The Elephant in the Room [Archive] - Simple Living Forums

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Yppej

8-27-21, 7:52pm

nswef

8-28-21, 11:28am

Wow, Yppej, It looks as if you can solve many problems yourself! I like this idea...one thing in the room at a time.

rosarugosa

8-28-21, 12:00pm

I would definitely like to join in. Thankfully, I am not tripping over low-hanging fruit in every room, so it's actually going to take some thought in most areas. The kitchen just flat-out needs to be gutted and remodeled, but I did actually make a couple of things in the kitchen more user friendly with a bit of thought in recent months: the new spice cabinet makes it easier to find spices and I moved the cat food to where it can more easily be seen and reached.

The wooden lockers in our back porch dining area have way too much stuff and need to be decluttered
There are a lot of things to be done in the cellar, but I'll start with putting kitty litter supply in a plastic storage bin (cellar can be overwhelming, so will eat this elephant one bite at a time).

I will be adding to this list. Thanks for kicking it off, Jeppy!

iris lilies

8-28-21, 12:06pm

This is a good method, taking things in bite-size chunks and it’s a good way to organize home improvement work.

I have told myself and DH that I MAY NOT buy any more supplies for home decor projects until I finish the five or six in front of me. Those are:

1. upholster a daybed

2. Finish the silver door in my condo with sanding and Silver leaf

3. Attempt to copy a Fortuny shade by hand painting the cheap copy I found at a 2nd hand store. I will not beat myself up if I’m unable to make a reasonable facimile of the real thing, I will simply pitch materials and call that project DONE. If I am successful however then I have to go out and find a floor lamp pole from the 1920s or 1930s, but those are common and inexpensive, so that will not be hard.

4. Paint the funny container I bought last week in McKenzie Childs type decor for our Hermann house

5. Figure out …Do I really want the screen I bought last week? If I do want it in my condo it needs complete decoration. But should I wait until I get all the furniture in there before deciding if it’s one more thing that will have to be jammed in that little room? It has utility because it blocks off a little pass-through window to the kitchen. But on the other hand I don’t mind that little pass-through window. I think this project will probably sit for a year before I figure out what to do with it.

6. Start work on framing the art I have been collecting over a year. One of them will be professionally framed, but I believe all the others can be handled by me and finding thrift store frames.

pinkytoe

8-28-21, 2:23pm

I have never seen a room by room list but it makes sense. I often have a general to-do list going and always ask "which item on my list bothers me the most" if left undone. Clutter was dealt with when we moved so it isn't a big issue. Right now, my dirty keyboard bothers me a lot so I am off to clean it.

NewGig

9-9-21, 11:23am

I like this idea quite a lot!

But it really won't work for me, because every room it's the same thing: deal with the boxes of excess stuff stored in the room.

Sigh.

Okay. My goal related to this will be: get the rooms to where I could do this list!

GeorgeParker

9-9-21, 1:05pm

I like this idea quite a lot! But it really won't work for me, because every room it's the same thing: deal with the boxes of excess stuff stored in the room. Okay. My goal related to this will be: get the rooms to where I could do this list!RIght on! Give it your best effort.

Try picking the biggest or worst or easiest box in each room and doing it first so you'll get a psychological boost each time you finish a box.

As I said in my "If I just did 10 things every day" thread { http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?18931-If-I-just-did-10-things-every-day } looking at as few as ten objects per day and making a decision about where they belong will eventually result in everything being culled, sorted, and totally organized.

Yppej

9-18-21, 3:28pm

I liked what Rosa Rugosa wrote elsewhere about identifying the issue that if resolved will make the most difference in each room and decided to try it. Does anyone else want to play?

Basement - old water heater
Family room - broken blind*
Kitchen - Broken/missing cabinets
Dining room - clutter on table
Living room - shower curtain on bench
Bathroom - clutter*
Master bedroom - clutter*
Hallway/stairs - painting needed*
Guest room - clutter
Son's room - probably clutter

I have asterisked the low hanging fruit I can tackle myself.

Here"s my September update:

Replaced broken blind.

Got a smaller bathroom rug so DS won't kick it out of his way making a mess. The old one was worn out anyways. Also did some neatening up in that room when the new faucet was installed.

Got a nightstand with drawers that close instead of open shelving - what a concept - to hide clutter like contact lens supplies in the master bedroom. I would have bought two but the store only had one in stock and the next nearest store didn't have any. Did some other organizing and tossing, like 3 inch heels you couldn't pay me to wear again.

Painting done.

So the low hanging fruit is done.

New goals:

Family room - clutter including supplies to clean the siding I dragged out - will try to do that in October. Started yesterday but there is more to do.

Bathroom - Lots of towels hanging to dry. I try to use them more than once as I only do laundry once a week but it has been hot and humid a lot of the time so they take a while to dry and I take out another one. With winter this will get better.

Master bedroom - need a closed clothes hamper rather than an open basket that shows all the dirty clothes.

Hall/stairs - steps could use a coat of paint which I will need to buy.