Organizing and decluttering the homestead

[Beekissed]

Well...today's clean out wasn't NEAR as extensive as previous years. Each year we whittle away at the stuff more and more and this year was no different. I just keep going back up there to the shed and walking into the neatness of it all...it looks and feels so good!!! I can FIND stuff!

Before...

After pulling all the junk outside to sort, clean and eliminate...

Piles of it!

Uncovered Grandma's old copper kettle

Put together a tall shelving unit...easiest assembly I've ever done on a shelf, took all of 5 min. and a mallet to do it. These things are sturdy, tough as nails and very affordable...lasts for years without any sign of wear or breakdown.

One cart load already hauled to the temporary "farm" dump site, which is cleaned up later and taken to the dump in the fall. Takes a good bit of time to accumulate enough stuff to warrant a trip to the dump but we've about reached it.

This cart is stuff to take to Good Will....

To be cont......

 

[lcertuche]

It's been over a year since we moved here so things have gradually got cluttered. It's funny how you don't notice until like having your pastor carry you son in with a broken leg to the bed and you suddenly realize the mess. Oh well, water under the bridge. I started with my bathroom this morning and I'm going to work all the way around the house until each room is decluttered. I'm expecting to find all the tools and other stuff that has just disappeared in the last year. Bee you are right about the stress. Every spring I clean out the clutter but it's amazing how much accumulates.

 

[tortoise]

We filled a 20 years dumpster. I bet we could fill another! (DH disagrees.)

I have 3 brown paper grocery bags for goodwill. Considering that I've been purging for YEARS and just did a major purge last December, filling those bags was an accomplishment! I'm still going. Purged my wardrobe with seasonal changeover too! I have about 30 pieces of clothing, not counting undies, socks, etc. But I purged all of that stuff too.

The more I purge, the less I buy. Good for space and budget!

 

[baymule]

I dropped off three more brown paper grocery bags stuffed full at Goodwill. (Where does the stuff even come from?! )

STUFF is like a cat having kittens.....STUFF just multiplies.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Been there, done that!

@Beekissed if I didn't like you for ANY other reason (not the case!), I'd really like you just based on your love and respect and care for your mom. The time and patience and love required can be overwhelming at times, but being willing to take that journey at her side is worth it.

 

[Mini Horses]

NONE of you are alone -- I'm right there with you!! It just happens.

Altzhimers is always on my mind -- what's left of it! -- and I'm not so sure that is a cause or just the total confusion of "everything" that causes forgetfulness for me. I still work, so often my time is more structured to work (there's that paycheck thing) and what I NEED to do. Priority is frequently along the lines of "feed the livestock or clean the closet". Five years of mom here with the big A sure had an impact!!! I aged 20yrs in those 5. Mom had been buying way more than needed, often forgetting she had 2 or 3 of whatever it was anyway. She was always one to have "enough on hand" anyway. What I found in her house was unreal!!!!

Soooooooooo.......yesterday, I did some tossing and ya know what? I have a table in the dining room area!!!! WOW, a nice one, too. Tomorrow is going to be cold and windy out, so I do hope to have another go at "clearing & cleaning" inside. You cannot imagine how much I have upstairs from mom's house -- but, I just can't get there until I finish downstairs where I "live".

A never ending battle. (that my DD doen't want to inherit!) Hope to do some clearing this winter, big time.

 

[sumi]

@treerooted so sorry to hear about your friend's babies

I got busy cleaning and organising the house yesterday. Suddenly felt the urge to do it for no apparent reason but feeling restless and unable to sit down. I do keep the house clean and as tidy as I can, but yesterday was a day for tackling the places I tend to overlook or accept to be a bit cluttered. Not too bad going, considering I've only been here going on 4 months, so I didn't have much opportunity to hoard stuff YET

 

[Beekissed]

Never did get to that shelf, but today I managed to clear out many things in the pantry that people just place out there willy nilly that belong other places. Nothing irks me more than having shelves one cannot access because things are stacked or placed in front of them.

It felt good to clear out the clutter and place it where it belongs, rather than in the pantry/mud room. Maybe I can get to that shelf now!

Also got some clutter and mess cleared out up at the shed...my son has been doing various projects in there and then just lets everything drop where he was using it. Grrrrr. I can see the floor now and things are placed back where they belong, enabling access to THOSE shelves now.

So, in the ongoing battle of clutter, I won back two small areas, some shelves and cubbies today.

Oh...and I got a chance to clear up some outside clutter as well here and there, so I thank God for this sunny, warm day in which to do these things. It was so lovely to feel the sun on my face as I chored about.

 

[Beekissed]

Spending this weekend trying to clear up a lot of little jobs I've been putting off or those that need done regularly anyway, just trying to go into the new year with some areas cleaned up.

Making laundry soap today....ran out a couple weeks ago and was using Mom's detergent until I got around to making my own. Commercial detergents always give my clothing more static and right now I can't touch anything without getting shocked. Time to get back to my own, wonderful detergent so I won't be shocked all day long. The house smells very clean while the soap is cooking, even when it's not.

Washing coats and jackets, rugs, fleece blanket throws, fleecy bathrobes, throw pillow covers, etc. I often overlook these things when I do laundry but today I'm gathering up some for washing. Giving them all the smell test to determine which ones get priority....

Got all the calendars switched over, appointments and other dates filled in, hope to get some forms filled out and my desk decluttered...it's a T total hot mess!

Cleaning the bathroom just because it needs it anyway in the middle of all the other things I'm trying to remember to clear out. You know how you do...you are trying to concentrate on one chore, but it requires you to go into this or that room and you notice that room needs sprucing? So you try to hit it a swipe here and there as you pass through it several times in your cleaning of clutter in spots elsewhere?

I'm easily distracted....

 

[baymule]

I used plastic bins to organize my freezers. The old freezer was a mess. I put one bin in it to see how it would work.

Then I organized it.

We bought half a beef and bought a new freezer. This one is holding beef and pork.