Decluttering, Donating, Reorganizing

After work today we dropped off two boxes & 4 empty bins at a local thrift store. Then we drove out to our storage unit to see what else we could get rid of. I went through my kitchen overflow bin, winter clothes (mostly sweaters), winter outerwear, and Nick emptied about 3 more bins. We brought home 1 bin of stuff from those that we will either find room for, sell, or give away to family. We went directly from there to the Goodwill nearby to drop off the stuff before driving home. Unfortunately they don't accept shower chairs "for liability reasons". 😒

I jumped right into kitchen reorganizing, since I had a good idea of where I wanted to move things for easier access, and to make room for my baking tins that I brought back from storage. Before and after photos below. I'm pretty happy with it! And I found more stuff buried in the cabinets to donate...we have another box ready to take to a thrift store tomorrow!

LARGE CABINET

Before: we don't use the cookie sheets or the mixer all that much, and we use the bowls A LOT, and they're always a pain to un-nest.

After: Our often-used stock pot and dutch oven are finally EASY to get out (they were a struggle in the corner cupboard because the door is too narrow), and our bowls are easier to un-nest with more space overhead. The empty space is reserved for our 3-quart pot that we also use all the time. 

Food processor and Kitchen Aid mixer moved to the back. 

My Pfaltzgraff heavy mixing bowl is also in the back (I only use it for pancakes).

CORNER CABINET

Before: We used to have our dutch oven, stock pot, saucepans & lids, plus a bunch of things we don't use anymore in here, or use so rarely we forgot they were in there.

After: Moved the cookie sheets, special baking tins, potluck containers in this awkward, hard to reach cabinet, and kept the blender, and food processor attachments in the back corner.

OIL CABINET

Before: Too much stuff stacked on top of each other. Moved a couple things out.

After: Nick uses the large glass dish a lot for baking chicken, so I wanted that to be easily accessible.

The fabric stash

Now that we got those repairs out of the way, I think I'm going to take it easy tonight. We brought back 2 bins of fabric from storage that I may decide to go through tonight (there are still 2 more fabric bins in storage!). I currently have 1 shelf where I can put sewing fabric, so I might have to give up some, which I really don't want to do - or figure out a larger storage place for them, like the carport. I know I want to keep the fabrics I bought special, but I might need to make hard choices about the thrifted fabrics. 😩

I'll see how I feel later on today...this might not be a good day for hard decisions. 

I've been in a decluttering mindset since we got back from visiting family over Christmas. I've been following several YouTubers who specialize in decluttering - primarily Dana K White, Minimal Mom, and Clutterbug. I also am interested in watching Matt Paxton's Legacy List, and reading Margareta Magnusson's book, "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" (I checked out the audiobook on my library app).

Dana K White's advice has been really transformative. She teaches a no-mess decluttering method, which takes a lot longer, but prevents overwhelm and burnout, and doesn't preach minimalism. It's not that I'm against minimalism, but I don't see that working for us. We have too many hobbies requiring tools and supplies, and we would end up buying things over and over again if we got rid of stuff we aren't currently using (like oil paints, for instance). 

Ugh, I LOVE my fabric. The purple bin is full of linen, and I have more I love equally, if not more, in storage. I think I need to get some sewing projects done to use some of this up! I have a ton of denim I bought for making jeans - enough for mockups and final versions. The peach pink cotton sateen sheet (thrifted) would make a really cute summer dress. It's a color that always looked nice on me, I think. The flannel is cute and cozy. Would make another nice flannel dress or some flannel jackets. *Sigh* not having space for things you like to do is frustrating.

12 HOURS LATER....

This is my whole fabric stash, in 5 bins & 1 box...a lot of thrifted items (sheets, clothes I wanted to salvage fabric from or alter in some way, and lots of scraps!!)

The trash bag and donation pile. All the sheets and clothes I was never going to get around to mending because they wouldn't fit me anyway went in the trash. Some were thrifted, some were well-used. I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. No emotional attachment, just "would be good for..." things.

My keep pile. Cottons, linens, swimsuit, flannels, denims. The tablecloth is going to my MIL.

They all fit into 2 bins!! I'm amazed I was able to get rid of so much bulk! We're going to make space in the carport storage area for these, plus 2 bins for Nick's things. Whew! I was worried about this task, but it wasn't bad at all!

Bathroom sink

 Tonight we tackled the broken bathroom sink ball and rod. The old one rusted off, and left a rusty mess in the drain. This morning we put some Instant Power Hair and Grease down the drain and left it while I was at work, then I came home and we poured an entire kettle of hot water down to flush it out (this stuff really works!!) and we bought a universal set of balls and rods at Home Depot to replace the old ones. We also got a new stopper, since the old one was gross, but that didn't fit, so we'll have to return that. As I was trying to attach the rod and clip, the new clip sprung loose from my hand and disappeared (probably in the hole at the back of the cabinet, so there's no way I'm retrieving it. Luckily the old clip was still usable. The sink drain doesn't look very pretty, so no photos from the top. 😝

Hooray for another long-dreaded task being finished!! 🙌💪

Jan 26 - Feb 1

Something isn't working here. While I did check some stuff off my list, I'm (surprise, surprise) still procrastinating on certain things (kitchen & bathroom sinks, scanning). I think I need to tweak my approach. But hey, I got the vacuuming done, twice! Gotta celebrate the small wins.
These past couple weeks we were primarily focused on decluttering, so I wasn't paying much attention to anything else that needed to be done. We dropped off so many clothes, old sheets & towels, crafting supplies we don't need, fabric, and miscellaneous things we don't use anymore to several thrift shops, and the Humane Society (they take sheets & towels). We also threw a ton of stuff in the trash. Holey clothes & towels, broken things, etc. Nick went through our entire shred pile and got everything shredded and thrown away. We've really cleared up a lot of space in our apartment, it feels AMAZING!

We have guests coming from Feb 14-18, so I need to prioritize the chores in order of most important to least important. I think this week I will only focus on home improvements we've been putting off, so I don't get overwhelmed with a long list of things to do. I'll try focusing on one thing at a time, so to start off...

1. Fix the damn sink! (TONIGHT)

Shopping list:
    kitchen sink strainer
    kitchen sink drain wrench
    plumber's putty (stain-free)
    pipe? ours might still be usable...

How to install kitchen sink drain strainer, stop leaks

UPDATE
We did it!! It took all night, but we did it! Pictures below.
I bought a Husky "universal drain wrench" at Home Depot that was the biggest piece of crap tool I've ever bought. It would not hold in any position on this drain nut, and when we tried using a flathead and hammer to try to get it to budge, that didn't work either, so we thought we might have to drill it off...luckily we decided to try a different universal drain wrench from Loewe's and THAT one worked perfectly! So don't waste your money on the other one. Once the old drain was finally off, we were able to move forward without any issues.

January 12-18

2025 FOCUS
Do it now.
You can keep anything, but you can't keep everything.
Sing more, get heard more, get hired more.
When talking about people, imagine they're sitting right next to you.
Give thanks, show appreciation, and send birthday cards!

JANUARY 12-18
Left over from last week:
Schedule heater service done 1/15
Schedule dentist appointments
Write New Years letter / order photo cards done 1/12
Scan at least one cartridge of slides
Vacuum all rooms (empty canister first, and empty again when done)

JANUARY TASK LIST
Fix kitchen sink
Fix guest bathroom sink
Check bathroom fan for loose connection
Deep clean one room
Gather 2024 tax documents
Do one 36-hour fast
Replace hammerbutt cords on piano
Invite neighbors over for drinks

OK, so I didn't procrastinate with some stuff, but I did with others...why?

Heater service...we've never had our heat turned on since we've lived here. Not sure who to call, so I'll have to figure that out. There's probably A LOT of dust built up, so I want to be sure if we turn it on, nothing burns.

Dentist appointments. New insurance = new dentist. Will probably have to call old dentist to have records sent over to new one.

New Years letter....working on that today.

Scan slides...hard to do when the table has been covered with other stuff all week. We're in the process of decluttering. This week was a major paper-purge, with lots of shredding. Once that's through, we can get stuff off the table and I can do some other projects, like scanning slides.

Vacuum all rooms...I've got no excuse. I have to empty the canister from the last time I vacuumed. I guess a good habit to get into would be to empty the canister IMMEDIATELY after vacuuming, so there's no extra step keeping me from getting started (do it now).

This week I spent a lot of time on YouTube watching decluttering videos, and we both spent A LOT of time decluttering. We did our greeting card box, paper drawer, nightstand, bathroom cabinet under sink, bookshelf, and music shelf. We have an overflowing box, and a stack of books ready to donate. We will also be selling our recliner, dress form (mannequin), and probably a few other things we don't have the space for.

Goals for 2025

My resolution for this year is to get out of the habit of procrastinating. I will give myself goals every week/month and post a status at the end of each as to which items I have checked off, and which ones I have put off (hopefully none).

WEEKLY GOALS (Jan 5-Jan 11)
Schedule oil change for Prius done 1/6/25
Schedule heater service
Schedule dentist appointments
Schedule haircut done 1/6/25
Write thank you notes done 1/6/25
Write New Years letter and send to family/friends
Mail check for AFM dues done 1/4/25
Declutter at least one drawer/cupboard done 1/5/25
Scan at least one cartridge of slides
Vacuum all rooms
Write birthdays in the new calendar done 1/4/25

MONTHLY GOALS (January)
Fix kitchen sink
Fix guest bathroom sink
Check bathroom fan for loose connection
Deep clean one room
Gather 2024 tax documents
Do one 36-hour fast
Replace hammerbutt cords on piano
Invite neighbors over for drinks

YEARLY GOALS (2025)
Get to the point where I can tune pianos for money
Finish scanning slide collections
Make an extra $1000/month with side hustles
Teach 1 or 2 voice students
Build savings back up to $30K
Max out Roth IRA