Reverb 5. I did it!
Posted: December 5, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized 6 Comments »Dear Kittens,
Yay! I’m caught up! Today’s Reverb prompt is: What is the one thing you finally did this year that you always wanted or said you were going to do, but in your heart of hearts never thought you would actually do?
I made serious progress on getting my house (and life) organized! This deserves an exclaimation mark because I’ve been dealing with chronic issues of disorganization, procrastination and general messiness my entire life.
I’ve always believed that my things have energy and I’ve known for some time that I had too much stuff and that stuff was bringing me down. I started by going through my clothes. And then I did that again. And then I did it some more. In the end, I came to the realization that in order to truly pare down, I had to get rid of stuff that fit and flattered me, but was repeats of things I already had. I will admit to you that it was difficult to do that and I am still holding on to too many cardigans. My new rule for clothes and shoes and accessories is one thing in, one thing out. If I get something new, something old goes. I have a certain amount of storage and in order to keep myself neat and organized, everything has to fit easily!
Once I got my clothes (mostly) under control, I decided that I should get rid of every item in the house that I didn’t love. I have a large built-in cabinet in the living room that is mostly used as a bookcase, but has a fair number of display items in it, too. I went through every single thing and asked myself the simple question, “do I love this?” If I loved it, but did’t know what to do with it, I kept it. If I didn’t love it, it went right to donation. I don’t know how many boxes of stuff I ended up giving away, but it was a lot. I have a lot of stuff! I’m not completely finished with this project, but I’m making serious progress.
I’ve written a fair amount already about how transformative this project has been for me. Getting rid of a lot of things, creating systems in the house so things work like they’re supposed to, it’s changing me. I think I will always procrastinate and always be messy, but I’m making it much easier to get things done in a timely manner and keep things neat and organized and that feels really huge. Not to mention that this has been a really good exercise in focus. There’s been this temptation to beat myself up for letting my posessions get out of hand, but I haven’t allowed myself to dwell there. That’s not productive. Instead I am keeping my focus on right here and right now. Also, by moving slowly, I’m allowing myself to really enjoy each space as it’s newly organized and that’s serving as a wonderful reward for my work.
This has been an awesome experience.
Love,
Catie
Yay!! I loved all these updates.
I’m glad! It was a lot of writing today. But these prompts have been good because I feel like I’m writing about real things again.
Wow, that’s a huge undertaking. We moved this year and we didn’t take advantage of getting rid of enough stuff despite several trips to the donation center and the recycling center. I think we are going to have to take a one thing in – two things out methodology, at least for the short term. Congrats on the organization.
Also, was impressed by how much you love adulthood. Makes me realize maybe I’m doing something right.
Thanks.
I’ve never done a good job of getting rid of enough stuff whenever we’ve moved. I think it’s because moving is so hard, it’s too much to take on a serious purge project AND a move.
When people talk about a “care free childhood” I know they have completely forgetten what it’s like to be a kid. You have zero power over your life, that’s not an awesome feeling. You’re at the whim of your parents, who are just muddling through the best they can. I like kids and I even liked being a kid, but I also think it’s something one must get through to get to the REALLY good stuff!
Oh, you are making me feel… wistful. This is one of my greatest wishes; a clean, well-organized house. Unfortunately, I think the first thing I’d have to set out on the curb are the five kids. Dang. I’ll have to wait until they move, I guess.
I have been working on a very similar project – basically just trying to simplify our lives. We have lived in our house over six years now, and we have collected a TON of stuff. Over the weekend, I managed to fill almost four boxes of STUFF that we are going to get rid of – and that was just over two days! This summer I cleaned out my closet, and it has been so nice to go in and be able to find outfits so much easier because it is organized and I don’t have so much that I can’t tell what I have.
So congrats on your organizing, and good luck with continuing on! And let me know if you find any great organization resources – my new fave is this blog: http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/ – which has a whole organizing section with a 31 days to an organized home series. Love it!