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? 

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? 

Unwell Today

I'm not well today. Yep, I've come down with laryngitis for the third time in the past year; and it's all to do with stress - I'm not happy about it, but I think I'll have to work on how I deal with my stress levels. At least it's not coming out in seizures (which I have had to live with for a good part of my life). 

Anyway, today, it's raining, and this means I'll be vacuuming the house. Rainy days make good days to vacuum because the dust levels keep lower to the floor. 

I hope to get as much done as possible before I fall asleep in the mid-afternoon - as I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. 

Well, I'm hoping to get in and do a few other things before the day is out - and that's to keep myself a little busy. I'm spraying around Glen-20 (it's a spray which disinfects the air and items around the house) and I'll work on putting a few things in the car too for Monday, just to clear the house out. 

So, what are you up to this week? 

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning...

Yep, I'm doing all of that and more!

It's cleaning up time in my house and I'm being brutal when it comes to throwing things in the bin and in the Donation Box. Why, just last night, I grabbed rubbish bag and filled it with junk from all over the living room and readied it for the bin outside today. 

Then, this morning, I cleaned out the fridge a little more and tied up the bin liner in the kitchen and took both of those bags out to the bin where it's sitting to be collected. It felt great to be rid of those things I no longer need in the house. 

Yesterday, I also put away a lot of things in the entertainment unit which were sitting around the living room, but I'll be needing this year - and I'll be getting fixed. Sure, they were in the way, but no I'm not getting rid of them. 
So, there's the thing: you can have stuff sitting around which you want, but you just don't have the time or money right now to fix. I put them into a spot where I know I'll get to them. 

Otherwise, I've been doing very well with the house overall. Also this morning, I cleaned up the door jamb of my car port door - it was filthy! I have to do the front door yet... as it's just as bad. My folks have been complaining of those two things for years - and to me those tiny things are, well, tiny. They don't mean anything to me. But they mean a lot to my folks. So, this week, it's clean what they will notice.

On Sunday, I cleaned up the back yard. I racked up the leaves under the iron table, and put them in the compost dome, and mowed the yard. It looks so much more tidy. And this morning, I watered the lawn and garden - and within the hour, we received a huge lot of rain! Oh well, I guess I should have believed forecast when it said rain. But our gardens are looking good again now. I just hope it's helping out our fire fighters where's really needed.

So, how are you doing this week with your decluttering? I've yet to vacuum, dust and clean the upstairs bathroom. But that'll be something to keep for the weekend I think. 

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. 

A New Year Of Decluttering

Well, I've just looked at the side bar numbers; and I've been very busily changing up the numbers and making sure I have it all correct. 

In 2019, I ditched over 40 bags of rubbish from my home - many of them between Christmas Night and New Years Eve. Yeah, would you believe I tossed from my house 11 or so bags of rubbish from my house within 4 days? True! I did!

Then, the Donations Bags Filled were 21. And the Donation Runs were 17. Now, I have dropped into charity stores without donations, and that's more than 17. However to drop off donations? Well, that's about right. 

This year, the numbers are starting again. I'm going to begin counting again and see how well I do this year. But I'm going to keep a counter of how many of each year I do and see if I can beat each number. 

So, how about you? Are you doing this also? Let's see if you can do that same as me - or better. 

Old-Fashioned for the Kitchen

Well, the rubbish truck came on Wednesday - which was a public holiday - and my very full bin became a very empty one; which I'm thankful for.

Anyway, I started cleaning out the dinner set in the kitchen. Yep, I've been searching for a new dinner set for the past few weeks; and last Thursday I found one!

It's lovely, Japanese and hasn't been on the market for over 30 years. The whole 5-piece setting cost me $6.00 and it's from a company - and a town - in Japan called Nikko. How cool is that? I love it!

I've already packed up the retro-ish pink one after washing it up and putting it into newspaper. And now it's ready to take to the op-shop for them to sell - or toss - whatever they want to do with it. I'm happy with the one I've got. 

However, the guy who packed the box, well, he didn't give me a secure box and all but 2 of the cups broke... everything else survive. That was a bummer, but you know, that happens at the best of times too. I'm also giving away some glasses I'm no longer using and getting in and working on looking at my wardrobe too this year.

Anyway, it's been a few days since my last post last year, and I thought to jump in and let you know I'm still at it.