Clutter-Free Gifts

I definitely decluttered this week - both before and after our 16 year old's suprise party last Saturday. And I cleaned out at least one item of clothing each day from someone's closet since I know they're getting clothes for Christmas. But that's not where I'm going with this post today.

Marcia, the Organising Queen, had a post last week titled "Clutter-Free Gifts - Just in Time." That's what I want to focus on today.

We all know someone who is so hard to buy for because he/she has everything. We also know those teens, tweens, and kids who have so much stuff, not that they don't want more stuff, but they already have so much stuff! Besides, who wants to give someone a gift knowing that it is going to sit in their home/closet/room/whatever collecting dust and serving no purpose? That parafin wax home treatment station seems like a great gift right now, but, really, how many times will it get used before it goes in a box and sits in a corner for ever and ever? Twice in our case. And how many calendars and fuzzy socks can one person actually use?
I've been racking my brain trying to think of clutter-free gifts. Here's what I've come up with so far. For my son and husband, Rockets basketball tickets. For my daughters, movie theater gift cards. For my mom, tickets to a local dinner theater performance. Other ideas include restaurant gift cards, massage gift certificates, hair salon gift cards, and manicures. How about the gift of house cleaning for an older relative? Then, of course, there are consumable items such as homemade bread or cookies. The hard part is to match the recipient with a clutter-free gift he/she will truly cherish.

Yes, we'll have clutter at our home this Christmas, that is definite, but I'm trying to reign it in and have some control over it. Baby steps, as I always say. And I'd like to know what ideas you have! Please leave a comment!

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Declutter Friday

My biggest decluttering project this week was the file cabinet. How does it become such a mess so quickly? Take a look at the stack I had to shred!

My husband has a tendency to think we should keep every receipt, bill, piece of mail, etc. that we ever get, but he doesn't put them where they belong, so it's left to me, and I have to say that we will never need some of the things he wants to keep. Do we really need a receipt for the glasses he bought two years ago? I thought I was a pack-rat! So don't tell him, but I threw away a lot of things he would've kept. The file cabinet is cleaned out for now. Now, f I could just stay on top of the filing, this won't happen!

Also got rid of a tee shirt, coat, sweater, and some papers from my children's younger school days that I didn't really need to continue to hang onto.

I hope you'll visit Organising Queen and consider joining us for De-clutter Friday. All it takes is the will to want to de-clutter at least one thing a day.

Declutter Friday

I have been a declutter machine this week! I've had the whole week off, so what better to do than get rid of stuff before we get more stuff at Christmas!?

My photos are clutter-free on both computers (the desktop and the laptop). I deleted tons of duplicates! Everything is nice and organized into folders now, just the way I like it.

The biggest project was my son's closet, which I don't think has been cleaned out in years. I bagged up so many toys and stuffed animals. I even found a new, still-in-the-box water gun that his friend gave him for his birthday last year. Here's a picture of the CD holder (it wouldn't fit in a bag), k'nex, unopened toy, and 5 bags.

I also decluttered clothes from his closet as well as mine and my daughters. This is a jumbo-sized container, and I found even more clothes after this photo was taken.

I'll be making a trip to the donation site this weekend. Right now I'm off to declutter the bookshelf and file cabinet.

P. S. Have you visited Organsing Queen? What are you waiting for?!

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This Week on the Home Front Part 7

As part of Organising Queen's declutter challenge, I've been making a special effort to declutter at least one thing each day.

This week, in addition to recycling all of our aluminum and plastic, I took a few minutes to clean out three pajamas/nightgowns from my dresser as well as 3 tanks tops and 2 blouses from my closet. I also cleaned out 2 shirts from my son's closet. Not a lot of progress, but small steps, baby, small steps. Here's this week's stack to donate:

And speaking of clutter, one of my favorite blogs, I'm an Organizing Junkie, has a post with 11 tips for decluttering. For all my non-organizing-type bloggy friends, check it out. It's not so hard! I especially love her "One in, one out" suggestion. If I get a new shirt, I try to get rid of one. Sometimes that's difficult, but it's a good suggestion.

Speaking of small steps, I also take part in Rachel Anne's Small Things Challenges at Home Sanctuary. Come on in for some coffee! (I don't drink coffee, but the logo is so cute!)

My favorite post this week was one titled Creating Sanctuary from Chaos - Where Do I Start??? Where to start is often the reason most of us don't de-clutter or organize. Right? It's my son's biggest problem when he's cleaning his room, and sometimes I feel that way with my filing at home and grading at work. First things first... start with a prayer. I think that's the best suggestion I've had all week!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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This Week on the Home Front Part 6

I completely cleaned out my pantry this week!

Good finds: 2 new saucepans that I had no idea were hiding in the dark recesses of the top shelf and two Ronald McDonald houses full of can tabs to donate.

To Donate: Candle holders that have been in there since before I moved in almost four years ago.

Combined - plastic utensils. Instead of having five bags/boxes of them, we now have two, one for spoons and one for forks.

To Throw Away or Recycle:

old grocery receipts (a huge stack of them)

half a bag of peanuts

a broken measuring cup

corn meal

two half-used containers of bread crumbs

half a bag of sunflower seeds

chocolate coffee - old and will never get used anyway

23 plastic grocery bags

Christmas resealable baggies from 3 years ago

honey

half eaten can of cashews

sponge mop replacement - wrong type

cooking oil - old and cloudy

dusty, plastic spoons

vacuum belt for vacuum we no longer own

empty wine bottle

2 candle jar lids

a bottle of saki

It's amazing how much accumulates in your pantry!

For other decluttering projects, visit Organsing Queen

This Week on the Home Front Part 5

This week I organized my wrapping paper and gift bags which Rachel Anne of Home Sanctuary suggested to us a couple of weeks ago as one of our daily "Small Things" challenges. I finally got to it! She inspires me to do so much! You can hook up with RA at her blog anytime, but she hosts a special Company Girl Coffee every Friday.







Another woman who inspires me is Marcia, the Organising Queen. Marcia posts daily tips on organization and decluttering almost daily, and she hosts a special edition of Decluttering on Fridays.

I cleaned out my sock drawer. It didn't take long, but it was productive. I tossed 12 (yes, a dozen) mate-less socks, gave three pairs of athletic socks I don't like to my son (whose foot is as big or bigger than mine already), one pair to my daughter, and two to donate.

Kids' computer area - neat

CD's - neat Electronic decluttering - My Pictures - all neatly catalogued into folders by occasion, type, or subject.

Also electronic - I considered switching from Bloglines to Google Reader, but I love the interface on Bloglines and the way I can organize it. I deleted 18 blogs from my feeds, though, you know, the ones you might read sometimes. Well, I just don't have time unless it's something I really love. I can always add them back later if I change my mind, but it felt good to clean it up.


I also received Good Mail this week! This Halloween/Fall scrapbook kit and Paper Crafts magazine arrived from Kimmy at Stamps, Scraps, and More. This totally rocks because I was preparing to do a Halloween page of my twins, and I can use all the help I can get.



Totally by surprise, I received this magnetic not pad from Mamarazzi of Dandelion Wishes. She must know me well, because I love to put a shopping list on the refrigerator that everyone can add to during the week as they think of things they need. You're awesome, Mamarazzi!

This is the final day to visit my Bloggy Carnival post for your chance to win a $20 Amazon.com gift card.


And it's a good thing I wrote this post a couple of days ago, even though I am posting it today, because I have been so sick! I think my head is going to explode, I about passed out at the doctor's office when they tried to take my blood pressure, and my throat feels like Freddy Kruger has been scraping it with his long, icky nails. Thanks for listening to me whine!

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This Week on the Home Front Part 4

I accomplished so much last Saturday! Some of the things I did were from my "pockets of time" list and some of it was general decluttering. I...

• checked and deleted email


• filed bills and paperwork


• cleaned out a "junk" drawer


• tweezed my eyebrows for the first time in a couple of months


• organized and labeled all the chargers and electronic cables


• Threw away a bunch of things from a cabinet such as an electronic bookmark, an old CD player, decks of cards that had some cards missing, and more.


• My husband and I took one huge box, one full backpack, 8 garbage bags full, and a computer monitor to Goodwill.


• Cleaned counters


• Washed dishes


• Did laundry (which is neverending at my house with six people)


• Scented my home with fragrant candles


• Cleaned out part of the garage
• Here's my new and improved junk drawer!

It felt good to get so much done in one day! Where do I get my motivation? Organising Queen and Home Sanctuary. Thanks, ladies, for helping me to get things done to create a better home.
This week at Home Sanctuary, Rachel Anne also talked about money-saving tips. I had a whole list of tips, but the Internet wasn't working properly when I planned my post, so I'll leave it at this for now.

powdered laundry detergent and cold water.

Powder costs less than liquid, and you can actually use slightly less than called for and still get clean clothes. Some people prefer liquid because you don't have to wait a minute for it to dissolve like you do with powder, but I don't mind running some water before I put my clothes in. And cold water washing is less expensive since you don't have to use your water heater. I also think cold water keeps my clothes looking newer longer.

This Week on the Home Front Part 3

On Wednesday, I visited Home Sanctuary, as I do every day, and I saw a picture of a pocket! The title of the post was "What's in Your Pockets?" Inside I cringed and said to myself, "Oh, no! How does she know?" You see, I had just washed my son's jeans without checking the pockets - with his cell phone! Again! (For the second time.) I ruined another cell phone. How did Rachel Anne know?

But that's not what she wrote about. Instead, it was "pockets of time," those times where you only have 5, 10, maybe 15 minutes, which is not enough time to delve into a major project, but is plenty of time to do small tasks. She challenged us to make a list (and keep it handy daily-that's good time management!) and to do some of the things on our lists.

My list consists of things I can do at home, at work, or at both places. I'm going to put an asterisk beside the ones I actually did during my pockets of time Wednesday and Thursday. Some of these go right along with my committment to declutter along with the Organising Queen.

Sign up for online bills (to help declutter paper)

*Pay online bills

*File papers (home and work)

*Clean a bathroom

*Fold a load of laundry

*Make copies (at work)

*Check and delete email (home and work)

Grade papers (for work)

*Dust a room

Declutter a drawer or cabinet (home and work)

Read a magazine article

Write a thank you note

Schedule dentist and doctor appointments

Write a to-do list

Clean the glass table tops

Shave my legs

Pluck my eyebrows (since I can't afford a wax right now)

Read with one of my children

Gather plastic and/or aluminum cans to recycle

Organize a section of my closet

*Make my bed

*Load the dishwasher

*Fill up a box of outgrown clothes or miscellaneous items to donate

I could go on. I thought that was a very clever way to remind us to utilize our time to accomplish things that will bring peace and order to our homes and our places of business. At work, I have been deleting email like a crazy person! I didn't realize how much junk I had sitting there in my inbox. At home, I made folders for some of my email, and deleted about 30 more above what I did last week.

I wrote my home mission statement on January 4, 2008. Rachel Anne asked us to review it.

I want my home to be neat, clean, and inviting, one that offers warmth and acceptance to all who enter. Chores are shared by family members, and we have a feeling of peace at the end of a long work or school day. My family and I will prioritize home improvements and work toward reaching those goals, one small step at a time.

Mine needs some tweaking, with our different schedules, six people in the home, and repairs from the hurricane, so I am constantly revising my approach to achieving my goals. For example, this school year, the twins are involved in fewer activities outside of school. That greatly reduces stress and allows us to accomplish things that bring about a feeling of peace. Now, it doesn't work like that every day. We all have bad days, but, as long as we continue to focus on our family goals, we will get there.

Thanks to both our Home Sanctuary guru and our Organising Queen for helping us to create order, peace, and beauty in our lives.

This Week on the Home Front Part 2

I love to organize. And I love a neat home. And I strive to make sure my home feels comfortable. But face it... I have a husband, four kids at home, two pets, and a full time outside-the-home job. Therefore, to keep myself motivated, I participate in Organising Queen's declutter challenges and Home Sanctuary's Company Girl/Small Things challenges. And being the efficient woman that I am, I'm going to combine my weekly update for each of these.

This week, I tackled my other step-daughter's closet (not nearly as difficult as the closet last week). Some pillows, stuffed animals, and a few outgrown clothes and shoes are being donated.

I also decluttered my email inbox, with some inspiration from Marcia (OQ). I started with 542 emails and ended with 218. Woo hoo! I kept the emails that have photos attached (so that I can save them to the computer later) as well as confirmation of account/password type emails. Pretty soon, I will have all of that organized, too, so I will eventually be able to delete those. I feel so free already! (By the way, over at I'm an Organizing Junkie, her monthly challenge is the home office. Marica guest posted at OrgJunkie this week.)

Marcia encouraged me to update my reader. I deleted three blogs. I think a few more can go. I also began the very time-consuming task of decluttering the labels on my blog. This one is going to take a while.

Rachel Anne (HS) inspired me most this week from something she posted earlier in the month. She asks up to read a verse and print it off. My verse was in a visible place at school, but since the hurricane, I haven't had it in front of me every day. But it was there when I went back today, and it was comforting. (Ephesians 4:24)

Today's task was also my favorite for the week. She asked us to give a "round of applause" to a family member who could use a little boost! Sometimes, I think my husband doesn't realize how much I appreciate him. I made sure he did, today. And my oldest stepdaughter helped around the house (without complaining). Not only did she get a hug and words of appreciation, but I tried really hard to help her with several things that she was doing, and it was so good for our relationship.

The most clever post at Home Sanctuary this week was to do something "square." I had fun with that! I used a square laundry basket to get some washing done, squared away some bills, made a square scrapbook page, squared away some housekeeping, and worked with two other squares (my mailbox and my email inbox).

That's it for this week's issue! Please come back next week for some more decluttering/organizing/creating sanctuary goodness. If you subscribe to my blog, you won't miss it! And while you're at it, why don't you join me at these great challenges!

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You still have time to enter to win a Bob the Builder computer game!

This Week on the Home Front

We have been out of school because of the hurricane all week, and there has been a lot to do. First up, we've had to clean up the tree limbs and debris in our yards and contact the insurance company. Second, there has been a ton of laundry to do since the power came back on. Although we're not drinking our water yet, we are using it for showers and laundry.

Also, having so much time on my hands, I decided to undertake a huge de-clutter. My step-daughters just switched bedrooms about a week ago. Neither one of them is what you would call "domestic" by any stretch of the imagination. But, the oldest one is getting better. You should have seen the clutter in the closet she inherited from the younger step-daughter! So, I tackled it. I found old backpacks, my husband's CD case that has been missing for two years, ski boots, supplies from her knitting phase three years ago, pillows from couches we haven't had in the house for years, school supplies from the last three years, and so on, and so on. I purged, categorized, and organized, and what a rush! I love doing that!

I filled up two large trash bags, filled a backpack, a large clothing store sack, and still didn't fit everything in. But do I feel better! And my oldest step-daughter was so grateful. A hug from her made it all worthwhile.

I haven't been able to do every "small thing" challenge at Home Sanctuary this week, but I did manage to sweep the corners (and the rest) of my living room and clean out our soap and tissue dispensers. I would have loved to bake something from scratch, but we still don't have any fresh eggs being delivered to our area since the storm, and the grocery stores have lines just to get what provisions we can. I also ran out of sugar. If I could, I would make this Texas Chocolate Sheetcake, especially since it's a recipe from my friend who runs a bakery/catering business and because my birthday is next week. She shared the recipe with me, so I will share with you (just click the link above).

I also would have liked to clean up by my back door, but we got a new dining table delivered, and the old one is blocking the back door for now. We're going to donate it, but right now, there is nowhere to put it. This is the new table.

If you haven't checked out Home Sanctuary, you should. It's never too late to join, and she always gives me great ideas on ways to make my home more blessed.

I also recommend checking out Organising Queen. She is the best at de-cluttering, and she is so helpful! She also has great tips for organizing your computer, as well as a terrific post on de-cluttering the paper in your life, and since this month's Organizing Junkie roundup is the office area, it's definitely worth a look! OrgJunkie has a great post about weeding out the time consumers in our lives.

Since I will be off another week (many of our schools were damaged and aren't ready for students yet), I am planning to de-clutter, organize, menu-plan, and create some real order in my household! Won't you join me?

And remember, I have two giveaways ending soon.

Prima Princessa Swan Lake DVD

Book - The History of Love