Evening lovely Steemians,
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Let’s Talk About De-cluttering!
Yup. I’ve gone into clear-out mode. Now, for many of you, I’m sure this isn’t a big deal – getting rid of some things, making a bit of space. So- you need to know a little bit more about me to realise why today has been such a turning point.
I wouldn’t call myself a hoarder- I’m not that extreme- but I do collect things. I keep all sorts of random cr… rubbish in case it comes in handy. Anyone else recognise this trait? I think it has quite a lot to do with the way I was brought up. We lived on a ramshackle smallholding in the middle of nowhere. It was the kind of place where random bits of string, packaging, wood, egg boxes, containers – well, they all came in useful. And the more you saved, the less you had to buy. And the less we had to buy, the better, because we survived on a shoe-string.
Yes, I’ve brought this tendency of never throwing anything away with me.
But today, I have rid the house of several bags of old clothes that didn’t fit, books, unused DVD stands, and other random assorted rubbish.
What brought on this change?
As I talked about in this post, I lost my mum back in March. And we had to go through all her stuff. Now- the day to day stuff and precious things were a joy to sort and look through. But there was so much stuff she just had stashed. The accumulation of… things… that weren’t important to her or useful to her… she’d just held on to them for years…! Today I realised that I didn’t want to live my life encumbered by things that don't make my life better or more useful in some way.
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris
This William Morris quote (I hope it’s accurate, but I hope the historians amongst you will forgive me if I’ve paraphrased) felt like a great rule to guide my de-cluttering efforts.
Clothes that are too small – useful? Nope. Beautiful? Definitely not
Cycling helmet – useful? (Erm, as I don’t have a bike, I have to say no!) Beautiful? Urgh – do I even have to answer that?!
I’m far from finished, but as I sit here this evening, I can feel a certain lightness in my soul. I have more space – and that has translated into space in my mind… perhaps for more beautiful and more useful things to fill.
Night night my friends, see you tomorrow.
Eveningart x
hmmmm. I'm letting that one soak in :)
and i had to giggle at the helmet without the bike ;) hehehehe yes - probably time to give that away!
and you'll be proud of me - (i think this will be my ulog for tomorrow) i got almost half of the thinks on my bullet journal done for today - so i think it's going to be a success!
(thanks @scuzzy for the recommendation hehehe)
I'm so glad that your soul is light today! Isn't that a lovely feeling???? :) Let's chase that feeling forever hehehee
Yes... the helmet without the bike. I bought it new. Had great intentions of getting fit by cycling... and never followed up with a bike. Our town is in a valley- it's uphill whichever way you point and the roads are insanely busy. But still - ~I've had the helmet for 5 years! (DOH!) Yes - let's keep that feeling of space... it's a good feeling.
And YAY! Well done on getting through half of your list- that is incredibly good going- I look forward to reading all about it tomorrow xxx
"I keep all sorts of random cr… rubbish in case it comes in handy."
Oh yes, I surely do! I am getting better (I think) at not only asking myself 'do I really need it?' before I buy things and 'do I really need it?' before I chuck it out. I have moved house twice in the last 18 months and I have NO IDEA where all this STUFF comes from. (I blame the kids mostly LOL)
There is something very refreshing about de-cluttering so well done! :)
I can imagine that having kids in the house makes the accumulation of stuff sky-rocket, and the decluttering of said stuff a whole lot more difficult!!
I know that liberating feeling very well. We've been moving house quite often here in Australia and I do a major cleanout every time. I consider myself a conscious and rather stingy consumer and yet, I'm always surprised how much stuff has collected (although it's become much less since the kids left home).
I had a similar epiphany as you when my grandfather died. I was about 20 I think. He was a hoarder (albeit an organised one) and I'll never forget how stressed my mum was when she had to clear out his apartment. I knew right there that I would NEVER live like that (or do that to my children). Unfortunately, my mum who is in her 80s now, is not much better. She keeps saying she needs to clean out the household but she never does, and now she's getting quite frail. So I expect a big job ahead but there are three of us so it won't be so bad.
I love donating things I don't need anymore to charity stores, and often it's just returning the things I bought from there earlier. I'm a bit of an op (=opportunity) shop addict, finding lots of treasure in those stores, and we have many great ones here in Cairns. I also buy almost my entire wardrobe there, and bring it back. I like the thought of other people using and loving my things after me. It's my way of recycling and giving to charity. And yes, I also love the feeling of removing unnecessary clutter.
I'm glad you found out too :)
Hi! Ooh it's a lovely feeling - I'm really loving giving things new life and visibility by passing them on to new homes who love them.
I know what you mean about dreading clearing your mum's place- my dad's is a bit like that- not just the house, but about 7 barns filled to the rafters too. Ah well, I'm not going to worry about it until I have to!!
Right- I feel more clearance-mode in my veins today, so I'm going to tackle our under-stairs cupboard... haven't been in there since we moved here 5 years ago!!
E x
I get into this mode often. Even after two years in a row giving and selling almost everything I owned to go across the country, I still ha e so much stuff. My daughter has picked up the "keeping everything" thing. She wants to recycle trash as useable items. Our town doesn't really have a recycling place. So, I try to humor her sometimes, though I'd prefer to try to quell this need to keep trash by having recycling bins. It saddens me that where I live is so backwards.
Anyway, got off topic a bit.
Ridding myself of stuff those times really did something to me tho. It taught me what I really felt was important and how much I didn't really ~need~ things. It was freeing.
Yes- you're right, that is exaclty what I discovered when mum passed- that there was such a tiny percentage of "stuff" that was important- and the rest really was just stuff - and not needed at all.
It's a good instinct for your daughter to have, though it must be so frustrating not to have the infrastructure there to support it! Maybe she's a campaigner of the future!
E x
"Parenting goals" haha There is so much that need's changing. And I think it will still need work when they are older.
Clutter was the “norm” for me since I can remember. Now, I live in a tiny home we built with my partner and 3 pets... clutter happens very quickly if you’re not careful. I read a book named The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up that really changed my relationship with the things in own. We only own items that spark joy... and so many make takeaways. I recommend it - very quick read that sparks some cleaning creativity. Careful, it could change your life.
Thank you for the recommendation- I'll definitely pick up a copy- and I'll let you know of any major shifts in my life as a result!
It certainly sounds like you have your way of living sussed 😁
Thanks for stopping by. E x
I'm going to be on a similar mission if and when I decide to move lol - Gosh the stuff you accumulate over the years eeekk!!!!
Maybe start a little bit at a time from now... because then it'll take the pressure off later- and if you don't move, you'll have cleared your space :)
I bet this is a real ulog ,very nice expression of your day
Thank you- I promise it's real- our charity shop gained a lot of donations during the day ;) thanks for stopping by. E x