declutter my house

I’m getting ready to do a big clear out. Wish me luck.

after i got things rolling on monday night, i ended up cleaning out my closet! i still have one other to go, but it felt really good to make space for the work clothes that had been “homeless” around the room, and to get rid of 2 large bags of clothing.

I decided to take the advice I often give others: just do something. I cleaned out my mail slot (everyone in the household has an inbox of sorts for mail) and my magazine holder. I decided a while ago that I will only keep what fits in the holder. It was overflowing (not quite to the breaking point, but enough that it needed “weeding”) so I went through it and tossed out a bunch of magazines.

I am usually pretty good about just digging in and taking a small action if I don’t know where to start. But today, not so much. I was going to clean out my closet, but now I’m looking around and I haven’t unpacked from the weekend, there is filing to do etc. and all of that is out in the open. I am torn about what to do: get the clothes under control, or get the visual clutter out of here. I get this blech feeling when I think about any of it right now. The other day I was feeling very energized and did a bunch of things (as much as time would allow). I wonder if I can even do a good enough job on the closet. I sometimes aim to clear out just a bit, so that I know I’m making progress, and hey, 3 shirts and a few pairs of pants gone is still good. Then there are other times I set myself up to toss out everything I’m not currently using. Now, I want to do that (or think I do) because when I do a half-way job, I end up still having too much stuff and having to redo the decluttering later on. I know it’s one of those never-ending things (ack) but I have hope that evenutally it’ll be manageable…less stuff to start with, less stuff to worry about decluttering.

If you want to read more about decluttering, you can look at my blog, which is located at Declutterbug http://declutterbug.blogspot.com/

Mark Morford on Clutter.

I resonate with this.

I am in the midst of clearing things out, or trying to. I haven’t been home much, which makes it hard, but just last night I got rid of a grocery bag of white tee shirts that were less white than they should be. I did it while packing for my dance competition. So, perhaps I need to build in an extra few minutes every time I deal with my “stuff” to toss out that which I don’t need. This won’t really work for big huge messes, but I can chip away as I go.

I have way too much stuff, and I struggle with that. There’s a part of me that wants to hang onto things for the possibilities—ooh, that’s cool and OLD and old means VINTAGE and I could do a REALLY neat art project with it in my spare time and what if I toss it out and then need it and can’t find another like it or can’t afford a new one, what then, I ask you?

There’s also my history (and my family’s history) with STUFF, which is long, and confusing, and would probably take a year in therapy to sort through (Pun intended).

It’s all ridiculous when I say it aloud or type it here, but alas, it’s no less true, the pull of my stuff. The security, the fascination of being able to shop in my own house, to unearth things I’d lost or forgotten about.

I know that someday the house that I live in will match the house in my head.

I haven’t been doing much decluttering lately, although a few weeks ago I did the medicines and such that lived in a big mess in my bedroom, and I also did a drawer in the bathroom (their new home).

I think part of the problem is that I haven’t been home a lot lately, which means I am able to keep up with the daily mess but not make headway into the “deeper” clutter.

ki and i got rid of a bunch of clothes. we took them to our favorite resale place and got just under $40. not a ton, but enough to get a couple things. the rest is going to our friends, who we will let paw through the bags after dance class on thursday.

since we took them in (monday), i’ve already dug up another 7 pairs of pants to let go…

i bought a very nifty hammock and stand in part so that i could keep one area of the yard (where one of my housemates tends to put her extra “stuff”-tools, wood, boxes, garbage cans-) neat and tidy. it’s the area that corresponds to “wealth” if you buy into feng shui, and i do because after cleaning it up, my financial situation got really good…but i digress.

anyway, i came back from the weekend and the hammock was moved and stuff abounded in the “neat and tidy” zone. i need to get my excess stuff under control before i can ask anyone else to look after theirs, but it still gives me the “one step forward, two back” feeling when i clean an area up and then it gets messy through no fault of my own.

i’ve GOT to clean out my clothes closets as well…i am dreading this because i don’t have a lot of room (our bedroom doesn’t have any real closets-just an old murphy bed enclosure that now has a clothing rod-and two small wardrobes we picked up from IKEA and the hardware store.

if you want to read more about decluttering, i have a blog just for that topic: http://declutterbug.blogspot.com/