Author: Caroline

Hello my decluttering friends. Our decluttering journey in March started in the laundry.

Here’s a before….

and an after….

We got rid of old laundry supplies and things we don’t use any more, created a stain removal kit, created some decor to make the laundry a bit brighter, created a laundry schedule and a system for putting away clean clothes (something we struggle with), and organised and decluttered a pile of odd socks.

Next was creating a cleaning schedule . Now to get everyone on board and actually using it. So far it’s helping me, the kitchen is staying relatively clean. We also created morning & evening routines. We started routines for Miss K last year and are bringing them back so mornings aren’t so hectic. It’s nice to have a routine for us adults too.

Our family folder is slowly getting more information added as we go along and if anyone in the house asks where something is now it’s ”check the family folder first”.

Finally in March was the basement – we don’t have one but it was interesting reading and we can apply some of it to our garage which is a total shambles.

So, accountability and all that. February was a bit of a right off :/ I did bits here and there but didn’t follow along daily. On a positive note, the kitchen is now pretty much decluttered so yay. I’m still struggling to keep the benches clean but it’s better than it was.

Finishing off January – the pantry is still a shambles but the is no out of date food stuff or food we don’t eat, our fridge is clean and more organised and the freezer is better organised (& I chucked a fair bit of unidentifiables). Everything is labelled and dated now so hopefully no more freezer waste. We also have a freezer and pantry inventory set up so we know what we have (& don’t buy what we don’t need = saved $$)

February started off with recipes. I hoard them. I have a huge pile of recipe books and the majority have 1 or 2 recipes that we like/cook frequently. I’ve scanned & printed all the recipes we cook frequently and added them to a Family Favourites binder. I’ve scanned & Evernoted any recipes we want to try – if we like them they’ll go in the binder. Recipe books are in a pile ready to be donated. The ones I use lots (& a couple of sentimental ones like the WW Birthday Cookbook) will be housed somewhere in the kitchen, just not sure where yet.

We’ve set up a better recycling & trash system – much easier when under the sink is clean. Chook bucket and compost bucket live under the sink and are emptied into the appropriate places every second day. We have a bag for recycles in the laundry that gets emptied into our large bin once a week.
As for bins, we have a large one in the kitchen plus small ones in the bedrooms, bathroom and toilet. These get emptied as needed.

Next step is to declutter all our excess plates, mugs and dishes. Challenge 7 was coupons, not something we do here so I may have skipped those days. The rest of the month is looking at menu planning, which we have done for some time but looking forward to picking up some extra tips.

Looking back at all that I’ve actually done ok. Bring on March.