Organised Thoughts 2009 in Review

2009 has been an eventful year around here.  And for you too I’m sure.  Now’s a great time to stop and reflect and share some moments from the year past.

Together we worked on the Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge! from start to finish.

I got deep and meaningful with The most productive afternoon of my life and Needs vs. Wants.

One very popular post was How to Display Children’s Art.

There was a Save Time series, starting with Save Time in the Laundry.

We talked about how to find time to get organised in No Time to Declutter?, 21 Ways to Get Organised in Just 5 Minutes and 5 Organising Tasks in 5 Minutes Each.

Achieving my Expert Accreditation was really important to me, and I was happy to share the journey with you in The Journey to Expert.

2009 has been a year of travelling for me, with conferences galore as well as travel for pleasure.  In Quick and Easy Packing for Travel I shared my formula for keeping travel simple.

Together we went on a Decluttering Adventure, with the first post, Decluttering Adventure – the Roadmap.

There was a moving story in My Mother’s Garden.

Readers got to listen to my interview with ABC presenter, Craig Zonca, in The Story of Me & My Cookie Cutters.

I urged a clutter-free Christmas with my Angela’s Advent series, starting with Angela’s Advent, Day 1.

And that was the year that was.  Wishing you all a fabulous 2010 filled with adventures with happy endings. 🙂

Success! – Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!

It’s great to hear about people achieving success, so I was thrilled to receive this letter recently.

Hi Angela,

Just wanted to say a big thank you for encouraging us all to try this challenge.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m happy to say that just last week I reached my total of 2009, and am still counting.

I have listed all the items that I’ve de-cluttered as I’ve gone along, and it’s quite satisfying to read over the list and see what I’ve de-cluttered.

I shared a stall at a baby market two weeks ago with a friend, and managed to get rid of over 130 items and made a tidy profit at the same time, and this popped me over the 2009 mark.

It’ll be interesting to see the final total I reach before the end of the year.

Cheers, Deb

Congratulations, Deb.  You’re a star!

How’s your own challenge going?  I have been pottering along with mine, but am nowhere near reaching my goal yet.

I can tell you this week I have culled a LOT of business cards, old flyers, out of date paperwork.  A whole year of tax records was discarded as  it’s past the 5 years I need to keep those records.  (In Australia, it’s 5 years, not 7.  See the ATO for confirmation)  I’ve also said goodbye to some clothes as winter ended and I realised I hadn’t worn those items.

So my grand total now stands at 903.

How to Declutter (almost) Everything

While I’ve been trying an experiment of my own with the Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!, there’s a family who are trying an experiment on a much larger scale.  Bessie Bardot, Geoff Barker and their tiny daughter are living the Life Change Experiment.  And it all starts with giving away almost everything they own.  Fascinating stuff.  I can’t wait to read about their adventures.

Breaking the Silence on Declutter Challenge

Just because I’ve been silent on the issue doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten my Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge! In fact, I have been quietly decluttering whenever and wherever I see the need.  And it’s amazing how many different places I’ve found clutter to get rid of.

From the garage to the camera, from the filing cabinet to the storeroom under the stairs, little inroads are being made.  I’ve often talked about how hard I was finding it to actually find things to declutter.  Well, I’m still not sure whether I’ll meet my challenge of decluttering 2009 things in 2009, but I’m giving it a red hot go.  My efforts have occurred as I find clutter, sometimes when I least expect to.  Thanks to a handy notebook I’ve kept track and can now bring you the random list of items decluttered lately.

343-370: 28 pure laundry soaps. (haven’t used them in 20 years, ain’t going to now.  Off they go to someone who can use them.)

371-374: 4 shoes, too tatty for anyone to wear.

375-409: 35 empty cardboard boxes – a bone of contention for some time.  My household is not immune to the dreaded “we might need it some day” syndrome.  There’s a certain someone I live with who likes to hoard empty boxes.  And as long as there’s room in the garage to store them, I have a battle to oust them.  But I did. 🙂 )

410-414: 5 Twitter follows thanks to nest.unclutterer.com

415-440: 26 half-used sticker sheets

441-452: 12 useless fridge magnets

453-466: 14 email subscriptions (honestly don’t know how they get to be so many)

467-472: from my wardrobe – 2 dressing gowns, 2 hats, a bra, holey trousers

473-479: from the bathroom – rusted scissors, 3 outdated cosmetics, a sparking hairdryer, 2 resident spiders

480-485: from my desk – a snapped pencil, 2 no-ink pens, last-year’s paper diary, a broken part from my keyboard (not fixed by now & doing fine), a used notepad

486: a mail order catalogue from my front doorstep!  Seriously, I hate those catalogues they leave on your doorstep, full of unitaskers (see Unitasker Wednesday at Unclutterer.com).  Even worse, the distributor expects me to leave it there for days till they come back to collect it.  No way, not here, thank you very much.  I have a letterbox and it’s there for a purpose.  My doorstep is not for collecting junk mail.  Ok, rant over.

487-489: from my purse – 2 business cards, 1 loyalty card

490: a queen size mattress, thanks to Dream Safe, keeping it from landfill

491-494: from my jewellery box – 2 “collector” booklets and 2 boxes to match.  It’s not why I bought the jewellery after all

495: tumble dryer sheets.  I thought I’d give these a go.  Shouldn’t have bothered.  Anyone experience otherwise?

496-498: 2 pillows, a doona past keeping us warm

499-514: from the filing cabinet – 2 whole suspension files plus 8 PDS booklets and approximately 5cm worth of paper (should I count each sheet?  Better not 😉 )

Phew, feels great to be over 500!

515-546: photos from my digital camera, blurry, duplicate, unflattering.  Have to make room for new ones of my gorgeous granddaughter.

547-587: while I’m at it, got rid of 41 unnecessary photos from computer storage

588-653: decluttered my email folders big time.  Issues done and dusted or long email chains can go.

654-672: various computer files, same as above.

673: now here’s one I’m really excited about, I’ve decluttered a household chore.  Till now I’ve been responsible for the household ironing.  Occasionally when it became too much I called on a lovely lady to help me get back on top of it.  Well, the time has come, with me taking on new roles and other family members also being busier than ever, for that lovely lady to do this job all the time.  What a relief!

674-710: again, since taking on the Presidency of AAPO, I have to be realistic about my time commitments.  I have resigned from a club, and with it, the committee role I held there.  So out go not only the responsibility and time commitment, but also the manuals, emails and notes.  I’ve also let go some of my duties within AAPO to make room for the new.  Feeling lighter already.

711: here’s one that made me a little sad.  Today I said goodbye to my gym membership.  I have to face facts, I don’t have time to get there and it’s costing me not only a monthly fee but my peace of mind.  There’s one thing worse than not getting to the gym, and that’s feeling guilty about it.  I will have to find other ways to exercise.

712-730: finally, some happier news.  Since there is now a new baby in our family, I have given away some gorgeous treasures which my children used – books, hand-knitted blankets, toys etc.  It’s so good to see them being put to use again.

So what’s been going on with your clutter lately?  What have you given the heave-ho?  Decluttered anything unusual?  Or that made your life easier?

Half way through the year and I’m feeling generous.  Would any of you like to adjust your estimate of when (and if) I’ll reach my goal of decluttering 2009 items in 2009?  Send me an email or leave a comment, by July 25th, stating the date you predict I’ll reach 2009 items decluttered.  There’ll be 2 prizes on offer, so as not to disadvantage those who predicted back in January.  Good luck!

I promised

Well, I promised.  So here’s my latest effort in the Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!

197-208: e-newsletter subscriptions and RSS feeds

209: worn-out gym shoes.  These should have gone when the new ones arrived.

210: a pink blouse.  It’s too big and I’m never going back there.

211: a tub of body butter – a free gift and not my thing.  It put a smile on my daughter’s face though.

212: a cute Christmas collar for my cat.  The joke was good while it lasted.

213: my travel hairbrush which has been replaced.

214-215: 2 containers of makeup past their prime – ugh that smell!

216: a scrapbooking tool I used once.

217-224: out-of-date discount coupons.

Then I spent 10 minutes culling my filing cabinet and found…

225: old passport photos, don’t even look like me any more.

226-228: 3 product disclosure statements, thankfully now available online.

229: a phone plan guide, also available online.

230-237: various documents that I can lose.

238-251: 14! of my son’s phone bills.  He now has his own filing box and can deal with this stuff himself.

252: superseded medical information.

253: a 3-year-old receipt.  What the?  There’s no place for that!

I spent just 5 minutes doing my quarterly medicine cabinet declutter.  It’s important to treat medicine with respect.  Always dispose of them safely.

254-256: I found 3 that were past their safe-to-use-by date.

A quick tour of the laundry came up with

257-258: rechargable dustbuster and torch, both of which have lost their charge forever.

and 259: a pair of my son’s jeans which are beyond repair.

Rifling through one kitchen drawer came up with

260-265: loyalty cards for places I’m not loyal to.

266: a lanyard.

267: “this book belongs to” labels for my daughter – she can have them at her place.

268-297: 30 business cards (the info has been captured).

One shelf in the pantry uncovered

298-318: various items ranging from stale spices to too-dry dried fruit and

319: a novelty biscuit tin, not my thing.

Culling my bedside drawer unearthed

320-321: 2 old diaries.  I write them to capture and acknowledge my feelings, not keep them for future generations.

322-324: lotions and potions past their prime.

325: a pack of “simplicity cards”, enjoyed and passed on to someone else to keep the love going.

326: another pen that doesn’t work and

327-338: tatty bookmarks.

Another tour of the kitchen came up with

339: a milk frother

340: a fridge eye mask

341: an ugly wooden tray

342: a wall-mount for a phone which won’t be wall-mounted.

All in all not a bad haul, and I kept my promise to you to reach 300 by the time I reported in.  But I’m lagging behind if I’m to meet my challenge.  Is anyone else finding it hard?  And is that because it’s hard to part with stuff?  Or is it because, like me, there’s not much stuff to part with?  Or maybe there’s another reason – no time, lack of motivation, you need help from someone else?  Please share by leaving a comment.  Your successes and struggles will comfort and spur others on.

Related Posts:

• The Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!
• Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge! Kicks Off
• I wanted to inspire but…
• Always Time for Decluttering
• Update on Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!
• CO 2009 DC! Update
• What I Won’t Be Decluttering
• Books wanted
• The Great Big Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge! Catch-up

Organised Socks

Recently, declutterer Lindy reported that she’d found and decluttered 78 odd socks.  78!  Wow.  It got me thinking.  Where did the other 78 go?  It’s one of the great mysteries of life, I guess.

Years ago my practical mother-in-law told me her secret to keeping socks in order, and it has worked for me to a degree.  Buy socks all the same brand and colour so it matters less when a mate disappears.  Pairing socks after washing takes much less time, and can in fact be eliminated all together.  I have to admit this works for myself and the men in my family, but not my creative daughter who wants lots of colour and options.  On the plus side, she also doesn’t mind wearing odd socks.

If you prefer to pair socks after washing, save time by pegging pairs together on the line.

Or if you have young children in the house, why not use sock-pairing as a colour matching activity?  They can help, learn and have fun all at once.

But what do you do when the inevitable odd sock loses its mate?  You can

• turn it into a pet toy
• make a sock puppet
• use it for dusting

What are your sock suggestions?

The Great Big Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge! Catch-up

Boy, it seems like ages since I last reported in on my progress with the Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!  But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been actively seeking opportunities to clear unnecessary stuff from my life.  The recent bushfires here in Victoria have served to highlight what’s important in my life – life, love, family, friends, home, safety, and many things I sometimes take for granted – and what isn’t.  Here’s a list of what isn’t, and therefore what I’ve been decluttering from my life.

152: a packet of glittery fish stickers.  How did this end up in my home?  Never mind, I know a girl turning 10 who will love them.  There you go, Freya.

153: a half-used hand cream sachet which was getting in the way sitting in my pen holder.  On checking, it had dried up.  I really should moisturise more often.

154-157: Inheriting my parents’ household appliances came in handy when my daughter moved out.  However, being quite old to begin with, they had a short lifespan and all returned to live in my garage when they died.  And there they waited for our council hard rubbish collection.  I love those semi-annual collections.  We got rid of broken pool hose, a washer, a dryer and a TV.  None of these things actually stayed long enough to make it into the garbage truck.  They were all scavenged before collection day.  I love that someone else can make use of these items.  I just hope they weren’t hoarders adding to their collections.

I spent over an hour today trying to buy concert tickets online.  What do you do when you’re stuck at your desk clicking a mouse every 5 seconds?  Declutter the desk drawer of course.  It wasn’t bursting at the seams, as you can see, but it could do with some improvement.  And I got the tickets!  I turfed…

Before

158: an instruction booklet for something I don’t have any more.

159: a battery compartment cover, returned to its rightful place, covering the battery compartment.

160-161: 2 empty containers.  I just combined their contents with other like objects.

162: a broken magnet.  Let’s face it, I’m not going to fix it.

163: one stub of pencil.

164-173: 10 pens that don’t work.

174-183: 10 pen lids for different pens!?

184: an allen key.  If my husband wants it he can store it where it belongs, in the shed (that’s a no go zone for me. I respect his space).

185: 1 hole punch. I already have 2 – one in my office upstairs, one in the “communication station” downstairs.  Perhaps my son, who’s started uni would like it?

186: 1 stapler. ditto

187: 1 torch.  I already have one in the desk drawer.  It’s there for when I need to crawl under the desk and do computer repairs or adjustments.  This extra one can go back to its home under the stairs, where our emergency lighting lives.

188-189: 2 sharpeners.  Where did they all come from?

190: 1 tape measure.  Same.

After

191: 1 letter opener.  I’m happy using my thumb.

These are all small items.  Getting rid of them will make a small difference in my life.  I’ll be able to find what I need a little faster.  I’ve also decluttered some more things which will make a big difference in my life.  They are…

192-194: 3 e-newsletter subscriptions.  Losing these will give me more time and less distractions.

195: Book of the Month posts.  Tying myself down to a book review each month was disproportionately taking up my time.  From now on, I’ll do the occasional book review.  Of course, if anyone else would like to write one, they are very welcome to submit it for my approval.

196: And finally, decluttering one committee position from my life has lifted a weight off my shoulders and given me a good chunk of time.

This is all well and good but I’m running behind.  Mathematically speaking, I should be up to 347 by now if I’m to reach my goal.  It’s time for some real action.  Next time I report in I promise to have decluttered at least <big breath in> 300 items.  There, I’ve said it.  How’s your decluttering going?  Are you ahead of or behind your goal?

More Clothing Exchange Opportunities

L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival
My Sister’s Wardrobe – A clothing exchange for the ladies

Admission $18/$20
6.30pm Monday 16th March
BMW Edge, Federation Square
Cnr Flinders St and Swanston St
Melbourne

*Bookings highly recommend as this one always sells out!

 

An Earth Hour celebration with Whitehorse Council
My Sister’s Wardrobe – A clothing exchange for the ladies

3.30pm Saturday 28th March
To RSVP call 92626555
Whitehorse City Council

* Free admission to those within the council precinct

 

Mums and Bubs Wardrobe – A clothing exchange for the Mums and their little ones (up to 3yrs).  Great for those expecting too!

Admission $20 for Mums, $5 bubs
11am on-the-dot Sunday 5th April
High Tide Room, Bondi Pavillion
Sydney

*There are separate tickets for Mum’s and Bub’s itemised in the online shop

 

My Sister’s Wardrobe – A clothing exchange for the ladies

Admission $18 online/$20 door
Includes a nice glass of bubbly
6.30pm Tuesday 21st April
Garage Bar, 163 Waymouth St
Adelaide

 

My Sister’s Wardrobe – A clothing exchange for the ladies

Admission $18 online/$20 door
Includes a nice glass of bubbly
6.30pm Tuesday 24th May
Garage Bar, 163 Waymouth St
Adelaide

 

So get thee to the wardrobe decluttering (remember to count for the Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!).  Check out the details and book at The Clothing Exchange.

Books wanted

Here’s a great chance to make room on your bookshelves at the same time as helping those in need.  Borders will donate your second hand books to schools and libraries in the fire affected communities.  Click here for more information.

I’ve taken the opportunity to get back into the Creating Order 2009 Declutter Challenge!

137-151: 15 books I’ve enjoyed.  Now it’s time for someone else to enjoy them.

Update April 5th, 2009: Borders offer to collect books for bushfire affected communities has now closed.  There are many charities, including local schools and libraries, which would gladly accept second-hand books.

What I Won’t Be Decluttering

Progress continues in my Decluttering Challenge!

122: a red beach towel which bleeds whenever it gets wet, not good.  It’s not even useful as rags.

123: 1 unreliable green pen.

124-135: 12 nail polishes – dried out, unflattering colours or gluggy – leaving 22.  I think that’s enough.

136: one winter dressing gown.  A dear friend gave me a gorgeous soft and cuddly new one, and there’s only room for one in my life/wardrobe.  I’ll have to toss it though as the old favourite has unslightly stains from midnight snacks.

But there are some things I won’t declutter.  That’s my collection of cookie cutters.  I have a lot, 5 tins worth.  And I love them.  When I find a cookie cutter I don’t have yet, I usually buy it.  And here’s my big confession.  I only make cut-out cookies about once a year.  But you know what?  Those cookie cutters make my heart sing.  They don’t take up much room and don’t take anything away from my life or space.  I have sorted them into groupings and the 5 tins hold alphanumeric, animal, special occasion, geometric and transport themed cookie cutters.  So they won’t be going anywhere.

The tins are themselves a collection.  Every year for Christmas, my grandmother, who lives in Germany, sends me a decorated tin filled with lebkuchen (gingerbread).  And each year the tin is more beautiful than the year before.  They’re mighty useful too.  As well as my cookie cutters, they hold our first aid supplies, nail polishes, party supplies and my husband’s wallet, keys and pocket contents when he gets home from work.  They won’t be going anywhere either. 🙂

So what will you not be decluttering?