Let's do a challenge...I need something to get my butt in gear this week.

Post to this thread with how many bags (kitchen sized) or medium-sized boxes of stuff you give away this week. To count it has to be brought to the giveaway place by the end of the week (we can count next weekend and make Sunday night the end of the week).

You can also post to this thread during the week with what you're working on and how your progress is going.

So let's go! :cuc: <-- He's my favorite emoticon at the moment, LOL!

My goals for the week:

*finally finally FINALLY clean the ENTIRE OFFICE/SEWING AREA and get it organized

DONE!*go through everything upstairs - blankets, sheets, towels, clothes and a box of stuff I was going to sell or do something lofty with - and pare down drastically!!!!!!

*go through the kids' room and pack up at least half of their toys. Dd and I have struck a deal...she doesn't want to get rid of anything...I said let's pack up what you aren't playing with and in two months when we move, if you miss any of it, we'll take it out again. If you don't miss it, we'll bless someone else with it. She agreed. Woo-hoo!!!!! I'm going to try to separate out stuff for ds though...he can't agree or disagree and I often find I'm buying new toys for him as his developmental levels increase. So I'm going to keep stuff he might be interested in within a few months...but just having their toys packed away (half of them anyway) will eliminate the big chore of helping them clean their room, which ends up looking like a toy store exploded at least once a week.

Um I think that's enough...because there are a million house-related calls I have to make, and school stuff to deal with this week. Plus I'm trying to start writing and may start an ecourse doing that! Whew!

I told my DH that if we don't have atleast 2 contractors bags of trash outside each trash day, I'm not doing my work. :D We'd like to put our house on the market in a few months and I need some MAJOR motivation here!

Ann

Does decluttering my sister and her stuff on Saturday count? :joker: With any luck, she'll get her visa and be on a plane to the UK on Sat. Woohoo! It's going to be so much easier to declutter when we have only our stuff around.

I know she possesses very little, but she took over Patrick's whole room. So his stuff is in the loft, which is supposed to get walls and a door and turn into Rowan's room. And then, theoretically, Rowan would eventually move into this room of hers. Only nothing's happening till we dump the freeloader. ;)

Anyway, I'll work on decluttering garage/kitchen/living room/bookshelves. No use working on the bedrooms till next week.

Tuesday morning and I'm checking in...

I have done NOTHING yet! I spent Monday doing OT with Jake in the morning, then bringing him to school - had a last-minute errand to run (had to pick up Goodnites because he's leaking through his Pullups at night and I was drowning in laundry). Spent about 30 min leafing through magazines trying to get an idea of how they're structured, for writing.

Had a few phone calls to make and then it was time for the kids to come home...the afternoon and evening went SO fast.

Today we're off to Lebanon NH for Jake's medical appointment...JoAnn's is a stop while there, TJMaxx too - I get my retail fix today, ROFL! Going to try to bring minimal things home though. Just need fabric to finish the kids' bathrobes and a pair of jeans for me would be nice.

We'll probably be back around 4ish. I am always exhausted, but I'm going to push myself to put away the clean laundry, decluttering it as I go, and to go through the huge box in the hallway that has giveaway stuff and bag it up to actually donate it. Right now I'm getting dressed then cleaning out the car so there will be room to stow the bags of stuff I'm donating on Friday.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) my goal is to get through the office. I have one appointment and a team meeting as well, but if I get up early and focus I am sure I can do it. I'll be up at five and try to work until 6:30, get the kids out to school, then work until 10:30 when I'll have to leave for my appointment. If I put in that time and do nothing else, which is feasible, I should get most of the office done - the rest can get done in the afternoon/evening.

Thursday after school I will do the kids' room with them.

Thursday during the day I'm going to focus on writing articles in my new, nice clean office! I decided to start an 8 week course on writing this week...so eeks...I'm adding still more to my plate. But it's time to put the writing first and I think it will just focus me better as far as decluttering and packing.

Okay, enough of my coffee-fueled blathering! Thanks for listening. I just had to tell someone so I'm accountable. Feel free to do the same! :)

I sorted the art/toy cabinet. Moved the family photo album/ scrapbooking stuff in there, since I ended up making enough room. :D

The toys aren't actually leaving the house till March, when consignment sale season starts - but they're getting labelled and boxed and put into the garage. So I just have to load and go on the drop off date.

i've sorted through all of ds's stuff. i've got a couple of things in the car to give to the church nursery. the rest, mostly clothes that he's outgrown and are not sentimental or were given to us, and i don't like them, is in a huge pile in his room. i will have to hang and tag all of that before next friday, the drop off day for "kidsignment." his closet looks so great now.

besides that, i don't really have a plan for what else i need to declutter. i feel like almost everything is cleared out. i took 2 pair of shoes to goodwill today...that's pretty much how it has been for me lately. just a couple of things here and there. i'm always on the look out for stuff in the house i don't need anymore. oh! i took some candle holders my sister gave me back to pier one today. that was a victory because i was only holding on to them because they were a gift...but she never comes over and i just didn't need them.

thanks for posting the challenge, mamabear!

Though I didn't see this untill today, so starting late.

I'll post with what I manage lator. :o)

Aileen

I decluttered 2 old chairs MIL gave us ages ago (one went to charity and I'm not sure the garbage man got a chance to pick up the other one that was too dirty for Goodwill! Meaning I think someone stopped by and took it! Hurrah!)

I also cleaned out my youngest son's closet of clothes he's outgrown to take to Goodwill. He's the youngest in the family so there is no one to pass it onto. DH says I'm just returning what I bought from Goodwill a year ago and in some instances I am! (Some of it is too stained or has holes and went to the rag bag.)

I didn't see this till today - I'm going to do it though. I can give the stuff to mil to take to the thrift dropoff Sunday night.
We've got to do the half/half toys thing here too lauren, I'm tired of struggling every nite to get it all picked back up....
I'm also going to get serious about how much clothing we all have, I'm tired of washing 2-3 loads a day! I also want to declutter my kitchen again...lots of stuff we don't ever use in there...

i just saw this last night, so I will start now for this week.
I am definitely doing clothes as my first start to decluttering!

That's okay; let's extend it a week, as I came down with a very bad throat infection on Wednesday and have been completely laid up since then!!! I have gotten nothing done as far as decluttering, myself.

I successfully decluttered the sister and 3 suitcases plus a backpack of her stuff. Now I'm going to declutter what she left behind...

ROFL mamaxt!!!

So far I have three big black bags of clothes and bedding to donate (they are supposedly 30 gal size) in the car.

Another bag full of (new) Pullups that I'll be sending out to some mamas this week.

Going to work on either the kids' room or the office tomorrow and go through for some more stuff. Nothing else to do besides make some mortgage-related phone calls.

I sent off a highchair, a small box and a huge garbage bag with my dh this morning to donate.

I also sold/mailed etc... out about 8 medium boxes of stuff.

I'm just beginning I hope. :o)

Aileen

Another kitchen bag of garbage from the kids' room.

So far I've put away one large rubbermaid tote of games, one x-large moving box of stuffed animals/dolls, and eight shoeboxes of other toys - these are not to give away but will go into storage at the new house. Feeling better about the toy area; now what to do about the bendy fairies, which seem to be cavorting with each other and hatching new bendy fairies! :D

Back to work...going to try to get the kids' room done today. Tomorrow, the office/sewing area.

Oh I also consolidated down two large tubs of fabric - didn't give anything away but have my couch cover, shower curtain, and new pillowcase fabric washing. I used those empty tubs to store the kids' toys. ;)

If I can get that done, Thursday I have a friend coming over and we're working on our kids' IEPs. Friday I have Jake home but hope to have things organized enough that he can play alongside me while I work on the couch cover, shower curtain and pillowcases. A beanbag chair for him would be a bonus. :)

Ooh, just had a brainstorm - I bought enough shredded foam to make 6 or 7 beanbag chairs and have been wondering what to do with them now that we're going to be in such a small space. If we make a basement or workshop playroom, I think we'll put them in there! :) It will be cheap, cozy furniture great to jump on.

We cleaned out the girls' closet Monday. We went through everything in there, and came up with 3 bags of items. They contain some clothing, towels, toys and shelving units, and even though there are only 3 med bags out there on the porch for pick up, they are heavy.

I freecycled a high chair the other day, too.