I take great pride in my de-cluttering and organizational abilities however, as we get ready to move to our new home, I have been confronted with the large amount of “stuff” or “crap”, that I still have in my house! You never know how much stuff you really have until you make a big move. I am so there…….
Clutter is the physical manifestation of unmade decisions fueled by procrastination
We have been slowly packing and moving items out the new house all month. I have been working on selling a number of items and furniture that we will not use at the new house, trying to eliminate an extra moving of large objects. However, even with this careful planning and packing, I still find myself opening-up cabinets and closets and wanting to cry. It is amazing how well I have hide our clutter or stuff.
I know find myself cleaning, sorting and purging all over again. I try to think about where I am going to put all of this stuff. In the new house, one aspect I didn’t do very well was creating storage spaces and we lack some closet space I should have thought to put in. We intentionally didn’t finish about 1/3 of the second floor so we could use it for storage because the basement is all finished space minus the utility room; there is little to no attic space; and I am hoping for some storage in our garage which is being built right now.
How could I have overlooked the aspect of storage????
I have decided to challenge myself to using what storage we will have to the best of my abilities. That means really cleaning out what we don’t need or use. To use cabinet storage space very intentionally and carefully. The 4 buckets of DVDs, we can probably get rid of at least ½ if not more. But I have no linen closet on the second floor, therefore bathroom vanity storage is a must and using some small spaces in both of the kids’ room closets for blankets and bed sheets.
So maybe the lack of storage is a blessing and forces me to think more about all of our stuff. Stuff tends to weigh us down; takes up space and time in our surroundings and in our minds; creates anxiety and stress. So many of the items we need to get rid of include:
· Magazines
· DVDs with scratches or we don’t watch
· Old newspapers, documents, etc. that are not needed (paper, I threw away a large garbage bag of paper when I cleaned out the basement).
· Broken or unplayed with toys and games
· Kids’ cards, valentines, school papers, etc. (I sort out artwork, test, writings, etc. but I don’t keep all of the kids’ school papers.)
· Dozens of glasses or coffee mugs we don’t use (we magically accumulate dozens of mugs and cups annually.)
As we keep packing and moving, we will see how successful I will be at eliminating stuff/clutter for this big move. Being smart about storage and clutter management, will only further help me better manage whatever comes into our new home. If I set-up good organizational spaces and processes, then that will help my family and I also manage incoming clutter.
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