declutterbug

Part one:

Ki and I are getting a new-to-us queen-sized bed this weekend! We have to haul it, and the person who sold us our truck a couple years ago had gone on about how it would fit a queen-sized bed. So we figured no problem. It'll fit a bed, easy. Alas, not on the interior, it won't. We'll be the ones this weekend driving around the Bay Area with the matress on the top of the truck cap. (We are going out of town and will pick up the bed on our journey, then have it with us until going home.)

Part two:

A few weeks ago, we purchased a set of shelves. These did, indeed, fit inside the truck, where they stayed until tonight, when we had the time (relatively speaking) and inclination to put them in their new location. The good news is they are very cool shelves, and they technically fit where we put them. The bad news is that they looked really bad in conjunction with the other furniture (height & depth issues) and we couldn't open the cabinet in which we keep our pants. As it's really best that we go to work wearing some form of bottoms, we had to move the shelves back out, and they are chillin' in the dining room until further notice. The actual move went something like this:

New shelves from truck to living room.
Empty old shelves.
Old shelves from bedroom to living room.
New shelves from living room to bedroom.

Uh oh, won't work. On to Plan B. (See, we did have a plan "B" in case the first arrangement was bad).


Move new shelves to living room.
Take everything out of and off of pants cabinet.
Move pants cabinet where shelves are.
Bring new shelves back in.

Ick, even uglier than Option A. Or is it?
Can't be sure.

Try Option A again...

Move new shelves into living room.
Move pants cabinet back to original position.
Put new shelves where they were the first time around.

Wow, definitely ugly and non-functional in this particular incarnation.

New shelves back to living room.
Old shelves back in.

Look at new shelves.
Say "wow, these are some nice shelves."
Look around to see where they can go, and what they can replace.
Measure stuff.
Look around some more.
Decide to try to downgrade from a Giant Bookshelf to the small new ones.
Put new shelves in dining room.

Put all the stuff back on the old shelves.
Put all the pants back in the cabinet.

So, the furniture got moved and I dusted and wiped so the areas behind everything are grade-A squeaky clean. I took about 8 or 9 journals and 5 or 6 books off the old shelves and rehoused themn, and dusted all the remaining books and paraphenelia.

Add into this that we were at first, not so smart, and transfered things from the top of the pants cabinet to the new shelves and back 3 or 4 times before we realized, hey, this is a pain, let's put these items elsewhere while we play rubik's cube with the furniture, and you have one hell of a moving adventure. You know, something that took 2 hours (literally) and looks pretty much the same as when you started, save for previously inaccessible (and now eradicated) dust bunnies.

Clutter is the result of postponed decisions.

When you start daydreaming in detail, it becomes planning.

You will never find time for anything. If you want
time, you must make it. --Charles Bixton

I just read that tablecloths were developed so people could have something to wipe their hands on during/after a meal. I always thought it was to protect the table top. I also thought that tablecloths had gone the way of book jackets for hardcovers, i.e. book jackets used to be dust and dirt protectors for beautiful volumes. Nowadays, they are the main event, with the book cover being rather boring and nondescript without it.

How does this relate to tablecloths? I see people "dress" the table nicely and then strip it down to eat on it! Me, I pretty much make sure to use a placemat so I don't hurt the wood (thanks mom). My kitchen table has been through some hard-on-possessions-housemates though, so the occassional glass on it wouldn't actually matter much.

Dusting is an odd activity. I think it would be better to have a mini dustvac that sucks the dust up and doesn't let it fly around the room. I'm sure there are products that do this (we had "Endust" spray as kids...stuff used to make me wheeze...you sprayed it on the dustcloth so dust stuck to it).

Anyway, I realized I am actually a bit obsessive. I dusted my desk chair, including the underneath part, where the wheels are. And I dusted my *keyboard* and more!

When I first started cleaning up and decluttering, I worried I would go too far the other way...I'll keep you posted as to whether or not this looks likely. :) Seriously, though, I have heard that the flip side of being really cluttered is actually perfectionism.

I read a lot of books, and not surprisingly, some of them are on decluttering. I'm currently perusing Lighten Up! Free Yourself from Clutter by Michelle Passoff.

She does a good job of talking about paper clutter and filing; her conceptualization of what a filing system is helped me transform my thinking. Here's what she says:

Think of your files as an extention and appendage of your mind. They are a
place in which to empty your thoughst so you can actually see what is going
on in your head. Your files should enable you to see clearly what is
important in your life and, moreover, to have access to it. If your
mind is like a big pool in which your thoughts swim, a file is fixed
and stable. File cabinets are like a net you cast over thoughts and ideas so
they do not get away from you. They act as a safe deposit box for what you
value.

Once your papers are decluttered and a filing system is set in place, a
stranger should be able to visit your home, open your file drawers, and
sketch a profile of what your life is about--precisely what is most
important to you at that moment in time. (Passoff 83-84)

Thre's also a really good visualization to help you sort out what you'd like your house to look like (using the possessions you already have).

If you'd like to order the book, here's a link:

I cleaned & decluttered on Monday and T. came over that night. It was really nice to have her here. She didn't run screaming, nor ask to borrow a hazmat suit. So all was well. The "invite and then clean" method worked wonders in this instance. :)

From a declutter list I'm on:

Good Housekeeping Tip # 123:

Always keep several get well cards on the mantle so if unexpected guests arrive,you can say you've been sick and unable to clean.

All those things I wanted to get in order before T. came down to visit? Ain't gonna happen. She's coming tonight, which means I have about an hour to clean up the house, clean up *me* and wrap her birthday presents! I wish I had the time to make things look really nice, but I don't and so she will have to deal. I asked her if she really wanted to come down, or if it was a morbid curiousity about what our house looked like (because she's heard about its state for, oh, 4 months now) and she said it was a bit of both.

And a useful reminder, just because: Go change your kitchen sponge. I speak from experience, here. Ours was bright blue on Friday, and yesterday when Ki and I got home, it was a brownish blue. (At least something must have been wiped with it, which I consider a good thing.)

This is from an article on the Mt. Vernon method of cleaning.

Be willing to take a risk that you may later want what you discarded. Also realize that it may cause temporary pain to throw something out. However, it also causes definite pain to keep it. Throwing it out is mild pain, compared with the pain which comes from having to live helplessly with all the clutter which finds its way into the house. There is an exhilarating feeling of freedom which comes once the decision to take control of the house has been made and you actually do it by beginning to throw out.

I find it true. I've made some mistakes in choosing what to discard or pass on, but you know what? It's okay. I accidently gave away the wrong shirt at a clothing exchange, and I did go to look for it in my closet, but only once. Then I remembered someone else was enjoying it. I also tossed a book I didn't realize Ki wanted to read. (We have so much stuff she didn't realize I owned it!) It's not something the library is likely to have, but I acutally it wasn't such a bad idea to get rid of it because, after all, I was done with it, and it's generally a bad idea to hang on to things because others might want them someday. And in the end, all the other things I let go of and don't miss? Well that's worth way more. It's like putting up with a couple hours of sea sickness so you can sail around the world.

Time flies when you are spending a day decluttering. Seriously, though, I can't believe it's almost noon. I decided I'd put in some effort today and see what I could get done, partially because T. offered to come down tonight, and putting it in my mind that she might be turning up for a visit was a good motivational tool to get me to straighten and declutter more than I might have been inclined to do today.

I am not sure I will get the house clean in the next few hours. There are 5 of us living here and while a lot of the stuff in the house is mine, the general level of dirt (i.e. kitchen floor, bathroom etc.) is pretty evenly split amongst the 5 of us and our guests. In fact, as I'm only here 5 of 7 days, it's probably *less* mine. I'm up messing up T.'s house most weekends. :)

I get a thought of the day e-mail, and sometimes they seem to go very well with what I'm currently doing, such as this one. I hope that you find it useful as well. If you don't like the religous terminology, just change it in your head. :)

A Thought for the Day From Sri Eknath Easwaran

This gift is from God and not of man's deserving. But certainlyno one ever
receives such a great grace without tremendous laborand burning desire. --
Richard of Saint-Victor

The grace of the Lord is like a wind that is blowing all the time, but it is our responsibility to get rid of our excess luggage and set our sail correctly. For a long time in meditation we are merely bailing out the boat and throwing things overboard. We begin bythrowing out things we have
become tired of, things to which we arenot very attached. If I have two sets of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, I can give you one.

The second stage is harder; then we must begin to throw away some of the things to which we are attached. A tussle ensues, an inner conflict: to throw or not to throw is the question. But in the final stages, when we see the lights on the other shore, when we see Jesus walking about, the Buddha meditating, and SriKrishna playing on the flute, all we want is to get to where theaction is. At that time, even selfish people like you and me, who have committed many mistakes in their ignorance, want to get there so fast that they take hold of everything -- their glasses, the shirt on their back, even the sail and rudder -- and start throwing it alloverboard. In the final stages, the great difficulty is to persuadepeople to keep a few things. After all, if you don't have your glasses, how will you see the Lord?

Perfection is reached, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing more to take away. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

It is empowering to realize your clutter--every sheet of paper, every collectible Pez dispenser and pair of sneakers--is there because you put it there (or allowed someone else to do so), because with this comes the realization that you can also shift it, dispose of it, or pass it to someone else. It came to be where it is because of your actions (or lack thereof). You have the power to undo the mess you made.

Schedule 10 minutes and get a stick of sage, a bell or a bowl of salt water (all purifying elements). Walk around your house and bless your mess. Look at the pile of bills you made. See the clear spot on the kitchen table! Notice your Leaning Tower of Book Piza. Check out the dust on the blinds, and the empty bathroom garbage can. Pass the sage, or the bowl over everything in its turn, or ring the bell near it to encourage the chi (energy) to flow, and to mark your acknowledgement of the item(s). Make sure to include the furniture, and the corners, open floorspace and ceiling!

Don't be surprised if this motivates you to get rid of, clean up or otherwise make big changes in your environment. I did this tonight and I can honestly say that if I didn't need to go teach in about 15 minutes, I would be knee deep in tossing and rearranging! This simple ritual energized me, and I am now chomping at the bit to get going!

One of the lists I'm on, minimalisticliving, is talking about the merits/not-so-good aspects of bleach, which led to a discussion of alternative cleaning products.

I wrote to the list, suggesting the book you'll see to your right: Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan. She has recipes, tips, tricks, step-by-step cleaning and care instructions, and she even does a cost analysis (how much her homemade things cost in comparison to the conventional commercial cleaners).

I read a lot and don't recommend books lightly, but this one was good enough that I use it regularly. Some of the recipes are really basic and not all that "alternative" (e.g. dish soap and water for ant control) and some are pretty creative, yet use things you can easily find (e.g. scented baking sodas). She has spot removers, rust removers, window cleaners, air fresheners, carpet cleaners, metal polishes, oven cleaners, disinfectants and a bunch of other things.

She also talks about the environmental shortcomings of the chemicals we usually use, and provides input on how to be a bit "greener." For example, she suggests cutting the amount of laundry detergent you use, saying that the manufacturers average the amount needed, and that those who have soft water will need much less. She even has a test to do to see if you have soap stuck in your clothes.

This was a book a "green" professional housecleaner recommended to me and which I took out of the library over and over until I finally bought it! If this info was helpful, and you want to buy the book, there's a link to the right that will help you do so. (I'm an Amazon.com affiliate and it helps me support declutterbug if you order it through that link!)

Ki and T. are good influences on me wrt the decluttering. Neither are collectors, or clutterers, but they listen to my process, my struggles, my little gains and triumphs, and they cheer me on. Ki is extremely supportive and patient, and always reminds me that it will get done.

I think as we clutterers get down to the business of sorting out our stuff, having an ally (or two or three) is key. Take a second and jot down anyone you could potentially talk to about your decluttering journey, any support you have for it.

Ki, T, and I went shopping whilst in New Orleans, but aside from a book and a glass pen, I didn't buy any non-consumables. It was fun to look, but I just wasn't interested in collecting more "stuff."

Sure, there are some things I want, but I wasn't interested in buying stuff I didn't need. I'd really enjoy a couple pairs of expensive jeans, an IPOD mini, a new pair of trail runners, workout pants from the Athleta catalog, a specific Columbia bag for my dance gear, and new standard practice shoes for ballroom dancing. But aside from the dance shoes, I can do without the rest; they are just items I'd like to have. I like knowing that I'm happy with what I have.

Here's something that has helped me a lot.

I used to buy containers etc. for things that I was going to organize and declutter. Guess what? I often bought enough to organize all those things I wasn't going to keep. Having the room, the organizational acumen and the containers to hold almost all my junk didn't make decluttering easy. In fact, it made it easy to keep things. (Hey, that large ceramic unicorn I found at the garage sale could nestle *right here* between the little blue smurf figurines my sister's kids left on the porch last summer.)

If you don't love it, use it or need it for a functional purpose, it's clutter, even if it fits in the drawer. Toss it or pass it on. Just because you have room, doesn't mean you have to fill it.

My advice: Don't just organize. Figure out what you want to keep first, then organize what's left. And hey, you can probably afford to buy a few really nice containers rather than the 20 crummy ones you'd have had to put up with if you needed to buy in bulk!

Well, Ki, T, and I are back from New Orleans. I can live in one small room with the two of them for almost a week, yet still not be entirely comfortable having T. down to our (cluttered) house. Go figure.

I don't know when I'll have the time to get things organized fully, so my plan is to chip away at it in little increments on the days I'm home. Weekends are null and void as we are typically away, and I'm out of town every Monday, too. But the rest of the week can include a bunch of little steps that will make things feel, and look, better.

Here's a quote I found in the big pile of e-mails that awaited my return, proving that if you sift through things, you're bound to find a few items of value amongst the drek.

When we are authentic, when we keep our spaces simple, simply beautiful
living takes place. --Alexandra Stoddard

When I get exhausted, everything seems a little bleaker. The piles seem higher, and the tasks associated with decluttering feel more daunting.

I am looking forward to going on vacation, but I also find myself concerned that I won't be able to "dejunk" during that time. I need to give myself permission to take a break.

It's a good sign I don't want to come home to a mess, but it's hard because I know that while I've made progress, there will still be unfinished things awaiting my return.

Talking to Ki yesterday reminded me that the cluttered phase of my life is temporary; I've been tidy, organized and without a lot of stuff in the past. And my environment will reflect that again. It just takes time, and the willingness to make decisions about what to keep and where to put it.

Perhaps I'll do a little internal decluttering on my trip, because as we all know, the inside and the outside tend to reflect each other. You can get rid of external chaos and experience more inner peace, and you can also do it the other way around.

Just got in a bit ago from a weekend up at T's. Our room is messier than I remembered, but I have to remind myself that it's all in flux right now as I clean; I could have put things "away," but they'd just be languishing messily and temporarily in drawers instead of sitting out, awaiting further instruction. There are still some structural/organizational issues to which I need to attend, if the visual clutter in the room is going to be mimimized. To be honest, I've beem working mostly on the living room currently, on Operation Bye Bye Books.

I am trying to be gentle with myself; I'm allowing myself to declutter various mini-areas, as the spirit moves me, rather than forcing myself to go full speed ahead on one room until I fall over from exhaustion halfway through. (Not that I know how that might feel from experience or anything. Me? Try that? Never.)

Anyway, we just got new-to-us shelves this weekend, and will be replacing our little altar/bookshelf with a new, larger one. Part of me worries it will make the room feel closed in; if this is the case we will have to rearrange things. But I like th idea of having all the bedroom books in one place, and even if it means giving up my first CA bookshelves/altar, it's okay.

Ki and I burn a lot of incense and candles, which we can't do on the new shelves, as they are much taller, but we may do it on this other piece of furniture. We can turn its top into an altar space, but I want to be careful that there's no big wax and ash experience going on that will ruin it. (The top of the other bookshelves are pretty thrashed even though we tried to be careful.)

I won't have much time to declutter tomorrow (Monday) as I will be getting in the car in about 10-11 hours to go back up to Oakland for dance practice and to teach my dance class. Tuesday will be the next time I can deal with it, and that's the day I'm packing for New Orleans. My goal is to take hardly anything; just a carry on (plus Ki wants to take the laptop). I'm going to have to put my extra shoes in her bigger bag, but she said that should be fine. :) YAY!

I have a lot of books.

Many of them I've read. A good number of them are waiting their turn in the queue, and at this rate, would be up in, oh 2007.

I decided to go through them--at least my fiction--and pass some on. I wanted to see what it would be like to have shelves that weren't double stacked with books, that had space and lightness to them. I'm not nearly there, but 10 bags of books later, it's getting better.

I sold a bunch of books to the used bookstores in town, getting around $200 so far, which will buy me some new treasures when I so desire. I passed some on to friends and strangers who wanted them. I took some to Goodwill. Bascially, I got them the heck off of my shelves and into the hands of people who will enjoy them.

It was hard to let go of my mystery collections, but I can always go visit them at the library, if I suddenly have a strong desire to spell my name with Sue Grafton titles (she's the mystery writer who pens A is for Alibi and so forth down through the alphabet).

I let some unread books go, but am keeping others, ones I don't know that I'll like as much as the mystery collections and other tomes I've passed on. (Sounds like they are dead, doesn't it? Oh, the Amanda Cross series (lowers voice)...That, uhm, "passed on" a few weeks ago.) I end up agonizing, thinking "why am I getting rid of stuff I *know* I like, and keeping things that may be less entertaining or valuable?" Of course, if I find the ones I've kept boring, they will go directly into the bye-bye bag. But nevertheless, I take myself through mental gymnastics over these decisions.

And what to do with the unread books? I want to see shelf space, and so I might box them up or put them in a "to read" crate or two, so that they are all together. Or I might dedicate a shelf or two to them. I usually organize my books by genre (Outdoors, Mystery, SF, Non-Fiction, General Fiction etc) but I could have a "to read" shelf as well.

It was a stretch to let this stuff go, but I didn't keel over from it. It's good to sometimes do things that are a bit outside your comfort range. Sorting took some time--they were all pretty organized on the shelves but I took them off, dusted and decided what to keep. My living room is still a jumble of books (or rather the displaced and "to read" piles are all on the coffee table), but at least things are moving.

I am not ready to tackle my academic books yet, and that's okay because I still have more fiction to go through before I do. Perhaps once I've done the fiction, I'll be better prepared emotionally for the PhD books.

I have gotten rid of about 10 bags of books, including most of my mystery collection. This is big for me, but I am glad I'm doing it. More later on why & how...

I'm going to New Orleans for 6 days! My goal is to take one small suitcase, and a reasonable carry on. My big issue is shoes. I have BIG FEET and so two pairs of shoes (one dress, one good for hiking/walking a lot) takes up 1/2 of one of those wheely bags. It's good, though, that we are going somewhere fairly warm, so I won't need to take tons of big Stay Puff Marshmallow Man layers.

"Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration"

--Igor Stravinsky

I have this on a little piece of paper, taped to my desk. When I feel like waiting for the planets to align and the heavenly chorus to sing before I start something, I re-read it and get to work. It's true that action begets motivation, that if you start on a project, you will generate the energy you need. Sure, this doesn't work 100% of the time; you may be too tired, or you might not have identified small first steps you can accomplish, but even if it *doesn't* work, you've usually stuck it out for at least a few minutes (sometimes much longer), and made a bit of a dent in the task.

Today, get one old project or mess cleaned up.

Check out your surroundings, and pick out one project that's not yet greater than the sum of its (pile of) parts.

Now, decide what to do with it.

You can toss it out or pass the parts on to someone who will complete the project.

You can clean it up neatly and put it away for another time. If you choose this option, take out your calendar and take a good look at when you have time to complete it.

Or, you can continue to trip over it every time you try to get into your closet. (I wouldn't recommend this one.)

Why clean up old messes? Because they free you from ties to the past, a past when you might have had habits (such as not finishing projects) that no longer serve you. You might as well free up that energy to use on something you value *now*, something that fits your current life or reflects where you want to be.

If you are only mildly bothered by your clutter, chances are you won't do much about it. Read an article on this topic here.

Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, you must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?
--Mary Manin Morrissey --

Tonight I went on a bit of a cleaning bender. Really, when it comes down to it, I made some "clean spots" in an otherwise not-so-pristine house, but it feels better. And Ki (my partner) noticed. Of course, I also dragged her around, pointing out "and look at the wall behind the garbage can" and "see here, under the futon, where I've rounded up all the dust bunnies..."

Just because there is still some clutter around, it's not an excuse to have actual dirt living with me. Aside from sand, which I like, because it reminds me that I live near the beach. I don't mind sweeping up sand, because it's such a blessing to live within walking distance of the ocean.

So, the end result was a clean living room and a clean kitchen (including a giant stack of dishes that were mostly not mine, but minus the floor, which I figure someone else can wash), plus some other tasks, like taking out the bathroom (and rest of the house) trash. Whew.