Day Nineteen - Spring 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge

When you reach for a pen to write something and find that it doesn't work, what do you do with it?  If you are like most people (me included) you put it back and grab another.  Why do we do that?  Do we think the pen will somehow refill itself with ink and will magically work the next time we grab it?  And we will grab it again!  And then become frustrated because we can't seem to find a pen that works.

A few of my readers had said last week that they had been going through old pens to see if they work and, if not, they threw them out.  When I read that I knew that it was time to go through the pen holder on my desk.  This is the pretty container that holds the pens on my desk.  I have been having a hard time lately getting the lid to sit on it properly.

This is what it looked like inside.  Now you can see why the lid would not fit right!

It took 2 minutes to go through and decide what to keep and what to get rid of.  All pencil crayons went; we don't use them.  Also any pens that didn't work, coloured markers, some pencils and a couple of  nail files.

I opened a new box of pens and had plenty of room to drop them down in.

Now it is back on my desk and when I reach for a pen I know  it will work!

Do you keep your pens and pencils in one place?  Take two minutes from your day and go through them to make sure they all work and that only the ones that you would use are there.

Day Eighteen - Spring 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge

Day Eighteen!  Today's post is going to be quick since I still have so much to do on my to-do list.

This is what is leaving my house today.

I have these two beautiful, brass candelabras that I used to keep on the dining room table.  They were nice there but I don't really have a lot of other brass in the house and they are almost too ornate.  We eat at our dining room table almost everyday.  Our kitchen table only seats two and I kind of like sitting at the formal table even if we are just having hotdogs for dinner.  It makes things seem  more special.

But the candelabras were too tall to be able to talk over.  We had to lean side to side in order to have a conversation with each other.  They just didn't work in the space.  So they are now in the donate box which will be picked up by the Canadian Diabetes Association on Tuesday.  I love that I don't even have to drop things off!  They come right to my door and get them.

What do you keep on your dining room table.  Or if you don't have a dining room table, what do you keep on your kitchen table?  (Just between you and me, right now my kitchen table is covered with coats, backpacks and shopping bags.  I think it's time to do a quick pick up!)

Day Seventeen - Spring 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge

This morning I organized my "junk drawer".  Don't be embarrassed if you have a junk drawer.  Every house has small items that just don't seem to have a "home" elsewhere.

This is my junk drawer before.

You will see that there was some attempt at organization going on in there.  The last time I organized this drawer I put in some little plastic baskets to help contain some of the like items.  Unfortunately, after time they started to shift when more and more junk got tossed into the drawer.

The first thing I did was empty the drawer and vacuum it.  I then ripped out the old liner and re-lined it with some pretty scrap booking paper.  I would love to be able to paint the inside of my drawers but as soon as new paint goes on they won't slide in and out as easily.  Since these are very old cupboards (1930's) they don't have the hardware that new drawers have allowing them to slide with ease.

I found 6 pocket knives!  I took a picture once I had discovered 4 but found two more after that.  I handed them all to Mr. P. and told him to choose one to keep in the drawer and he would have to decide what to do with the rest.  I think they went out to his workshop.

This is everything else that was decluttered from that drawer plus an MP3 player.  All of this stuff was either thrown out or re-homed somewhere else in the house.  I would estimate that half was thrown out.

And now here is the after!

What I like about it now is that I used a wire utensil organizer and one other wire basket.  There won't be any shifting when other things start getting added in, because I know they will.  When I dropped my youngest P off at school this morning, I stopped at the hardware store and bought myself a screwdriver with several bits and a hammer.  I used to have a small hammer and screwdriver in the junk drawer but the other P's kept taking them and not returning them.  I was extremely please to find a pink hammer.  Not only did I support breast cancer research in buying it, but I can almost guarantee that no one else in my house of males will want to "borrow" it.

Do you have a junk drawer?  Is it getting pretty full?  Perhaps it's time to do a junk drawer sort yourself.

Day Sixteen - Spring 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge

"Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world!" - Marilyn Monroe

Truer words have never been spoken!  With the right pair of comfortable shoes you can be on your feet all day.  With a fantastic pair of heels you can feel that extra bit of confidence when presenting a report or meeting with the boss.  "A woman may carry a bag, but it is the shoes that carry the woman." - Christian Louboutin

I have a lot of really great shoes.  I also have some shoes that are not so great.  In fact, some are so uncomfortable I can't even walk a mile in my own shoes!  So it's time to let them go.

Here are three pairs that I chose to declutter today.  The green shoes simply don't match any of my outfits, the white boots are very uncomfortable and the brown shoes are just plain ugly!

Do you have any shoes that you really don't like?  Maybe they hurt your feet or maybe they are getting old and showing a lot of wear.  You deserve to have nice shoes that make you feel like a million bucks!

Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!

Day Fifteen - Spring 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge

Today is the half way mark in our 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge!  Give yourselves a huge pat on the back because you have all been doing a wonderful job!

Today after you declutter something I want you to do something just for you to celebrate.  Curl up with your favourite book or magazine, watch a favourite movie, give yourself a manicure, or even take a piece of freshly baked banana bread to your daughter (this one's for my mom!).  You deserve it!

Today this is what I got rid of.

This is a coffee percolator.  It's the kind that has a basket on the top to hold the grounds and then sits on the stove to brew.  I think I bought it because it brought back memories of my beloved grandmother.  She had a glass one that she would brew coffee in on the back burner of the stove.  Whenever anyone visited Grandma she always offered a hot cup of coffee and a seat at the kitchen table to chat.

But I've discovered that I just can't brew coffee like Grandma could (not that I ever had any of Grandma's coffee but everyone else seemed to like it).  I went back to using a regular, electric percolator and this has sat in my cupboard for a long time.  It's time to let it go even though I smile and remember Grandma every time I see it. 

What did you declutter today?  And what are you doing today that is just for you?  Don't forget to reward yourself!

p.s.  I mentioned that my youngest P was in a cooking competition yesterday.  He won and now goes on to provincials!  I am one proud mama!

Day's Thirteen and Fourteen - Spring 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge

Today's blog post is going to be short and sweet.....well, short anyway.  This day has been a veritable Friday the 13th and I just can't seem to get everything done.  I am going to sit down and prioritize what exactly needs to be done so that I don't get overwhelmed.  In making your to-do list for the day separate your top three MIT's (most important tasks) and do them first.  Once they are done anything else you get accomplished is simply icing on the cake, as they say.

Tomorrow my youngest P is in a cooking competition.  He wants to be a chef.  He has already won the first round and is now onto the second round.  This will mean leaving the house very early tomorrow and not returning until late.  No time for a blog post tomorrow so I will show you the two things I delcuttered today.

Today I chose broiler pans and muffin pans.  How many muffin pans does one need?  Especially for someone that rarely bakes muffins or cupcakes!  I kept enough muffin pans to bake one dozen of each size (mini, regular and jumbo) and I let the rest go.  And as for the broiler pans, I haven't used them in years.  I hate to clean them after so I always use parchment paper on a cookie sheet, sometimes with a rack on top.  I can't even remember the last time I used these broiler pans.

Do you have any cookware or bake ware that you can get rid of?

Day Twelve - Spring 30 Day Clutter Buster Challenge

Today I did something very difficult.  I said goodbye to my favourite blouse.

After really thinking about it I realized that I have had this blouse for around 15 years.  That's longer than a lot of marriages!  I can remember wearing it with a pair of white capri pants to the school picnic.  Or pairing it with my long jean skirt for other school functions.  I wore this blouse everywhere.  It made me look good and that, in turn, made me feel good.  I can still remember buying this blouse on a sale rack at Fairweather for $5.00.  Believe me, that was the best $5.00 I ever spent!

But it is beginning to fray around the collar.  And I'm pretty sure that if it was in style 15 years ago, it probably isn't in style so much now.  Maybe in another 5 years it will be what they call "Retro".  And then it will just make me feel old.  Kind of like when bell bottoms came back into style.  So it is with great regret that I must say goodbye to this beloved blouse.  May it bless someone else - someone much younger who can pull off that whole hip, retro style.

Do you have any "retro" clothes?