“Come in! Come in! Please ignore the mess.” Are you one of those who apologises for the state of their home when welcoming visitors? Why DO we do it to ourselves? Not just the apologising – after all, the visitor does not give a toss about clutter. They are there to visit you. No. I mean the whole obsession about “clutter”. I have been accused of being untidy. When she was very little and asked to tidy her room my cheeky young granddaughter replied, “No, I’m just like Grandma!” Years ago a friend of mine excused my “Untidiness” by stating that , “Your mind is on a higher plane.” Flattering as that was, I really am not basically “untidy”. I just forget to put things away. I prefer to live in an organised environment. And, of course, I just keep far too many “might-come-in-usefuls”.
What was my bedroom like when I was a teenager? It was TIDY! The clothes that I owned fitted into my wardrobe, my odds and ends occupied my dressing table drawers and my library books were on my bedside table.My Mother was incredibly well-organised. Looking back I have absolutely no idea how she managed to fit six of us plus her and Dad into a three bedroomed bungalow. She was always sewing. Her sewing-machine came out onto the table when she needed to use it, then it went back into a cupboard. We children were NOT allowed to leave anything “lying around” – especially on top of the sideboard and book cases.
It was during “Lockdown” that I realised how much space in my home is completely wasted because I cannot get into it. I don’t mean that it is anything like the houses on the TV programmes about hoarders but my “Craft Room” is a minefield. I have to negotiate my way past boxes of fabric, bags of yarn and heaps of magazines and patterns.It has taken me the past couple years to realise that i actually no longer want that bag of beautiful fluffy yard I bought twenty years ago to knit my granddaughter a sweater. That I am never going to use the wool “tops”: to make felt. That I no longer want or need the lengths of yardage I bought to make toddler dresses. That I never look at my collections of knitting and sewing patterns. I fact, I don’t ever look at my reference books. I consult “Google” instead.So-o-o! Am I brave enough to do a “Marie Kondo”?
I do know that the reason my Craft Room remains a mess is because I simply am unable to manage tidying it on my own. Every time I make a start I just get overwhelmed . . . Apart from anything else, the physical lifting and shifting of boxes is too much for me. I am getting better about the emotional attachment although my collection of family photographs is close to defeating me. I need a “Plan of Action”
- Recruit help.
- Set aside a whole day to clear everything downstairs.
- Set aside another day to return ONLY what I really, really want to keep.
- Set aside a third day to dispose of the collection left in my living room.
The hardest part;-
- Always return things to their proper place.
I have tackled target number one. I have found someone to help. Now I need to fix the start date.
In my heart I know that simplifying the amount of belongings that I hang on to will benefit me in so many ways. Not only will my home look tidy and welcoming, my mind will benefit from being de-cluttered and no longer having to stress about the mess.
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You’ve said it so now commit to it and on the way nag me to get on with it too. Four more boxes opened today but sadly so much is so precious it hasn’t reached the bin yet. It’s tough when so many memories are stirred. Keep up the good work Jane and ‘Good luck’. I look forward to seeing the results. BTW it was great having you find pathways round my house recently. Lovely to be together again after all we’ve been through. Enjoy your challenge.
four boxes! Well done! The challenge is on hold for the Platinum Jubilee weekend but next week it is “all systems go”.
I find that the hardest part is to get started. A wise person once told me that we don’t start because we are overwhelmed by the enormity. The reality is to start and realize that you don’t have to do it all at once. The moving it out and then only moving back what you want sounds good, but if I was you I would do smaller time frames. I emptied out my sewing room. I only worked on the amount that worked for me and my body each day. It may be done over a longer period of time but it will be more manageable. The one thing that I realized about downsizing of clothes is that I can leave some in AZ so I don’t have to carry so much back and forth. I will have my own room. Its about the size of our second guest bedroom not the main one, but does have closet space. I have a coat, fleece and a couple of other clothing items that I was going to give to Goodwill. They have hardly been warn so I am glad that I thought of taking them out there rather than giving them away.
Thanks for the tip. You are right. It is an enormous task.