Today's Work

Since last week, I've taken a bit of a break from decluttering - it took me 3 hours to get the home office the way it looks now; and that was without a break. 

There were things which were downstairs which came upstairs and things which badly need to go inside the wardrobe as well, and also I have to clean out the 3 bags of 'junk/stuff' soon to make room here. 

And that's going to be some of the work today: to clean up the tabletops around the office, and make them clean. This may take an hour or so, but I'm making sure they will be tidy and useful by the end of the afternoon; and if I get it done in record time, I'll tackle a bag or two if I get the time. 

This room has taken a long time to get to, and it may seem that I have been lazy about it, but really it's been something which kind of scared me - that if I took it on, it would be too much once I got going on it. But it was a bit of both... it was almost too much and yes I got a little scared of it too; but when I started putting things in their right places, and they fitted perfectly, they sorted out well, I realised it was going to happen the way I imagined it was going to.

Now, the big and hard things are out of the way, it's a matter of throwing out what I no longer need, filing the bills and statements and getting in and doing the nitty-gritty stuff. 

Otherwise, how has your own decluttering journey been going? Are you achieving everything you've aimed for, or have you called in help from family and friends? 

Oh, here's some photos from last week!

Bookcase One - by the door

Bookcases Two and Three

The Home Office - At Long Last!

I've been promising myself for yonks to get in and work on the home office for ages - over a year actually - and today is the day!

Last week, my Dad came over here and complained that the floorboards were creaking too much for his liking and imagined all my books crashing through to the kitchen - and it was because there was too much weight on them. So, I'm going to sort through some of the major stuff, move the tables around and fill up a book bag for one of my Bookcrossing friends interstate. 

First off, before I touch it, I'll photograph my office... then I'll empty it out and photograph it again and move the furniture back into the places I want it to be. This will be after I've sorted through the things I no longer need or want anymore. 

This will take a few hours and I'm happy to take this time; and I've only got a few minutes to go until I take off out of here and do it. Wish me luck in how it'll look in the next four or five hours! 

So, which place are you tackling soon? Is it big or small? Is it something you've been putting off - like me? - or something on-going? Let us all know and keep us posted about your success with it. 

Weekend Challenge

First, I must apologise for not writing as much. There's a good reason for this. One of my best friends I've known for over 30 years has died; but not in the way I thought she would. She took her own life; and before she did, she told me a bunch of lies.

So, I'm kind of struggling right now. 

Anyway, I'm glad I put up those links for you all on Sunday; as I found out about her on the following day.

But this weekend, I'd like to challenge you all in a different way. Instead of cleaning out something, make something in remembrance of somebody you hold dear. 
Find the little things around the house which remind you of them and put them into a nice knick-knack shelf, or a box with their photo next to it, or do something out in the garden like plant a rose bush to remember them. 

This is your challenge. You don't have to do it if you don't want to.  Next week, we'll be back into the decluttering again.

A Few Little Hacks

How To Keep Your Home Organised
10 Signs You're A Hoarder
How To Declutter Your Desk
9 Kitchen Organisation Ideas 

I haven't been active here lately, but I have been watching some of the videos on the real estate websites on how to declutter and organise your home. These are to help people get themselves organised for when they're going to either sell their homes or move from them; and I thought they'd be just great to help us along with our decluttering journeys. 

I hope these videos and sites help you along too.

Weekend Challenge

I've been lazy in the Weekend Challenges - but I'm feeling better after my stay in hospital. And even though it was just one day, the stuff they use to knock you out takes weeks to get out of your system. 

So, I'm going to challenge you to do something this weekend which may make you feel either uncomfortable or good about yourself.

This weekend challenge is: look at one of your major collections and organise it so you can walk up to it and know exactly what's in it. If this means having to put some of it into storage boxes, so be it. If you have to give some of it away to charity, that's good too. But take it out, pull it apart in every way and make sure you know what goes back.

As I've said in previous challenges this can take 10 minutes or it can take all weekend. I'm going to go through my book collection again this weekend and organise what's going to go into a 5kg bag for a friend in Melbourne. I'll be organising his bookbag next week and posting it off at that time too. This will hurt me in a way I'm not comfortable with, but it's going to help me as well. 

Now, I think there should be another, second challenge, too. A nice little one called 'The Quick Clean'...this is one you can choose to do or not. Find a place in your house which has been neglected and do a quick clean of it. Wash, vacuum, dust and clean that area up. Make this take about half an hour... if it takes longer, you've left it too long. 

Okay, you've got your Weekend Challenges - pick one or both to have a go at! I'm doing them both! I hope you enjoy them; and I'll be getting back into the Weekend Challenges after this week to keep us all in check with our homes. Keep us posted about what you've achieved with your decluttering and cleaning - your successes as well as your setbacks - as every little bit does help everyone else. 

I've Been Away

I've had a week off just last week because I've been in hospital for day surgery - and man, that takes it right out of ya! My Mum stayed overnight and then the simplest things wiped me out... from the grocery shopping (thank goodness she was there to drive me!) to just making the bed and putting away the wiping up.

So, I must apologise for not updating you guys last week. But I did say I was cleaning the house big time for Mum stay... and that was the reason why.

Well, a few days before she did, I donated a big lot of things to my local Vinnies and scrubbed the house as clean as I could get it. But I'm looking at making sure I get more things out the door soon again and make another donation to Vinnies of some clothes I don't wear or fit into - no matter how nice they look.

Then, I have to look at which VCR collectable tapes are to be either sold or donated - and see how much money they'd be worth and sell them. It's now time to get rid of them. 

Mum has noticed that I do need more space - another room for my art and craft gear, and has said that I have 'some stuff!' but she has noticed that I do use everything in the house; which is a good thing. Not only am I an op-shopper, but I also declutter the things I no longer need and buy in op-shops what I want in my house. But I do need more room as well. 

Ironic that I have been decluttering for so long, and yet I still need room to make up a proper house. It's mainly to entertain and make it so my place is easier to get around in... that's all. 

So, what did you get up to while I was away? More decluttering? Or have you op-shopped like me after you donated your unwanted goodies? 

Working Out Well!

After being bad last week, I've done the good thing - to balance out the bad - and donated big at my local Vinnies charity store. Yes, I feel better, and yes the place is looking better too.. and yes I did purchase a few things to add to the house - but nothing expensive.

I have to go into hospital this week, and so I'm working on making the house work better than it has done, tidier than it has been and look and feel better for me when I get home. You see, it's only day surgery and I'm not worried about what's going to happen when I get home - so long I can lay down on my bed and snooze if I need to.

You see, my Mum will be coming here to my place and I've been cleaning the house to make sure she doesn't really need to do anything around the place, just hang out and relax. 

The good thing is that there's just a lot of putting away of things and that's about it really. Seeing I've tossed out and given away a lot of things over the past 6 months, I think I've done very well thanks to my wonderful friend Tutasi (who's gone back to the USA unfortunately - but we're still great friends). 

And I think after this week, I'll still be giving away and tossing out more and more things from the house as the year goes on. 

Yes, this big declutter over the past 4 - 5 years has been very good for me... I can't wait to keep it going. How about you? How's your decluttering going?