mid-week uncluttering

[fred_mouse]

What have you found to unclutter so far this week?

Today was my last work day for the year (work closes down for not quite two weeks, and I'm not any kind of essential staff), so I worked a bit longer than I might otherwise, sorting through the paper on my desk, and squaring it all away -- threw out some of it, and the rest has been dealt with and filed Just In Case! At home, I've been working through the pile of old to do lists that were found as I sorted through paper piles, and I've tossed a fair few. I have added a few things in to my 'whenever' list -- things I want to have achieved, but am in no hurry to achieve them now. And Youngest found yet another piece of clothing they are never going to fit in again, and added that to the rehome box!

Comments

[peaceful_sands]

Donated a box and a bag to a local school of books that they may find useful. Took four boxes to a charity shop (my friend decided she didn't have room for the bits I'd earmarked for her apart from the work related ones). So it's still progress.

I'm wondering if the local library would accept a donation of audio books - my friend has just returned a whole bunch to me and when I looked closely they weren't really ones that I'd listen to again, so I'd prefer to get rid of them to somewhere useful.

The book purge is slow but still I'm pleased with progress. So far I've kept less than 20% of the books I read and completed this year and brought approximately 20% of new books in by comparison with the ones that I've got rid of. Unfortunately it doesn't take me from the realm of way too many to acceptable (or even just about acceptable but pruning would be needed)

[fred_mouse]

[I thought I had replied to this -- DW appears to have eaten my comment :{]

Yay for getting the books out of the house, even if you friend didn't want them. With the audio books, if the library doesn't want them, might the local high school? (assuming teen appropriate).

And I sympathise on the having more books than is acceptable. My goal for next year is to have no books on the floor in any of the rooms!

[rmc28]

One of the food cupboards was stacked with storage boxes holding assorted muesli ingredients (nuts, seeds, dried fruit etc) from when spouse when through a phase of making his own muesli. I went through them and found that some boxes were already empty, others could be consolidated, and a few I emptied because I was dubious about the contents. The rest I have reordered so they are easy for me to find and use as ingredients, and altogether I have about halved the space occupied. (The empty storage boxes have gone through the dishwasher and stack in a space-saving way when not in use).

I also found some tins of soup at the back of the cupboard that expire next year, and had one for lunch yesterday. The rest are now stashed where I will see them when I go to get lunch ingredients, so hopefully I will eat through the rest in the next few weeks. (They are not anyone's favourite soup which is probably why they've been left to lurk at the back of a cupboard, but I don't *dislike* them, and they are food.)

[fred_mouse]

Well done on making sense out of chaos! I'm a make my own muesli person too, but I don't share my ingredients with the rest of the family.

[yukonsally]

I gave a single thing to a friend last night, a thing I've been carrying around for weeks trying to give to her! We've just not crossed paths for the handoff.

[fred_mouse]

Wonderful that you got to see your friend, and that you got to pass the item on to her as well.

[sauscony]

I have a new permanent foster kitty and he's currently in a crate in my cluttered library room, so I've been slowly cleaning it out. I have a lot of boxes in the room filled with various stuff that never got put away properly, so I've been sorting through the boxes and recycling the papers I don't need. Once I'm done sorting, I'll start putting things away properly. My spouse will be on vacation for the next 11 days, so he's going to help me put up wall shelves in my library too. That way, I can put some knick-knacks, dolls, and other toys on the shelves and clear even more space

[fred_mouse]

Well done on making what sounds like dramatic progress! I hope the wall shelves go up quickly and easily (or at least, more quickly and easily than they do here -- we have brick external and internal walls, and drilling in to them is tedious).