declutterbug

I did end up doing a few things last night...

*Weeded a bag of professional journals from my shelves.

*Put my pants from individual hangers onto one "mondo" hanger (but unfortunately it was too long for my (short) closet, so it's still hanging on the back of the bedroom door.

I make some progress, say cleaning out the closet.

And then I get stuck again.

There's still crud everywhere.I was hoping to have enough energy to tackle some of it tonight, but I'm not sure. Part of me wants to just toss it all and start over...

What kind of future
could ever require this
many paper bags?

From Stephanie Roberts' Clutter-Free Forever book.

I realized as I was thinking about getting rid of some clothes that are still quite nice but I don't wear as much any longer that I didn't want to because I thought I might wear them again sometime, but also because I bought them when I had hardly any money and I thought I'd wear them for a long time, and that they were an "investment" in my wardrobe...

I'm cleaning out my closet in a rather severe manner! Wish me luck!

I decided to take the advice I often give others: just do *something.* I cleaned out my mail slot (everyone in the household has an inbox of sorts for mail) and my magazine holder. I decided a while ago that I will only keep what fits in the holder. It was overflowing (not quite to the breaking point, but enough that it needed "weeding") so I went through it and tossed out a bunch of magazines.

I am usually pretty good about just digging in and taking a small action if I don't know where to start. But today, not so much. I was going to clean out my closet, but now I'm looking around and I haven't unpacked from the weekend, there is filing to do etc. and all of that is out in the open. I am torn about what to do: get the clothes under control, or get the visual clutter out of here. I get this blech feeling when I think about any of it right now. The other day I was feeling very energized and did a bunch of things (as much as time would allow). I wonder if I can even do a good enough job on the closet. I sometimes aim to clear out just a bit, so that I know I'm making progress, and hey, 3 shirts and a few pairs of pants gone is still good. Then there are other times I set myself up to toss out *everything* I'm not currently using. Now, I want to do that (or think I do) because when I do a half-way job, I end up still having too much stuff and having to redo the decluttering later on. I know it's one of those never-ending things (ack) but I have hope that evenutally it'll be manageable...less stuff to start with, less stuff to worry about decluttering.

Mark Morford on Clutter.

I resonate with this.

I am in the midst of clearing things out, or trying to. I haven't been home much, which makes it hard, but just last night I got rid of a grocery bag of white tee shirts that were less white than they should be. I did it while packing for my dance competition. So, perhaps I need to build in an extra few minutes every time I deal with my "stuff" to toss out that which I don't need. This won't really work for big huge messes, but I can chip away as I go.

I have way too much stuff, and I struggle with that. There's a part of me that wants to hang onto things for the possibilities--ooh, that's cool and OLD and old means VINTAGE and I could do a REALLY neat art project with it in my spare time and what if I toss it out and then need it and can't find another like it or can't afford a new one, what then, I ask you?

There's also my history (and my family's history) with STUFF, which is long, and confusing, and would probably take a year in therapy to sort through (Pun intended).

It's all ridiculous when I say it aloud or type it here, but alas, it's no less true, the pull of my stuff. The security, the fascination of being able to shop in my own house, to unearth things I'd lost or forgotten about.

I know that someday the house that I live in will match the house in my head.