This week for Minimalist Monday Mission: Declutter 365 I was working in the filing cabinet.

You know, it’s that wonderful time of year again… TAXES!

But, it’s also the same time that I clean out my filing cabinet each year.  Since I have many of my files for tax purposes, it gives me a great excuse to go through everything and weed out the old and collect the rest for taxes.

This year, because of Minimalist Monday, and the fact that I will soon be digitizing many things in my office, I had to go through my filing cabinet with more of a fine-toothed comb.

Because of that, and because I spent the better part of the last three days doing taxes during my waking hours, I didn’t get to finish the entire filing cabinet this week.  I did manage to get all of my documents out for taxes, put them in chronological order, and I also filed everything that I needed for my rental properties and businesses as well.  The only things left to do is to transfer some files into long term storage and decide what I will be digitizing and add those files to my “scan” box for another week’s mission.

Here’s what my filing cabinet looked like before:

And I also had a box full of “to be filed” papers from my previous office decluttering:

And I’ll share after pictures next week when I finish the filing cabinet.  I’m also aiming on doing one other area in my office as well, either the bookshelves or the built in storage area, so that I can catch back up and not be a week behind.

On a brighter note, I did get a bunch accomplished outside my office this week.  I had a huge pile of stuff that had been removed from my craft table and desk, so I sorted through that pile, and took a big batch of things to Goodwill and also donated some other items to our local school.  I also updated the Becoming Minimalist Sale listings, and managed to get a few other things listed (and some sold) on Craig’s List this week too.  I also shredded a box full of paper from my previous office decluttering, and that yielded five bags of shredded stuff to use for packing material!

So, overall, it was a very productive week!  My downstairs “command center” for all things being donated/sold is once again looking more civilized, and of course, I did get a great chunk of work done on my taxes.  I’ll be finishing those up this week too.

One other exciting tidbit this week.  I was so excited to hear that Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist, one of my favorite bloggers and authors, will be speaking here locally (we are, after all, practically neighbors) in a few weeks, and I can’t wait to go!

Total of items eliminated this week?

• Threw out/Recycled: 15 items
• Donated/Given: 176 items
• Sold: 21 items from my Becoming Minimalist Sale and on Craig’s List

Overall Totals:

• Threw out 304 items
• Donated 337 items
• Sold 191 items from my Becoming Minimalist Sale

TOTAL ITEMS: 832 items

Here’s where we are headed for the Minimalist Monday Mission: Declutter 365 in the next few weeks:

1. Clothes (closet and dresser) – DONE!
2. Master Bath Vanity/Cabinet – DONE!
3. Nightstand and Top of Dresser in Master Bedroom – DONE!
4. Kitchen Counters (main and island) – DONE!
5. Kitchen Cabinets (upper) – DONE!
6. Kitchen Cabinets (lower) – DONE!
7. Kitchen Counters (by fridge) – DONE!
8. Pantry – DONE!
9. Fridge/Freezer – DONE!
10. Kitchen Built In Cabinet – DONE!
11. Digitizing Files
12. Computer Files
13. Office Desk Drawers – DONE!
14. Office Desk Top
15. Office Baskets (in, out, to do, vertical file) – DONE!
16. Office Filing Cabinet – Part 1 – DONE!
17. Office Filing Cabinet – Part 2
18. Office Hutch – DONE!
19. Office Bookshelves
20. Office Craft Table – DONE!
21. Office Built In Storage Area
22. Laundry Room Shelves
23. Laundry Room Corner Cabinet
24. Laundry Room Table Area
25. Guest Bedroom Closet (toy closet)
26. Child’s Bedroom Closet
27. Child’s Bedroom Closet
28. Child’s Desk
29. Children’s Clothes (upstairs)
30. Guest Bedroom Dresser
31. Guest Bathroom Vanity
32. Linen Closet (lower shelves)
33. Linen Closet (upper shelves)
34. Play Room
35. Living Room DVD Cabinet/Mantle/Entertainment Center
36. Large Storage Closet
37. Small Storage Closet Shelves
38. Small Storage Closet Banker’s Boxes
39. Downstairs Bathroom Closet
40. Downstairs Play Room
41. Screened In Porch Area
42. Downstairs TV Area
43. Downstairs Bathroom
44. Mud Room
45. Garage Left Side Shelves
46. Garage Middle Shelves
47. Garage Right Side Shelves
48. Garage Tool Storage Cabinet
49. Garage Floor Space
50. Walls/Pictures
51. Scrapbooking Supplies/Area

See you next week!

To your success,

Dr. Laura

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