In The Zone

I'm seriously there - in the zone - and it's a great place to be!

I've already thrown out another few bags of rubbish and the bin outside is close to over-flowing with crap. And it's that bad I went to the back of the unit complex to look for an empty bin - but alas! There's none available. This is what happens when people borrow a bin and don't put it out for collection... silly them.

Well, I pushed everything down and had to 'make room' for more rubbish. But it didn't make much space.

Anyway, since Boxing Day, I have filled another 3 - 4 rubbish bags and sorted out the 2 archive boxes in the home office into something which looks like I can just open them and work through them without wondering: 'What in the hell's in these boxes?' So, that's a good thing! But today, I had to go out and get another archive box, another 3-ring binder and more manilla folders. And to make it more fun, I got them all in purple... just to keep it colourful. 

But I didn't expect every man and his dog to be at Office Works with their kid buying school supplies that their kid 'just has to have!' all because it's on that infurnal list! You know half the stuff you get on that list isn't actually used in school, but if your kid doesn't get it, well, they're the only one there who doesn't have 'the right stuff' on the first day. I remember being at school when you only had to have a few exercise books, a pencil case full of pens and pencils, a ruler and a calculator, and that was it. And my folks called that expensive. Now? Well, it's a totally different world. 

Anyway, back to what I was doing. I had to get some petrol for the car, ice creams for tonight and other things to eat this week as well, then check the mail and come home. 

Now I'm home, I'm looking forward to emptying out the last box, and making up my bed for the New Year. It's going to be a good, cool, chilled one. But I'm going to have a nice neat office, clean kitchen and plenty of painting to get done.  

So, what are you doing tonight to get through the night? After today, my office and house are going to look so much better. Until next year, I hope you've gotten so much done this year in the way of decluttering - as much as I have and more - and I hope you get more done next year. See you then!

Christmas Night Declutter

Now, I know this sounds weird, but I do a Christmas Night Declutter. I live alone, and there's really not that much to do when you don't have a family around you. 

So, I find something to watch on television, grab some rubbish bags and sort through some crap which I've been putting off.  I've been doing this for the past 3 years. 

And this year, I broke my record well and truly for rubbish bags!  I filled 6 rubbish bags! OMG! How good is that! While it was pouring rain outside, and I watched 'The X-Files' and some other movie on television, I was at it. I cleaned out 3 Green Bags and filled up those rubbish bags in no time flat! I'm so happy with my progress!

And man, I found things I've been looking for! 

Anyway, there's still things I need to get done for the next week in the cleaning out stakes - before New Years Eve - to make the living room liveable and tidy on a more permanent basis. Then? Well, it's onto my bedroom and I have to make sure it's all tidy there too, because next month, I'll be in a different location for a while. 

But it's also a personal thing too. I want to have a tidy home - like everyone does - but my place isn't that big, and it's something I'd like to get right at some point in my life. So, how are you doing with your cleaning out right how? It's Boxing Day, and I'm wondering, do you get into the cleaning out now or in the New Year? 

Donation Day!

Well! Today, I looked around my house and gathered up a few last minute things to put in my car. No, not in the Donation Box, but in the boot of my car. 

I walked around the bedroom and looked at the bags I had sitting on the floor of my bedroom and thought about the last time I used them - if it's been a year or six months - and they were tossed out into the hallway. They were added to the boot of the car. 

Then, the 1970's piece I've had for a few years sitting next to my pantry, clogging up that area has been cleaned out and pulled out of that spot. But I wanted to use another set of drawers, which were similar to that - to store a lot of things into them and clear out a lot of what was sitting around next to the pantry.
What I was looking for was sitting out on my art work bench! It was a set of drawers my friend, Ian, gave me a couple of years ago. Yep, it had been staring at me in the face! So, I cleaned out that set of drawers and tossed out a lot of crap from that and pulled that set of drawers from that area and placed it into the spot next to the pantry. And it's a perfect fit!

Well! I added another basket I'm no longer using, two handbags I don't use anymore and a box of goodies which have been clogging up my living room as well - and off I went to the charity store to donate! 

While I was there, I went dress shopping. Now, my wardrobe isn't what it used to be in the dress department; and so this is a good thing for me. I picked up two lovely dresses: a blue and white teardrop dress - which turned out to be brand new. And I found a gorgeous little party dress, which one other customer told me to put back 'because it won't fit you'. But I tried it on anyway, and it did fit perfectly! Two dresses! I love it! Anyway, that was it, two dresses after donating all of that from my house. How are you doing with your decluttering before Christmas?

Christmas Declutter

This year has been a rough year for me, and yesterday, I just sat down and cried. Honestly, I did. I haven't had the best year due to more friends of mine passing away, and when I arrived home, I found that my house wasn't as tidy as I wanted it to be.

So, on Saturday, as you've read, I just jumped in and began decluttering and tidying up as much as I could before the sun went down. I completely unpacked my bag, sorted out the dirty laundry and worked out what needed to be done. 

Now, I'm in such a zone about it all, I've moved some of the furniture around the office so I can get to the wardrobe in that room properly, have gone through some of my wardrobe in my bedroom and have gotten together some of the stuff in my living room in the Donation Box, all ready to be dropped off at the local charity store.

I have still yet to put away all of the laundry, clean the bathroom floor, put away anything not needed over the New Year into the wardrobes and then tidy up in the home office properly... that won't take long, but I'm looking forward to getting in and making sure my house is cleaned out better. And after the art area was such a great success, the living room is next! I'm not worried too much about how much I'll be throwing out, so long it's gone.

So, how about you all? Seeing that the end of the year is just around the corner, what have you got planned for your place in the coming new year? Is there a home office renovation you've been hanging out to do? Or are you going to clean out the garage in a big way? Or how about your backyard? Are you looking into cleaning it up, renovating it and making it into a place you and your family want to spend more time being in next year? And you know how it goes: the devil's in the details of decluttering, okay? Plan ahead, don't buy too many storage container - not until you need them (yes, count how many your needs are first, then buy). And most of all: if you need help, don't feel bad about asking for it. 

Well, that's the best advice I've learned about decluttering over the past few years - especially while writing on this blog; even when there's been next to no comments. I do know people are reading what's here. Anyway, I hope you do have a great Christmas and Holiday Season, and wish you a very Happy New Year. I won't put down a Weekend Challenge for the next few weeks, so you can spend time with your families. I will be back in early January. 

Holidays

I've been on a week's holiday; and just returned yesterday - Saturday. It's been a good week, and I've gotten myself straight into cleaning out immediately.

Isn't it funny in a strange kinda way when you go on holidays when you come home, and you just can't stand your house? I think it's because you take only what you need with you, and when you return, you find it so much easier to throw out what you no longer want anymore.

Well, I did just that last night, mere hours after unpacking. I had filled a rubbish bag with crap and tossed it out. I have a second bag filled and it's by the door. And now, there's a box from this morning's fruit and veggie run too by that door too. I'm doing really well so far. I've also got to fill up the rubbish bag from upstairs to throw out what's in the bins upstairs - which I didn't get to fit in the bins last week.

Otherwise, while I was down the coast, I wrote out a few lists of what was needed to be done when I returned home; and now I'm back, I'm hoping to get it all done by the time I have to take off again next year. 

So, how are you doing with your decluttering? Okay... this is December's decluttering. Now, if you jump on YouTube, you'll be able to follow Peter Walsh's 30-Day Challenge and he'll help you get jump-started in your big decluttering challenge again next year. I do mine each year - and it's a great way to get into decluttering a house really well. Why not have a go at it? 

Huge Art Clean Out

Well! I've been a busy person today!

After yesterday's struggle with basic algebra and trying to get my 50,000 words done for NaNoWriMo, and making it with 8 words to spare, I'm pleased with my book this past month - and I got it done with a day to spare too.

Also, I was totally surprised by a male Huntsman spider taking a walk across my living room floor... he wasn't a very old spider, or smart one (as these guys are known to be smart). He waited under my kitchen table for me to get my shoes on and the bug spray and was surprised when I tried to kill him.

Well, he's dead and I didn't sleep for a good part of the night.

Today, I jumped into my art section next to my back door (no he didn't come from there, I just needed to work on the art desk in the next few days that's all). So, I pulled that desk apart and got my butt into the whole thing!

Anyway, 3 bags of crap later, and a few trips to the big recycling bin at the back of my complex, I found I filled up my rubbish bin - and collection day is next Wednesday! So, I'll have to leave decluttering another part of the house for a little while. 

But the whole section looks and feels so much cleaner. I have 2 empty boxes to use, have got 2 plastic boxes I'm using for other art gear and have enough space for a new hobby I've picked up: painting rocks. 

All of the clean up took 3 hours to do, and it was a stinking hot day! And I got into this after doing 3 loads of laundry this morning and putting out 2 big bags of rubbish into my bin... so that was something. Anyway, what did you get into this weekend which you've been putting off? I still have a few things around the house to put away and clean up before the tree and decorations go up around the house for Christmas. 

New And Old

I've been busily decluttering and recycling my items lately - and throwing out big time too!

This week has been a mammoth week. I didn't go to art group, but I did have a meltdown on Monday... which led to me having too much to do; and biting off too much for that day.

Thank goodness for my Mum. We help each other when it comes to decluttering. I phoned her and fell apart on her, saying I had half my office in my bedroom and there was no way I could sleep in my bedroom on Monday night - so she came over and helped me with culling my books.

We filled 3 boxes and 2 bags! Oh my god!

And after we dragged those to her car, I found that the next day or two, I filled another two bags with books I wasn't going to read ever! This was going good.

Thursday rolled around, and I needed to get out of the house. I dropped by a friend's house and gave her some books from my childhood that her grandson would love; and was pleased when she said he'd love them. We had coffee together; and her cat enjoyed a pat.

Then, last night, I rolled over in bed and kicked the little white bookcase and, that was it! I had to get it into the office! This morning, I was up at 8am and before breakfast, I had moved it into the office and the brown daggy, saggy one out! This forced my Dad to get himself here to help me put up a shelf so I could work to put books away and move on to the next part of my home office reno. He even helped me ditch the main bookcase up the back of the complex - as it wouldn't fit in the recycling bin. 

I then went to my folks' place and helped Mum sort through the books we had culled - to make sure there were no Bookcrossing books in the collection; as charity and second-hand book stores don't take those books. We did well and counted up 8 bags of books to take over to Browns Plains! Wow! What a great haul!

What a day! I'm so tired. But I'll give you a Weekend Challenge for this weekend.

This time, it's not for the home office or lounge room. I want you to go out into your garden and pick out any dead plants, empty pots you haven't used and mouldy potting mix sitting around doing nothing. Before you do touch anything, put on the gardening gloves and a mask and get your bin ready. Put all the plastic empty pots into the recycling. Throw out the mouldy potting mix into your general rubbish and anything dead goes into your compost. Clean up your garden area before Winter for you guys in the Northern Hemisphere and before bushfire and storm season really hits for the Southern Hemisphere. 

A New Bookcase - purchased!

Okay, I didn't purchase it.

Mum and Dad are buying me the new bookcase and a new desk for Christmas - which means I'm not expecting anything big for Christmas this year. And Mum said that she's getting people what they need this year - and not what they want.

I needed a new desk and a new bookcase; and that's what they're going to get me. 

But I still need to clean out the office and throw out a shit load of crap.  Most of it is done, and I'm going well at it.

So far, I've gotten two more big bags in the rubbish bin - and there's another few I'm going to fill today and tomorrow. And Dad and I are going to build the new bookcase from IKEA (aka: the place you get into but never leave), and it's been a harder task to find a decent desk I can have here.

Yeah the desk might take longer to find. We did find one at Tender Disposals - the one I wanted - but they wanted $540 for it. What a rip off!

Well, there's a storm coming. It's getting dark and the thunder is getting close. I better go and get into the cleaning up. About time we got some rain - to put out the bush fires around here.

Goals Reached!

Yay! I've been working hard on a few things lately and I'm so proud of myself! But I haven't written in here lately because I've been taking part in the National Novel Writing Month... a big thing for a writer like me. With that, I'm going really well. 

Over the past year, I've wanted to buy new pillows for the bed - European Pillows - and today I finally went out to Big W and did it! They look wonderful and stylish. And the best thing was that they were on sale; so were the covers!

I also got in and sorted out one of the shelves in the hallway to the kitchen and threw out three glass bottles and moved a lot of things off one of the shelves. This was to make room for my recipe books from under my sink for my baking trays and mixing bowls - which are sharing space with my Corningware.

With Christmas coming up, it's really kicked me up the butt to get in and clean my house in a huge way. I'm looking forward to doing this in a major way due to my folks helping me out next year with my house - while I help my brother and his family with their house. You see, I've been asked to house sit my brother's place on the other side of town. Of course I've jumped at the opportunity, and this means I have to finish cleaning out my house. 

The filing cabinet will be remove from my house soon, and I'll be using a good, sturdy table from my storage for the computer until I get a new desk. 

And you know, I really can't wait until this home office really takes shape - even though it began to take shape in September when I moved a bookcase and my Grandpa's Writing Desk around and put his diaries into a box to make it easier for me to get to them. There is still a lot to do in this room. 

I also have to clean out my wardrobe again - seeing I've begun buying dresses which fit me at op-shops and stopped wearing dresses which don't suit me anymore. But that will be done in the new year. 

So, how is your place going? All good I hope. I have reached some major goals, and set new ones to reach as well. I hope you've done the same as well as the year draws to a close over the next month. As December comes around, I'd love to hear from you all to hear of your achievements, and how far you've come in your decluttering story. 

Woohoo! The Living Room!

I wasn't bored yesterday. Nope, I just put on Season 2 of 'Supernatural' and thought, 'I might get in and clean up that crap in front of the entertainment unit.' And well, it kinda took off from there.

The next thing I knew I had a huge bag of rubbish sitting by the door waiting to be taken out and another bag of donations waiting in the Donation Box and the floor was clear in front of the entertainment unit - and the second episode on disk two was playing of my favourite show. 

Well! I kept going... seeing how far I could go before the other two shows were finished! 

This was so much fun to just let my hands do the talking and enjoy my decluttering without thinking too much about it. I even looked at all my knitting yarn and when I came across some that I hadn't used - and knew it wasn't good quality - I just threw it away! Small balls of yarn which wouldn't make a beanie? Yep, in the bin! I did this mainly because I had bought that yarn at a charity store and it was sent there because it junk in the first place.

I shredded up receipts, empty envelopes and other things I didn't need in my house and threw them out! And it felt great! 

And you know something? It wasn't just yesterday this happened - nope, it wasn't just a one-off thing! 

This morning, I pulled everything from behind my living room chair and filled another rubbish bag with crap too! Oh my gods! This feels great! I think it's because it's Spring here; and I'm hoping to get this house cleaner. 

I'm not sure - but it feels great to get this place tidy. My head and mind are just ordering me around to clean up the place before Christmas. And it all began with me polishing the kitchen table - how strange is that? How is your place going? 

Home Office Declutter

Well, It's been a couple of months since I began my home office declutter and clean up - and you know, it's been going really well!

I've moved a huge bookcase from one side of the room to the other side of the room - and in turn it was really swapping sides with a hand-made desk Grandpa made (which isn't much use to anyone but to hold things in it like stationery - which it's going to do for my in the end anyway.

Then, I got out a shredder my Aunty Helen won at a raffle for me and I have filled 3 big rubbish bags full of paper from over 7 years ago... well over 7 years ago! And that's emptied the top drawer of my filing cabinet - which Dad wants. So, that's one big item from my office gone! Yay! I don't have to do anything, just wait until Dad comes to collect it! Isn't that great? Well, for me it is! 

And now, I've just bought myself a foot rest from Office Works to get myself ready for the new desk I'm hoping to get for myself to replace this whopping big desk with a normal-sized student desk so I can have more wall space to hang some book art. Plus, I can get some floor space back. 

Thus far, from this office, I've thrown out about 4 bags of rubbish into the bin outside - and this is good. But it doesn't look like I've even dented this room; and you know, it's mainly because all of this came from the filing cabinet. Once that's finished up, I'll be making some real space from the other things in this room. Once I get the stationery which is sitting around this place into the home-made desk, this office will look and feel so much better! 

So, how is your home decluttering going? All good? Mine is going well, and it's been fun using a shredder! 

Went Looking For Something

The other day, I went looking for something under my stairs - where there's a storage facility. I'm pretty good with mine - it's got what I need in there and I clean it out once a year.

Well, I was looking for an old suitcase - a big one - and found it at the back. Great for me because I didn't have to spend money and time looking for another one. And this one was so old it wasn't much use for overseas trips anymore. 
I thought it would be a good idea to get in and toss out what I didn't need anymore in there too. So, on went the headlamp (yes I own one just in case there's a power outage in my area) and I got to work. 

Things were pulled out from there - a 3-step ladder, 2 tables, a folding chair, a tall art table (I've yet to use because I don't have the space) and a hammock I bought yonks ago but haven't used due to space problems... then I grabbed the suitcase and pulled that out. 

It was heavy - which meant it had other suitcases inside it. So, I had a choice! Great! I took it out into the small space of a living room and unzipped it... pulled out the other two inside it and immediately made my choice of taking the larger outside one due to the space I thought I'd need. 

It was then I decided to not put a few things back. But my hands began to itch. Something here was made from bamboo (something I've found I'm allergic to in the past year). Looking around, I counted off what would and wouldn't have been made from the stuff, and realised straight away it was the hammock. Damn I knew I should have worn cotton gloves! I spent a very uncomfortable night with swelling under my arms (where that damned thing came in contact with my skin) and itchiness all over.

Yesterday, I found my cotton gloves and put the hammock into the car... but I did forget them on the way to Vinnies and had to ask for help getting it out of the car. The people there remembered I was allergic and understood why I asked for help.

It's good to get rid of something I no longer need. It makes room for one of the items I acquired recently. Now... to find space for the vacuum. Oh well, I guess I can't win no matter how much I tidy, right? I can only keep on going with cleaning out. 

So, how is your place going. Keep us updated. 

House Sitting Next Year

Yes! I'm going to do a spot of house-sitting early next year; and so I really must get into cleaning my place out in a big way. 

I have been cleaning it out - don't get me wrong. Things have been donated, I've been using the cute little shredder in the home office (and it's been going gang-busters!). But really, I have to get in and do some really serious cleaning out in a huge way and be brutal about my house. 

It's something I've been lacking lately - mainly because I'm busily working away on my arts. This isn't an excuse. This is the busiest time of the year for me with my artistic pursuits; and I do let the house go to hell a little.

So, this week is going to be the week where I get in and do some serious cleaning out of a fair bit of the place and put into place some big habits I've been meaning to do.

Washing Up Before I Go To Bed 

This is a big one. I'm getting to a point where I don't like leaving things until the next day. And it's nice to wake up to a clean kitchen where everything is in its place.

Tidy Up The Living Room Before Bed

Another one for the next morning. I am hoping to get into a habit of working on having a tidy living room; which is something I haven't had in a while. Sure I have a tidy bathroom and a tidy kitchen (not counting the washing up lately) but this room isn't my best one.

To Throw Out or Donate 

Now, this isn't something I've been doing lately. But I do have my Donation Box almost filled to the brim. And all I have to do is sort through it now and bag it all up and take it to the local charity store - and do it more often. 

Laundry 

Oh man... I have to make this a habit. I do my laundry, but putting it away is something I don't do the habit of. It just sits around and gets in my way. So, I must get into the habit of putting away my laundry on the day it's pulled off the line. 

So, what habits are you lazy about? You know mine - and that I must work on them. 

I've Been Away!

I know, I've been away... but it doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about what you've all been up to - or been working away on my house.

My internet was cut off to make way for the National Broadband Network; and getting onto this new network took a bit of time to get done. There was two separate days of me being at home for two different tradesmen to get in the work on my place. And now, my Netflix doesn't work... but not to worry, I'll get onto that too.

Since the last time you all heard from me, I won a little shredder and have been shredding to my heart's content! So far, I've tossed out two big rubbish bags of shredded bags into the bin! Both these bags are from my 2-drawer filing cabinet - which I'm getting rid of in a few months! 

This is so exciting!

Well, I'm looking forward to this!

Otherwise, I've moved the big bookcase in the home office and got it to swap positions with Grandpa's handmade desk. It took some doing, but it all looks great! More light comes into the room now and I'm looking forward to saving up some money and buying a smaller desk which is just a simple student desk with drawers. I do need to replace an old bookcase and move another bookcase. But this will all take time... and this is something I have.

Otherwise, I've been cleaning out downstairs too. There's coffee mugs I've put into the donation bin and I've replaced my pen boxes with pretty little planter pots which were too pretty to put plants into - and were very cheap. Things are getting sorted and tossed out in my place at a swift rate; and I'm so pleased with my progress.

So, how is your house going? Do leave a comment and let us all know. It'd be good to swap notes on how you're all doing.

So Many Old Things

Wow! Just wow! I jumped into the home office wardrobe yesterday and really did a great thing! I pulled down everything I could get my hands on and filled 4 rubbish bags with junk, unusable things, pay receipts from 1996/7 and other things which I just simply didn't need anymore and tossed them away.

There were two collapsed concertina folders which were thrown into the bin and one which was still usable and one I'm still looking at to go through.

Then, I pulled down both boxes which were being stored for my Doc Marten shoes. Yes, I have two pairs of those. One I wear all the time, and the other pair which the company gave me for taking too long to repair the original UK-made pair. Well, I polished up the new pair and made them look lovely - now I just have to break them in for next year. 

I sorted through so much yesterday that after 3 hours, I had a full wheelie bin outside, and an empty wardrobe inside my house! How cool is that? I had the space to put my archive boxes which are now storing my current records for my car, banking files and other things as well. I also put away a few other things and cleared off the Reading Chair and found another bag of crap I need to go through - which takes it to 5 bags I need to go through now; but then, really I shouldn't be counting.

I'm on week 3 of cleaning out this room for the very first time, and I'm really happy that I've filled the wheelie bin (the one the local council collects) to the brim. It really is a great feeling to get rid of all of that is not need any longer and keep only what's going to relevant in my life. 

The hunt has been going on to find a good, old-fashioned desk and a nice solid bookcase to replace the corner desk and the saggy bookcase in my office... then? Well, once the home office is all tidied up and the art gear is off the walls, I'll get in and work on getting the books out of here and see how far I can really take this whole thing before I have to ask family for help moving things. 

So, how is your projects going? All great I hope. Do leave a comment on your project. We'd love to hear how your decluttering is going.

Searching and Donating

Well, the office renovation is under way! 

I have tossed out 2 bags of rubbish from the office - which totals up to a big bag of rubbish into the wheelie bin outside. And I have also donated my old kettle to the local charity as my new kettle arrived from Fly Buys - how cool is that?

There's 2 more bags I've taken downstairs to clean out this afternoon, and that'll clear more space from the home office.

Meanwhile, in the past few days, I've been going out and looking around for a desk and bookcase at op-shops and discount furniture stores. It's slow-going - as it always is at the beginning - but I'm positive I'll find what I'm looking for over the next three months. 

You see, I've given myself three months to clean out the home office completely and fix it up with the two newish pieces so I'm not rushing through it all. You have to be realistic about this kind of thing with cleaning out your place fully. 

First it started in my kitchen. I cleaned that out completely and it took me almost a year to get that area of my house working properly. Then, it was my bedroom and bathroom - together - and between those two rooms, I got them working well over another year. 

The living room is a work in progress; seeing I use it all the time and it's a high-traffic area. 

My garden has been completely gutted and cleared up to the point that it only needs to be maintained every Winter; something I'm really happy with. 

Now, the Home Office is the one room which is always in danger of turning into a Junk Room - and this is something I really don't want. So, cleaning it out over the next three months is going to do me good.
The air-conditioner was one of the big things which just had to be cleared out - an then after that, well, it's begun to snowball in the cleaning out process in a slow way, but still, it's been working out for me. 

Plus, the Home Office is the last room I've decided to tackle because it's the hardest room on the list. 

So, which room is your hardest room you've been putting off? Are you dealing with it right now? Or have you been putting it off like I have? 

Computer Junk

Now, it's amazing how much junk with computers we accumulate, isn't it? I mean, the amount of keyboards we go through, the amount of modems which we use and burn through, and the phones - don't get me started on mobile phones! 

There's things which we just can't send off to the landfill because it becomes toxic and isn't good for our environment, right? 

Well, I found out about a place here in Brisbane called Substation 33 - and it's where you can take your computer junk and they pull it apart and recycle it. What a place. And you don't have to pay for it either! It's in Logan City and my Dad took his old computer junk there (a whole lot of broken computers and keyboards and other computer items which weren't going to work) and he just handed it all over. 

I'm so glad there's a place like this around.

There's also a service for our mobile phones here in Australia where you can go to your post office and ask for a bag to send off your really old mobile to be recycled... isn't that great?

Also, there's a Fix-it style group which gathers at my local community centre up the road from my folks' house. They gather once a month and they fix everything from toasters to televisions... all for free and to show kids today that not everything is fated for landfill.

So, what recycling centres are around your cities for electronics? Or aren't there in any in place? If not, why not start asking around to see if they are beginning in your area?

One Bag Down!

Well, as I promised, I have begun cleaning out the Home Office. And I've done out one bag of crap...yep, it was all crap/junk in this bag. I looked at dates on the bank statements and medical items and made sure they were from 2014 and before and ripped them up into tiny pieces and then? Well, they went into a rubbish bag. 

The bag all of this came from began to fall apart and so that went into the rubbish bag too!

I came across bank statements and medical statements (which had been paid) and old Christmas cards (which I cut up and turned into Christmas tags for this Christmas by cutting off the front of them and cutting the main picture of the into little designs and then punching a hole into the top of them for the ribbon). I found a lot of things I had been looking for and have put them to one side - and the whole pile I sorted through came to about a fifth of the whole bag! A fifth! Woah! That's huge! 

The rubbish bag ended up in the bin outside and I now have another bag in the living room to go through tomorrow before I bring down two more bags to go through before the end of next week. This will be a great thing for me - to get this all done before the end of next week, mainly because then I can start planning out what will be going on in the home office. 

I have been looking on the Facebook Marketplace for desks and bookcases, but it's all too expensive - and it's too far to drive to pick them up too. But then, I have a few months to find the right ones, right?

How's your place going? 

Big Office Project

I've been looking at my Home Office and thinking that it's about time I did something about making it a place I enjoy working in.

Like I did with my kitchen and my bedroom, I have to make my home office a place I want to spend time in. 

So, over the next 3 months, I'll be cleaning out this entire office from top to bottom and throwing out everything I do not need any longer. I've already collected together a few boxes which I can put things into and know of a place - it's called Station 33 - to take my electronic do-dads I no longer need. 

And I'll be carting unwanted things to either the dump or the charity store, or better still into the wheelie bin outside my side door each week. The Home Office will be tidier than it's ever been by November. 

While I'm doing this, I'll be putting away money to save up for an op-shopped desk. This will be a desk which is solid and has drawers and, if I find the one I want, I'll get it paid and delivered to my folks' house so it's ready to use. I'll also be looking for another bookcase - a tall one - to replace the saggy brown one I have in my home office.

The whole office will be turned about and switched around. The corner desk will be tossed out (as it's falling apart) and the saggy bookcase will be tossed out too. The artworks I have up on the wall currently will be moved from the bathroom wall to the far car port wall. The books in all the cases will be boxed up and shifted into my bedroom (this will take a few hours to do as I'll need to label the boxes). Then, all the furnishings will be removed from the room, it will be cleaned, vacuumed and dusted completely before I get in and put in the new desk and attach the book cases to the wall (if needs be). 

I'm hoping to have more space in the room, less crap and it'll give me more light as well, seeing I'll be able to pull the curtains all the way back - and not just halfway - during the day. 

I've been planning this for around 6 months, and my folks and friends know I want to get in and really do this. I told my Dad that if I do find a good desk I'll get it delivered to their place just to store it while I'm cleaning out my place - and he said it was okay. I may have to fix it up a little too before it comes home to me; and their place is the perfect place to do that seeing they have the space and I can make a lot noise there. 

So... do you have any big cleaning-up projects you're planning around the house? Mine is the Home Office. It's going to take a few month, and will cost a little bit of money and time, but it's going to be well worth it. Do leave your ideas in the comments. I'm going to hopefully have a lovely home office by the time Christmas comes around. 

Cleaning Out A Little At A Time

I haven't been here for a few weeks, I know. And I must apologise for this. I have been working on the house, looking through things bit by bit and tossing out things in the bin, and putting things in my Donation Box by the door. 

The place is looking better by the week - I've just forgotten to tell you all about it.

Yesterday, I collected two large boxes from Bunnings and today I'm cleaning out the Home Library. Now, being a big reader, normally, I'd say don't touch it, but my collection is getting that way where I really need to look at what I'm going to read, what I have just look good, and what I'm definitely not going to read at all - and I have to be brutal about this too.

I'm going to try to sell some of the books on gumtree - seeing I look after them so well - and any Bookcrossing books I have are going to be given away in a Big Book Giveaway. Yep, this is going to be fun! 

This will mean I'll be making a right mess in the library and moving things around, and moving things out of here. I'm also going to look at replacing the large brown bookcase with a new one, which can hold all the books - as it's really saggy, and has been like that for a long time (and everyone notices it!). 

Well, how has your place been going? All good, please do comment below and tell us all what you're up to in your cleaning out. 

A Little and A Lot

In the past two weeks, I've been working on a lot of things in the townhouse. And this is why I haven't been here for a while.

But there's been parts of the kitchen worked on, and parts of the bedroom as well. In the kitchen I've packed up some cups and saucers which I inherited from my late-Uncle and given back to my Mum. I really needed the space in my cupboard and wanted to use my own cups and saucers which I've scored from op-shops instead of being scared of breaking the delicate ones I inherited.
So, once they were out the door and at my parents' house safely, I cleaned up the cupboard and moved all my Keep-Cups into the space in cupboard, and made more room on the counter! Woah, that was really cool to see that, and now I have more counter space I can  get more done around the kitchen instead of feeling as though I'm being squashed into the corner of my sink.

The bedroom has been changed around a bit. I've refurbished the use of my shoe box; cleaning it up and making it into a book case for my night time reading instead of tossing it out. You see, it's not your ordinary style of shoe box... and it doubled well as a book case too. It looks great! 

Then I found two large lampshades and tried to upgrade my old ones... which didn't work out. So, I asked my Dad to help me. My lamps I bought last year from K-Mart were super-glued within an inch of their lives - something I didn't expect from K-Mart, but it's happened. So, Dad worked something out and made them fit. And the old shades? Well, they're on their bedside lamps - and both my parents have said they've never had so much light in their room ever! 

I've taken another bag of goodies to the charity store and enjoyed finding those lamp shades while I was there. But that was about two weeks ago... I haven't been op-shopping for something in a little while. I'm still decluttering in a major way.

This next week, I'm hoping to pull out all my VHS tapes and look into getting them converted to DVD to enjoy them like I used to... as my 21st Birthday is on them, so is a few movies we taped and some documentaries we can't find on DVD. So, it's something we want to look into. After they get converted to DVD, it'll be a matter of tossing out the old VHS tapes to the recycling bin. 

Otherwise, the everything is going well. I've bought a plant for the bathroom and I'm no longer using any plastic bags. I tossed out my last lot of recycling of plastic bags yesterday - how good is that? I'm using all reusable bags in all things in my life from shopping bags to grocery bags. 

So, how is your decluttering going? 

Little Things

I've been out at op-shops and doing good things for myself lately. 

Over the past week, I've bought only small things for the house, and yet I've donated more than two bags of goods I no longer need to my local charity store. 

On Monday, I bought a lovely hat for next Summer, and then on Wednesday, I bought two lamp shades which I thought would go well for my bedside lamps - I wanted to change them over from the plain white ones I bought from K-Mart. 
Now, when I got them to my folks' house and proposed this to my Dad (as I'd need his help), we had a good look at the lamps and we found that everything had been super-glued to death. 

Yes, this is the ultimate example of the throw-away society we're being forced into. All I wanted to do was the little thing of changing my lamp shades to prettier ones, and yet the way they were designed (and rather cheaply too!) made it so I couldn't. 

This is disgusting to say the least. 

Anyway, Dad understood where I was coming from and Mum wanted my old shades once we figured out how to get the new ones on. Both my folks are pleased to see I am thinking outside the box with this instead of buying new lamps - and lamp shades cost me under $20 for the two, as I bought them from an op-shop. 

And my budget this week for op-shopping was around $15.00 of a book and two lamp shades. Whereas my charity giveaway this week was a magazine holder and a bag of goodies which work but I don't need anymore. 

So, how are you doing with your decluttering this week? All good? I'm going so well! Right now, I'm getting through my wardrobe - anything I can't fit into is going straight into the donation box. How good is that? 

The Signs of Progress!

At the beginning of the year, I put up a little table on the sidebar of the amount of rubbish bags, the donation bags filled and the donation runs I have done - and I've kept it up-to-date.

Now, look at the numbers! Aren't they fantastic? I thought to leave it up there for 5 months and see how I do. It's coming up to the end of May and I'm very pleased to see how many Donation Runs and Donation Bags Filled are up there. But Rubbish Bags are past 20! Woah! 

So, if you're keeping track of these three things in your decluttering, how many have you done? I'm curious... and we could challenge each other with it too if you'd like - see how many we get done by the end of the year to see if we could beat each other. 

Nah... it's not how many we can get done, it's a matter of how tidy our houses become. I'm just pleased to donate as much as I am donating. My house is looking better and I'm so pleased with my progress this year. 

Well, how are you doing with your progress? 

Donation Day!

On Monday, I emptied the Donation Box! Yay! First I went around to Mum and Dad's and grabbed whatever Mum wanted to get rid of and took their stuff off them and took everything to Vinnies at Underwood and donated big-time!

They were so pleased to see so much good stuff come through the doors. I took along 2 irons - which worked - and a couple of lovely prints, and also some pretty things I no longer fitted into... I know that sounds awful, but I don't see the point in keeping clothes which I don't fit into anymore. 
And Mum agreed with me. She was so pleased to see I tried on something in my wardrobe and just tossed it straight into the Donation Pile. I think it's the gym work which is making me fit into clothes differently too.

Also, since I got the new vacuum cleaner, I've been cleaning out so much more from my house so much faster than I used to - this is good! I even gave away a couple of handbags I no longer use.

Now, my little secret for donations is: if it hasn't been used in over a year, it goes into the Donation Box and it's donated. If it doesn't fit me anymore, it goes there too. 

Do you have any secrets to decluttering your house? If you do, please do share them. 

I'm always looking at Peter Walsh's Facebook page for tips and tricks to keep my house looking nice - you know the 10 minute clean-ups and the quick tidy-ups before bed and morning rituals before leaving the house kinda thing. Well, until my next post, I hope you're keeping your house nice and your decluttering is going well. Mine is going better than ever. 

Weekend Challenge Time!

I know, I haven't been around this week... but I have been cleaning up and house and totally enjoying my new little vacuum cleaner. It's such a cutie!

Well, I've also cleaned up the living room to the point where there's nothing in front of the entertainment unit or the credenza. How amazing is that?

This gives me a chance to look into this weekend challenge with something a little different.

I'm going to go through my First Aid Kit where all of my medications are. If there's anything out of date in there, put them into a bag and give them to a chemist/pharmacy and keep only the ones in date.

The pharmacy disposes of these out of date medications properly; and some of them give them to third world countries. So, there's the challenge for this weekend. Clean out your first aid kit and make sure everything in it not only is working, but the medicine there is within date. 

So, how is your cleaning out going? Mine is going really well. I'm going to do a Donation Day on Monday. I can't wait!

It's Friday!

It's coming into a long weekend here in Australia, and I thought to keep this one as light as I can.

But first, I scored a new vacuum cleaner yesterday! I traded in my old one for $10 and bought a nice new one called a Titan 2000 from a place called Godfreys. What a nice little unit it is too! It's a bagless and cost me under $150... not a bad price if you ask me. I've always wanted a bagless cleaner and it's really doing a great job too! I've already vacuumed the living room floor and it looks brand new!

Well, today, I'm going to be putting away the archive boxes and bringing in the bags to sort through from downstairs. This means I have to go out and get 2 more archive boxes. One is going to be a Memory Box for my other Memory items (from one of my other posts below) and the other one will be for storing what I need - which I haven't figured out yet, but it's good to have an extra one on hand.

Okay, it's the Weekend Challenge time! And I think it's time to clean out your shed. I do this every few months and it's a good thing to get into the habit of. You go out into your shed and sort through the items in there which are broken and unfixable. If you've got long-term unfixable things inside that garden shed, it's time to put them off to one side and label them as 'lost causes' and take them to the dump. 
Then, get in and sort out your power tools and put them in one area, so you can lay your hands on them at a moment's notice. Get out your label-maker and label each one so you can read it clearly - and so can anyone else who you know in case they need to grab it for you from your shed. There's nothing worse than going back and forth to your shed because somebody grabbed the wrong box of tools or the sander instead of the drill.
You get in and pull everything out, make sure you have a light inside the shed - which works - and everything is in there which is supposed to be there. If your work bench is unorganised and dirty, get in there and work on it so you can actually work on it, not accidentally cut yourself and not know what you did to yourself. Have your tools hanging up, in their boxes, wherever they're supposed to be all clean, not sticky, not greasy and ready to use. Make it look like it's a place you want to go to every weekend and work in... not a place to be ignored.
This weekend is the weekend to clean out shed, work out what the hell the workbench looks like and make your shed look and feel like a place for that project you've been meaning to do instead of the hiding place of all the broken tools and a junk pile with a door. Go on... I believe in your ability in being able to work out your things in that shed! Visualise your perfect work space and shed, and do it, make it a reality!

Donation Day!

Yesterday was Donation Day. I didn't get to give away much, but it was good to get my items out the door - even if they didn't fill up a whole bag.

But while I was out and about with my good friend, Elisabeth, I bought 3 balls of yarn. That's all I bought because I'm saving up for a new vacuum cleaner. My old one had bitten the dust in a such a way that I can't buy new parts for it - the company doesn't make bits for it or even vacuum cleaners anymore, and that's not a good thing. And for a 20 year old vacuum cleaner, well, I think it's not a good thing; they really should last longer. Such a pity they don't.

Well, we went off to the Variety1 store at Arndale next and I found a large plastic bucket there for just $15 and it's perfect to use as my donation box now. And I've thrown out my cardboard one. I've been able to fit in other things into the bigger one. The best thing is that I don't run into it as much as it's soft. I've already put in some prints I no longer use and other things as well. I'm looking forward to filling it up. 

What have you been up to this week to keep your place tidy? I haven't put in any Weekend Challenges lately because I think Easter and ANZAC Day can be busy times for everyone. So, next week, I'll bring them back. 

Memory Box

I have something called a 'Christmas Box' or a 'Memory Box'. This is a box I have which is filled with thing from my childhood I love and cherish. 

However, my 'Memory Box' has overflowed into two other boxes. This means, I'll have to start looking for another box - or a small suitcase - to fit my things into. This will make me throw out the three boxes I no longer need. 

Now, that's not a bad deal, right? 

Well, I hope anyway.

I've been donating things bit by bit this year, and it's going well. However, I've had a few problems with how the donations have been handled.

Recently, I donated some glass jars and other items and the young lady who took my bag upended the whole thing into a shopping trolley; instead of pulling things out and placing them in the bottom of the trolley carefully. When she came back to me with my reusable bag, I told her that two of the larger items were glass bottles and 'I hope they were broken when you threw them into the trolley.' she stared at me, asking 'What?' I took a deep breath and looked around for a supervisor who was over-seeing this young woman's actions, and called out to somebody I recognised there, 'In that trolley, over there, is some donations. But be careful, you might come across a couple of broken glass bottles. This young woman threw them in there without checking if there was anything fragile in it.' This person looked shocked at first, then glared at the young woman and shook their head, 'My god, what's wrong with you.' 
I didn't say anything else, just walked away. She had to be dealt with. But I got this same young woman at the check out and she was smarmy to me there, stuffing up my order, 'Oh, oops, my fingers slipped, sorry, you don't owe us '$47.95. It's only $14.95... he..he.' 

Sometimes I wonder about what happens with the young people who have to work for their unemployment or welfare benefits. Are they thinking they can sit back and it'll come in without working for it? And working at a local charity is a good thing to have on your CV. 

Well, until my next post, I hope you're going well with your place. And I also hope you haven't had a bad problem with your local charity as I have. 

Donation Day

Yesterday was donation day for me and another friend of mine, Elisabeth. We headed off for coffee at our usual haunt and then went to Bunnings to score some cheap plants... very cool.

Then, it was time to drop off some donations to Life Line Super Store at Logan Central. We looked around there for a little while and I scored a couple of things, nothing too expensive, but thing I haven't seen anywhere else. 
It's always nice to get out into the op-shops when you haven't been to them in a while.

But then, it's good to get home and work out where to put the things you've bought too. I bought a cribbage board and had to rub furniture polish into it to get its shine back before finding out where I had put my card games. I cleaned out that drawer and put the cards back and then added in the board. It's good to find that I've got that drawer clean now.

Then, there were 3 vinyls I bought which I've added to my collection on discogs and I've added into my real collection - now just to get in and clean them too. 

I also bought 2 Tupperware containers - old ones - and I washed them up and did out my Tupperware when I wanted to find a spot for them. It turns out I have just enough of this stuff to work in my place. Yeah, after doing it out last year, I'm not doing too badly with it all. 

The good thing is that bag by bag, my house is getting cleaned out - even if it's small loads which are being moved out. I mean, I donated a candle and replaced it with a hand-made candle-holder I bought from a local artist. It's something I'm working on in my house; to fill my home with classic items I'll use. I'm hoping to clean out the video tapes and get the put onto dvd in the next year or so one by one... and get rid of the VCR tapes. So, how's your cleaning up going? All well? I hope so.

A Rough Week

I'm sorry I haven't been in here. I haven't been well this past week; and I've been busy with family things. Mum hasn't been well and I'm off to help her with her ironing today. 

So, apologies all around for not being in here to keep you guys active with your decluttering. 

I have been decluttering, but not in the house. 

It's Autumn/Fall here in Australia, and this is the time I attack the garden, and I plan what to do with my plants. You see, all my plants go to 'sleep' and it's easier to work with them without making them go into shock too much during the cooler seasons. So, around March/April, I organise myself to buy some potting mix and start moving plants around the garden. 

Right now, I'm looking at buying two larger pots for two plants I'm going to repot and relocate in my garden. The other pots they've come from are going to be reused for other plants. 

I have clipped back some of my plants from their Summer growth and am going to use the clippings to make new plants - yep, I grow succulents - and then I'm going to get rid of large white bucket in my garden which has become a haven for mosquitoes. 

There's other things I'm hoping to save for, like new seats around the garden - the ones I have are rotting, and I need new ones to make the place look and feel better. This will take time, and I'm hoping to get in and make sure I pick out the right seats. I'm hoping to get two large metal seats and replace three wooden seats. I'll ask Dad to rust-proof the metal seats for me if he can, to make them last longer. 

Yep, this is my decluttering idea for my garden this year. So, what have you got in mind for your garden this year? I know this is a different way of looking at decluttering, but really, I think if it's a part of your home, the garden should be decluttered as much as your house. Even if you're not much of a gardener, your outdoor area should be tidy and make you feel good about yourself. 
And if you feel it's too much, which part are you going to start on first? The weeds? The old, broken, useless pots? Sweeping up? Drop a comment and let us know.

Donations Upon Donations

I've been donating a lot lately; and man, that makes me feel good.

This past week, I donated that little black ladder which I just seem to be tripping over in the house and the charity store was so pleased to see it was almost new! When I told them it was an IKEA piece and almost not used, they were stunned. I then told them I was too heavy for it, and they understood.

I also donated a few bags of goodies and they were so happy to see I was back.

Now, I'm into the cleaning out stage of my house again, to find more things to donate - and this is the fun part of it all, isn't it?

You know... bagging it up, sorting through it all, and figuring out if you want it or not. And the things you don't want is donated after you clean it up and make sure it works properly. 

Now, this weekend challenge isn't hard, and I haven't done one in a while, so let's get to it! This Weekend, I'd like you to go to that cabinet of things you put things you 'mean to use', or have 'kept for good', and get in and use those things at least once. 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to get you to feel bad about this. What I'm trying to do is see if you want to keep using these items from that 'kept for good' arena of your house. If you feel that you can't keep these things? Well, it's time to hand them either to your children or to the charity store. Clean them up, wrap them up nicely and take them there. 
However, if you feel as though you can't part with them, don't force yourself to give them away. It's all up to you. Use them not just for good, use those items all the time - that is what they're there for.