Cleaning Up My Act
This past week I read a Facebook meme that says: "I spent the first 2/3 of my life acquiring stuff that doesn't matter only so that I can spend the last 1/3 getting rid of it. What a stupid game of consumerism we Americans play."
I could have written this (had I been clever enough to think of it) as I have more than my fair share of clutter and accumulated possessions. I have often criticized other family members for keeping so much stuff, but it's one of those times of "the pot calling the kettle black".
In recent years there has been a trend toward "minimalist" living. It's actually kind of cool, but I'm not sure I'm ready to pare down quite that much yet. The philosophy behind minimalist living is that you only keep enough stuff to meet the current need....two plates, two sets of tableware, one week's worth of clothing, and so on.
In some ways that would be very liberating. And in others it would seem rather austere. We surely wouldn't require a dishwasher to wash dishes. One dresser and a small closet could hold all our clothes. We (I) could dust without having to move so much stuff, so it might actually get done more than twice a year! And think of the money that could be saved by not buying "stuff".
However, there are some issues with this plan also. When company came we would have to have more dishes and tableware...or use paperware which wouldn't be very economical. I would probably get tired of wearing the same 7 outfits each week, although it would take the decision-making out of getting dressed in the morning. If it's Monday I would simply wear the Monday outfit whether I felt like it or not. And not having things sitting around would make the house look like we had just moved in and not unpacked yet.
So where's the happy medium between minimalist living and looking like an episode of "Hoarders"? That's a very good question, and anyone who has the perfect answer should share! But seriously, there has to be a happy medium where you have enough things to live with and yet not so many that they become hard to manage.
I have researched how to unclutter my house extensively, and you can check Pinterest to see what I've found under my "Managing the Home" board. One thing that is always recommended is to tackle the house one room at a time...you just need to decide which room is the biggest challenge and either begin with it or save it until last, whichever would motivate you the most.
Then you label 3 boxes "Give Away", "Donate" and "Pitch. The give away box would include things you want to give your kids the next time they come home. Now I can't guarantee they will take them, and if they don't then they can be added to one of the other boxes. The donate box will be filled with items that are still useful to someone, just not useful to you any more. These will be dropped off at a Goodwill store or a recycling center or the hospital auxiliary second-hand store. And the pitch box will contain items that you never should have kept to begin with and that no one else is going to want either. My suggestion would be to make the pitch box the biggest box to encourage yourself to make the most liberal use of it.
So then you go through the items in the drawer or closet or cupboards, or on the dresser or counters, and ask yourself these three questions: Have I used this item within the last 6 months (or year or two years, depending on the criteria you have established for keeping items)? If you have determined that this item has a useful purpose in your life, you can put it back in the closet, cupboard or drawer to be used. If it doesn't meet the criteria for keeping then you need to ask yourself: Can someone else use this or would the world be a better place if this item didn't exist? I know this can be a hard decision, but when in doubt just throw it away. As a society we keep a crazy amount of stuff that should just be thrown away.
The one exception to all this debating is heirloom items. No, I haven't used it...ever! But it has historical value, sentimental value, and sometimes monetary value. Right now I don't think my kids think they will ever want the heirloom stuff, but someday they will see the value in preserving history.
So I have all this awesome information to lead me into successful decluttering, but as with all helpful tips, you have to use them to achieve results.
When we moved in to town 25+ years ago, we underwent a great purge. Basically we just got tired of moving stuff and decided we needed to pare down the load. It has been said that a move is a good way to clean out clutter and that three moves equals a fire (or the decluttering equivalent).
I kind of made a stab at decluttering a year or so ago in preparation for a yard sale for Bargain Byways. I went through cupboards, closets and drawers and got rid of a crazy amount of stuff. Not all of it sold on the sale, but as luck would have it (or maybe by someone else's plan) community clean-up days happened to be a couple weeks later so I made a fairly generous donation to the Goodwill truck. In fact I didn't even take it into the house in between the sale and clean up days because I didn't want it to root down and take up residence again. I just need to do this about once a year until we fit more comfortably into our home.
Kind of a funny story here: When Teri was living with us a few years ago, I went on a rampage one weekend to get the house cleaned up. I kept trying to interest her in helping, but she didn't feel motivated in that way. Finally she plopped down in front of the TV and turned on an episode of "Hoarders" and invited me to join her, thinking it would make me feel better about how our house looked. I watched about half of an episode and had to jump up and clean house. I wanted to put some distance between myself and what I was seeing on TV. That plan kind of back-fired on her!
My favorite go-to website, Pinterest, has all sorts of methods and inspiration for cleaning out the clutter. I think it will have to be a morning ritual to read at least one decluttering website to maintain my inspiration when I finally get started...which won't be for some time yet.
So if you drive by my house and see stuff sitting on the lawn with a yard sale sign on it or sitting on the curb with a give-away sign, you will know I finally got started and that it might pay to check back periodically so that you can begin a collection of your own clutter. Happy decluttering!
I could have written this (had I been clever enough to think of it) as I have more than my fair share of clutter and accumulated possessions. I have often criticized other family members for keeping so much stuff, but it's one of those times of "the pot calling the kettle black". In recent years there has been a trend toward "minimalist" living. It's actually kind of cool, but I'm not sure I'm ready to pare down quite that much yet. The philosophy behind minimalist living is that you only keep enough stuff to meet the current need....two plates, two sets of tableware, one week's worth of clothing, and so on.
In some ways that would be very liberating. And in others it would seem rather austere. We surely wouldn't require a dishwasher to wash dishes. One dresser and a small closet could hold all our clothes. We (I) could dust without having to move so much stuff, so it might actually get done more than twice a year! And think of the money that could be saved by not buying "stuff".
However, there are some issues with this plan also. When company came we would have to have more dishes and tableware...or use paperware which wouldn't be very economical. I would probably get tired of wearing the same 7 outfits each week, although it would take the decision-making out of getting dressed in the morning. If it's Monday I would simply wear the Monday outfit whether I felt like it or not. And not having things sitting around would make the house look like we had just moved in and not unpacked yet.
So where's the happy medium between minimalist living and looking like an episode of "Hoarders"? That's a very good question, and anyone who has the perfect answer should share! But seriously, there has to be a happy medium where you have enough things to live with and yet not so many that they become hard to manage.
I have researched how to unclutter my house extensively, and you can check Pinterest to see what I've found under my "Managing the Home" board. One thing that is always recommended is to tackle the house one room at a time...you just need to decide which room is the biggest challenge and either begin with it or save it until last, whichever would motivate you the most.
Then you label 3 boxes "Give Away", "Donate" and "Pitch. The give away box would include things you want to give your kids the next time they come home. Now I can't guarantee they will take them, and if they don't then they can be added to one of the other boxes. The donate box will be filled with items that are still useful to someone, just not useful to you any more. These will be dropped off at a Goodwill store or a recycling center or the hospital auxiliary second-hand store. And the pitch box will contain items that you never should have kept to begin with and that no one else is going to want either. My suggestion would be to make the pitch box the biggest box to encourage yourself to make the most liberal use of it.
So then you go through the items in the drawer or closet or cupboards, or on the dresser or counters, and ask yourself these three questions: Have I used this item within the last 6 months (or year or two years, depending on the criteria you have established for keeping items)? If you have determined that this item has a useful purpose in your life, you can put it back in the closet, cupboard or drawer to be used. If it doesn't meet the criteria for keeping then you need to ask yourself: Can someone else use this or would the world be a better place if this item didn't exist? I know this can be a hard decision, but when in doubt just throw it away. As a society we keep a crazy amount of stuff that should just be thrown away.
The one exception to all this debating is heirloom items. No, I haven't used it...ever! But it has historical value, sentimental value, and sometimes monetary value. Right now I don't think my kids think they will ever want the heirloom stuff, but someday they will see the value in preserving history.
So I have all this awesome information to lead me into successful decluttering, but as with all helpful tips, you have to use them to achieve results.
When we moved in to town 25+ years ago, we underwent a great purge. Basically we just got tired of moving stuff and decided we needed to pare down the load. It has been said that a move is a good way to clean out clutter and that three moves equals a fire (or the decluttering equivalent).
I kind of made a stab at decluttering a year or so ago in preparation for a yard sale for Bargain Byways. I went through cupboards, closets and drawers and got rid of a crazy amount of stuff. Not all of it sold on the sale, but as luck would have it (or maybe by someone else's plan) community clean-up days happened to be a couple weeks later so I made a fairly generous donation to the Goodwill truck. In fact I didn't even take it into the house in between the sale and clean up days because I didn't want it to root down and take up residence again. I just need to do this about once a year until we fit more comfortably into our home.
Kind of a funny story here: When Teri was living with us a few years ago, I went on a rampage one weekend to get the house cleaned up. I kept trying to interest her in helping, but she didn't feel motivated in that way. Finally she plopped down in front of the TV and turned on an episode of "Hoarders" and invited me to join her, thinking it would make me feel better about how our house looked. I watched about half of an episode and had to jump up and clean house. I wanted to put some distance between myself and what I was seeing on TV. That plan kind of back-fired on her!
My favorite go-to website, Pinterest, has all sorts of methods and inspiration for cleaning out the clutter. I think it will have to be a morning ritual to read at least one decluttering website to maintain my inspiration when I finally get started...which won't be for some time yet.
So if you drive by my house and see stuff sitting on the lawn with a yard sale sign on it or sitting on the curb with a give-away sign, you will know I finally got started and that it might pay to check back periodically so that you can begin a collection of your own clutter. Happy decluttering!
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