And just like that, the third quarter of the year has come to a close! As you know, earlier this year I talked about doing some purging and it's already time for the accountability check in again! My three areas I wanted to work on for the months of July, August and September were bedroom/shoes, kitchen/dishes and living room/hall/spare room.
Bedroom/Shoes: As you know from my story about my unsuccessful side hustle, I have tried to sell some of my more expensive shoes online and have had only okay luck. However, I sent a batch of them to ThredUp and had some success! For four pairs of shoes, I made $80.00! Yay.
How am I doing? Since I am trying to sell some, many of them are still in my house, so there is a large pile of shoes that I will get rid of one way or the other. I am going to call this a win. I am not in any danger of going back through them and them making their way back into my closet, believe me. I am now down to a couple of pairs of running shoes, a couple of sandals, a couple of boots and a couple of fancy dress shoes. I will probably cull it even more, but you know how it is; when you find a nice pair of knee length black boots that fits you well, you sometimes just have to keep them!
What is next? I am going to still try to sell some more online; if those don't sell by the end of the year, they will either go to ThredUp or to Salvation Army. My goal is to have them all out of my house by the end of this year.
Kitchen/Dishes: Two things I had too many of...vessels to drink from and baking dishes!
How am I doing? I went through my glasses, mugs and water bottles and pared it down to only about four of each. I think I was keeping some just in case I had a party or a bunch of people over or something, but if and when that does end up happening, people can drink wine from a coffee cup; I do not need to have a full set of 12 wine glasses just taking up space. The baking dishes were a similar story; will I ever need to make 48 muffins at once? Will that even fit in my oven at the same time? The answer to both of those questions is likely no, so I got rid of my old muffin tins and baking sheets, several casserole dishes and a few bread pans. I also culled my plates, bowls and serving dishes. How many things do we keep for "just in case" but we never use? For me, it was a lot.
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| I feel like Old Mother Hubbard. |
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| Don't worry; I have two more coffee cups but they are in use. |
What is next? I would also like to simplify my cleaning products (these live under the kitchen sink). I bought a gallon of Simple Green when I first moved in almost 9 years ago and it is still probably half full. I bought bleach at Costco (sucker!!) and it is a three pack and I have a LOT of dish soap (and vinegar and hand soap and Windex and Bronners etc.) I would really like to pare these down to just a few items under the sink if possible.
Living Room/Hall/Spare Room: I don't have a lot in the living room or hall, but my goal was to clear out any shelves or drawers in these rooms. For my spare room, that is where I keep my linens, so I wanted to also clear out that dresser.
How am I doing? I feel pretty good about this. In the living room, I have a catch all by the door which his supposed to only be for my purse and whatever leaves each day with me, but it tends to gather items. I cleared this out, as well as my coffee table drawer and the shelves near my living room fireplace. In the hall, I went through the linen closet, which also houses extra cleaning supplies and toiletries, hair stuff, jewelry and travel items. I gave a bunch of the jewelry to my friend's daughter and it is so cute because she actually wears the earrings a lot! I took inventory of my cleaning products and toiletries (shampoo, lotion etc.) and my goal is to NOT buy any more until they are completely used up. For the spare room, I got rid of all but one extra set of sheets and blankets.
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| Don't judge - Bertha lives in my living room. |
What is next? I am currently still in the middle of cleaning out the spare room closet, which is a jumble of my work clothes, bags, stuff to go to the thrift store/sell online/send to ThredUp/give away, old electronics (these will also go to the thrift store), did I say bags (so many bags! bags full of bags!), my vacuum, etc. As I mentioned above, I would like to have all of my thrift/sell items out of there by the end of the year, so this will be much improved by then!
My last three months will be the reading nook, health check ups and plants...and then the year will be over (again)! I would say that three quarters of the way in, I am feeling very good about what I have done so far and after doing it this way for years, I also really think that a monthly purge is so much less daunting than a once a year one!
Do you have a go-to all in one cleaning product? How often do you do a home purge? What kitchen item do you have multiples of but you rarely use more than one or two?
Okay - this was the BEST post to wake up to. Things like this are soothing to my soul. Seriously. I might come back and re-read this post later today if I'm feeling anxious for any reason at all.
ReplyDeleteI purge...a lot. I think because I have two kids it is just constantly coming back in - birthday party treat bags, hand-me-downs from family members. Thankfully, I love to purge/organize/tidy so for the most part it's okay since it means I always have this go-to stress relief outlet.
I don't have a go-to cleaning product; I love Method products and their Grapefruit spray is a fav. Like you, I'm really trying to use up what I have and streamline to fewer products overall...but it seems to be taking forever to get through things I've accumulated over the years!
Kitchen items. Hmmm: I try to be relentless, but this is one space I find hard to really clear out because my husband uses some things that I NEVER use. A corkscrew. A meat tenderizer. But I put those lesser-used items in a little clear tote that hangs out in a cupboard, so at least they're not crowding out our drawers. We have A LOT of mugs and glassware, but also can have big crowds over for meals, so most of the time we need all those things to cover the bases. But stuff is neat.
I spent $100+ at IKEA this week getting some under-the-bed totes for my sons room (they're amazing and before I was storing things on a shelf in his closet, but then he couldn't reach it - these are heavy duty and perfect), and a whole bunch of food storage items. I felt a bit guilty spending money on organizing things, but it really is cheaper than a therapy session and gives me a HUGE boost. My fav is their $1.49 grey silverware organizers. I've used them in bathroom vanity drawers (perfect for organizing the kids toothbrushes, flossers, etc), in my tinfoil, plastic wrap drawer! I'll have to take some pictures and do a blog post because I just find it all so relaxing and fun.
Also, you living room is gorgeous (love the colour and art), and I think it's perfect to have your beloved bike front and centre. It almost looks like a permanent art installation.
This comment made my day! I was thinking that people would sigh and say, "yet another blah blah about orginizing your life!" However, I also find it to be cathartic and like writing down/posting what I have done as it makes it feel real and makes all of the work worth it! Elisabeth - I finally threw out all of my saved Christmas cards. I usually save the ones I get that have photos on them, as those are memories, and I finally told myself that those memories sitting in a box are not doing me any good. It is the times that I have with these people that matter. Having a photo of their kid at every age is not the important part of life. I know you and Lisa are good about throwing out holiday and birthday cards, but that is one area where I struggle. However, they are all ready to be shredded and I have photos on my phone and in the cloud of the times I have spent with the people, should I need a little boost.
DeleteA corkscrew is kind of a must but you can use a cast iron pan to tenderize meat so I say get rid of that. :) Re mugs, I probably had like 12 of them and I have had 12 people over before, but I can always get some paper cups if that is going to happen again rather than keeping items "just in case." I have a lot of "just in case" things. This comes from my father (hi Dad!) who has a great workshop and fixes all of his own things but we never lived near a store, so he kept every nut and bolt and whatchamacallit in case something needed fixing in a pinch.
My husband and I are not drinkers. Nonetheless, we registered for eight wine glasses when we got married and received them all. I think we've used them maybe a half dozen times at gatherings we've held at our house. I don't know what to do with those. It's a kitchen item that, when it comes in handy, it comes in handy, but that's rare and they're taking up a huge amount of cabinet space. Hm. I'll have to ponder this.
ReplyDeleteWe basically use a bleach mixture and a Windex all-purpose cleaner as a "main cleaners." We do have some Resolve for when we have pet-related stains on rugs or furniture, but we fortunately don't have to use that a lot!
(Oh, I 100% feel you on throwing out old cards. My birthday was in August and I still have a bunch of birthday cards sitting in our living room because I feel guilty throwing them out. I am going to go throw them out as soon as I publish this comment.)
I guess it depends on if you need the space or not (or if you want less clutter or not). I am perfectly happy drinking wine out of paper cup (or a mug or a water glass or a whiskey glass...you get the point) but maybe you have extra space and it is worth it to have a nice presentation to your 8 friends when they come over! I think I have decided that my 8 friends need to be mug of wine people! Or you could have BYOG (glass) parties! The only reason that I had a set was that I had a friend who was a wine connosoir and when he came over he was appaled at my stemware selection so he not only brought me a set, he brought me a set for each type of wine (white, champers, bold red, light red???) so I had about two dozen of them at one point. When he stopped coming over, I culled it to two per type and figured that people could drink white out of a red glass (plus my wine is not that fancy). Now I have regressed to mugs. Soon I will be making people drink from my cereal bowls... :)
DeleteI hope your cards are in the bin by now! The hardest thing for me to get rid of is memories, and each person has their own version of this. My parents have this painting on their wall that is SO ugly and I asked them if someones dear auntie painted it because if not, I am sure we have something better than that to display! They laughed, said that they had no idea where it came from but that they put it up as a joke at first and have kind of gotten used to it. So now it's like their memory is the joke!
We have far too many kitchen items. One problem is that we have two full kitchens. So we can put stuff we arent always using downstairs. We actually got all new dishware because the stuff we got at our wedding wasnt holding up, but instead of just getting rid of it my husband is all let's keep it downstairs so when we get a lake house we will already have these items. Soooo yeah. Honestly, I'd just buy new but savings, right? Ha. Anyway we really need to do a purge of our entire house but it's hard and I'd need buy in from all members of this house. We did a really good job on our clothes and our storage area last Jan/Feb and then petered out.
ReplyDeleteOh, the "two full kitchens" conundrum! I don't have a second kitchen, but I have camping! Want to get rid of those pans? Put them in the camping box! What about those glasses, extra napkins, silverware, towels, flashlights that may or may not work....etc. etc. etc. I finally went through my camping box and kept one pot, one pan, two of each cutlery etc. and I feel so much better. The "just in case" phenomenon is real yo.
DeleteI definitely have trouble wasting money BUT I do know that you can get a pretty good set of dishes at the thrift store when you need them.
If you have a good pair of boots keep them! I recently let go of several pairs of shoes because it was time, mine went to Good Will, which is not my place of choice but I know that someone may be able to repurpose the shoes and they won't end up in a dump, hopefully. I let go of an entire china tea set a few years ago. I donated to a non profit who hosts an annual tea fundraiser. They were beautiful but I had never used them and while I did inherit them from my Grandmother she and I had actually never used them. I have a china hutch and I do use the dishes on holidays so I hold onto those pieces although we do have every day dishes that we use. I make it a point to pull out the pieces when we have guests over so that they are actually put to use a few times a year. Cleaning products are something that we keep under the sink in the downstairs half bath and C has to clean her bathroom and that bath every other week. The week that she doesn't clean is the week I clean the half bath and our bathroom, this system works very well! I have our towels in rotation and the system works well! I also have 3 sets of sheets in rotation. When we got married MH had 1 set but I think he washed them maybe once a month. Then I started washing them each week and they got a big hole in them, it's not that they were not quality but they were old and cotton wears down. That set of sheets is now used regularly still for various purposes just not to sleep on! Although I've been known to use them when I'm sick and sleeping on the couch so my coughing doesn't keep MH awake. I appreciate that you divide everything into quarters! This makes a lot of sense! I switch out my wardrobe twice a year and this is when I purge my clothes and shoes.
ReplyDeleteWow, it seems like you have a good system! I have two sets of sheets for each bed, but to be honest, the second set is another case of "just in case" as I mostly just wash the one on the bed and put it back on most of the time. I really like having just washed sheets on my bed, so would rather wait than put the ones from the linen closet on!
DeleteI think we save a lot of things for a "special" occasion, but we need to make more occasions special or we will just be doing what your grandma did and not using things and then passing them onto someone who doesn't use them etc. I think this was more prevalent in year's past as people DID pass things down from generation to generation and they used them a lot of the time. Now we have the privilege of letting it sit in a box, being special! I am trying to do that less, although it is definitely a work in progress!
As for the boots, I will keep them. It was hard to find a pair that was comfortable and fit my calves etc. so that is one thing I will probably hold onto.
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ReplyDeleteBack in 2018, T and I read M Kondo book and it started then. We got rid of so many things! Now, every season [mostly I] go through the house and purge, purge, purge. If something is broken - off with it! I have to say I am a big fan of owning little. Children's clothes- too small- donation bin. Shoes- same. I only own two pairs of winder/fall boots so they are always being worn. Sneakers: two pairs. Sandals: two. In essence, I am happy with how we do things. Oh, children's artwork - so much- take pictures, throw them all into the folder in drive, recycle the papers.
ReplyDeleteYes! That feels so good, doesn't it? And I do think that having a regular schedule helps so much. Otherwise it gets overwhelming fast and then it is a really hard job. If you do it once or twice a year, it is so much more manageable! Isn't it strange how we still accumulate so many papers!? You would think in this digital world we would be more minimal, but somehow they still creep in!
DeleteWow, you are doing great with the purge! We have so many water bottles and blender bottles. SO MANY! There are four of us, but still. It seems like whenever the guys get protein powder or supplements, the company send them free blender bottles.
ReplyDeleteSince moving I have been really cautious about overbuying. I really try to use up one thing - mostly - before buying a replacement. So far, this is going okay.
I have a ton of shoes but can't seem to get rid of any, at least not yet!
If all of your shoes make you happy and you have the space, I say keep them. I have a pair of Dolce and Gabbana strappy leopard print stiletto sandals that I am NEVER going to give away. You will have to pry them from my cold dead hands. I have only worn them maybe three times in the last ten years, but that is not important. They symbolize fun, and hard work, and a time in my life, and memories. I know, I know, that all sounds like crazy hoarder talk but...they are so beautiful. For real though, when they don't fit anymore, I will probably toss them, but as long as they do, I am keeping them.
DeleteRe water bottles, personally I pull the same three down when I am going somewhere (coffee, water, big water) and so I have given away the rest of them! However, I do still have the Ninja attachment, the Magic Bullet attachment and the protein powder shaker so it's still a bit full!
I love this! You are doing such a great job at this goal. I am impressed!
ReplyDeletePurging and organizing is one of my favorite things. I always have a bag in my home that I throw things I want to donate and once that bag is full, I bring it to Goodwill. It's so satisfying! Most of the spaces in my home are organized to the gills but every now and then, things will get a little messy and once it gets to a point where I can't handle the disorganization, I'll just start reorganizing it like a crazy person. A few months ago, this happened with my bathroom closet so there I was at midnight on a Saturday, reorganizing the whole closet. But it felt so good when it was done!
I'm astounded you received $80 from ThredUp on your shoes! You must have had some good brands there. Nicely done!
I have totally been there with you for the midnight thing. For me sometimes one drawer leads to another and before you know it there is stuff everywhere and I can't go to bed with stuff everywhere! It is so satisfying though, and I do the same thing as you with the bag that is always there and then goes to the thrift store when it is full!
DeleteYou have done so well with this purge! Your cupboard with the plates does look very empty, though! We go through SO MANY PLATES in our house. So we have 12 dinner plates, 12 medium kind of sized plates and 12 appetizer plates and they all get used pretty frequently. We have too many drinking glasses but they all fit in one cupboard so I don't feel compelled to get rid of anything. I stupidly registered for 12 white and 12 red wine glasses. I sold 6 of each years ago during a purge. 6 and 6 feels about right especially since we do like to host dinners and such.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a set schedule for purging. I kind of do it when inspired which is fairly often. I do keep on top of the boys' clothes, though. When Taco outgrows something, it goes in a bag in our basement storage and when we have a few bags of things to donate, they go to goodwill. I did a lot of purging of my closet this summer which felt good. There is more to be done, though!
Yes the plate cupboard is empty! I moved my glass Tupperware over there which is nice because I can store them stacked with the lids on! I am not good at staging things so you guys are kind of seeing it as is, midway through!
DeleteI do the same thing as you do with the bag of Goodwill stuff. It get s filled little by little and when it's full I take it away! I actually have one in my car right now, ready to drop off!
Oh wow! Decluttering posts are soothing to my soul and I love this. It looks so good now!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, it is so soothing to clear out a space and put everything back where it belongs and get rid of stuff. I have lots of space to store things, but that can definitely get you in trouble. It is almost better to have less space, as you have to pick and choose a bit more!
DeleteI think you're doing GREAT. We did a mini-purge of the kitchen, but definitely could do more. I also have a lot of baking pans I rarely use, but the good thing is, our kitchen cabinets now have a very high shelf. I can't reach it so I'm not going to put any plates or glasses there, or anything I use on a regular basis. It's perfect for things like a heart-shaped cake pan that MAYBE I'll use once a year.
ReplyDeleteI'm especially impressed that you're cleaning out the spare room closet- that's a space that would stay cluttered for years, in my house. There's just not a lot of motivation for cleaning something like that- you don't use it for anything specifically, you don't need to space, it's the perfect place to throw things... but it will feel great when you get it cleaned out.
Thanks! I finally threw away a lot of "heart-shaped pans" after keeping them for years (in some cases, dozens of years) and I guess I decided that I can just make square cakes now! Even though I have the space, I am trying to just keep things that I use regularly.
DeleteThe spare room closet really is the "junk drawer" of the house, but it does feel good to tackle it, even though it's difficult. I had my home file in there and I finally threw out some papers that were from 10 years ago, but I just wasn't sure if I would need them. I mean, I still keep maintenance records and stuff like that, but I don't think I need the loan statement for my original loan (which has been transferred about three times, refinanced and transferred again!)
Never get rid of those knee high black boots! I've been looking for that 'perfect pair' whether or not I need or use them since my 20's and have not succeeded in finding yet 20 years later! I also have so many feelings about travel mugs and water bottles as they're the thing I currently use the most and the most awkward and space taking upping to store! So many points to you for tackling and organizing and coordinating your home the way you want it!!! Very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI agree re the boots! I finally found a great pair about 15 years ago and wore them to the ground, and this pair I have now is their replacement, which took a long time to find!
DeleteThe water bottles are like gremlins! I store mine with the lids on, otherwise I lose one side or the other. It is hard to decide what to keep, and so I still have one hot to go cup, one small cold Hydroflask and one big (1 liter) Hydroflask, one Nalgene, and a couple of those squeeze bottles for biking. However, I have a whole host of water items for backpacking and a different set for running, so I am still very hydration heavy over here!
I am - once again - catching up on my Feedly. I have weeded out a lot of posts already but I save the ones in my favorite folder to read later and I finally get around to catching up... I loved this post because I love to read about decluttering (and also because it's a kick-in-the-butt for me to get going on my own decluttering, which I have talked about but not DONE anything about... sigh.)
ReplyDeleteI am currently also trying to get through a lot of household and hygiene items and try not to buy new stuff until other things have been used up. This I am kinda good about, but actually getting rid of stuff is a different story. I am so impressed that you paired down your kitchen stuff to four mugs and glasses. I could never do that (I have so many mugs! SO MANY! And I do use most of them in rotation. But I guess I could get rid off a few.)
There's definitely other kitchen stuff that could be given away. Do you donate that stuff?
Do I ever! I have taken about a load of stuff per month to the Goodwill/Salvation Army! This includes clothes, shoes, books, household items (including dishes etc.) Actually, normally that is pretty much all I do, but this time I did try to sell a few things, just to see how it went and/or if it was worth it. I have found it to probably not be "worth it" if you count the time it has taken vs the money I have received, but in some cases it is nice to get something! The Salvation Army will basically take anything, but Goodwill seems to be more picky, and for both, their donation hours are pretty short and in the middle of the day so it can be a pain!
DeleteI am also trying not to buy stuff until the prior one is USED UP, but I have a habit of wanting to have a backup so I don't have to rush to buy something or pay more for it when I need it. However, that has caused me to have three shampoos, for example, which will take me like a year and a half to go through (or longer!) so I don't think I really need to be THAT prepared!