The Big Wardrobe Cleanout!

I'm so proud of myself!

Yesterday, I started putting away my clean laundry and it turned into a big clean out of my wardrobe - mainly because a lot of what I had washed and dried outside couldn't fit into the wardrobe.

So, I pulled out any t-shirts and decided to fold them, and had a lot of coat hangers which had taken up space. Then, I moved long-sleeved blouses next to the dressing gowns, I put the coats in their own colour codes (I know, I know, weird right? But it makes some kinda sense to me). Then, I put all my new op-shopped dressed in one section and my jeans and shorts in the next section. I tried on a few thing to see if they'd fit - and some did and others didn't. 

And then, I found them: the clothes I was given and haven't worn, and don't like. I pulled them all out and put them into a donation pile. I also pulled out all the 3/4 pants/jeans which I no longer wear and put them into a pile as well... and well! I emptied out so much of the wardrobe, I was amazed with myself.

And this was before I had even gotten any clean laundry put away - sure it was folded and hung up on hangers, but none of it was put away... so I put it away and it all fitted so well! 

Then, I pulled some things from underneath my clothes and found I had bags I had bought and other things which I simply didn't need. Some of these things went in the bin, while other items went into the donation pile. This donation pile was getting pretty big now... and this is good!

Today, I folded and put everything in the pile into a bag... such a pity I can't take it to a charity store yet. Well, give it time: in the next few months, we'll get ourselves to the charity stores and they'll have a huge influx of donations from everyone's houses. Won't that be great? 

In Isolation

The last time I went out was really early Tuesday morning - and that was to get supplies. But I've been home and haven't talked to anyone or near anyone... and this is good.

This has given me a good chance to organise my house and my garden. 

Today, I reorganised my greenhouse in the back yard for the third time - as I'm planting cherry tomato seeds and in a few days, I'll be potting up truss tomato seeds in there as well... I can't wait to see what happens. I'm hoping it all works out.
Well, if it does, I'll have some lovely tomatoes to eat in the coming months - and I'll share them as well with my neighbours.

I then organised my laundry liquids in the hallway to my kitchen where the shelving is... and managed to put everything in a nice spot there. 

Two plastic boxes in my home office are now filled with books I'm keeping from crowding up my bookcases too much. But there's a box by my front door which has to go out to the car for donation. Unfortunately, all my donations are going out into the back seat of my car until further notice, as no charity stores are taking anything for now - and they're closed anyway. 

Tomorrow, which is Friday, I'll be going through my wardrobe and sorting through all of my clothes to see what I'm keeping and what I'm donating. This is a good time to do this. And then, I'll organise my drawers again and vacuum the house, dusting everything as I go.

Yes, it'll be a busy day tomorrow - as busy as it was yesterday and today. So, how is your place going in this time of isolation? Are you cleaning out as much as I am? Or are you catching up on reading and other activities? 

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.