January 26, 2018

In With The New...

In the last few months, I have begun to really refine the way I've been doing my decluttering. If I seriously don't need it, it gets donated or thrown in the bin. 

And yes, I feel so much better for it.

Yesterday was a great day for this. 

I posted off a 5kg bag of books to the Northern Territory! Yep, I parted with about 10 books and sent them away - and for a person who collects books that's a big deal. Next pay, I'll be getting another 5kg bag and sending it off to Victoria... same deal, fill the bag up as much as I can and then post it off! 

Yep, this kind of decluttering of the house just makes me feel great! I'll have 20 less books to worry about and about 2 feet of space around the floor of my home office! Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Sure it does.

Well, I was online yesterday, chatting with a friend of mine and we came to the decision to go window-shopping at op-shops. So, we got ourselves organised and I picked her up (as she doesn't drive a car) and we were off! 

After a sight-seeing tour of a local historical house, we hit a Life Line Super-Store (these places have everything from clothes to beds, furniture to electrical goods - they're wonderful to go to) and she was looking for a small mixing bowl. However, she didn't find what she was searching for.

But I found a few small things for my place. I was mainly looking for a sandwich press; as mine has been making strange sounds since I dropped it accidentally last year (and I hesitate to use it). So, seeing I didn't find it, I thought it wouldn't hurt to look at other things. I came home with a lovely phone seat, a large flat-side bowl, and a teapot-cup with a matching saucer. 

Yeah, so much for window-shopping.

Anyway, we popped by my place for a cuppa and some water (as it's been hot here in Brisbane) and to drop off my goodies; and I wanted to get the phone seat installed into my house. Then, my friend asked what I was going to do with my old set of drawers I had, put to one side. I said I'd donate them... unless she wanted them? Squealing she said yes! So, after cleaning them up, we got the drawers into my car and relaxed a little.

Now, I told you this story because there's a great meaning behind it. When I buy something big - like I did with the hall stand - I make sure I get rid of the items it's replacing. The hall stand I bought replaced 3 pieces of furniture; that's right 3! The phone seat has made it easier for me to find my remotes and keep my lounge area tidier than it has been, plus it's lighter and easier to move around and clean. 

So, now for the weekend challenge:

Look around your house and find something you've bought to replace something. Have you given away or sold that other item? If not, now's the time to do that. Offer it up to family, friends and online... see if you get somebody wanting it. Or if you don't want to wait, take it to your local charity store and donate it. 

However, if you already do this? Here's another challenge: pick a sink in your house and get underneath it. Pull out everything there and figure out what isn't being used, what's out of date, what's a cleaner and what's not. Get in and clean the shelves properly; and then, put like items together and toss what needs to be tossed. Then the next time you go under that sink, you won't be wondering where that item is, you'll know. The best thing to do is to go and buy a cleaning caddy for your cleaning products and keep them in that caddy... I've done that and it's the best thing ever! I have also begun using a lazy susan under my kitchen sink; which keeps all my detergents in one spot as well.

So, there you go... two different challenges to have a go at. Do one, or both, and enjoy your weekend! 

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