Ever since I figured out I couldn’t fit all of my current clothes in my chest of drawers, I’ve been on a minor organizational spree, and the results on this place is very noticeable. It’s not clean — not yet (that’s probably the next thing I need to do) — but it’s tidy. I’m kind of amazed at myself. Stuff that was just sitting there for varying lengths of time with no purpose is now in the recycling box, in a dumpster, or at Goodwill (or I’m figuring out what to do with it, like the video games I mention in this thread, which I could still use input on). I’m making plans to move out other stuff somehow (like that futon chair I mentioned in another thread). The last time I did it, it was with my closet and various other storage spaces a few years ago, but it feels like I’ve completed that process. I’ve invested in organizational and storage items that have made it easier to free up space. And it’s even infected other parts of my life; I just cleared out a bunch of moldy e-mails from my inbox and I’m seriously considering how to clear out this cabinet in my kitchen that has a lot of things stuffed into it.
I think one of the reasons I keep going into my bedroom is to stare at how much bare carpet I can see now. Compared to where it was when I first figured out all my clothes wouldn’t fit, it’s kind of astonishing.
Y’all should try it sometime, if you don’t usually do it!
An ex-work colleague of mine was shamed into similar action after a burglary in her flat. She got a call from neighbours to return and met the police there, who were all under the impression the place had been turned over looking for valuables.
To be fair a couple of drawers had been pulled out and turned over looking for jewellery but the place was largely as she had left it that morning.
It shamed her into converting from rather scanky into generally tidy. Apparently her friends had got used to and tolerated her habits up to then.
Earlier this summer my walk in attic underwent a rather extensive purge. When we bought the house, the attic space had just a few loose floor planks, but we had a proper floor put in. Voila! Brilliant walk in attic, even has two windows. I’d never lived with a proper attic before, so it was very cool.
I have since learned the folly of: indecision about what to do with something, ending always with, ‘Just put it in the attic for now!’ That way lies madness, I now realize.
It was quite an undertaking but it feels awesome to have got it done, finally!
This is something that has been on my mind for awhile now. Before the divorce, I lived in a 2,300 sq. ft. house with extra storage space in the garage and in the barn and tack room. Now I am in a 1,050 sq ft. apartment with no outside storage. All the stuff that was in the garage and the tack room is now in my second bedroom and the room is, for all intents and purposes, unusable. The really silly (read that: embarrassing) part is that I’ve been in my apartment for over three years now and still haven’t dealt with that room! I am hoping that your post will inspire me.
I have a paradoxical thing going on, in that I’m extremely tidy, but also disgustingly filthy. Everything is organized and in its proper place, and I only own the bare minimum of stuff anyway. But everything is also covered in grime and dust. I tidy up just fine, but I hate cleaning.
I wonder if anyone has the opposite problem. Anyone? We could get together and work as a team.
Oh man, I love throwing stuff away. Or giving it away. As long as it gets away from me.
I read this book about decluttering recently and thought it was rather stupid for the most part. But I was intrigued by one piece of advice the author gave regarding paper: Just throw it away. Of course, she then goes on to say except for this and that. But her main point was that most of the paper cluttering your house is just junk, and the rest of it can be replaced easily or stored online. I really like the thought of just throwing a random stack of paper in the recycle bin and probably never missing any of it!
Look into a getting a cleaning lady. If you are tidy, she can reach everything to clean it. I love my cleaning lady and will not ever live without one again.