It is amazing to me the vast quantity of “stuff” my family has accumulated over the years. We have somehow, without any knowledge of how and without any cognizant behavior, managed to fill every possible nook and cranny of our home…and then some. There are days that I walk into the house and I just want to turn around and walk back out rather than deal with the clutter. This constant clutter has created such an obstacle to my ability to think, let alone accomplish anything. I feel as if I clear a space just to have it filled again within a day with more “stuff.”
The Experiment. I have decided that I can take no more. As an experiment, I bribed encouraged my husband to spend the day with the kids out of the house (doing what, I could care less…just go, go, go). I descended upon toy room #1 (yes, there is more than 1) loaded with bins and bags. I labeled the bins, because G-d knows I lost my memory years ago after the birth of child #1, as KEEP, DONATE and TRASH.
I relegated all broken toys, missing parts and endless art projects gone bad to the trash bag. I loaded up the donate bin until I had no more room…then put it all into bags and loaded it up again. Those items in the KEEP bin were reorganized and properly stored. In the end, I filled 3 large trash bags with toys. 3 weeks later…my kids have not asked for even ONE of the toys in the bags. I now realize, as Peter Walsh has counseled us for years, that “It’s All Too Much!”
With the success of my experiment, I am now motivated to purge even more. And with yard sale season approaching, I hope to make some cash to put towards my greening efforts – namely, the Vermicomposter that I’ll write about in detail when I am closer to purchasing it.
So, the Great Purge begins…
I’ll be posting before and after pictures as I work my way thru the house. Please check back often to see my progress. I’ll also be talking about ways that I can “green” up the spaces that I purge and organize along the way.
What are your best organizing strategies? How do you clear clutter from your house? Better yet, how do you prevent clutter from entering your house in the first place? Let me know in the comments section.
