Sunday, June 13, 2010

Clutter (or Declutter) the Little Way

The clutter is back. Oh wait. It never left. I tried; I really did. But when you get rid of a few things at a time, sometimes it's one step forward, one step back.

I used Freecycle to give away a crock pot carrier and an oversized duffel bag. I gave a pre-paid phone and a hoodie to a friend. I took my library books back to the library.

Then I cut coupons and checked sales, and over-stocked on groceries. I bought Peter's schoolbooks for next year. I brought home five books from the library.

All of that would be okay if I had ample "homes" for everything. But all of that replaced what I gave away...and what I gave away was already taking up a little bit of "extra" space.

You might be shaking your head at me as a hopeless case...or you might relate. If you relate, then I have a word for both of us: No. We can't give up. What if I had given up a long time ago? What if I had not given things away and taken back the library books? I would have even less space, wouldn't I? (not to speak of a large library fine).

When we can declutter in a big way, it's so much better. But when we can only declutter in little ways, that's good too. And when I can only sit and read, I can get inspiration to keep it moving.

Here I would like to share with you some of what inspires me tonight:

Unclutter Tips These are great tips for deciding whether to keep an item or give it up.

Workspace of the Week: Classrooms are Workspaces, too.
Although I don't have little ones anymore, I love the baskets and the picture labels here...and the idea that our workspace might be a kitchen or a workbench, wherever it is that we work.

And the ultimate jump-start (and follow-through): 18 Five-Minute Decluttering Tips to Start Conquering Your Mess.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't really call you a packrat. And taking in new stuff that you need after getting rid of the old is NOT a bad thing. It's called recycling. You're right on track. As usual, I don't sign my name but you know who I am. MEM