It must be Spring. A contageous decluttering mood seems to be spreading among fellow bloggers. I got hit by it too, this past weekend – after reading GB’s post, who said he caught it from Kate, who had shared from someone else, who…
Anyway, from a list of 10 decluttering principles, besides the one-item-a-day idea, it was the following that really hit home with me:
“Declutter the Easy Stuff First.
There is no need to make things difficult by trying to declutter the hardest things first.”
Still kind of exhausted after the Sisyphus job of dealing with all the inherited stuff from my parents' house over the past few years – and yet feeling a certain need to get on with some of my “own” now – this simple principle struck me as just brilliant.
It’s just so true that whenever I start thinking of getting rid of (more) stuff, my mind tends to jump straight to the hard things – both emotionally and physically – and then it’s so tempting to just put it off again. You know – the heavy stuff that calls for help by someone with strong arms and a car; or the stuff that someone else might actually find useful even if I don’t; or the papers and photos that need to be properly sorted through and read before decisions can be made; or various items that maybe aren’t really important, but still bear memories…
The Easy Stuff approach however took me straight out into the kitchen to get rid of a number of items that without any regret whatsoever could go straight into the ordinary garbage & recycling bins. Like, you know, too many “extra” glass jars and old scratched plastic food containers and bowls and jars and cutting boards; and the useless cracked not-even-antique tea pot…
While I was at it, I also decided to reward myself by replacing a few worn everyday items with new fresh ones – as seen in the photo above. But I did throw away a lot more than the few I replaced! (About a month’s worth at least, counted by the one-item-a-day principle.)
10 comments:
i was glad when i got to the end of the post that the photo was NOT what you were tossing in the garbage. LOL... this is all so true.. happy de cluttering, you have a great start
Haha. I was too busy while I was at it to think of taking photos. I also did not do it all in one go. So I just took this photo of the new things when I got back from shopping instead.
I've said it before - I LOVE to declutter, and although I already pride myself on having a rather slim household, after 11 1/2 years in this same flat, there are things that can go and won't be missed. So, at some stage, I'll be sorting through cupboards and shelves as well, and maybe I'll even take some pictures to bore you all to death .-D
I don't believe the coincidence! I used the term Sisyphus task today as well. OK not particularly original (given he was an ancient Greek) but a strange coincidence.
Well done with the disposals. I've been doing ok as well but I suspect that I have a LOT more stuff to dispose of now that you've cleared your Mum and Dad's house.
I believe decluttering is one of those jobs that will never be completely over and done with, Meike! Turn your back on a cupboard for long enough and somehow it will find a way to fill itself with junk... ;)
Maybe not all that strange, Graham - I think I also used the phrase in my comment to your blog post on the same topic ;) Yes, as you have a house and more storage space than I do in my flat, no doubt you will also have more stuff. (We tend to make use of the space we have...) I also brought some inherited stuff home though, which still belong in the category of "hard things"!
Spring cleaning! I am full force into it as well. I like your ideas on it. What is the white item with a hook on the end? I cannot figure it out, it looks a bit like a big screw. I don't have anything that looks like this, therefore I must need one!
GB's post was very timely and it seems to have taken off......since I too want to do some more decluttering.
I like the one-a-day principle too.
It's just a dish-brush, Ginny! with a rubbery kind of grip.
It will have to be something different than the ordinary daily garbage though, or else one item a day won't be enough! :)
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