I've been on a mission to declutter and maintain my home and my life for several years. It has definitely been a journey. One is never quite finished with this process
as items will come and go and life is ever changing. Once you get through the initial purge it is
time to begin again and it always amazes me as I move through my spaces just
how much more I am willing to part with.
I am currently
at a stage in my life where I feel very comfortable with the amount of stuff I
keep in my home. In order to remain
comfortable I now work to maintain it and keep it from growing out of control
again. The same is true of the
commitments I'm willing have in my life.
Maintenance mode is a great place to be.
I think the most
incredible part of this journey hands down is the feeling of peace and just how
freeing it is to have less stuff. I have
breathability. I'd heard people say
this, but to experience it myself has been truly amazing. It is incredible to me how much an overload
of stuff can weigh down a person and the emotional effect it truly has on
us. Getting rid of things you no longer
need or use is truly liberating, it really is.
I am a huge fan
of using up what I have before buying anything.
However, it is really difficult to know what you have on hand when you
are overwhelmed with the items in a space.
One truth, you cannot organize, clean or manage clutter. It just doesn't work no matter how hard you
try. And here is another thing, why
would you want to?
An uncluttered
home is neat and organized. We have
comfortable spaces to sit, relax, visit, play games, watch movies, eat our
meals and sleep. At any given moment we
know where our stuff is. It is much easier to keep our home clean. Our home does not consume our lives, our
thoughts or our actions. We live in our
home and it is our sanctuary.
Are you on a
decluttering journey? Where are you at
and how is it going? How does your home
make you feel?
We did a major declutter about 25y ago. Since then, I wander around now and then, gathering up items not used. I define not used as "I can't remember when I last used it". I keep a smallish box in a corner of my guest room and when it is full it goes to the Idaho Youth Ranch. The other motivator for getting rid of things is the FB Buy-Nothing group. When someone asks for something, it really makes me think "will I use this again"? It has been surprising how often I say no-and off it goes.
ReplyDeleteWhile we learned back when we started this journey to be mindful in spending and acquiring decisions, I will never be a stark minimalist such as Joshua Becker or the Minimalists.
I really like Joshua Becker but I have no plans to be that minimal. ;)
DeleteSO jealous. I'm definitely trying to declutter and keep STUFF down to a minimum, but my family has zero interest in this, and to be honest, there are parts of the house that make me extremely anxious due to the enormous buildup of STUFF (that could be taken care of in about 15 minutes per pile, but again, no interest). It's an incredibly frustrating situation.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry Stephanie. It is hard when you can't get your family on board. :'(
DeleteI declutter certain places then I find myself filling them back up. CV19 kind of gave me “permission” to stock up. Now I have too much. It’s not unmanageable but it’s also getting on my nerves. It’s so hard for me to figure out what’s enough
ReplyDeleteI totally get that! I question myself constantly. LOL
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