This is the time of year that I get the most cleaning out and decluttering done. I think it’s a combination of two things: a) post holiday, wanting to get pared down and back to normal and b) the weather dictates that I stay inside and the grey days lend themselves to cleaning out and purging.
I finally started today! Not a lot, but a good start. Tim took the day off to go deer hunting, but decided at the last minute not to go. So, we got up in the attic and cleaned out a large cache of boxes and stuff. I tend to “collect” empty boxes (say, from Amazon!) all through the year, so I will have empty boxes to use for birthdays and Christmas presents. I also have the tendency (being the packrat that I am), to keep boxes for certain kitchen items and other gifts that I receive. Today, we cleaned a lot of those out, and broke them down for the recycling bin. I also took a couple of big bags of stuff to the Goodwill store.
It feels good to get some stuff cleaned out! I still have a lot left to go. Receipts and paperwork are the worst for me. I still have some closets and drawers to go through,too. But at least it’s a start! 🙂
Have you cleaned out or decluttered anything since the holidays? Leave me a comment and let me know! 😀
I spent last weekend decluttering and organizing both boys’ closets and bedrooms. It’s really challenging for someone who thrives on organization to have someone in the house who collects rocks, shells, leaves, scraps of paper, and anything else random he can find. I had to rein in and relocate his collections, and got all the new Christmas toys all into their new places, as well as purged an equal amount of old toys that we get rid of in exchange for new ones.
Oh, Stace, we are alike in this area too! I used to have a stash of empty boxes in my last house. I don’t ship gifts any more so I got rid of them all when we moved and haven’t hoarded any at my new house. Ok, don’t tell but I have two stashed at work in my supply closet…..just in case!
My dh and I seriously need to get to the file that holds all our bill receipts. It’s just such a hassle to go through it all, especially when someone is occupying that space.
I haven’t done much organizing other than putting away my Christmas stuff neatly, instead of cramming it in any box I can find. I LOVE my walk-up attic for that reason. I can stand straight and take my time putting things where they belong.
January is the most depressing month of the year to me. It is like the Monday of the year. You have to put up the Christmas, do all the decluttering you are talking about and then there are those receipts which lead to taxes.
Maybe that is why we clean? We need a bright spot!!
Happy January! Ha!!
I am the same way about collecting boxes overt he course of the year to use for gifts, especially since so many of mine need to be shipped to the recipient! I do the same thing with packing materials. After I got my Christmas gifts mailed out, I made myself go through my storage closet. I kept one small bag of packing material & two boxes for shipping, for gifts that will be sent between January & March. I have a whole year to gather more for next Christmas, right? I also broke down all the boxes I had accumulated for various housewares. They are all past their warranty time anyway, which is the only reason I can think of to actually keep them. I have two projects in process right now: I purged my paperwork files & I’ve been shredding old paperwork for about two weeks now (just a little at a time so I don’t burn out my poor shredder!) and I am going through a bunch of old magazines still, taking out what I want to file for future use & tossing what’s left into my recycling basket.
I think January is depressing too!
Haven’t cleaned out much but need to, you can come help me. 🙂
I do need to go through boxes in the attic, like you and the others I seem to keep them for Christmas but need to toss some now. The ones I’ve kept for housewares are past warranty too like Dawn said, so they should go!
Stacy, it took me a few pages to get into the Guernsey book, too. So glad I stuck with it! I love decluttering after the holidays! It’s a season of renewal for me, so I really get to it. I started with our Christmas decorations and eliminated several boxes in the store room. Then . . . .and this was tough. . .I actually went through my books and passed a bunch on to the library book shop. It was hard, but I feel so much better now. And have lots of room for new books!
BTW, I switched from Bloglines to Google reader a couple months back and a bunch of blogs didn’t transer over. So, I have you on my list now, and hope to keep better tabs on you;)
Actually, yeah I have started cleaning up a bit, but being a queen pack rat, I’ve got small mounds of stuff all over the place, crying out for my attention. It seems as if it’s a never ending cycle. Which it is of course since the mail keeps arriving, school papers continue to come home, etc., etc. Sigh…….
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