clean out the clutter

We cleaned the rest of the apartment yesterday, and did some purging. Whew! Many hours of hard work, but so worth it. There is still a lot of clutter, except it’s neat and clean now. The next step is go through EVERYTHING systematically and get rid of things that aren’t useful in some way. I think I’ll re-read my clutter book this week for motivation.

We de-cluttered and cleaned the bedroom yesterday. It was hard, dirty work but so worth it!! I will go through my stuff and get rid of more, but for the most part the bedroom is done.

We also hung coat hooks (no more coats draped over chairs). And we found the mouse hole (behind the dishwasher) and plugged it up.

Now on to the living room/hallway next weekend. I can’t wait! I may even try to make a dent during the week.

We have to have an emergency de-clutter session because there were mice in our bedroom last night! Not unusual for a NYC apartment building, but we don’t want to encourage them with piles of things to hide in.

I went through most of my clothes yesterday and managed to get rid of about 45 items (two garbage bags full). I can’t wait to go through the rest and finish up.

I procrastinated on this forever. Finally the key was to get everything organized and put away first. Then I could pull out one clothing type at a time (e.g. long dresses) onto the bed and divide it into stay/go piles. It wasn’t easy to part with things … I have reasons I’ve held onto each item. But it feels great in the end to let go of things that I won’t or shouldn’t wear.

I’m eager to do a clothing sweep. My method is to put all like items on the bed (e.g. all dresses) and pick out my absolute favorites. Then decide how many I should keep (conservative number) and fill in the rest of the spots, letting the remainder go, no mater how hard it is. I really need to let go of old clothes I hang onto year after year even though I never wear them.

Spent a good part of July 4 setting up, organizing, cleaning, and clearing. I guess my motivation was an old friend coming over to see the place for the first time. I was practically in tears doing it, the mess was so overwhelming. But after a few hours it really made a difference, and I wasn’t embarassed to have her over. There are still some piles/projects, but it’s getting there.

Bought a wardrobe for clothes and shelves for media. One step closer.

My (our) place is an obstacle course.

I decluttered my music. Yay! Now it fits in the drawer with the videos. It feels amazing to pick out favorites and let go of the rest.

I decluttered the towels so they fit in the towel/sheet drawer.

When I was packing to move I decluttered as I went, but ran out of time – so a bunch came to the new place with me. Now I have to do the boxes of papers/memorabilia/office supplies etc.

Well, I’m drowning in clutter because my boyfriend and I just move into an apartment together. Two people’s things and not enough places to put them. This will take some work.

My clutter: The clutter clearing I did before moving helped, but I didn’t get to finish. I can downsize.

His clutter: He has lots of electronics and musical instruments. I can organize it, ask him to downsize if he wants, and find places for what he wants to keep.