, but it's nice to have it even briefly!
My parents hated clutter and cleaned every week, so I'm glad I got into those habits. I can't imagine living in a sty.
 

MoochNNoodles

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
36,707
Purraise
23,646
Location
Where my cats are
I have a serious need to declutter!!  My 2 year old has decided he will not stay in his crib so I need to truly toddler proof his room and decide if I'm going to make it as boring as possible so he will sleep or leave him some entertainment options to at least be quiet so WE can sleep.  I am not impressed with any of these options.  
  I removed most of the kid's toys from our living room because they weren't picking up after themselves at all without lots of nagging.  I stacked them in my foyer; but that is where I need to move our changing table so those have to go.  Both the kids' closets have things that belong to me in there and DD needs some kind of storage system for her bedroom toys (things too small for DS).  My master closet has become a catch-all...  The kitchen table and my desk are really bad too.  I need those spaces clear so DD can do her preschool work in peace and focus! Most days I feel like I'm fighting to keep up with toy clutter (even in the toy-reduced state since I have to supervise so much!) and dishes and feeding people.  

I think what I need is several days completely kid free to pull everything out and put it back again or get rid of it.  Getting rid of things is VERY hard for me.  But I don't have much of a choice at the moment. 
  It's not "hoarder" bad; but things just accumulate and need this periodically I guess. 
 

kathyfromcanada

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
393
Purraise
35
Location
I live in Richmond Hil, Ontario, Canada
 
I'm on a mission. While Rick is away in September, my goal is to work on decluttering. I have two places to concentrate: our computer room and the basement (and maybe a little on the bedroom). Rick will be in Vegas on union stewards training for about a week and then he'll come home for a couple days before leaving for Oregon to go over financial books. He'll be gone almost another week. That gives me some time to get some serious cleaning done (although Rick says that gives me time to completely mess things up).

I've asked Dear Richard to please try to get a trip to the landfill in before he leaves for Vegas in a week or so. We have some things in the basement that could be taken and that alone would really help with organization. We have paid a deposit on a new shed for our back yard; that will hold gardening tools and equipment, which will also help the basement. The shed will be delivered at the beginning of October; meanwhile we have to work on a pad for the shed. Our son is coming up at the end of September to help dig it out and stone/cement the area.  We are working in the basement; as we get some extra money here and there, we do something down there. Our goal someday is to have a family-type room in the basement with a bathroom and nice laundry room. Someday. Meanwhile, it looks like a hurricane hit it. I can't deal with it anymore. I have canning and freezing supplies all over the place down there and I need to get it all put away again. (I'm down there almost every morning on the treadmill and, everywhere I look, I see a mess.)

The computer room is a mess, too. Rick has been diligently trying to clean his desk, but in all fairness, it's the mail and the bills that make his desk a mess. We do have a basket for current mail, but he uses it for other stuff. To make things worse, he also has union stuff scattered about his work area. He does file our paperwork regularly, but not regularly enough. My desk right now isn't much better. My bookcase is in complete disarray and, honestly, I don't know how to deal with it all anymore.

We have a recycling event around the end of the October, so that will help us, too, as there are a few things in the basement that we can take there.

I really hate a messy house. It can be the cleanest house on earth, but it if there's stuff strewn about, it still looks messy. The main thing is trying to organize it all and I have trouble with that. Part of the problem, too, is that Rick is a packrat. And he doesn't put anything away when he's done using it. He throws it on his work bench in the basement. In the computer room, he just tosses stuff on his desk. Nothing is ever put away. And I cannot convince him to put it away because he thinks it's a waste of time since he's only going to use it again. Our house is small and that doesn't help the situation.

As much as I'd love to have a garage for our cars, I'm almost thankful that we don't. It would just extend the mess! 


What do you do when you declutter? How do you handle it? 
Funny you should bring this up. Our garage is a total mess. Bruce just got started on that as he is on holidays for a week, only. He put up some cupboards (the old ones from the kitchen) in the garage. At least it's a start. He has to finally break down and throw some crap ( I mean stuff, lol) out to the dump. Until he get's this organized, he won't be able to park the car in the garage. Living in Canada, I can tell you this is a necessity.

Pam, if your willing to part with some of your books, you could give them to the library. I got rid of a whole bunch of them to free up space in the book shelf. The loved it as they were looking for donations as they were starting up a new library in the south end of Barrie. I know what you mean about paper work. Holly cow, I've got to clean our computer room for the 2nd time in a month from paper work.

You ask how I declutter? One room at a time, other wise I find it over whelming. Bruce needs to buy some peg board too, so he can hang his tools from the wall. Our next door neighbour has a spotless garage. Everything is organized. So he knows it can be done, period. By the way, Bruce is also a pack rack and it is really tough for them to part with anything. Definitely the shed will help though. Good luck!     
 

peaches08

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
4,884
Purraise
290
Location
GA
I'm the same way.  I've actually thrown away a LOT of stuff during the past move, and still throwing stuff out.  I'm just not fast at it.  I also have the fear of throwing something out that I need later, and have to buy it again.  I've had to be so frugal for so long, it's hard to let go.  I'll be watching this thread for tips!
 

neely

May the purr be with you
Veteran
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
19,815
Purraise
48,260
Since I'm a teacher I always put off major declutter projects until summer.  Of course when summer comes I want to be outside doing fun stuff not stuck in the house with clutter.
  My husband is a major collector, i.e. goes to every garage or estate sale and can't come home empty handed.  Needless to say even when I declutter there's always new clutter to replace it.  As for papers, I'm definitely guilty of not being able to throw them away because I think I might need them for future reference.  Part of me wishes we would move because then I'd be forced to deal with all this clutter!  I envy people who have neat, tidy houses but wonder how they can possibly keep them that way.
 

micknsnicks2mom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
11,590
Purraise
5,295
Location
...with the cats...
i'm starting a round of decluttering too. i started yesterday, with taking pics of a hutch i'll be listing on craigslist. i'm hoping to either barter it for a solid wood student-sized desk or sell it. my goal is to have the hutch gone before next spring.

the other area i'll be working on is my kitchen counters. just two little areas that collect papers and assorted little stuff. i'll file the papers away, and sort/put away the little stuff.

i declutter on a pretty regular basis, so it's not too much for me to deal with each time i do it.

i'm also in the process of rearranging some (mostly) cat furniture and a little of my (human) furniture. i'm doing this slowly, over a period of several months, so snick can adjust to the changes gradually over a period of time.
 
Top