Decluttering the Home

Hello, and welcome to my first official post of this newly named blog, At Home with Tricia's Baskets.  I had to decide on which direction Tricia’s Baskets needed to go, and with much prayer, crying, pouting, and submission (which most religions including Christianity practice, and should practice daily), I have concluded (with God’s help of course) that I have come too far with this blog to just put it down.  Even though the company let me down and I have decided an exit date if the company comes back before then (June 30^th, which also marks the end of the selling season, July 1^st starts the new one), I should press on.

I have outlined in the previous post the plans for At Home with Tricia's Baskets, which may go through changes with the new blog, such as a platform change, so far, I am satisfied in the direction I am going.

Let me shut up about these changes and get to the real reason behind this particular post.

My home has changed…

When I was writing Simply Organized Crafts, I had mentioned that I live in a condo for one.  Since that time, I have acquired tenants who live with me.  They are my nephew (22), his girlfriend (20), and a cute cat, named Gizmo.  So, the home now has 4 occupants.  When you have other people living in your house, especially after living alone for over 16 years (2 apartments and this place), adjustments need to be made.  I had to ask myself these questions:

1)      How long are they staying?  My nephew and girlfriend arrived in August 2017, and they were camped out on my living room sofa.  Not good.  I moved them into my second bedroom after it was apparent that they were not trying to find an apartment. He was in between jobs, she was not working at the time, and my father told my nephew that he can move back home, but not the girlfriend.  Guess who got them?  I would have to say the only problem has been switching cars when one of us has to leave. I am only allowed 2 spaces; one in the garage and one directly behind, all other vehicles associated with this condo have to park in the overflow parking. The cat came later.  Adjusting to a cat (and the occasional dog visits by his other pet, a mini-husky mix name Strype) has been challenging since I have no pets. So far, it has been 7 months.

2)      What is the purpose of them not finding any other lodging?  No money.  They stayed in a hotel for a week, so they had to come here. 

3)      Exit date of Casa De Patricia?  Who knows, but a friend of mine told me last Sunday that I have to give them a date, and she is right.  I have been too soft on them.  I am left babysitting the cat (she is under my feet as I type this), and I need to get stuff out of the corner near the stairs.  So, if you have this problem, give your guests a date to exit Casa De (insert name here), and remind them.

The kitchen is pretty much well taken care of.  The girlfriend organized it herself, I just have to put things where I need it when they leave.  For now, it stays. The living room can use a little touchup, with my stuff in the corner from the second bedroom, as well as the bookcase that I may put in my bedroom. 

Let's Get Started 

I would like to show you how to organize your room.  We will start with decluttering, and in the next post, I will tackle how to plan and shop for your room, this includes shopping in your own home to save money and time.  In the last post, I will show you how to organize what you bought so you will not have to organize in this manner but every 5 years or when you move. 

Decluttering the stuff

I am organizing my craft room.  You may be decluttering the closet, something else that I am doing, but for this post, I will use my craft room as an example.  I have been decluttering this room, slowly.  Keep in mind some things when you are decluttering:

1)      Can I still use it (wear it)? Does it have holes that should not be?  If so toss if it is not usable.  

2)      Do you want it or need it?  If you can still use it, by all means, use it.  Set a date, say “a year from now, if I am not using this pink cardstock, I need to repurpose it by giving it to someone who needs it.”  This need could be again, donate it to a school or nursing home, or sell it.  Find a place to put it for now. 

3)      Donate. As mentioned before, if you cannot use it, donate it to someone who can.  Your donations are taxable at the end of the year, and someone can always use it.

4)      Sell it.  If it is in excellent (never used) to gently used condition, you can always sell it.  I have run into a lot of and belong to many destashing groups on Facebook and other social media sites.  Some are specific groups (like Rubber and Clear-Mount Stamps: Sell, Buy, or Swap Group or Columbus buy, sell, trade), brand specific (Longaberger ISO (In Search Of)) or generalized (Destash Divas).  Be sure to check the rules of each group BEFORE you join, introduce yourself, and you may get something that you are looking for or have someone to take that 50 spools of Persian White yarn off your hands.  Also, be sure to use the Facebook Marketplace if you are not up to joining any groups.  Name your price and prepare to negotiate down your price (rather stick to that price), especially if you need some room for new stuff.

5)      If joining groups are not your thing, or you are not on anything social media sites, the best way to go is to sell your stuff on eBay.  Keep in mind that once your stuff sells, Ebay takes a percentage of that sale (3% and up depending on the item and how much it sells for).  You can always use Craig’s List, Amazon (providing that it is current items), or if you are totally off the internet Grid, an old-fashion yard sale. 

a.       Make sure your items are good-quality items (no junky stuff)

b.       Make sure your prices are well-noted in the listings (on the item if you are having a yard sale). 

c.       If you are listing your item as an auction, be sure to have a good starting price.  This means that this is the price that you will accept as the minimum price.  It could go higher.  I would also list it for a week.  Any longer, and people who have your item on their watch list will grow tired and will take it off their watch list.  In other words, make them want it.

d.       Ship small items through the post office, larger Items through either FedEx or UPS.

e.       GET A PAYPAL ACCOUNT. I cannot stress that enough.  If you do not get paid (and I recommend that you receive payment before shipping), or if the money is shady, you can dispute a claim.  Same thing if you pay by Paypal, and you do not receive your item.  They will work to get your money or refund on your behalf.

6)      Trash.  Yes, there are times when you keep something, thinking that you can fix it.  Sometimes that does not get done.  If you can get a new one, trash the old one. You had good intentions, but nope, trash it.

These are some of my recommendations for getting rid of your clutter. 

Your takeaway:  

I want you to have the best-organized home, but it is going to take time, patience, and strength to purge the items you no longer want and need, and to give to someone or to toss.  Once that you get rid of those items for either reason, you have more room to put the things that you treasure the most, and you will gain space that you never knew you had in the first place.  I have only touched the surface of getting your home or room organized.  Next, we will talk about shopping, including shopping in your own home to organize that space.  This is also part of recycling pieces once used to hold your discarded stuff. You will find that piece of advice in the next post, titled “Plan to Shop for your room”.