February 21 2019

Organizing 50 Years of Clutter

I recently helped someone declutter and organize a basement full of stuff. Well, okay, only part of a basement full of stuff. There were over fifty years of family “memories” stored there. These pics are from the second day of working on it. There was an entire car full of donations carried out and dropped at the local thrift store before we started on the second day.

Day two we focused on going through everything on the shelves and the getting some of the stuff they were planning to keep stored away in the empty spaces on the shelf so there would be more room to work and less stuff to trip over.

We sorted all the things into keep, donate, and trash piles. I am the voice of reason in these sessions because I can be objective about the stuff we are sorting and convince them to get rid of many things that might otherwise have been kept.

These are the after shots, and yes, there is plenty more room for improvement.

Look! Clear floor space!

When we started this entire area was full of piles of stuff that we managed to declutter.

More cleared floor space.

The pile closest to the bottom of the photo is a pile to be donated. The chairs toward the back are the sorting area.

We filled the shelf and then pulled this smaller shelf over to clear another area.

Progress on such a major project is best taken in small sessions so as not to be overwhelmed and overworked. If you need to, just rush into your dungeon of clutter and grab a box and take it somewhere less chaotic to sort through it. Perhaps setting a time limit would help you get more done. Set the time for 15 minutes and work as fast as you can until that timer goes off then take a break for five minutes and repeat the process as often as you can. Take before and after pics, they can be very motivating. Years ago I cleaned an attic by studying the before pics and planning my attack (what I could get rid of) ahead of time, which was easier for some reason. Try several different methods and tricks to keep from getting bored. Even just one short decluttering session a week can make a huge difference. In a year the project will likely be completely finished and you will look back in amazement at what you have accomplished.

Just jump in a do something. Future you will be so glad you started today.

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May 31 2018

Landing Project

Ok, what I am about to show you is horrifying, at least to me. We couldn’t fit all of the furniture from our master bedroom into the smaller room we had to move into after the ceiling fell in our room, so rather than haul it up to the attic or down to the basement, we took the easy way out and stuffed it into our landing leaving just enough room to walk past. Yes, it looks like a hoarding situation, I am aware.

Before…

That big pile there on top of the antique dresser behind the rocking chair is stuff my daughter decided was going to be donated to charity. We weren’t supposed to pile it there anymore but since we had been doing that for years, she forgot.

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May 24 2018

Reading Room Project

In case you haven’t heard, Hubby and I are officially empty nesters again, but this time it seems to be permanent. Last time, it was because the kids had gone off to college. Now, our son has a house he bought over a year ago and our daughter has signed a lease for an apartment so she is committed elsewhere for at least a year. We asked her to empty her room because we had plans for it.

Six or more weeks later, it still looked like this, and one Saturday we went up to clear off the desk so we could grow plants on it in front of the window. Before we started, we asked her to stop by after work on Sunday evening because we would have a box or two for her.

Before…

This shot was taken from the doorway. She had taken the stuff she knew she wanted out but wasn’t sure what to do with the rest. There didn’t seem to be any sort of system, but she later told us that some boxes were partially filled with items to donate to charity. Continue reading