Friday 3 February 2012

It's begun...

Well, as I stated yesterday, I have fairly little to purge compared to some (oh my!), however, I *STILL* managed to find a load of things that can be sold, donated or tossed. Amazing. I really don't have that much space, so where it all comes from, I have no idea.


First up: the TV/DVD stand. I don't even particularly like this stand, but it was basically free and keeps things tidy for the most part. Look at all the DVDs I've got! Ridiculous really.


Note the green flat thing on top of the DVD player. This is a green version of the little blue storage container in the top photo. So, after some "hard" work, I got this:


MUCH better! (Sorry about the glare). Most of the DVDs went into the green container on the right. I sorted a bunch of them out and removed them for selling or donating. And, er, yes, the stand does still need to be cleaned.

Next up were the bookshelves in my bedroom.

Bookshelf one. This actually looks almost identical after I tidied, except for the pile of books on the top left side. It was actually a pile of letters - half of which were unopened! - from 2006 - 2008. Wow. So the top is much neater now.


Bookshelf #2 before the purge. And after:


Again, not a big difference, but I actually pulled a surprising number of books off it. The little pile on the top right will be going to the library. They're German books (kids' books) that I got last year when we were decluttering our multi-lingual collection. I won't be reading them and they're just taking up space, so back they go.

This is the pile of books I got from the bookshelf:


There are a few cookbooks there, too, because who am I kidding? I don't cook, so there's no point keeping them around. I have a few left, plus a binder full of recipes I've collected. More than enough to use should I ever feel the urge to make something creative for dinner. So my cookbook cupboard is quite a bit tidier now, too! Yay! I also put a couple of crossword puzzle books in the purge file because I like to think I'm much smarter than I actually am. Those are NY Times Sunday crosswords - hard! I kept a couple of books, so these are going to be donated. I don't imagine I can get anything for these at the used bookstore. Everything else, however, will be taken in for evaluation and whatever is left will be donated to the library.

I'm not even sure it's worth showing you a picture of my bedroom closet before and after. In the 2nd bookshelf photo, there's a pile of stuff on the left hand side. That's what came out of my closet. I also threw out an old belt that was worn, torn and not worth keeping. I added a cooling rack (I have 3) to the pile and a pair of shoes I don't like, too. 

I also did a declutter of my computer. This isn't something I can prove, but I cleared out some big files (photos) and some unused and unwanted documents and it just feels better to have cleaned out a little bit of space from that. Whether it makes any difference to the performance or not, I don't know. It just feels a little better for having done it.

My kitchen is tiny, so space is at a premium. I purged this spice rack because I literally have nowhere to keep it. This is the extent of my counter space - one of the reasons I don't like to cook. I have very little space to move around in. When the dishes are drying, as below, I literally have zero counter space. 


Saturday I will be working on my kitchen. I have found a number of things I can get rid of, leaving me with more cupboard space at least. As well, the living room will be getting a very tiny purge - there really isn't much to do in there, but I can at least tidy a little and clear away a few things that just gather dust.

And this one is just because:


Fat Joey is still with me. Here he is, exhausted and resting on his blanket, from overexerting himself doing nothing today. Good Joey!

It doesn't look like I did much, but I was a busy bee for almost three hours! 

6 comments:

Gill - That British Woman said...

Joey is a cutie. Also well done on your decluttering,

Gill

Jane said...

Michael did our fridge the other day - took EVERYTHING out and washed every shelf and bin. Looks fantastic! So that's a little bonus to everything else I'm doing. It's also a job I hate so glad he did it!

Suzy said...

yeah my dogs tend to get put out if I need them to move from their 4 hr nap position in front of the pantry!
I did some decluttering - I'm too afraid to take and post before pics - actually not sure I could find a place to stand and get the photos! the shelves above my desk look nice though after my decluttering!

Debby said...

Aww Joey is so cute. Congrats on your decluttering challenge! I think your kitchen might be the smallest I have ever seen! However it looks really cozy.

Northern Living Allowance said...

@Gill - thank you! It feels good to tidy and sort. I just wish I had this motivation all year.

@Jane - does Michael have a single brother?! Or do you rent him out? I have a small fridge... ;)

@Suzy - thanks for stopping by and commenting! Pets are great aren't they? Not always as helpful as we'd like, but...And decluttering isn't easy! Sounds like you made a great start, though!

@Debby - thank you! I'm very fond of him (and my other two, of course!). Yes, the kitchen is tiny. My only eventual consideration for a house is a bigger kitchen - shouldn't be too hard to find! :P

Ella said...

Oh joey is so cute! My cat is also very lazy and doesn't like me disturbing her naps. :-) you did a really great job decluttering!! I will post my progress when I have done it this weekend :-)