Clean and Clutter-free: Help!! I think I need to set some controlled fires!

Forum: Clean and Clutter-free Replies: 8, Views: 117 Print -

Author Content syd_meister Ottawa, ON December 24, 2007 12:29 PM Post #4324425 I'm overwhelmed with the stuff in my home. I have several areas that are on my list for "going through and purging". The problem is that I can't seem to find the time to get through them. If I start something I invariably end up running out of time and then have to leave it half done. Then my priorities shift and/or I get distracted by another area of higher concern. I know that I want to reduce a lot of the stuff, but I just can't seem to let it all go without having one more look to make sure there is nothing there that I could still need at some point in time. I keep dropping hints about people nominating my house for a Clean Sweep program or something, but it just isn't happening [;-)]. I wish I had the money to hire someone to come in and help me out. I have found that even having someone there just to keep me focussed and on task helps greatly. I should add that we have a busy home with 5 year old twins, a dog, we both work full time and have other activities outside the home. My ideal home would be something a lot more simple that would take a lot less time to keep tidy given our busy lifestyle. Thanks for reading my little vent! ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) December 24, 2007 12:48 PM Post #4324454 I think the problem is you're feeling like you have to sit down and do everything all at once, I don't think any of us have time to do that! What I do when I have an overwhelming thing like that is I set a timer for 10-15 minutes (or you could even do 5 minutes if you're really pressed for time!) and spend that time going through as much as you can. If you do that every day, you'll be surprised that you'll get through the seemingly huge task before you know it. And when you're trying to decide whether to keep something or not, I find it's better to think about when was the last time I DID use something, not think about if I might use it sometime (because you MIGHT use everything...so then you'd never throw anything out! But if you haven't used it in at least a year, chances are it's not that essential to your life.) If it's been over a year since you last used it, get rid of it. Especially if it's something that would be relatively inexpensive to replace, then if by some chance you do need it in the future, you can get another one (but chances are you won't need it!) heathrjoy Johnsonburg, PA (Zone 5a) December 29, 2007 9:35 AM Post #4337425 I agree 100% with ecrane. Actually, I was going to say the exact same thing she did, but now I don't have to. :) I've found it can help soooo very much when you have a cluttered room to not look at it as a whole. Break it down into little jobs. Take cleaning the kitchen for instance, if I looked at my kitchen as a whole right now I'd just go back to bed! But, if I think of it as...15 minutes for doing dishes, 15 minutes to find places for groceries DH didn't put away, 5 minutes to scrub counters & stove top, 5 minutes to sweep floor and wipe up doggy drool...that's not so bad. And, like ecrane said, you don't have to even do it all at once. I have back problems and when they flare up bad I can't do it all at once even if I need to. So, I go do the dishes, come on DG for 15 minutes, go put the groceries away, back on DG to take a quick break, etc. I've also found that playing my favorite music is such a great boost when I do feel like going back to bed or my back is hurting. It just gets me moving. Another thing I've done since I was a teenager is make a list of what I need to do. This may or may not be a good idea for you. Some folks seem too overwhelmed when they make a list. DH sometimes calls me the "list queen", LOL! I'll write down the tasks I have to do and allot an amount of time for them...just like I did above for cleaning the kitchen. It helps me to see it actually written down in time fragments...it makes it seem less overwhelming for me. Now, about all that stuff that you don't know whether you should part with or not...those can be hard decisions and most likely that's what's keeping you from even starting a cleaning project...and it's probably why the cleaning is taking so long. Believe me, once you get that stuff cleared out you'll feel so much better! You already know that. I've had clothes that didn't fit me in my closet and attic for probably 10 years. Clothes that were too big or too small. I kept them "just in case I needed them". Then I heard someone on a TV show say that every time we look at those clothes that don't fit us we are set into the mindset of, "I'm going to get fat again." or "I wish I were that skinny now." Either way, it's a trap...and I'd do it every time I got dressed and I never realized it. The other silly thing is that IF those clothes ever do fit me again they will be so out of style that I wouldn't want to wear them anyway! So, I began clearing out my closet, and it felt so good. Now, every time I grab a piece of clothing it will fit, no more rummaging through all those sizes and trying to find something that goes together. It's a real time saver! The same goes for the kitchen, bath, every where in your house. Don't save that old shower curtain because you may someday paint the bath pink again. It's not going to happen. And for the things that you just really can't let go of for some reason...try putting them in a box and put the box in your attic or basement...someplace you won't see it or think about it...put the date on the box that you stored it away. In a couple months, after you've been clearing out, go back and look at what's in the box...most likely it'll be very easy for you to toss it or give it all away. Good luck...and now I need to go follow my own advice. LOL! Lala_Jane North West, OH (Zone 5b) December 29, 2007 12:54 PM Post #4337965 Oh you guys this is the perfect thread for me. I am CONSTANTLY losing things and I know darn well it's because there are too many places for things to hide around here. My driver's license was lost for over a month and finally found it on my seed cleaning tray last week. Then there was my insurance card, my tax forms, my check book...the list goes on and on. I have so many over-flowing drawers, closets and cubby holes that when things go MIA they are AWOL indefinitely. I buy things and I buy things. I am a sucker for a good sale, but I also buy incessantly because I often cannot find what I bought the first time around. I finally decided I could take it no longer and have dedicated my holiday break to purging. I am currently working in the bathroom and I gurarantee I could live another 50 years and never have to purchase another bottle of body lotion again in my life. LOL! I am making progress but it's hard. I know all the rules...if I've not used it in a year, or 2 years or even 3 years I do not need it now and I probably won't need it later. I've been repeating that to myself over and over and sometimes it works...often it doesn't. I am far too sentimental and cannot bring myself to part with anything that was a gift. "Oh I cannot get rid of that, Uncle John (who is now deceased) made it for me!" "Ahh, my first BF bought this for me (20 YEARS AGO??)" or "I remember how pleased mom was when she gave this to me (I never did particularly like it)" It seems like 1/2 of my possessions were gifts and I put them in the garbage bag then I can't bear it and take it back out. LOL. Then there are the piles. I have so many piles that my piles have piles. Guarantees and warranties, and receipts, and arghhhhhh! Do I really need all this stuff? I say no! (Those things weren't gifts so surely I can dump them can't I?) :-P ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) December 29, 2007 1:07 PM Post #4338007 The other thing you can do with stuff that you just can't bear to part with is rent a small storage space for it (or a large one if you have enough things!) That way you haven't thrown it out but it's not cluttering up the house anymore. And every month when you get the bill from the storage company, it'll be another chance to think about whether you REALLY still need to keep it or not! MaryE Baker City, OR (Zone 5b) December 29, 2007 11:09 PM Post #4339594 And then if you don't pay the storage bill, the owners will auction off the contents and it solves that problem, but unfortunately doesn't do anything good for your credit rating. andidandi Arlington, VA December 30, 2007 2:00 PM Post #4340981 Start giving stuff away. Come up with a few items that you know you want to get rid of, and put word out that they are available. Once you get started, you get used to it. And people will take just about anything if it's free, and if they are people you know and trust, you can use them to sort. And like most things, you shouldn't expect it to take a shorter time to fix the problem than it took to create it, which was probably years. Just pace yourself and don't worry about how long it's taking. Put on favorite cd or tv show/movie, and decide that you are going to work on it until the show is over and then quit and do something else. It helps to know that you aren't going to be stuck doing it until the task is finished. Lala_Jane North West, OH (Zone 5b) December 30, 2007 6:48 PM Post #4341784 I didn't mean to highjack syd's thread, but I should imagine that all the great advice you folks are throwing out will be beneficial to all in this situation. Yesterday I started the grandaddy of all projects (cue the Jaws music here), the dreaded hallway. I'm not exactly sure how it happened or when it started, but the small back hallway started collecting those "I-Don't-Want-To-Get-Rid-Of-This-Stuff-But-I-Dont-Know-Where-To-Put-It" boxes. That hall is never used and I didn't even notice that it was filling up like it was. About a month ago I glanced in there and was in complete shock. So yesterday I started in. I am pleased to say that I reduced by 1/2. I know darn well that I could get rid of even more, but hey let's not push it. It's a start. I was still going strong at 3:00 this morning and the discard pile was getting huge (I kind of feel like I was playing gin. Get it? Discard pile? Sorry, couldn't stop myself). I was so afraid that I'd get up today and weaken so I took it all to the burn pile right then and there and put a match to it. It was kind of sad and scarey, but it felt most liberating at the same time. Syd I say you can do it! I am the queen of pack-rats, and if I can do it so can you! (Wow. I have really come out of the closet on this one, haven't I?) syd_meister Ottawa, ON December 30, 2007 7:22 PM Post #4341880 Thanks all for your replies. It has been motivating and encouraging. Lots of good comments, and stupidly, it's mostly stuff I've heard or read before (I've got a decent library of decluttering and organizing books - oh to part with them...) but couldn't act on because I was overwhelmed. I come from a long line of pack rats and horizontal filers, probably a little dose of kleptomania in there as well! It's so hard to break the habits and yet once I do manage to make some headway, it is such a liberating feeling. Here are a couple of my current projects: Today I was able to get through some magazine boxes on the shelf in the closet of our office/guest bedroom. One shelf done, but several more left to do. There are still some boxes of jumbled computer cables, parts and stuff. My husband also has his clutter that he is very stubborn about keeping. Case in point, his 6 plastic bin magazine collection that is so heavy the lids were starting to crack. He's had these pretty much since I've known him and we've lived together. He's got everything from Rolling Stone, Maxim, Men's Health, Stuff, and various sports magazines. These boxes of magazines have become well recognized by his friends as each time we moved (5 times) they would comment on their weight. I recently asked him the last time he went into any of the boxes to find something and it was back in 1998 before we got married and we were living in a 1 bedroom apartment. Since then, he has simply added to the boxes and not really looked at them at all. I decided that if he was going to keep them, they should be sorted and catalogued and now I have a designated place of honour waiting for them. Another barrier I find is that I work in the environmental field and I feel a sense of responsibility for where my crap ends up so I can't just throw things away. I have to sort by recyclable type and determine if there is any possibility of freecycling or donating an item. Once I've gone through this process it is a lot easier for me to let things go. My BIL gave me a suggestion yesterday. He said if you do one room every month, you'll be done in an year. Worth a try I figure.

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