Re: Tell about your big projects, obstacles, outcomes (and treasure!)

[Anonymous]

I’ll start. This project started off as something very simple, but my ADD made me compulsively keep going, that was a benefit.

ESTIMATED TIME: 10 minutes

I was only going to clean the bathroom floor, no intention of doing anything further, although the bathroom was definitely in need of a major cleanup/decluttering.

It was so impromptu that I got on hands and knees and sponge-cleaned the floor and baseboards with a spray bottle of vinegar and water. It looked great! Toilet needed cleaning, so I cleaned that. Thought I was done there.

I came back when the floor had dried, and noticed that the walls had spider webs drooping here and there, so I got out our floor duster that has a reasonably long extension and swiped the walls and ceiling, and the light fixtures until there were no more webs. That looked good.

But now the plastic bins of cleaning supplies, skin products, etc. that litter the bathroom counters looked VERY dusty. This is where I decided to launch into the BIG PROJECT phase.

ESTIMATED TIME:

Half an hour

I got a garbage can and paper recycling bin, and proceeded to empty the contents of the medicine cabinet, counter tops and under-the-counter. EVERYTHING came out on the floor to be examined, thrown out, recycled or returned to its rightful place. Every plastic bin got washed and dried.

GOAL – to throw out anything we never use, or haven’t used in a year’s time, and reorganize things so we can see them.

THREW OUT: old medicine, empty bandaid boxes (there were quite a few of those, or ones with only 1 bandaid in them), tampax and pads (ummm, not needed for a few years!), gift items that have never been used like bubble bath (I never take baths), old cleaning supplies that we never use because we found a better product, several electric hygiene products that were almost 10 years old and rarely used (elec toothbrush, elec flosser, waterpik), orthodontal products for when I had braces, etc etc etc. I gave up the thought that I usually have that “someone will need or want this, I should give it away”. Just deal with it NOW. Filled 2 tall kitchen garbage bags, and half filled my office recycle bin with product boxes and paper.

RESULT: we can actually see things in our medicine cabinet. There are NO baskets on the bathroom counter, and there is only one basket on another cabinet that wouldn’t fit under the counter. We have a place to put something down that’s not next to the sink. The whole room looks clean, uncluttered. I’m not afraid to look at it (previously I saw it as something to ignore because it required work).

ACTUAL TIME:

3 hours (I have no clue about time, how long something will take)

OBSTACLE: I wanted to do something else yesterday, and this job started taking more time than I thought it would, but I could see progress, so I kept going.

TREASURE:

I found a neat little zippered travel case with clippers, comb, etc that I will take to work.

TIP THAT WORKED FOR ME : leave stuff on the floor so you’ll have to deal with it. Don’t put anything away until you’ve decided where it will go, with other items like it. Don’t do this if you are prone to leaving things on the floor (like my husband).

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