It is hard to believe this is the last day of the year! 2020 has been a year for the books! It turned out, being home for much of this year allowed me a little more time to sort through our house and determine items worth keeping, those that were best to sell and those that should be donated, given to someone, and if necessary tossed. Here is an update on the 2020 goals I set down a year ago:
January - Basement storage room and dresser drawers I cleaned out both kids dressers and mine! Completed! As for the basement, this was only partially done. Almost all large items were removed, I did use many items from this room during the year, and organized many of the education materials. Partially Completed!
Turned out my drawers was one of the last projects I worked on, but I am very happy to have some nicely organized everything is!
February - Continue Basement storage room and dresser drawers plus kids closets! Our basement was reorganized and cleaned up a bit, but this year was much more about solutions to keep things clean up and organized (mainly pillows for forts and art!) Partially Completed! I did clean out both kids closets and relocated items from there or into there for storage. Completed!
March - Dining Room and Family Room - Organize books and location for seasons and resource assess for homework Some progress here, more learning strategies to keep things together and organized. My Mom gave me a great idea of putting the art supplies on a tray, which we can move around. I also found a cup for each kid to place their items (markers, pencils, scissors, ect.) in. My goal was to have them place items back into the cup when not in use, instead of everywhere on the table. Partially Completed!
April - Catch up on anything not completed and a small time of rest
May - Our closet! Organized all my cloths, went through all of them, donated and sold a number of items! Organized shoes and purses! Cleared out the random extra items as well! It feels so much better in here!! Completed!
June - The main floor bedroom or i.e. storage room (huge stock pile of items are in this room so wish me luck!) I started going through items in here and made some progress on items and paperwork, but still have a lot more to go. Partially Completed!
July - If needed any work on the main floor bedroom i.e. storage room and study (Same as above)
August - Pantry and Freezer I worked to use up any food that was still good in both areas, but did have to discard a few expired or very old freezer items. Some were able to be composted and were placed out there. Completed!
September - Kitchen Removed a few items not in use - old spatulas, water bottles, and storage containers. Ordered new lids for food storage containers to replace the very old and broken ones. Recycled many stainless water bottles and coffee / tea to go mugs, no longer in use. Still have more to go here. Partially Completed!
October - Basement Play Room This one is still not where I want it, but we have worked on some methods for cleaning up, and forming habits. Hopefully this will do us well in the new year. Partially Completed!
November - All bedrooms Many items were sorted out of our bedroom and the kids bedrooms, there is likely still a few additional items, but I would consider this, Completed!
December - Go through anything left or any tasks not finished After spending a lot of November organizing, selling, and getting items out of the house, I did not complete too much this month.
One goal I did not have for last year, but has made a huge different was mudroom organization! My husband completed some shelving, and we reorganized the laundry room / mud room for a more convent and organized space! I also organized shoes and boots (mainly mine), for less front door clutter.
The best thing I heard this year on decluttering was the onion declutter strategy. Without knowing, this seemed to be the strategy I was using. I would clean out what was obvious and easy in a room, cabinet, drawer, and move on. Each time I came back to a room I would continue to find things I could get rid of and did so. Just like peeling back the layers of an onion. In many ways, this was probably how I completed what I did...one project, a few items, and with each pass, a few more items were taken out and removed. I found this method was really helpful at the beginning, and anytime I felt overwhelmed by a project. I would also put on a podcast, usually about decluttering to help motivate me and keep me going on some of these bigger projects.
Over the years, I have always tried to remove items from our home in a way that allows more life, if they have any left. While this takes time, I found it helpful to me, and with so many people looking to remove items from their homes this year, here are a few suggestions for alternatives to the donation store.
- Animal shelters often enjoy donations of old towels, sheets and blankets
- H&M has set up a cloth recycling option at their stores...I have used this in the past, but last I checked it was not currently operating with everything going on. If you have the room to hang onto these items, I believe it will open back up in the future.
- Old socks and t-shirts make great rags for cleaning, polishing shoes, or car maintenance projects
- Thrift stores (both locate and online) can be great places to take gently used cloths, shoes and purses. I have used this for many children's items and cloths, as well as Thred Up
- A friend, sibling, neighbor, or cousin can be great recipients of children's cloths or toys!
These are great alternatives, but donation stores are always a great option for items that are still in decent shape!
Overall I felt successful in my progress this year! I am excited to have things in order and routines and organization tools in place. Hopefully this will set us up well as we start into the new year!
Happy New Year's Eve!!
