Flotsam and Jetsam = 377

This is being given
to someone special;
but it still counts

Sometimes, I find the weirdest stuff floating around the house.  I cannot figure out why I kept it, because it doesn't work, it is trash, it no longer has the thing it came with, or it has no sentimental meaning.

I suppose the following can be called jetsam, instead of flotsam;  because I am jettisoning it from my little ship of a home.

Leftover Drawer Liner

I need to feel lighter in my life, whether I stay here for the rest of it or move on someday.  And I would say, "I am getting there."

I'm so glad this is only a
pottery broken heart.

The furniture sliders never
stayed in there anyway.

Not needing name tags anymore.
Definitely easily replaceable.

These glasses won't help
anyone here anymore.

Doesn't fit anything.

Not needed.

Broken

Don't even live in that house now.

I'm so tired of finding places this does not work for me.
Fits the category of easily replaceable.

Going for 400. Why not?

Sometimes, you feel like you are just slogging along trying to get the clutter out.  Your body cries out, because you didn't sleep enough;  however, your mind says, "I can do this one thing before I lie down.  

First, you see my expected pieces of clutter.
The very last one was unexpected:  cleaning as I go.

The books were expected.
 However, the frame
and grocery bag were
not planned.  I just
knew they were not
worth dealing with.

358+8=366

Grocery bag with a hole in the bottom.

Taking Care of the Clutter as I Discover It

My favorite nail clipper--unrepairable--trash!

"Taking care of the clutter as I discover it, probably sounds a little odd."  However, I assure you it is not odd in the least; because, after I have covered a table, making it a mess; or, I have filled a basket with odds and ends, I later discover treasures and trash while I clean up my mess.  My treasures I put away or I display them;  and, the trash goes right out of the house.  And, since my clutter is not all trash but much of it is treasure I don't need, I donate it.

Trash and there is a whole other bag!

ribbon, t-shirt, nightshirt

You may not have expected to see anything from this blog until the New Year;  however, I 
decided I need to keep recording as I declutter. I want to get this stuff out of the house now, not wait until the New Year.  
358 Items Decluttered  since March 2013.

Good Tidings to you as you prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Blessings,

Deborah

Cleaning My Bookshelves.

There are 14 books here.  They are going to  charity

Ever since we move in this house in 2011, my bookshelves have not quite suited me.  In fact it took several months for me to arrange my books.  In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, my husband go tired of walking around boxes and books and he filled the shelves.  Until I did my own arranging I never knew where anything was on those shelves, which isn't great for a fibromite that sometimes suffers from cognitive issues.

Tonight, I have reached my decluttering goal plus 1 more for 2013.

I would like to invite you to make a goal for getting rid of your clutter in 2014.  When your load is a little lighter, it makes cleaning easier.

So all in all I have gotten rid of 353 items plus a few more, since I started in March  2013.  I have more places I want to work on:  boxes, baskets, and drawers are waiting for their turn.  

Plan to join me in January.  

It will be fun to share and celebrate to together. 

Letting Go of Things Is Not Letting Go of Good Memories

I love to read, but I have discovered it is time to let some books go, which I was holding with a tight grasp. Letting go of some things from childhood will not affect my memory of my parents.  I don't have to hold so tightly to remember and be thankful for them.

I have been decluttering, as I clean, which will help me in the future.  It's time to let go of my little box and pass it on to someone special that has always loved it.  For me, it has become one of the items that makes the daily routines a little harder.  

5 more items released -- almost to goal.  I have released 339 things.  

When Bags Need to Go

Trash

Trash

Here are two bags I emptied by filing or throwing away things that were inside. 






Now, look at all the other stuff I'm getting rid of!  Woohoo!  This gets more fun every time.

Cat Tunnel 

Tupperware

There is no rule that says, "You have
to save every card you have ever been given."

6 Books

Burned out candle

Amazing what you can get rid of when you clean!  If I declutter 18 more items, I will have reached my goal. I think I can do it before December. 

  

Magazines and Miscellaneous

Have you ever wondered why some people keep magazines for years?  It is because "we" think someone else might want to read it, there are some very good recipes, or the pictures would be nice to cut out and use in a craft project. Or perhaps, it is a trade journal, and we might refer back to it some day.  Right?

Most of these were older than a year, also there is some
mail thrown in (cut up), and some catalogs.
I am counting this pile as 21 for all that I threw away.  
I looked at each, so it took some time.  
Also, there was really more than that.

                       
Funny, when one starts reevaluating what to keep, those very old magazines lose their relevancy.  At least, they did for me.  I went through a stack, and I honestly cannot think why I kept them, except for one yummy looking recipe I won't make.  It was a Thanksgiving recipe, and I have to admit that we are kind of stuck on our traditional dishes.  Bye magazine!

There's a craft project mixed up in these cut up old jeans.
 I'm not going to finish it, so they are going in the trash.
Counts as 1

This decluttering job adds up to 322 items gone in 2013.  To reach my goal I have 
to declutter 30 more items.  Exciting!

All right! I am almost to my goal.

I was tidying up the living room today, and I dealt with one the things I least like to clean:  paper clutter!  The puzzle in the woman's weekly was not done in almost a month;  and, it was never going to get done.  In the trash it went.  All this is going to count as one.  I'm not throwing away my trash basket.

Three kitty bowls are easily replaceable.  Anyway, I am not planning on getting any more kittens.  Hopefully, my lesson is well-learned.

Altogether, this counts as four items.

I have decluttered 300 things;  and, I have 52 to go.  

From One Room to the Next

A Beautiful Planter That Needs to Find Another Home

How many of you think of decluttering and organizing as the same thing?  I assure they are two different operations.  FlyLady Marla Cilley says, "You can't organize clutter...".  Of course, it may seem you are doing it simultaneously, but it is much easier to do truly tidy organization when you have already gotten rid of the things you don't need. 

I look forward to the day I have done the bulk of getting rid of clutter, and it is just a matter of upkeep.  I plan to let you know how that goes.

Now, I try to gradually get rid of the clutter, while I clean or put away items.

This takes less energy, and I am finding it to be a satisfying method of decluttering -- especially since I am actually recording the numbers of things that leave this house.  Moreover, since I have been using this method, it has become automatic.  I look for ways to delete things from this household.

I do not even want to think about
all the germs in this sponge.  It
was in the planter in the bathroom.

Not just a circle, but a grabber I used
to help me turn off a drippy faucet
in the bathroom.  Why did it take me
a month to throw it away?

A T-shirt I wore to bed
when I  weighed less.

A curling iron I had before
I had ever heard of flat irons.

Another Room

296 items have been decluttered, 56 more to go by the end of the year.

291 Items Officially Decluttered Since March, 2013

A fake shell, excellent for displaying jewelry in a booth
or for use as a soap dish for those decorative little soaps. 

Here I go again, getting the clutter gathered for taking out of the house.  This is getting more fun and much closer to my goal.  How I would love to be at 352 items decluttered by Christmas -- only 61 more things to go.  

largelitter box

cat bed

instant baby rice to help
kitten get over diarrhea.

kitten milk

toy mouse

The picture grouping here is a grouping of kitty items.  They do count as clutter, since I am not going to save them for future cats.  Also, there are the items that I will list in addition to these:  a small litter box, that fits in a small crate; dry cat food, canned cat food, a toy that dangled from a rod, cat pan liners, a cat scoop, a sample flea medication, a nice cardboard cat carrier, and a box of cat litter.  Since we no longer plan to have kittens,  these things are, indeed, clutter.  It definitely fits into the definition of something you will not use, that is easily replaceable, nor do I love any of these items.

Collectible?  Retro Schlitz can bottle opener

Kettle Fountain

I was surprised I forgot to take a picture of this Kettle Fountain.  We enjoyed it. However, we live in a different house, we have different circumstances, and  my husband & I agreed it was time to say good-bye to our small water feature.  We took it to Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store.  It could be just what a bargain shopper is looking for.  I have officially decluttered 274 items with odds and ends tended to along the way, because one doesn't always get around to writing down the discarded.

I'm gradually simplifying, and sometimes I'd like to hurry it;  however that is not practical for a person who has to deal with chronic fatigue.  For the person who is fairly healthy it cannot always be hurried either, because getting rid of one's clutter is a process done while living out the intricate tapestry of life.

Enjoy the Journey

Yesterday was another day of decluttering in the annals of the Bolton family.  This time my decluttering is going towards a  decorating angle, because I have to make some decisions about keeping some items after having moved them from the living room to no particular place,only just out of the way.

We have disposed of 273 items
since last March.  

Since November's habit of the month is 15 minutes of daily decluttering of our hot spots, I can see some possibilities for releasing more of the things we no longer  need. It is my wish that you enjoy the journey.  Ridding our lives of clutter is a process.  Make sure you smell the roses along the way.