The Unclutter Project

Our house fire, while traumatic, was an opportunity for growth.  Before the fire we had so much junk, kids toys, cookware we never used, and every scrap of paper I ever received was held onto just incase are just a few examples of what cluttered the house.  While we were in the rental house with our rental furnishing it was refreshing not to have so much stuff.  My goal moving home was to keep up with this new minimalist attitude.  Over time things creep back into your life and you don’t even realize.  A craft project here and there and you have extra of this or that you may need later, another chinese food takeout container you save to reuse for leftovers.  Clothes that don’t quite fit right but you hang onto them hoping next time you try it on it will work.  After twelve years it starts to get out of hand.  Mind you throughout the year I purge items and have systems in place so my filing gets shredded yearly and clothes have a one in one out policy but still the clutter is gaining strength. We just finished repainting the interior of the house, replacing the carpet and buying a new couch.  As I packed unneeded items for the carpet install I started a deeper purge.  There is just too much stuff getting in my way and it is mentally draining.  My dresser was full of boxes with costume jewelry and trinkets, my night stand covered with books and more trinkets.  My room was so dusty when we emptied it to paint because I never wanted to move anything to get the dust under and behind items. Funny thing happened when everything was packed up, I felt better, I slept better.  Maybe it was just from the hard work but I believe it is from the freedom that came from packing up the clutter and giving the rooms a deep cleaning.  As I mentioned in the previous blog I am now asking if I want to take care of the item and I feel it is easier for me to decide on what to keep.  Next up is the kitchen.  What are your tricks for reducing clutter?  Do you have a phase you use to help you decide what goes?  Please tell us about it in the comments.  Thank you for reading.