This always sets off confusion. Not because I don't know where I stand on the issue, but because it's just so hard. I want a simple house. I want to have fewer things all around me. Fewer things to clean, pick up, move around, wash, fold, put away, dust, and deal with.
Ah. Peace. (in my mind)
Yes, I know that the children contribute to some of the mess and I wouldn't have it any other way. Most days, I know and remember that kid mess is a blessing. One that will be over way too soon.
But....Do we really need closets and dresser drawers and tubs full of clothes? Do we really need an entire kitchen with cabinets full of kitchen stuff and dishes? Do we need an entire coat closet full of coats? A garage full of stuff? A craft room over-flowing? Bedrooms you can hardly walk in?
Do we REALLY need this much stuff?
No. The answer is, no. We do not need all of this stuff. In the last month, I have gotten rid of probably 8 bags of stuff. Oh it felt so good. I don't miss ANY of it. I want to get rid of more. Not the stuff we need but the stuff we do not need.
That is part of The House That Cleans Itself plan, by the way. Decluttering is a big part of turning your house into a house that cleans itself. The 2 areas I have done really are less full. They look so good when they are picked up. I am excited to move on.
And just to let you know my handicaps.....I come from a long line of "keepers." My Grandmother and my mom both lived during the depression and saved/save everything. It's perfectly good. You might need it. I understand the mentality now, I really do. I'm not so foolish to think that we will always have access to every single thing we might need. I understand about holding on to things just in case.
And yet....isn't there a multitude of thrift stores around? Craig's List? E-bay? Friends?
And aren't there many, many people in need who could use some of the extra stuff I have laying around? And shouldn't I share my "extra tunic" with them?
My husband is a keeper. The other day we were getting a room for a house guest and I said to him, "While we're at it,what are you going to do with all those XYZ's in the garage, really?"
ReplyDeleteTo which he responded,"Do you really think we have time to deal with that right now?" He was right, we didn't. I just spend so much mental energy thinking about the fact that we have far too much stuff in this house.
He's starting to see things my way, though. Slowly but surely, lol.
And no, I'm not nagging him to death about it!
I don't touch my husband's stuff! There is plenty in this house he has no opinion about that I can get rid of!
ReplyDeleteI am converting my house over to the House That Cleans Itself method too, but I am just starting. I think it is going to work great because she not only eliminates the clutter, but gets you to come up with storage solutions that suit you instead of what is conventional or suits everyone else who is not you.
ReplyDeleteHey Brenda, did you do the whole entire House That Cleans Itself book, right from the start, with all that notebook stuff? If so, do you think it was worth the time spent? I was considering skipping that and just going on to the converting part, but I am having second thoughts, and am thinking I might go through the whole process properly.
ReplyDeleteMove ten times in eight years and it will be a whole lot easier to get rid of "stuff". :) Now the only clutter we have left is school stuff and the kids' toys because both of those breed and multiply every single night.
ReplyDelete