Decluttering Progress Report – October

Really?

October’s over?

Whatever.

But I do love the reminder to go back over my progress for the month so I can participate in the Decluttering Challenge over at The Finer Things in Life.

Last month, my focus was the master bedroom.  This wasn’t some well-planned, goal-oriented thing, it was out of necessity.  Like my cleaning/decluttering pretty much always is.

I was forced to brave the abyss that was my bedroom because of the impending arrival of the Bug Man.

This month, it’s the office.  Though I wasn’t forced to work in there, knowing that Thanksgiving was coming soon and I would want that room (which is also a game room) to be usable, I started trying to do a little decluttering at a time so I wouldn’t have to do it all at the same time I need to be defrosting a big bird.

If you happen to only hop over here each month for the decluttering reports, you may be wondering if I linked up the correct month.  Perhaps you feel like you’re experiencing deja-vu.  Hasn’t this slob-chick decluttered her office AT LEAST once before?

Umm, yeah.

While I’m working hard to maintain progress in this deslobification process, it’s hard.  And rooms like my office, that has a conveniently closeable door . . . are toooo easy to re-clutter.  But hey, better to re-de-clutter than to give up and go back to my old way of life.

So what have I done?

I we started the month by decluttering our backyard.  This was much needed, and I must say that I have loved the results.  October’s weather was unbelievable, and we’ve spent almost every afternoon eating our snacks in the not-totally-depressing-and-embarrassing backyard.  Love it.

Then, as I began working on the office, I tackled the right-by-the-backdoor-dumping-spot-for-all-things-borrowed.  I love the newly uncluttered spot being the last thing that I see as I leave the house.  The fact that the need-to-be-returned-to-various-rightful-owners items are still riding around in my Suburban?

Don’t really love that.

Then, I cleared the dresser that rudely collects clutter no matter how many times I tell it not to.  Like every other time I have tackled it, the seemingly huge job took about 10 minutes.

And then last week . . . I planned to do great things.

But then I got sick.

Still, I had no choice but to get something done since I had guests coming over.  I decluttered the guest bed, since the room is not only an office and a game room, but also our guestroom.

I now have two huge piles of stuff that have been purged, but still need to go away.  Thankfully, I just received a notice that a charity-thrift-store will be picking up in my neighborhood this week!  That’s the first time I’ve gotten one of those notices in my small town, and I’m so excited!!!  I’m just afraid that picking up my stuff might make them reconsider this new route.  They’re probably thinking a bag or two, not enough stuff for a normal person’s garage sale!

———————–