September decluttering/organizing accountability! - Page 2

[MonkeyPrincess]

My kids are out until 8pm tonight, so I am taking advantage of a nice block of time to get started on the clothes situation today.

Game plan:
*gather all clothes from closets, etc.
*sort into categories - clothes each person can wear now/upcoming season, donate, trash, pile for braided rug

[busymama77]

I plan on working on #1 and possiby #2 from my list this weekend. We're going to look at furniture for the new house and really not much else this weekend - supposed to rain - so this will be a good time to do most of it!! :

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by Caneel

Kid or adult books?

I have DS's books in several baskets throughout the house. It works well. He can easily see them (I put them spine side up so he can see the titles). There is always a basket close by to put away the ones that get scattered about.

Adult books? I am slowly whittling down to just the bare essentials. It has been so hard as I re-read books all the time so I am in no position to be offering advice

Adult books. He's only going on 5 months so no real reading yet. I think they're going to go into storage until we can afford a bookshelf.

[HydeParkB]

I'm back and hoping for better results this month. I really would love to get the whole house cleared out and looking decent. But I think I need baby steps. Especially since there is a baby who is expected to arrive this month. Here are my goals:

* Get the baby girl clothes out of the house. My plan is to give them to my SIL if she finds out she is having a girl. I have a few other options to give away. I really wanted to sell them, but I don't have the time or energy for that, and many were given to us, so DH thinks it's bad karma to sell them.

* Set up DD's new room. And not halfway. All furniture, clothes, artwork, toys, etc! Buy or make (or have grandma make) curtains. I'm willing to forgo a couple of furniture painting projects for the room, but otherwise I want it done.

* Get my closet organized. I am in a wardrobe transition. But having a limited maternity wardrobe has been nice. I think I am ready to weed out some things and keep the best, most flattering, most versatile pieces in my wardrobe.

* Organize the kitchen better. We have too much stuff on the counters. We need to keep those more free of clutter (usually food, sometimes appliances).

* Watch my movies. I swap movies online, and I need to watch the ones that I know aren't keepers. I think I will probably get more of this done after the baby is born. Some of the DVDs are keepers, some are to watch and give away, and some are yet to be determined (like the first season of Wonder Woman).

I have to give credit to DH. He has been good the last couple of days with going through his clothes and the cookbooks and getting rid of stuff.

[fullofgrace]

Subscribing, too. I will be back with a list once I make one.

[doubledutch]

i have sooo much to do. i need this thread, and yet i'm scared to participate because i don't even want to write it all down!

oh god.

okay.

(runs away from computer for a cup of tea, the tag of which reads, "'All my possessions for a moment of time.' Elizabeth I 1533-1603", reminding me that i have, in fact, less work to do than the ruler of an empire upon which the sun never sets.)

this week:
finish painting upstairs (dh) can totally do this tonight - he all but finished last night, so he only needs to wrap it up tonight and wait for the paint to dry
move our beds and dressers up there (finished attic = new family bedroom)
finish laundry and put away

this weekend (trying to arrange one kid-free day of work!):
clean out former bedroom / new playroom
move toys into there
clean kitchen-living-room-dining-room
clean out basement (dh) (yes this really will take him all day, sadly)
goodwill run with stuff purged from basement and from the putting away of the laundry

wow, that wasn't so scary. of course i'm only looking at the next five days, lol. not ready to think about the rest of the month, but this is the big stuff.

[MamaFern]

ak. im not getting very far. i removed all of the craft room stufff room stuff from my room and tidied up..it looked great for a day and now its a mess again..kids. sigh.
the craft stuff is now in baskets in the laundry room waiting to be organised, but i have house guests for the next few days so those things will have to wait.

its a rainy thundery day here and i worked all day on a friends organic farm, and came home with all sorts of yumminess, so im making turnip stew and looking forward to reading the end of my book.

lots of progress here

[MonkeyPrincess]

MommaFern, sounds like a plenty productive day to me.

I didn't finish my laundry project - but I'm getting there. Got half way done yesterday (many interruptions, even without kids! ) and went to a birth around 3am, just got home. I have an appointment this evening, and more tomorrow. 4 moms due any second, so I may or may not get anything done this weekend.

Definitely will be able to get started in a big way next week, though - when kids go to school. I'll be working hard to accomplish everything on my list this month - I really think I can do it!

[doubledutch]

dh finished painting upstairs! i'm so happy. it turned out great. this was the floor, actually, that he was painting - not the walls. (that needs to happen too, but not urgently.) we ripped out the carpet, hoping to find paintable subfloors, but we found (probably) asbestos tiles, which can't be ripped out. at least, not by us. it's best to leave it undisturbed. we'll eventually put another hard flooring over it, but can't afford that right now because it's 500 sq ft, so we figured we'd seal it under a few coats of paint. now i love it up there.

so i still have my laundry to do tonight, and we'll move the beds and dressers up there tomorrow morning before we go on our fun outing.

my sunday babysitter (mil) cancelled. or actually, she said she would still take them for four hours but that's all she can do because she gave notice on her apartment and needs to pack (for her sept 30th move). i feel like just saying 'nevermind' because i know she wants out of it. that's fine. she's not obligated. it just means we'll spend both sunday and monday 'working' (and taking breaks to bring the kids to the beach, the park etc) rather than a full day of work and a full day of family time. i don't think i could find another babysitter on such short notice on a holiday weekend. meh. the boys will probably be happy to help us set up their new play room sunday morning, and maybe the novelty will keep them entertained while we do our other work.

[Aubergine68]

I did an awful lot last month but need to finish and not let it slide or we'll be back where it used to be. There is going to be a lot of canning this month, too, so I'm including it in the list -- it is all "extra" household stuff beyond our usual routine.

1) clean out bedroom wardrobe
2) set up a second charging station in living room cupboard
3)clean out fridge properly
4) clean out pantry properly
5) clean out upper cupboards in kitchen properly
6) clean out storage room properly. Because when we do, we can get another one of those wonderful utility shelves dh bought last month, for bulk food storage:
7) Organize Ivar unit in my daughter's room (craft supplies and puzzles used by whole family)
8) Set up a word wall for my kids and the home daycare children
9) Organize fall curriculum for my kids and the home daycare children
10) can 4 cases of applesauce
11) can three batches of salsa
12) pick and freeze green beans
13) harvest, grate, and freeze zucchini

[WeasleyMum]

Friday Check-In

Originally Posted by WeasleyMum

My house is a mess, and totally chaotic. My overall goal is to have everything exactly the way I want it by the winter holidays-- specifically, by the time I leave for a vacation. I did a lot of good work decluttering and cleaning last winter, when I was in my second trimester. Then the third trimester hit...... then the first three months with my little one. I'm ready to get back in the game!

So for September:

*Spend an hour and a half every day cleaning (not including cleaning up meal prep in the kitchen) until the place is reasonably tidy. Use the FlyLady system of doing a bit in each room, rather than aiming to get one room totally clean before moving on.

*Do a deep clean in the kitchen-- cabinets and etc.

*Get baby clothes organized, everything too small stored away somehow, as well as maternity clothes.

*Take existing boxes of stuff to Goodwill.

I know it doesn't seem like an impressive list, but it's about all I can handle with the baby!

So, yeah. I've done NOTHING so far. It's been a weird week, but still. I'm going to go clean now, so I can at least say that ONE day I hit it!

EDIT: I take that back. Monday, I totally cleaned out my car, which was a disaster. I didn't include it in this list, first because I'd already finished it before I joined this thread, and second because that was August. But what the heck, I did it, this week, and it's been my only accomplishment, so I'm claiming it.

[mkksmom]

Originally Posted by mkksmom

I am in this month. I guess I can't guarantee that I will make it the whole month, as I am due on the 28th with my second little girl. However, the first little girl was "late," so I am thinking I will have at least 3 weeks. My dd starts kindergarten tomorrow... well today, and it's full day, so I will be needing projects. Plus, I am nesting and already tackled many of the major projects.


1. Finish the nursery. Have 1 panel of wallpaper border to fix, some random "stuff" to clear out and organize all of the baby stuff.

2. Set up a changing/baby stuff station downstairs

3. Clean my room and hook up the co=sleeper. Have older dd on a mattress in my room and will have to do some rearranging to make room for everyone. My dresser is cluttered and I have about 5 baskets of laundry to put away.

4. Papers, papers, papers!

5. Figure out how I want to store my craft supplies so I can re-claim the dining room table. Kid crafts need to be easier to access so we can use them more.

6. Declutter as much as humanly possible while the urge is soooooooo strong and I really don't feel the attachment to the stuff.

That's quite a list, but I think I can do it if baby cooperates and stays put for a while.

This week, I organized the baby/board books in the nursery, and dh and I will hopefully finish up the wall paper this weekend.

Haven't gotten anywhere on the changing stuff downstairs. I am re-purposing a dry sink as a changing table, but it's an older piece and it smells funny... perfume-y inside... like the former owner meant to make it smell nice, but to me it's not very nice. I have to figure out what to do about that. Maybe I'll put some charcoal in there or scrub it out really well. Any suggestions?

I did put away the laundry, but I have washed more loads. It's never-ending! *sigh*

I didn't start on papers. Maybe I should work on papers today for a little while. I could just sit with the shredder. I have been up since 4 with pregnancy insomnia, so I don't have much energy for anything else.

[AFWife]

Labor Day Weekend! I'm putting that word to good use

[CariOfOz]

Ok.. so I got a couple of pictures hung, then the littlest guy & I both got sick : but this afternoon I DID go through and give my laundry room a good clean after I got disgusted having to step over laundry & around the vacuum etc to go thru it :

Originally Posted by CariOfOz

Just off the top of my head I want to:

* declutter some of MY clothes
* get the previously decluttered clothes of the boys out of my closet
* Actually do something with the books that are filling the shelves in the top of 2 bedroom closets (need a bookshelf srsly)
* thin out the not really played with, but always scattered around, toys of the 3 boys
* find a way to organize my craft supplies so I can USE them
*declutter all holey ratty towels... then buy new ones as this will leave us with about 2

These aren't decluttering or organizing exactly.. but will make me feel better about my house
* hang pictures/art that hasn't been done since we moved in.. in April :
*will be back to add more .. must cook dinner :

[MamaFern]

i got my king sized bed set up!:::: im so happy..can you tell?

[mamameliaISback]

i'm in too...

*organize all the clothes (actually anything made of fabric) in this household. this means clean, dry, fold, pack or donate.
*get those bags and boxes of stuff that were to be donated, OUT and at a thrift shop.
*find a storage solution for the children's games, books and homeschool supplies and finally unpack them out of the boxes.
*send the box of kids books to my sister.
*order a new sofa.

that's all for this month.

[doubledutch]

i'm kind of sad about what didn't happen on my list, but glad to have the list and know exactly what i need to do this week.

i finished and put away the laundry - but now there's more laundry! of course, it never ends.

we got the beds and dressers set up upstairs, and we slept up there last night - i love it! i'm so happy about that. i also got the old bedroom / new playroom completely cleaned out, and brought in a cute cabinet that dh painted for toys and put the lamp on that. that's as far as i got . . .

so i still need to finish moving the clothes upstairs from the downstairs closet, and bring all the toys into the new play room and get them organized and put away. then i need to completely clean the 'living' areas of the house (kitchen, dr, lr).

new to the list, for later this week, i guess:
clean out pantry because i'm running out of room to put things away
fix the window shade
make shades for playroom
make cake for b'day party saturday!

[AFWife]

I found a home for books...but that's about it

[cheerlp7]

Thanks for starting this one afvwife im in! Im a stay at home mom of a 8 month old ds who is crawling and getting into everything and makes any list i have big/small impossible to complete but im determined to get everything done this month because we are moving end in october!

Ds stuff: Organize and put away outgrown baby boy clothes and infant toys since new clothes and toys are constantly filling the nursery. Put baby gates up for my own sanity while trying to do the dishes or run the vaccuum. Regift baby shower gifts that were doubles or even triples to new mom to be's and to clear space. Clear out designated baby food juice bottles cups rice cereal puffs and anything else my ds is eating to clear out the clutter on the kitchen counter.

Kitchen: Make it a point to do the dishes everyday regardless of how tired i am because they add up quickly! Clean out fridge n freezer organize and scrub doors/shelves.. Reorganize cabinets escp. Snack cupboard that is cluttered to say the least!

Living room: Hang pictures that are framed, remove craft area off coffee table since i have been scrapbooking baby's 1st year everyday he takes his nap on the coffee table but i am having company over tonight and later on in the week...

Dining room: Clean papers and mail and clutter off table so we can sit down at every chair and have a nice meal with company

bedroom: Find a place for the winter bed linens thrown in the top of the spare closet, file pipers, organize prepregnancy clothes that i am still not fitting into and probably never will and donate clothes to good will and maybe get nice clothes that fit?

Tell dh to get work clothes off bedroom floor and into closet/dresser and to throw away broken nightstand hes attached to and declutter top of his dresser so i can dust the dirty thing he wont let me move his knickknacks he keeps up there




i know long list for september but im determined to clean everything up because my october list will be to pack up room by room for the move! Cant wait! Wish me luck... Good luck to all of you with your lists as well!

[DiannaK]

I'm in .... keeping my goals small and reasonable!

** Take all maternity clothes to consignment**
(not a small job, I have like 4 huge totes - I was a pregnant diva!)

** barter organizing with my best friend **
we are going to take 2 hours a week, and trade off at each other's homes to get a fresh eye, help with throwing things out, etc