I must confess - our house is a mess. Plain and simple. We just are lousy at keeping things neat and organized. I occasionally get upset with our daughter for having stuff strewn all over, and then my wife points out that we haven't set much of an example for her to follow.
I'm a piler. Every flat surface tends to have a stack of papers, magazines, books, whatever, whether it is my desk, the computer desk, the dresser in the hall, the kitchen table, the floor, the closet, etc.
About 4 or 5 weeks ago, I once again realized my dresser was covered with assorted crap. I came up with an idea. I committed to taking care of at least one item per day on the dresser that didn’t belong there. That might have meant throwing out a receipt I didn’t need, putting something back where it actually belonged, filing a paper that I had left out, putting loose change into my change bank, or whatever else needed to be done. I stuck with it, most days doing multiple items, not just one, though some days I did do only one thing. After about a week, I had cleared off a pretty decent section and what was left was stuff that pretty much belonged there. I’m glad to say that I have continued to keep the dresser cleared off since then.
Once the dresser was cleared, I moved on to my desk, home to a couple of ever-present piles of assorted papers and a vast assortment of other junk. Over several days, I got one pile down to nothing except items that are part of a project I am currently working on. The other pile was cut in half, though there is still work to be done with what remains.
Then I started branching out tackling the “to be shredded” pile in a few shredding sessions, papers piled under the desk and on the computer scanner and a few other places. The past few days I started attacking the large bookcase in the computer room. Just before posting this, for example, I cleaned off the Travel shelf, tossing outdated guidebooks, maps and other items that we no longer needed, putting them all in the recycling bin.
Little by little, my efforts are starting to show. There is noticeably more floor space and desk space in the computer room. The kitchen table pile isn’t gone, but now holds just current items. The bookcase has started looking much neater (at least on the 3 shelves I have worked on so far).
Is any of this financial? Kind of. One thing that invariably happens when we clean is we find things we had forgotten we had. Knowing we have them and where to find them helps prevent us from buying duplicate replacement items at a later date. For example, there is now a neat stack of spiral notebooks on the bookcase and another stack of 3-ring binders. When it is time to shop for school supplies for next year, that supply will get checked first before heading to Target or Wal-Mart.
Reducing clutter is also a psychological thing. I just feel better looking around and seeing what I’ve accomplished so far. I still see plenty left to do, but seeing what is already done helps motivate me to keep at it. And taking it in little steps of one item per day helped keep it a manageable goal, rather than being overwhelmed by the big picture.
Decluttering - I'm serious this time!
June 16th, 2008 at 12:35 am
June 16th, 2008 at 01:59 am 1213581563
June 16th, 2008 at 02:10 am 1213582255
June 16th, 2008 at 02:16 am 1213582602
June 16th, 2008 at 03:43 am 1213587817
Good luck.
June 16th, 2008 at 04:01 pm 1213632063
You are handling it the right way, small steps, small spaces at a time. And it is definitely financially related in so many ways. Keep up the good work.
June 16th, 2008 at 04:01 pm 1213632089
Good luck on your decluttering, too!
June 16th, 2008 at 04:21 pm 1213633311
June 17th, 2008 at 06:24 pm 1213727044
Flylady.net has been a major help as well in getting the C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Any One Over Syndrome) & STUFF gone!
Good going DisneySteve, do you have a day available to come clean my house???