Busy Sunday

It was a busy day today. The boys brought Meredith to the vet for grooming. We noticed she was scratching too much. The vet said last week she didn't have ticks, fleas or mites. Her blood and skin was checked, but there were no issues too. The vet recommended to have her washed with medicated shampoo. Since we've never bathed a cat we thought it was better to have the vet's groomers do it. 

Meredith had her first appointment today. She was quite anxious on the way to her appointment. The groomers said she would eventually get used to it. She came back smelling really good. Her fur was so smooth and bright. She is scheduled to do weekly grooming for 4 weeks. I hope that would help with her scratching. 

I myself got busy sorting another box of Mom's bead supplies. I was so surprised to find it. I think she brought it to our home without us knowing because it was my first time to see the box. I finally found some beading materials I've been looking for in the other boxes I sorted. That's how I knew this was a box she had brought to our house in one of her visits. 

Sorting one box of bead stuff takes so long. I thought I'd finish it today, but I need another day to finish it. I've been transferring the beads to uniform ziplock bags since most of the old holders are quite dusty already. I didn't know Mom had bought a lot of beads. When I left my bead boxes with her before I left for Singapore she told me she wasn't really into beading. Haha. She got hooked because she more than doubled my collection. 

I hope I'll finish sorting the box tomorrow so I can move on with decluttering. We want to really finish organizing our home so we can have friends over. Mom said it will take time and it's really taking time. I have suspended any sewing projects for now so I could focus on decluttering and fixing our home. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Why We Hired a Decluttering Coach/Organizer

I realized we needed help a year and a half after we moved to our new home. Our living room was unusable because we still had unopened boxes. Yup, even after we had renovations done we still had unopened boxes. Mom and my siblings told me that it will really take time before everything is organized. 

We merged two homes. Our stuff from our Manila home and the stuff we brought over from Singapore. While doing our renovations we asked Architect Wansi if he knew an organizer who could help us. I personally needed help because I don't have enough energy and stamina to continuously declutter, clean and organize our home. We also struggled with choosing what to keep and let go. 

Architect Wansi recommended Ally Canita. We reached out to her in late March and did our first session in May. It took awhile because works were still being done and things kept getting moved around. The house was also constantly dirty, so it was useless to organize. Before work to organize and declutter our home we worked with Ally to set goals for the project. 

Ally and her team spent two full days sorting the contents of the boxes. They also worked on the kitchen and storage room. The work they did was really helpful because it was easier to sort through boxes that are marked "for decision" or "keep". We just had to decide whether to donate or keep items from the for decision box. (More about the first session, here).

We had our second session a few days ago. Ally visited us before she brought her team to assess what they needed to do next. She planned the program before the team came so they wouldn't waste time. I also like how she was able to use extra storage containers I had to organize our pantry. They also helped organize Miggy's closet and shelf. 

What I liked best about their work was what they did with our Christmas items. I requested for the Christmas decors to be placed in crates so it's easier to go through them when we decorate for Christmas. I thought we'd need to buy crates, but they were able to re-use my old plastic boxes (which we emptied in the past few months). They even re-used my old plastic shoe boxes to segregate the decors. Yay! 

Ally also has contacts with organizations that accept pre-loved items. The first set of books we donated were already sent by Library Hub Philippines to Bicol. Homeware was sent to another group. Ally is also knowledgeable on what junk shops would accept or not. This is a huge relief for me since Mom has a lot of stuff. I think we've already donated about 40 to 50 boxes of items. Our aim is to reduce more. 

Decluttering has become easier with Ally's help. Items we have left each have an intention and purpose. Much as I love stuffed toys, I really couldn't give each and everyone of them a hug everyday, so I donated most of it. I was on the fence though with my Android plushies, maybe I'll let them go on the next round. We're still not done, but at least we could see our living room floor now. Miggy is also happy with how his stuff is organized. He now has a system he could follow to keep his room spotless. 

Thank you Ally Canita and team for patiently helping us organize our home!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: We Hired a Coach to Help Us Declutter

It's been almost 15 months since we moved in our new home. We suspended unpacking all our boxes because we didn't have storage. We only got to install proper cabinets after 12 months. Works on the house was extended though since some serious issues needed to be addressed. 

Merging two households is hard. We decided to get help from a decluttering coach because it was too overwhelming. It was also very stressful to see towers of boxes in our living room. We haven't invited anyone over because it's ugly to look at. 

Our architect introduced us to Ally Canita. She is the founder of Align Your Home and has been working with us for a few months now. The journey started with some introspection on where we our in our lives. She advised it will help us while we sort through our things. True enough, we were able to donate 7 boxes of books, clothing and kitchen stuff just before Christmas.

After we finished addressing the issues, we finally had our first 2-day session to deal with the boxes. Ally and her team sorted the boxes, cleared out space for storage and organized our kitchen. I had been working on organizing our kitchen since we got back in February. It was helpful to have Ally's expertise since she was able to put in a system in the kitchen. I just told them how I moved around in the kitchen and then they took care of organizing it. 

There were more boxes and bags behind the counter before Ally's team organized the kitchen.
It was a huge mess! (*Backsplash being replaced).

The contents of the boxes were sorted out. They found 7 boxes of bags (hand bags, eco-bags and travel bags)! They reduced it to three boxes after categorizing the bags.  This is where I really trimmed down. Kept only a few bags that would fit in my closet. I even let go of bags that had sentimental value for me. I knew I wouldn't use them anymore and knowing where I am in my life made it easier to let go. After some overnight sorting, we sent out 7 boxes for donation. 

The journey isn't over yet. Sorting items takes a lot of time. We sort in the evenings when it's not so hot. It's going to take time to finish. We will have another round with Ally to organize the items we decide to keep. At least the kitchen is now organized. Ally said we'll finalize how it was organized when they come back. Just need to see first if we're comfortable where everything has been placed. Still a long way to go for the rest of the house. 

#BeKind #StaySafe