The decluttering continues

Another kitchen cupboard decluttered & cleaned (with Thieves Essential Oil diluted in water, love the smell) and come Summer, there will be even less on the bottom shelf. A large portion of the items belong to the air conditioner but could be for the old ones. Will recycle parts for what we don’t need when we start using it in 3 months or so.  It’s really weird having such empty cupboards but I know when we move, I’ll probably need to purge more. 

Re-de-cluttering

First thing today I shovelled the decks & dusted, polished & cleaned the guest room. I don’t know where the day went just puttering around, it felt like I didn’t accomplish anything other than checked off 2 of the 10 things from the Hunny Do List. He was very appreciative. Lol. I guess it’s actually my to do list by Friday but at least it’s on the fridge & he might just undertake a task or two.

I did re-de-clutter the closet while searching for hand warmers. They were by the front door in a basket but I moved them to the deck door and forgot where I put them, so back to the front door they go. Brain like a sieve.

The shovelling did my back in quite early in the day, just standing was painful, so when I only got my second decluttering task half done and the contents are in a bin lid on the counter. I don’t have dividers and it irritates the heck out of me when everything slides to the back of the drawer, including the nonslip shelf liner. Any suggestions that would solve the problem?

The office....AGAIN!

Another early start to the day with the Olympics on tv, but me not being a sports fan I decided to tackle just the boxes left over from decluttering the office closet. I only got half way through & down to a bin & small container when I realized I have company coming on Friday for the weekend and better forgo decluttering and focus on cleaning. Bahahahaha. Yeah right. Me? Focus?

I shoved the remaining boxes into the guest suite (not even going to post a pic of that chaos) and started rearranging so I could steam clean the carpet (there’s a stain I strategically hid with the bins) and then the room is completed....one would think.

I wasn’t satisfied with the arrangement, as per usual, so I dragged in all 4 custom-made cat furniture pieces that were randomly spread around the house. I think they look better all together but need to decide which of the chairs to keep as there really only needs to be one. The cats love sleeping in the green wingback chair and I like the office chair. Keeping in mind it’s more the 3 cats’ room with 3 hidden litter boxes & a cat door than it is my office anymore. Many years in the future, NONE of anything in the room will move with us when we downsize, so which chair should I keep?

PS. Rather than drag the wingback chair out, which is extremely difficult, I rearranged AGAIN to accommodate both chairs and continued vacuuming & then steam clean the hallway and master bedroom vanity area. By that time, supper was ready but my back was shot. Ow ow ow ow ow.

PPS. Did I mention company coming is my step daughter who is an Interior Designer? Yeah. After supper I rested... oh wait no, folded laundry & made the bed, braved the -33 windchill to start my car to get the mail but the blowing snow made for zero visibility so instead, I waded through above the knee snow to feed and water the 2 feral cats (-20 in the playhouse, I think they live underneath it & only go in through the cat door to eat, then go back) Once back in and warming by the gas fireplace, we watched tv but before the show even ended, I moved one of the love-seats and taped the baseboard & window trim on the east living room wall in preparation for....guess who’s painting tomorrow? That is if I can get out of bed. Why do I do this to myself? 

Less Is More

I’ve always loved the saying, “less is more” and am now trying to live by it. Why I loved it years ago was because a radio station I worked for had a contest named not exactly that, but “Les is More”, where an elderly gentleman by the name of Les was the fellow who went around town and if you were the first to find him, received a prize. BRILLIANT!

I woke early this morning & decided to tackle a small declutter while everyone was still in bed. The granddaughter Monroe even lent a hand before SHE wanted to watch a movie, but I convinced her, while sitting on our bedroom floor putting on temporary tattoos, to string some beads together to make jewelry instead. (can watch a movie anytime but it’s not really quality time) While looking for the beads we found a couple of empty mini containers so change of plans. We spent the day making lip balm instead. Every so often she would chide me to stop cleaning. I need to be reminded of that every so often but I really need to remind her to clean as you go, because once all the fun was done, guess who disappears as soon as the cleanup begins. Lol. Kids will be kids.

Next, after making snow angels, a tractor ride with grandpa and a snowmobile ride with her Dad, they left to take her back to her mom’s and I continued to declutter, clean, dust & condition the entire wall unit. My new decluttering motto is to only do so when I am alone so as not to take away from or interrupt family time. 92 DVD & 75 VHS movies are boxed up and ready to go away. There is still a small box of CD’s & cords left to declutter but I’m saving that for next weekend when Monroe returns so she can participate in a life lesson I hopes she will learn. The importance of “Less is More” 

🎶 99 magazines in the rack. 99 magazines 🎶

today I am decluttering all my old magazines and am going through them before donating to a day care for crafts. “First for women” September 15, 2014. Still has great ideas. My favourite ones I’m keeping digitally. Good thing I have an external hard drive. I’m a photo hoarder. 1 down, 98 to go.

21 Days

My 2 cents for today are 

1) back in the 70’s, a researcher suggested that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit (which is actually a myth, it’s more like 2 months according to Forbes) and 

2) Newton's third law of motion; “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” 

These 2 sayings came to me when I was on day 21 of the challenge that I did this month because something strange happened. On day 21, after satisfactorily completing the skating rink on the pond after days of plowing and flooding, my fiancé went to the woodworking shop and decluttered, cleaned & organized the entire building. On day 22, step son comes home from Costco with a huge shelving unit and after removing an old fridge and set it up, he started decluttering, cleaning & organizing the kitchen. Day 23, he does the same to their front porch and then day 24, his girlfriend arrives with paint supplies (they live in a house attached to ours) and now they are decluttering & repainting one of the upstair’s bedrooms. So in conclusion and it is MY conclusion: 21 days MAY have cause and effect, ie cause an effect that can create an equal and SIMILAR reaction.

PS. I did nothing today other than make a new crockpot recipe for supper, pack a suitcase and google information about Cuba. We booked a last minute deal and we leave Friday. Happy early Valentines Day to me. Dishes are still in the sink.

 

Peel & Stick

While I was at it..... I sort of understand linoleum under sinks because it’s water resistant but the edges tend to curl. When it’s glued, stapled AND duct taped down, I thought it would be a difficult task to remove Thankfully there was a layer of wallpaper underneath that made it easier. Guest bathroom cabinet cleaned, peel & stick tiles installed, contents decluttered.

Winter Mice?

So much for a do nothing day. Too cold to go down to the skating rink and watch hockey so I puttered around the house. We needed towels to set on the seat of the truck when delivering ribs & pierogis to the crew for supper, so after digging around for some old ones, I said what the heck. Thanks to seeing mouse dropping on the floor I scrubbed & stuck down 4 adhesive tiles & set a trap. Tell me why I have cats again? 

Oops

Today I am working on turning the 2 left drawers into a door & creating a hole on the side for the litter cabinet. Jigsaw is in woodworking shop ... outside ...-15 C. Brrrrr

Aaaaand done.... the closet anyway. So is my back since I rearranged things as it was not conducive to the cats and that’s really what it is. The cat room. Lol. 6 boxes & baskets stacked so I can sit & go through one at a time. 5 boxes of cassettes & CD’s to go through & donate to a music therapy foundation. Company tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Oops. Dripped paint on the chair and didn’t notice. How do I get it off now?

Decluttering Never Ends

I’m backtracking to the office. I decluttered once when I repainted. I decluttered again when I put up the tool shelf. Now I need to declutter the boxes on the top shelf. I’m pretty sure they are all full of cassettes. I’m tempted to empty it completely and repaint it but that’s my mind talking before asking my back how it feels. Another day. Lol

Bonus Declutter

Got another set of kitchen drawers decluttered, cleaned & organized while waiting for paint to dry. Lol

I think I’m done decluttering!

DAY #22 - Do some advance prep. (Leftovers for supper) ✔️
DAY #23 - Count your blessings. Happy Thanksgiving! (Every day is a thankful day) ✔️
DAY #24 - Celebrate Buy Nothing Day. (Will for the rest of the year other than necessities)✔️
DAY #25 - Declutter your bedroom closet ✔️
DAY #26 - Declutter the floor & shelves in your closet. ✔️
DAY #27 - Declutter hanging clothes. ✔️
DAY 28 - Clean out your closet - final day ✔️
DAY 29 - Clean out your dresser drawers. ✔️
DAY 30 - Declutter your nightstand. ✔️

Other than a few kitchen drawers and clear out all the bins & boxes in the guest suite (hubby will do that) I just need to load up everything by the front door that’s going into town with me tomorrow. Recycling & donations will get done and I can focus on daily cleaning and upkeep. And Pinterest projects. Painting with Purrl continues

DAY #21 - Clean the guest bathroom

 Last night, I got the guest suite in better order. At least you can get into it and everything is boxed up and ready to go out the back door. Today I was supposed to head to the airport but hubby went instead and while he got some quality time with his daughter, I slept in and then started on the bathroom. Last weekend I was debating on repainting it and did some test strips so today I thought, what the heck. Let’s Do It!

Hubby doesn’t like it. Says it makes the room seem smaller. I know. But it’s like hair colour. I can change it any time. It just needed some pizzazz.

DAY #20 - Get your guest room ready for guests

Nooooooo. I doewanna. K. I will later today only because there are 2 and 1 is the guest room and the other is the guest suite. Room I can do because yesterday some of the clothes from my closet purge were thrown on the bed. Easy tidy up. The suite however, is back to being a dumping ground. Will deal with that another day as I have to deal with the mess of clothes & hangars & junk on the master bedroom floor without overdoing it.

My ankle is tender. My back is too. My day is starting. How about you?

Well I decided to tackle the guest room after all. Since I had to hang up the clothes on the bed I started with the closet. I had purged it a while ago but it needed more (and still needs more.) Half way through I realized I have to pick up my stepdaughter at the airport tomorrow (3 1/2 hours away) and she is spending the night. I think Purrl approves and it’s time for lunch.

Break time! Mess on the floor in master bedroom almost done. Oh look! I can see the top of the dresser!

Bag for donation. Bag to sell. Pile of old t-shirts for rags for the woodworking shop. Hanging clothes to donate WITH Hangars (will wrinkle less rather than in bags until I can take to town)

Blue bin. All the odds and ends that I will go through later. Is that cheating? I know, I know but I’ll find my “Round Tuit” later.

DAY #19 - Clean up the family/living room

Nope. I tackled the bedroom closet & armoire. Oh, & put all the groceries away, (thankful hubby does grocery shopping) ate supper standing at the counter while cleaning the freezer.

Is it just me and my ADHD or does each task seem to have a trickle down effect? I am still struggling to stop cleaning & rearranging and focus on decluttering and leaving it. I guess if I am never satisfied with the final outcome, there is no FINAL outcome? Does having too much stuff offer me too many options?

Yesterday’s “cleaning” the entryway led to “cleaning” the front room led to “cleaning” the living room. (Cleaning=rearranging) I swapped the end tables from the 2 rooms, moved the sofa table into the dining room, dining room table into the front room, guest suite table into dining room, turned the kitchen table  into an island, etc. Yeah. It’s exhausting. My stuff is exhausting me. It’s filling up space but not filling up ME! It’s taking away. Taking up my time, energy & attention on “cleaning” rather than on living. Doing. Being.

Aha moment. Thank goodness I found that promoted post on Twitter or I would just continue the cycle & circle.

DAY #18 - Clean & organize your hall closet

So much for a do nothing day. My back is still sore but not as bad as last night. You get used to living with chronic pain so I got several things done.

First, not that it’s in a hall but it didn’t take long to clean and organize the closet by the side deck. I used to keep the chair pads from the deck there but since cleaning out the guest suite, I was able to hang them in there.

The front door has 2 sets of hooks on either side. One is made from horseshoes but is taken down as that wall is getting painted by stepson next and I want the 2 switched because it’s larger and there is more room on the right. The other was a gift to hubby from his youngest son. I’ll need to find a new place for it. Hmmmm

DAY #17 - Clean & declutter your entryway

I’m sure it’s just the front door but with 4 doors to enter or exit the house, I took note of each one, did what I could.

The entry from the front deck is shovelled & cleaned (inside) but not decluttered. I have more piles set there to take to Salvation Army when we go into town next week

The entry from the side deck is decluttered but not cleaned. I will be repainting the area in the near future. Saving it til then.

The French Doors in the bedroom to the side deck are decluttered but not cleaned. It’s gotten too cold out and it’s blocked by a huge snowdrift. Hot tub doesn’t run in the winter so we don’t use it except to let the cats in or out and they certainly aren’t interested in going out in this cold.

The back door from the guest suite is seldom used but was cleaned, repainted & decluttered before Xmas. It needs to be decluttered again as every day I put more items in that room for the garage sale. Hubby will take them out to the grain bin with the tractor next time he is using it.

I spent most of my day rearranging furniture, which is not good for my back so helping push the Canada Post Mail Lady’s van when she got stuck making a 3 point turn on our gravel road did not help. Note to self - keep a shovel in every vehicle. Although the hockey stick worked, I’m sure it would have been more productive with the proper tool.

DAY #16 - Organize your work space

I actually did that back in May. Moved out everything other than the desk. Even moving it back from the wall to in front of the window was tough. Painted a wall a day and then one day for the trim, another for the door. Clean up next day. Yup. A week to paint a room.

DAY #15 - Recycle something

We recycle as much as we can since we live on a farm & store household garbage in a utility trailer until we haul it to the nearest county dump. I used to have 3 large blue bins for recycling but changed to smaller green bins with paper bags to separate as some years we are away more than we are home. Batteries, electronics, glass, tin, cardboard & newspaper are all separated and taken to RediRecycle in town. Beverage containers are taken to the wood shed and the can are crushed in a garbage compactor before being taken to Redi for cash back. 10 cents a can, 25 for 2 litre bottles. It’s my mad money. A pedicure here. A manicure there. A treat that’s not in the budget.

Some days I find myself removing recyclables from the garbage can. It has taken me many years to retrain the step children and even though they are grown & gone, they continue the new tradition and hubby relapses every so often.

Not sure if Princess Purrl is helping or hindering but she is definitely not recyclable.

DAY #14 - Clean your laundry room.

Nope. We got new pedestals for the laundry pair at Christmas and everything got cleaned then, even under, behind, beside & around when we installed them. Besides, Sunday is a day of rest, sort of, as I don’t seem to be able to sit still on do nothing days.

After pancakes made by the 9 yr old granddaughter for everyone, and our Sunday tradition of watching a movie (Tangled) on the iPad in bed, she headed back to her mum’s in town. Then the guys went out to plow the newly fallen snow in the yard and at the skating rink.

For some reason I had the urge to paint. Last year I bought a bread box & potato bin from my friend’s business on Facebook. She even threw in a plate rack for free because the colour matched. The colour was cream. Way too yellow for my taste so I repainted them “cotton” which is the same paint as the trim that I painted over the dark dusty rose trim inside the house. (leftovers) Now I am painting everything I can find if I don’t like it’s colour. All with the help of my trusty sidekick, #PrincessPurrl Well, supervision when she’s not napping.