I'm lucky. Good things have been happening as a result of my end-of-summer cleaning and despite the evolutionary rate of my development in this area.
• I've been listening to my 2000+ song iTunes library on shuffle and have (re)discovered some gems. They're being compiled into my 'Slipping Into September' playlist which looks like this so far:
I Should Have Known Better / She & Him
While You Were Gone / The Combinations
Brother Lee / Citizen Cope
We Get Along / Let's Go Sailing
We Get Along / Let's Go Sailing
A Donde Sea / Julieta Venegas
Trane's Blues / Miles Davis
The Trapeze Swinger / Iron & Wine
Dulce Compañía / Julieta Venegas
For You / Raul Malo
When Will I See You Again / Marcia Griffiths
• I found my iPod Shuffle. The one I thought I had thrown away because I could not for the life of me get it to work about a year ago. I played with it for a bit and, lo and behold, got it to work again. I have no idea how or why other than to think that the latest version of iTunes had something to do with it. Good thing I hadn't thrown it away!
• I am modeling to the kids that sometimes you just have to do things that are tedious. And that good things can come from it. Once a season, I make them empty their bins and they trash/recycle things they no longer want. It's almost exclusively personal artwork that they keep in there. Yesterday afternoon they got in on the action with me.
• I'm making real progress. Even a year ago, I would not have had the mental strength/stamina to go like this for three days running. Something would have tripped me up and I would have re-dumped things into new bags and bins and abandoned the project. (That's how I had stuff from 2007 still hanging about.)
I've gone through all the bags and boxes. The first round of trashing/recycling is done. I am now clearing out drawers and shelves. And then, as I reorganize the space I now have, round two will begin. As long as the space allows, things with function/meaning will stay, borderline things will go.
we made the first cut.
• New corners like this one:
• Opened up space like this:
8 comments:
Hi Shirley,
I am wondering....(This is something that stops me from decluttering)....when I clean stuff out, I get all into 'buying' things to help me organize, that leads to money panic, and then I freeze up....I know I can't spend a couple of hundred dollars on shelving/etc but I lack imagination about how else to store things....so I tend to keep things in their old positions.
Then another thing that stops me: the realization that no matter what I organize (like cabinets under the sinks) I have to do it again in 6 months. Then I say, "Why bother?"
What do you think?
I hear you on your first point. It has taken me years to get over the urge to buy more stuff in order to control the chaos, so to speak.
I come equipped with creative juices when it comes to rearranging/reorganizing. If you don't feel that in yourself, do you know anyone who does? Have a friend come over and give you ideas. I also absorb ideas from being in other people's spaces, or flipping through magazines or checking out blogs.
Part of this process right now is that we moved to a space 4 years ago that is much smaller than the space we previously inhabited. We were stuffed to the gills and I couldn't take it. It wore me down, just living within these four walls day in and day out.
I have bought some shelving and storage containers, but over time, because of money constraints, but also a shift in my perspective, I am more focused on getting rid of things we don't use/love and not buying more stuff in the process.
It's laughable (though it kind of makes me cry a little inside, too) how every time I clear some bit of space by working to declutter, someone will attempt to move something into that space almost right away, while I shoo them away so I can enjoy the emptiness if even for a moment.
I hear you on your point, too, but more often than not, something like an under the sink reorg feels good to me because it doesn't take too long and is not too complicated.
Also, some of those smaller spaces I've gotten down to a good minimalist state so they don't reclutter again.
But, yeah, like parenting, keeping house is relentless. I have found that it's a matter of doing and doing and doing again.
Good for you on keeping to your cleaning project. I like the decluttered spaces!
When you're done come on over to my place and help me get started!!
I forgot to mention thank you for the CD you gave me for my ride home from visiting. It came in very handy as I was stuck in traffic :-)
Jamie, I don't think of your space as very cluttered. Is it all in your closet? :-)
I'm glad the cd came in handy, sorry you hit traffic. We have your Mini-Model set!
Oh no, I forgot my mini-model! Maybe you can bring it with you on the next visit.
Yes, most of my stuff is shoved in the closet (especially when you come to visit). I keep saying I'm going to do what you're doing and start throwing things out. I'm hoping you rub off on me!
Start small and see how it feels. If it feels good, that'll motivate you to keep going. xo
Hey,
I added that Clutter Guy's blog to my bookmarks, so that I will start reading it regularly. I often buy Real SImple Magazine, but rather than inspire me, it depresses me...so I stopped.
But I like that decluttering-blog so will read it regularly without emotion...(or try to)
Thanks for sharing.
Sue, I know what you mean about looking at magazines like Real Simple being depressing! I only flip through them once in a blue moon when I happen to see one at a friend's house or in a doc's office :-)
I'm glad you like that guy's blog!
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