Making do with less

Today was clean out the master bedroom day. Dh and I went through the closets and dressers today. We took out 7 boxes of stuff we don't need anymore. Clothes was the main item but lots of other stuff went to. Once we get the boys rooms done we are going to have a garage sale. I figure if we continue at this pace we will be ready for our sale in October sometime. Lucky it is still warm and sunny here then.

This is really making me feel better. I just want to rid myself of all extra junk. I do still need to get those files cleaned out in my office though.  This week it will get done.

OMG, Fitztwins  -  I did the same thing today!!! LOL. I threw out some old curtains and sheets and got my towels bagged for the animal shelter.  Tomorrow I'm aiming for the cabinet under my sink (God only knows what I'll find). This weekend I'm thinking about cleaning one of the closets in my bedroom that has nothing but boxes and decorations in it. It would be nice to actually use it for clothes!!

I have another cleaning tip.  If you can remove the lint trap in your dryer put in under some running water. If no water runs through it, it needs to be cleaned.  Use a scrubby sponge and dish detergent. Rub it gently until the water runs freely.  This will keep you dryer running more efficiently.

Keep it up ladies, we're on a roll.

Valerie

Me, Tina!I'm tired of having so much stuff.Caring for it, cleaning it, getting places to keep it, paying money for rooms to keep it all in.

I've just moved for the 3rd time in 4 1/2 years.I'm too weak to unpack.

I dont WANT to unpack!

I HAVE everything I need in my dressers(clothes), and in the fridge.I have a few pots and pans.I eat off paper plates or out of the pot.

All my furniture surfaces are blessedly BARE!

I dont even have most of my BOOKS unpacked(although I will.)

I dont have my tapes and CDs unpacked.

The mover installed the antenna on my TV(correctly).Sometimes I watch poor Katie Couric.

I could be SOOOO happy living a sparse life.

I wish I could throw all these cartons out unopened.

But-today, while waiting for someone, I unpacked the cartons of ceramics I made and put them on the shelves of the etagiers where they live.

And...I was happy to see them

There goes the neighborhood.

Our church is having a 'Free Saturday Giveaway' tomorrow. It is like a yard sale but no money changes hands. We brought all the 'stuff' we had at our houses and are giving it away to the community. We are putting a restriction of only 5 items per person. There have been quite a few layoffs in the area and we want to help those who need some help. The elementary school about 1/2 mile from the church has 405 students and 95-98% of them are on reduced or free lunch program. We just want to help the community.

Sheila

Hi Ladies - you would be proud of me.  I tackled that closet in the bedroom and donated a bags worth of clothes and threw a bunch of stuff out. I even got to the cabinet under the sink!  What a mess under there!!!UGH!!  I also went out and bought bunch of plastic bins at the $ store to put above my washer and dryer.

Next project is getting rid of more clothes once I switch them over from summer to winter. 

I think I figured out why I am holding on to some stuff.  It was always a dream of mine & DH to own a vacation home. I think I was holding on to things that I thought I could use in the new place.  Well, unfortunately, we've had several years of bad luck and needless to say never bought anything. So here I sit with my stash!!!!  LOL. Well its all going bye bye.

Why do you think you ladies are holding on to things????

Valerie

Flylady is the force behind flylady.net.  On the surface, it is about getting, and keeping, your house in order by taking baby steps each day.  She often says, your house didn't get dirty in one day, and it won't get clean in one day either.  There's a number of tools she offers to help with this.  Five-minute hotspot drills involve setting your timer for five minutes and tackling an area that is quick to collect clutter.  Then there's 15-minute zones.  Again, set your timer for 15 minutes and work on an area that seems overwhelming.  You might be amazed at how much can be accomplished when you know that dinger will ding in just a few more minutes. 

What I like most about flylady is her deeper message.  She was called flylady initially because she teaches fly fishing.  Her system was born from her own experience with depression and she shares her methods for climbing out of the dark pit.  In her messages, she will often ask, are you FLYing yet?  She decided along the way that FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself.  She stresses the importance of FLYing right now.  Not 10 pounds from now, not $10 from now, not a clean living room from now, but NOW. 

So much of our emotional well being is rooted in having peace with where we are right now.  This continues to be a sticking point for me.  I try to be content with where I am at this time.  Usually, that is the point of conflict within me to get myself a little further down the road where I feel certain I'll be happier and more fulfilled.  

Flylady got me through a difficult time of separation, which was followed by divorce.  I was dx'd with bc at a time when I was just so sure things were going to get a whole lot better.  I felt like my world view was turned on its head, that things should have been transpiring differently for me.  Oh, how angry I was.  Thankfully, all that I learned during my previous difficulties made my journey through bc a whole lot smoother.   My world view now is much the same now as it was at dx.  Faith is tested by fire, as the saying goes. 

As I type this, I am about halfway through a major decluttering of my home office.  Instead of buying what was becoming an endless supply of plastic tubs to store each year's files, I'm cycling through them.  I've shredded 10 bags of paper so far this week, and I still have several more to complete one tub.  I do so with faith that I am clearing room for something new and better to enter my life.   

Always Hope - Good Luck this weekend, hope you make it through!!

Tip of the week - This is a lot of work intitially but it lasts a long time.  Use car wax on the tile in your shower  the water will bead up just like it does on your car and the tile stays shiny. Try to find one that is white in color, this way your grout will stay the same.  The first time I tried this the wax was green and it took forever to get the green off the grout.

Valerie

It was in a fung shei(sp?) book I was reading that if you can't sleep you should look at your night table and your bedroom.  If it's cluttered your mind will be cluttered and that affects your sleep.  I'm working on my bedroom now.

I'm making progress on decluttering my home office ladies!  I needed a tub to put away files for this year so far, so I pulled out a tub of files that are 6 years old.  It contained files that needed to be shredded, so I starting shredding.  And shredding, and shredding and shredding.  Then I got curious about how many bags of paper would this tub generate??  Then I was on a mission.  Over the course of a week, I shredded the entire tub and it produced 30 bags of shredded paper!  It filled my garbage can almost twice! 

<>Now I need to get my filing up to date.  I still haven't filed my '06 tax return.  ugh 

Althea and Hi5:

Good going, you gals!!!!  This is just the kind of inspiration we need to keep us all going.

Thanks for sharing!!!

Pat

give me a match and I will show you how tired of stuff.

Congratulations!!!  Here's to finding the coins, maybe a lottery win!

Why not just buy ONE new mug for your hubby to use that is light and he likes?  It can be his special mug and you can keep your dishes.

Hi again 'decluttering' friends.....

Let's see what I have accomplished.... had about 30 items of clothing accepted at the consignment store.  ( great for spare cash) Have over 1large garbage bag of clothing to take to the thrift store and a grocery bag for one of my neighbours.  I must say it does get easier to get rid of stuff... Have also gone through papers and eliminated a few grocery bags worth of those so things are getting better though one would never notice it if they were to see the clutter so no one is invited over til it's done!!!