365 Days of Decluttering

Two generations of people in the houses means two desks due to different needs.  Today I went through our desk.  Quickly I pulled out a worn out book mark, a worn out ID card holder, a dried up marker, and a cereal toy.  I also pulled out 4 checks to be deposited in the bank, a bill to be paid, and an insurance card to be put in my glove box.

Desks have so many drawers and cubby holes that make it a perfect spot to hide clutter.  A child’s desk, paired with a child’s proclivities to never throw anything away makes it the black hole of a bedroom.  In 5 minutes I cleared from my son’s black hole Broken Ear Buds 2 worn out pencil bags 3 torn trading card sleeves Empty bottle of hydrocortisone  Broken mighty bean racer Turkey wishbone Old hairbrush My sons will never miss any of this stuff, but will certainly enjoy being able to reach in a drawer and immediately grab a working set of ear buds. Total 90/3650

Ever buy a piece of clothing that you loved the idea of, but hated in practice?  That pile of grey fabric up there is an example of that very incident.  A grey plaid skirt that I hated wearing, but has stayed in my drawer for years, hoping I’d change my mind.  I will never wear skirts over my knees, I dress modestly, and my legs will never shrink, so, good bye skirt, hello space.  Also in the pile are 2 worn out T-shirt’s, one of which belonged to Husband’s first wife, gone for 19 years!  There is a broken clip on fan, 2 building blocks from toddler building sets, and a broken LEGO watch.  Finally, to make an even 10, I added 3 broken pencils without erasers.  I have so many pencils that surely these three can be ditched given that they are never picked due to their eraserless state. Total 80/3650

Today we have before us a broken VHS copy of Fantasia.  One of the stranger things about having a stepson 13 years older than his brother is the technology gap.  My stepson watched Thomas on VHS, my oldest on DVD.   There’s no need for this broken tape to hang around anymore.  We also have 3 bandanas, and a compass with a HUGE bubble in its face.  Can’t use a compass that isn’t trustworthy, goodbye.  There are 2 baby wash cloths; did I mention that my youngest is 13.  Somewhere in the pile is a solo glove left over from a trip to the snow 8 years ago.  Finally, there is also a outgrown slipper, one of a pair and I hope to eventually find, and toss,it’s mate, and a dried up bottle of fabric glue.  I make my son’s Halloween costumes so this dates back to October 2018.  Not too bad all thing considering. Total 70 / 3650

In this tiny house we call our home there is no room to set up a place to iron.  Yesterday’s ironing had to be put away in favor of meal preparation.  So today I finished the job, adding 4 more patches to the bag, completing one side.  As far as I know there are no more patches lurking, but I’m probably wrong.  I also added to the pile of garbage: 1 outgrown shoe Fabric scraps Packing box A broken piece of sewing equipment A worn out T-shirt of my oldest A torn shopping bag My son outgrew the shoes years ago.  One was thrown out, the other was lost, until today.  The fabric scraps were left over from a project that I did 5 years ago, the packing box turned out to be too small for a care package that was mailed 2 years ago. There is an interesting story to the sewing board.  My husband had a first wife, who obviously provided him with a first mother in law, who loved to sew.  That mother in law died in 1997, 20 ago.  H...

My youngest son was born with a rare genetic disease, a consequence of which is that he will lose his vision.  As a result, his father and I made the decision to give him experiences instead of material goods so that he will have that to think back upon.  As a family we have travelled together on many adventures, and since our house is small souvenirs must be limited.  We have focused on collecting patches and squashed pennies, but many of these patches have lingered in a sewing drawer.  Today I chose to focus my decluttering on adding the patches to the tote bag that was bought for that purpose.  This will not be the first tote bag, and it will not be the last. Total 50/3650

The orange tree in our back yard has not grown in the nearly 36 years my husband has owned his house.  This tree was mature 36 years ago.  Every year it puts out oranges unfit for human consumption. We’ve tried fertilizers, different methods of watering, pesticides, pruning, etc., but the tree does not grow good fruit. However, it has seniority in this house, surviving at least 3 owners. Also, it is an attractive spot of green in a California summer where nearly all the foliage turns brown. I have a bad habit of not picking up the inedible fruit until it’s time to mow the lawn, then letting the lawnmower take care of it.  No more, today I gathered 10 oranges off the grass to throw out.  It’s nice to have a clean patch of green around the base of the tree. Total 40/3650

In cleaning the clutter from my bedroom, I had to take some grooming items into the bathroom. There I found many small items that needed to find the trash can.  Included in the pile were 1 can of green, aerosol, hair color Baby fingernail trimmers 2 broken thermometers  Dried out lip balm  2 brushes for cleaning out an orthodontic Herbst appliance Pack of closers for flossing braces I added this to a packing box and a pair of ladies unmentionables. I haven’t worn since I had kids and made up 10 for the day. I’m not sure why I had the hair color.  My oldest wanted his hair dyed green for Halloween, but there wasn’t enough in there for a second treatment.  I suppose I thought I could use it again.  The baby fingernail trimmers haven’t been used in 13 years, but managed to hide out in a bin in the medicine cabinet along with the two thermometers that were unreliable at best.  A replacement thermometer was purchased about a year ago, but t...

About 8 years ago we got a new mattress, one that needed deeper pocket sheets than the ones we had at that time.  The deeper sheets were acquired, but the old ones remained!  Why not, who knows when we make go need them, right?  They’ll fit on the futon, right?  Wrong.  The futon is a double, and we’ll never go back to a thinner mattress.  These threadbare sheets needed to go. Had anyone ever noticed that, while the  sheets wear out, the pillowcases last forever.  Some of these cases go back to the dawn of my marriage.  Others belonged to my sons from the time that having Thomas the Tank Engine was considered the height of preschool fashion. My sons will never go back to this stage, much to my sorrow, so they needed to go to. Total 20/3650

Our house is tiny, and that is just fine. We have approximately 1100 square feet for 4 people, two adults, two teenagers which includes  2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a converted garage.  Still, people can still get lost in the house, and no one lacks for privacy.  The boys have bunk beds for their own space, and when Daniel wakes up at 6 and doesn’t want to risk the wrath of an early morning Alex, he heads into the sunroom.  It may be cold, but the quilt on the futon counters the early morning chill. With 4 people, we still have a lot of stuff.  I may say that I want to be able to fit all my possessions in the back of my RAV4 and travel the world, but I’m a long way from that happening.  Stuff gets lost in corners, or forgotten about in the many storage areas we have.  This is my quest to weed out all the bits of clutter from our house, 10 pieces a day. Day 1 of cluttering started in our bedroom.  We have a platform bed with a book case head...