Busy

I haven't had much time to myself lately to clean out the house or the office. So, the archive boxes I bought are still not established and I'm still in a messy office.

You see, my air-conditioner broke down last month and I had to get my Dad to get it out and put in a new screen. This took time; and once it's been in, my brother and his girlfriend went on a holiday and my folks took care of their dog. Well, I've been caring for the dog off and on over the past few weeks, so I haven't been able to do any cleaning out because we're not allowed to have any dogs here at the complex.

This isn't what I planned for the past few weeks, but it's been happening. 

What I planned was to have my office completely tidied up and cleaned out. But I guess the best laid plans don't always go the way we want, right? 

New Plans

I'm planning for new things to happen around the house which will help me with my decluttering. My birthday is coming up in early October, and I normally buy myself something great for each year. This year, I'm buying myself two shelving units for my 45th birthday.

Not only do I need them, but they'll be a want as well. 

I'm hoping to get rid of the tall skinny bookcase and a round, yellow set of drawers I've had in my living room too. The shelving will be shorter than what I have so can see on top of them and lighter too. I'm hoping they work out for me in the long run.

This is going to be a good thing for me when I get in and sort out the smaller canvas' and then put the bigger ones underneath my workbench where they won't get kicked - yep, that is exactly what happened recently to me, and why I haven't posted here for decluttering. I cracked a bone in my pinky toe and it's been healing slowly. But I really do need to work on what needs to be stored and how in this place. 

How are you going with your decluttering? Is it chugging along well, or stalling like mine? Or are you planning a big thing like I am as well? Well, keep up the great work and please feel free to comment below on what you've been doing. 

Second Half of the Year

I've been busy lately - really busy - and have turned my life around in a big way too. So, this is why I haven't posted in here for a while.

I'm sorry.

Anyway, I've joined a gym, have been getting assessed, going to yoga classes and sorting out my depression... yep, it's been going on. But while I've been going to the gym, I've also come home and found that I really need to throw out more and more of my junk (Yay! See, I called my stuff junk - finally!). 

I've thrown a collection of bottles into a bag for the Logan Artists Association - there'll be people there who will use them. And then, I collected together every plastic bag I've got in the house and put them into my 'Plastic Recycling Bag' on the carport door to take to Coles - where there's a recycling bin - to stuff them inside that.

I have brought all the laundry to be folded and sorted into my bedroom (yep, I am lazy at doing that kind of thing) and finally, I'm going to be cleaning out the last 3 boxes in the home office this weekend. You see, I have a folding step-ladder for this office, and it's sitting in the living room because I can't fit it into the office right now. Isn't that sad that I have something for this office that I can't fit in here because of my junk? It sure is!

Now, that's for just this weekend... for the rest of this year, I'm going to get my butt into decluttering the whole house - this includes getting rid of this Super-Amart corner desk and buying myself a nice ordinary desk with drawers to put in across the window (I know, I know, you can't see what I mean, but it's a shitty desk I've had for ages and it just doesn't have the space I want it to. My computer crammed into a corner - and I hate that. 

The art area downstairs is going to undergo a huge overhaul too. I'm saving to get a shelving unit - with an extra shelf - for the hallway to the kitchen and get rid of the tall, skinny bookcase, as it doesn't hold everything I want it to anymore. That bookcase will be donated to Vinnies, along with my old desk (which means I'll need the assistance of my folks and their trailer to donate these things) and I'll also be pulling my office apart to get the desk in as well - once I find it. 

This will all be happening over a few months - but the shelving unit will be installed by my birthday in October! So, that'll be first, and the desk might be in by the New Year... who knows, I might be ditching this desk by the time I get into another place. 

So, what are you plans for your place? Have you been decluttering, cleaning out, or are you planning and saving up for something to make you place more efficient - like me? 

It's All In the Planning

Decluttering does work well when it's planned... and with my garden and its facelift, I had been planning that for around 2 months. 

So, when I walked inside the back door and realised my home needed another facelift, well, of course, this meant I'd be tossing out things in a big way... and also replacing some items with more sturdy items too. 

Even though my house is full of items which I've hand-picked from op-shops, I still go through it from year to year making sure I use those picked-out items. Sometimes if I find something I no longer use, I give it away; and you know? I don't miss it. 

This seems kinda cold, I know, but really it's a good thing to do around the house - in not particular order - to keep your place in good working order.

I mean, look at what I did with my books earlier this year. I cleaned them out in March and gave away 40 books! Yes, I gave them away without thinking about it... but I also gained just as many. This was something I had to do with the place to make it work out well. But, still I'm struggling to store the books where I need them. 

My art area is in great need of a make-over now. And by October, I'll have enough money set aside to work on it. Just like I planned ahead with the garden facelift, I have to plan ahead with any kind of facelift I do with the house. You see, I don't have a credit card, and don't wish to have one either; as I hate being in debt to anyone or any bank. It hasn't really worked out the way I thought it would... as I can't for the life of me get a home loan. Sad but true.

Anyway, not having a credit card means I don't have to be worrying about debt or paying off things all the time... or money. I plan head better for things that's all. And when you have the luxury of planning a few months in advance, you can sometimes come into your next part of your project with clearer eyes and a better idea of how it's going to work out. This is because you've given yourself the time to plan.

Craft Gear Toss-Out

Being a crafter and painter, I find it difficult to throw out things to do with my creative side. Seriously, you should see how much paperwork I have to do with books and my writing still sitting around my office! 

It's atrocious! 

Anyway, seeing I'm down with a head cold this week, I've forced myself to open the house up and pull out my craft gear from my bedroom to sort through.

As Peter Walsh always says in step 1 of everything: pull it all out onto the floor! And that's what I've done. And wouldn't you believe it? I've got a vintage suitcase of yarn - yes I have that much knitting yarn that it requires a suitcase to store it! I've also got about 5 other reusable bags filled with yarn too!

Man, have I got some yarn! But that's what happens when I buy it on the cheap at craft group, have nowhere to put it and toss it into the wardrobe without thinking. Then, months later, look up there and think: 'Wow, that's a lot of yarn!' 

Anyway, I pulled down a few bags and the suitcase and began going through them in my living room - it's just that I find it easier to work in a larger space than my bedroom there; plus with the front window open, it was nice to get some fresh air into the living room. 
I tossed out a full bin of crap I didn't need, found some yarn I wanted to use, found some needlepoint yarn I had been looking for and then found some ties I had stitched up to sew onto some old cushion covers from the lounge. I reorganised the suitcase to take everything better - put the ties into colours in ziplock bags and then found I had a lot more space in it... which will mean when I want to put it all away this arvo, the space will be there! 

Wonderful!

Well, that was only half the craft gear I've stored away in bedroom wardrobe. Now, to see what other crap I've shoved up into the top of my wardrobe over the past 6 months. I seriously need a craft room - that means a 3rd bedroom. Yes, that means I have to move out of here... but where to? So, how is your cleaning out going? 

March Madness

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

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

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

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

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

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