Well, I did do more decluttering today, but at a slower pace as I was losing energy. I forgot that yesterday I recycled six newspapers and some other papers, which was part of one of my declutter items, "put away or recycle papers," so that was another incomplete one.
Today's declutter:
1. Continued with the putting away/recycling of papers: Several post-its, a few envelopes, some random pieces of paper. I was considering this part of the filing, but I think I am more or less done with that, and this goes with the paper put away instead. This is still incomplete.
2. Tossed some dead flowers.
3. Put away a box of books for the yard sale.
The papers actually took a lot of time - many went into the info file - so I accomplished more than it seems. I also put some books away, which was NOT on the list, and put more items in the boxes for the yard sale. And I took a recipe down to the lobby.
Today's cleaning:
1. Changed the cat litter.
2. Did what I could on the oven. It's such a mess I'm going to have to do it in sections. I got some grime off at least.
3. Cleaned the silverware drawer, which had a few roach bodies from winter (I haven't seen a roach in weeks so I think that huge cleanout and borax sprinkling has worked) so I could put away the can opener, measuring cups, and other stuff that belongs in there that has been sitting out. My hope was to get to all four drawers, but one at a time is better than none! So this is incomplete.
4. Dusted, vacuumed, and swept my bedroom. I also swept the hall near the catbox. The bedroom is clean, the chores are incomplete.
5. Watered plants (I actually did half of them yesterday).
6. Took out trash and all the recycling (second week in a row!).
7. Swished the toilet.
The place looks a bit better, but these papers! Argh. They are the biggest problem. I really don't know how they get to be so piled up. Probably cuz I don't know what to do with some of them. The info file will help.
Results: My room is clean!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Saturday, Barefoot In The Park
No, I didn't spend Saturday in the park. I went briefly to walk barefoot in the park after going to the Farmers' Market in the morning. I heard from an alternative health expert that walking barefoot on earth or cement is good for balancing the thyroid. So, since I like walking barefoot on grass anyway, I took a little detour on my way home. It was a beautiful morning and there was a cute little boy hanging with his dad, and later a couple of girls with their mom - one was just about a year old, toddling along, so cute. It was so lovely I started singing! And I sang all the way home. That almost never happens, only when I'm happy :)
ANYWAY. I got down to decluttering when I got home and really didn't stop except for a short email/Facebook break. And that might have been before I got started. As noted yesterday, I made a list of decluttering chores which included things like doing dishes and ironing as well as the more obvious filing. I came up with 17 items, and did seven, and part of three others. Filing is a huge job so it was not completed. Nor was ironing, as my wrist got tired after about ten pieces. And things like putting away stuff for my upcoming yard sale didn't happen at all, though I did collect items for the sale throughout the day.
Here's my list of completed chores, just to give an idea of what I'm considering decluttering this weekend:
1. Plant bulbs. I bought tulip and daffodil bulbs earlier this year and it said you could plant them outdoors when the last frost was done. I know nothing about planting these so they may be dead already. But I planted 'em and stuck 'em on my fire escape.
2. Put away shoes. My shoes tend to live under my coffee table in the living room, or spread out in front of my bedroom closet, so this is more important than it sounds. I had to dust out the closet floor before I organized them too.
3. Dishes.
4. Put away a box of notes/papers from my college days. This required a bit of closet organization as well, and I put away wrapping paper from the birthday weekend while I was there.
5. Put away clothes (that were lying around my bedroom).
6. Make the bed. I actually changed the sheets first. Then I folded the blankets cuz it was pretty warm yesterday and I figured I won't need all of them again. The dirty sheets had what looked like grass stains on them (I don't even want to guess), so I washed those out and hung them over the shower to dry. They went in the laundry basket this morning.
7. Put yarn away. I have a knitting project going on that screeched to a halt cuz I was using circular needles and now I need regular ones. I also have a ton of yarn I bought last fall at a BLOWOUT yarn sale. Wool yarn, $10 for 10 2 ounce skeins! And I also got some fun fun fun cotton and bamboo yarns for cheap. Anyway, I put the project yarn in the yarn drawer, and used a lined basket for the new stuff.
8. Putting baskets away: The yarn basket was one of them, so this was the first incomplete task.
9. Filing: Got the basic filing done, bills, paystubs, etc. Also made an info file for stuff I need to put into the computer so I can toss it. There are a million little pieces of paper floating about my apartment that need to go into that file. This was incomplete.
10. Ironing: Did ten shirts/tops and a dress. Two of the shirts are for the yard sale.
At the end of the day, my bedroom was neat and ready for cleaning. So if nothing else, I'll get that room completed today. Just dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming left in there, should take an hour at most.
Today I've started on the cleaning even though the decluttering isn't complete. It's pretty easy to clean the shower and tub when you're in it, so I did. And I got the oven started with some scrub sitting there on the grime so it can loosen things up and I won't have to kill my wrists trying to get it all off. For some reason my wrists just don't hold up anymore when it comes to scrubbing. Just part of getting older, I suppose! But who wants to scrub, anyway? In the midst of it I've also continued with the filing, and did another batch of dishes (my dish drainer isn't big enough for the pile that had accumulated. In fairness, it's not ALL dishes - there were some vases and recyclables as well.)
Time to get back to it!
ANYWAY. I got down to decluttering when I got home and really didn't stop except for a short email/Facebook break. And that might have been before I got started. As noted yesterday, I made a list of decluttering chores which included things like doing dishes and ironing as well as the more obvious filing. I came up with 17 items, and did seven, and part of three others. Filing is a huge job so it was not completed. Nor was ironing, as my wrist got tired after about ten pieces. And things like putting away stuff for my upcoming yard sale didn't happen at all, though I did collect items for the sale throughout the day.
Here's my list of completed chores, just to give an idea of what I'm considering decluttering this weekend:
1. Plant bulbs. I bought tulip and daffodil bulbs earlier this year and it said you could plant them outdoors when the last frost was done. I know nothing about planting these so they may be dead already. But I planted 'em and stuck 'em on my fire escape.
2. Put away shoes. My shoes tend to live under my coffee table in the living room, or spread out in front of my bedroom closet, so this is more important than it sounds. I had to dust out the closet floor before I organized them too.
3. Dishes.
4. Put away a box of notes/papers from my college days. This required a bit of closet organization as well, and I put away wrapping paper from the birthday weekend while I was there.
5. Put away clothes (that were lying around my bedroom).
6. Make the bed. I actually changed the sheets first. Then I folded the blankets cuz it was pretty warm yesterday and I figured I won't need all of them again. The dirty sheets had what looked like grass stains on them (I don't even want to guess), so I washed those out and hung them over the shower to dry. They went in the laundry basket this morning.
7. Put yarn away. I have a knitting project going on that screeched to a halt cuz I was using circular needles and now I need regular ones. I also have a ton of yarn I bought last fall at a BLOWOUT yarn sale. Wool yarn, $10 for 10 2 ounce skeins! And I also got some fun fun fun cotton and bamboo yarns for cheap. Anyway, I put the project yarn in the yarn drawer, and used a lined basket for the new stuff.
8. Putting baskets away: The yarn basket was one of them, so this was the first incomplete task.
9. Filing: Got the basic filing done, bills, paystubs, etc. Also made an info file for stuff I need to put into the computer so I can toss it. There are a million little pieces of paper floating about my apartment that need to go into that file. This was incomplete.
10. Ironing: Did ten shirts/tops and a dress. Two of the shirts are for the yard sale.
At the end of the day, my bedroom was neat and ready for cleaning. So if nothing else, I'll get that room completed today. Just dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming left in there, should take an hour at most.
Today I've started on the cleaning even though the decluttering isn't complete. It's pretty easy to clean the shower and tub when you're in it, so I did. And I got the oven started with some scrub sitting there on the grime so it can loosen things up and I won't have to kill my wrists trying to get it all off. For some reason my wrists just don't hold up anymore when it comes to scrubbing. Just part of getting older, I suppose! But who wants to scrub, anyway? In the midst of it I've also continued with the filing, and did another batch of dishes (my dish drainer isn't big enough for the pile that had accumulated. In fairness, it's not ALL dishes - there were some vases and recyclables as well.)
Time to get back to it!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
May Day and A Week of Catch-up
Whew! Another week gone and I don't believe I decluttered much of anything. Working so much that I don't have a life! But I'm finding the balance this weekend: Today I'm decluttering and tomorrow I'm cleaning. I wrote down all the declutters that need to be done before I can easily clean. It includes things like dishes and planting bulbs along with filing. Anything that's in the way of easy cleaning has to get done first.
So that's how I'm organizing the chores. It's really easy to clean when there's no clutter - takes only a couple hours to do the whole place. But with the junk in the way it just seems insurmountable.
Now, since clutter is my big problem, this is a challenge! But last night I just decided I had to do it. It will probably not be a complete declutter because I don't think I've ever done one of those. But if I get everything on my chore list done, I will have made a huge difference.
So this week. Wow. I have not been decluttering daily. I recycled one piece of junk mail yesterday, and I'm pretty sure that's it for the week. I did return the non-working computer and get my money back. Then my boyfriend brought me one, which also isn't working, haha! I don't think they told him there is no hard drive, DOH! I'm not worried cuz he can either fix it or go back to where he got it and ask where the boot disk is!
Anyway. No decluttering to speak of cuz work wears me out. There's a bright spot though. I'm REALLY loving one of my jobs, and that gives me energy rather than tiring me. And another job was put on hold, and it's one I feel may not be a good fit anyway. So things are going to work out fine.
Back to the decluttering!
Oh, yeah, I got some results! Great birthday presents Friday and Sunday from my parents and my friends. Lots of jewelry and lotions and fun stuff like that! And more birthday cake! And money!
So that's how I'm organizing the chores. It's really easy to clean when there's no clutter - takes only a couple hours to do the whole place. But with the junk in the way it just seems insurmountable.
Now, since clutter is my big problem, this is a challenge! But last night I just decided I had to do it. It will probably not be a complete declutter because I don't think I've ever done one of those. But if I get everything on my chore list done, I will have made a huge difference.
So this week. Wow. I have not been decluttering daily. I recycled one piece of junk mail yesterday, and I'm pretty sure that's it for the week. I did return the non-working computer and get my money back. Then my boyfriend brought me one, which also isn't working, haha! I don't think they told him there is no hard drive, DOH! I'm not worried cuz he can either fix it or go back to where he got it and ask where the boot disk is!
Anyway. No decluttering to speak of cuz work wears me out. There's a bright spot though. I'm REALLY loving one of my jobs, and that gives me energy rather than tiring me. And another job was put on hold, and it's one I feel may not be a good fit anyway. So things are going to work out fine.
Back to the decluttering!
Oh, yeah, I got some results! Great birthday presents Friday and Sunday from my parents and my friends. Lots of jewelry and lotions and fun stuff like that! And more birthday cake! And money!
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