Movement again

[rmc28]

I last posted in February, and shortly after that post I got a bit overwhelmed with work and family issues and stopped even tracking ins and outs, let alone actively decluttering.

In the last week I've had a few bursts of decluttering activity, so:

IN:
* school uniform for my son (6 sets of trousers, jumper & shirt, 2 sets of PE kit)
* Open University course books for me
* 9 compact DVD folders (more to come)
* 3 tshirts from the charity shop that actually a) fit and b) suit me

OUT:
charity shop for recycling:
* 2 large sacks of cases for the DVDs that are now in folders
* 1 sack of worn-out clothes, socks, other textiles

charity shop for selling:
* 12 assorted paperbacks I don't want to keep
* 4 items of clothing

in the bin/recycling:
* assorted tat from the DVD cases
* a pile of paper from the heaped shelf in the corner of the study
* a huge pile of plastic bags "that might be useful", also from the messy pile in the corner of the study


Another way of counting the effort:

Space reclaimed:
* the tottering piles of DVD cases by the tv are gone
* nearly a whole shelf where DVDs used to be
* half a shelf of the bookcase I want to remove
* the floor is clear in the corner of the study
* heaped shelf in study is no longer heaped but tidy and holds about 50% less stuff by volume

Things found:
* the book I was going to give my husband for his birthday (just in time!)
* the camera I lost in May, with photos of my hens on it, yay

Comments

[adair]

Empty shelf space is impressive; I'll never achieve it - there are many many book piled on available flat surfaces, so any little shelf space is immediately taken. Your cleared shelves are impressive, and so is you ability to actually get rid of dvds and to be willing to put those you keep. in cases rather than keeping all the printing on the covers.

Congratulations

[rmc28]

The new DVD folders have space for the paper insert too, so it's not quite so dramatic. Each sleeve holds paper on one side, and 2 discs on the other, and they snap into ring binders. My brother found them for us, and bulk-bought a load; we have got plenty of sleeves left but not enough ring binders, so he's going to get some more for me.

I'll ask him for the brand name/link in case others find it useful.

What I need to do is keep up the momentum on the empty shelves, and clear the clutter that rebuilt on shelves I emptied earlier in the year, and then I might just be able to remove the bookcase that makes the living room feel so cramped. I'm keeping that goal in mind, and also trying to keep things bitesized, rather than exhaust myself spending the whole evening tidying, and then doing nothing for a month.