i’m a big believer in small steps (and lower case letters). i can be easily overwhelmed by stuff, visual clutter, and the random float-sum and jet-sum that seems to follow me everywhere i go. if i don’t keep up with things, my things breed, grow, and take-over to a point where i am unable to figure out how to tame them once again. i become overwhelmed and find it easier to ignore the problem then handle it. for most of my life i’ve battled this tendency to clutter – being a visual person doesn’t help. if i can’t see it, i probably won’t use it, which leads to piles, which breeds clutter. so…what is a girl to do?
she takes small steps and identifies what she wants…
-clean spaces where my partner and i can build and enjoy our life together. i dream of a simpler, less hectic home. i’m a graduate student pursuing my doctorate…which essentially means that i’m forever in a state of stress. having a calm home as a retreat has become essential to my peace of mind. my partner works long hours for a non-profit where she faces constant demands on her time. a peaceful home is, therefore, a must.
when my partner and i moved into our home, our first together, we merged all of the belongings of two separate lives. and for the most part, we did a good job. in just a few weeks were settled into our new home…except for that guest bedroom. oh that guest bedroom, for the guests we so rarely had who actually slept over. that lovely guest bedroom/workout space that was just a bit too cramped…which slowly, over the past eight months has been making the slow and steady transition to a junk room. a space that only the cat used (litter box and food being kept there). it was a room that bread more and more clutter – anything we didn’t know what to do with, usually ended up there (spring/summer clothes, computer and stereo equipment, school notebooks, blankets, an endless cycle of float-sum & jet-sum). it was overwhelming. a room i didn’t know how to tame.
sadly, the clutter did not stay contained. every space in our home was filled; with no space to put away, the visual clutter tended to grow. not to say our home didn’t look clean and comfortable – because it did. i would venture to say that our guests were completely unaware of the clutter that seems to float around the house. kitchen cupboards were stuffed full, closets were neatly organized, but completely filled.
tired of feeling hemmed in by stuff and both desiring simple spaces has led us to a series of small steps:
- sort clothes (why do we both have SO much?) into piles : donate (charity shop, dress for success), consignment, keep
- put away all keep clothes, put consignment & donate piles in car
- sort kitchen items – get rid of duplicates (again piles: donate, keep)
- put away all keep items – reorganize shelves – put all donate items in car
- sort collectibles & accessories into piles: donate, sell, keep (only what we love & use, what still reflects our personal style)
- take pictures of sale stuff and post on craigs list/ebay – put all donate items in car
- set one week time limit for sell items – if they don’t sell, donate
- dismantle guest bed to be delivered to parents house this coming weekend
- re-purpose guest bedroom into office/workout space (workout space is clearly defined and i have tons of space to hula-hoop! the office is to come, first we need to find a nice big desk & shelves)
- go to charity shop and donate (for once i actually did it right away, rather than driving it around for weeks on end)
we still have more to do. but, we’re feeling successful at the moment and enjoying our more open kitchen and exercise room. we love that we’ve regained that square footage and we rejoice at the fact that we can now put our dishes away with ease!
small steps. it’s the only way we’ll achieve our simple dream.
