It’s not every day that you make a decision to get rid of half of your belongings.  As you can imagine, this process is stressful, painful, and time consuming, yet liberating.  Today I had to say goodbye to my stoneware and some nice children’s books.       

I really liked the stoneware, but didn’t use it much.  I guess that’s kind of obvious since I’ve owned it for 14 years and it looks new.  lol  The salad bowls were perfect though.  And don’t worry.  I’m not selling all of my children’s books.  Teaching has allowed me to collect hundreds of books.  There are so many wonderful books with awesome illustrations.

That’s what I’ve been doing.  Soon my house will be sparse and decluttered.  Perhaps next week I can take a picture of the monster moving sale piles.  Then you’ll wish you lived near by.  

What are you tackling?

image by Karen

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

The place where we will be living will be significantly smaller than the house we live in now.  We don’t really need all the possessions that we have.  It’s just very time consuming and painful (sometimes) to sort through everything and to make decisions to part with items. 

The hardest items for me to part with are my teaching items.  I have taught for about 8-9 years (I’ve lost count, lol).  As you can imagine, I’ve collected quite a bit of curriculum, craft supplies, musical instruments, math manipulatives, children’s books, and other things along the way.  If I go back to teaching, I’m not sure which grade I’ll be teaching.  Some of the items I have are expensive and hard to come by.  I’m determined though to see this through and to make some sacrifices.

The picture above shows the boxes for my moving sale.  Trust me, this is only a small portion of what will be in the sale.  Sad, I know.  I already have about 10 boxes of things ready.  We will be selling furniture, children’s clothes, children’s books, toys, books, knicknacks, and so much more! 

This picture is of the other side of my basement. 

I can’t believe I’m being this vulnerable and showing you my mess!  Notice this picture is not displayed on the front page of Thrifty Mommy.    This mess is a result of being a mom that is stretched thin.  I have a 2 and 4 year old.  Getting down to my basement and working is not easy!!!!  I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I have started sorting through our things to have a kid at the top of the stairs screaming or crying and shaking the gate.  Now we have no gate, so they just come down there with me.  I’ll put stuff in the yard sale pile and they’ll start pulling it back out.  “Why are you getting rid of this?  What’s this for?”  Ahhhhh!  If only I could afford a sitter.  :sigh: 

This messy project is for this coming week.  Wish me luck! What are you tackling?

images by Karen 

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1.  Commit to change – I said last week that getting organized and decluttering is like losing weight.  Really, it is.  You have to be committed in order to change.   Being organized is a lifestyle.  That also means that some days we mess up, just as if we would when losing weight.  But we have to start out new each day toward our goal.

2.  Set small goals – Take it one drawer at a time, one box at a time, and then one room at a time.  You didn’t accumulate everything overnight, and you can’t do it all at once.  See, it is like weight loss.

3.  Set a timer – The Flylady really promotes this one and it works.  Decluttering sometimes seems like a huge overwhelming task, but if you set a time limit of 15 minutes, it won’t seem so bad.  So set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes and get busy!

4.  Change your mindset – This is one that I am working on.  Too many times I say, “Oh, but I might be able to use this again” and I know I haven’t used the item in two years.  In times like these, remind yourself of the stress it incurs and junk it.  Say it with me . . . It’s just stuff!

5.  Keep it simple – This means two different things.  One way to keep it simple is not to run out and buy a bunch of organizing gadgets right away.  First you need to sort through what you have and figure out your needs, not the other way around.  It also means keep it simple in what you keep.  Do you need 12 bottles of Bath & Body Works body wash?

6.  Sort and purge –  This is one of the most important steps and you need to be brutal.  Try to detach yourself from your belongings.  It’s just stuff, right?  If you haven’t used it in a year, then get rid of it.  :Gulp:  Did I really say that?  Yes, I need to take my own advice.  If you still can’t bring yourself to get rid of it, then put it away and give yourself a time limit of 6 months or a year.  If you still haven’t used it by then, get rid of it!!!!

7.  Have a yard sale – Sometimes selling your stuff and getting some money for it helps to take away the pain of letting it go.  I’ll sell just about anything I own.  It’s just stuff!  Keep saying it.

8.  Think of the money the stuff cost you – By this I mean think of the square footage in your house the things are taking up.  Or in my case, think of how much it costs to move the items when you move to a new area.  You have to box it up, put it on the truck, unload it, and unpack it.  It costs money (and labor) to move.  And also, think of the stress and aggravation.  Is this stuff/junk really worth it????

9.  Put organization into your daily routine. – Have the kids clean up their toys before dinner and before bedtime, go through the mail each day, put away catalogs when you’re done with them, clean out your junk drawer while you’re on the phone.  There are things that can be done each day that only require a few minutes, but will make your life much easier.  I really need to make the mail a daily priority!

10. Teach kids to be organized. – Each night have the kids put their backpack by the door, put away their toys, put their clothes in the hamper, put away the soap and shampoo when they’re done.  Teach them when they’re young so that one day it can become a habit.

I hope these tips are helpful or inspiring for you.  Do you have any decluttering or organizational tips you’d like to share? What works best in your home?

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The truth is, you have to stay on top of the clutter issue or it will overtake your house.  The clutter in my house is stressing me out and something has to be done.  A few months ago, I began a serious effort to get rid of all of our baby and children’s items that we no longer needed.  I gave away trashbags of stuff, sold some things myself, and then I began taking things to the consignment store.  In the past few months, I’ve probably taken 10 totes full of stuff to the consignment store.  Isn’t that just crazy?  It’s amazing all the things that quickly accumulate.

Decluttering is like losing weight.  Both require discipline and neither happen overnight.  Being organized has to be adopted as a lifestyle.  It seems I am on a mission to purge and remove some stress from my life.  I am going to have to get brutal about it, or find someone to offer moral support as I purge.

I am trying hard to make my life less stressful by getting organized and having less clutter.  With each box that goes out of my house, I feel a bit less burdened.  It seems my biggest problems right now are having the time to stay on top of the mess and having the guts to get brutal with the problem.

Clutter is a main source of stress, anxiety, and time loss for many people.  We could all be more thrifty with our time if we were more organized. 

Next week, I’ll share with you some decluttering tips I’ve learned.  Until then, would you like to share some of your suggestions?

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