House Plans

I've been going well with my cleaning out this year - however, there's still nowhere to put anything I've cleaned out; which is a pity.

I've got so many things planned, and I can't put them into action as yet. And also, I have the ability to save a lot of money too... which is fantastic. I'm putting money away in accounts and enjoying the fact that I don't have to go out if I don't really need to. 

Well, last night, while I had the commentary of an episode of 'Supernatural' on dvd going, I decided to clean the tops of the cupboards. Man, they were gundgy! I couldn't believe how disgusting they were! Once they were clean, I put down newspaper on top of them and grabbed my servers from the credensa and then put towels and the old table cloth which covered the bigger two on them - to keep the grease from going on them. 

This has cleared the credensa so I can put plants on it - for now. 

You see, I'm still wanting to get rid of that credensa, the two china cabinets, two cd towers, and the large entertainment unit (the last one of which my late Uncle Allan gave me a year before he passed away) - all of this furniture is just too chunky. I've been looking on the Fantastic Furniture site and eyeing off a storage unit there which is really nice. I've also been saving some money up for that piece. 

But, first thing's first: the car has to get a service and its new speakers put in next week. I think by my birthday, I'll be able to get myself these things for my living room... yes, it'll be okay to get a charity to pick up my old furnishings then and install the wall unit for my living room - which will look great, and give me more room in the living room.

And along that wall in the front? Well, I'll be getting myself a nice 2-seater lounge. I do need more seating in the living room. 

So, what are your plans for the rest of year for you place? I've still got my donation items in boxes and bags around the place just waiting for the charity stores to reopen - but I do have the feeling that won't be for some time yet. 

Winter Jobs

Our government is easing restrictions here in Queensland - and I guess that's okay. But I'm still cautious. So, I'm still staying home from my usual places of social activity. I'm only going out when I absolutely need to, and I'm doing online shopping more than anything else. 

But I've decided to organise myself into getting my living room looked into. At the beginning of the lock down, I was planning on getting rid of the large entertainment unit, two china cabinets, two cd towers, and credenza and replacing them all with a long wall unit and a 2-seater lounge. Well... seeing a lot of places closed down and we couldn't do anything like that.

Now it's a few months later, I'm chafing at the bit to get things done. First, I booked my car in to get new speakers installed - as the original ones are still crackling. And I bought the new ones before Christmas last year (talk about being patient!). And then, last night, I started looking at websites of furniture stores which sold storage units for living rooms... yeah, I'm not going into a place just to look.

Cleaning out your place can be the small stuff, and it's also the big stuff too. This is the big stuff right now, mainly because of the Covid-19, but it's something I'm not rushing into - as I have to live with what I buy. But my things have to fit into the wall unit I buy too - and it's also has to be the right size for my house. It can't be clunky and big (otherwise it's not worth it) and it has to look stylish too. 

I have done out all my pajamas and have ordered new, lovely looking pajamas online from Target for this Winter. The other cotton ones just aren't me; and so they're off to the charity stores - when they reopen.

Man... I wonder how many donations they'll be getting when they do reopen? The mind boggles doesn't it? 

I'm Back!

It's been so long since I've been here!

And I've missed decluttering my house; mainly because I've been living for six weeks at my brother's house - house sitting - while he and his girlfriend have been overseas in India.

Well, I returned home on Sunday and am just getting my computer back up and online... and it's cost me a lot of money to get it going again. Yeah, it's been sitting doing nothing for that long; which means, things go wrong with it. 

Anyway, after it's been fixed (and a lot of money has changed hands), I'm finally back here.

But while I was away, I did manage to reorganise my brother's fridge, underneath their kitchen sink, their laundry and the cottage I was staying in out the back of their home. So, that says something about what I've learned through Peter Walsh... that I've become a bit of an organising person; and not just in my own home either.

Now I'm back, I've had a good think about what I'd like in my own house... and I'm beginning to go through my living room in a big way. So far, I've filled almost one bag with charity items and one rubbish bag - so that's 2 bags filled with things I no longer want.

My plan is to get rid of the bulky entertainment unit, two china cabinets and the two cd towers and put a wall unit in their place ... this will fit everything in it, including what's in the credenza by the window - which will also be out of the house. Along that window will be a 2-seater lounge and maybe a little table for people to use for their coffee or tea, and I can put one lamp on there. 

Very nice, I think. And it'll free up the floor space too.

So, seeing this virus thing is going to keep a lot of us at home, how are you going to work at your place? Are you going to declutter and reorganise - like me? Or are you going to paint, read or catch up on your Netflix list? 

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? 

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.

Donation Day

Well, Thursday was donation day, and I not only got rid of a bag of books and a briefcase, but I also took over a whole lot of unwanted goodies to Vinnies for a friend of mine too.

Now, I'm onto the next lot of the cleaning out and cleaning up.

Yesterday, I hung up a set of hooks I scored off Mum in my wardrobe door so I can hang up my dressing gown or house coat on it; and I don't have to go looking for one in the middle of the night. It's so much easier for me. 

Today, I'm getting into the living room. What I'm doing is packing everything into bags and sorting through them. Now, I'm putting the things into a couple of bags to make the room appear tidier than it really is - it's an illusion - and then I'll be able to feel much better about it all. And as I go through each bag, I'll be able to empty them out in an orderly fashion. I know it sounds like double-handling, but I find it much easier for me to deal with my clutter. 

While I'm in the living room, I'll be packing away any laundry I've dumped in one of the chairs - yes, this a bad habit I've formed; and it's one I must break. 

So, today, there's going to be a lot of folding the putting away of clothes and throwing out of things in the living room. I also must look into getting a new seal for the vacuum cleaner; as it's making an awful noise. It shouldn't cost much, as I've had to get one for another vacuum before. How's your place going? 

Living Room Reboot

Well, I started on my decluttering really early. 

Last night, I didn't have any knitting to do, or cooking for a family function, or Christmas get-together and so, I found myself without anything to do with my hands.

I looked around and found the four bags of junk in front of the entertainment unit calling out to be looked into. So, while I watched 'Supernatural: Season 8' I pulled out my rubbish bags and sorted through all four bags and tossed out 3 big rubbish bags of junk and I found a whole lot of things; like: 

I figured out a pile of recipes

Sorted through some fabrics

Found books I'd been looking for.

Found a pair of socks which had gone missing.

Found an address of a friend I had lost.

Sorted out my bank statements.

Emptied out a plastic box of craft gear.

And after the disk finished, I switched over to free-to-air television and finished watching a movie on there until 11:30pm - and still I hadn't finished sorting through the junk in my living room.

I put away the craft gear into their boxes, worked through the recipes on the floor into their own piles and piled up the bank statements to be filed away. I even found my log book from my old car! Woah! 

This morning, I threw out the three bags of rubbish and did out the fridge before I went out shopping and tossed out a bag of rubbish into the big bin outside. This is a big thing to be done before New Year's Eve.

So, have you started on your house before next year? If so, great to know! Let us know what you got done and how you're doing. 

Birthday Goodies

I've just had a birthday yesterday, and my house is always a mess around this time of year - because of the amount of time it takes to put things away. 

But this year, I'm going to put a stop to that.

I'm hoping to get in and work out the junk in the living room and the good things and organise my place in such a way that I'm not dodging around it all the time.

I have donated a few things in the past week - which is a good thing - and I'm looking at donating more things to make my home better and running a lot smoother; starting with the living room. 

After the shelving went in, I found that a lot of things are still being sorted out in them and I still find that I'm either taking things out of them or storing more things in them; which is a good thing I think. I've got so much more room for the clothes horse to move around and after I cleaned out the storage facility, I have found more space in there for my art gear. 

Both of these things are great for me.

But still, more needs to be done to make the house more tidy and better for me to live here. Also, when the time comes to move, I don't want to the hassle of stuffing around with crap I don't want anymore. So, there's that too. 

How is your journey going? Seeing I'm going over the other bits in my place again, I'm wondering if you're redoing your place - or parts of your place too. 

Art Shelving

This has happened so fast, and I'm glad it has... well, the shelving I was planning on getting next week, I bought this week instead. And well, they're in and I've given away the old skinny bookcase to my neighbours (and they love it!) and I've reorganised my art area completely! 

It looks great!

I have already been to the market at the Logan Artists Association and fixed up my stock box, putting everything away into zip-lock bags and packing them into another box where it all fits completely and the other display boxes are empty and ready for other uses. Then, I've bought another 3 boxes to pack up and ready the stock box for another use around the house. 

Yes, this has happened sooner than I expected, and it's great!

I'll get the art area and living room pulled together before Christmas and the place will look and feel so much better than it has in years. 

I've already given away smaller canvases I don't need anymore and put my esky/cooler onto one of the shelving units. Then, I bought a box for all my laundry detergents and extra things - like extra bottles of vinegar and boxes of bi-carb soda - which don't fit anywhere else. I've got more room in the kitchen and around the washing machine now it's all put away in a place I can get to without much fuss.

It's a great thing to have this all sorted out before my birthday and before Christmas; as the townhouse will be looking so much better soon. Now, just to tidy up and bags of junk sitting around and put away the laundry which is piled up in the bedroom (yep, I'm lazy like that... it's just something I can't get around to doing some days). So, what have you been doing to keep yourself on your journey? 

Late Night Decluttering Sessions

It's wonderful when it's late at night, quiet around the place and I really don't want to head off to bed yet. 

Yep, it was 10pm last night and I had turned the tv over to a science show on the discovery of Earth-like planets and found I really just wanted to clean up the living room - and I got into it and did it. 
The laundry was folded, and the clothes horse was put away, along with other things which needed to be put into the storage facility, and then I grabbed a rubbish bag and filled it with things that had been sitting around the place for weeks! Boxes, old news papers, plastic crap and other junk which has been invading my floor and - before I knew it - the bag was full and I tied a knot in it and set it off to one side to put out in the rubbish the next morning. 

I pulled the big cloth bag from next to my dinner table and went through it. There were reusable bags in it which I had been looking for. So, I pulled them out and put them to one side. The big cloth bag is going into my car (with the reusable bags) and the other bag with the other plastic bags and bubble wrap has been set off to one side for a moment - until I get a shelving unit to put that onto the top of. 

But I didn't stop there! I pulled the rubbish bag from the bin the kitchen and took that outside with the junk bag out to the big bin and ended up locking up the house by 10:45pm. Yep, it was a good clean-up. The science show had finished as well. I set out the rest of the cockroach traps around the house and took the laundry upstairs to put away - seeing I had folded it ready to do that.

When I came downstairs this morning, the living room looked and felt less cluttered and more like I know what's what and that I know which direction the living room is going. It's a good feeling to get back into this again. It's going to take me time to get back into the whole declutter thing after a little while away from it... but bear with me, and we'll be back on track again. 

The Next Day Or So...

I've been in hospital for some big tests; and now I'm not allowed to be outside the house for the next day or so.

This is the perfect time for me to pull myself in the direction of those jobs I've been putting off and get in and do some serious decluttering, putting away and tidying up.

So far, I've been out in the back yard and sorted out which plants have to be pulled out and thrown away, leaving which pots behind to be reused and up-cycled. While I was out there, I cleaned out the rain gauge and counted up which plants needed bigger and better pots and will need to bring in the solar lights to see if I can get new batteries for them to make them charge for longer - if I can't get them batteries, well, I'll go and buy new lights to set up around the garden. 

This morning, I started sorting through Bookcase #2 - the Tallboy Bookcase - and sorted out my Stephen King shelf so all my SK books are standing up, not laying down. I'll be doing this for the next shelf down too; to make sure it all looks uniform and clean; leaving a space for my drink on the shelf and for my cordless phone just like where they are now. There are still books to sort through, to find homes for, and I'm hoping to get this office figured out before too long.

The bedroom is a mess as I've let the clean laundry pile up. So, there's putting away to do, sorting out what to vacuum in the bedroom as well as cleaning the bathroom too. In a funny kind of way, I can't wait to get in and do these odd jobs around here... after the death of my friend, I kind of let everything pile up and stop - my world just came to a crashing halt. It's time to get it going again, time to get it back on track.

This weekend is the perfect time to get it working again properly - to pull my focus back onto the decluttering and cleaning of this place. 

Big Living Room Declutter!

Yesterday, I had a huge clean-out of my living room and some of its storage items. And what a great success it was!

Now, for those of you who wish to do just this, it's not about jumping in and pulling absolutely everything out and then becoming overwhelmed with it all and putting all back - that's easy to do, but stop, wait and get some back-up; aka: a good friend to help you out!

My great friend is Tutasi (if you can't pronounce her name, say Rebecca, Tutasi is her Samoan name). We go out on Thursdays usually to peruse the op-shops and pick up nice things for our homes - and in turn, we also declutter our homes and throw out and donate what we no longer need. It's a give and take thing; and not a bad way to live.

Well, yesterday was a decluttering day and I really needed the help with my living room. Okay, I got some of it done, but not all of it. The credenza has been a great success, and I've added some more things to it to make it look more lovely too... and the shelves are better now too - not cluttered anymore.

However, I had to clean out behind the living room chairs and the entertainment unit. And I couldn't put that off any longer. You see, I have to go into hospital next month for day surgery... and even though it's just a day, recovery takes a few days; and a messy house isn't a good thing to hang about in. And so, the big clean up of the living room was not only something I really needed to do for myself, but something which was needed for my time soon.

We started with the entertainment unit; pulling out all the things inside there. I have a lot of boxes which are part of 'The Bird Collection' and so, I kept them for when I move house in the future, so the nice items will go in these boxes and not get broken. Then, I pulled out a lazy susan which I was saving for a 'special occasion' - and really, when will that be? - so I put it on the credenza. The second ice box went up there too; to join my bar collection of items to be there when I need it.
This left room for me to get in and sort through my cds I took out of the credenza. I threw out anything with scratches on the cds themselves - and unfortunately there were quite a few of them; of great bands and singers. Bummer, I really liked them too. Otherwise, I put some in the unit and my Mozart cds in one of the towers which still had room.

Otherwise, Tutasi pulled out all of my paperwork from behind the chairs. Yes, I have a bad habit of hiding things like this behind them - and it's something I have to get out of the habit of. Very quickly, in a 'yes and no' manner, I sorted through old receipts and other things I didn't need or had found after months of searching. 

We organised my shoes, books, bags and anything else which needed looking into and ended up tossing out 2 big bags of rubbish, one bag of scratched cds and sorting out old piano music into a box (which I'll be using to store more of until I get to the QSL in the city at some point in my life to donate). Otherwise, we had a wonderful tuna salad for lunch and that night, I made my famous vegetable soup.

Today, I've still got a few things to put away - but then there's the vacuuming and dusting to do and living room will be a better place for me to enjoy and to keep as tidy as I can. 

Okay! Time for the weekend challenge! It's time to sort out shoes. Pull out your shoes... all of them guys and girls... and line them up. Now, we all have a bit of a collection of slippers, cross-trainers, heels and other types of shoes; but we don't get around to wearing all of them - yes we have our favourites. It's time to pick out the ones you haven't worn in about 2 years; this give you the whole 4 seasons to look fully. And if you've just dug out a pair of shoes and said: 'OMG! I haven't even seen these in... um... wow, I don't remember wearing these last year!' it's time to clean them up and donate those puppies! Let us know how you go!

Credenza Clean-Out

This week, I've been busy and a little burnt out. Not only have I cleaned out a good lot of my books and am currently giving them away, I also cleaned out my large credenza in my living room and placed in the shelf from it to organise it properly.

It's looking so much better than it did before. 

I took out everything from inside it and used the duster to clean out the dust and dirt. Then, I wiped the whole thing over with anti-bacterial wipes to get into the corners. Then, I cleaned the glass doors on it and made sure it all dried out properly before putting back only what needed.

But first, I had to install that shelf.

When I tried to put the shelf holders in, they didn't fit! I was in a bit of a bind because if they didn't fit, the shelf wouldn't be supported properly... so after a break I looked through some of my art gear and thought that dowel would go well! And it did! I slotted in the shelf and have it looking all sorted out and working now!

The one thing I still have to organise the where the cassette tapes go - I have plans to turn that into a proper little drawer for my coaster collection, so I'm not diving into a box all the time. 

So, this week, I've sorted through books, and have some book bags to send off, and might have some to donate to Vinnies and other charities (I might even send some to other places like a prison if needs be). And I have clothes to donate as well. 

There's still my old sandwich toaster to deal with... do I toss it out or donate it? This is the question rolling around in my head. I have a new one already and it works really well - I love it - but the old one still makes weird noises. 

Okay! I haven't put up a Weekend Challenge for a while. So here goes: it's time to get into your credenzas, china hutches or your hall tables. Anywhere where you store junk. Yes. The junk drawers are getting it this weekend. One by one, empty out the drawers and organise what will go in each drawer. Throw out old batteries, and keep the good ones (make sure you keep them in their original containers otherwise you can cause a fire - honestly you can!) and make sure your family knows what's going on too! Get them into this with their own private junk drawers in their bedrooms - and don't say they don't have one... I know they do. 

Welcome to 2018!

Welcome to the New Year of 2018!

This is the second year of this blog and I'm hoping to help you - as well as myself - along in the fight against our cluttered homes.

I started this blog last year in the hopes to get my cluttered home under control in some way; and it did a lot more for me in so many ways.

It was a type of therapy, a type of diary to not only show that I could get in and work out what was keeping me in some of my worst ruts around, but it also assisted me in making the biggest choices in my life of how to let go of old things; and replace a number of items with just one.

This year is going to be a good one, though.

I'm going to box up a whole lot of my art and craft gear in the hopes to move house in the next year or so. I've been wanting to move for the past 3 years; but no banking institution will loan me money. I don't have bad credit - I'm on pension and nobody will look at us because we usually don't have anything the bank wants in case we can't make the repayments. So, I'm stuck.

I want to get out of the stuck rut of living in such tight quarters and into a proper, larger place so I can spread out a little more and have a room for my art gear... and my precious items which should be on display, will be and will be used more often. 

My goals for this year are:

* Go through my wardrobe and clean it out.

* Clean up the Home Office completely.

* Clean up the Living Room to the best of my abilities.


These are the biggies... I really want to use the space I have right now until I move into a better place. So, what are your goals for this year? Please do leave a comment below and let's see if we can help each other through our decluttering together? 

10 Days

It's been 10 days since my last post.

Yep, I planned it this way just to see how I went with the house.

I've been cleaning up the living room which was filled with old VCR tapes from my life in the 1990's... and okay, they play, but I can't see what's being played. Damn! So, onto dvds those things go.  Until I find the time to get to do that, those tapes are put away into storage.

Then, I vacuumed the floor, and pulled out the donation box, sub-woofer and one of the cd towers to vacuum the carpet there. So much dirt came out of the carpet! But then, I only put back what was needed.

The tool box was put away until I needed it.

All of my laundry has been done, dried, folded and put away. I also got in and did my folks' laundry too - yep, we've had a few hot days here in Brisbane; so why not?

Then, I've created a couple of new habits:

Making the bed in the morning.
Taking out the rubbish to the wheelie bin every day.
Washing up before going to bed at night.
Cleaning up the living room before heading off to bed at night.

Yep, four new habits which have been difficult to keep up, but I'm working on them. It's been working out well too! It's nice to get out to the living room and kitchen and find there's nothing there from the night before waiting for me to clean up. 

The kitchen table has even been tidied up - and I've worked on making sure it stays that way! It feels so much better to sit down to a tidy table than a messy one. 

In just 10 days, I've worked on the house. In just 10 days, I've formed 4 new habits, which aren't big, but are useful. In just 10 days, I've changed the way the house runs completely... and it feels great! 

Seeing I've worked on cleaning out the house over the past 4 -5 years, I'm glad to say the new habits have worked out so well. And like Peter Walsh has been saying to everyone: it just takes 10 minutes. 

And it does. 

The Entertainment Unit

This afternoon, I went into my living room and opened up the doors of the entertainment unit to see what a mess I was going to make in this decluttering session.

Now, this entertainment unit is old... so old I remember when Uncle Allan bought it. I was seventeen years old and he was living at Dunrod Street, Holland Park West. His house is no longer there anymore as it's been replaced by what passes for a stylish home nowadays (better known as a concrete monstrosity). But I remember the night he had the family over to see his new entertainment unit... and that I was kind of pushed out of the way by everyone else when I was looking at it. But all I did was run my hand along the top of it, say it was pretty and then get pushed out of the way; at which point I walked off and admired it from across the room. I was asked if I liked it or not - and I said Uncle Allan: 'It's gorgeous.'
Fast forward to 2011 and he calls me up telling me that he'd bought new television, but forgot to measure the space in the entertainment unit... and would I like it? This was the same unit he'd bought way back when I was seventeen years old. Would I like this piece of furniture? Of course I would! 

Now, today, I opened the bottom doors to be greeted with so much junk!!! But then, it was supposed to be used as storage under there, just not this kind of storage. 

Most of the things in there are VCR tapes - so many of them! - and none of them work on the digital television; but I can hear them. Such a pity about the visual being static. So, we're going to get them all put onto dvds so we can watch them whenever we want. 
Anyway, I got my videos all into boxes and worked out, and sorted out everything else in the entertainment unit as well. Now, I have so much more space! I can store the 70's ice bucket, my new iron and knee rugs for the living room, as well as some dvds and cds and a lazy susan I have bought for special occasions. 

So, how much more of your own place have you gotten done? I'm so please I got the entertainment unit fixed up today. 

Boxes

Today, I went out to a charity store and did some very cool op-shopping. I scored 2 ice buckets. One was 1970's and once was a much smaller one from around 1930's. The 70's one was plastic and insulated, while the 30's one was glass and metal and looked gorgeous and tiny. So, I polished up the glass one and displayed it on my piano, and looked around the house to put the 70's one so I could use it. 

But I couldn't find a place for it.

So, I opened the bottom doors of the entertainment unit and found it was filled with boxes from my kitchen items. However, these were lined so I could put my Bird Collection items away when the time came and I needed to move; and I could put them inside their right boxes. 
I pulled them out of the unit, and found just how many VCR tapes I had of some great films - all collector's items - and I have just kept them for one reason or another. But now, I really don't need them anymore. So, over the next day or so, I'll be pulling them out and bagging them up to sell online for a collector to buy off me.

Anyway, I grabbed the boxes and went to put them into the kitchen (where there's a cabinet I could fit them all) but I found there were still more boxes! These boxes were from mugs I have bought over the years. So, I organised which ones to throw out and which ones to keep and then bagged up the ones to toss and did just that! Now, I have room in the entertainment unit for my 70's ice box and my boxes for my Bird Collection mugs, sugar bowl, creamer and salt'n'pepper shakers are all under the counter where they belong.

The next thing I need to do - I think is create a bar for my growing collection of items... but where would I make it? There's so little room here. So, how is your decluttering going? Better than mine I hope... I'm still one step forwards and two steps back at times. But today was a good day.

The Piano

Today, I moved the chairs out of the way and took everything off the top of the piano, used a microfibre cloth and wiped it down. The amount of dust that came off amazed me.

I then realised how dry the piano really was and pulled out the furniture polish and got stuck into it. At this time of year - Autumn/Fall - these instruments really dry out in a big way. So, I try to keep the polish up to them before the dust marks them permanently. I also checked the glass inside it. Water is good for a piano - especially during a lot of rain. Strangely enough, pianos 'drink' a lot more water during a deluge than they do during a dry spell; and every piano tuner I've spoken to doesn't know why. However the instrument can tell you when it's getting dry as it starts to knock; it sounds as though somebody is knocking on your front door, it's that clear. 

It was thirsty today. But it was lovely to get the polish into it. I use a bees wax polish - not a synthetic-based one - as it's better for the wood and is a natural way of polishing timber; and the smell is really nice too.

Then, I put the doilies back onto the top of it and sorted out what was staying (the blue glasses and silver candelabra and the new decanta) and what was going into the Donation Box (the three coffee-related candles I bought on a whim about 3 years ago and never used). Otherwise, I'm making sure it will never get overcrowded on top of the piano again, by making sure it only has the items on there that suit the decor of the room.

Well, it was a good day otherwise. I got that done, and I got one bag of rubbish sorted out from the Home Office too. I'm really proud of myself. So, what did you get up to in your decluttering today? 

Charities Are Fussy

Today I was supposed to have my sofa-bed taken off my hands by Life Line. But when the guys showed up, they took one look at it and said no, they can't take it. It was because of the tear on the arm that's been there for 15 years. 

I couldn't believe how fussy this charity was being. And I thought the Salvation Army was bad, when they sent me a criminal to collect my unwanted goods - seriously, they sent me a guy fresh out of prison to collect my old bedroom suite; and he rejected it because he hated it.

Anyway, the guys from Life Line suggested the Salvos and I said not them, and told them why. They were shocked that such a reputable charity sent out a criminal to collect things - let alone drive a truck! - and I told them when I complained to the supervisor of the Salvos, they took the driver's side! These guys couldn't believe how badly I was treated... but still they couldn't take the lounge; that it would end up at the tip. They then suggested Vinnies.

After they left, I had a little cry. 

You see, this lounge has been on gumtree, Facebook and I've offered it to all my friends and relatives... but nobody wants it - especially, I don't want it. So, I called up Vinnies and now, they don't want it, all because it's got a tear in the arm. 

There's nothing else wrong with the lounge. The bed in it is fine, the foam in the seating is in good condition, there's a cover and throw cushions that go with it... so why would there be a problem with any charity being so fussy that they don't want a lounge with this tear in its arm. It's from age, not anyone taking a knife to it. 

So, when you're decluttering and you find something might be a little defective, be careful about who you donate it to. I tried all the big charities with my sofa-bed. They wouldn't take it because it was old - not because it was worn out. This is no excuse to reject something a person no longer wants; and it causes more stress on them. 

Now, I really have nowhere to go with this sofa-bed. I really feel lost. What the hell am I supposed to do with it when no charities I know will take it off my hands? 

A Quiet Week

These kinds of weeks are normally when I get the most done. I didn't end up selling the set of drawers on Gumtree, mainly because the buyer didn't show up. Now, I put up a rant on Facebook about this and had many people agree with me about how damned rude it is to kick up a fuss about how pretty wonderful something is, make an appointment, then to pike on the seller.

Now, I'm no saint, I've done that to exactly one person and apologised profusely to him for leaving him hanging. But if you're going to buy something from somebody, please go and get to the appointment; or if you can't get there, make the effort to let the buyer know you're not showing.

Anyway, this week, I'm getting in and cleaning up the living room. I've been so busy lately with things outside the townhouse, that I've just been falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Now, today, I've found myself burnt out and a little bit of cleaning out wouldn't hurt me. 

The 50 books - with matching magazines - have made their journey to the 'Really Good Book Shop' at Browns Plains. And not far from there, I went to the Life Line Supa Store to score my self a brilliant little 1970's phone-seat... how cool is that? I love it! 
Now, It's just a matter of cleaning up the living room so I can get rid of the lounge. 

But if it doesn't sell by the end of next week, I'll be contacting the Life Line to come and pick it up. I did just phone the QEII hospital palliative ward to see if they'd like it and the coffee table, but they've had been offered a brand new lounge room suite from a family who lost a family member there. They thanked me very much for my kind offer. 
I'm really looking forward to having more space in my living room next week. I'll get the guys to come and collect it. It'll be going to a decent home.  

Well, I hope to have my home in a better shape next week, than it is this week. So, how has your decluttering been going? I'm slowly getting mine together. I'm going to go through my wardrobe and donate some of the dresses that no longer fit me; and then I'll be out looking at jeans that look good on me; as well as dresses.