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unclutterThis week I have been unpacking and sorting out the things from my mother's house. We had a different family gathering this weekend which resulted in a bit of gift exchange and shopping.
I did 2 specific decluttering exercises this week.
The first was to work through my to-read pile (source of much guilt and angst) with the thought in my head "would I bother to pack this if we had to move house?" That probably took about 30 minutes and culled over 10% of the books.
The second was a reboot of the area where we put shoes/coats/gloves/hats/etc. I took everything away and put it in the next room. Then I set up better organisation for gloves, scarves and other accessories. Then I went through the pile in the next room for my own things, which were either brought back and put away tidily, or went into the charity bag or the recycling/bin as appropriate. I did my son's stuff too, consulting as appropriate with him and/or his father. Finally I asked the remaining adults in the house to do the same with their own, which has led, as I expected, to a small pile of stuff that no-one claims for me to sort out tomorrow. I think it took me about an hour in total (about 50% of the stuff was mine), and the other two adults about 5-10 minutes each. I filled 2 carrier bags for the charity shop so far.
IN:
Me: 5 books bought, 1 book & 1 coat given
Husband: 1 tshirt
Child: 2 dolls, 2 dvds (& 1 jiffy bag), 1 picture book, 2 jumpers, 1 blanket (handmade by my aunt), 4 toys
House: 2 bags, 1 box & 1 mirror decorated by son, 4 bowls
Total: 28
OUT:
To charity shop:
Books: 11 duplicates, 39 "if I were moving", 4 others
Clothes: 3 jackets, 2 scarves, 2 pairs of gloves, 5 hats, 2 pairs of shoes
Other: 3 bowls, 1 kitchen timer, 1 candle holder
To bin:
1 broken umbrella, 1 badly-chipped bowl
Total: 75
Totals so far:
In: 144, Out: 230, Net out: 86 on day 23.
I did 2 specific decluttering exercises this week.
The first was to work through my to-read pile (source of much guilt and angst) with the thought in my head "would I bother to pack this if we had to move house?" That probably took about 30 minutes and culled over 10% of the books.
The second was a reboot of the area where we put shoes/coats/gloves/hats/etc. I took everything away and put it in the next room. Then I set up better organisation for gloves, scarves and other accessories. Then I went through the pile in the next room for my own things, which were either brought back and put away tidily, or went into the charity bag or the recycling/bin as appropriate. I did my son's stuff too, consulting as appropriate with him and/or his father. Finally I asked the remaining adults in the house to do the same with their own, which has led, as I expected, to a small pile of stuff that no-one claims for me to sort out tomorrow. I think it took me about an hour in total (about 50% of the stuff was mine), and the other two adults about 5-10 minutes each. I filled 2 carrier bags for the charity shop so far.
IN:
Me: 5 books bought, 1 book & 1 coat given
Husband: 1 tshirt
Child: 2 dolls, 2 dvds (& 1 jiffy bag), 1 picture book, 2 jumpers, 1 blanket (handmade by my aunt), 4 toys
House: 2 bags, 1 box & 1 mirror decorated by son, 4 bowls
Total: 28
OUT:
To charity shop:
Books: 11 duplicates, 39 "if I were moving", 4 others
Clothes: 3 jackets, 2 scarves, 2 pairs of gloves, 5 hats, 2 pairs of shoes
Other: 3 bowls, 1 kitchen timer, 1 candle holder
To bin:
1 broken umbrella, 1 badly-chipped bowl
Total: 75
Totals so far:
In: 144, Out: 230, Net out: 86 on day 23.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-25 02:27 pm (UTC)Thanks for talking about the process of tackling specific areas. It reminds me that doing so really works for me as well. (And that my own mitts/scarves/hats shelves could use some attention)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-25 03:50 pm (UTC)It's almost embarrassing how much of the Stuff cluttering up the coat/shoe racks was mine. And how much of that I've barely worn. Still, it's all much nicer now there.