May 25, 2008
More progress on de-cluttering
There’s a problem with letting clutter accumulate. Well, actually, it creates a lot of problems. Here’s the one I’m thinking of right now, though. See the stack of washcloths between the two stacks of towels? There are - wait a minute while I count - forty-one washcloths. There are a few more in my bathroom - maybe three or four - plus some in the laundry basket. Let’s say I’ve got about fifty washcloths. Why in the world would a single adult living alone need fifty washcloths? She wouldn’t, of course. But if she frequently shops, sets the booty aside to deal with later and then forgets about it, she might not remember that she bought a cheaper-by-the-dozen package of washcloths. She might forget that several times and buy them again … and again. When she finally starts de-cluttering her home she might find some WalMart bags with stuff she bought. One them might be in a corner of her bedroom and contain a twin-pack of deodorant and some hair gel in addition to a jumbo pack of washcloths. Maybe there was another hiding in the floor of the guest room closet containing some washcloths along with a sympathy card that was never sent and a few other bits and bobs. There might even be a full, unopened pack in the hall closet, hiding behind some towels that are in such disarray that no one has a clue what else might be in there. That’s how it could happen, maybe. Just speculating, mind you, but it could happen that way, couldn’t it?
My decluttering frenzy has continued on a daily basis. I tackled the hall closet today. Sheets, tablecloths, towels and washcloths can now be found when needed. The biggest chore in the closet, though, was two shelves packed with a miscellany of health and beauty products. I found prescription drugs that were years out of date. Lots of stale over-the-counter cold and sinus remedies, too, and crinkly tubes of antibiotic ointment, dusty bottles of eye drops and multiple bottles of hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol with a little product remaining in each. I have lots of first aid supplies. Super-sized sterile bandages from when I burned my foot, ace bandages and self-adhesive wraps and plenty of regular old bandaids, of course. I filled a large rubbish bag with all of that stale, out-dated stuff, plus body lotions in which the oils had gone rancid and shampoos that had turned funny colors. I’m happy with the results. There were several little baskets in there, but not enough to actually organize things, so I improvised with some boxes to handle the overflow. Each is labelled and things are sorted by type so they can be found quickly. Next time I have a large burn or am bleeding profusely I’ll peek in there and know that I have enough wound dressings to last a week. It won’t be a problem if you forget your toothbrush or floss or razor when you come for a visit. These are good things to know.
I couldn’t bring myself to take a photo that showed the whole closet “before.” The picture above was about half-way through. I had emptied out most of the stuff that was in the bottom of the closet originally - dog-bath towels and throw rugs and vacuum cleaner attachements and such. Then I used the floor of the closet as one of my sorting bins. Most of that is sick room supplies left over from when I was taking care of Dad. There are suction syringes and tubing, feeding tubes, catheters, and even a cheap, plastic stethoscope used to make sure the feeding tube hadn’t gone astray into a lung. There are braces and thumb splints for each phase of the tendon problems in my hands. Most of this ended up in the rubbish bin, but the tubing has various hardware uses (and is in the shed now) and the stethocope is with my first aid supplies. The gallon jug of hand soap is still right where it started.
I’ve worked on my office some more, too. I’ll post about that in a little while, after I eat some supper. It’s been a busy day and I need to re-fuel.
Technorati Tags: cleaning, clutter, de-cluttering, organizing
Posted by skeet @ 8:41 pm • Just stuff, Home & Family
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May 26th, 2008 at 12:04 am, skeet’s stuff Says:
[…] « Previous Main […]
May 26th, 2008 at 12:20 am, skeet’s stuff » Self Portrait Sunday for May 25, 2008 Says:
[…] tired. If you want to know why I’m tired, look at this post and this one. This is what I look like when I’m so tired I don’t even think to brush my […]
May 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm, Whim Says:
I am so proud of you!
June 18th, 2008 at 7:40 pm, skeet’s stuff » Oh, the irony! Says:
[…] couple of weeks ago, in one of my progres reports on de-cluttering my home, I showed you my re-organized hall closet. I included this phrase: “Next time I have a large burn or am bleeding profusely I’ll peek […]