What's Your Decluttering Project For Today?

Thanks, Lecates! I really could not have done all that laundry without your encouragement and support on here.
My bedroom is till pretty junky and piled high with stuff but hey, at least there aren't clothes mixed in with the piles.

Today I'm taking a detour and working on clearing the kitchen table. It's getting so homework gets lost on there and there's no place to eat!

review tax file and misc filing - also purging in office

I think the best thing you did was concentrate on getting that laundry cleared up---and while doing that, you made your bedroom more pleasant which helps your sleep pattern, which then gives you more energy to work on more things and to do a little better in the eating area---see, they build on each other.
Today is errand day---bank and things like that. I did get the laundry all folded and put away yesterday as well as all the dishes taken care of---woohoo to finishing those things!

Oh, another tip I read from yet another article on setting new year's resolution is - Don't pick the same goal over and over. If you've already picked that goal and failed, there's that feeling of failure and impossibility around it that will kind of psychologically handicap you before you even started.

Of course, if you want the same things over and over like me, ie. lose weight, get organized, exercise more, it's hard to think of anything else to pick! So what I did was just choose one to focus on this year with the caveat that if I finish earlier I'll work on another goal that I've wanted. And the thing is, the other goals didn't completely fall by the wayside. That was the big surprise for me. I'm not exercising but weight-loss wise I'm maintaining or inching slowly downward a bit.

Tri-Babe, if you find you are neglecting too many things because of focusing on one goal, then I would say maybe pick a more fundamental/basic/lower level goal. Not sure if I'm making sense but I kind of think of goals as in a pyramid. You have to get the lower level fundamentals built before you put another layer on it. Basically a hierarchy. So something like this with House and Body being the basics (sleep, eat right, maintain some order in home...) and Contribution being at the tip top:

Contribution
Culture, Fun
Social (family/friends)
School and Education
House and Body Maintenance

So for example, last year I was feeling lonely so I said, I want to make a resolution that by the end of the year, I will make 3 new friends. Well, guess, what, I failed. And my house was a shambles which contributed to my failure because I couldn't invite people over so the new budding relationships ended before they started.
So I realized first things first. I need to take care of my house first.
And that got me to realizing I run out of energy a lot so then I started focusing on taking care of my body first - eating more nutritionally, sleeping more regularly at night, and so on. Keep backing it down to where it's "breaking down" for you and make that the goal first.

For me, where it was breaking down was definitely energy - lack of it. I wanted to do the housework but I was so tired by the end of the day. So I figured out what made me sluggish food-wise and started taking vitamin and mineral supplements and that helped so that I could finally move to the next step which I'm working on now - decluttering!

P.S. I read the 2-3 areas of your life thing too, Tri-Babe and for years that worked but then suddenly it didn't anymore. So then I backed it down to 2, still didnt' work. Now I just am choosing 1 and it seems to be okay so far. I guess some years we're more capable than other years.

No I'm not bored! It helps! Somewhere else I read to just choose 2-3 areas of your life you want to improve and focus on only those.

One of my problems is I tend to focus TOOOOO much on my main goal and then other things slack. And then emergencies or whatnot fill up the time and then I feel as if I don't get the other things done.

I think I need to schedule in time for the other goals else they won't get done. And also "maintenance time" to keep on on things like putting away laundry, organizing etc.

It is much easier to stay working on one goal until it becomes a habit, then adding in another is possible.
LOL to someone breaking in and just dirtying up dishes.--I hate washing dishes! So thankful that I have a dishwasher now---but there are still some things I cannot put in there---sigh!

Tri-Babe, I totally understand about too many high priority goals. I run around in circles sometimes because there's no lack of urgent, pressing things to be done. They are all important and need to be worked on!

I read an article toward the end of last year about New Year's Resolutions and it said the thing is, we really do have a finite amount of willpower. (They cited some experiment.) So the article says make one goal and work on that. It's not that you can't have several goals you want to work on but focus on one at a time. So that's what I'm doing this year - making decluttering my house my one goal to focus on. And within that goal I'm working on one aspect of the clutter at a time. First it was the laundry. Now it's my living room. Usually I bounce around but this sparkpeople team is helping me stay focused because I get on here and read and get inspired and post so that I remember what I'm working on and stay on track. Lol

The thing I've discovered so far is just because something isn't an explicit goal doesn't mean it doesn't get worked on anyway. If the one goal I chose is motivating enough, somehow it pulls all my other goals along as well, although at a slower pace.

Anyway, hope I didn't bore you too much but that is how I got out of the "too many goals to work on situation" I had. If there's one goal that really excites you to work on it, something that you will look back on when it's accomplished and be sooo happy, something that will help you be a good foundation for working on other goals after that, focus on that one!

LOL Squirrel Momma! My husband and I look around our house that looks like a tornado went through it and say to each other, "What happened? Who could have done this to us! We have no enemies."

Cleaning up the kitchen. I worked extra today and it looks like someone broke into my house and dirtied all my plates and pans. What villian would do that to a person?

Think it leaves you feeling unsettled.
Mine is dishes---done---and folding and putting away laundry---working on that one.

I am not even kidding. I need to organize what goals are important to me right now. I feel like I have so much going on that it's hard to get everything done, so some things will just need to get filtered out. I get to the end of the day and things I had wanted to do aren't done and other things get put in their place, and I end up feeling like, OK I will just start over tomorrow.

If my priorities are clear in my head then I know what things I need to work on above all others, so my time doesn't get eaten away. This is so frustrating to me.

getting every thing tucked away for surprise visitors

Trying to declutter my email account.

office and keep up with filing

laundry today

I am in the kitchen, working in bottom cabinets. Do they still make Bab-o powdered cleanser?

Hope you feel better today---if not, try doing something you can sit down while doing it---like going thru a drawer---pull up a chair so you can not agitate the cough---hope you don't get what your dd had.

Today is laundry day for me too. It's piled up due to sick kids. My daughter's home today and napping so I'm tip toe-ing a bit.
I'd like to take a good first step in clearing my living room of clutter today but I'm also coughing quite a bit so I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't get to it.

Mine is to finish up laundry that did not get done yesterday---last load in the washer this morning---so will dry that when I get home---but have 2 loads to fold besides that one.

making permanent home for all bar ware more room in china cabinet and finding homes for board-games and related items

Sorry that your dd is sick---what a mess---but at least you can handle that mess now. On the living room---just like the laundry, a little bit at a time. Start at one corner and move your way around the room---and remember to discard, discard, discard! LOL Easier said than done---but together we can help you get it done.

Good luck with the dining room table and the old documents, OneSpot and Penumbra! Those seem to be two continual items on my TODO list - ugh. Share any tips if you have any!

My daughter had a fever of 102 and then threw up all over so there's lots of laundry to be done now. But without the backlog of piles and piles I don't feel stressed about it which is a very different feeling for me!
But that's my project for today - laundry! And to deliver some Girl Scout cookies - getting some of it out of the house would be good!

Also going to look at my living room and come up with a plan for how to tackle the mess that's there. It's really something. I have been overwhelmed for months and done nothing. But this month is the month to take care of it.

I hope everyone's healthy and well - have a good day!

LOL, why do we keep doing that to ourselves? Mine needs attention too.

clear the dining room table, again

Figure out later---but keep plugging along!

continue purge old documents

LOL, that is a lot of hangers---hope that helps with the issue in there. Hope you feel better today---I know a cold can really zap your energy---it did me at the beginning of the week.
Not sure what I will be doing today----might take those books I finished back down to my neighbor's house this afternoon---have a busy morning---walk with my friend and then a ladies' event at my church at 10.

I have caught a cold! I'm struggling not to let it get me down. It's all I can do to keep up with day-to-day laundry. I did remove clothes out of my side of the closet today. I figured out what was stuffing my closet full - hangers! Empty hangers of all sorts. Enough to fill a laundry basket and more!
Now that all the clothes are on my bed it's time for sleep! So I'll hang them back in the closet and deal with it tomorrow. Just ran out of time today.
Happy Lunar Year of the Horse to everyone!

Nothing yet in the decluttering---but I did change the furnace filter and put fresh toilet paper in the drawer in the bathroom since I got home----probably just chill tonight as I have a busy day tomorrow---at least in the morning.

Did not get to the closet yesterday. I have an hour to do it today so I'll see what I can do in that hour.

Keep plugging at it.
Organized my gd's stuff in the living room and marked those books I have read and packed them up to take back to my friend.

Pat, that is awesome! It's so nice to have a clear desk, isn't it.

My son is home sick for the second day in a row. Today's project will be just making space in the closet for more clothes.

Might rearrange my living room today since I am home again---definitely going to mark those books so I can return them to my friend very soon.

more sorting of the storage shelves while sis is still here

Good for you, Pat!

Today I filed away a huge stack of paperwork that has been waiting for me for over a month. Bank statements, W-2s, insurance stuff. At least I know where it all goes and the desk looks fabulous again.

Still need to do those books---but I did my taxes and got them filed---I usually keep putting that dreaded task off each year, even though we get money back---so I just went ahead and did them----can I say I HATE doing taxes!

Great job on decluttering your kitchen counters! I haven't seen mine in ages. It think it's a granite countertop. lol

Tri-Babe, WTG on starting!

Today, I want to make some hanging space in the closet to hang my jeans and pants which are currently packed tight in my dresser. I need my dresser drawers for other clothing.

Kitchen counters are decluttered ---and cookies are baked, warming up the house---worked on the dining room table while the cookies were baking----made some headway there.

1. Home office more purging of old paper work

2. Old work documents in garage

3. One kitchen cupboard (drinking glasses re org)

I think Starting is the most intimidating of the whole issue.
Well, I am off today again---more snow---going to bag up all the books I have read that are my neighbor's ---we put our initials in the books when we read them so she knows who has read them for the future----that will help declutter a spot today. And I need to do some decluttering in the kitchen, too. And since I plan to bake and do some cooking today, I can work on that while doing that stuff.

We just had chili tonight! So there's an idea for you!!

I started on my "life plan"!!! I am not done with it yet but finally started after putting it off for so long. What's funny is I realize (and sort of knew I was) doing everything else, decluttering this and fixing that, to avoid doing it. Sometimes the most important thing we can do in any project is to just start.

I just finished reorganizing my canned goods cupboard! I have a lot more cans of beans than I thought so I'll have to work them into my menu more often.

Good luck everyone with your plans for today! Today is laundry, laundry, laundry. I can't believe this month is almost over. I want to be done with laundry backlog by the end of this month!

I got a bunch of books from the library so I want to go through those. Some are on making life simpler, focusing on what's necessary and planning. I will post any useful information I find.

to each of you.


Today----I'm resting

purging the office files and sorting the software discs from photo and movie discs

I'm going to declutter the kitchen. Hope everyone is having a great day!