Have you joined the Decluttering Party? See my posts about decluttering a kid’s room, a kitchen, clothing and living areas.
It’s the first Friday of 2014!!
Have you been decluttering? If so, I’d love for you to share about your project(s) in the comments or by linking to a blog post on your own site that shows a specific project you did this week!
So what have I decluttered?
Well . . . it’s been crazier than I expected. I’m actually writing this on Monday night, late, wishing I was already in bed.
But I’m determined to enjoy some internetless time with my family before the kids go back to school next week, so I’m writing about what I did on Monday.
I stuck to the Visibility Rule.
Oh, how I wanted to tackle my Master Bedroom. It . . . is . . . bad. Really bad.
But I resisted the urge and instead focused on getting our Christmas decor put away before we left town. A Christmas tree is lovely and welcome in December, but once January gets here, it’s clutter.
I boxed and taped and covered and helped Hubby shove boxes up into the attic. And when it was over, the room felt sooo much better. Even though the only thing I had done was remove things from it.
I did practice the One In One Out Rule with games we got at Christmas. Games that hadn’t been played since last Christmas were replaced with the new ones. I didn’t have room for both.
Yes. That cabinet needs its own session, but this wasn’t the time.
I also purged decorations that I found inside the boxes. Y’know, the ones that were never used this year. And that I’m pretty sure hadn’t been used in several years.
Like these:
Those were from one of my Delusions of Craftiness periods.
Are you new to this Decluttering Party? See what it’s all about here! Be sure to check out my decluttering page, my free printable checklists, my e-books (which are now retired), my podcasts my explanation of why I don’t worry about being normal, and more about what you’ll find here at A Slob Comes Clean!
For detailed guides, check out my books: How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind and Decluttering at the Speed of Life.
What are you decluttering this week?
Now share your own decluttering successes or failures from this week!
--Nony
Ginette says
Good Girl! I got everything BUT the naked tree put away. Dying for a new podcast to listen to while I clean!!!
Dana White says
Soon!!! (But maybe don’t wait for it before you put that tree away . . . )
Ginette Stauder says
Ok! Tomorrow for sure! I bought your books last night and have been listening to them on my kindle at .7x speed and it’s hilarious! I know what your voice (and speed) sound like so it just cracks me up to hear her speak your words at a snails pace. Love the e-books btw! I’m a total all or nothing, would rather do an awesome project for the wow actor slob. So happy that I found you! I couldn’t get into fly lady as well 5 years ago when my kids were teeny. FAIL. This is really working for me. I listened to your first podcast a couple months ago and said THATS ME!!! Thank you!!! My next step is to stop making piles while de-cluttering… HA! I’ll need a miracle… Can I fill my arms?? LOL
Brittani A says
I didn’t follow any rules when switching up our game closet, i just took everything out of boxes and put it into zipper bags. And after the insurance adjuster leaves and tells me what to do about the sewage that came up and over in the bathrooms (major eww!) is when I’ll worry about the tree.
Dana White says
Oh no!!! So sorry you’re dealing with that!
Sarah says
We decluttered our Christmas stuff the 1st…i.e. put it away, because for some reason if it doesn’t get done on the first it won’t get done for months. Yesterday I took a huge, huge gift bag full of paper clutter, that I had gathered from around the house 2 weeks ago before my daughters birthday party. It was a nice big present to me:) yesterday. But I sat on the couch and watched TV and went through the whole bag. Now today I have to go through all the paper that collected in the past two weeks (after bagging)…and also the paper stuffed in boxes (from Sept and Oct when I boxed them for some reason). Then there’s the master bedroom! I think it has to be way worse than yours, Nony….but let’s focus on my accomplishments!
Dana White says
Yes! Focus on all you’ve done!! Great job!
Shoe-a-holic No More says
I did the shoe portion of my closet: http://shoeaholicnomore.blogspot.com/2013/12/complete-honesty-1-shoe-clutter.html
and I also did my kitchen cabinets: http://shoeaholicnomore.blogspot.com/2014/01/sorting-through-my-kitchen.html
I have also started working on another on-going project which I will be blogging about on Monday or Tuesday!
Dana White says
Great job! Go you!
Jodik says
How do I subscribe to ou blog Shoe a hokic no more? It’s great!
Jodik says
Sorry… Should say *your and shoe a holic no more
Shoe-a-holic No More says
I’m not really sure. I will have to check that out. LOL! So exciting, my first possible subscriber 🙂
Shoe-a-holic No More says
I think it got it added. It should be on the right side of the page under my progress bars 🙂 Thanks!
Pam says
My 9 year old daughter has been blessed with hand-me-down clothing from many of our friends. She so appreciates each and every thing that she keeps it all! Using Nony’s Love It/Like It to fill the Container technique, we played the Love It, Like It, Leave It game. 🙂 First we emptied her closet, the Container. Loves went back in the closet. Likes went into a pile which was gone through after all the Loves. Any thing else is Leaving to bless other friends with “new” hand-me-downs. After going through the Likes again, four more items turned into Loves and the rest are Leaving to become blessings. She filled an entire 30 gallon trash bag with items to give away and I am so proud of her!!!
While I’m freaked out that she still owns 40 short sleeved shirts, not including what’s in Mt. Dirty Laundry in the basement, I just keep reminding myself that Nony says we don’t just declutter once and for all. It’s an ongoing process and every little bit helps. Right? THANK YOU NONY!!!!!!
Dana White says
Oh how I love this comment!!! So cool to see it all in action in your home!
Kristin says
Thank you! Thank you! I am listening to your
Podcasts as I declutter. I have the Christmas stuff put away. Hooray! My suitcases from our trip are unloaded and put away. I am working on doing the dishes daily, but that is a task because in order to have an empty sink in the morning I am going to have to get up in the middle of the night or hand wash them. I don’t want to do either. One bite at a time.
Dana White says
Yes, one thing at a time!
Mel says
I haven’t written a blog post in 6 months, and we’re one week away from moving 1,000 miles, so a link-up isn’t going to happen, but: boy have I been de-cluttering. So far, we’ve got 2 particle board bookshelves, a matching cabinet and 2 benches to be donated (just not big or sturdy enough to hold our stuff). I’ve also gathered up about 6 13-gallon trash bags of clothing, a good-size box of shoes, and 2 dressers that are going to the Salvation Army too. All still usable, but all outgrown by our family in one way or another. Every item that we don’t have to carry off the moving truck is a win!
Dana White says
Yay! I bet that helps relieve “some” of the moving stress!!
Emily says
Our bedroom is also a wreck, but I focused on the “living areas” also. We packed up the Christmas deco and then, in a wonderfully sensible suggestion, my hubby said to me, “Since we’re taking this to the attic, do you think we could take the fall deco here too?” Love that man. 🙂 So today I got the dishes off the top of the buffet & put away inside it, then washed the tablecloth on top and made sure I unloaded the dishwasher before breakfast. Thank you, Nony, for that great routine–I feel like that’s one of the most important parts of my day.
Good luck, everyone, for a cleaner 2014! 🙂
Dana White says
So great to hear!
Becky says
Our tree is still up. We like it up for a while, since we usually spend a week or more out of town over Christmas we like to enjoy our own tree. I need to/want to declutter but with the kids home from school and taking them to work with me, I’m exhausted or don’t have time or can’t stop refereeing or someone could die, ya know? Last night after I put them down, I had about 20 minutes until the baby needed to eat again. The nursery was covered in clean laundry…nowhere to sit or change a diaper. So I took that time and got the changing table cleared off before she got too hungry to wait. It feels so much better. and if course, I ran my dishwasher. J
Katy says
We have gotten rid of so much stuff this week, it’s unreal. TONS of canning jars, books, clothes, baby items, old paint…. If it isn’t being used or isn’t what we need or if it is making us feel guilty, it is OUT of here! I’m shocked at how much cleaner my house feels already. Keeping up with the dishes has been a game-changer, too. I always dreaded washing out our daughter’s oral syringes because it took forever. Guess what? It takes less than a minute if you do it every day. 😛 And keeping the kitchen table clear means that we can easily sit down and have dinner together. Shocking!
Dana White says
Love it! Isn’t it amazing how much of a difference JUST decluttering makes?!
Lothelena says
2 drawers in the living room. That’s it. And the tree is still up. Not quite the massive home overhaul I need but the drawers look lovely and today I fixed my shoe with the glue I found while decluttering.
april says
While I wanted to tackle my bedroom closet, I ended up doing the public areas of the house because of a birthday party. I finally got hubby to take all of his tools out of the living room, and with removing Christmas stuff and then almost a bag of trash, the 2 rooms that everyone will be in lookso much lighter. I’m hoping to tackle the closetnext week(hopefully if hubbygoes to work)
Andrea says
I am getting ready to pack and move for the 2nd time in 6 months… We close on our house later this month. However, I will be taking full advantage of the dumpsters at our current apartment complex-what doesn’t get donated will get TOSSED!!! I am definitely motivated- I don’t wanna pack it and I don’t wanna move it… AGAIN! I thought I purged a lot when we moved here, plus we didn’t fully unpack for obvious reasons. I’m excited to get started packing.. NOT.. ok- maybe a little…
*ugh*
Rachael says
I decluttered my kitchen cabinet on New Years Day and my closet right before Christmas. Tomorrow, I tackle my 4 year’s old room. He will be turning 5 on Sunday and we need to deal with the Toysrus explosion. My husband decluttered our basement! Getting there :D!
Tommie says
After three FULL trashbags of trash, a very full laundry basket of clothing taken to the donation box and a trip to the recycling bins, our master bath is clutter free, clean no! but clutter free yes..just in time the pipes froze in there last night 🙁 but it was amazing not to have to climb over all the “stuff” to get the heater put on the pipes under the sink!
Thinking I better start on the living areas, we are hosting a football playoffs party tomorrow…*yikes*
Dana White says
Not that there’s anything good about pipes freezing, but how awesome that you had just decluttered and made a not-so-fun task easier! Go you!
Bea says
I de-cluttere our shed and cleaned off my carport. We can actually park our car under it again!!
Next project: laundry room……again.
Dana White says
Wow! That’s a big deal!! Go you!!
Lety says
Fairly new to following your blog and FB page. 🙂 I decluttered our desk. It seems to collect a bit of everything because it is in an open area in our hallway. I as pretty good about going through it every so often last year. But I didn’t realize I had not been going through the bottom drawer. I’m unable to reach it due to disability. I guess my hubby wasn’t around all the other times I’d decluttered it. He was here this time, so he pulled stuff out from it. Oh my! I found things I forgot I had. And things I really loved when I knew I had them! lol So, though I should be getting rid of stuff, I displayed them where I can love them once again 🙂 I did get rid of a lot of other clutter, though.
Dana White says
Isn’t decluttering like Christmas sometimes??!! Go you!
Lety says
So true! lol Thank you for cheering me on!
Mary Stephens says
I got in on the tail end of this one, so I only did a little decluttering this evening – mostly in the dining room. I got the dresser-posing-as-a-buffet secured and one small corner that had a paper pile. I also put away random things here and there that were not where they belonged and took two items to the “good-bye pile.”
I don’t believe in making resolutions, but I do want to try to get rid of 365 things this year if possible. I’ve already gotten rid of 6, so I’m ahead at this point, which is good since I know some days/weeks probably won’t see much progress. So far, I “gifted” a basket and 2 mugs, threw away a pair of old shoes, and put a hat and a plastic plate in the donate pile. Feels good! 🙂
Dana White says
Isn’t decluttering like Christmas sometimes!!?? Great job!
Dana White says
Well, oops. TOtally thought I was replying to a different comment, but still . . . great job!!!
Kristina says
Nony I spent my holiday break reading your first year. Great blog. Thanks for the linky party.
Misskarinsue says
The pantry is done!! Next up…kitchen cabinets so my new dishes have the home they deserve!!
Dana White says
Yay! Go you!
Tracey Chippas says
Today I did my master bedroom closets. I have 2 of the 3 with my “stuff” in them. I ended up with 3 kitchen trash bags of trash, 1 bog box of books to donate, and 2 kitchen trash bags of clothes/shoes to donate. It will need to be decluttered again but I am so happy with my space right now. Thank you for the motivation.
Cynthia says
All i could think about on Jan 1st as I was lying in bed at 12:09 AM, was that I HAD to get our laundry room clean. Later that day, after getting some shortstop, I went ahead and started the loads of laundry, and got to cleaning. I set up a camping table that we have, threw an old crib sheet on it, and decided I’m going to actually fold laundry in there. I put labeled boxes under it, so as I wash clothes that are now too small on the kiddos, I can box them up before they get back into circulation. So far so good. I also moved the ironing board to the laundry room, so it’s not collecting clutter in our bed room. Win, win. So excited for these positive steps in the New Year!
Spoonie says
I’ve got a box in my room. Anytime he is wearing something too small, things go right to the box as soon as it comes off. His growth sputs have been few and far between, so the box fills up in 2 weeks but only once a year. Then I wash it all at once, sort, and get them into the hands of smaller kids that we know that need soft, sensory friendly clothing.
Rachel says
I finished decluttering my storage area! This has actually been a month long project, but decluttering is hard with a one year old toddling around knocking suitcases on himself >.< Next up baby's room!
Debbie Ivey says
I have loved this because I finally feel like I’m not alone!!! The obvious first project was Christmas decor decluttered and put away!! Totally cleaned out and decluttered two freezers and fridge, decluttered all food storage containers and actually gained a kitchen drawer in the process!!! Have done the one load of dishes every night and wow what a difference!! Halfway through oldest daughter’s room and already have two bags of donate and one bag of trash, now the kids are getting excited!! Loads and loads of laundry. Decluttered hubby’s section of kitchen counter and cleaned off 2 sections of counters 🙂 so much more to go but have to maintain focus on what has been done so far.
Tabitha says
Thank you for posting a link-up! I know how much work they can be.
By the way…I LOVE…no, I ADORE your blog!!! I just can’t get enough. You’re SO FUNNY.
Please stop by and visit. I haven’t blogged much lately ’cause I’m due in about 3 weeks. I figured it was okay to use a couple of post that were already finished. I didn’t blog about it, but I just got rid of a van full of trashbags (mostly my daughters stuff) and a broken fridge and dishwasher out of the garage. Oh, and my old rusty bike (except the seat–too nice to not keep for the next bike I let sit and rust). –Tabitha
Dana White says
I’m planning to read and enjoy all the linked posts on Monday. Can’t wait!!
Tabitha says
Thanks! Take your time. Enjoy your family. I’m reading all I can right now, cause Monday morning we start back to school and I won’t have much time. -Tabitha
P.S. I don’t comment much, but I am really reading. And laughing…a lot. I actually have to keep myself from getting too loud watching on YouTube at night while my toddler’s falling asleep. It’s quite the exercise in control.
Jessica Lawhorn says
I am trying to declutter my entire house in just 2 months. Let me start at the beginning… My husband and I purchased a home after we were married. We moved in, along with our newborn, and 2 older children. The home did fine at first, but now, it isn’t working. 5 people in a 2bed 2bath home. So, since we plan to move by the end of March, I want to declutter and reorganize to make moving easier. Tips? There doesn’t seem to be enough space to put things away, and decluttering is out of the question until I manage to get organized. What is the best way to organize and declutter small spaces? How can I get things ready to move without having storage boxes and containers stacked everywhere?
Rhonda says
I took extra time off work after Christmas to declutter and organize my house, because it’s been stressing me out and it’s hard to get stuff done after an 8 hour work day. I had rooms where I couldn’t walk through without moving something. It took me about a week, and I was ruthless with items when it came to donating or tossing. I just had sooo much stuff. Its not perfect now by any means but it’s a lot more manageable and not weighing on me anymore. It feels great. I feel like my husband could invite someone over now without me having a panic attack. I got all closets and drawers taken care of! So happy!
Dawn says
Ok I’m a newbie here. Literally today is day 5 of my 28 days of hope. This week I decluttered my front entrance way and part of my 4 year old sons room. I know his room doesn’t follow the visibility rule, but he saw me clean and asked for help with his room. How could I say no to a 4 year old willingly cleaning. I was amazed at how easy he was to give up toys. Any way it made a huge difference, he actually played in his room instead of binging toys to the living room to play with them.
As I said I’m new and haven’t made it through your whole blog but I have a question. Your game closet makes me think you’ve been here. So I have this room… The room of doom. It might be a guest room, it might be a craft room, it might be that room where I shove all the stuff that I am not sure where it should go. It has lots of boxes, some not fully unpacked in 3 years. Some partially unpacked… Some exploded contents all over every space in the room. I know this is a HUGE project and not one I am ready for. But my question is while decluttering I’ve come across items that go in this room. Like a spool of thread, somewhere in that room is a handy dandy thread case/ organizer. I have no idea where in that room it is. But if I really needed thread I would go search for it there. Soooooooo while decluttering a shelf in the front entry do I A) go into the room of doom until I find the thread box, meanwhile risking further distraction, or B) just put the spool of thread on a shelf in that room and someday maybe the thread and box may meet. One feels like overkill and the other giving up. So any advice for a beginner with a room of doom?
Dana White says
I’d say the second. Just go stick it in the room without searching for the case. It’s not giving up. You’re making progress in another area and need to keep that up. Once you’re finished with the other area, you’ll actually be finished and you’ll be able and encouraged to keep going, eventually tackling the room of doom.
Rosie says
I have been SO good. My children were away over the new year so I have been through their bedrooms like wildfire. Three huge bags for the charity shop, two huge bags in the attic, and three bin bags in the bin. Even pulled out the beds and hoovered underneath (ewwww), wiped everything, it was beautiful. Then they came home and made MESS, how dare they!
Dana White says
Ha! I understand!!
Nicole says
I finally made progress on my linen closet. I found some perfectly-sized pretty paper boxes at Target (on clearance!) that would help me “contain” only the amount of items I really needed. I pulled out an entire load of laundry from one of the shelves (not sure why I shove dirty clothes in with the towels). I also pulled out the old towels that we use for the dog and put them with his stuff. Any of the bath gels that didn’t fit in the ONE box they were allocated are being given away to friends. I wish I had taken “before” pictures. The “after” looks pretty awesome.
Now I just have to clean that bathroom. Thanks for the motivation!
Dana White says
So great! Aren’t containers just the coolest thing (once you use them correctly!)?
Kelly P says
I didn’t even know there was a party going on, but I decluttered! We will eventually move and I need things in storage to be ready, so I pulled out the boxes of books and went to work.
I kept my college text books that I need (have an emotional connection to) and my homeschooling son can use, but about 100 books are going! Plus, I have emptied and filled the dishwasher EVERY day for the past 4 days! (baby steps here people) The hubs gets to hand-wash dishes.
Thank you for the encouragement 🙂 !
joy says
Major progress in the guest room / storage room / Christmas closet with 4 boxes of items declttered. Also decluttered living room bookshelves and craft & game closet using the container concept 🙂
More tomorrow with a snow day. Yay!
Shawn Vargas says
Well on the Christmas decor side, I DID manage to declutter quite a bit about a month ago.
I had asked hubs to leave the deco boxes in the garage, then I got nauseous, found out we were expecting, then I got sick, but didn’t know it until afterwards (see previous nausea) then was still really nauseous for several weeks, on the slow boat recovering & figuring out how to survive.
But I finally did it, I started the process, got hubs & kids involved for their parts.
Got it packed away in much smaller containers & hubs retired to attic. Yay teamwork!!
In the last 3 weeks I’ve made 3 trips to the donation places, each with a sizeable load. Blankets, rugs, clothes, videos, kitchen, and hubs made good progress in the garage with several random tools & lawn equipment & camping gear.
Woo hoo more teamwork!!
Today the dust in the main bathroom, that I don’t use, really got to me, so I dusted up high & a difficult wire shelf (that I still love & would rather clean than find another solution)
I shopped my basket bin for containers for hubby’s shaving tools, that were just on the shelves.
Cleaned mirror, door, walls, sinks & window.
It still needs work on the floor & tub/shower.
But it’s better!!