Oh my.... I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted! Not to worry, though, as The Project has been continuing and some great progress has been made. I'm not going to do a daily list, but I can report that the lounge room is looking better than it has done for a year or more, and the Christmas tree is up!!! Significant throw always include:
* A large garbage bag of non-Tupperware plastic containers, not beecausew I am a plastics snob, but because Tuppeware really does make very good containers. I received my order from a party I went to a couple of weeks back and so, in line with project rules, considerable removal was required to make allowance for the introduction of the new Tupperware (to say nothing of the react that I had to make physical space for it!). Anyway, there were probably at least a dozen items in the bag.
* I gave two pieces of Tupperware to my sister.
* I got rid of a paper shopping bag that had been hanging on the door knob of the bedroom for approximately one year.
* My black handbag with the broken strap went into the bin.
* The Bratz PC game got sent to the winning bidder.
Today the linen cupboard was ripped out and will be made bigger. This does not mean that it will be a dumping group for all kinds of stuff, but that what we do have will be more easily visible and accessible. To prepare, last night JK and I took everything out of the cupboard and realized that the salvosytrr will be getting some good blankets etc as we won't be putting everything back in - this is the chance to cull.
I will try to be more diligent with my postings . I can do it from my iPad, so it's very convenient!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Day 6
I had a 'job interview' today and I am pretty sure that I will be going to play in a new place at the end of my leave. I will, once again, start this job with the intention of not letting my email grow to thousands of unfiled items - I've got to be on top of it from the very beginning!
Item removed from the house:
A pair of jeans that belong to my mum (returned) and three ring binders that are surplus to our requirements but which Mum says she can use.
Method:
Returned to rightful owner, put to reuse.
Yesterday I made great progress in the kitchen - the long bench was clear!!! I think I wiped it a dozen times....just because I could :)
Today is Friday and I am wondering how much I will achieve over the weekend...
Item removed from the house:
A pair of jeans that belong to my mum (returned) and three ring binders that are surplus to our requirements but which Mum says she can use.
Method:
Returned to rightful owner, put to reuse.
Yesterday I made great progress in the kitchen - the long bench was clear!!! I think I wiped it a dozen times....just because I could :)
Today is Friday and I am wondering how much I will achieve over the weekend...
Day 5
I was so tired when writing about Day 4 that I didn't write about the massive meltdown I that morning, prowling around the house yelling "I can't live like this!" while looking at the piles piles piles of stuff. JK was sympathetic and that was when he cleaned out his wardrobe.
So, here we are at Day 5...
Item removed from the house:
Bratz Rock Angelz computer game.
Method
Sold on eBay.
It's not exactly gone yet, but I have sold another totally crap computer game on eBay (someone actually paid money for it!!!). It belonged to Miss K but, like just about everything I have bought her, it was ignored and left to moulder away while she mooched around the house, claiming boredom. Admittedly, she is too old for it now anyway, but I should have gotten rid of it ages ago. This is my problem - storage of no longer needed / wanted / used stuff.
So, here we are at Day 5...
Item removed from the house:
Bratz Rock Angelz computer game.
Method
Sold on eBay.
It's not exactly gone yet, but I have sold another totally crap computer game on eBay (someone actually paid money for it!!!). It belonged to Miss K but, like just about everything I have bought her, it was ignored and left to moulder away while she mooched around the house, claiming boredom. Admittedly, she is too old for it now anyway, but I should have gotten rid of it ages ago. This is my problem - storage of no longer needed / wanted / used stuff.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Day 4
I am so tired, I may fall asleep in my chair and face plant my keyboard.... but here is the report for Day 4.
Items removed from the house:
So many! It has been a really good day. JK has cleaned out his cupbord ever so slightly and a couple of bags of clothes were taken to the charity bin up at our local - very convenient, and as they had been chosen to go I wanted to get them out of the house asap. I have also been moving through the house with a large garbage bag, putting in bits and pieces of stuff that I find lying around. It's about half full now, and has items in it including a candlestick (no candle) and an old telephone.
Method:
Charity and rubbish bin.
Bonus:
I tidied a corner of the kitchen bench where stuff has been abandoned and gathering dust for months and months, and started a scrapbook for Mr B's various pieces of art that were lying around.
I am feeling good about today's achievements!
Items removed from the house:
So many! It has been a really good day. JK has cleaned out his cupbord ever so slightly and a couple of bags of clothes were taken to the charity bin up at our local - very convenient, and as they had been chosen to go I wanted to get them out of the house asap. I have also been moving through the house with a large garbage bag, putting in bits and pieces of stuff that I find lying around. It's about half full now, and has items in it including a candlestick (no candle) and an old telephone.
Method:
Charity and rubbish bin.
Bonus:
I tidied a corner of the kitchen bench where stuff has been abandoned and gathering dust for months and months, and started a scrapbook for Mr B's various pieces of art that were lying around.
I am feeling good about today's achievements!
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Day 3
Here we are, reporting on Day 3 of The Project (not to be confused with the TV show of the same name). Didn't achieve a huge amount today, but that's OK.
Item removed from the house:
Desperate Housewives computer game.
Method:
Put in the bin.
I looked this game up on ebay to see how many were currently for sale. There were tons so I couldn't be bothered listing it.
This game is total crap. The graphics are very unsophisticated, the plot is silly and when I got to the end of it the first time I played it I knew that I would not spend any further time with it. So, of course, I put the discs back in their box and put the game on the shelf. Silly silly silly..... This is exactly how the house came to be so full of stuff.
I have been doing some more tidying, so things are being put away in appropriate and suitable places. This feels good, too!
Item removed from the house:
Desperate Housewives computer game.
Method:
Put in the bin.
I looked this game up on ebay to see how many were currently for sale. There were tons so I couldn't be bothered listing it.
This game is total crap. The graphics are very unsophisticated, the plot is silly and when I got to the end of it the first time I played it I knew that I would not spend any further time with it. So, of course, I put the discs back in their box and put the game on the shelf. Silly silly silly..... This is exactly how the house came to be so full of stuff.
I have been doing some more tidying, so things are being put away in appropriate and suitable places. This feels good, too!
Monday, 5 December 2011
Day 2
Here I am - I've made it back!
Item removed from the house:
Approximately five (I didn't count them) cake tins and jelly moulds, and a funny salad spinner-type contraption.
Method:
Put in the bin.
The tins and mould were found in a rarely-used kitchen cupboard that I cleaned out last week. This cupboard had been bothering me for months and months, and I finally bit the bullet and took everything out of it. Happily, not everything was put back in. The cupboard held lots of kitchenware that I 'inherited' from our family home when it was sold and my mum didn't want to take it with her. That should have been a hint for me.
I haven't used the cake tins or jelly moulds since.... ever. The salad spinner thingy was used once nearly a decade ago, and not for its intended purpose. They had to go and had been sitting in a variety of locations around the house since being removed from the cupboard - on the floor outside the cupboard, on the floor in the laundry and, finally, by the front door until this morning which just happened to be rubbish day. It felt really good to take them to the bin and squash them into the top.
Bonus:
I also disposed of the receiver component of the broken baby monitor from yesterday and the box that it had been stored in, which was still sitting in the cupboard.
Double bonus:
I put the clothes airer that had been in the lounge room back into the laundry. This project is all about baby steps...!
Item removed from the house:
Approximately five (I didn't count them) cake tins and jelly moulds, and a funny salad spinner-type contraption.
Method:
Put in the bin.
The tins and mould were found in a rarely-used kitchen cupboard that I cleaned out last week. This cupboard had been bothering me for months and months, and I finally bit the bullet and took everything out of it. Happily, not everything was put back in. The cupboard held lots of kitchenware that I 'inherited' from our family home when it was sold and my mum didn't want to take it with her. That should have been a hint for me.
I haven't used the cake tins or jelly moulds since.... ever. The salad spinner thingy was used once nearly a decade ago, and not for its intended purpose. They had to go and had been sitting in a variety of locations around the house since being removed from the cupboard - on the floor outside the cupboard, on the floor in the laundry and, finally, by the front door until this morning which just happened to be rubbish day. It felt really good to take them to the bin and squash them into the top.
Bonus:
I also disposed of the receiver component of the broken baby monitor from yesterday and the box that it had been stored in, which was still sitting in the cupboard.
Double bonus:
I put the clothes airer that had been in the lounge room back into the laundry. This project is all about baby steps...!
Day 1: Project Commencement
My house has too much stuff in it. Clutter, clobber, excess items, bits and pieces, crap, maybe even mess... call it what you will, there is too much of it. Too much stuff. It is a real drag and is bringing me down, killing my mood, destroying my mojo. I feel drained both looking at it and thinking about tidying it, and so it stays because that option seems easier than actually dealing with it all. A few months ago, I saw an organisation expert on Oprah and he said that your house is a reflection of you. I felt shattered and went into a bit of a funk, because my house is not me. The piles of stuff, the things without places, the chaos and lack of order..... that is not me at all. I am not messy. I am not cluttered. I love order, cleanliness, function, ease of use. I love surfaces.
When I lived alone, my house was tidy. Everything had a place. I could not only see my surfaces, but could actually use them, too! However, when I think back to that time, despite the order and cleanliness of my house I have to admit that it had too much stuff in it. The cupboards and drawers were all full. There were boxes of things under the beds. When I moved into this house with JK, all my stuff moved too. I didn't go through it and cull things - it was all just piled into the back of the truck and brought here, and I found new places to put it. Now the house is chockers. The cupboards are full to overflowing, there are no clean surfaces, there are lots of things without places and there are piles of stuff in every room.
I have been attempting to get on top of it for a while now, but I feel like my progress has been limited. I keep setting myself small goals and making deals with myself but I keep looking around and seeing the stuff - piles of it on the floor, on the couches, on the benches. Bits and pieces of random crap that have been acquired with the best of intentions but are now surplus to requirements, broken, unused, unwanted, daggy, etc are in every room of my house (with the possible exception of the toilet).
I have seen that TV show 'Hoarders', and I am nothing like that. Some people may even look around my house and wonder what I am so stressed about - they may say that it looks 'lived in'. I have been thinking that if I keep doing little tiny bits at a time and then maintaining those areas that have been done, eventually the whole house will be orderly. The progress, however, is too slow for me. I am starting to lose it.
I am writing this on my laptop, sitting in my lounge room. This could be a really nice room - it has comfy lounges, a big TV, lots of DVDs and books on shelves, and some nice art on the walls. Bringing down the whole tone of the room, though, are a number of piles of stuff and things that should not be in here such as the frame of a child's playpen, a clothes airer, a pile of a dozen or so pairs of socks that my youngest son has outgrown, a clothes rack with five suits hanging on it that need to be dry cleaned, a few pieces of Tupperware that I brought down from the kitchen a number of days ago with the intention of listing them on ebay, a four-carton package of Ritz crackers, a pile of raincoats that JK and his girls wore to a rained-out concert last weekend, a couple of large plastic crates with Christmas presents in them, a large bag full of rolls of wrapping paper and other gift wrapping paraphernalia, the bag of bits and pieces that I brought home from my office when I went on leave nearly nine months ago (!), a sports bag, a book of California roadmaps (we were there and hired a car in April 2010), a very cluttered coffee table, the hoods from both the baby car seats, a fluro vest, a broken ghd hair straightener that I have been meaning to send away for repairs for a couple of years........ Some of these things could be put away in very little time, but it is typical of just about every room in the house. I had told myself that I would get this room sorted by December so that we could put the Christmas tree up. I haven't. I want to, but I haven't.
JK and I discussed it this morning and we have decided to commence The Cleanup Project. I said that I would be happy if the house could be orderly and with a place for everything by my next birthday (July 2012). This is, I am sure, an attainable deadline. To assist with meeting it, we have developed some rules, as follows:
Rule #1
At least one thing will be removed from the house every day. Removed from the house includes putting it in the bin, selling it on ebay, donating it to charity, returning it to its rightful owner if it does not belong to us, putting it into storage to sell at the next Baby and Kids' Market, etc.
Rule #2
If a non-consumable item is brought into the house, at least two things must be thrown away that day. The house does not have the capacity to continue to absorb stuff.
No room, cupboard or drawer shall be spared. I am not going to let it beat me!
This blog will track the items that are removed from the house, and will also serve as an outlet for my ramblings, frustrations and occasional tantrums about the stuff. Here we go.....
Item removed from the house:
Broken baby monitor
Method:
Put in the bin
This monitor has been broken for at least a couple of years. When I realised it wasn't working anymore, I bought a new one....... and put the broken one into the cupboard. Why did I do that? Madness!!! Anyway, today it has gone into the bin. Well, most of it has. I can't find the receiver at present as Mr B was playing with it and has put it somewhere. It will turn up in a day or two and then it, too, shall be binned.
I am back at work in five weeks - I wonder how much I can accomplish by then??
I think housework is the reason most women go to the office. ~Heloise Cruse
When I lived alone, my house was tidy. Everything had a place. I could not only see my surfaces, but could actually use them, too! However, when I think back to that time, despite the order and cleanliness of my house I have to admit that it had too much stuff in it. The cupboards and drawers were all full. There were boxes of things under the beds. When I moved into this house with JK, all my stuff moved too. I didn't go through it and cull things - it was all just piled into the back of the truck and brought here, and I found new places to put it. Now the house is chockers. The cupboards are full to overflowing, there are no clean surfaces, there are lots of things without places and there are piles of stuff in every room.
I have been attempting to get on top of it for a while now, but I feel like my progress has been limited. I keep setting myself small goals and making deals with myself but I keep looking around and seeing the stuff - piles of it on the floor, on the couches, on the benches. Bits and pieces of random crap that have been acquired with the best of intentions but are now surplus to requirements, broken, unused, unwanted, daggy, etc are in every room of my house (with the possible exception of the toilet).
I have seen that TV show 'Hoarders', and I am nothing like that. Some people may even look around my house and wonder what I am so stressed about - they may say that it looks 'lived in'. I have been thinking that if I keep doing little tiny bits at a time and then maintaining those areas that have been done, eventually the whole house will be orderly. The progress, however, is too slow for me. I am starting to lose it.
I am writing this on my laptop, sitting in my lounge room. This could be a really nice room - it has comfy lounges, a big TV, lots of DVDs and books on shelves, and some nice art on the walls. Bringing down the whole tone of the room, though, are a number of piles of stuff and things that should not be in here such as the frame of a child's playpen, a clothes airer, a pile of a dozen or so pairs of socks that my youngest son has outgrown, a clothes rack with five suits hanging on it that need to be dry cleaned, a few pieces of Tupperware that I brought down from the kitchen a number of days ago with the intention of listing them on ebay, a four-carton package of Ritz crackers, a pile of raincoats that JK and his girls wore to a rained-out concert last weekend, a couple of large plastic crates with Christmas presents in them, a large bag full of rolls of wrapping paper and other gift wrapping paraphernalia, the bag of bits and pieces that I brought home from my office when I went on leave nearly nine months ago (!), a sports bag, a book of California roadmaps (we were there and hired a car in April 2010), a very cluttered coffee table, the hoods from both the baby car seats, a fluro vest, a broken ghd hair straightener that I have been meaning to send away for repairs for a couple of years........ Some of these things could be put away in very little time, but it is typical of just about every room in the house. I had told myself that I would get this room sorted by December so that we could put the Christmas tree up. I haven't. I want to, but I haven't.
JK and I discussed it this morning and we have decided to commence The Cleanup Project. I said that I would be happy if the house could be orderly and with a place for everything by my next birthday (July 2012). This is, I am sure, an attainable deadline. To assist with meeting it, we have developed some rules, as follows:
Rule #1
At least one thing will be removed from the house every day. Removed from the house includes putting it in the bin, selling it on ebay, donating it to charity, returning it to its rightful owner if it does not belong to us, putting it into storage to sell at the next Baby and Kids' Market, etc.
Rule #2
If a non-consumable item is brought into the house, at least two things must be thrown away that day. The house does not have the capacity to continue to absorb stuff.
No room, cupboard or drawer shall be spared. I am not going to let it beat me!
This blog will track the items that are removed from the house, and will also serve as an outlet for my ramblings, frustrations and occasional tantrums about the stuff. Here we go.....
Item removed from the house:
Broken baby monitor
Method:
Put in the bin
This monitor has been broken for at least a couple of years. When I realised it wasn't working anymore, I bought a new one....... and put the broken one into the cupboard. Why did I do that? Madness!!! Anyway, today it has gone into the bin. Well, most of it has. I can't find the receiver at present as Mr B was playing with it and has put it somewhere. It will turn up in a day or two and then it, too, shall be binned.
I am back at work in five weeks - I wonder how much I can accomplish by then??
I think housework is the reason most women go to the office. ~Heloise Cruse
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