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 #38 - Scarves and Hats and Mittens...oh, my!

I'm grabbing hold of this thing called "Spring" that has arrived on the West Coast, and I decided to declutter our winter coats, hats, mitts, etc.  We arrived home from a 2 night getaway from Whistler yesterday, so after unpacking, I washed up all of our winter gear and then heaped it all in a pile in our mudroom/entrance.  Today it was time to decide what I should keep for next year (and hand me downs for my four year old to grow into) and what I could toss.  Everything needs to fit in a small front closet and a storage bench.

With no basement, garage or big storage area I always need to be thinking about how much I need to keep for the next year for my three kids.  I decided that with our mild west coast winters, they really only needed one toque each, one winter coat & ski pants, and I only kept a scarf for our youngest, since the big girls hate them and would rather freeze their chin off than be forced to wear one.

But I decided to keep most of the mittens and ski gloves, because you know how those things tend to get lost.  I keep all these items stored in our bench.

Here's the bench BEFORE:

 It's a great bench, but you can imagine the chaos when kids are looking for mittens.  I have been looking a long time for storage baskets or bins that would fit perfectly into the space, but nothing quite worked.  And not to mention that I really didn't want to be spending money on something that wasn't even going to be seen.

Do you know what I went with?  Repurposed cardboard boxes of course!  My husband subdivided a larger box by simply taping another piece in with packing tape.  Smaller spaces = better organization!

Don't you just love a perfect fit?

I also had an orange box that fit neatly as well - I used the lid and bottom.

Here is the end result!

Free, repurposed, and a perfect solution to early morning mitten woes.

My Dad built me our wonderful storage bench, but if you don't have a handyman in your family, there are some beautiful ones available.  A bench is such a great, functional piece of furniture for an entrance area.  Here's a few examples that would be perfect in a mudroom or at a front door.



I feel like I'm really making progress on my declutters.  I'll keep on going for a while, but once the warmer weather begins in earnest, I'll be spending most of my time enjoying the outdoors!  I'm sure by next winter, there will be more to declutter.....

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