Rhonda K

Congrats on the re-organizing efforts and making progress. It really does free us mentally when we let them go on to other happy homes. Those UFO projects and other items can cause so much guilt and stress in our minds. Let them go!

SusieQOH

Sounds like fun, Carol. I think fun is the best medicine
Rhonda, thanks. Yes, I refuse to do the guilt. That just bogs me down!

SarahBethie

I started decluttering during Lent and kept going. The house feels lighter and it’s satisfying to see the fruits of my labor. This week I rearranged the living and bedrooms. I found a nice project on Ikea Hackers for a cutting cart and I have room for it now! I’m starting sewing and woodworking classes this month and looking forward to both. I have a few things left to do but most are cosmetic.

The interesting thing about decluttering is once you get started it becomes very easy to toss things out. I also added air purifiers to each room and that added to my comfort. Sewing wise, I don’t have a lot. Just three machines, tools and a little fabric. But quilting is more appealing now that things are organized. And there’s room for sewing books too. ��

rryder

Sounds like you are making great progress on decluttering SarahBethie!

I have a report on the initial meeting with the delcutterer. Our meeting was this past Thursday (today is Monday). We went through each room of the house and she made some general suggestions and asked what our vision for each room was. I'm pretty good at organizing, but she still identified areas in the house that would benefit from re-defining what belongs in which room.

The three studio rooms are the ones I'd identified as being our main problem areas and she agreed that we needed more help with those than with any of the other rooms- they're crammed so full of materials and completed artwork that it's hard to get anything done in any of them and as a result, our art making has taken over other parts of the house and contributed to the general messiness. She made some great suggestions for those areas as well. I'm waiting to see her finalized plan for the spaces. We have tentatively agreed to have a crew of 4 declutterers for two 6 hour days on June 20 and 21st to tackle the studio spaces. Very pricey, but given that everything will have to come out of each space, be sorted and then put back so that everything that gets kept has a home, I couldn't imagine getting it done in 12 hours with fewer than 4 people helping DH and me. After that, we will decide whether we need help implementing her suggestions for the rest of the rooms or can do it ourselves.

I'll keep y'all posted.

Rob

zozee

Wow! I haven't followed this thread for a few weeks, and now that I took a look-see, I'm impressed by all the progress.

First, SusieQOH, you must've gone gangbusters to get your results. Seems fast to me, anyway, because it sounded like you were overwhelmed and not particularly good at decluttering/organizing on your own. But gosh, so much progress and decisiveness! I'm thrilled for you that you're enjoying a freer sewing space and have no guilt.

Rob, so do you and DH stay right beside your decluttering team each day for 6 hours, telling them what to keep/not keep? That sounds exhausting. Liberating, but exhausting. Or, will they take a couple hours just emptying room and then you join them in the sorting process? Will you each be working with 2 on the team, tackling a certain area, or both together with the 4-person team? I'm curious how the logisitics work and how you stay focused. I am mentally good for 1.5 -2 hours at a time, and then I start feeling cranky, tired, and have a tendency to just want to either make tidy piles (rather than purge) or feel careless (Just throw it all away!). LOL

SarahBethie, you are inspiring! And you are so right about the decluttering getting easier as you go.

SarahBethie

Thank you. I’m on the tail end of things. The last two weeks have been slow. My daughter has a nasty virus and I’m battling fatigue. I’ve avoided getting sick but my body is expending energy keeping the germs at bay. Nevertheless, I’m pressing forward.

I picked up some storage bins for the refrigerator and several lazy susans. They’ll come in handy for the pantry and craft items. I have lots! I finally counted the mountain of change I’ve amassed. It came to $167 and I’m treating myself to lightfast colored pencils for sketching.

The sewing area is clear. I’m adding more storage items this week. And I have an idea of the cutting cart I want. I’m debating whether I’ll use an Ikea hack or build it myself. I start woodworking class in one week. The sewing class is underway.

I’d like a glass drafting desk. But I don’t know if its feasible for crafting. I have 2 scrapbooking machines. And I’m uncertain if I’ll be comfortable sewing on the cutting table or prefer a desk.

On an unrelated note I’m enjoying white lilies from the farmers market. The aroma is lovely and the heads are huge and heavy! Overall, I feel more relaxed and I’m considering other projects I can undertake. I’m not a neat freak. But I love beautiful spaces. I’ll upend a room to increase the aesthetic appeal. My body pays the price later on.

How are you progressing?

rryder

Zozee- the plan was for them to empty the room(s) and sort like with like, then we look through and decide what to keep, donate and toss. Then they help us put everything back. We were supposed to start that process tomorrow, but had to postpone (to late July or maybe August) because life (and the death of a dear old friend) got in the way.

I've been slowly implementing some of the suggestions they made in the plan they sent to us after our initial meeting and am liking what I see so far. Even some of the very basic organizing things they suggested have helped with the studio spaces - even though we will have to wait for help to do the more ambitious studio reorganization they suggested. But I have to admit that I was starting to have some of the same questions you asked about stamina, focus, etc. when contemplating two 6 hour days with 4 organizers-- The organizers are all considerably younger than DH and me LOL.

I've been working a little at a time on the rest of the house and have gotten the downstairs hallway, front parlor, both bathrooms and our bedroom into pretty good shape.- Using FlyLady's 15 minute declutter techniques seems to work well for me. I have also been doing her baby steps and started a quick dust/vacuum and some zone cleaning as things become more manageable. This week I'm working in the dining room - going counterclockwise around the room decluttering a specific area and cleaning it before putting things that stay back in place. I did this last week in the front room in 15 minute bursts and even though it took all week to get the room into shape, I ended up enjoying myself while doing it rather than feeling overwhelmed and exhausted when it was done. My goal is to get the dining room done by Monday of next week and then work on the tv room- that will leave only the 3 studio spaces and the upstairs hall (which is serving as a staging area for me to put things from upstairs that are donate-able).

SusieQOH-good job!

Glad to hear it's going well SarahBethie and I hope you and your daughter are feeling better now.

I hope everyone is doing well and remembering to pace themselves- it took a while to get unorganized/cluttered and will take a while to get re-organized and decluttered! Also, not everyone (myself included) wants to go the whole Marie Kondo route and that's ok, too.

Rob

SarahBethie

Thanks Rob.

Things are beginning to pick up steam. The pantry is replenished and I went to Costco today. The new storage bins are in the refrigerator. They proved their worth when I found a log of goat cheese I’d forgotten about. Menu planning is on July’s to-do list.

My woodworking class is underway and I’m making a custom cutting cart and sewing desk. I’ll lose two pieces of furniture in my room and be able to house my sewing, quilting and scrapbooking tools and fabric in one place. I didn’t expect to have either so soon. Luckily, the purge has freed up space and lessened my workload.

For the rest of the month I’m focusing on closets and will tackle the pantry. The herbs and spices overflow gives me grief. I converted a linen closet and its too small now. My fall woodworking project may be a customized pantry that will alleviate my frustration and accommodate jars for bulk items.

Hopefully, I’m done with everything by the end of July and I can contemplate painting the house while the weather is good. I haven’t started canning but I’m making infusions and liqueurs over the weekend.

SarahBethie

I found more storage bins at a discounter and I’m tackling the pantry. I picked up two organizers for dinnerware and two shelves. The spice jars will arrive Friday and I’ll make the labels this weekend.

oksewglad

My 4 sewing Grands (ages 10-15)are going to have a sewing bee at my house in mid July. I'm going through juvenile and kids fabrics and plan on making kits for them to work on and hopefully down size my stash. 2 of the gals have each sewn a quilt and the other two pillowcases.