Tag: Clothes

December tally!

I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the month already. As we all know, December is the month of Christmas. With all the preparation and celebration, that entails, it doesn’t really leave much time for any other activities.

Even so, I did manage to squeeze in some moments to spend on other tasks and to celebrate my blogs 1 year aniversary! Woohoo!

Since tomorrow is new years eve, I kinda figured I won’t be decluttering any significant stuff these last to days. So I decided to post Decembers tally early 😉

And here it is. DECEMBERS TALLY of things “out-the-door” =  108 items!

6 items – during My Christmas shed

  • 2 shirts
  • 1 cardigan
  • 1 sweater
  • 1 vest
  • 1 painting

90 items – that I had been holding on for my neighbour to check first – In finally out of here

  • 2 magazine holders
  • 3 microwave items
  • 1 ice cube tray
  • 3 plastic boxes to store food in + a box of ziploc bags
  • 1 serving tray
  • 3 candle holders
  • 1 pack of plastic spoons
  • 1 pack of plastic straws (should be a hit with her kids)
  • 2 wine openers
  • 3 wine stoppers
  • 1 huge sport drink reusable bottle
  • 1 reusable lunch bag
  • 1 small porcelain bowl
  • 4 long stemmed wine glasses
  • 1 tea box full of different teas
  • 1 plastic box (the one with an X I’m keeping for now.. I have an idea and if it works I’ll post about it 🙂 )
  • 1 cut board
  • 1 decorative glass bowl
  • 1 tiny shots glass
  • Bunch of rubber band (bracelets) – count as 1
  • 7 watches (she took a couple for her kids)
  • 18 Christmas decoration items
  • 1 box of decorative tiny apples (Christmas stuff)
  • 3 bean babies
  • 1 head light
  • 1 big storage box (all the stuff she took with her fit in the box – it’s that big 🙂 )
  • 1 pair of running shoes (another friend took earlier)
  • 2 medium size storage boxes (perfect for her kids toys)
  • 1 pair of jeans
  • 6 bras
  • 7 pantyhose
  • 3 pairs of socks
  • 2 short sleeved bicycle tops
  • 1 pair of shorts
  • 1 pair of dress pants
  • 1 t-shirt
  • 1 sleep shorts

12 books – another books instalment in my reading a book program

So there you have it – 108 items out-the-door for the month of December!

So does this bring me to the goal I set at the start of this year? Stay tuned and find out 😉

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A Christmas shed!

Would you believe it, even during Christmas I managed to shed a few things 🙂

I had my family over for brunch on what we call second Christmas day, which I believe most of you call Boxing day?

I thought I could use this opportunity to have one of the girls try on a pair of shoes I’m getting rid of, as she is almost the same shoe size as me. Turns out I have no takes on the shoes, but I did, on a couple of the other thing 🙂

While we were upstairs looking at the shoes, the other girls came up, and you know how it is, when there are clothes, and a bunch of girls… 🙂

It’s so funny…my style is pretty much what we could call a kinda conservative/sporty/classic/casual style, I have no idea what that would be in fashion terms. But I’m the jeans, t-shirt, fleece kinda girl, that when I do dress up, I prefer pants and no frills tops and shirts. Dress or a skirt? Not something you see on me very often 🙂

The girls in my family on the other hand… love to dress up! And I have to admit, they really know how to put their outfits together, and they look gorgeous!

So you can see how I wouldn’t really expect that there would be much in my closet for them. But believe it or not! Out went a couple of shirts, a sweater, a cardigan and…

a really pretty vest, which I have no idea why I ever bought! It’s knitted in the back and rabbit skin in the front, I just couldn’t seem to ever make it work on me. My niece on the other hand; tall, skinny, beautiful, could have been a model if she wanted (she decided she wanted a degree more, which I applaud), always nicely put together and picky about what she wears. The vest, it looks great on her… so guess where it now resides.. absolutely not in my closet any more 🙂

In addition to clothing, I have a painting by Pia Myrvold, I had mentioned to my step-sister (as she is looking for art for her new house), that she decided to not only take a look at, but also to buy from me! How cools is that?

So there you have it – Christmas shed of thing out-the-door – 6 items

  • 2 shirts
  • 1 cardigan
  • 1 sweater
  • 1 vest
  • 1 painting

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Finally out of here…

Here we are!

Another pile of stuff going out-the-door!

Phew!

Remember I told you (both on October and November tally), about this pile of things I was holding for my neighbour to have a look? Well, we finally managed to find five minutes to look through it 🙂

This weekend she took of with a couple of boxes with stuff! She didn’t take it all (and I didn’t expect her to) but she still relieved me of probably about 95 percentage of my pile – and I’m ever so happy.

I have to admit, it’s just so much easier to “declutter” when there are people you know, who might find them useful.

And here it is, the stuff she took and a few things extra, my pile of stuff out-the-door – 90 items:

  • 2 magazine holders
  • 3 microwave items
  • 1 ice cube tray
  • 3 plastic boxes to store food in + a box of ziploc bags
  • 1 serving tray
  • 3 candle holders
  • 1 pack of plastic spoons
  • 1 pack of plastic straws (should be a hit with her kids)
  • 2 wine openers
  • 3 wine stoppers
  • 1 huge sport drink reusable bottle
  • 1 reusable lunch bag
  • 1 small porcelain bowl
  • 4 long stemmed wine glasses
  • 1 tea box full of different teas
  • 1 plastic box (the one with an X I’m keeping for now.. I have an idea and if it works I’ll post about it 🙂 )
  • 1 cut board
  • 1 decorative glass bowl
  • 1 tiny shots glass
  • Bunch of rubber band (bracelets) – count as 1
  • 7 watches (she took a couple for her kids)
  • 18 Christmas decoration items
  • 1 box of decorative tiny apples (Christmas stuff)
  • 3 bean babies
  • 1 head light
  • 1 big storage box (all the stuff she took with her fit in the box – it’s that big 🙂 )
  • 1 pair of running shoes (another friend took earlier)
  • 2 medium size storage boxes (perfect for her kids toys)

67 items 

And then there are some clothing I do not have a photo off, that also went out the-the-door this weekend:

  • 1 pair of jeans
  • 6 bras
  • 7 pantyhose
  • 3 pairs of socks
  • 2 short sleeved bicycle tops
  • 1 pair of shorts
  • 1 pair of dress pants
  • 1 t-shirt
  • 1 sleep shorts

Another 23 items 🙂 

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November tally!

I can’t believe where the month of November went. Seriously if feels like it’s only a few days since I wrote up October tally, and now November is over. I swear the days have wheels attached to them, because I sure can’t catch up.

So how did I do in the month of November (that I’m sure was only 8 days long 😉 ).

NOVEMBER TALLY of things “out-the-door” =  23 items!

  • 1 bead bracelet
  • 14 KLM Delft Blue Miniature houses – shipped to a friend in – A Tiny Village 2
  • 3 DVD’s – part of my Watch a movie program declutter project
  • 1 down duvet – that I am still debating if there is anything I can use it for, rather than “toss” it – any good ideas out there?

In addition, my neighbours mum popped over for a cup of tea, and while she was here it turns out that a couple of the clothing I was planning on getting rid of worked out for her. So she “ran” out of here with:

  • 1 pair of running shoes
  • 2 scarf’s
  • 1 pair of pink super soft socks, that just never fit me 😦

So there it is, 23 items out-the-door for the month of November.

P.S I’m still sitting on this pile of things, waiting for my neighbour to have a look, that I was hoping would count in November.. guess the pile is making it to the December tally instead!

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September tally!

It’s that time again! That monthly catch up to let you know how I did with my decluttering task last month 🙂

So how did I do? Well, actually not to bad for a change. Much better than the last few months.

SEPTEMBER TALLY of things “out-the-door” =  103 items!

81 – items on my – Another crazy purge! And a very happy neighbour. – day!

  • 5 notebooks
  • 2 “baskets”
  • 1 furry pillowcase
  • 1 furry blanket
  • 1 wool carpet
  • 1 file organizer
  • 1 Ikea storage box
  • 40 hangers – counted as 1
  • 4 packs of hanging “lamps”
  • 1 empty tea box
  • 1 roll of stretchable wire
  • 1 wineglass box
  • 3 presentation portfolios
  • 2 packs of table decorations
  • 1 sauté pan
  • 2 purple pillowcases
  • 2 large candles
  • 1 glass container for candles or flowers
  • 1 picture from Virgin Islands
  • 6 cloth place mats
  • 6 plastic place mats
  • 4 Texas cloth napkins – counted a 1
  • 1 plastic table runner
  • 1 red cloth pot holder
  • 2 green glasses
  • 1 bag of decorative rocks
  • 1 glass soap dispenser
  • 1 bamboo plate
  • 2 more large candles
  • 4 bags of decorative stones
  • 6 white wine glasses
  • 6 red wine glasses
  • 2 camping chairs
  • 4 flowerpots
  • 2 glass plant watering things
  • 1 outdoor recliner
  • 2 big floor flowerpots

What else? Lets see – there was:

  • 15 KLM Delft Blue Miniature Houses – that I gave to a friend in – A Tiny Village
  • 1 garden storage box – as part of my – Garden give aways! – together with
  • 3 flowerpots
  • 2 trays for the flowerpots
  • and one of my Hydrangeas

Now…  There is just one thing! As you know, I’ve just had a birthday and as part of having a birthday I added some items to my possession. Between the birthday celebration in Stavanger late August which I told you about in – I’ve been partying 😉 and my celebration trip to Houston (where my suitcase also got lost for a few days) written about in – What I gained this trip – a few items have made it in-the-door!

Let’s see… oh my gosh it’s – 33 items in-the-door!!!

Stavanger party – 6 items in-the-door

  • 1 Birdhouse w/seeds
  • 1 decorative glass elephant
  • 2 small decorative candle holders – counted as 1 since it was a set
  • 1 notebook + sticky notes – counted as 1 since it was a set
  • 1 pink IKEA box that the “birdhouse” gift came in
  • 1 garden book
  • Bunch of champagne bottles, but they don’t count as we drank them 😉
  • and a bunch of birthday cards – think I’ll count them together with the ones I got in Houston

Houston trip – 27 items in-the-door

  • 8 T-shirts
  • 1 shirt
  • 2 bras
  • 3 undies
  • 2 sleep shorts
  • 2 pair of jeans
  • 5 books
  • 2 notebooks
  • 1 ring
  • and a bunch of birthday cards

So… I got a question for you!

When items comes in-the-door, should these be offset against items out-the-door? (I kinda think so)

Or do should I get to keep my out-the-door items “intact” for my final count for the year? What do you think?

 

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What I gained this trip!

As you all know, I’ve been on this mission to declutter and get rid of stuff!

Going to Houston I had plans to buy 2 t- shirts and 1 pair of jeans as replacement for worn out stuff. That was, until my luggage went missing!

Yes you heard right! Upon landing in Houston, my luggage was still sitting in Stavanger. It had never made it on the plane… ???

“Well” I thought “that’s OK, it will make it here tomorrow… No sweat”

Turns out tomorrow came and went, and so did the next day, and the next, and during my “hunt” for information, nobody and I mean nobody seemed to have any idea where in the world my luggage was!

Fortunately the friend I was staying with, is of the generous type, but after three days of walking around in oversized men’s clothing, I caved and went shopping.

2 t-shirts, 2 bras, 3 undies, 1 sleep shorts and a couple of jeans later, I get the phone call I had been waiting for “We have your luggage ma’am, it will be delivered today”!

“Well that don’t sound too bad”, you’re thinking, “you were going to buy some of that anyway”. You’re right, I was… but what I promptly forgot in the middle of all this, is that I went to Houston to celebrate my birthday. And just because my intentions were no birthday gifts…. 😉

So here I am, returning from my “wasn’t going to buy anything trip” with an extra set of items in my luggage:

  • 8 T-shirts
  • 1 shirt
  • 2 bras
  • 3 undies
  • 2 sleep shorts
  • 2 pair of jeans
  • 5 books
  • 2 notebooks
  • 1 ring
  • and a bunch of birthday cards

That’s 27 new items in-the-door!

This was not quite according to plan!

I must say though, I kinda really did need a few replacement pieces of clothing… 😉 and I am very appreciative of my wonderful friends gifts, which have given me some new favourite pieces 🙂

Hmm, guess this means, I will have to start a hunt for items to shed, to make up for what just came into my house…

HELP!!!

How do you guys handle unexpected gifts coming into your house?

 

August tally

So let’s see, did I ever get anything out-the-door during the month of August?

Well yes, actually I did! Even though I’m still doing pretty poorly according to my intentions 😦

Remember; I did have a day earlier in August, where I got a few things out-the-door. And I tackled my “junk” drawer. And the last day of the month, a white tornado went through my house and I ended up with another pile of stuff that will be going out of the house over the next few days. Since that pile is still pretty much sitting here.. they won’t count much on August tally, but hopefully on September they will 😉

So lets see, what did August actually amount to?

AUGUST TALLY of things “out-the-door” =   45 items

24 – items on my day getting back on my declutter wagon

  • 1 jacket
  • 1 pair of pants
  • 1 thermal underwear top
  • 6 T-shirt
  • 2 pairs of knitted wool socks
  • 1 BIG piece of silk – bought in Malaysia in 1995, intending to have a dress made…. like that ever happened!
  • 1 clutch
  • 1 bed sheet that don’t fit any of my beds…?
  • 1 pair of boots – they seemed like a good idea when I got them, but they’ve never been used…
  • 1 book – Thor Heyerdal, the adventurer
  • 2 software CDs never used
  • 4 empty DVD boxes (count as 1)
  • 1 pair of sandals – never used, what was I thinking with those heels!
  • 1 plastic serving tray (broken)
  • 1 almanac – 2010
  • 1 shirt – dads – and
  • 1 cardigan – dads – they won’t ever get used and it’s been almost 1,5 years, it’s time to let them go!

Bunch of items – while clearing my junk drawer – (count as 4)

  • 1 wallet (worn out)
  • 1 flash-light (broken)
  • Several outdoor pieces (never used, and never will be used) – count as 1
  • Loads of paper/menus/business cards ++ – count as 1

In addition I finally cleared out some of my toiletries, that I talked about like forever ago in Thriftiness getting in the way of decluttering – I gave most of it to mum 🙂

  • 1 big box of hairspray
  • 1 box of night cream
  • 1 bottle of toner
  • 1 bottle of serum
  • 1 small bag of miscellaneous make-up/trial creams/++
  • 1 bottle of massage oil (it was so old it went into the trash)
  • Bunch of other stuff – count as 1
  • 1 bottle of shampoo
  • 1 bottle of conditioner

And a few things from my “white tornado” day have actually made it out-the-door 🙂

  • 1 Backpack (a friend of mine, way more sporty than me – took this one, and cover and Adidas bag)
  • 1 travel cover for backpack
  • 1 Adidas bag
  • 1 sports bag
  • 3 pc bags
  • 1 weight lift bar (given to a friend, who hopefully will use this more that I ever did 😉 )

So that’s it, for the month of August – 45 items. Not to shabby after all 😉

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Back again…

As I told you in my last post, July tally, the last few weeks I have pretty much just relaxed and enjoyed my time off.

But enough is enough, it’s time to get back at it 😉

Back to my declutter task, back to my blog and back to getting some stuff done around the house!

So here is my first instalment, getting back on my declutter wagon!

  • 1 jacket
  • 1 pair of pants
  • 1 thermal underwear top
  • 6 T-shirt
  • 2 pairs of knitted wool socks
  • 1 BIG piece of silk – bought in Malaysia in 1995, intending to have a dress made…. like that ever happened!
  • 1 clutch
  • 1 bed sheet that don’t fit any of my beds…?
  • 1 pair of boots – they seemed like a good idea when I got them, but they’ve never been used…
  • 1 book – Thor Heyerdal, the adventurer
  • 2 software CDs never used
  • 4 empty DVD boxes (count as 1)
  • 1 pair of sandals – never used, what was I thinking with those heels!
  • 1 plastic serving tray (broken)
  • 1 almanac – 2010
  • 1 shirt – dads – and
  • 1 cardigan – dads – they won’t ever get used and it’s been almost 1,5 years, it’s time to let them go!

24 items, woohoo 😉

Now, if decluttering the rest of the house would just be this easy…

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May tally!

Well there it is, the month of May is over, and it’s time for my monthly tally.

If I may say so, I think the month of May have gone pretty OK when it comes to declutter items. Even though I had a week completely under the weather, and a week in London with more sightseeing than decluttering 🙂

Let’s see what this month have amounted to on the declutter scale:

MAY TALLY of things “out-the-door” =  126 items 

53 – items when running amok in my guest room

  • 9 snuggles (stuffed animals and bean babies)
  • 1 empty computer box
  • 1 empty camera lens filter box
  • 1 PC “desk” to use in your lap
  • 5 clothes storage “bags”
  • 1 decorative plate
  • 6 space bags
  • 5 books
  • 3 small paper pamphlets
  • 6 Christmas decoration items
  • 1 hanging shoe holder
  • 2 eagle creek travel gear pieces
  • 1 camera bag
  • 1 dirty linen basket
  • 1 decorative “garland”
  • 1 gym “bag”
  • 1 space saver set
  • 1 travel journal
  • 2 bathroom mats
  • 1 shoulder strap for a bag I no longer have
  • 1 bag of sticky carpet felt (to use under carpets to make them not slide)
  • 1 hanging bag for cloths

54 – items from my closet cleanup

  • 8 shorts – surf shorts and regular shorts
  • 1 swim top
  • 1 bikini bottom
  • 2 knee length pants
  • 1 bicycle t-shirt
  • 1 pair of indoor “shoes”
  • 4 office shirts
  • 3 sweater
  • 1 knitted hat
  • 1 fleece buff
  • 2 regular buffs
  • 1 scarf Stockings – a bunch (counted as 1)
  • 1 par of socks
  • 3 of my dad’s ties
  • 12 unused unmentionables
  • 5 pairs of jeans – 2 worn, 3 unused (but sadly to small)
  • 1 pair of office pants
  • 1 top
  • 1 T-shirt
  • 1 knitted jacket
  • 1 pair of insoles
  • 1 belt

1 pair of very high heeled shoes 😉
16 paperbacks
1 wooden box – and
1 keg/barrel – my brothers – as posted from London

And that’s it. The out-the-door tally for MAY 🙂

Not to shabby…

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It’s closet time!!!

I had a run at my clothes cabinet a couple of weeks back, as a start on my big closet declutter task.

You know how they say we pretty much use only about 20% of our stuff, 80% if the time. I found this very true, when it comes to the clothing I use. I have some pieces that I use pretty much all the time, and some that are almost never (if ever) worn.

So I decided it was time to clean up shop, and continue what I started a couple of weeks ago. So that I could get the clothes out of here 🙂

I use my declutter system for closet clean ups, just like with everything else.

The rule is to be honest with yourself when deciding what to keep.

KEEP:

  • love and use
  • use daily, weekly, monthly or even maybe yearly
  • that they fit, and I look good in them

OUT THE DOOR:

  • have not used the last 12 months
  • will not use the next 12 months
  • no longer fits
  • do not look good on me – even if they fit
  • clothes I don’t feel comfortable in – even if they fit, or even look great on me. (Why would I wear clothes I’m not comfortable in? If I won’t actually use them – they gotta go)

NOT SURE – items I have a hard time making a quick decisions on for the following reasons:

  • might have a use for the next 3, 6 or 12 months – but I’m not really sure because they:
    • do fit, but will I actually use them? I might have an intention to use them this coming summer/fall/winter
    • might not be a perfect fit, maybe even a size down from where I am right now, but there is “intention” to fit into them within the next 6 months. Is that what we call wishful thinking? 😉

So how did I go about it?

I pulled ALL the content from my closet one category at the time: pants, office shirts, t-shirts, jackets and so on, you get the drift.

As I pulled them out, I sorted them into my Keep, Out-the-door and Not sure piles.

Everything in the Keep and Not sure pile, I tried on, to make sure they fit and looked good (or decent 😉 ) on me.

  • Everything that did not fit that bill, went into the out-the-door pile.
  • Not sure items, that survived this exercise, went into my allowance box.

From the out-the-door pile, I pulled out everything that I could give away or donate. I packed them nicely into some plastic bags (since the donate station I use, don’t take boxes), and went down to the donation station with them right away (just down the road).

A couple of tips:  

When you give away/donate, it’s always nice if you can place the items neatly into a box or a bag. Make sure they are clean, and that you have emptied the pockets first 🙂

Before putting anything back in the closet, it might be a good idea to dust, vacuum and even paint the walls if you want a fresh, new look 🙂

How did I do?

Closet TALLY 😉 =  54 items out-the-door

8 shorts – surf shorts and regular shorts
1 swim top
1 bikini bottom
2 knee length pants
1 bicycle t-shirt
1 pair of indoor “shoes”
4 office shirts
3 sweater
1 knitted hat
1 fleece buff
2 regular buffs
1 scarf Stockings – a bunch (counted as 1)
1 par of socks
3 of my dad’s ties
12 unused unmentionables
5 pairs of jeans – 2 worn, 3 unused (but sadly to small)
1 pair of office pants
1 top
1 T-shirt
1 knitted jacket
1 pair of insoles
1 belt

And believe it or not, I still have stuff left in my closet, that I can get rid off! How about them apples?

Oh well, that’s for another day. Now? I think I deserve a coffee mocha 😉

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