blog is a many splendored thing

I realize I haven’t updated you on my decluttering journey for a couple of weeks.  I’ve had a few lumps, bumps, bruises, and breaks along the way.  But I wanted to share some of the progress that my dear husband and I made a couple weeks ago, before the crash and burn I experienced when everything got dumped into my multipurpose room.     I still haven’t dug out from that but, I’ve accepted the idea that life happens, setbacks occur, and it’s likely going to get worse in here before it gets better.   But I’ve also decided that I need to celebrate every little success!   And, if I’m celebrating, you’re celebrating with me; so...  grab your party hat and read on!   On M onday and Tuesday, July 6 & 7, Ray and I methodically decluttered, downsized, donated, tossed, and then cleaned and organized our remaining kitchen tools, gadgets, and supplies.    We washed everything in the kitchen down, lined the shelves, and then put the items we  deci ded to keep into the few kitchen cabine

I'm still with you; but I'm really discouraged.   My dear husband and I embarked on a whole house declutter at the same time as I set out on my multi-purpose (MP) office/craft/sewing room declutter.   We agreed to spend one hour a day together decluttering "somewhere" in the apartment.   He would do the heavy lifting, I would do a quick sort and make the quick keep, toss, donate decisions; then, for the more complicated boxes, I would bring them into the MP room to work on papers and personal clutter until a decision was made.   This process usually meant six to eight more hours of work every day for me than for him; but I didn't mind.   I was able to clear some of the clutter in the shared areas of the apartment and make progress on clearing the clutter in the MP room.   I had even cleared enough flat space that I could craft or sew if I had the notion.   Last week we got the entryway closet cleared out and made significant progress getting things off to

I’ve had some time to myself this morning.   I’ve done some reading, watched a few YouTube videos, and looked at my “multipurpose” room with a critical eye.   It’s been restful, educational, and illuminating.   One of the things I noticed when I was looking around my room was the poster I shared today.   My mom gave me this poster at least 50 years ago; if you look at the picture closely you can tell that it’s yellowed and that I’ve taped the edges with clear shipping tape to keep it from tearing.   She knew, even when I was a child, that I had a clutter problem.     When I was young, mom would let it go just so far and then she would take control and do something about the clutter.   I can clearly remember, even taste, the anger (rage) of coming home to find that she had gone into my bedroom and thrown away my things.    As I got older she nagged, shamed, blamed, denied privileges, grounded me, and finally forced me to keep my bedroom door closed (which, in and of itself, was

Dear Husband, Ray, and I worked together for an hour and twenty minutes today.  We emptied 3 boxes that are now ready for future use; Ray took two large trash bags out to the dumpster .  We reviewed the contents of two boxes and repacked the items we wanted to keep for our upcoming move.   Today was our third session this week.  I am feeling more and more successful after each day’s accomplishments; but I think DH is running out of energy and enthusiasm for the project.  We’ve only worked together three days out of the five this week and he already told me he doesn’t want to work tomorrow.  That’s a little bit of a letdown for me.   I see 1,000 square feet of clutter that needs to be reviewed, evaluated, and in someway gotten rid of or organized into some less chaotic (less like a storage locker) atmosphere.  I see our one hour of working together daily as a means to getting the help I need to accomplishing that goal.  But I am meeting some resistance from him and I’m not sure why. 

Today I decided that I would keep an electronic journal of my decluttering journey.   I’m not sure that it’s fit for anyone to read except me; but I think it’s important for me to keep track of my progress so I have a record of my struggles and my success. My dear husband, Ray, hates clutter.   He is a “hider”.   He puts things in drawers and boxes and sometimes forgets where he puts them (sometimes he forgets that he ever touched an item).   I myself would rather have everything out in the open so that eventually my eye will fall upon what I need.   Alternatively, I like having things in labeled containers, drawers, or notebooks so I can find them quickly if/when needed (assuming I’ve taken the time to return them to their assigned spaces). Ray and I have talked, on and off, about setting a timer and working together to declutter our apartment for some time.   We agreed to do it; but we cherish this time together.   Ray doesn’t seem enthusiastic about the project because he believ

Letting Go and Letting God! Have you ever spent most of your life believing something, I mean firmly believing something, and then in an instant finding something that shook you to the core and made you question your perception of someone, something, or an entire lifetime?   I had that happen to me just this morning. I have been dragging “things” with me as we moved here and there and everywhere (including two cross country moves) for the last 40 years.   Yes, I’ve recently had to admit that am a hoarder.   I never met a piece of paper or a gadget that I didn’t love!    My dear husband and I have committed to decluttering and downsizing for at least 1 hour a day until we can rid ourselves of enough stuff to move across country AGAIN, without the burden of a semi-truck. I found my mother’s Bible in one of yesterday’s boxes.   I got my coffee this morning and sat down with mom’s Bible to look at her handwriting; my mother’s handwriting was, is, beautiful.   My dad gave her this lar