One of my standard new year's resolutions is to rid the house of clutter. I make progress every so often, then the clutter creeps back. This year, I am trying a quantifiable goal: Spend two hours a week decluttering. It's not lot of time, but, if I am consistent, I might make some headway, especially if I can get a family member to help.
I am thinking about clutter today because there was a story in the paper today amid the "Highlights of the Year 2007" about a woman who was involved in an auto accident in February because her car was so full of clutter that junk rolled under the gas pedal and she couldn't control the car. Then the authorities then went to her home and found it so full of stuff and junk that the only way in and out of the house was through a window! Yikes. Stories like that make me throw everything out right now! Well, except for all the music and art stuff...and some of the books....
Showing posts with label decluttering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decluttering. Show all posts
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Decluttering
Long, long ago, my cousin Shirley used to tell me about the house they had owned in New Jersey. We were both living in Evanston, IL at the time. Her description of trying to clean that house stays with me today. There was alway so much dirt, she said. You could suck it out from between the floorboards with a vacuum cleaner, or scrub it out with a brush and water, but still, there was always more dirt, as if the house was actually producing the dirt and releasing it through the floorboards. Good basis for a horror movie, I think.
Our house is the same way, but it is not dirt so much as clutter, and it is not the house that has produced this situation, but us, the owners and caretakers of the house, who have allowed it to fill up with stuff. Still, when I clean, declutter, and toss stuff out, the remaining stuff seems to de-compress and take up more space. Last week, I hired someone to haul away a dump truck full of stuff. It made barely a dent.
I am going to persist though. De-clutter sites on the web suggest allotting a mere, but consistent 15 minutes a day to the task. Sounds like a plan.
Our house is the same way, but it is not dirt so much as clutter, and it is not the house that has produced this situation, but us, the owners and caretakers of the house, who have allowed it to fill up with stuff. Still, when I clean, declutter, and toss stuff out, the remaining stuff seems to de-compress and take up more space. Last week, I hired someone to haul away a dump truck full of stuff. It made barely a dent.
I am going to persist though. De-clutter sites on the web suggest allotting a mere, but consistent 15 minutes a day to the task. Sounds like a plan.
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