Wednesday/Thursday

Wednesday's Decluttering: I took a honey bear (you know, the plastic bear that you keep honey in) down to my neighbor's cuz she likes honey and I thought she could use it.

Thursday's Decluttering: Today I took a little white stuffed bunny to the lobby. It was small and cute, only about the size of my hand. I hope one of the kids in the building took it, and not my landlord. It was too cute to throw away.

Results: Yesterday at work a co-worker and I got a shared birthday cake, and we got taken out for drinks after work too. I like birthdays that stretch out for a week!

Tuesday's Clutter

Today I took a pink sequined fanny pack (yes!) to the lobby. It was gone when I got home. I sure hope someone is using this stuff and it's not just my landlord throwing it away! On the other hand, the important thing is to get it out of my space. Which I've been doing. Sometimes one item at a time feels very slow. But slow is why I'm able to keep it up.

Monday

Monday's clutter: I took four black hard plastic casters down to the lobby. They came with my file cabinet, but they were impossible to use because there was no way to actually get them to stay on the cabinet. I'll never buy from that company again, that's for sure. Colossally bad design.

Sunday's Clutter

Today I took a silk scarf down to the lobby. And now we are all caught up!

Saturday

On Saturday, I took a pink striped belt down to the lobby. I hadn't worn it in awhile and realized it really wasn't me.

Results: More birthday fun! Two other friends had birthdays this week, so we went out for a birthday celebration dinner Saturday evening. I was surprised by several more presents! We had not celebrated my birthday before, so I was caught unawares and did not presents for my friends. I'll make it up to them! But anyway I got more Body Shop stuff, a beautiful faceted crystal to hang in a window, and a $20 gift card for movie theaters! Plus some really great cards! When I got home, another birthday card was in the mailbox, from my aunt, uncle, and cousin.

The older I get, the longer the birthday celebration goes on. I like it!

Friday's Clutter

On Friday, I took several items of hardware to the lobby. There were 10 screws and washers, a couple of screws with anchors, and two giant plastic screws - I can't remember what they were for. There is at least one handy guy in this building so maybe he was able to use them. At any rate, the stuff I've put down there has disappeared pretty fast.

Shakespeare's Birthday (and mine!) - April 23rd

Thursday: I decluttered a zippered plastic pouch. My couch slipcover came in it, and there was no way I'd ever be able to cram it back in. But I figured maybe a neighbor could use it to store stuff, so it went to the lobby.

Results: Thursday was my birthday, and it was such a good day! I was taken out to dinner by a friend the night before and we had a good time. On the day itself, the morning began with an ecard from one friend, and an email from my neighbor and friend telling me she'd left a present on my door! It was a great present, a pretty summer purse filled with Body Shop goodies! At work I was greeted by balloons and a card made by a co-worker who is a very good artist. I was taken to lunch by my bosses, to a French restaurant we had not been to before, and it was delicious.

When I got home, there were four cards in my mailbox - everyone's card arrived on my day! I got two pairs of earrings from my mom and dad - my mom makes jewelry. And I got three calls from siblings, a call from my dad, and a call from a good friend, along with several emails.

It was just the best day!

Wednesday

Wow, it's been a hectic week, and I haven't had any time to post! I threw stuff out every day, but it's a little difficult to remember what.

OK, now I remember. On Wednesday, I gave two librettos to my opera singer neighbor. It was late at night and I hung them on her door.

Tuesday the 21st

Today's declutter: I took a small mirror, encased in red plastic, to the lobby.

Tonight I went to my second chorus rehearsal for the opera I'm in. It promises to be fun. I met a few cute men there, which was completely unexpected. A couple of them checked me out too, which made my night. It's nice for a gal in her 40s to be checked out by younger (I assume) men.

Age is on my mind because it's my birthday week! It's a funny thing: When I was in my 20s I was beautiful - I had that glowing youthful skin, wavy hair, and a lot of energy - but I didn't believe it. Now in my 40s the bloom is gone, and my energy isn't what it was, but I'm in better shape, and am so much more comfortable with myself that I actually see myself as beautiful now. There's something about confidence that translates into beauty, even if a woman isn't technically as pretty as she once was. I enjoyed my 30s more than my 20s, and my 40s are turning out better than my 30s. And that is all due to feeling comfortable with who I am.

So if any of you women out there are afraid of getting older, just wait. You'll find out what I did: Older is better!

Monday Again

More decluttering: I just mended four pairs of underwear and a cashmere sweater, and threw out 7 pairs of socks, two pairs of tights, one pair of slipper socks, and one pair of underwear. All the socks had been in my pile of mending for ages, but they had HUGE holes and it would have taken hours to mend them. Not worth it so they are gone!

Rainy Days and Mondays

This Monday happens to be rainy, too. Today's declutter efforts: I took a fake carabiner with a Whole Foods I don't know what attached, down to the lobby. It's something to hang your shopping bag on so you don't forget it when you go to the store. Since I use the paper bags for garbage, I don't need a hanger for my non-existent shopping bag.

Also did a bit of filing and recycling of papers. I took out most of the recycling after this...

Finally, I deleted 73 emails.

Results: I bought a pot pie for dinner for only $2 at Target! That's a buck off according to the receipt, although the price on the shelf indicates that it's half-price. Such a deal!

Sunday

Today I recycled a little candy tin that I don't know why I was saving. I also threw away a crystal thing someone gave me a looong time ago. It was pretty back then, but the crystal points had long since broken off. I think it was a salt crystal that someone grew in water. Remember rock candy? Like that, but with salt.

Anyway, it went in the trash, or rather, the large pieces did after I dropped it and it shattered. Whoops...

Results: I'm feeling good, nothing's missing in my life. And it looks like I get tomorrow off so that means lots of errands get to be done!

Saturday, April 18th

Today's clutter removal: I took a multi-purpose bottle opener down to the lobby. I never remember I have it when there's a bottle to open, and my can opener works just as well. It was gone within an hour or so.

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday

Wow, it's been a busy couple of days! My last Landmark class about this project was Weds. and there was a party afterward. Then last night I went to a play with a friend and went out for a bit afterward, then stopped in for five minutes at another party just to check it out.

Through it all, the clutter is still being decluttered.

Wednesday: I took a scrunchy decorated with shells down to the lobby. I also accidentally decluttered my water bottle by leaving it in the classroom by itself long enough for it to get thrown away. I'm gonna have to buy another (it was just a Poland Spring bottle) cuz I can't go anywhere without my water!

Thursday: A silver snowflake pin went down to the lobby.

Today: I am taking four packets of nail polish remover pads down to the lobby. I've had these for at least 10 years, and I don't even wear nail polish anymore. Another case of "Why am I hanging on to THIS?"

Results: On Wednesday night three more people in my class told me they were inspired to declutter! It's amazing to know that this project has had so many people get into action already, and to know that this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the impact of this project.

Special Guest Post by Shelly Lefkoe

Everyone, I'm very happy to share this post from Shelly Lefkoe about the relationship of physical clutter to the mental clutter of negative beliefs. Shelly is the co-author of The Chicken Soup for the Soul Guide to Effective Parenting. She is also a certified Lefkoe method facilitator with years of experience in eliminating negative beliefs. Shelly has helped me eliminate several negative beliefs and is a warm and wonderful woman whom I adore! She is also offering an incredible gift at the end of the post, so please take advantage of it! Here is what Shelly has to say about clutter:

Clutter

By Shelly Lefkoe

What would it take to have a clutter free life? Lots of experts will tell you how to get the clutter out of your garage, basement, attic, kitchen, or bedrooms. If you were able to follow their advice, get rid of clutter, and stay decluttered, great. If not, you may need to learn how to de-clutter your mind BEFORE you can declutter your life.

Did you ever notice the voice that talks to you all day? It’s the voice that says “Oh, you're so stupid,” when you make a mistake. Or “Don’t say that, nobody cares,” when you want to speak up. Or “I’ll never get this job,” or "I’m just not good enough.” You get the idea.

These thoughts come from our beliefs about ourselves and our lives, most of which are unconscious. We don’t even know that we have them, but they clutter our heads all the time. These beliefs determine what we do, how we feel, and ultimately what shows up for us.

Let’s use an example. If someone has the belief “No matter what I do it will never be good enough," that would lead to procrastination, because every time you think of beginning something, that unconscious belief stops you. This belief could keep you from cleaning out the clutter in your house. Or it may keep you from starting and finishing other projects.

Most people are walking around with tons of negative self-esteem beliefs cluttering their heads, leading to clutter in their lives. These beliefs are "I’m not good enough, I’m not important, I’m not worthy, I don’t deserve, and what makes me good enough is having others think well of me."

If I told you that Bill Gates had the belief that money is scarce and hard to get would you believe me? Of course not! Or that he had no confidence? No again.

Two of the most common beliefs I help people get rid of in my practice are “Mistakes and failure are bad,” and "If I make a mistake I’ll be rejected.” Could you possibly be a risk taker with these beliefs? Could you invent an iPhone or iPpod without failing?

When these negative beliefs disappear you will have the freedom to speak up in life, to have the confidence you want, to do things you want (including getting rid of the outer clutter).

For the past 20 years we have been working with thousands of individuals helping them quickly eliminate these negative beliefs that clutter our heads and daily lives. Now for the first time we have been able to make this available to millions of people in an interactive online program called Recreate Your Life. You can eliminate 19 self-esteem beliefs and the belief that results in your concern with what others think of you.

When I eliminated the belief “What makes me good enough is having other people think well of me,” my life changed profoundly. I always say that I had to keep looking in the mirror to see if I was the same person. The voice in my head that said “Did I say the right thing?" or "What did they think about what I just said?” STOPPED. I was able to be fully authentic and I felt a freedom that I had never known.

As a gift to Judy, for the next two weeks we are allowing you to experience this amazing process for free by going to www.recreateyourlife.com . Then if the spirit moves you, the 19 beliefs are only a click away.

Get rid of the clutter in your head so you can get rid of the clutter in your life.

Create your life every day!

Warmly, Shelly Lefkoe
www.lefkoeinstitute.com
www.recreateyourlife.com

Tuesday's Clutter

Tonight I am taking a small purple bamboo pot down to the lobby.

Tonight we also have a guest post from the wonderful Shelly Lefkoe! Next post...

Monday (Happy Birthday Ava!)

Today's decluttering: I threw out 10 little pots of dried up paint from my paint-by-number painting.

Forgot that on Saturday I threw out six of these same paints. To finish the painting I have to go buy some paint now, cuz there is none left.

Results: I got my rent check today! Needed that extra cash!

Easter Sunday

Today's declutter: Well, I didn't sell a thing at the yard sale today, but I did get photos taken so that I can put some of this stuff up for sale on craigslist. After the sale I took a bag of clothes down to the lobby - one of my neighbors said she's going to the charity drop box in the morning and would take the clothes. There were six men's items, three women's, and a skirt that a small woman or a girl could wear. I also took down a once-sealed bottle of oil with flowers and grasses inside. It started leaking so I'm not gonna try to sell it anymore.

Oh, yeah, I also broke a mug on my way to the sale, so that got recycled with the dishes from yesterday.

It's good to get rid of stuff, however you do it!

The Taxman Cometh

Today's clutter removal: I threw away a big box of broken dishes. One of my friends years ago made picture frames with pieces of broken dishes in grout. So when I broke some pretty dishes, I thought I could do something arty with them. Well. This is the girl that has been working on the same paint-by-number painting for over ten years. So, it seemed like a good stretch for me to toss these dishes (there was also a broken mug that had been a gift). They went in the recycle bin because I'm hoping they qualify as glass. I also left a magnifying mirror in the lobby.

Results: This happened earlier as I was trying to figure out which credit cards to use to pay my taxes. I called Chase to ask them to lower my rate. They did, and they gave me extra rewards points too. I also can get triple rewards for a short time, and with the extra points I can get some cash back to apply to the card balance.

Then I asked about balance transfers and none were available for that card. But the agent said they were available for my other Chase card. I said I knew that, but the credit line was so low it wouldn't help me. Then she said that I could MOVE MY CREDIT LINE from one card to the other!! WHAT? I had never heard this from any Chase rep before. I did it and now can use the 0% checks to pay my taxes without maxing out any cards, which is important if you want a good credit score. So that kinda made my day!

Then when I took those dishes down, what was in the recycle bin but a bunch of bottles to return? That's more free money! I'll take it!

My friend is doing the yard sale again tomorrow, so I'm gonna scrape up some new items and join him for awhile. Maybe I'll make another $8!

Friday!

Today's clutter removal: I took a $2 coupon down to the lobby this morning. When I got home from work, I took a small Anchor Hocking container down. It's a useful size but very hard to open. I was going to take it this morning but thought I could sell it at my neighbor's next yard sale. But tonight I realized it's unlikely that anyone would buy ONE small storage container, so down it went.

Results: I found 6 cents today! Four pennies one after another on a walk to the store this morning, and a couple more later. People throw out pennies here cuz they think they are bad luck. So I pick 'em up, put 'em in a canister, and then take 'em to the bank when I have a few rolls. It's amazing how much change you can pick up in NYC. I find the equivalent of a buck or two each month in change. Somebody here even has a blog about it!

Thursday, April 9 (Happy Birthday, Coach!)

Today's clutter removal: The spirit of the yard sale got me (also my friend who decluttered her room yesterday) and I did a few items instead of just one. First to go were a pair of white sandals that went to the lobby for someone's play shoes. They disappeared pretty fast so I'm afraid the landlord got 'em. Oh, well.

Then I took a bag of stuff to the thrift store. There were men's clothes: three shirts, two tops, and a sweater. There was also a flat flannel sheet and a folding lamp with no shade.

After that I recycled six plastic bags at the grocery store.

Results: It was a day off, so I went to the park for a couple hours and sat in the sun enjoying the beauty and quiet. Boy, did I need that! I also did some cleaning today, so the house feels nice. And I balanced my checkbook and found $11 in my favor. It's been a lovely day.

Tuesday/Wednesday

Tuesday's clutter: A fabric pouch thing went down to the lobby. I really don't know what it was. It was about a foot by six inches, and had a flap and velcro closure. It could be a makeup bag, maybe.

Today's clutter: A New Year's Eve noisemaker went to the lobby. It was the kind you twirl on a handle that makes a grinding noise. There are kids in the building so I figured they might like a toy like that.

Monday, Monday

Well, after yesterday's fun, I was in a mood to toss more than just one item. I threw away a useless video that you had to crank up to hear at all. I also took five books (left from the yard sale) and a tote bag down to the lobby. There was something I wanted to take out, but I forgot what so didn't.

I was going to take a bag of clothes to the thrift store, but I had to do my taxes today and it took awhile. However, I did sort out a bag's worth of stuff to take, and am including a lamp in the donation.

I think this accelerated decluttering will stick with me for a day or two at least. After the sale I was reluctant to bring the stuff back in, so large chunks will be going out as long as the mood lasts. Then it's back to one item a day. That's really all it takes. Just that small effort will eventually conquer the clutter monster.

Oh yeah, a postscript. The boots I was going to toss the other day didn't look quite bad enough, so I left them in the lobby, thinking someone's kid might want some play clothes. I know, it's silly...shoes are hard for me to get rid of for some reason, though I sold two pairs yesterday. It's the throwing away I can't stand. But that is slowly passing as we dig deeper into the mess!

North American Declutter Results!

Hey everyone! We had our yard sale today at my neighbor's, and it was a success!

Results: I sold 7 items and made a whopping $8.25, but my neighbor made somewhere around $100! And he bought me lunch because he says I induced him to actually HAVE the yard sale, instead of just thinking about it. In fact, he's so inspired now that he is planning on doing it again next weekend if the weather is nice, and possibly for several more weekends. We even inspired one of his neighbors, who brought a couple of items over and said we could sell them and keep the money.

Another result I got is an unexpected day off tomorrow. I even called someone else I work for to see if she needed me (I do some work as an independent contractor) and she was all caught up!

Finally, I got to spend an entire day sitting around outside in 60 degree weather. That's a NICE result.

After the sale I left 13 books in the lobby, and left a large jewelry case/cabinet for the garbageman (or anyone who beats him to it). My neighbor also decided a lot of stuff would be left for the garbageman.

So, since this project is about inspiring others to declutter as well as decluttering my own life, this weekend's event was a great success, at least in my neighborhood! What about you all? Anyone out there do a sale? Please tell us about it!

North American Declutter Event Expanded

Hi everyone! It's blustery and a little rainy in my neighborhood today, so we are expanding the North American Declutter Event to two days and are doing our yard sale tomorrow. This gives everyone with weather issues another option, and also gives people a chance to participate if they couldn't do a Saturday sale.

The next sale will be in the summer - not as likely to be rainy, and we can sell lemonade too!

Today's clutter: I am tossing my former favorite boots. The toes are shedding their vinyl, so the poor things don't look good anymore. I was a little surprised to find them still in my closet, and surprised that I still had stuff that couldn't be sold.

Friday the 3rd

Today I gave an almost-full bag of green tea to my friend who loves tea. It was flavored with Christmas spices and I didn't care for it, but she likes it.

Results: This is great! I got a bunch of phone calls and a text from AT&T this week. I had previously requested that they not call and especially not text because I find texts really annoying. So I was hopping mad when I called them back. The girl I spoke with, after hearing my complaints, ZEROED OUT MY BILL! She made my day - that's $43 I don't have to pay now. Awesome!

I just finished gathering all my stuff for the yard sale event tomorrow. We had rain today but it seems to be clearing so tomorrow should be a good day for a sale! I have tons of stuff sitting here - it's not even half the stuff I could get rid of, I just hauled it together in half an hour. I'll dig deeper for the next event.

See you after the sale! I hope some of you are joining us!

April 2, Again

I got some cool results today! My friend Gary emailed me. Gary's one of my oldest friends, who I knew before I moved to Eugene, OR, and then ran into in The School of Music at the U of O several years after I moved to Eugene!

Anyway, we've been pretty sporadic at keeping in touch, so it was a wonderful surprise to hear from him! I'll be calling him soon and I hope to keep in better touch in the future (hint, hint, Gary Gary!).

I also have some results from Monday and last Friday. On Monday I was walking to work and found a stack of old record albums on the street. The one on top was the first opera I sang in, Candide. I snagged it - love that show!

And last Friday the friend who I unintentionally hurt called to say hello. I'm so glad he isn't mad at me anymore :)

Thursday, April 2 - Shoulder Pads

Today I took a cue from my April Fool's post and dug out a bunch of shoulder pads that were stashed in one of my sewing drawers. I found five pairs that I will attempt to sell with other sewing stuff, and 9 single pads.

How do I have so many shoulder pads? Well, I am a petite woman with football shoulders. OK, they aren't that bad. But they are large for a small woman and they are very square. So when shoulder pads were in back in the 80s, I didn't need 'em. I ripped them all out of the clothes I bought, and then the packrat instinct took over and I kept them. I've hauled those things around with me coast to coast for who knows how many years. I actually have found uses for them, such as lining a too-revealing bra.

A few years back I sewed a bunch of shoulder pads together for fun. Made a goofy wall hanging out of it, and then I think I gave it away after awhile. It would have made a fun pillow. As a result of that random sampling of shoulder pads, there were 9 left without mates.

So those 9 loose pads went down to the lobby. Maybe there's another creative sewer in the building who will think "Jackpot!"

P.S. April Fools!

Hey all, that last post was for fun. The only thing I gave away today was a $1 coupon for chocolate chips (a brand I don't buy). I'm not kidding with the one item a day thing - one item means ANY item that's cluttering my life.

But much of what I listed on that post will be for sale this weekend at the NORTH AMERICAN DECLUTTER EVENT! Saturday, April 4 (weather permitting)! I'm ready for it - it's getting hard to find small stuff to get rid of each day.

Wednesday, April 1

Today I finally got sick of the remaining clutter in the house, so I called a local thrift store to come and pick up six bags of clothes, three boxes of books, an end table, six pairs of shoes, two fans, an air conditioner, and several real estate moneymaking programs. While sorting what would go to the thrift store, I also threw out a laundry hamper full of clothes that were beyond repair.

Wow, did it feel great to just get rid of it all. I don't know what I'll sell at the yard sale, though...