I am going insane. We live in the second floor of a beautiful Victorian house. The rooms are big and the closets are narrow but deep. There are three total- a coat closet and two bedroom closets. We have a few things in the basement but not much.
We’ve got a serious stuff vs space issue going on. Everywhere I look, there are piles of things that don’t have homes. Or piles of things that don’t have homes but are in pretty baskets. I feel like I’m drowning and I’m tired of it. I loathe the clutter.
So I’m going to do something about it. I’m going to wage a war against the clutter. I am going to make cut throat decisions about what stays and what goes. Nothing is safe. Toys, books, towels, shoes, coffee mugs – everyday life stuff is all FAIR GAME. And I’m going to take you along for the ride with me.
The rules are simple. I’ve thought long and hard about them. These are the things I am going to keep in mind as I purge.
If I follow these guidelines, I think I will really be able to whittle down our clutter pockets and find the things we actually use, need, or love. I know it isn’t going to be easy. And there are certainly going to be some exceptions made- especially in the sentimental value category. I know Mike and I are both going to keep a few things that fit in to the “we’re just going to keep it forever” area. But so be it, as long as most things go!
I think the hardest area to tackle is going to be Malone’s toys. I’ll have to go through those when he’s not around. He’s got a bunch of things he will not noticeif they go missing. But if I try to move them on while he’s around we’ll have a nuclear level disaster. I’m learning though, he plays more when he has less.
The other tough area is going to be my clothing. I’m 33 weeks pregnant and know that in a few months I’ll be in that weird stage again where nothing fits right. Plus, I’ve got an entire tote full of things I’m waiting to lose enough weight to fit into from my first pregnancy over 4 years ago. Some of those pieces are timeless and things I really love. But what are the chances at this point? Also, those maternity shirts hanging in my closet that I think are too ugly to see daylight (because they are not my style) aren’t doing me any favors. Time for them to go to someone who WILL appreciate them!
I’m going to try to post a weekly update with my progress and be brave with before and after pictures.
Rome wasn’t conquered in a day, and neither will my cluttered house. But I am going to start small and stay focused on the area I’m working in.
Are you brave enough to join me? What is your biggest clutter issue? I’d love to know more in the comments!
Ugh!! Same here… Especially the girls’ bedroom. I hope you’ll inspire me! 🙂
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Malone’s stuff will be the hardest for sure. But I know that he’ll play more with what he’s got if he can SEE all of the choices easily.
I’ll just go ahead and tell you, I throw away and Goodwill things left and right. Like, daily. I drown in our clutter. My hubs saves EVERYTHING. On moving day, I threw a Bomb and Arson coaster in the trash. He found it and flipped out. It was a rubber coaster, NJ. Seriously? Anyway, this list and challenge are awesome, and I want to visit your Victorian home.
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His love language must be clutter! You can visit anytime you want! It is a funny old house- the rooms are HUGE but the storage space lacks!
Ugh, clutter! One issue we have with clutter is the in-betweens – stuff that we use only occasionally but still use enough that we can’t get rid of them. We have zero storage space so those things sit there taunting me. One thing we have been doing is taking a long look at what clutter and garbage comes *into* our house like packaging, bags, receipts etc. Good luck!
With a lot of those in betweens I’ve decided that they are likely to go. How often do I use a large cooler or a bocce ball game? Often enough that if I REALLY needed one, I could borrow from a friend instead of keeping it “just in case.”
I love this! Clutter is a huge issue for us too! It seems like everywhere I look there is another pile of unidentified “stuff”. I love your guidelines and may have to use those in the future, if I ever decide to get off my butt and wage my own war!
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Thank you! I’d come wage war for you, but my hands are full with my own clutter! We’ve recently decided to flip around all of our rooms too…because well I apparently don’t have enough going on!