Weekly Declutter: Books and Papers. Minimalist March Day 13 - 19

My goodness. Minimalist March is making me actively look for things I can live without--and I'm finding them! I turned a corner this week. I surprised myself with how much I can get rid of--and how willing I am to do it.

Last year, I purged my bookshelves. I eventually made over $250 just from the sale of my homeschooling books alone. I really had not thought there was much to still let go of.

I was wrong.

My daughter asked me to clear some shelf space on the library landing for my collection of Nancy Drew's. They had been in her room for a few years, waiting patiently for her to read them. I doubt she will.

I had to clear 46" of space (yes, I measured) from here:

I was having a really difficult time until I shifted my thinking from "What do I want to let go of?" to "What must I keep?" (Note, I didn't ask myself what do I want to keep?)

Here is another really good reason to let go of books you have no intention of reading ever again:

That cannot be healthy!

And so, here we are.

and after, after, with the Nancy Drew books (and Harry Potter, too).

I decluttered about 70 books. It took me about an hour.

Getting rid of those books energized me to work on my paper clutter. I gathered them from various spots:

While I went through them and transferred my files from the old cardboard box, I weeded them out. Seventeen were thinned or eliminated entirely.

Hence, Day 17.

Days 18 and 19 belong to my daughter. She followed trough on a promise to go through her bookshelves.

She put aside this:

and this:

As for Days 20 thru 31? I don't know, but the linen closet and the shelves in the basement are getting the evil eye.

I am in the decluttering groove.

Bedroom Makeover Step 3: The Duvet

I can't help it.

I love it.

It is loud.

It is obnoxious.

It threatens to be the unruly child who won't get along with others and will be difficult to control.

And decor-wise? I'm probably in way over my head. I'm no Jenny Komenda.

It just mind end up being the boss of me.

See what I mean?

I first saw it on a web site and I fell in love. Totally and irrevocably. I had been looking for something colourful for about two years. Could this be it?

source: Macy's via Maria Killam

After waiting 24 hours and talking it over with my husband, I pulled the trigger.

I had already painted the room in a Martha Stewart Living colour, Glass of Milk --and I'd purchased the paint I wanted to use for the headboard wall. I didn't open it.

I waited for the duvet to arrive.

The teal in the duvet was more green than blue. And the yellow was loud--and the red a pure, bold chinese red.

I bought another can of paint.

I painted the wall.

And then I did nothing.

To be honest, I was scared of that riotous duvet. I told myself I loved all the colour I already had going on.

the intense minty wall, the red, yellow and gray. This was lots of delicious colour!

I told myself it was enough. For an entire month, (a month!) I let the expensive duvet lanquish in the laundry room waiting for its first wash. (I always wash textiles before they go anywhere near my skin.)

I was getting used to it. Yeah, that was it. No. I was worried I'd made an enormous, indulgent mistake.

Until last night when I washed it and wrestled the duvet into it. (After vacuuming and rotating the mattress, of course!)

I love it all over again.

that I already own a coordinating print is pure kismet.

Bonus: I have finally, finally completed the three items related to the bedroom from the gargantuan "To Do" list I built in June, 2013.

Master Bedroom:

Paint room.
Paint headboard wall with something stencillish.
Buy or make a new duvet cover.

Then:

July, 2013

Now:

March 2014

check, check and check!

Weekly Declutter: Minimalist March Days 6-12

As I mentioned last week, I've decided to participate in the Minimalists game, hosted at Google+ page, by Christina. The idea is to get rid of the number of items which match the day of the month.

I had thought that as I did my Spring Cleaning, I would naturally come across items to get rid of--and I would simply pile and photograph them before I got rid of them (by recycling, donating, or trashing). But it hasn't been quite that easy. It really has been a challenge!

You can see March 1 to 5, here.

March 6: The "mostly black" pile! Old calculator with instruction book, old router cord, 2 print cartridges (I tried to sell them, but no go), one T-shirt, one pair of socks.

March 7: plant/pot holder, 4 cookbooks, bottle, mug.

March 8: Cleaning the cupboards-- jam, candied fruit (2),  expired bottles of vitamins (3), box of jello mix (1) and a computer card that came with a camera we bought 2 years ago.

 March 9: Spring is Here!-- hat, ear warmer, single gloves/mittens (4), pair of knitted mittens, a pretty scarf no one wore, and some gloves.

 March 10: In the name of frugality-- Left to right, starting from the back: A box for storing things like the used parchment paper inside it, cooking spray with only a tiny bit left, expired cereal, box of freezer paper, some sort of grain, pie weights (old kidney beans in foil), dried up marshmallows (when he thinks of it, my husband cuts them up and puts them into hot chocolate), and old paper bag and croutons from a salad mix.

March 11: Cleaning out the cupboards-- a stock pot with a lid and two strainers, a casserole dish with two lids (a wedding gift, used once in 17 years), work out dvd, stretchie band (I have others), a book, and an 18 year old address and phone book (from my time as a journalist!)

March 12: Books.

They all came from these bookcases on the "library landing." I think I'll spend some time thinning it out.

Have you been decluttering?

Spring Cleaning Days 2-5

My spring cleaning this year has to be sprinkled through the month of March. I can only work on tasks on my days off. I have sixteen of them this month. I am reserving four of them to prepare and leave for a week long family vacation at the end of the month. So, I have twelve days altogether. Here's the cleaning schedule.

On Day 1, I worked on the upright freezer.

On Day 2, I cleaned the refrigerator. It took me two and a half hours--and took over the entire kitchen. It was a nightmare.

before

the tower of leftovers

after

On Day 3, I cleaned the kitchen ceiling (long overdue and well worth the hour and a bit it took), the top of the fridge, the door, and the trim around the doors (3) and windows (2). It was immensely gratifying, but exhausting--and dishearteningly unphotogenic.

before

after

On Day 4, I had planned to clean out the insides of my upper cupboards. I did two shelves.
I also had an epiphany about time.

before

I had budgeted a certain amount of time to get the tasks done I wanted to do for Day 3. It took me a lot longer than the time I'd allotted and I was upset and disappointed in myself. But through some back and forth with Aby at Simplify 101 in her time management class which I'm taking, I realised that I needed to get done what I could in the time I had. That is, if I put two hours aside--and all I managed to get done was two shelves, well, then, fine and dandy. The fact that I didn't get it all done should not rob me of a sense of accomplishment for what did get done. whew.

during 

after

On Day 5, I was pleasantly surprised to find I was able to complete cleaning both lower cabinets in an hour. That's what I hope all Spring Cleaning tasks could be like: a deep clean, a quick declutter and everything ship shape in no time.

 this is the extent of the lower cabinets in my kitchen

 before: pots, pans, mixing bowls, and a container for onions

 after

before: extra spices, food, weigh scale

after

How is your spring cleaning coming along?

Spring itself, or, rather, should I say, the melting season has arrived!

look! a bare patch of concrete!

Weekly Decutter: The Outbox

Borrowing a great idea from Maxwell Ryan (of Apartment Therapy fame), I set up an outbox under the folding table in the laundry room/pantry, many many years ago.

When I or the kids decide to get rid of something, it goes here until I get it bagged up and take it to Value Village. I don't normally catalogue what's here before it leaves the house (we do not get any sort of tax relief for these kinds of donations in Canada), but I was curious.

There were 43 items total. That surprised me, I honestly thought there would be more. Socks led the way with 10 pairs. Not too far behind were six T-shirts, and 4 ``other`` various tops. Next in line were tea towels at 3. There were two packages of bags for a vacuum we haven`t had for years, two drain catchers, 2 boxes of crafting beads and 2 pairs of soccer shoes and 2 pairs of slippers.
As for the rest? Musical Christmas lights: 1. Duvet: 1, microwave plate:1

etc.


I decided to clean it out not only because, hey, I'm spring cleaning, but also because I've decided to participate in the Minimalists game, hosted at Google+ page, by Christina.

Here's a collage of the items I found for the first five days of March (not counted above, but I have bagged them up!)

Here's to Minimalist March!

Spring Cleaning 2014: Day 1

I am ready for SPRING!

View of the back yard from the kitchen window, March 3rd. (Why yes, there is green painters tape still on the window.)

It seems that the Spring Cleaning bug has hit the blogosphere, myself included. As you can see, it still looks a lot like winter--and there's snow forecast for every single day this week. So, no better time to be cleaning and scrubbing, really.

In fact, my first task in my prioritized Spring cleaning check list was to clean out the upright freezer in the basement. I don't think I have ever done it. Ever.

You can see why it needed to be defrosted. That might be about 5 years of frost on there, give or take.

I sorted and catalogued all the food and loaded it up into laundry baskets to go outside into the playhouse. I think there were four. I had the kids carry it out. (Guess whose grocery bill will likely be low this month, we hope?)

It was minus 20 celcius on Sunday--the day I started,  minus 17 the day I had to put the project on hold because I had to go to work (Monday), and minus 16 today --the day I put it all back in the freezer. (I had my husband and son carry it all back in.)

You really could not have asked for better weather to defrost a freezer! 'bout the only thing it was good for! Hopefully, we won't see temperatures like these again for another six months! Yay.

I have 12 days off these first three weeks of March. I will do my Spring cleaning--focusing on the kitchen and bathrooms.

Day 1: Defrost and clean the freezer
Day 2: Clean the refrigerator and freezer compartment
Day 3: Clean the kitchen ceiling, the bathroom ceiling, top of fridge, cabinets, doors, door and window casings, light switch.
Day 4: Empty out and clean upper cabinets
Day 5: Empty out and clean lower cabinets
Day 6: Deep clean stove, oven and coffee pot
Day 7: Clean kitchen baseboards and floor
Day 8: Wash bath mats, shower curtains, wash down bathroom walls
Day 9: Purge pantry, wipe out shelves and organize
Day 10: Remove items from the Expedit and wash it out
Day 11: Remove items from the bookshelves in stairwell and wash them.
Day 12: Vacuum mattresses and wash bedding

Obviously, this is a bit ambitious, so well see how it goes. 

Has the Spring Cleaning bug hit you?