From the Weekend: Laying the Floor

That's Mom putting some sweat equity into her dressing room.

Day 31: Clear It All OUT!

Read the previous entry in this series:  Day 30: Your Choice. My Choice? The Basement. Finally! or start at the beginning with the Introduction: 5 Ways Clutter Costs.

Do you feel good?

You should. Whether you decluttered for three days or thirty, getting crap out of your house is an accomplishment in this "buy more, get more-more-more" consumer-driven culture we live in.

I was standing in line waiting to purchase a mirror for my mom's dressing room today when I overheard a woman behind me tell the woman she was with that she had a thing for bowls. Sets of bowls, to be precise. She had all sorts of them--and she couldn't get rid of them, not even one, not even when all the others in the set were broken. She shrugged as if to say, "I have no power, here."

And that's why I am so passionate about decluttering. It really isn't about the stuff, or how much stuff--it's all about choosing--it's all about intention. You get to choose what comes into your life. You have a say about how many bowls you have in your house. You do have the power. You are not a victim of your stuff.

And I exerted my power over a lot of stuff today!

Missing: big black printer--it's already in the trunk.

Value Village: 2 black garbage bags and a box
Eco Centre: (where we take hazardous waste, appliances, electronics,etc) the contents of the green box and my big black printer (not shown)
H&M: (to donate to their fibre recycling program) One large shopping bag and the H&M bag.
Re-Use Centre: (Hard to describe, basically a place for items difficult for Value Village to sell (like cut fabric) but still reusable). One grocery bag.
Animal Shelter: One box plus an old pillow.
Lowe's: An on-line shopping return. Shouldn't really count it--but that box was huge!

I have read that trying to find the perfect place for your clutter can be a trap--it's 1) a symptom of your perfectionism, 2) an excuse to hang on to something (because you have to find the perfect home for it), and 3) a really good example of the power stuff has over you.

If you are new to decluttering--don't worry about where the stuff is going. Let that go, too. Back in the early days when I started decluttering, (2002, I scrapbooked it) I could not spare a single thought as to where anything should go. I picked one place--Value Village--and that was that. One decision, one destination, one drive. Done and done.

The Donation Station all cleared out and ready for more stuff!

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I hope you enjoyed this month. It's been quite the challenge! Thank you all so much for commenting and encouraging me as we went along.

Going forward, I am going to commit to at least two 15 minute sessions of decluttering per week down in that dratted basement--even though it is going to get very cold down there very fast. I will post about my progress on Fridays.

Is there a place in your home that could use more decluttering?

(Oh and let me know--would an e-book based on this 31 day series of decluttering be at all useful?)

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Day 30: Your Choice. My Choice? The Basement. Finally!

Read the previous entry in this series:  Day 29: Decluttering the Car: Not! or start at the beginning with the Introduction: 5 Ways Clutter Costs.

When I first thought of doing this challenge, I had thought I would just focus on my basement for the entire thirty-one days. Believe me, it could use a thorough clean out. It is where everything goes to die.

So, you can imagine how happy I was to get down there. I worked for about 45 minutes. The very first thing I had to do, though, was replace some lightbulbs, so I could get a picture!

same stuff, different angle:

sorry for the blur. 

Most of this is fallout from the great dining room makeover which I haven't fully revealed yet.

At first, there wasn't any sort of path at all. Then, I just started sorting things into piles of "like with like."

We have three full sized kitchen tables: one is to go to my sister. I have to clean it up, first, but then I'll be happy to see it go. I should let this white one in the foreground above, go, too, but I am rather attached to it. I "stole" it from my mother one year while I was in University and never looked back. 

The bags hold recyclables (the blue one, front, barely visible) and bottles and cans for the bottle depot (the big clear one). I simply moved the table out of the way to have room to work. It's not gone.

Likewise, I removed a rocking chair which had been here. I am finally ready to let it go, too. (It's not gone yet, just tucked out of the way.) I am looking forward to re-doing that painting there in the background. Those stacks of liquor boxes? Books to sell, then donate. That'll be a job and a half.

Tomorrow, we get rid of all the detritus that has collected over the past month. I am really looking forward to that!

Read the next entry in this series, Day 31: Clear It All Out! 

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Day 29: Decluttering the Car: Not!

Read the previous entry in this series:  Day 28: Excavating the Purse or start at the beginning with the Introduction: 5 Ways Clutter Costs.

Decluttering the car is not going to happen.

Not today--and not tomorrow in that wee window of time I have between breakfast and  trip to Ikea with my mother. Wait, I won't even have the car, tomorrow.

I didn't have it today.

By the time I had access to it, today, I was hungry, tired and it was blustery and damp cold out there. 

My husband and I swapped vehicles today so I could haul plywood. 

We're maintaining the swap for the Ikea trip. I will not declutter my husband's Jeep. That would be rude. 

About decluttering other people's stuff--as in permanently getting rid of stuff?

Nu uh. Never a good idea. Unless the person in question is four. Then, go for it. But it really is never too early to have decluttering and letting go conversations. 

I remember taking my kids through a store when they were little-little. (Must sit in the seat part of the cart, little) and they would whine and beg for some stuffed animal or toy while I shopped. I'd let them have it, but I'd tell them it was only for visiting. When it was time to pay for things, we were going to leave the toy in the store. It was not coming home with us. 

It worked. 

It's important to be able to go into a store, admire all the pretty things--and leave empty handed. 

But that's not going to happen tomorrow at Ikea, that's for sure.

Curious: is anyone else out there going to tidy up the car, today?

Read the next entry in this series Day 30: Your Choice. My Choice? The Basement. Finally! 

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ORC 4: From Dry Walling to Walls Drying

I am officially panicking. In fact, I had three separate people tell me to calm down today. One was my husband, another was a stranger. I am very anxious.

Drywall

When I left you last week, we had just knocked out the old closet.

Early in the week, I bought a sheet of drywall, cut it into various sized pieces, and had my husband help me put it up.

Whoo hoo! I've never dealt with drywall before, so this has been quite the learning curve!

Turns out, I had to do it more than once. The first two strips of paper I put down came up. When I took them off to re-do, there wasn't any mud underneath at all! I had been so worried about over doing it--I under did it.

see those two tracks? That's where my tape had been. When I removed them there wasn't any mud underneath at all. I found out later that was because I had pressed too hard and too much when putting them on.

So, for the next coat, I officially and deliberately over did it. When I was done that coat I had ridges a full eighth of an inch think about four inches on the outside edges from my tape.

 This coat--the one with the tape and the mud is apparently the hardest and takes the most finesse. That's why there are professionals!

When I went back the next time, I feathered over those ridges and smoothed things out quite a distance all around. It took one more coat of mud, yet, before everything was smoothed to my satisfaction.

all ready for sanding!

Painting

I brought my husband and we boogied. We washed the walls and ceiling with TSP and then we primed the walls and ceiling with one coat of Killz Max. (Mom's a smoker. I thought it might decrease the smell. Water and latex paint will react with the nicotine in the walls and stink the place up.)

It dried in an hour--so after a quick run for more roller covers, I painted the first coat. I went back another day and finished up. Now we're just waiting for the walls to dry before we deal with the floor.

Flooring

Turns out we have no idea why the floor in the former closet area is not at the same height as the floor in the rest of the space. But, the renovations my Mom had done about 25 years ago were not done by competent people, obviously.

We are laying vinyl planks--so the floor has to be absolutely level. I'll be taking care of that with 3/4" ply and some pre-mixed leveling compound. Wish me luck.


Lighting

I figured out what we needed for lighting. Apparently there is more than one formula for determining the proper size.

This site advises figuring out the diagonal of the room in feet--and then using that number in inches to land on the proper diameter of a light fixture.

This site says all you need to do is add the width of the room to its length in feet and use that number in inches.

Our room is 5x13 feet--so the first method gives us 14 inches. The second 18 inches. That seems like a reasonable range.

As well, there's a calculation for the amount of light the room should have. That formula is L x W x 1.5 = total number of (incandescent equivalent) watts needed. So, our room should have the equivalent of 100 watts amongst all of its light sources. We will exceed that handily.

I've ordered this fixture from Lowe's. Fingers crossed it 1) gets here in time, 2) looks good in the room. It is 24 inches long which exceeds our guidelines above--but it's long--not round--and the shades seem so tiny.

source

The only thing is, I'm a little worried it won't be different enough from the track lighting we have in there now.

This is a contender at 20.75 inches in diameter.

As is this at 20 inches in diameter (though I am worried it may drop down too far).

I know--they are all so different! The lighting will really set the tone in here.

Punch List:

Empty out every last little thing

Take down remaining shelving

Tear down closet   

Repair dry wall and rebuild closet bit

Prep and paint walls 

Tear out carpet, underlay (padding), and staples.
Put in plywood for floor and level.

Lay down new flooring
Buy new light fixture(s)

Install new light fixture(s)
Sew window valence
Install drapery wall for privacy and doorway

Find a bench/make one
Cover the bench
Buy one pax wardrobe

Assemble 3 Pax Wardrobes

Install closet rod(s)

Install shoe shelves

Figure out Jewellery storage/display

Move clothes back in.

If you'd like to catch up:
Week 1: Creating a Dressing Room from Chaos
Week 2: Down and Out or is that Out and Down?
Week 3: Coming Out of the Closet, No Wait, that's the Closet Coming Out.

There are an awful lot of linking participants this year all busting it out across the internet. If you have time, check them out here.

Day 28: Excavating the Purse

Read the previous entry in this series:  Day 27: Declutter and Clean up the Laundry Room or start at the beginning with the Introduction: 5 Ways Clutter Costs.


 I used to carry an off the shoulder, saddle bag purse.

Times have changed. I deliberately switched to a larger capacity purse a couple of years ago when I started riding public transit to work. I am once again a member of the polluting gas guzzling car commuting club, but I still carry a ridiculous amount in my purse.

Witness:

Working from the top, right to left: book I am currently reading, bullet journal, Shoe inserts, below the inserts, the last book I was reading (an e-book on kobo), some sort of promo thing, black and orange case holding womanly things,
2nd row: baggie of receipts related to the Closet project at my Mom's, cheese sandwich from the day before yesterday (most likely), insurance for the car in a folder, a cheque stub, CIL promo notepad, glasses case (I keep wipes and bottled lens cleaner in it),
3rd row: (staring in the middle of the stuff, underneath the insurance card holder), a baggie of throat lozenges, tape measure, two kinds of chocolate. (Almond nut bar--my fave! and some 2 Bite Brownies).
4th row: paint stick, magazine, I Tunes card, wallet,
5th row: spoons, 3 pencils, 1 pen, a cabinet knob I need to return, a piece of mail I need to mail (need to buy a stamp, first), lipstick in a case, tic-tacs and Ibuprofen.

Still too much, but better:

Yeah, so in what universe is three pencils too many, but two is just right? The one in my purse, apparently. All Hail J!

This is the cavernous culprit. I don't mind it, really, but the straps don't work for me--and it is rather narrow for its depth. It works better as a book bag. I love the colours.

What's in your purse?

Read the next entry in this series Day 29: Decluttering The Car: Not!

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Day 27: Declutter and Clean up the Laundry Room

Read the previous entry in this series:  Day 26: Magazines/Books/Bookshelves or start at the beginning with the Introduction: 5 Ways Clutter Costs.

Let's see.

I tossed an old rug. I moved things and swept and found my dryer balls (yay!) and the phone (double yay!). I got rid of a pair of pants, a sweater and countless stained and/or otherwise unwearable items. (H&M recycles clothing in any condition, so the crate and barrel bag is for them.)

Oh, and I did loads and loads of laundry.

see all that stuff under the table? That'll all be cleared out on or by Saturday.

Can I say I am looking forward to the end of this month? I will be glad to be done.

Read the next entry in this series Day 28: Excavting the Purse.

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