Decluttering Journey

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 believes most of the accumulation is mine; he is probably right.  He is wary of throwing anything away that has my name on it; we’ve had a few arguments over him doing that. 

I’ve had frequent good starts at decluttering; but then I get overwhelmed, or sad, or frightened, or bored and stop the process.  Then the clutter takes over again.

Today was mostly a good day.  We set the timer for an hour and sorted through 9 boxes. We completely emptied six of them and now they are empty and ready for some new adventure.  We threw away three fairly large trash bags and one copy paper box of “stuff”. I thought the boxed items were for bound for donation; but Ray threw them away. I don't know how I'm feeling about that. I sort differently if I know it's something that's obviously trash versus something that someone somewhere might potentially use.

There are three boxes of papers, photos, and memorabilia that I have to go through on my own.  That’s probably another five to eight hours of work for me.  I don’t mind doing that on my own; it gives me time to process the emotions that I’ve been stuffing for years and hopefully that will help me move on.

I have been watching a wonderful woman on YouTube.  She is called “The Clutter Fairy” from Houston, Texas.  She talks about decluttering solutions and the emotional baggage that accompanies clutter; some of what she says hits home for me and helps me gain some perspective on why it is so hard for some of us to let go of “things”.

Well, I think that’s probably enough for today.  I want to tackle some of this clutter before all my energy is gone.

Thank you, God, for a great day!  Thanks for the energy to get some of those boxes emptied out and for the motivation to do a little more before the day is done.

Talk to You Soon,

 

MarySmiles!