Marie Kondo's system of decluttering
is really working for me, even after I broke one of her rules. (I'm not strictly sorting items in the order she recommends. Some things - like books! - require the input of my family, and they haven't yet been available to help me.) I am still getting a lot done; the method of sorting by item (instead of by room) is sort of magical. Since I wrote about this three weeks ago, all my
clothes closets and drawers are still completely organized - and I don't miss a single thing I gave away!
is really working for me, even after I broke one of her rules. (I'm not strictly sorting items in the order she recommends. Some things - like books! - require the input of my family, and they haven't yet been available to help me.) I am still getting a lot done; the method of sorting by item (instead of by room) is sort of magical. Since I wrote about this three weeks ago, all myclothes closets and drawers are still completely organized - and I don't miss a single thing I gave away!
I'm nothing like the woman in my fiction story - but we had too many cleaning products!
Yesterday my project was to declutter the multiple cleaning products throughout my home and garage. Gathering items from all over the house, I realized we had a lot of outdated and duplicate items. There is now lots of room under my sinks and in the cabinets, and everything is well-organized and easily accessible. |
| A lot of this got thrown away! Cleaning products should tidy your home, not have the opposite effect! |
How often do you clean behind your washer and dryer?
It is amazing how much stuff a family can accumulate, when you live in the same home for a dozen years! Decluttering somehow naturally leads to some deep cleaning - the kind that doesn't get done on a regular basis. Like pulling out the washer and dryer to clean behind them, and washing the laundry room curtains! It was a late night before I was done!When I started a blog, no one told me that I would have to clean it, too!
I did some tidying up of my blog over the weekend as well! I made some cosmetic changes, moved a few things around, and did some repair work.
- Better without the photo? I decided that the photographic image superimposed behind my text was distracting and might be making the content hard to read., so I removed it.
 |
| This is a photo of my blog before I removed the background photo (I was working on it then too!)
I'm curious: Do you like it better now that the photo has been removed and the background is a solid color?
|
- "It's Time to Clean Your Blog" is an article published by Jennifer at The Deliberate Mom, with suggestions for daily, weekly, monthly and yearly blog cleaning tasks. I have been neglectful of many of them, including checking for broken links. For this, I am so sorry!
Using the free on-line broken link checker tool that Jennifer suggested, I found quite a few non-functioning links on my site! I am working to correct them, and I apologize if you have been frustrated while trying to access any of these links in my posts!Hopefully all of my efforts yesterday will result in time-saved; both yours and mine. My home and my blog should both be a little more efficient now - and it will be just a little easier to make the most of every moment!
What was the last thing you cleaned or organized?
In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains an Amazon affiliate link. If you make a purchase after clicking on it, the price you pay will not be affected but I may receive some small compensation.
All opinions expressed, however, are entirely honest and my own.
This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!
Husby and I cleaned out the garage last year. That's the last big job I can think of. It was needed. We realized it when we were driving down the street and saw someone driving their car into their garage and our granddaughter, seated in the back piped up with "Look Gramma! Funny!" And we realized that never had she seen us put a car in our garage. She had no idea that's what it is for! Eep!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was small, I knew what a garage was, but I was pretty confused as to how to pronounce what it was! My dad (Canadian) would say the word one way, and my mom (American) would say it differently!
DeleteI'm trying really really hard to be more minimalist in my lifestyle but...LOL
ReplyDeleteWe are a very material society ...
DeleteCleaning/organising/decluttering are constant jobs here. Too often neglected jobs. And I haven't even considered a blog clean. Oh dear. Another thing for the to-do list. The ever growing to-do list.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping the promise of the book comes true - and the need to declutter becomes less constant after it is done the way the author recommends. And I know what you mean about growing to-do blog lists. Mine is snowballing ... but near the top is an overdue visit to your blog!
DeleteOh my goodness... look at all those cleaners!? I bet if I gathered mine up they'd look like that too. I think sometimes if I buy a cool cleaner I'll want to clean or it will make it less not-fun....doesn't work. I need to do that cleanout though...it's getting more and more difficult to get into the cabinet under my sink! :)
ReplyDeletePS-I like the new look of the site!
DeleteI really couldn't believe it either! I keep cleaning products under every bathroom sink - and when you store like items in multiple places, they seem to have a way of multiplying!!
DeleteGlad you like the change to my blog Amy. At first I thought it looked plain without the photo background, but now I like the simplicity. I'm not at all happy with the color scheme now though! I need to do a major overhaul sometime soon.
Well...I liked the original blog design and didn't think I would like this as well, but I do. It is a little easier to read. I, too, am trying to muster up enough ambition to really "muck" out our house. I did the t-shirt organization like you did and so far I like the look. My only problem is putting the clean ones in. I think I still have too many. I can definitely find the "perfect" shirt now, though. You are inspiring me. Yesterday I cleaned out my dresser and I really threw out a lot of things. They weren't even good enough for the Good Samaritan!
ReplyDeleteFinally getting back to my blog and answering some comments today! Thanks for the feedback on the blog design Lynn - more changes are planned, but it will be a bit before I can apply them! Glad my post inspired you. I agree that it is easier to find shirts with them organized "book shelf style." Mine are not packed in tightly, so I just slide a hand in along with whatever shirt I am putting away. That and an occasional quick re-stacking and then re-shelving the lot seems to have been working well.
DeleteI like your new clean look - both on the blog and at home. Good for you, Susan! And yes, that is one heck of a lot of cleaning products. The last time I cleaned behind my washer and dryer? Ummmm... that would be when I got new ones. Maybe 5 years ago? Ouch. I just put a load on and have at least two more to go in so it'll have to wait a bit longer ...
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelly. Glad you like the look. I loved the background photo until I took it off. Now, I am wondering why I kept it so long! Don't worry about your washer and dryer, if it isn't bothering you! Mine sits out from the wall a bit, and it was looking rather dirty back there! (And there was quite a bit of dry kibble underneath!
DeleteLove the changes you've made to the blog - it looks great! I'm constantly decluttering and organizing, and I'm really enjoying all of your tips. I haven't looked behind my washer and dryer in years though - I'm scared!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lana - same comment to you as to Kelly above. If it isn't bothering you - don't worry about it!
DeleteThis is my second trip to this post, but the first time I went to that other site and got lost in the reading for a while! It is a fabulous find. I can't wait to do some cleaning of my own! I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like Amy's website. I thought it was too good of a find not to share! I hope your weekend is turning out nicely also, Rena!
DeleteYup! Let's get things done! :)
ReplyDeleteYes - slow and steady, so it seems!
DeleteYou are the most organized person I know :) I don't see myself getting that far ever....:) only perhaps when we move out of the house.....
ReplyDeleteThank you for saying that Ish - sometimes I just don't feel organized enough. Moving is definitely a good time to purge - but I hope you don't, for a while at least!
DeleteBought. Delivered to Kindle. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI hope you find the book as helpful as I have, Tam! And thanks for purchasing it via my site!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting concept, organizing by item rather than room. And you do have a lot of cleaning supplies!! I might have to check out the broken link checker as well. Thanks for all of the advice!
ReplyDeleteGlad you found this advice helpful Carlee. I am amazed at how much I have discarded (cleaning products and other things too!) since I began following the books suggestions for decluttering. It seems a good system for making good decisions - as I have yet to miss anything that I have parted with!
DeleteI think the changes to your site look great! It seems like there's always an area that needs cleaning and organizing in my life. I like the perspective that cleaning products should be helping keep things clean and not cluttering things up! I definitely need to go through mine!
ReplyDeleteHi Marie - glad you like my blog changes, hopefully there are a lot more improvements coming soon! It is amazing how many cleaning products we accumulate. Organizing and decluttering mine has actually cut down some of the time I spend cleaning!
DeleteThanks for a great post. cleaning things always a hard work for me. whenever i try to clean my home i did something wrong every time except last two times.
ReplyDeleteAwesome job really it's great article.
ReplyDelete