Looking backwards, Looking forwards

[tanaqui]

Last year, fred_mouse made a weekend decluttering post inviting us talk about our decluttering goals for 2018.

I thought people might appreciate a post on the last day of 2018 to reflect on the goals we posted last year (for those who posted them and who want to look back -- no pressure or judgment! I certainly didn't achieve all my goals!) and what we hope to achieve in 2019.

Comments

[tanaqui]

Last year, I had 5 goals.

I managed to read 9 out of 12 books on my to-be-read pile – but 2 of them were 500-600 pages long, so I'm fine with that. I know I also donated probably donated at least another dozen – and I kept up with all the magazines coming in. I also read a lot of the vast quantity of fiction on my e-reader, which was nice! Paperwork is under control, with nothing left older than the rolling deadline for old papers, and a box accumulating what can be shredded after the tax year changes in April.

I got the spare room completely uncluttered and organised – success! (And so much easier to get things out/put them away now.) The garage is still a work-in-progress, but all the small clutter that I could easily get rid of is gone, and the larger stuff is neatly arranged to be dealt with. (I can break some stuff down and take it to the tip myself.) The garden is also still a work-in-progress, but has definitely progressed from last year.

I also tackled the photos and pictures (which was an “emotional” task) and have framed lots and am well on the way to framing the rest – and I cleared some shelves (disposing of some stuff and relocating some elsewhere) so that I can actually display and look at them!

The one thing I failed on was finding a new donation place and arranging a pick-up, including the larger items. I'm still gathering those together and have made some progress on that – I just need to not be a perfectionist and keep waiting until I'm sure I have absolutely everything....

I'm very happy with my progress and how much better my home and life function now. :-)

This year's goals are much the same!

1. Read 12 non-fiction books and donate those I don't want to ever re-read or keep for reference. Read more fiction on the e-reader.

2. Finish decluttering the garage and getting the large stuff taken away.

3. Arranging a charity to pick up the larger household items/furniture I want to get rid of, plus any smaller stuff I still have that I haven't been able to donate.

4. Shred the paperwork that will become obsolete this year.

5. Continue to work on the garden. (This is moving from simply getting rid of stuff to making it more the way I eventually want it to be.)

[fred_mouse]

Congratulations on all of the achievements and successes! Good luck for the same or better with your 2019 goals.