After reading The Money Saving Mom’s Budget book (clutter negatively impacts your finances) and watching a few episodes of Hoarders, I knew the time had come for me to de-clutter. To visitors, my house appears clean and picked up (at least as much as it can be three kids under 6), but the drawers and all the storage areas are overflowing with stuff. As many couponers, I went through a phase of collecting free and really cheap things from the stores, even though I didn’t know if I would ever use it. I would throw the purchases in the back of a cupboard or drawer and forget about them. Now, I only buy products I use or immediately add them to my donation pile.
The time has come for me to seriously analyze our stuff and get rid of what we cannot or won’t use anymore. I’m tired of the clutter and the ‘piles’. Yes, I admit I have a pile problem. I have piles of papers, magazines, coupons, books, notebooks, etc, in several places throughout my house. Although, it looks messy, I know exactly what’s in each of my piles. I know it’s a little strange, but it works, until I get sick of looking at the piles, like today. The piles just have to go.
I am systematically attacking each area of my house whenever I have 30 minutes to an hour to spare. I have three piles: trash, keep and garage sale. As I examine each item, it immediately goes in the garage sale pile if it has not been used in the last six months (unless there’s sentimental value). I’m amazing myself with all the clutter I am clearing out of our living space. I can’t believe we had so much stuff hidden away and how much more spacious our house is becoming. I am also keeping a list of what I throw out and want to get to fifty things.
– clothes, kid’s and adults
– two broken dressers
– DVDS, CDs
– books and magazines
– couch pillows
– kitchen utensils, hot pads, trivets
– reusable bags, plastic sacks and jars (no idea why I saved all this stuff, but I did)
– kid’s toys and games
– sheets
– an old telephone (had a wire and all)
– table runners and table cloth
– shower curtain
– pens, pencils and notebooks
– candles and candle holder
– old television
– makeup
Getting rid of the clutter is extremely liberating. I feel so refreshed after going through a drawer or closet and opening up a space previously full of stuff. I also found items that I had forgotten and am happy to discover them again. I know I still have alot of work ahead of me, but I am ready to be finally rid of the clutter and stuff.
Do you need to declutter? Any tips for getting rid of the clutter? Believe me, I need all the help and tips I can get.
I *think* you just might be inspiring me to de-clutter. we’ll see… 🙂
Keeley, It is alot of work, but it does feel really good to just get rid of stuff. Good luck! 🙂