Good day

Sunday turned out to be a pretty good day. I hadn’t realized how good until I was writing in my journal last night.

Since Saturday had been one of those days where I couldn’t seem to make a decision, I’d left all the items I’d pulled out from the cabinet lying around the kitchen floor. I hemmed & hawed over the fondue pot and some bowls and platters. I finally made the decision to let go of them, and had even moved them over to the give-away pile.

I was much more clear-headed on Sunday. I took the few things I wanted to keep and put them back in the cabinet. Holy cow! I had tons of room left over. So what did I do? I retrieved the fondue pot and dishes. I’m sure the professional organizers are cringing, but I’m ok with the decision for now. I did realize I need to move the crock pot into this cabinet, and that will take up a bit more room, but I think I’ll still have room for everything to be organized and easy to get to.

I think part of what scared me on Saturday is the sheer amount of stuff in the give-away pile. And it’s only going to continue to grow. I’m a bit worried about getting everything into the car, since I live on the top floor of a walk-up condo. But if I take down 2 or 3 loads a week, I should be able to keep up without having too many boxes lying around.

Oh, and I didn’t procrastinate about changing the bed linens, I finished my loads of laundry, including folding and putting away.  (Well, except for the towels that are still in the dryer.  But they’re dry and they’ll be easy to fold and put away tonight.)  Like I said, it was a good day.

Decisions, decisions

I didn’t do my kitchen chores last night when I came home from work. I was ready to, but the problem is I’ve gotten into the habit of giving the cats a treat when I get home. (It’s a long story about how that got started.) If I make any kind of noise, the girls get skittish and run off. Then the guy eats their treats. So I got on the computer and just never got up to do the kitchen. (Oh! I did stop for some groceries on the way home from work, so the evening wasn’t totally wasted.)

I decided if I did two rounds of kitchen work today, I’d give myself credit for yesterday. So this morning I finished cleaning out the cupboard/pantry, throwing away enough expired food to feed a small army. But I can now see all the items that remain, so hopefully I’ll be inspired to use them up before they go bad.

I just now finished going through the 2nd cabinet with food prep equipment. I debated whether to go through the cupboard with the dishes or the cabinet. But just by looking at the dishes, I knew I was going to have difficulties making decisions about them, so I picked the cabinet.

It’s larger than the other cabinet, and more difficult to get into. Consequently, it had more stuff in it and took longer to clear out. Now everything is out on the kitchen floor. And I’m really having trouble deciding what to keep & what to give/throw away. I already have about 4 bags of trash to go out tomorrow, and the thought of adding more is very daunting.

I there were a few things I’d forgotten I had, like the fondue pot I’d given my mother for Christmas one year. We used it every year at Christmas (Christmas Eve fondue after church became one of our traditions). But I haven’t used in many years, if ever. And there are some platters and serving bowls that I could use, but haven’t.  I’m afraid that if I give them away, I’ll need them sometime. Perhaps if I sleep on it, I’ll realize they need to go.

Getting back on track

I just posted at Stream of Conscience about how I’ve been escaping from real life. That includes my decluttering plan.

The problem with the kitchen is that, in addition to decluttering, I need to do maintenance work every day. But I really slacked off this week. While I accomplished some good work last Saturday (Mar 1), I wasted much of Sunday, only getting to the kitchen late in the day. I wasn’t in the mood to tackle a cupboard or cabinet, so I cleaned out the drawer that holds my basic utensils. I didn’t throw away very much, but there were a few odds and ends that made it to the trash can. One item that probably should have gone out was an old fashioned punch-type can opener. You know, the triangular type that we used to use to open soda cans. (And, it turns out, we still need for items such as condensed milk.) I don’t use it anymore because it’s very old and rusty, but it has sentimental value. Maybe I’ll put it in a place of honor, even though it’s really ugly. Or maybe I’ll realize I don’t need an inanimate object to save my memories.

The drawer had some dividers I’d had for over 20 years. I was going to clean them and put them back, even though one was cracked, mainly because I hadn’t thought far ahead enough to buy some new ones. But the dividers were pretty grungy and even after a nice soaking, they were still icky. So out they went. Now I’ve put the utensils back in the drawer in an orderly fashion, but I really do need to buy some new dividers. I wonder if I can find some at the grocery store tonight when I stop this evening for the all important cat food.

After Sunday, I didn’t get back to the decluttering until yesterday. Although, to be fair, I did do some good kitchen maintenance cleaning during the week. I figure that counts for something, since I did clean up some large items that were cluttering the counter.

Last night I decided to tackle one of the cupboards. I didn’t get to all 3 shelves, but I did get 2 cleared out. Now they’re very empty, since a great deal of the food was far beyond its expiration date. I still need to check the salad dressings. They don’t look particuarly bad, but they do need a closer inspection. Maybe I’ll try to finish up that cupboard tonight. Then tomorrow I can tackle one of the other cabinets.

… Go!

And so it begins. I began my decuttering agenda today with the kitchen cabinet that holds the pots and pans. I pulled everything out and sorted it into various categories: what to keep, what to give away, what to throw away. I also had an undecided pile where I put those things that I wasn’t sure I’d keep or not, depending on what else I found in the cabinet.

The most difficult decision I has was with the muffing tins. I had 2 regular muffin tins (bought at different times, but still they nest) and 2 mini-muffin tins. (Which I have no idea why I bought.) I couldn’t decide whether to keep 1 tin or both. So I checked a cookbook to see what an average muffin recipe yield is. Turns out it’s either 12 or 30. Well good grief! Even if I kept both muffin tins, I still wouldn’t be able to bake a 30-muffin recipe all at once. And since being able to bake everything in just one cycle instead of 2 or 3 is more important for me, I decided to keep both regular tins and one of the mini-tins (which I figure can be used for the left-over batter of those big recipes).

I suppose that decision might go against the standard declutter mantra, but I’m happy with it. If it turns out I don’t need the extra tins, I’ll give them away. At least now I can see them when I open the cabinet door.

The other “no-no” I did was pull a set of silverware out of one of the give-away boxes. Part of the reason is the box is big and the silverware is heavy.  Then I looked at the pattern and thought I might keep it after all.  I’ve been thinking about changing out my silverware (the set I have I’ve had since my college days), and while it’s not exactly the pattern I want, it’s Reed & Barton, and very nice.

I was surprised at how easy the day went.  But later I realized I’d been planning to take care of this particular cabinet for awhile—like every time I’d try to put a pan back in and everything would tumble out.  When it comes to some of the other cabinets, cupboards and drawers, I’m sure it won’t be as easy.

Ready, set…

Tomorrow is the big day! The day I (re)start my New Year’s Resolution to declutter the home room by room. I’ve managed to get my motivation up from what it was in my last post; so much so that I actually did a little tidying up yesterday. The time was mainly spent loading the dishwasher. What really surprised was that when I’d finished my 5 minutes, the counters were cleared off and clean!

What I’ve learned in the past 2 months is that the kitchen needs attention every day. I’m going to have to change my plan just a bit. Since such things as cleaning up and putting dishes away require additional time, I’ll spend 5 minutes with standard kitchen maintenance (unless it actually takes less time) and 5 minutes decluttering.

The good news is that the kitchen table has remained relatively clutter free since I first cleared it off in early January, before I broke my foot. What I like about having the table cleared off is that I can sit down at it, plan meals, make grocery lists and the like. It functions very nicely as a kitchen “desk.” And also as a breakfast nook.

Progress, however meager, is progress

Yesterday, I really hadn’t done anything to further my January goal to declutter the kitchen. Then, around 8 p.m., I was a tad bored and decided pick up the kitchen a bit. After the first 5 minutes of cleaning off the counter, I tackled the table. The great news is I found the stickers I was looking for. The other great news is that when my 5 minutes were done, I went for another 5 minutes. Go me!

But one of the problems I’m having is what do I do with things I want to keep but don’t know where to put them? Last year a friend gave me a beautiful poinsettia plant for Christmas. (I felt horribly sorry for the plant, because I knew I would kill it.) I did eventually kill it and threw it out, but the decorative bucket it came in is very cute. I want to keep it and perhaps put some (artificial) flowers in it, but what do I do with it in the meantime? I guess I’ll just transfer it to the “back room” which is currently functioning as the “dumping ground.” But I feel like I’m just transferring the clutter. Maybe by the time I get to the back room I’ll have a little less mental clutter and have a better idea of what I want to do with the bucket and where to put it.

And so it begins!

Happy 2008!

I have begun cleaning and clearing my kitchen. I spent most of my kitchen time yesterday starting to clear off the kitchen table and washing dishes that don’t go in the dishwasher. One of the Great Truths I’ve learned in the last year is that the dishwasher does not have to be crammed full before I run it. In fact, a partial load requires less time to empty. It’s a win-win for me.

My plan for the kitchen is to go through the cabinets and cupboards, getting rid any old, duplicate, or unused item. If the item is useable, I’ll put it in the box for Goodwill; if not, it goes into the trash. In fact, I threw away two items yesterday. After making a small pot of tea, I apparently put the kettle too close to a rubber spatula sitting on the stove. The spatula was pretty much ruined, and I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of smelling burning rubber every time I used the tea kettle. So, into the trash they went. Now, I might not have been so quick to throw the kettle out had I not had a very cute blue kettle at the ready. But it did feel good to get rid of the duplicate kettle.

New year, new home

Since I’ve been my home for 20 years, how come I’m finally getting around to taking care of the place?

Well, besides feeling better mentally,  another reason for finally getting serious is that I miscalculated my retirement date. I thought I could retire in 2010, but apparently I goofed in my calculations and can’t retire until 2011. I was pretty upset at the time, but decided to make the most of it by coming up with a plan to fix up the place. The idea is to take 1-2 months per room first decluttering, then decorating/fixing up.

January is dedicated to the kitchen. This room is first on the list because I want it to be an inviting place, where I’ll want to spend time preparing meals, thereby eating better—something I’ve been needing to do for quite awhile.

My room for February is the dining room.  The dining room should be fairly manageable for the shorter month (even with the extra day in Feb this year), since I don’t really have any hidden drawers  and cabinets to deal with.  Plus, it’s an appropriate follow-on to the kitchen, since it’s where I need to eat some of my meals, and right now the dining room table is filled to the brim with non-dining stuff. Things like my laptop, my happy light (a new addition), Christmas presents for wrapping (yeah, yeah, I know it’s past), financial papers, a set of blue margarita glasses, and other miscellaneous stuff.

So, that’s my plan for the next couple months.  Wish me luck!