Quick Clean-Outs Are Great Too!

Today, my car was leaking coolant all over the car port floor. So, seeing I definitely going absolutely nowhere, and my Dad had an appointment for a few hours (once we let out all the coolant and cleaned it up), I thought to get in and do some serious tidying up.

Yep, this is the quick clean-up!

This is where you get in and tidy the areas of the house you've been meaning to clean out. 

For me, it's the box of shoes next to the front door. It's a red box I won years ago, filled with art equipment and now I put my shoes in it. However, the box has now begun to fall apart and look dreadful; so I emptied out the shoes, threw out whatever I didn't need in it and tossed the box. 

It's a box, I don't need it any longer and it's gone brittle, so out it was tossed! I also went through all the crap on my lounge and found it was mostly just magazines, books and cards from last Christmas I have to put away... I'm so relieved it wasn't crap.

So, with all of that out of the way, last week's newspaper items in the rubbish bag and anything else I don't need in there too, I tied a knot and tossed that in the bin along with the broken-down box. I had also checked the glass of water in the piano and dusted it down (it really needs a good polish, but I don't have enough left over). And then, I sorted through some stuff on the kitchen table, but by that time, I really needed a bottle of water and had begun to neaten up the house more - but Dad was back from his appointment and he was ready to do some serious work on my car.

And... two hours had passed by so quickly. So, do tell! How much can you get done in two hours? 

Find A Theme

When you're cleaning out your home, you'll find that you'll start following a theme to match your home. Sometimes it's already there and you've fully-established it. Other times, you've been struggling to get it going.

I'm the latter unfortunately.

However, it's always fun to go out to op-shops and find great ideas to add to your home. This is providing you do get rid of the things you no longer need to make your home what you need it to be.

As I've been saying in prior posts - you must donate your things to make your house a home, but on the same token it's okay to buy something so long you know you need it.

Needing and wanting are two different things, though.

For example: I need a new plan for my lounge room. I have a large 3-seater lounge which no longer fits the room for what I need it for and now, I need a new plan to make my home look and feel better. 

Solution: get rid of the lounge, get some single recliners and footstools and a small table for in between and then use the coffee table as it is. There will be not only more room, but the place will look and feel better too. 

However, this will take time to do. Wish me luck. Let me know what you're planning on doing with the room you're stuck with in your decluttering plans.

Replacing Things Is Good, But...

I've recently had a really bad bout of allergies sprout up around me lately. First it was a Bambillo Pillow that caused huge allergies; and now it's feather pillows. Today, I returned the feather pillows and bought a new mattress protector (as my old one was starting to look pretty bad).

Anyway, to make sure I didn't get mites from the feather pillows back into the bedding, I've had to clean the bed again with bi-carb soda and vacuum again. Then, I washed all my bedding again! This included the pillow protectors. 

If I still have a problem, I'll have to head off to the doctors, because it'll be time to look at what my skin is doing. 

But when it does come time to replace things - like bedding and pillows - you have to be careful how you go about it. If, like me, you don't know you're allergic to feathers, it's going to be a painful lesson to learn. I didn't mind washing everything and vacuuming my bed off - but it's time-consuming. It's also a costly thing as well. I had to return the feather pillows to K-Mart and let them know I was allergic to them (this means they'd return them to where they go them from) and I'll have to wait a few weeks before I go to Spotlight and find some hyper-allergenic pillows to use. I've just checked out their website and found they supply hospital grade pillows, but they are pricey. 

It all depends on what you'd like for your bedding and how bad you're allergic to things. For me? I'm currently trying not to scratch the rash from the pillows I've had to return and have cleaned my bed, bedding and replaced the mattress protector... yep, I've seriously made sure the bed is back to its normal way of feeling and being. If my allergy doesn't improve in a few days, I'm off to the doctors. So much for replacing things that I thought was a good thing!

Shredders: Are They Worth It?

In the post below, I mentioned shredding old bank statements and other things that can clutter up your house. 

Now, it's good to shred things - or get a company to come and do that. However, doing this can be pricy; and this is something I'm trying to keep to a minimum.

Shredders at office stores can cost from under $100 to well in the $2,000 mark; it kind of depends what you're looking for. If you're running a small business, you'll be looking for a good quality shredder which will be well worth your money - and spending over $1,000 - $2,000 on a good-sized shredding machine will be something you'd be looking into.

However, what we're looking at here for around the home is something that will be nice, compact and still kick butt with shredding your unwanted paper goods; and you don't want to pay the Earth for it. 

So, this afternoon, I went to OfficeWorks and found a huge range of shredders sitting on the shelves. They ranged between $84 and $2,150 and up to $3,000. I was looking at the lower end of the price range and happily took some photos of the under $100 ones and came home. 
But when I got talking to my folks (who have a 'Fellowes' shredder), they told me to not bother buying one unless I'm prepared to fork out over $300 - $400! This is ridiculous! I should be able to own a good shredder and still not have to break the bank to do it! 

Now, I did own one once a few years ago. My folks bought it for me for my birthday and it went very well. I was happily shredding things I didn't need, until one afternoon a piece of plastic envelope was caught between two pieces of paper - without my knowledge - and it burnt out the engine! The shredder was out of warrenty and they company told me it would be better if I bought a new shredder... since then, I've been bagging up my shredding papers to take to my folks' place. But now, I just want to save up and buy a new shredder. 

Kind of stupid isn't it? It's not worth having a shredder unless you're going to pay a lot of money... and yet, it's something you need to protect yourself from identity theft. The biggest catch-22 we'll face in our lives... and something we don't want our family to have to rummage through as we get older. 

Shred Bags

I'm partway through my home office and have realised that I need a shredder - badly! - and so I'm saving up for one. 

The first thing I've been doing is shopping around for a shredder; and the best place I have found for these things is OfficeWorks. This is a great place here in Australia for all office needs - no matter how big or small your office is. 

I had a shredder once before and accidentally fed it a piece of plastic with some paper (it was hiding in between the paper) and it burnt out the motor! Damn! So, I'm in the market for another shredder now. I've looked online for one, but I do better when I'm instore looking at the machines themselve. This is because there's normally more in stock on the floor than there is on their site online and I can ask the questions I need to ask to the people who know what they're talking about.

It's just the best thing to do really.

But until I do save up for that shredder, I'm going to be doing what I call 'Shred Bags'. These are bags of material which need shredding, which I'll be putting away - out of the way, until I can afford my shredder. You see, I don't have a credit card, and that's how I like to keep it. I'd much rather pay for things with my own money than owe a bank anything.

So, today, will be spent getting myself ready to shred unwanted paperwork I can't just throw in the bin. Yes, this is the stuff that's too sensitive to put into a rubbish bag, like bank statements, membership forms to magazines and other such things and old receipts as well. Until my next post, I hope you're working on your place as much as I am on mine.

March Madness

I've taken some time off to get in and work on a piece of artwork for an exhibition and a tapestry.

But I'm back into the decluttering throws again, and I'm looking forward to being able to move around the house better soon.

So far, I've got around 5 empty 'Green Bags'. These are synthetic bags that are reusable and have a hardy bottom inset inside them. I'll be taking them to my local community centre because I don't have a use for them anymore. The less I have them around, the less I'll fill them with crap - that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. 

Last week, I took two bags of unwanted things from a clean-out of my bathroom to the Logan East Community Centre at Springwood and some books and left them out on the table for anyone to have a look at. I made sure they were cleaned up and usable. Anything which wasn't hygienic, I tossed in the bin. 
This coming Monday, I'll be taking a Bamillo Pillow with me to give to anyone who wants it - as I'm allergic to it - and some other things I'm hoping to get rid of. It's going to a good place and I know I've taken care of these things.

My next place to clean out completely is the wardrobe. I've been getting stuck on this a few times; but if I don't do something about my clothes, it's going to turn into something I hate. I have clothes that are too big for me, and clothes which are too small in amongst clothes which fit. So, one day next week, I'll be working through all of them and seeing which ones do fit, which ones don't and going out to a second-hand store and finding some clothes that do fit me; mainly jeans, because Winter is coming and I'd like a few pairs to wear around Brisbane. 

So, what are your plans for the next month? You know mine are to give away as much as possible with my decluttering. I'm also going to save up to buy a shredder from OfficeWorks and shred what I don't need in the filing cabinet from banks and other official paperwork. Just leave a comment below and let us all know about your plans on decluttering you home little by little this month. Until next time!