Tag: The Minimalists

Packing party – Bathroom time!

As I mentioned last weekend I would start my pseudo packing party in my bathroom. Following the rules of my version of the packing party, I would pack up on Fridays, and unpack on Mondays. Well, I have to admit, I’ve cheated (yes already)… I was so antsy to get started I packed up my bathroom Tuesday this week 😉

I boxed up most of everything, with the exception of items like hair dryer, laundry bin, trash bin, weight scale, toilet brush holder, floor mat as these are things I knew I would use during the week.

I kept out one towel for me, one guest towel, toothbrush and paste, hand soap, my home made shampoo and conditioner, body oil and face oil (also home made), contact lenses, vitamins I take daily, one bottle of liquid bubbly bath soap (which I have used up already) and one bottle of body lotion I’m trying to use up.  Oh yeah, and the jar I collect plastic in, since I now recycle this after my plastic challenge.

I never really had all that much in my bathroom to start out (as you can see from my packed away stuff below), but I have to say… it’s been freeing living with just about nothing in my bathroom. So much so, that I have decided that I most likely will not unpack all my stuff tomorrow. There are a couple of things I will add back, like a few towels, the basket I keep all my laundry stuff and soap in, a couple of small grooming items and a small jewellery box.

Everything else I will keep packet away and only pull out as I need them over the next few months. I already know a few items that I have decided will not make it through this round, so that will go out-the-door within the next days.

Below are a few pictures of a cleared out bathroom.. unfortunately I forgot to do a before picture. I could off course pull everything out, just to take a “before” picture… but nope, that’s not going to happen 😉 You will just have to make do.

Now for my partners “in crime” 🙂

  • Moving Forward is doing her cupboards, following my lead on what rooms to attack 🙂 Check out her bathroom job.
  • All-Round Better me – is travelling right now, but might join in when she is back…?
  • How To Be Myself – might do a “light browse”, with my “moving test” questions in mind?
  • Free but fun – are moving in May, so they are knee deep into decluttering already.

Next room – bedroom anyone?

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My pseudo packing party!

I mentioned a few days ago that I’m doing a pseudo packing party. Mostly inspired by the realisation, after having participated in my step-mums house move, that I most likely still have a lot of stuff hiding in nooks and crannies, even after my decluttering effort the last year(s).

I decided there are a couple of questions I need to add to my regular decluttering rules, questions like;

  • If I was to move to a different country or a smaller house, would this item be worth paying good money to have it moved, or would it fit in a smaller lifestyle?
  • Would I keep this item if I myself had to physical carry/haul this over to the new place, with no help from anyone…

I don’t want to do a real packing party, like The Minimalists did, as I don’t want to cover up everything I own, and live in boxes (especially after the last few days), but I decided I want to do a smaller version, where I “pretend” I’m moving and therefore have to go through my stuff as if I was packing up for a move. And while I go through my stuff I will evaluate the items according to my regular declutter routine and add the questions above to the mix!

All round better me – one of our fellow bloggers – quickly asked me what it involves, joining my “packing party”!

My original plan was to just “pretend (in my mind)” that I packed up room by room, and while I was going through my stuff I would use the questions above, hoping that that would make a few more things go out the door.

But, All round better me’s question made me stop up and think, that maybe I should do a “proper” job 🙂

So I have made a plan for my pretend packing party. Now! If there are anyone out there that wants to join me, you choose yourself what it is you want to join this “party” with. You can do a room, or a closet, or the cupboards (Therese?), or an area of your house or the whole house. Whatever area you feel you would like/need to give a once over 🙂

The key is – you need to empty the space you have chosen!

Since I’m doing most of the house, I’ve decided I need a plan, to keep it from becoming to overwhelming:

  • I will do one room at the time
  • I will not touch any of the furniture (the original packing party covered them all up, but I’m not going there)
  • As with the furniture I will not touch the TV, cable, stereo ++ as it’s way to many cables to mess with…
  • I’m not touching my books, as I’m doing those separately as part of my read a book program
  • I’m not touching my photo collection as this is a whole project on its own
  • I’m not buying any moving boxes or packing items. The idea is to get rid of thing, not have to buy anything to get that done. I will use boxes, bags, suitcases I already have, and I have “borrowed” some of my step-mums moving boxes. If I have no boxes to use, I will stack the stuff in piles, use plastic bags or whatever I have. The key is, if you are joining me, use whatever stuff you have to pack in 🙂
  • I will store my “packed” items in a different room than the one I’m packing – if possible!

Packing:

  • I will pull things out of my cabinets and drawers and pack away everything that is not going to be used the first 48 hours.
  • While I’m packing I will use my declutter system and ask the questions mentioned above
  • I will only keep out the items I know I will use the next 48 hour (e.g toothbrush, clothing, cups and plates and so on)
  • Then I will “sit back and relax” and enjoy my clear space for the next 48 hours. Why 48 hours? I’m thinking that that will give me just enough time to enjoy my empty space, and also contemplate on what I really want to put back in, when I unpack!
  • Since the space is empty, I figured this is as good a time as ever, to do a proper spring clean! So maybe not so much relaxing after all 😉

Unpacking:

  • I will only put back the items I really want or absolutely need in that cleared space.
  • Since I’m only putting back the things I really want or need, I’m sure I will have leftover items. These I sort through again
  • Items I know I’m keeping that belong somewhere else, I will put where they belong. If that is in a room that is next on the list, I will still put it there, for me to go though again, together with that rooms stuff.
  • Items I’m getting rid off, I will dispose of either as donate, sell or toss (recycle off course).
  • Items I’m not sure about, I will keep packed up, put a future date on them, and store out of the way until that date and then get rid of anything I have not taken back out by then.

When? 

I’m lucky to have some long weekends I can use for this task, and I was planing on packing Fridays and unpacking Mondays!

Saturdays and Sundays will most likely be used in the garden as spring is finally on it’s way, and there are plenty, and I mean plenty of things to do outdoors 🙂

I thought the month of April would be a great time for this job! But, since I have a whole house to do, I will start as early as next weekend, and I’m starting in the bathroom!

Jump on in, any time, from now through April 🙂 And why not blog about it? Let me know, I’ll add your links to my posts 🙂

And remember! A great rule when you are trying to decide what stays and what goes:

Choose what to KEEP, not what to get rid of! 

 

Packing it all up! The number of stuff….

Only a few more things to do, and then my step-mums move is finally over. Monday was the day the movers came, and boy did it turn out to be a long, loooong day 😉

The last few days have been crazy with packing, disconnecting electrical items, cleaning up the new place after all the workers (who incidentally are still not done.. according to the grapevine. I believe they are putting the finishing touches on the bathroom today), the move itself, unpacking, reconnecting electrical items +++

All I’m going to say is this… moving is a pain in the… 😉 and I’m glad it wasn’t my house this time around!

I would like to think that, now that I have cleared away quite a bit of stuff, it would be reasonable easy for me to move (if I ever were so inclined) but having witnessed the chaos of the last few days, I’m not so sure any more.

I knew my step-mum had quite a few things, but I didn’t realise how much, until stuff came crawling out of the woodwork. And I’m starting to think that even as much as I have decluttered, there are way more, than I realise, hidden away in my nooks and crannies.

Maybe it’s time I take another look at all the little things that are hiding in “plain sight” in my closets, drawers and shelves. See if there isn’t a way to reduce even more. I should probably implement the moving test going forward with my decluttering task. A moving test, huh?

To me, this is to implement questions like;

  • If I was to move to a different country or a smaller house, would this item be worth paying good money to have it moved, or would it fit in a smaller lifestyle?
  • Would I keep this item if I myself had to physical carry/haul this over to the new place, with no help from anyone…

Hmm, I can think of a few things that would not survive the “hauling it myself” test 😉  I mean, even if thing are small and don’t take up a lot of space, I’m telling you, when you pack all that stuff in a box, it quickly becomes a heavy load of stuff… and even the smallest box becomes heavy after you have lugged around 50 of them!

I don’t think I’m quite at the packing party level, like The Minimalists did, especially after the last few days (if I don’t see another moving box again, I would be really happy), but I can still “pretend in my mind” I’m packing up, right?

So that is what I will do… ahem… in a couple of weeks time! I just need to get this current move out of the way first, and there are still a few things that needs to be done (guest bedroom/office to set up, basement storage room to sort out, curtain rods to be hung, pictures to put on the walls, books to unpack… you get the drift) before I can lean back and relax.

But at least I have made the decision (and a decision is half the work, right? 🙂 ) to do a pseudo “packing party” as soon as this real “unpacking party” is over…

Want to join me, in my “packing party” endeavour?