Take It Room By Room, Step By Step
- Shawn
- Aug 22, 2017
- 2 min read
When I was able to let go of the mid century modern, super long and heavy couch…everything else seem to fall into place. I was much more comfortable in going through things and eliminating all the “STUFF” that was weighing me down. I was raised on “Catholic Guilt” (LOL). Feeling guilty for getting rid of certain items was rough as I mentioned in previous blogs. Accepting that I am not bad or doing anything wrong was the first hurdle. Understanding that I am doing this for me and what I want to experience on this second half of my life….Like I said before, freeing.
It was freeing…actually it was mind-blowing how good I felt with each room I went through eliminating junk, making piles for donation, stacked up family heirlooms to give to family members and kept what was truly loved and useful to me. I am not completely clutter free…but I’m working on it.
Here are some things to think about when starting this process of eliminating “STUFF”!
One room at a time
If you start on one room, then switch to another room because you want to organize, you'll end up having so many piles. You'll begin to feel overwhelmed with all the clutter laying all around the house. Start with one room and create categories.
Donate
Keep
Family
Trash
Keep it simple, if you create more options you’ll have more decisions and that feeling of being overwhelmed will start to surface.
Keep things moving forward
Take your “Donate” pile to the garage or an area that you can begin to fill garbage bags or boxes. Your “Trash” items need to go immediately into the trash. Don’t move them into your garage or donate area…get rid of it right there and then. “Family” items can be boxed up as well and start texting and calling those family members to pick up or that you're on your way to drop them off.
Take your “Keep” items and put them away in the room you were working. Don’t try to organize and move the items into other rooms that you haven’t gone through.
Items you are unsure of
I found that I had clothes, certain mementos, art etc that I wasn’t sure I wanted to eliminate, donate or give to family. If you’re struggling, just keep it. Don’t beat yourself up….keep it and box it up. In six months if you find that you haven’t missed it while it was packed, or needed it for anything….or if you haven’t worn it (unless you are in a different season), used it, you’ve changed your thoughts…get rid of it. It’s amazing what I found out about an item when I packed it away. I usually found that I wasn’t needing it or wanting to wear it…etc. It makes it easier to get rid of the next go round.
Start small, don’t inundate yourself. Don’t unpack and unload everything. You’ll be left feeling more depressed than before. When you start on something simple, like a small 2nd bedroom or office, you’ll get yourself conditioned on how it works and how great you feel when you conquer one room. Give yourself time and enjoy the reward of eliminating “STUFF”!
