15 Minute Declutter: Large Chest of Drawers

Some areas become magnets for clutter. The top of the chest of drawers in one such place. This needs to be tackled.

Actually, there's a bigger problem just in front of it. There's a load of crafting materials in bags and boxes. These need to be taken upstairs to my craft room. It's not a craft room at the moment, more a bit of a dumping area. I am so not looking forward to tackling that area. But I am looking forward to a tidy bedroom.

The Beloved has a load of stuff on his chest of drawers. Perhaps a bedroom decluttered and tidy apart from his chest of drawers might spur him on?

Project 333: 7th February 2027

One of the great joys of a capsule wardrobe is that almost everything goes! I love this scarf so much. The base colour is white, and it's broken up every 12 rows with a ridge of colour. No matter which item of clothing I put with the scarf it will go. Black, grey and navy are neutral contrasts. The colour of today's green cardigan is echoed beautifully in the scarf.

Along with the scarf and green cardigan, there's a black top, black skirt, black tights, black boots and grey merino sweater. (It's cold in the office today.)

15 Minute Declutter: Medicines

Another off-piste challenge, but still in the bedroom.

We don't have a medicine cabinet, instead we have a drawer in the bedroom where medicines, plasters, dietary supplements are kept. This drawer is sorely in need of a hefty clear out, and today's the day.

Out of date medicines and ones no longer required will be set to one side and then taken to the local pharmacy for disposal.  

Project 333: 6th February 2017

I had been wondering if I had made a mistake in selecting my boots for inclusion in this period's 33 items.  Nope, nada, no way.  My boots are currently keeping my feet warm.

Other items of body covering are black long sleeve t-shirt, black woollen skirt, black tights, hand knitted socks, grey merino sweater and a shawl made from the yarn in the image above.  My body does like being swathed in wool when it cold and cranky.

Week 6: Recycling

I'm getting ahead of myself this week. I'm making the switch from working four days to five days a week. Previously, Mondays were my day off, and the day I would make a good start on the list of tasks.

Monday: Read Organised Home Challenge #6: Recycling Centre & Trash Cans

Done.

Tuesday: Create home recycling centre

Done.

Wednesday: Place trash bins throughout house;

Done.

Thursday: Declutter plastic grocery bags and switch to reusable ones

Done. We have a holder for carrier bags. The bags are reused and reused. We are also fans of folding crates, and keep a couple in the boot of the car. These are brilliant when grocery shopping. They are easier to carry and so much sturdier than plastic bags.

Friday: Declutter plastic silverware and other take out supplies

We've had to buy extra take away meals as I was running out of containers. They are brilliant for packaging up extra portions of dinner, freezing and using for lunches at a later date.

Saturday: Declutter water bottles

Done.

Sunday: Declutter kitchen drawers

There's two drawers left, both have cake decorating supplies in them. I'll have a look in there next weekend and see what I want to do.

15 Minutes Cluttering: Under the Bed

There was not a lot to declutter under the bed. Two items of crafting have been relocated and dust bunnies have been evicted. The only things under the bed now are two large suitcases (too big for me to lift on top of the wardrobe) and a plastic storage box for my finished crafty projects. This is a place to store gifts and items for charities.

Moving from the kitchen into the bedroom raised some feelings of unease in The Beloved. He sees me as head chef, and himself as sous. I get to decide what happen in the kitchen. The bedroom, on the other hand, contains some of his stuff. He was concerned I might start decluttering his belongings. This is far from the truth; I will not throw out or give away his possessions. I would hate it is someone was to do that with my things. Therefore I would never do that to someone else.

The Beloved's shoes, trainers and slippers have been put on display. My inclination is to put his slippers in the bottom of the wardrobe. He only uses them when he is ill and during non-ill times they sit under the bed gathering dust. I'll ask him to sort through his footwear and decide whether anything should be shown the bin.  

Project 333: 5th February 2017

Adoring Maghouin Beg today: 

teal t-shirt, black trousers, black socks, grey slippers and grey sweater. The sweater is being worn causally across the shoulders as I'm too hot after the decluttering session.

A trip out in the afternoon added a waterproof/windproof jacket, a fleece and a Borromean Rings cowl in three shades of green.

Project 333: 4th February 2017

Ah, the weekend. Time for a change of colour and style. Today is a day for navy - a navy cardigan, navy socks and navy, spotty trousers. This has been teamed with black shoes, and my white scarf with rainbow stripes.

15 Minutes Declutter: Kitchen drawer

I'm uncertain as to why this task wasn't done at the same time as the rest of the kitchen, but it's been done now.

My most used kitchen utensils are metal and hang from a rack beside the cooker. In one drawer there are wooden spoons, lemon reamer, potato ricer, chopsticks and a range of other random things. This is the drawer receiving attention today. Everything has been removed, the drawer and tray washed. I've selected the things I wish to keep and The Beloved has done the same.  The Offspring will also be given a choice as to what they want to keep.

Creative Cluttering

Some much decluttering has taken place.  I need to start 're-cluttering'. Being very specific, I need to add more hand crafted goodies to the storage box under the bed. This is my stash of completed projects. With the baby blankets sent of this morning the box is almost empty.

My wrists were very bad over the summer, and I've fallen out of the habit.  With the friend's connection to the drop-in centre for refugees and asylum seekers I now have a new outlet for my knitted and crocheted items.

It will also declutter my stash of yarn.

Project 333: 3rd February 2017

Being worn today are:

white jersey top, purple skirt, black tights, black shoes, black cardigan, purple and cerise silk scarf and purple waterproof jacket.

Mini Declutter: Items for Refugees

A friend helps at a drop in centre for refugees and asylum seekers. Two of the women are pregnant, and are finding it very difficult to prepare for the arrival of their babies because money is so tight.

I keep a box under my bed of finished knitting and crochet projects. These are things made to give away to who ever needs them There's two crochet blankets in that box, just waiting to be sent to my friend. My hope is that these baby blankets will be a little sign of hope. It's nice to get something brand new for a baby, and to know someone has put hours of work into making it. I hope they will not just be used to keep babies warm, but be treasured.

Also being added to the blankets are 10 pairs of socks and knickers for small children. These were bought to be sent to refugees in Greece, but we got the got the timings wrong and the shipment had been sent. They were bought for children who were in difficult situations. What does it matter if they are in Greece, or England! Every child deserves to be loved, and to have clothes.

Project 333: 2nd February 2017

Today's sartorial choices are:

black t-shirt, black woollen skirt, thick grey tights, black shoes, black cardigan, red mini-shawl and purple waterproof jacket.

Last night, again, dirty laundry was placed in (not thrown towards) the laundry basket, and clothes that can be worn again were put away. Then an outfit for today was selected.  

This is evolving into a bedtime routine. It's rather lovely getting to a place where routines and patterns are in place as they ease my way through the day. Things get done.

15 Minute Declutter: Bedroom Sofa, part 2

The bedroom sofa has been cleared. There were a few items of clothing left, two odds socks, a hand knitted mini-shawl, random crafty bits. The crafty bits are being moved up into the guest room/craft room. The crafting materials will be sorted at a later stage.

At the weekend, the futon sofa will be vacuummed and fluffed up, but it's too heavy for me to do by myself.  The Beloved's assistance will be required. I'll bake him some flapjacks by way of thanks.

Project 333: 1st Feb 2017

Clothes for a morning in the office are:

black jersey top, black woollen skirt, thick grey tights, black shoes, green cardigan, rainbow striped scarf, glass earrings and purple waterproof jacket.

These items were selected last night and laid out on the partially cleared sofa. Then, wonder of wonders happened, the items that could be worn again (cardigan and scarf) were hung away. January's new habit was laying out my clothes at night for the next morning. A very sensible extension for February will be to put away the clothing that does not require laundering. This would have a positive impact on the tidiness of the sofa, and the room.

Project 333: Six weeks of winter

Project 333 is "the minimalist fashion challenge that invites you to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months."

Before Christmas and at the start of this year I was recording just what I was wearing each day. I wanted to get an idea of what I was wearing and if there were gaps in my wardrobe. Unlike many people who declutter their wardrobes, I don't have a huge number of clothes, but more than I need.  

The project is for 3 months. The seasons in my little part of the world are: mid-March to mid-June (spring), mid-June to mid-September (summer), mid September to mid-December (autumn) and then mid-December to mid-March (winter).

My plan is to start a half-project for winter, starting tomorrow. Then on the 15th of March start a proper 3 month project for spring. Excluded from the 33 items are underwear, sleepwear and sportswear. Included are clothing, jewellery, accessories, shoes/boots, coats and jackets.

It was decidedly weird packing my surplus clothing into various drawers. All of my clothes for the 'six weeks of winter' are either hanging in the wardrobe, in the small chest of drawers (underwear, pjs and sports clothes) or being laundered.  

15 Minutes Declutter: Bedroom sofa

The sofa in my bedroom is the unofficial repository of 'stuff'.  In today's declutter, clothes were put away, scarves were tidily hung, and crafting materials were corralled.

15 Minute Declutter: Bedside Table and Top of Blanket Box

Here's where I totally go off-piste.  I've run out of January Challenges, and there's only one February Challenge for me, decluttering the last couple of drawers in the kitchen. The listed challenges are things I have already done, systems already in place (recycling, menus and shopping list), or couponing - something that just isn't a part of my culture. 

So, I'm casting my eye around the house deciding on areas in need of urgent attention.  My bedroom falls into this category.  There's piles of stuff.  It really is a dumping ground.  January has been kitchen month, February is going to be bedroom month.

Today's tenative steps into the bedroom are decluttering the bedside table (actually a little chest of drawers), and the top of the blanket box. 

15 Minute Declutter: Cupboard under the stairs

The cupboard under the stairs used to be a place where everything was thrown in. Last year I had a massive decluttering campaign in there when we needed to gain access to the crawl space. We found a whole host of things the previous owners had left behind, including paint, tiles, cork tiles, wooden slats, and railway tracks for a model railway! That decluttering session was a marathon. This year, it was done within 15 minutes!

There were some items placed there by mistake - people had forgotten the new places it should be stored. There was a woodwork upcycling project I had been thinking about for two years. If I really wanted it done, I'd have done it by now. The sleeping bags were placed on top of the rucksacks.

And, as if by magic, there was now enough space on the shelves to spread out the plastic cake boxes, the kitchen appliances that are used, but on less than a weekly basis, and the pretty glass cake stand and cup cake stand. The light weight items are stored above head height, and the heavier items lower down.

The space needs to be re-plastered and painted, but it's decluttered, and tidy.

Week 5: Recipes, Dishes, Mugs and Glasses

Monday: Read Organized Home Challenge #5: Recipes

Done.

Tuesday: Declutter recipes

Done.

Wednesday: Sort recipe into categories and organize them

Done.

Thursday: Declutter cookbooks and then organize the rest

As mentioned previously, I was anxious about this week and started early. And finished it all before the actual challenge came around!

Friday: Declutter small kitchen appliances

Done. I've never been one for having lots of kitchen appliances, and in this house there is not enough space to have many appliances on the work tops. Appliances used every day are allowed on the work tops: kettle, microwave, toaster and coffee maker. My new stand mixer (Kenwood Prospero) has an honoured place in a kitchen cupboard. In the cupboard immediately outside the kitchen, we keep the appliances we want, but don't use on a weekly basis. There's a blender, George Foreman grill, small fryer and sandwich toaster.

The blender is starting to show signs of wear and will need to be replaced. Sadly the Kenwood accessory blender does not fit with my Prospero. It would have been good to have an accessory rather than a whole new appliance.

Saturday: Declutter plastic grocery bags and switch to reusable ones

We try not to use plastic bags. We keep a couple of folding crates in the boot of the car and use them for larger shops. My shoulder bag is good for holding a number of smaller items. But of course, there are times when we do use plastic. We have a carrier bag store in the kitchen, and the bags are reused.

The store was almost full in December. I took the plastic bags along to Douglas street market and asked the first stall I shopped at whether they would like some. They were delighted.

Sunday: Declutter plastic silverware and other take out supplies

We have a little stash of plastic cutlery and paper plates. These are get for picnics and travelling. They are on the topmost shelf in the pantry, out of reach for me, but I know where they are.

The takeout plastic boxes are fantastic and I use them many times for my homemade ready meals. We have been very efficient in creating the ready meals, and I'm running out of plastic boxes!