Organization & purging

Here's the master list of things that need to be done around the house while I'm unemployed. My goal is to create a short list from these things each day and actually accomplish THAT list. You'll notice that some things take 5 minutes and others will have to be tackled in several shifts.


thin and reorganize the attic
wash little red dress  file things weekly
polish shoes
Clean out box of junk that was on top of the loft dresser.
Here's a list of things I have recently gotten rid of (April 2011):
Full size box spring and mattress
Size 6 women's business suits - purple skirt suit and green pant suit
Size 6 women's dress slacks
Size 6 womens jeans and cargo pants

Size 14 women's trench coat 
Queen size aqua floral comforter
infant carseat
working vacuum cleaner
angel collection
music boxes 
silver plated tea service
cassette tapes - Christian music and other genres  cassette tape storage drawers 
cassette tapes - Christian self help series from Joyce Meyer and Charles Stanley $1
VHS tapes 
Books 
youth books including Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume 
costume jewelry 
Christmas decorations
tree skirt
nativity
santas
Two artificial Christmas trees
curtains knick-knacks
picture frames
small stuffed animals
lotions and special soaps
two identical digital cameras (with manual!) one 35mm camera
Christmas tree lights 3 ring binders
tons of page protectors
ribbons

Out of all of this stuff that went out to the garage sale, only about 5 things came back in the house: a cat hair covered office chair that no one else would want anyway, one music box, 2 movies, and one pretty trinket.


Here's the list of things that I have already thinned out or gotten rid of or stored better (Aug 2010):

re-gifted some of the crystal bowls I never use.
Thined out my casserole dishes
The Martini set that, while cool, is never used because we don't drink martinis. 
All the books I will never read again, or won't have time to read for the next 5 years.
The pile of electric stove burner pans to the stove we no longer own.
That hideous teflon skillet from my hubby's bachelor days - it was not new then.
The hand weights that I never used.
The funky coffee table that we used as an entertainment center.
The stack of baby-gift cards - keep only those with personal notes - ruthlessness cut the stack in half!
At least one bag of my clothing for goodwill.
The indoor electric water fountain that hasn't been used since we moved into our house.
The box of precious paper from Hubby's  last job - reduced to 1/4 of original volume.
Donated over 40 Joyce Meyer CDs.
A box of books stored in the garage - salvaged one book from the whole box. 
Gave all of the yarn to a lady at work who recently took up knitting.
Got rid of supplies from craft hobbies that I never do anymore. (yarn, comic strips, pillows I'll never recover)
Hideous curtains.
Most of my Psychology books
All my fake flowers (except the bluebonnets)
Wedding decorations, petticoat, and some cards (I've been married 8 years)
High School Graduation cards (14 years since I graduated)

Clearly label all the empty boxes I have on storage shelves (this sounds nuts, but my boxes labeled "winter clothes" are empty half the year! Or in July when the office is kept at 65 degrees.) DONE!!!

12 oh so useful canning jars were traded for 6 garden grown squash on craigslist.
The large roll of curtain backing that I will never use.
The two wood windows that I will never make into showcase coffee tables.
Threw out a lot of bisquick that expired in like 2004.
Moved rat poison from indoor, child accessible spot to the garage. (DUH!!)
Large blue painted canvas. (?)
 Two thirds of the boxes labeled "Hubby's precious papers" that are stacked all over the garage, loft, and attic.
Get rid of supplies from craft hobbies that I never do anymore. (yarn, glue gun, comic strips, calligraphy, pillows I'll never recover)
 Get rid of expired food stored in the garage - except the spam.
Joyce Meyer and Charles Stanley tapes and CDs.
Cleaned out a huge, 30 gal plastic tub of my childhood stuff - box is 3/4  Empty now!
Emptied a box full of mending (?) books I'll never read, and the glue gun.
Pants repaired or returned to LL Bean, books gone to Goodwill, glue gun relocated.
Electric grill we never use.
Threw out 5 bottles of saline solution (contact stuff) that expired in 2004 or 2007.
Stored the extremely useful bulky infant things which we use very little now, but want to keep until we're done having kids. (Boppy, bouncy, crib mobile, floor gym, infant carseats.)
Cleared the campaign supplies out of the dining room and packed them up for climate controlled storage (AKA the loft)
Move my desk to our bedroom and set it up with the printer.