Good Stuff Going On

In the past week, I've been working on my house and garden. And I've found it very uplifting to get rid of the old and bring in new when I've needed it.

The old VCR has been unplugged and put off to one side and my digital television has been plugged into the antenna... and it's cleared a space for a new turntable (as my old one has stopped working - well, okay, it keeps on pulling the arm back to the rest position and refuses to play two or three times before playing a vinyl. And then, halfway through a vinyl it'll pull the arm up and pull itself back to the rest position again... so yep, it's not working anymore). I've talked to my older brother about it, and he's offered to find me a nice new/old one for my birthday! Yay! I'm looking forward to that! 

And then, a few weeks back, Dad and I went to 'Spotlight' and bought some new lace for my bedroom window. Well, yesterday, I got around to replacing the old, tattered lace - which took me around half an hour to do - and now the old lace is in the bin and the new lace looks so good! 

I did try to go three for three, by attaching the back and arms section of the wash table in my room, but the screws were way too long - oh well, never mind. Can't win them all, right? 

But last week, I went off to Life Line and dropped off two big boxes off goodies to them - yes! They're open and able to accept donations; not furniture though. But I told them I did Glen-20 everything before I closed up the boxes. They were so grateful I did that. 

It's been a good week - despite the protests in the city - as we are trying to avoid a second wave of the pandemic. Anyway, I hope you're going well with your decluttering; just like I am. Everything is looking good at my place too. Drop a comment and let us know how it's all going at your place.

This Year's Work

Because of the Corona Virus this year, I'm sure a lot of people are scared and there's a lot of countries and cities in lockdown.

It's not a nice thing to hear of this; and even worse when you're wondering if it's going to happen to your city and country.

Australia has already closed its borders to people who are not citizens or residents coming in. So, that's a step towards us going into lockdown. This has pushed me to clean out my living room quickly. And yesterday, I bagged up 3 bags; today putting them into my car to take to Vinnies. 

There's still a lot to do in my house, but I have to get in and do it quickly. And seeing I got 3 bags done yesterday, I'm sure I'll have all of my plans sorted out in a month or two. And then, I'll have plenty of time to save up for the unit I want for my living room. 

But cleaning out is going to be a good thing for me, isn't it? What are you doing in this time where we can't go anywhere? 

One Shelf At A Time

Well, I'm getting in and cleaning my house in a big way this week. And I'm not being fussy about what stays and what goes.

Yesterday, I attacked a shelf in my pantry and pulled out all the herbs to get to my spice rack; and found I had 3 containers of Paprika! OMG! That's just too much - and two of them were smoky paprika, while one was sweet paprika. Jeez, now I don't have to buy any of that herb for a good while. 

Well, I cleaned up that shelf and emptied out the herb containers, wrapped them up and put them into a donation bag and readied them to take with me today to Vinnies. I also added a Disney glass too - one I no longer use.  I mean, why not? If I'm not using it anymore, it's better off somewhere else.

Anyway, I took everything to Vinnies and when I arrived home, I worked on the cabinets and put everything in their spots to cater for the glasses I have in the house. I'm looking forward to getting in and working on the rest of the house. I still have the bathroom to clean up, the vacuuming to do and the laundry to put away completely. 

Well, it doesn't seem like much, but really it is. I hope you're going well with your decluttering. 

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?

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. 

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? 

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. 

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.

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. 

Things Going On

Over the past few weeks, I've had a lot going on in my life; but the one big thing was a new window screen going into the office window and a dead air-conditioner being removed.

Yes, it's all be done and dusted and now there's better air flow throughout the house!

It's so nice to feel a nice breeze at night and during the day too.

Tomorrow, I'm getting into this office and sorting through more of the things which need to be looked into; so I can clean up the place more and be ready to move out of this townhouse once the time comes up. 

Today, I gave away a bag of books and a briefcase of my Dad's (and yes, he knew it was going, I asked if he wanted it anymore, and he said no). So, I cleaned it out and cleaned it up and took it to the Vinnies in my area and told them the code to it. Man, they were relieved to know what that was! I said that Dad couldn't be bothered putting a code in, so he left it as the basic numbers it came with. The lady there told me that they had a suitcase with a coded lock they were stuck with for about a week figuring out the code on it; not a lot of fun when nobody knows the code on those things.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm getting in and slowly cleaning out what I no longer need. It's now becoming a slower process of giving away things; and more of a putting things in archive boxes thing. 

So, how is your clean-out going? All good I hope. Keep up updated in what you've been up to.