ATAD 2016

[StillPJParticipant]

New Year, new start.

Former regular Unclutterer forum participant here. Used to be known as PJ, but because of the forum program/design changeover a while back, my account was lost. So I’m calling myself StillPJ and I’m going to try to get back on track with my decluttering efforts.

If you’re a new reader, then you’ll need to know how this works … operating on the theory that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, ATAD means “A Thing A Day.” If your home or your office is cluttered, and you want to see that change, but the task seems too daunting, take heart – just take care of ATAD! And before you know it, your home will be a place of peace and calm. Or at least legitimately a work in progress.

So what are you waiting for?

Go find something – just one thing! Give it away, donate it, or throw it out!

Then come back and do it all over again tomorrow …

Out: Under-bed gift wrap storage container, and almost half of the gift bags that were in it. Wow, some people choose really ugly gift bags. Why do I keep them? And how many times should we re-use a gift bag before throwing it out? Some of the ones in my collection were quite tattered. I pared the collection down to just those that I like, are in excellent condition, and mostly ones that are plain enough to use for any occasion. And they are all now stored in a drawer in the daybed in my “studio.”

[StillPJParticipant]

Almost forgot to post my end of night results before going to bed …

Did a couple of rounds around the house during commercial breaks, and found:

To donate – “black cat” lighted Halloween window decoration, hanging fabric closet organizer, small bag of plastic beads previously sorted out that never made it to the donation bin

To garbage or recycling – little bit of junk mail from the coffee table, box some fancy soap came in

[StillPJParticipant]

My “out” today is a pair of black wrought iron wall sconces for candles. They moved with me 2.5 years ago and never got put up anywhere, though I had intended that I would use them.

But …

If I’m honest, I will admit that it was very infrequent for me to light candles in wall sconces even before I moved. In fact, because they are officially meant to hold round (spherical) candles, it wasn’t actually that easy to find appropriate candles.

So I will burn the set of candles I have left, using some other kind of holder, and I will let the sconces go to bless someone else now!

[StillPJParticipant]

Found my ATAD early today, but didn’t get a chance to log on and record it.

From the front hall cupboard, 2 stacking bins that used to hold hats, scarves, purses, etc. My warm weather gear is being stored elsewhere these days, so one bin was already empty, and the purses can sit on the shelf just as easily. It’s possible I will find another use for them, but I don’t think so. I will leave the bins in the donation pile for a while, and if I haven’t figured out another use by the time that I do something with the donations, then out they will go!

Just in case though, I went looking for a second/back-up item – found a “household hints” type book that I probably will never use. Isn’t that what the internet is for???

[StillPJParticipant]

I almost forgot …

When I put away my spare purse (see FATAD thread) I threw out the purse sized hairbrush I found inside. Half the bristles were missing.

And when I showered, I finally decided to use the last little bit of a hotel shampoo, just to get it off the edge of my bathtub. It was a bit more than I needed for my hair, so I used it as body wash as well!

[StillPJParticipant]

Missed out yesterday, too long a day, too much going on.

Another long day today, but I definitely don’t want to miss two days in a row!

So …

Found a few more Christmas gift bags and boxes in decent condition. Added to the donation pile. It’s not much, but I’ll try to find something else before I head to bed.

[StillPJParticipant]

As reported in FATAD thread, was working on clearing my car, and relocation of craft supplies from one room to another.

Out (garbage and recycling):
Paper coffee cups
Napkins and other food packaging
Parking receipts

Out (donation pile):
Completed cross stitch – country geese, welcome – completed quite a few years ago and intended as a gift for my sister, who decided to get rid of all her country geese type accessories just as I finished it!
Small cross-stitch kit – wedding themed, took from someone else who was downsizing their craft supplies, but I don’t need it and it is still NIP (new in packaging) so someone else might be happy to pick it up at the thrift store.

[StillPJParticipant]

Several outs today…

2 blazers – both purchased from a thrift store, now will make their way back there. The sleeves are a titch too short on one, the other seemed “retro-cool” in the store, but when I’ve tried to wear it, I just end up feeling “retro-old.” Have had both in my closet for more than a year, have rarely worn either. Best to let them go.

And I now have a full medium sized bag of clothes ready to go out. 🙂

5-6 decent hangers, all different. Was able to pare down the hangers a little in my front hall closet to just a couple of different types, as I have discarded a few pieces over time, and those last two jackets to go made me realize that there were several more spare hangers than I needed.

Also out, somewhat “vintage” package of food that had been hanging around my cupboard for a while, that I was pretty sure would not have gone bad. And it tasted fine, and I am still alive. Will let you know, dear readers, if that changes. 🙂

[StillPJParticipant]

In addition to helping my mother drop off some stuff to the thrift store tonight, I added to my own donation pile.

1. Novelty pillow case
2. 2 embroidered pictures (previously purchased from the thrift store but never hung up)
3. Small change purse (part of a gift I received some time ago)
4. Decorative wall stickers – never used

Also … 4 tires. But following the 1 in, 1 out rule, they have been replaced with new ones!

[StillPJParticipant]

Reporting for yesterday, as it was too late last night to go online …

Assorted papers and other junk OUT as I continue to work on cleaning out my car – did the front seat the other day, now working on the back!

[StillPJParticipant]

Have been having problems with my internet for a good chunk of the week, and working on a big project at work, while also trying to deal with some family stuff. But, I’ve been trying to keep up with uncluttering even while not posting – including helping my mother do some uncluttering! I have 3 large bags of her clothes in my car.

Now, a challenge I have to deal with is that I want some of her discards. I tend to hoarding free stuff that I *might* use, even when I don’t really need it. So I have made plans to go through it with someone else of a similar size, which should enable me to let some of it go to bless her. Will also publicly commit that if I keep some, I will try to let go of a similar quantity of older, more worn stuff from my closet.

Anyway, will just record some things I added to the donation/giveaway pile tonight:

A limited edition print that never got hung up in my “new” (2.5 years) place
Old picture frame that was falling apart, replaced with nicer empty one from my stash
Posable figurine
Box of Christmas cards – purchased too many on sale, not enough room in the designated drawer to store them

[StillPJParticipant]

Did some major uncluttering at work today, in preparation for an event next week. But still had energy to find a few “outs” at home …

Little bit of “vintage” food from the fridge

A toiletry set given to me at Christmas – it has some stuff I’m not able to use, and I thought it would be good to keep the set together – considering trying to sell it on Craigslist, targeted at the Valentine’s market maybe!

Shredded receipts

And in a fairly unusual out … 3 ceramic jars that used to hold ashes from my first 2 cats (littermates) and my first dog. I have since decided not to get the ashes returned from other pets when they pass, because I have a lot of pets, and that would eventually be a lot of little jars! I don’t find these jars very attractive either, so they were just tucked away in a desk drawer. But I recently found a nice big urn that I do find attractive, so have put all three sets of ashes into that one big urn which could be put out on display (as soon as I seal the lid shut!)

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