Tag: Declutter

Double 7 – turned into a triple 7!

I’ve finished my my double/triple 7!  

I have to say, I’m a bit surprised how well it went. I decluttered more than my goal. I wrote on my blog every day!  And I added one more 7 day that I finished today.

One more? I thought you were doing two 7 day tasks – decluttering and blog! 

You are right, those are the two I told you about, but Monday night (day 1), I decided to throw one more into the mix to make it a real 7-7-7.

Since my health has been really up and down for a while, I have become quite a couch potato.

So I had a chat with B about maybe doing one more 7 day task. A 7 days activity task, just to get out of the house.

Wouldn’t matter what weather it was, we were going for a walk or at least, get out of the door, even if it was only for doing errands or walking around the house.

If nothing else, regardless how bad the weather was, we were at least going to put outdoor clothing on and walk outside!!!

We started Tuesday! And today our 7 days are up! And we did good!

We have been out, ever day. A few days the weather has been terrible, so those days we pretty much ran errands, in all sorts of stores (plant places, food places, Christmas gift stores). Outside of shopping, we have done stuff for my step-mum, we have tidied up a couple of graves for Christmas and we have gone for walks, short ones and a little longer ones.

Yeah, I know it’s nothing impressive like running marathons or biking 10 miles every day, but hey, we have been out and about – every day! That’s better than staying on that couch.

Now I just have to keep it up, and hopefully turn some of the errands into proper walks instead 😉

A sum up!

And hey, this is my 8 day of blogging – so maybe there is hope?

See you soon!

 

Double 7 – Sunday!

It’s Sunday and we are at day 7 of my 7 day thing.

This is what we woke up to this morning 😉

The rumor is it’s only going to last a couple of days, so rather than spend time on decluttering, I started my day shoveling snow. Gotta clear those pavements!

 

It’s been a beautiful day, we have been out and about, inhaled way too much fresh air, and I’m all tired now 😉

So I’m sure you’ll forgive me for making this declutter post short and sweet!

All I’ve got for you today, is a bunch of random stuff from around the house.

A few things from the bathroom, a few things from the kitchen. A little here… a little there… Before you know it, it actually adds up!

2 clothing covers
1 suitcase
1 handheld vacuum
1 pair of shoes
54 items of random stuff
=
59 items out-the-door!

My 7 day tally  = 477

Guess i did it then.  Goal 343 – result 477
I think I nailed it!


And my new grand total for 2017 = 1508

Not too shabby, if you ask me 😉

Later gator!

Double 7 – Saturday!

We are at day 6 of my 7 day thing,

Unge Spor (Young Tracks) – is a voluntary organization who works with kids, youth and young adults, to spread the joy of performing arts.

As part of their organization, they have a group of regular members (age 14-25) who are the backbone of the organization.  This group of “kids” gets to participate from A to Z on Unge Spor’s projects. This includes organizational work, music, dance, drama, scenography and more. The “kids” gain indispensable knowledge, and at the end of the projects they put on exceptional shows and performances.

You might say that “Unge Spor” (Young tracks), has established themselves as an important cultural force in my region.

Since they are a voluntary organization, they don’t get much support from the state/region. Which means, they rely on sponsorship’s, donations, and other gifts.

A few weeks back, they posted a request for an old used iPad, in one of the buy/sell Facebook groups I follow.

As both B and I had a couple of older iPads, that we no longer used, we decided we could help them out.

I called the groups leader, and, oh boy was he happy.

He popped by a little while later, and not only did he leave with 2 iPads, but he “ran” out of here with a couple of extra bags.

Turns out they could do with some extra props for their theater shows, and I just happened to have a couple of suitable items they could use as props + I had one more item!

A little backstory:

I used to be an avid “Nescafe cafe au Chocolat” drinker. They sell them in boxes with 8 pouches of instant mix – just add water.

Well, since these are ridiculously expensive, I would always get a bunch (and I mean a bunch) when they had exceptional good deals (like 50% off or more). So last summer, such a deal just happened to be in my neighborhood store, and I shopped, and shopped 😉

Fast forward a few weeks after my mad shopping spree, I changed my diet (health reasons) and stopping with gluten and milk protein products all together. And guess what! Yep, there’s a lot of milk in my beloved “au chocolat” 😦

The boxes of coffee have been sitting around ever since. I’ve been holding on to them in hope of finding someone who would drink the stuff (as opposed to me throwing it away),

And you know what, a group working with a bunch, as in a big bunch of kids… yeah!

“Absolutely, we can take these of you hands”

So off he went, with iPads, props and a bunch of coffee 😉

37 boxes of Cafe au Chocolate
2 pillows
2 pillow cases
1 lamp
2 bamboo plates
1 decorative plate
1 iPad mini (yes only mine.. can’t count B’s iPad stuff)
1 iPad mini charger
1 iPad mini back cover
1 iPad mini front cover
1 regular sized iPad protective cover
=
50 items out-the-door!

7 day tally  = 418

And my grand total for 2017 = 1449

Until tomorrow!

Double 7 – Friday!

We are at day 5 of my 7 day thing!

My head is playing up like nobody’s business, so today’s post is short!

For as long as I have had my blog, I’ve been working on downsizing my book collection.

Back in 2014, I started reading myself through my bookshelves, and called it my “Read a book program“.

The idea; read one of my books, grade it, and depending on the grade, either keep it or get rid of it.

I didn’t do too good with this task during 2016, and started it up again this year.  My 2017 goal? 100 books.

So far I’m not doing good on my goal at all, as I’ve culled only a few, and I doubt I’ll make my 100… But even so – a little here, a little there is still helping!

Here is another batch making it out-the-door!

8 books out-the-door!

7 Day tally = 368

Grand total for 2017 = 1385

See ya tomorrow!

 

PS.  I just found a blog post in my drafts folder from June this year, that I never posted. It was all about books!

I remember it well! It was all written up and the only thing I needed to add, was the photo (which I needed to take first). Somewhere in the mess of things, the books got delivered to the recycle exchange place, and I forgot completely all about the blog post.

Even though I have no proof  (read photo) –  I’m just going to add those books to my tally. So here it is:  14 books out-the-door during June. 

New Grand total for 2017 = 1399

Double 7 – Thursday!

We are at day 4 of my 7 day thing,

I haven’t ever heard about a home that doesn’t have a junk drawer or two, and this house is no exception 😉  I have more than one…

Today’s task; declutter my living room catch all.

Here it is in all it’s glory – yeah, I know, not pretty!

FROM THIS

Well.. I might as well get on with it – hang in there, folks – I’m going in!

(a hours or so later..)

All done. Oh, that’s looking a little better now, isn’t it?

TO THIS

MINUS ALL OF THIS:

2 picture frames
1 diploma from Microsoft
1 calculator
1 remote control
1 notebook
1 lanyard
1 US simcard
1 Micro memory card
6 pens
1 pink marker
2 cd covers
5 umbraco’s
Bunch of paper to toss – count as 2
Bunch of paper to shred – count as 2
1 empty box
7 unused Valentines cards
8 envelopes
15 Ziploc’s and small plastic bags in assorted sizes
2 packs of memo cards for old diarys
10 plastic items
2 journal covers
1 reusable net
1 box of cool looking paper clips – which are horrible to use
(goes to show, just because they are cool don’t mean they are practical)
2 boxes of push pins – leftover from my office days
Bits and pieces – count as 2

 = 

78 items out-the-door!

7 Day tally = 360

Hey! Didn’t I just pass my goal? Nice!
Still have 3 days to go. I wonder what number I’ll end up with 😉

Grand total for 2017 = 1377

Until tomorrow!

Double 7 – Wednesday!

We are at day 3 of my 7 day thing.

Since I started my blog, I have been slowly downsizing my closet. (it seems to be the thing we women do 😉 )

I’ve probably gotten rid of about 50% or so, since I started my declutter thing on this blog in 2014.

Since I left the workforce (soon to be two years ago – my how times fly), I don’t have to dress up for meetings or change from work stuff to everyday wear everyday. These days, I pretty much live in the same type of outfits all the time – jeans, t-shirt and a sweater (weather depending).

Since I changed my diet (for health reasons) last year, I lost about 15 kilos or so. It took quite a while before my weight stabilized, and since it was fluctuating quite a bit there for a while, I only got new pieces of clothing when I absolutely needed something new that fit me (it’s not that fun walking around in clothing that is way, way to big).

I’ve stabilized now.

It’s hard though, to downsize, as I have clothing that are good quality for those special occasion like party’s, Christmas and other meet ups. Even though I only use about 30-40% of my closet on my daily outfits (remember – jeans and t-shirt kinda girl). I still need to keep the other type of outfits around.

Since I happen to be kinda picky about what I wear (even when it’s only jeans and t-shirts), I’m having a hard time finding suitable replacements that fit my current size. Which unfortunately means, I’m still hanging on to a few items to many of my old stuff.

I have not given up hope that I one day will have this beautifully curated minimalist wardrobe… and the only way I’m going to get there is to forever chip away at it.

Which brings me to today’s declutter write-up!

I have found a few more closet items, to say good buy to 😉

8 t-shirts
2 workout tops
3 fleeze
sweatpants
longjohn
2 pars of thick socks
2 sleepwear
2 caps
1 wool jacket
1 sweather
bandana
1 pair of flipflops
1 pair of boots
=
26 items out-the-door!

7 Day tally = 282

Grand total for 2017 = 1299

Guess that is it for today, see ya tomorrow 🙂

Double 7 – Tuesday!

We are at day 2 of my 7 day thing, and today is a pretty easy one.

Earlier this year, I got quite a few used interior magazines for free (which is great, since I have stopped buying my own). I’ve enjoyed reading them, but I’m all done, and I’m ready for them to leave the house.

I piled them all into one of those banana crates/boxes – and looking at the half filled box, I decided I was going to fill it up! (a girl gotta challenge herself 😉 )

So I’ve been adding all sorts to the pile; old magazines, new magazines, manuals, catalogs, travel brochures and my tiny little nemesis – articles I have ripped out of magazines/newspapers etc to keep. I have written about this habit before.

Guess what, I have filled the banana box (woohoo), and there are hardly any magazines left in the house, with the exceptions of a few keepers for a rainy day 😉

I still have a stack of manuals, but they all belong to items I own. So I guess they’ll be sticking around a little bit longer!

I just tallied it all up, and here are the stats:

113 magazines, manuals, travel brochures and catalogs
114 individual articles I have torn out to keep

=

227 items out-the-door!

My 7 day tally  = 256

See.. I caught up, and now I’m ahead 😉

Oh, and my grand total for 2017 = 1273

Until tomorrow!

Double 7 – Monday!

Yesterday I mentioned I would do one more run at getting some of my junk out of the house, before Christmas.

As I meander through my days, there are times I come across items I no longer need or want, as I’m sure we all do. I have gotten into a habit of putting these items into my guestroom, until I get around to actually get the stuff out of the house.

Well my guestroom is “piling” up (well not really.. I could hide it away if I wanted it to… but… ) and it’s time to see some of these items actually leaving the house.

Gotta get ready for Christmas, you know 😉

So here we are – Day 1!

I changed my diet about a year ago (for health reasons), and there are things I no longer eat or use as part of my food preparations. So the other day I went through my food “pantry” (well, just a regular kitchen cabinet, really) and sorted out the stuff I no longer plan to use anytime soon.

I picked this time a year to do this particular declutter task, as one of the organisations I follow, “Hjelp oss å hjelpe, Rogaland” (help us to help, Rogaland) are gathering food to help people out, especially over Christmas. B took a look at his place as well and found a couple of things.

In addition to our own stuff, we did a miniature shopping “spree”, and got some Christmas cookies, candy and other more Christmas’y dry goods from the store. We wanted to add a little extra to the mix. We will get them some more a little closer to Christmas, stuff like meat and other perishables.

In addition to food, they have also asked for things like small gifts and wrapping paper. So I did a quick rummaging through the house and found a couple of unopened rolls of Christmas wrapping paper.

We just delivered it all at one of the collecting point in my neighborhood.

I love it when there is a win, win, win situation like this.

I get stuff out of the house, we get to contribute, and someone out there might get a little of the help they need.

Todays tally!

15 food related items (the extras were B’s so they aren’t really mine to count 😉 )

14 gift wrapping items; paper, gift bag, tags. Christmas cards and some string to tie it all together with.

I’ll get them some more, including some gifts to hand out, I just need a trip to Ikea first 😉

= 

29 items out the door!

 

SO – I know this isn’t the expected 49 items. But hang in there, I’ll be catching up tomorrow 😉 It’s the total of 343 that counts, you know 😉

See ya tomorrow!

 

 

Double 7 – before the year is over!

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone, November is behind us and we are already a few days into December.

This is the time where the holiday celebrations are soon upon us, and we are busy preparing for them. And most likely the last thing on our minds are working on our declutter endeavors (beside the stuff we need to do to prepare the house for the holidays).

Well not this girl! I’ve decided I need to have one more go at it before Christmas 😉 I need to get some stuff outa here!

So I’m committing to a 7 day declutter run!

Over the next 7 days (starting tomorrow) I will declutter 343 items!

Why 343 you ask?

Well I need a goal, and I started thinking  – 7 items pr day for 7 days, but hey, that would only amount to 49 items out the door… So I though 49 items “a day” would be a much better goal 😉

Which brings us to the 343, as 7 x 7 x 7 = 343 items out the door!

Oh yeah, and just to up the ante, I’ll be throwing one extra task into the mix!

As most of you know, I’ve been really bad at keeping up on the blog this year. And I figured – since I’m committing to 7 days of decluttering, why not commit to do a daily write up of the items leaving the house as well? Then maybe I can get back into the groove of things!

So there you have it – a double goal!

7 days – 343 items out the door – 7 articles on the blog!

Let’s see how I do!

Wish me luck!

Back in the groove of things!

It’s been a while… I know, one of these days you’ll get sick of hearing me say this, I’m sure.

With my head playing up like it’s been doing the last few months, I’ve learned that I have to pace myself when doing things.

Even though you haven’t heard from me in a while, it doesn’t mean that B and I haven’t been up to anything 😉

We have been a little busy actually! Mostly doing other people’s stuff.

This is a quick recap of what we have been up to since you heard from me last:

  • I’ve been dealing with insurance stuff for my step-mum, after a young man hit her car and ran away without leaving a note (thankfully there was a witness).
  • We have been flexing our handyman skills at a friends place, installing a couple of ceiling lamps, changing door handles and oiling up a couple of doors and swapping out some reeeaaaallly rusted outdoor ventilation covers.
  • We have helped my neighbor with moving some clothing cabinets, installing a couple of bunk-beds and a desk. Mostly just helped her set up her daughters room so it’s easier for them to share a room and still have a private corner.
  • My stepmom wants heated floor in her condominium. This task has turned out to be a bit more work than we though.. and deserves a blog-post of it’s own 😉
  • I’ve been dealing with a lot of admin stuff related to the row of townhouses I belong to (which is still an ongoing task, not quite settled, yet)

Have we done anything for us?

Well yes, as a matter of fact… we have.

You might remember from earlier this spring that we built a patio at a friends house? From that job there was some leftover decking material.

I’ve had a couple of plans for those leftovers, among them I wanted to build a “big” planter/storage box. So about a week ago, we kinda finished that box 🙂 It’s on wheels so it’s easy to move around (it would be impossible without wheels, as it’s large enough that you would need three super strong men to move it, if it is ever filled with soil and plants).  I will be using it as a combination planting table and storage box for material, like pots, mulch, sand etc.

As I’m planning on using it as a storage box and as a planting table, I need to add a lid at some stage. A lid with not only keep everything inside dry, but also give me a surface to use as a table. I haven’t quite figured out what I want make the lid from yet. I’m thinking either treated plywood, or maybe try to make a lid with the leftover decking. When it’s done I’ll show you, but for now you can see how the box looks today. I’m really happy with how it turned out  😉

So what about decluttering?

You would think that with all the stuff going on for everyone else, that I took a declutter break! And in a way you would be right 😉

My decluttering has been a little on and off since you last heard from me. A little here, a little there….

Some of it has made it out of the house.. I’ve got pictures 😉

But some are still hanging around in my catch-all room (guestroom) – gotta take pictures for the blog and all, you know 😉

So what has actually made it out of the house?

1 concrete side-table – sold today
I box filled with decking cutoffs
49 old no longer usable decking boards
(the rest  of the stuff in the car is old flooring from step mums place.. so that’s not mine to count 😉 )
21 books

Out-the-door = 72 items

Which brings my grand total for 2017 to 1017 🙂 

 

Guess this is it, for now! You should be all caught up.. kinda 😉 So hang tight.. and I’ll see you soon!