In my yard sale post I said “I mentioned before that I’m getting rid of the clutter that has taken over my house” but I just realized that this post never got posted. Ugh. It was finished sitting there just waiting for me to hit that button and I never did. So I’m going to back track a little bit and post it now. Hope you don’t mind.
Clutter has taken over my house. Forget the house; it’s taken over my entire life as of late. I was looking around this past week and suddenly had the overwhelming urge to find a hole in the sand to stick my head in. I swear I don’t know how this happens. I like to think of myself as a person who likes to live simply and keep things neat and organized. That’s how I like to think of myself. Apparently while I wasn’t looking the pod people came and now I’m a person living amidst junk and clutter. The bathroom cabinets are stuffed to the brim, our closets are bursting and don’t even get me started on the Sweet Pea’s toys. The magazine rack is overflowing and there are papers stacked everywhere; on top of the refrigerator, tables, the armoire…everywhere. Ugh. I tell myself that they are important papers that I can’t throw away, but if they are that important then I should file them. I know this. In fact, I know how to get organized and be clutter free. I’ve written articles about it, advised other people with great organizing tips and techniques and even used to live it. I’ve just gotten complacent. I’ve turned my head when unwanted items have drifted into the house, closed my eyes when the clutter first started to appear. Suddenly I’ve opened my eyes and it’s everywhere. It’s time to take back my life and my house.
Surely I’m not the only one that has been ambushed by clutter. I’m not right? Please tell me it’s not just me. That’s the thing about clutter, it’s sneaky. At first it’s just some unopened mail or a couple extra toys lying about but before you know it you can’t even open cabinet doors without something falling out at you. Okay, maybe I’m not being attacked by things when I open doors, but it’s getting scarily close. Too close for my liking. We’re trying to get back to living simply around here and more ecologically friendly as well so a lot of changes are going to be taking place.
It’s time to attack the clutter that has taken over our lives and invaded our space; Time to regain the tranquility that our home should provide us. As I tackle the clutter in my house I will take you on the journey with me. I will address some common (and not so common) clutter hot spots and highlight some creative and often simple solutions to get rid of the clutter and keep it from coming back. Together we shall rid the world of clutter. Well maybe not the world but at least our living rooms.
Okay now that I’ve said that obviously one of the first steps I took was to sort through some of the large clutter I had in my house (and in storage) and have a yard sale. While it was quite effective at removing some of the larger stuff we had hanging around, by no means did it solve our clutter dilemma. There is still plenty left that I must tackle.
I spent ALL DAY decluttering.....and I'm STILL not decluttered ;)
ReplyDeleteflylady.net It will change your life.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Ashley. I feel almost like the more I declutter the more stuff there is. We're getting there though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cat! I've read some of her stuff before but never really followed through. I may need to take another look.
ReplyDeleteHey, Girl, I hear ya!!!! My office is so cluttered right now, between yarn and pattern books, and novels, and papers, and my work stuff, and . . . . the list goes on! Sometimes when I walk in here in the mornings to start working, I just want to go back to bed and cover up my head! I saw that someone else mentioned Flylady. I used to subscribe to her emails and notifications, but I got irritated when I couldn't keep up with the constant barrage of info. But, there is some really good stuff on the website. I especially like the idea of using a timer for cleaning and decluttering. She says to set it for 15 minutes and do what you can in one area, then when the timer goes off, you can stop for awhile. It's amazing what you can get accomplished in just 15 uninterrupted minutes.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, keep us posted on your suggestions. I'm all EARS!!! :)
Thank you for this. I'm in the same situation. I've been trying but I need to do it on a consistant basis. I had to declutter my office space (new director who said so to everyone) and now I have to get myself to donate a bunch of stuff (I don't do yard sales and it would go to a charity organization). Keep writing and we can all do this together.
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