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?

Weekly Declutter: Socks

It surprises me that people think that they will declutter "once and for all." The thinking seems to be that they will have a big session of decluttering (or several small ones over the course of time) and then they will be done--for all time.

Decluttering, however, will never end. Sorry. As long as things come into the house and as long as we have limited space: some things will have to go out. That's just the way it is. I have been trying to declutter something (or some area) every week.

This week, I decluttered the sock bucket.

Whenever I do laundry, I try to pair socks right away. But because I do only one or two loads a day, the socks can become easily separated. Once in a while, I give my daughter the sock bucket --to pair up socks while she watches TV. But, as you can see, it was time for me to tackle the job.

It only took me ten minutes:

I tossed eight stray single socks (not pictured).

That was too easy--and now I feel like I got something accomplished!

My Mmmmmarvelous Mantel: or the Importance of Colour and Scale

Edie Wadsworth has thrown the gauntlet. The challenge? To decorate the mantle and have something to photograph by Friday. She laid out the rules:

“Something alive, something to lean, something you love, something with sheen.” 

I chose to accept. Since I removed 90% of my decor during Nester's tchotchke challenge last summer, I have been quite content with practically bare surfaces.

Yet, the urge to decorate has been slowly returning. So when I read Edie's post, I decided the time had come. I scoured Pinterest for guidance. I wanted something simple, yet dramatic--and something I could easily ditto with items I already had. This was the winner:

source

And this is how I interpreted it:

My first pass wasn't nearly so good, however.

What's the difference? An extra small painting, one more book (with a pink spine) and a switch of candlesticks. Bam! The whole composition sprung to life.

Let's break it down:

Something alive:

In both the inspiration image and my interpretation, the thing "alive" is huge. It is over-scaled to the space--and that adds focus and drama. The only thing I have that would do that are my beloved peacock feathers. I love flowers, too, but I haven't the time to pick them up, let alone arrange them. True story: my husband brought home a bunch of red carnations in early January --and they sat on my kitchen table for two days before someone plunked them in a vase with water still wrapped in cellophane. I still enjoyed them--but I haven't had any since.

Something to lean: 

Ok, so the mirror has been here in what feels like forever, but whenever I think about replacing it, I can't think of anything better. I did add a painting by a friend of my daughter's though. That introduced some much needed colour into the vignette.

Something you love:

Well, the books, of course. I concentrated on pulling books with blue, green and yellow spines. Once I'd added the painting, I also slipped a book with pink binding into the stack. I needed something to "speak" to the painting, to make it look like it belonged rather than placed randomly for effect (though it totally was). That brought the whole thing alive.

Something with sheen:

I started out with these candlesticks. But everything just looked too staid, too polite. Sometimes "sheen" is just not enough.

Sometimes you need sparkle.

So, I ran downstairs and replaced them with the coloured glass.

Ta da!

why yes, that is a pink volleyball in a green bowl there on the left

You cannot imagine how happy I am. I feel as though I am falling in love with my house again. I certainly wish I had more time to spend with it.

How I Stopped Procrastinating.

Short version: I got fed up.

here's what happens when your hallway is also where you change

Somehow, along the way, I installed the curtain rod over my bedroom window crooked.

Can you see it?
There's just a bit of wood from the window trim peeking up on the right hand side.

So, when I decided to paint my room, I figured I would put the curtain rod back up when I finished painting that wall--only straighter and wider.

No biggie, right?

Except, it was. Mostly, I required a second person to stand on a chair with me and help me hold it up, eye the level, and determine whether it was straight.

So, how long does it take a one and three quarter income family to install a curtain rod?

Three weeks plus a day.


Long version:

Time is scarce. It always is: it's just our perception of it which changes. I am a procrastinator. For various reasons, I will put off until some other day what I could have done today. This time, it was because I was afraid I would screw up. But the reason doesn't matter. Eventually, you run out of some days. Eventually, you get fed up and the dreaded task moves to the top of the to do list. That's not really a problem--unless the sum of time it would take to do all those procrastinated things exceeds the time available to you when you get fed up.

That's a problem.

Because then, you're living in a bad mood.

And that sucks.

Sneak preview of my next project in the bedroom:

#NotProcrastinatingThisOne.