CLUTTERBUSTER [Open, Ongoing]

[Ahyar Dreamspark]

Hi, I'm Naxius and I live in a clusterfuck.

 

I'll fancify this post later. For now, a quick Google search for "negative effects of clutter" or anything along those lines is all that's necessary to know that excessive clutter in one's living space is bad. You know, if the "ugh!" feeling in the pit of your stomach when you walk into a room filled to the brim with excessive, unorganized, and unnecessary bullshit isn't enough to make you realize it.

 

Decluttering has been a side goal in most of my challenges ever since I joined NF in mid-2013. The common theme in all these previous decluttering attempts was failure, with a side dish of frustration. For some reason, I just couldn't make myself do things--cleaning up and throwing things away included.

 

My mind operates in mysterious ways. Sometimes, things just "click" seemingly out of nowhere, and I become motivated to do a thing. In 2002, it was the beginning of my physical fitness journey. In 2004, it was the sudden desire to upgrade my high school marks and go to university. Now it's the overwhelming urge to declutter the entire fucking house.

 

The main goal for my current challenge was to clean my room, a task I have been attempting to accomplish since...1995? There have been setbacks in this month's challenge so far because I live with my parents (yay, student loans!) and decluttering efforts often depend on more than one person, but my desire to slay the clutter demons has not faltered. THIS WILL BE DONE!

 

And this will be fun.

 

To make it even more fun, I am inviting everyone who has too much clutter in their lives to join me in the quest to get rid of things.

 

The rules are as follows:

 

1. Score one point for each item you throw away, donate, set on fire, or get rid of in any way.

 

Any potentially usable item that gets thrown out or donated counts as a point. For example, an old t-shirt that gets thrown into the trash bin counts as one point because the t-shirt could still be used as a pajama top, or to do chores around the house where one might get dirty. The shirt is not useless, but it's clutter and just taking up space at this point. Another example would be a half-empty or near-empty shampoo bottle. There is still some shampoo in it, and it could still be used, but it's not that great for your hair, or you don't like the way it smells, or you already bought a different shampoo that's better, etc. The point that the bottle has potential usefulness but is just sitting there taking up space. Tossing it into the trash will be one point. Tossing a shampoo bottle into the trash if it has no potential usefulness usually happens automatically, and therefore would not count as one point. Or at least I don't count it as one point.

 

Some empty containers/bottles may be counted if they could potentially be used as storage containers or re-used in some way. The choice of whether or not to count it is up to you.

 

tl;dr version: only count items that have potential usefulness.

 

Trash that missed the bin and has been sitting there for a while doesn't count. But...it is also true that some players spawn in areas that contain more low-level bad guys. If someone starts CLUTTERBUSTER in a hoarders-level of an area and there are piles upon piles of trash all over the place, then counting pieces of trash is acceptable, where ten pieces of trash = one point, as this can help generate momentum.

 

2. (Coming soon) Percentage score based on how many rooms in your living space are clutter-free.

 

3. Multiplayer mode! Family members or roommates can join your party. Simply ask them to keep count of the things they throw away. For the purpose of score-keeping, players with multiplayer parties will have their scores in red.

 

It's that simple. Post a reply to this thread to record your clutter kills. Keep track of your total on every post in order to avoid losing count. Before and after pictures are also encouraged, as is writing about your decluttering exploits in an epic, fantastic manner.

 

Who can slay the most Clutter Critters??

 

Scores (last updated April 8)

 

Spoiler

 

Eirlys - 31

Fitnessgurl - 80

Foo - >447

Glennare - 5

Heidi - 10

jmk - 231

Luciana Valerosa Culming - 66

Marauder - 20

MiaulinTheCat - >200

MichiruSedai - 24

Naxius - 335

 

 

[Maggie-Miau]

*Aggressively signs up*

 

I shall destroy the clutter monsters in at least three rooms! *Dragon Roar*

 

Edit: 67 Clutter Beasts have been vanquished thus far.

[Heidi]

O yes!

I love the point format.

Score ten points for me for removing random crap from the toddler room that she doesn't play with any more and that I never liked to begin with.

[Ahyar Dreamspark]

I have almost 38 kills so far! I say "almost" because a pile of old and crappy t-shirts has been sorted through and the donate + trash count is 38, but the shirts to be donated are still in the house (in a bag) because Value Village closed before I could drop them off.

 

I wonder if I can go through pile #2 before going to bed. It would probably double the kill count for tomorrow!

 

I've also been considering having a percentage element to this PvP challenge along with the kill count, for when you don't need to throw things out, but need to organize things and return items to the places where they belong. Maybe it could be like if, say, 4 of 13 rooms in the house are tidy and organized and there isn't clutter everywhere, you'd have 4/13 = 30.7%

 

The percentage score would get a bit more complicated when it comes to big rooms, like the large basement in my house where no flat surfaces save for the floor are visible. (For the example above I simply split the basement into two halves when adding up the rooms so that it counted for two...and I totally lied about having four organized rooms. It's more like 0% right now.)

 

The kills would only go up over time, but the percentage score could start to drop if one starts to slack. Better keep at it!

 

 

UPDATE, like 4 hours later. Ten piles vanquished! All items are either in the trash or in bags to take to goodwill tomorrow. This totally counts as confirmed kills ;P

 

Kill count: 121 ...and so many more to go!

[Foo]

While not feeling well put me at a slightly slow start, I am in 110% this weekend.  Expect there to be the slayed bodies of "clutter kobolds" stacked as high as the eye can see.

 

*applies war paint*

 

* Edit: Chalk me up for a quick blitzkrieg on 11 shirts and 4 full boxes (totaling 72 items) that I'd had in storage since I moved 8 months ago.  If I hadn't unpacked them yet, I obviously don't need them.  83 Confirmed Kills and counting....

 

* 17 Items removed from out building.  3 old CD stacks that had been moved to digital storage ages ago removed, and 2 additional boxes

105 kills (and rising)

[Maggie-Miau]

Over a hundred kills total, but I lost count so we'll just say one hundred for now.

 

WOOOO Go, Foo and Naxius!

 

Edit:  Two hundred total kills :3

[fitnessgurl]

I totally want to do this! 

 

IT. IS. ON!

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

I donated 12 books. Couldn't put them in the trash. When I get back home, I really want to go through my wardrobe.

[Maggie-Miau]

^ Good on you, Luciana! Donating is much better than throwing away; now somebody else can read and enjoy.

 

We've officially reached the stage where my room looks a million times worse rather than better. I like to think this is the halfway point.

[Ahyar Dreamspark]

Scores updated!

 

Welcome welcome to those who've just joined us. Grab your weapons and lay waste to the clutter piles!

 

I didn't do shit on Friday and Saturday, but am going through some of my things right now. My score will increase again by tomorrow, if time permits. While I haven't thrown out anything tonight (yet!) I did organize some things in my room and in the house.

 

 

We've officially reached the stage where my room looks a million times worse rather than better. I like to think this is the halfway point.

 

Aaaaahh, the constant expansion and contraction of the clutter piles. At least every time a pile expands/forms, it's always a bit smaller than the previous time

[Maggie-Miau]

Aaaaahh, the constant expansion and contraction of the clutter piles. At least every time a pile expands/forms, it's always a bit smaller than the previous time

 

My whole house is a clutter pile. Just reached that lovely stage where all of the places to put things are technically clean, but now I have to sort through everything that was in them...my brain keeps processing the whole mess as "I don't know what to do. What do I do?" annnnd....there are a few loads of laundry to do...I might throw away half of my socks just out of spite.

[Eirlys]

Can I hang out as a declutterer groupie?    I've already gotten rid of quite a bit of stuff, so there's no way I can compete against 100 shitty t-shirts making the chop.  But today I did manage to return 2 goods to amazon (their customer service is amazing - they picked them up from my door) which had cost me, like, loadsamoney, so that is a big win.

[Elennare]

Hi!  Can I join?  This isn't part of my challenge, but getting my house in better shape is an on-going battle for me.

 

I have a small question about the rules. Each item counts as a point?  Does that include trash that has missed the can and has been left sitting on the floor (like random pieces of paper)?  Or does cleaning up (and putting in the bin outside, to be taken away by the garbage men) the trash that didn't quite make it out count as one point?

[Maggie-Miau]

I've lost count, so I'm just counting my bedroom as 500 dragons when it's done. The bathroom will be closer to twenty, the kitchen will be...ha. haha. hahaha. I don't even know about the kitchen.

[Marauder]

Throwing my name in here to follow for inspiration.  I'll see if I can keep count, but it's not my strong suit.  Once I start tossing stuff, things fly.  

 

I spent part of Monday clearing out the closet in my bedroom.  Why oh why do I keep the boxes things come in?  I always think I'll throw it away once I'm sure it won't need returned, but then 6 months later...

 

Total count for the last couple of days (just from a quick glance at the bins):  20.

[Ahyar Dreamspark]

My whole house is a clutter pile. Just reached that lovely stage where all of the places to put things are technically clean, but now I have to sort through everything that was in them...my brain keeps processing the whole mess as "I don't know what to do. What do I do?" annnnd....there are a few loads of laundry to do...I might throw away half of my socks just out of spite.

 

Keep fighting the good fight! My house (well, my parents' house) is similar. It's like if cleaning was a video game and all the rooms are lvl 50 areas. I'm just trying to focus on one room at a time for now, but the problem I keep running into is that no other storage areas in the house have any room left, so I often have to take long breaks from cleaning my own room and tackle other people's clutter piles, just to be able to move some of the clutter in my room to a different location. This clutter currently in my room is also not my stuff, which is incredibly frustrating.

 

Focus on one pile or room at a time? Which room do you really, really want to have cleaned first

 

Aaaaarrg, laundry. Do you have space to store it once it's all cleaned up and folded?

 

 

Can I hang out as a declutterer groupie?    I've already gotten rid of quite a bit of stuff, so there's no way I can compete against 100 shitty t-shirts making the chop.  But today I did manage to return 2 goods to amazon (their customer service is amazing - they picked them up from my door) which had cost me, like, loadsamoney, so that is a big win.

 

You certainly can! Also, feel free to post pictures

 

I should probably change the CLUTTERBUSTER link in my signature and remove the "can you kill more clutter critters than your team mates?" part. I don't really want this thread to be a competition--I am keeping track of scores mainly to make it easier for players to keep track of their kills. Some people will simply have a higher number due to having spawned in an area where more low-level bad guys were present initially.

 

Returning two goods to Amazon are big wins, especially since there is $$$ involved XD While we're on the topic of points...

 

Hi!  Can I join?  This isn't part of my challenge, but getting my house in better shape is an on-going battle for me.

 

I have a small question about the rules. Each item counts as a point?  Does that include trash that has missed the can and has been left sitting on the floor (like random pieces of paper)?  Or does cleaning up (and putting in the bin outside, to be taken away by the garbage men) the trash that didn't quite make it out count as one point?

 

First, you can definitely join! Anyone can.

 

The rules and points system may be updated in the future. For the time being, this is how I keep track of my score:

 

- Any potentially usable item that gets thrown out or donated counts as a point. For example, an old t-shirt that gets thrown into the trash bin counts as one point because the t-shirt could still be used as a pajama top, or to do chores around the house where one might get dirty. The shirt is not useless, but it's clutter and just taking up space at this point. Another example would be a half-empty or near-empty shampoo bottle. There is still some shampoo in it, and it could still be used, but it's not that great for your hair, or you don't like the way it smells, or you already bought a different shampoo that's better, etc. The point that the bottle has potential usefulness but is just sitting there taking up space. Tossing it into the trash will be one point. Tossing a shampoo bottle into the trash if it has no potential usefulness usually happens automatically, and therefore would not count as one point. Or at least I don't count it as one point.

 

tl;dr version: only count items that have potential usefulness.

 

Trash that missed the bin and has been sitting there for a while doesn't count, but...I've also mentioned that some people spawn in areas that contain more low-level bad guys. If someone starts CLUTTERBUSTER in a hoarders-level of an area and there are piles upon piles of trash all over the place, then counting individual trash pieces could be counted. Or ten pieces of trash = one point--feel free to make up your own scoring system, to a certain extent.

 

Hmm...maybe there could be clutter levels, where trash pieces would be 10x = 1 point, one regular item = 1 point, and large items = 5 points. I'll update the original post once I think of a good system. I also want there to be a percentage component, so that players who don't spawn in an area full of low-lvl mobs can get the most of this challenge.

 

This gon' be good!

 

 

I've lost count, so I'm just counting my bedroom as 500 dragons when it's done. The bathroom will be closer to twenty, the kitchen will be...ha. haha. hahaha. I don't even know about the kitchen.

 

Lol. Your kitchen sounds like our basement. That shit's a raid level all in itself X(

 

 

Throwing my name in here to follow for inspiration.  I'll see if I can keep count, but it's not my strong suit.  Once I start tossing stuff, things fly.  

 

I spent part of Monday clearing out the closet in my bedroom.  Why oh why do I keep the boxes things come in?  I always think I'll throw it away once I'm sure it won't need returned, but then 6 months later...

 

Total count for the last couple of days (just from a quick glance at the bins):  20.

 

Welcome welcome!

 

Argh, the box demons. First it's "we might need to return it", and then 6 months later it turns into "well, we might need it for Christmas or some other event to put a present in" and then several years later there's a freaking box fort that looks like it's suffered through a siege

 

But pay no attention to me, because I'm the dumbass who kept boxes the other day because "oh, I'll probably need this one to store my paint bottles into, and that one for the paint brushes, and the one there to put into the larger box in order to keep the small and big bottles separate...and that one has a handle, so I should keep that one too." Fucking boxes. Always looking so innocent and pretending they can help with organization, then turning into clutter.

[Elennare]

Thanks for the clarification.  I haven't had a chance to do any work on this yet, but I will get started this weekend.  How much progress I make is probably going to depend on if the weather is nice.  If yes, then I'm going to spend a fair bit of time trying to work on my garden.  If not, then let the cleaning commence!  I am sick of not having places for things or enough room in my drawers for the clothes I actually wear. 

[fitnessgurl]

21 kills

[Foo]

Decided to help pack-rat of little girl make executive decisions on removing clutter.   I stopped counting @ 280 kills.  There are more, which is ridiculous.  *grumble grumble, angry dad speech about collecting junk and just leaving it in the corners of your room*

 

Foo +280

[Elennare]

I did not end up with nearly as much time to work on stuff as I had expected to, but I did manage to get 5 kills.

[fitnessgurl]

9 kills

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

21 clothes gone, don't even know why I kept these so long.

[Foo]

I had my kids minimize their toys into a group of 25 things that they really love.  This is something I've done for myself before, and figured they should give less clutter a shot too.

 

....167 more kills, and 3 MUCH cleaner rooms

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

One mousepad and a broken headset gone. 22 old magazines, four old calendars and a lot of old study stuff put in the recycling bin.

Makes another 28 pieces gone.

 

edit: + 5 art magazines

[Raincloak]

I removed a pile of about 80 fruit stickers that has slowly been growing on the rim of my kitchen sink.  I go to wash an apple prior to eating it, and stick the sticker on the sink, and well, you know the rest.  

 

Also scraped an ancient box of children's books from my parents' basement (trying to sneakily clear their basement when they aren't looking; the total blitz approach has been tried and has failed) and most of them are headed to the courthouse, which needs children's books to amuse the kiddies whilst their guardians are busy getting into/out of trouble.  Sometimes charity is like that, little down-and-dirty jobs...