Daily Declutter Challenge #42 - Thinning out the Bookshelf

OK, so I'll be honest - I haven't been decluttering EVERY day now, but it's a good thing because spring has tentatively arrived on the West Coast.

However, a viral croup has also arrived for my little one, so I had to cancel appointments yesterday & today (renal for her, orthodontics for her sister) and spend lots of time inside, giving nebulizing treatments, watching shows, and generally laying low with Little Miss Wheezy.

Lots of time inside means that there was bound to be a Declutter waiting for me....

Oh, it's hard to declutter books, isn't it?  But when books are starting to get stacked in front of books then either you get another bookshelf (no thanks - there's really not much room for another piece of furniture!) or downsize.

I realized that just because I LIKED that book, and enjoyed reading it in the past, it didn't mean I had to hang on to it.  I came at it with the attitude that there were plenty of other great books out there waiting to be discovered!  And I really like to utilize the local library - they've got the storage space for waaaay more books than I do!

Sometimes decluttering can get pretty messy...

 

Especially cluttered was the top of the bookshelf - all the cards from my kids and husband were jammed into a couple boxes and were starting to pile up on top.

I found a sturdy, cardboard box that fit these papers and cards nicely, but it wasn't that pretty.

I had some pretty paper left over from Bulliten Board Makeover so I decided to give the box a quick makeover.

Keepin' it real....I didn't have enough paper to cover the whole box.  Ah, well - no one will see the backside!

I managed to clear an entire shelf of books, so I was able to move the bins of cards onto their very own spot, and placed my sewing kit on the top shelf, away from little hands that tend to get into it!

P.S.  The little Raggedy Anne is a piggy bank I received from my grandparents when I was 3 years old, and the "well loved" Hollie Hobby Doll was my first dolly from my mom.  They are very sweet up there!

Daily Declutter Challenge #41 - The Little Shed of Horrors

We're very thankful for our home and we love our neighborhood and large backyard. One drawback though is that we don't have a garage or basement....but we do have a shed!  A tiny, dark, spider infested shed, but at least it keeps stuff out of the rain.  It's filled with painting supplies, garden tools, the lawn mower, ladder, and many other things we didn't even know we had.

Today we made it a project for the whole family, much to our children's horror.  NOBODY likes to go into that shed!

Can you blame us?

We decided to were going to pull EVERYTHING out, so we formed an assembly line and my brave husband went in there to pass items out.  He killed at least 5 REALLY BIG spiders.  We grow em big out here.

We placed everything onto the patio and decided what we should keep and what we could toss and what we could put in the garage sale pile.

 

Hard to believe that all fit in the shed.  It looks like a hoarder's backyard!


After it was emptied out I went in with a broom and a face mask.  (I'm not kidding - I didn't want to be breathing in whatever crap was in there.)  I pulled my hoodie on my head really tightly so I wouldn't get spiders in my hair.  I'm sure I killed at least 10 while I was in there.  *shudder*  And I really hate spiders.


After giving it a thorough sweeping out, I  sprayed the corners and walls with a homemade spider repellent of vinegar, eucalyptus oil, and peppermint oil.  I have no idea if this will work, but it made me feel a little better about being in there.  Now our shed smells all minty fresh!

After it was de-cobwebbed we put the large, not very frequently used items in first.  We put a bunch of nails up to hang things within easy reach on the walls.

  My hubby also put up some scrap pieces of wood as mini shelves to place narrow items.

 

We didn't have enough wall space for those fancy rake holder clamps, plus we didn't feel like a trip to Home Depot. Instead my handy husband just took a piece of scrap wood and nailed it across a corner and put all our brooms, shovels, rakes etc behind it.  Simple and free fix!

Mostly we just got rid of stuff though.  We put it all back nice and neat and here's the end of three hours of hard work.

 

Now we can actually get the lawn mower out without wrestling junk out of the way.  And you can't tell from the photos, but it's waaaay less cobwebby and creepy.

So to recap How to Organize a Shed that you haven't dealt with since the birth of your third child almost 5 years ago.....

1.  Pull EVERYTHING out.
2.  Get rid of junk you don't need or use.  Recycle if you can!
3.  Sweep it out - wearing a mask and hoodie will help!
4.  Put up nails for hanging, scrap wood for more shelves.
5.  Put it all back, nice and neat.
6.  Hug your husband and make him feel appreciated!  His love language is probably physical touch.   Mine is acts of service.  :-)  So I'm a very happy wife today!

Daily Declutter Challenge #39 & #40 - Daily Double

My declutters are getting easier and easier - I managed to get two done today.  So here's a Daily Double!

My bedside table is mostly home to various yummy scented moisturizers, a prayer journal, and assorted tossed in items including a couple bookmarks.  I still haven't trained myself to use bookmarks though!

I had so many containers of half used lotions that were just tossed in there any which way.  I decided to keep them all, but mix them up together into just a couple containers.  It ended up smelling pretty yummy!  Less is more in this case.

Simple and functional - I like to sit on the edge of my bed and put lotion on before my socks, so it's better to keep all this stuff here rather than in my bathroom.

Now onto the bathroom!

I really can't believe I'm showing you this cabinet.  Eeek!  Transparency is very motivating!
 

If you're anything like me, most of the stuff under your cabinet gets forgotten about and barely used.  My daily stuff is on my open shelf and my makeup fits in a little bag on the counter.  I don't wear a lot of make up and I've gotten better at streamlining my products.  By the time you're in your late 30's you don't need 28 shades of eyeshadow and 14 lip colours.  At least I don't.  :-)

I even went through my big bag of nail polish and tossed all the ones that were getting gummy.  I'm sure some of them were over 10 years old!

I also collected up all the little bars of soap that we got from hotel rooms or other people had given to us (and we never use since we always have liquid hand soap!) and put them aside for another purpose.  I'll post on that tomorrow.....

Everything else went into baskets and containers and here is the end result!
 
If you're overwhelmed with all the stuff cluttering up your bathroom, here are some strategies I've learned over the years.

1.  Only keep on the counter items you use multiple times a day - soap, toothbrushes, maybe hairbrushes etc in storage tumblers or jars.

This multi-purpose storage tumbler is made from recycled glass.  Cool!


This is a good idea- keep the toothbrushes mounted on the wall or in the medicine cabinet.

Here's a little something for the germ-a-phobe!

I loooove the style of this one!


Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked - onto tip two!

2.  Keep in the medicine cabinet, drawers, or shelf items you use once a day - makeup, hair products, deodorants.  If you have a teeny bathroom like mine, an over the toilet cabinet  or shelf is a great space saver.


3.  Keep under the sink or lower storage items you only use occasionally.  Pedastal sinks are obviously no good for this.  Who ever brought back pedastal sinks into fashion anyway?  I always wonder where do people put their stuff?

4.  Never use an item?  Toss it!!!!

This day was pretty easy....but I still have to face my bedroom closet.....