Last year I made some pretty good progress towards making my home less cluttered. I participated in the 366 challenge, and sent unwanted things packing. (One item for each day of the year.) But the job is not done. (Is it ever?) I need to keep plugging away at it, so that eventually I will be where I want to be; living a simpler, less cluttered life. With less "stuff", I will spend less time searching for things, less time dusting, and more time focusing on my family and friends and the things that I want to enjoy.
This year, instead of counting items that I'm getting rid of, I'm going to count the spaces that I sort through, clean up, clear out and organize; each shelf, each drawer, each cupboard, each pile of paper, counts as one space. And for the most part I will try to concentrate my efforts in one area at a time (instead of just going willy-nilly all over the house) so that I feel like I have accomplished something.
My goal is to tackle at least 2 spaces each week (8-10 spaces each month), with a final goal of 100 spaces by Thanksgiving.
I made the decision to break this de-cluttering job into small spaces, rather than whole rooms, because I just don't have time (or energy) to do a big area all at once. So instead of getting frustrated, I'm breaking the work down into small pieces that I can manage. I can do this!
So far I have:
1. Sorted through Christmas tree ornaments. (I did this on Jan 1 as I packed everything up to put away.)
2. Looked through a big stack of magazines and pulled out just a few pages that I will file away for inspiration later. (I save very little now, because so much can be found online and saved on Pinterest.)
3. Organized the kitchen junk drawer.
4. Sorted through the kitchen-linens drawer. (It's so nice to have empty space in the drawers now. Room to breathe.)
Things going bye-bye include several decorations, many magazines, Scentsy wax (a scent I don't care for), old thermometers, plant food packets, old tea towels, old dishrags (I got pretty new ones for Christmas! So get rid of those ugly old stained ones!) and an old wrap-around apron that I made when I was 20-something. (Guess what, friends? At 50-something that apron does not fit me anymore. Imagine that. I honestly don't know why I still have it!)
Anyway, this is just the start. I'll probably post once a month to let you know how close I am to reaching my 100 spaces goal. If any of you want to join me, you are welcome.
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When I sort, I ask myself these questions to help decide what to keep and what to get rid of:
Do I love it?
Do I use it?
Do I have space for it?
Does it reflect who I am and the life I want for myself?
Does it fit me right now? Have I worn it in the last year?
Will I read it again?
Is it a duplicate?
Is it broken? Does it have missing pieces?
Who gave it to me?
Items can be thrown away, recycled, donated to a charity of your choice, put in a garage sale, sold on e-bay, given to a friend, tossed over the fence into your neighbors yard (Ok, maybe not that) ...whatever... as long as they leave your house.
If I'm not sure, I can put it away in a six-month-box. If I need to get it out to use it during those 6 months, now is probably not the right time to get rid of it. On the other hand if I never even think about it, it's probably safe to toss it.
No, I will not be chucking family heirlooms or all of my collections or my crafting stash. But I will be getting rid of the useless junk that fills my house, things that don't fit me, things I never should have bought to begin with. And by doing that, I will create space to display the sentimental family items and collections I love.
