De-cluttering

J and I have very different ways of de-cluttering and since the holiday's are upon us, we start the de-clutting process.

I tend to start in the more public areas of our house and systematically go through each area. I look at if I have used it in the past 4-6 months and if I am keeping it because it is important or sentimental. I have a couple of bins and trash bags handy and I'm not afraid to just dump things. Many of the text books that I don't need anymore (because they are out of date and I couldn't sell back if I wanted to) are being donated to a thrift store since I haven't touched them in years (probably since I put them on the shelf after I graduated). After tackling two rooms (our living room and the dining area), there were 5 full bags of trash and a few items re-arranged in other areas.

J tends to go through each piece, slowly. My pile of trash was considerably larger than his, but I guess that is just the way that he does things.

We're waiting for our trash bin to be dumped this week before filling it again with items from the loft. My goal is to have everything moved around and finished by the end of November, so I can tackle the back storage room by the end of December. Lofty goals, but we're hoping to make it easier if our plans for next year go through.

But it is interesting to go through all the different rooms and see what I still hold in high regard and what I have found no use for in the past few years. I did this with my closet a few months back and was able to donate about 5 big bags of clothes to friends or thrift stores. Kind of nice to feel like I've got what I want instead of clutter with things I don't use.

We're also in the market for more cabinets and bookshelves. I love having lots of book shelves. There is something easy about arranging them so they work well and I have a functioning space. Our back room is going to take a lot of setting up to make it all work for us, but I'm thinking that it'll work out really well in the long run. I have ideas, but we'll see if we have the funds/know-how to actually make it work.

I am also starting on a bathroom remodel soon. Nothing too drastic, but enough to make a bright green bathroom a bit more inviting for people. First off, I need to get a new sink/cabinet combo. That'll really help with everything. Next up, picking up the paint in the colors I want, then the accent colors and little add-ons for the small room. I will post before/after pictures for everyone to see. I'm kind of excited for this project since it's been a few years in the making. I used to love the bright green bathroom, but then I realized that if anyone else would come into my house, that was always something they commented on (plus, the resale value isn't helped by random bright colored rooms). Lets see if the final project matches my vision......