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Post by catcat on Sept 23, 2010 23:50:19 GMT -5
Hi. Just curious about what some of you do when clearing out in a major dejunking spree. Not talking about little, non-messy declutter things that take a few minutes. Do you tend to stay with a room until you really have dejunked it well? Or do you do quite a bit in one room & then, on another day, tackle a different place ? I was thinking about this when working in the utility room last week. I tend to be the type that will move to another major spot the next time I have a few hours to do a room. Realize that it takes longer to see real progress , really see it, not just feeling good about what you got rid of, but I find that I do better if I vary the scenery some, & tackle another place next time. What do you do ? catcat
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Post by Meme on Sept 23, 2010 23:58:25 GMT -5
I find that I do both-- I need to sometimes get out of the hot spot when if feels overwhelming-- also getting out of the house for a few hours helps me see the difference when I return home-
Now that I have the main area fairly clean and tidy I can stay and maintain it rather than jumping into another room--- I find the kitchen gives me the most satisfaction due to the healthy feeling after I have cleaned- I like making a done list at the end of the day just to see in writing what I did-- the list seems to confirm or validate me
hugs Meme
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Post by BetsyMarie on Sept 24, 2010 1:19:34 GMT -5
I basically work where I want to, and that means jumping around to different rooms. Sometimes there's a method to the madness ... I have to do this over there in order to move this from there, then move that out, and then I can do that ...and finally get to the other....
I find my interest also remains fresher if I get tired of working in one room or on problem items, and go to another area where the work seems fresh. In the end I have to get to everything anyway. I am however concentrating on rooms that I consider 'public' - where company likely will see. That's about 7-8 rooms/areas.
There are also rooms I want to do totally first - the kitchen and the bathrooms - because I believe that those two rooms are the lynch-pin of home neatness, and other rooms can slide a bit until I get to them. When the kitchen and bathrooms are clean, life just seems better.
I judge my progress by how much I am removing from the house (in terms of garbage can equivalents), as well as cleaning smaller areas rather than thinking in terms of whole rooms.
Although I must admit I really like the look of the almost totally cleared and vacuumed long hallway. The cats like that too, since they seem to be spending much more time both playing and stretched out on the clean carpet there.
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Post by Sapphire on Sept 24, 2010 3:28:40 GMT -5
I'm a jumper, too! I feel I get de-moralised and fed up with seeing the same place, and same mess over and over! So I have to vary it. Bedrrom one day, kitchen the next, living room the next time, etc. Sometimes I get on a roll with a room and will do it several days in a row. But I will inevitably get bored after a few days and then have to start mixing it up again.
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Post by Chris on Sept 24, 2010 6:03:21 GMT -5
For major de-junking of a really disorganized room or area I limit my working in there to smaller blocks of time. That way I balance my maintaining of the basic things and I don't get too down about spending too much time on a extreme area. There have been times when I was on a roll in a certain room that I'd stick with it longer but mostly it helps me to set a portion of time to chip away at the overly junked room. And unless I focus on categories I tend to get overwhelmed. I can't seem to decide whether I need to keep certain things unless I can get the perspective of how many I have in each category - so when I was involved the heavier clutter (now I'm in maintaining in all but a few areas) I was likely to make a worse mess with my sorting before things finally got better.
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Post by dtesposito on Sept 24, 2010 6:37:35 GMT -5
I've been decluttering my place for several years now, so I don't know if you could say I've ever had a "major dejunking spree". I have accelerated the process since the beginning of this year, and especially since joining this board in the spring.
I guess I'd say I jump from place to place in the areas that are still bad, until I get to a particular place that is starting to look promising--then I spend a few hours almost obsessed with finishing that place (closet, pantry, furniture rearrangement, etc.) This happens only about once a month. And usually the decision to spend that time is on the spur of the moment, striking while the inspiration hits me.
In general though, I find that I burn out and do nothing at all if I force myself to do hours in one place or on one type of item. And coming back to the same stuff a week or two later brings a new perspective and I'm able to throw away more each time.
Diane
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Sept 24, 2010 7:41:29 GMT -5
I'll do my entire house in sections. Such as 1. Pick up and dispose of all trash. Go from room to room with a big black plastic bag. 2. Pick stuff off floors throughout the house. 3. Then tabletops and countertops. 4. Then dust, wipe off tables and countertops thruout. 5. Do floors-sweep, vacuum, wash. Just doing Number One is a big deal, makes a lot of improvement! .
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Post by puppybox on Sept 24, 2010 9:19:08 GMT -5
i move around. but then things don't get totally finished and the place looks worse for a long time. sometimes I've forced myself to finish certain sections, and while excruciating, it looks great at the end. i think the flittering around way is ok if you're in it for the long haul, as in you're narrowing everything down to what you love and use only, and over times you're admitting you use less and getting less attached to things (ie you love less over time and so can usually go back and get rid of more after time has passed). cleanie and normal people woudn't understand it, I think it reflects a certain type of personality or brain that got us in to trouble in the first place. but it can get us out too.
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Post by ponygirl on Sept 24, 2010 10:21:54 GMT -5
--- like a ping-pong ball.
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Post by StuffNoMore on Sept 24, 2010 15:37:28 GMT -5
I was a jumper for over a year and saw nothing getting accomplished so I tried one room at a time. I found I was able to see a great difference when the entire room was done which boosted my motivation and energy level.
I did one room at a time until the entire house was done. I also started with the worse room in the house which was my den. I then used that comfy room for my rest periods when I carried on to the remaining rooms.
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Post by glowworm on Sept 24, 2010 18:24:48 GMT -5
Jumper. I wander around with a big black garbage bag until it's full. I don't see progress immediately, but because I keep changing the scenery, so to speak, the job holds my attention longer.
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Post by catcat on Sept 24, 2010 20:35:01 GMT -5
Isn't it a stitch how everyone thinks & it's so much fun to compare things ? Seems like there are more jumpers than stayers. I just burn out too fast if I keep staying in one spot for too long. Thanks for interesting answers. catcat
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Post by toomuchstuph on Sept 24, 2010 20:48:55 GMT -5
I'm sort of a jumper/stayer. It seems I work best if I stick to a "category" of things so if I decide I'm working on clothes (for example) I'll go all over the house gathering up clothes from various rooms to get them all in one place and work on them.
If a given pile has clothes and mail and dishes and jewelry and makeup and I tried to tackle it all at once, my lil brain would 'splode.
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Post by yearning4order on Sept 24, 2010 23:42:24 GMT -5
It depends. When I first started I needed to just go where my interest was. No matter what.
And sometimes when it was emotionally charged, I needed to be able to stop and do something else. No matter what.
Today, I'll regularly clean moving to a series of different tasks before the whole thing might be done--it's one of the things that makes maintenance do-able because I'm choosing when and were to do which portions.
There is no "right" way. Do what feels like it would work best for you, bring you peace, etc.
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Post by shopgirl on Sept 25, 2010 2:47:06 GMT -5
I jump from room to room, tear everything out of a closet or cabinet, and then it sits there for months, totally junking up the room, until I get motivated to finish the project. I am great at tearing things out, not so good at deciding.
The last 10% of any project is the most difficult for me. Which is why I have record albums stacked on the living room floor, after spending 2 weeks to make a database inventory of them. Now all I have to do is make a PDF file and send it to the used record dealer, but I have resisted that final tiny bit of the project for a week.
Every other room of the house has similar unfinished purging/organizing projects.
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