Declutter Blitz Update - Look and Chuck

Didn't get chance yesterday to update you all on how my quick blitz went, so here goes!

With the help of Husband we spent two hours basically throwing stuff out.  We didn't particularly sort anything or make long term decisions on items - we just Looked and Chucked!

So armed with a big bag each we...

• Went into a room and shut the door (no distractions!)
• Gathered up any obvious rubbish; recycling in one bag, general waste in the other
• Any small items that were out of place went in the Repatriation Box - read more about this here
• Any big items out of place went into the laundry basket to be replaced
• VERY quickly opened any drawers or cupboards for any obvious rubbish

When we had completed this process in a room the big items out of place went to back to where they should be.  If was any item that didn't have a place yet, well, for now its in the Room of Doom......

After we had done this throughout the house, Husband vaccumed and dusted and I cleaned the bathroom.  The house was pretty orderly and ready for us to go back to work in a fairly relaxed state of mind.

Now don't get me wrong, the house is far from decluttered.  I obstinately ignored the pile of 'must take to the charity shop' items under the stairs.  I paid no attention to the pile of paperwork that isn't for binning on top of the piano.  At the moment, that's where they live.  But very soon it will all be emigrating to pastures new.

A good surface clean has made me feel that I have a spring board for a really good sort out.  Decluttering can create mess, and if there is mess already there it can be really easy to feel overwhelmed.  I also think that surface cleaning means there is less distractions.  I don't want to be halfway through sorting out the sideboard and then think, I know, I will just take out the rubbish/put books back/gather up knitting wool.  I have done that already.

My quest continues! The Declutter Diarist

Hidden Treasure

So, today is Day One of my decluttering task.  I have started off with a fairly small task - sorting out my jewellery boxes.

I have a large wooden box with a drawer and two smaller mirrored boxes, and basically everything was just slung in.  I don't wear jewellery very often and no wonder really, finding matching earrings or an untangled necklace was just too much like hard work.

Here is a photo of the before, pretty crazy eh?!



There was all sorts in the boxes that didn't fall under the category of jewellery.  Things I found included spare buttons that had come with clothes, general rubbish, curler pins and 78p in loose change.  If I keep finding that amount of change every time I do a bit of decluttering I could make a small fortune!

It took a couple of hours to go through the boxes, but it was worth it in the end.  Earrings have been reunited with their other half, necklaces have been untangled, silver has been cleaned and I have rediscovered items I had completely forgotten that I owned.

I also took the opportunity to get rid of pieces that I know I won't wear in the future.  Some will go to the charity shop, other bits were just broken and needed to be thrown away.  There is one silver bracelet that I got from a friend that is lovely but just not my taste which I will sell.

One of the downsides of this decluttering is that I have found stuff that I don't have a place for yet, like the spare buttons.  Now, I plan to have a sewing box in the future but until then I need to keep these bits together.  So I have designated a shoe box as a 'repatriation box'.  When I create a place for things, I will check the box to see if there is anything ready to go home.

It felt good to have started the decluttering project, and I am really please with the results.  I think that I may not have the right box to keep all of my jewellery in, and if I buy any more I will have to think very carefully about how I will keep it - but that may not be a bad thing, I might stop spending money on bits and bats now I can actually see what I have!

So here are the results, much better I am sure you will agree!


Happy New Year Everyone!

The Declutter Diarist