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Welcome to Day 1 of 30 Days To An Organized Home (also known as the 30-Day Organize-athon)!
In today’s 5 minutes we’re going to express-declutter your living area.
Take a deep breath, and imagine inhaling a sense of clarity, freedom and order. Then get started!
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Day 1..
done!
Day 2 may take me more days as I have 4 closets to tackle.
Start with 4 boxes or bins marked: keep; donate; recycle and trash. Then organize each area of your living room.
Done. Ran out of time but it still looks better.
Grrrr…Ran out of time on the extra 5 mins too. Only got through two shelves of the books. And I thought they were already okay as I did them a few month ago. I must be feeling ruthless.
My group responses are:
Step 2: Quickly make your way around your living and/or entertainment area, tossing these items into the bag as you go:
• Magazines other than the current month’s or donate to your local library or RC art program or read online or recycle bin. If magazines are necessary store in a metal cabinet.
• Newspapers other than today are read online. If necessary to keep store in a metal cabinet. Newspapers can be donated to animal shelters and art groups that do paper Mache.
• Knick-knacks – unless you really love them or re-gift [rest of knick knacks can be donated or sold at a garage/yard sales]
Tatty coasters trash
• DVDs no-one watches any more or donate to library or movie club or sell at Half Price Books or re-gift if appropriate
• CDs no-one listens to any more or donate to library or music class or sell at Half Price Books or re-gift if appropriate
• Games no-one plays any more or can be used for high school reunions
• Remotes and technology no-one uses any more (including old game consoles can be sold to Game Stop or donate to under privileged families.) Old computers can be donated to be repaired and resold for low fee to disabled people) Donate to schools, Good Will, St. Vincent DePaul used to teach children. Also donate to art groups.
• Leftover Food returns to kitchen refrigerator or throw away. Check expirations date. Expired pitch. Canned foods can be donated to food drives or pantries.
• Books you’ve read and won’t re-read, or will never read donate to book club or friends of the public library or Nursing Homes.
• Videos, cassettes, computer floppies, camera film – any storage device for which you no longer have hardware donate to local schools and colleges for educational purposes
• Framed photos – unless they’re genuinely special to you save or donate the frames or RC art program or local charities.
• Tatty cardigans, socks and other apparel strewn around the furniture return to closet or laundry or dry clean or tatty throw away or cut up for dust rags and keep the buttons.
• ‘Displayed’ items on shelves that collect dust but hold no meaning for you known as dust collectors. If they were a family heirloom pass it on to the younger generation.
• Dead potted plants trash the plants & save the pots for future live plants
• Threadbare [trash] or [stained cushions dry clean to remove stain otherwise trash], throws, rugs, etc.
• Anything else that isn’t loved and/or used regularly. Personal choice
The hardest part is doing it and keeps at it. Spend 15 to 30 minutes a day Monday thru Friday.
Keep up the great work and stay accountable! Terry
Today I did day one but only filled a box with books.I don’t know how to do the organizing in 30 days because I have so much stuff and poor mobility.It will probably take me about 30 days to do day one.This is the problem I have had with other programmes and I end up with stuff everywhere and not a clue what to do next.How do I keep on track?
Starting to feel better
Is there anyway to print out this 30 day event. Daily or the whole thing without screen printing and printing everything else along with it. I just want to print out each days mission. thanks:)
5 mins turned into like 30 minutes even dusted the ceiling fans & swept floor. Left myself 3 small boxes of sundry paper work & mail to go through tonight while watching the news. Plan to place bin nice & handy for what is not needed.
Hi there! Well, it was a crazy day and i waited until 7 pm to open the challenge, hoping I wouldn’t be too burned out from the day to do an enthusiastic good job. Little did I know! I started and my husband came out from putting kid to bed and asked what I was doing and could he help (OMG!). So he took the back “den/playroom/family room” and I took the official living room and between us (we spent probably 15 minutes in the end), we have a very empty living area(s)! The sad thing is, there’s probably more that could go but I wasn’t quite sure (do the kids play with those wii tennis rackets when I’m not looking? Better safe (for now) than buying more!Somehow I think that I will find some of these other challenges very very challenging! Like my “yarn closet.”
Are books hard for anyone else? my parents kept walls full of books. I grew up hearing “Can you believe Soandso’s house? they have no books!” (said in horror) like displaying your books was a sign of your intelligence and class. I KNOW that whether these now bagged books are in the bookcase or not does not increase or decrease my classiness or brains (obviously), but it feels weirder than getting rid of other “stuff.” I did it, but looking up … There are about 20 books left on the very empty looking bookcase. Honestly, most could also go according to these rules, but I’m thinking now that they aren’t hidden by the other 150 anymore, I might remember to pick them up and actually read them. If not, well I will have to get rid of them and repurpose the bookcase! Are books hard for other people? Other items that growing up were important in your houses? (or maybe it’s just me 🙂 )
It is calm in the living room now. Ah!
Done!
Done and it felt good to sit in my living room last night. I overdid this one because I incorporated some major cleaning and moving furniture (I hadn’t done that in awhile) but I removed a lot of things that I don’t need, care about or love as well. I am having a garage sale in a couple of weeks so I put those items in a “holdng” area until then. I will be asking my daughters if they want anything from there before the sale. If not anything left after the sale goes to charity. IT IS NOT COMING BACK! lol, feels good.
Done and it felt good to sit in my living room last night. I overdid this one because I incorporated some major cleaning and moving furniture (I hadn’t done that in awhile) but I removed a lot of things that I don’t need, care about or love as well. I am having a garage sale in a couple of weeks so I put those items in a “holdng” area until then. I will be asking my daughters if they want anything from there before the sale. If not anything left after the sale goes to charity. IT IS NOT COMING BACK! lol, feels good.
Done… ish. My living area doubles as a school room for us (we homeschool). Getting through school clutter is a whole different animal and will take FAR longer than 5 minutes! Since the formal part of school is over I have LOADS of work to sort and file away. Nevertheless, it does look better in here.
My living room is also the dining, my office, and where the kids play (we are in a small apartment). It needs so much more than just quickly tossing some items. I don’t even know where to start. I have piles of papers to go through, kid’s toys that need homes, DVDs that need to be sorted, etc.
Early start for me this morning, but all done for today. Isn’t it amazing how many magazines and newspapers pile up when you aren’t looking, I’m sure they have magical powers to breed in my house!