Thursday, January 21, 2010

Conquering the Clutter

(photo only from Clipart Guide; PEEP poster idea from Unclutterer)

There are rooms in my house that are calling to me, begging me to sort things into "save", "toss" and "donate" piles, or to put it in more updated terms, to recycle, reuse and reduce. It has to be done. So what did I do? I changed my blog back to 2 columns from the 3 I thought I wanted. But the 3 columns began to feel to cluttered, just as my house is feeling too cluttered. I am not big on clutter, but I have been putting it off. Perhaps it is because I have a little cabin fever, with the gray skies and the streets and sidewalks too slippery to go for the energetic walks that get me motivated.

Anyway, I thought that if I started with the blog change and then told you about my house telling me to get busy and unclutter the poor thing, perhaps this would make me accountable. Yes, I think it's working. I think there are 3 boxes in the basement that I could designate for this task. In fact, the basement would be a very good place to start, although perhaps TOO BIG of a task, so maybe a closet or 2. That's it - start small and then gain momentum...


The Little Engine That Could!



YES! I Think I can,
I Think I can...
I know I can,
I know I can!

That said, how do you go about uncluttering your home? I'd love to hear how you conquer the clutter in your home, and besides, misery loves company. I'll let you know how I do if you promise to let me know what you do with all of the stuff that collects!

Here's an article to get us started...and then I have to get off the computer and get to work! It is from Real Simple Magazine: Three Rules for an Uncluttered Life. The same author has an article on procrastination...hmmm...appropriately titled: Diagnosing and Treating Procrastination Fever. In fact, I found out that the author, Erin Doland, is Editor-in-Chief of Unclutterer! Oh my, this could be dangerous! Perhaps I will peruse the Unclutterer website for a little bit, since it is nearly lunchtime. and then, after lunch, I'll take on a closet, or two, or...

...To Be Continued...

P.S. A few helpful websites to help get started:

4 comments:

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Hi Laurie,

I Love, Love, Love the way your blog looks! Great Background too!

I am an organizer by personality. Living in a cluttered environment makes me feel uncomfortable. I tend to toss/giveaway too easily and sometimes regret it. My favorite saying is "a place for everything and everything in its place" totally annoys my youngest daughter but it really seems to make life easier for me.

Keeping up with it is a constant job and it still creeps up on me. The garage is where overflow goes. Seems I no sooner get it in order and it needs it again!

Maxine said...

Now you've made me ashamed, Laurie! I am LONG overdue, but I know I won't get to anything like that until who knows when. All I know is that I did a great job years ago when I read Emilie Barnes' book "Survival for Busy Women" where she suggested using three trash bags: "Throw Away," "Give Away," and "Put Away" and going to each area of clutter and putting everything in one of the three bags. I even followed her suggestion and used white cardboard boxes for storing things, with a 3x5 card system for the various items in the boxes. Those days are long gone and this house needs a major decluttering again, but alas, can't do it now. Thanks for those links, though. Maybe I'll file away a couple of them in my Favorites folder for the future.

Keep us posted on your progress!

Maxine said...

Oh, I forgot to say that I love the comfy look and feel of your blog.

Anne Lorys said...

Your blog looks great! I need to switch mine around, I'd love to be able to post larger photos like you've done.

I'm afraid I'll be no help whatsoever with helping you de-clutter, other than to stand on the sidelines cheering you on! ;-)

Anne