Looking for things = motivation to clean up ?

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Anyone else ever start looking for something you've misplaced and then have a really good honest look at your possessions and think 'Hooooooly.. I gotta get rid of all of this crap!' ??

I'm about at that point. Was looking for a pair of headphones someone gave me that are the only ones with a lightening connector that works with my phone. Nope, can't find.. but man o' man do I have a lot of crap I literally never touch or use.

I did donate a few big bags of clothes a week or so ago. I have another big bag or two to bag up and get rid of. But also a closet, sets of drawers, and some boxes full of crap I literally never ever use - it just clutters the place up and collects dust. Probably no bueno for productivity At All.. as they say, 'clear space, clear mind,' and all that good stuff.

Found an old Panasonic walkman from the mid 90's with the best headphones ever, hoping I can find a pair of AA batteries then try taking tunes on a run. (Try.. gotta hold the walkman I suppose. I don't THINK I can just clip it in place and expect it not to fall.)

But damn.. whether I start tonight or sometime in the not so distant future, holy crap I just need to get rid of useless stuff so that when I want to locate something useful I don't have to dig through piles of old crap looking for things. That's right.. I've had enough of my crap and I'm going to start purging as much of it as possible, especially with the assumption that I might have to move in 2-3 months and I don't need to pack up and move oodles of crapola that doesn't serve me nor anything or anyone in my life.

'allo Marie Kondo, g'bye crap!

Anyone else hop on this train for a while when you can't find something ?

I'm past the point of getting motivated to clean/tidy up my place. My place is so messy that I can't even imagine doing anything about it. But I know what you mean. When I can't find something that I know is somewhere in the house, I do wish my place were tidier. There are a few things that I've been looking for for years. One of them is a paperback an autistic guy wrote about himself and autism. I think about 90% of the things in my place are "useless crap". I sometimes find some food that expired 10 years ago. The Autism Association of my state is trying to help me with tidying up but I'm just so embarrassed to let them see the impossible mess in my place.

I'm def not that bad, just my room and a bit of storage is cluttered. The rest of the house is kept suuuuuuuuper clean and tidy (not by me.) & my brother in law says it's a show home so he's not comfortable being in it worried about making a mess.

But my bedroom, dresser, drawers, closet, floor = disorganized mess. So, def gonna get rid of a whole bunch more useless crapola I don't need that doesn't serve me nor my life and I definitely don't want to move to a new home if I do end up moving in T-2-3 months or so.

Yes, I'm the same way.
I hate clutter and I try to be a minimalist.
I'd happily take the roof off my house and shake it upside down.

The problem is I have my kids' stuff here.
I can't throw their stuff out.
They get very attached to certain things.

Then add four pets.

I get angry when I lose things because I seldom find them again.
The worst for me is paperwork.
I can't file it to save my life (it's a PTSD thing).

Yeah I'm pretty crap at doing paperwork. I'm a couple years behind on filing taxes again, as usual. I think the more crap I clear out of my space the easier it'll get to focus on things like that that matter.. because the stack of pertinent papers won't just be lost in a sea of visual clutter. It's a theory, anyways.

I live with someone who, while not quite a hoarder, keeps everything she thinks will come in useful one day. And everything she thinks she could one day use in a craft project. She never actually does craft projects.

The result is that our storage is full of stuff we never use and the stuff we do use daily is just strewn all over the house.

Our attic space is rammed and we have 3 garages full of stuff.

And yes, when we do need something that we know we've kept in case we need it one day, of course we can't find it.

I hate it and would gladly set fire to the whole house and start again.

I'm a bit like that but on a much smaller scale.

I do have some craft supplies in a couple small drawers.. never use them. I thought of one thing I might use something for - I should do it and then donate the rest of the stuff.

But I'm def way more like this with my wardrobe. The clothes I don't wear hang in my closet and fill my drawers. The ones I do wear I fold and stack on my floor. Last week I bagged up and donated damned near everything out of my dresser drawers and at least 60% of my closet. There's more to go from my closet + some other clothes that are stored in a spare bedroom that I forgot about.

Bit by bit I'll make progress, even if I just tackle one type of item at a time. Like I'll go through the rest of the clothes.. then I'm sure I can fill a box just with electronics that need to be recycled, another box/bag with things to donate to a thrift store, a pile of things to give away to friends I know that want them - like Tom is seeking any broken beaded jewellery so he can get back in the habit of stringing up necklaces and giving them away to pretty girls. Sounds kinda creepy when I write it out, but trust me, it's a sweet thing - he's a nice older man who just tries to have a good time while avoiding ever doing any work lol.

Paperwork:
It's something I procrastinate about because it usually involves finding other papers to cross-reference.
I keep absolutely everything either online (screenshots, receipts) or in paper form.
I learned the hard way in court that you need to have years worth of paper trail for everything you do.
Filing papers is a PTSD nightmare for me.
It causes trauma flashbacks about court (being hyper-vigilant, seeing stressful documents).
Now I just keep baskets around the house for papers.
Most things are bound to be in one of the baskets. (Knock wood).

Taxes:
Goldfish, I used to do my taxes, my kids', and my former partner's by hand with pencil.
It's very overwhelming especially finding and filing all the right papers.
I hate all those Notice of Assessment things multiplied by everyone in the house.
Now I do CRA online which really helps, but I still don't throw out the paper copies.
I also use Turbo Tax. It autofills nearly everything and you just have to agree to it.
I can log in for my records when I need them.
I try to only keep the last 7 years in a filing folder but that means constant rearrangement.
Actually, that's three filing folders (three people = 21 years to organise.)

Crafting:
Oh dear. Guilty as charged. I have lots of knitting and crochet stuff.
We have Rubbermaid bins of professional art supplies in storage.
The problem is some of that art stuff is also out of storage for easy use.
I've had two little things of acrylic paint sitting on my kitchen table for months.


Another thing I hate organising is big serving bowls, platters, dishes and kitchen gadgets.
I have some in an old buffet in my reading room, and some in my living room.
There's no way to fit it all in the kitchen.

Also, cleaning stuff like steamers, hoovers, and hand vacs?
Where the heck do people keep that stuff?
I can never get the cords to wrap up properly and I'm always tripping on it.
None of my closets have sockets so I can't charge them in there if I wanted to.

I did a major purge.Some stuff I looked at and thought , “ Do you really want to dust this the rest of your life?”
Away it went.
I made a game of having to take a box of stuff to donate at the thrift store every time I went to town.Clothes,books I wouldn’t read again,nic-nacs, kitchen stuff and other house hold items that I really didn’t need or use.
I have a library/ craft room and threw out bad paint, frames I didn’t like and tried to organize the books , sewing, art supplies , musical instruments ,and other items.Tried is the operative word.
I have several large curio cabinets with different collections and they are a pain to dust, but I won’t part with any of those objects.
I donated furniture I didn’t like or use.
Curtains , rugs and other items.
I keep important papers in the vault at my bank ,and the rest are in a cabinet here.Receipts , genealogy stuff, photographs , service manuals etc..
In the winter the house fills up with houseplants.Multiple dogs, so cleaning up after them is a daily ordeal, so much hair.My deceased corgi would shed enough to make another corgi.Aussie and Lab shed year round.
Storing stuff like numerous fans, vacuum cleaner, hand vac, rechargeable tools, giant mop bucket and other items is a pain.That stuff should have its own room.

omg fans - - yes!
We also have four air purifiers, although I guess they're always in use. More to trip on.

I do huge purges too.
A few times a year we are allowed to throw out unlimited amounts of garbage, like furniture.
I used to love that day and gather stuff for months to get rid of it.
They stopped doing it in early 2020 because of Covid.

I do donate a lot of stuff to thrift shops.
Sadly I sometimes bring things home from thrift shops (especially books).

Again, it's hard when it's not my stuff.
I have an entire room dedicated to the kids' stuff that they won't part with.
It's mostly their school books, old toys, sports equipment, etc.
It's a disaster in there and sometimes I can barely open the door.

I recently brought home the contents of an entire flat.
I have double dishes, double bedding, double towels, double everything.
I'm still tripping over duvets and haven't put them away since August.
The cats like them.

Anyone know how to fold a fitted sheet????
They're the bane of my existence.

https://www.marthastewart.com/269141/ho ... tted-sheet

This is one of those rare instances where I think I'd learn better from a video, than written instructions.

Maybe I'll try that later on and post a picture of what happens.

It should make for a few laughs, or an impromptu mummy costume.

Video available
https://youtu.be/Q-a2FR1iwqg
I solved the part of the fan problem by buying retro looking ones so they look nice compared to a box fan.Still have a box fan for the window I have to store.

We have the cute steel aviator ones. ^
It's just annoying to store them in winter.
Winter here is November to May.

I'd leave them out but they'd look silly with Christmas stuff.

I'll check the video.
Thanks ML

Oh, our other issue is coats, shoes, and boots.
OMG --- what do people do with them?
We must have 40 coats and 100 pair of shoes here.

I sleep with a small fan on, helps me to get to sleep.I have wood heat and sometimes it gets too hot so a fan comes in handy.
I’m lazy and just sort of roll my sheets up and stuff in a basket on a top shelf in linen closet.

Video:
The example of the "bad" folding at the start, is what I was hoping to achieve.
I can't even make it look like that.
Mine are rolled in a ball and tossed in a giant pile that slides off the shelf.

We should make a thread about Martha Stewart's tips, with before and after photos.

I likely have 20 fitted sheets here.
My daughter has a bedding obsession.
Only one set of the 20 fits on my bed.

Then add all the pillowslips and duvet covers.
And duvets.
And mattress covers.

ARGGGGGG