Release the Clutter and Bless the world with your leftovers

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Comment by Ellen on November 20, 2008 at 1:52pm

I had that big room attack last Saturday, and I am still trying to get over it! I found three big boxes at work; I was going to name them "crafts", "out of season clothes" and "blankets". and work for 20 minutes & take a 5 minute break to wrirte down the issues.

Nice plan. I started at the east end of my room. It is something like 10 feet wide and 20 feet long, with a ceiling that reflects the shape of the roof, sloping to about four feet on one side. Five years ago I moved in here with my single mother daughter, three years ago my siblings and I split up the contents of our parents' home, and I have never had much of a handle on this room.

A learning experience! For one thing I learned that it takes more than 20 minutes to do anything in that end of the room because you have to push on this pile with your leg in order to not get buried when you reach for something you recognise to put in that box and try hard not to fall while you are at it! I found piles of baking pans and electric cooking appliances that I will want when I move out on my own again.

I found out that there were mostly logistic problems in that end of the room. What I really need is somewhere to spread out, but it does not exist. What I had is a walkway that was about 2 1/2 to three feet wide and went from one end of the room to the other, What I have now is a path that goes 3/4 of the way through jthe room, dead ending by my bed. The closet (storage), my dresser, and the window that rattles at night when the wind blows is cut off by piles.

I worked myself to exhaustion & had only five hours to work on it anyhow. THat night I was glad I had found an air bed & blankets to sleep on the front room floor because my bed was piled with junk. The next day I cleared the bed.

Now I have a fairly well organized space about 4x6 feet, and a mirroring nightmare land about 4x6 feet at the other end of the room! It might be interesting to make room plans of the progress of this project, because next Saturday I am doing it again!

Comment by Robin Amy Bass on November 20, 2008 at 8:40am

I try to institute a rule...if I don't remember what's in the box, I throw it out! or at least label it! Now, sometimes I get it right, and other times, I can't believe the stuff I save!

Comment by Aeroney on November 19, 2008 at 6:02am

Well, after thinking about this clearing of the clutter for a couple of days I finaly made a positive move towards this.

We have a website here in australia called Freecycle where you can post items that you no longer need and where anyone that signs up on the site can post that they will take it. Its a fantastic idea.

So anyway, back on track, i just put through a wanted post, asking for under bed storage containers with lids. At the moment I have about 8-10 boxes of different sizes under there with all sorts of things that I dont even remember. I figured if I have somewhere to put stuff I may actualy clean stuff out.

I also have a closet full of boxes of trading cards (my husbands not my kids) and these I reakon would be better in large plastic containers.

So, I am feeling very happy with myself thinking about the nice neat rows of plastic containers which will only be essential stuff.

Comment by Aeroney on November 17, 2008 at 5:42am

Well, never never land got the best of me. I all but managed one basket, which i emptied onto a table and threw out bits of paper and shopping lists from weeks ago. Then I put it all back in the basket and back on the shelf where I found it.

Ive put post it notes on my never never land areas saying "no more crap please" and atleast then im not adding to them for now, hahahaha. Thats the best I could come with honestly.

But my mind clutter is atleast being pulled out of the dust pile and starting to face some serious head on issues.

Comment by Carolyn Campbell on November 14, 2008 at 1:53pm

I am laughing with sympathy and understanding after reading Ellen's post. Never never land baskets! You know Ellen you could market baskets of three like that!

I think everyone has never never land basket or drawer. I organise client's rooms/homes and invariably they always have a never never land basket(s), drawer(s) closet(s) or actual room that they just toss the mysterious "oh my gosh what is this? items into. lol. I get a kick from organising them, and clients are always so amazed at the difference. However lol, if you were to come into my home, you would find a variety of never never land baskets ! With the energy that I put out, I suppose I get tired and a bit overwhelmed in my own home. My mother and my youngest sister are coming up this weekend, and I am hoping to corral them into helping me get a bit more organised. I have a lower back problem that hampers me, and I guess I save all the good energy for clients ! lol. Oh dear, anyway, I hear you about choosing priorities, and procrastination! In fact, I was watching a video of Sandy last night (first time I had heard her) and she made reference to those of us rabbits that procrastinate! Unfortunately the link that she referred to on her site is no longer active, so I am going to write to her and ask if she wouldn't mind posting it for us never never land basket keepers! lol.

Anyway ... I love organising and it is a wonderful way to cleanse one's mind from chatter. It is much easier for me to organise clients' homes as I am not attached emotionally to anything! hahaha.

I'll keep you posted on what or if I managed to get anything accomplished this weekend with my mother and sister! and I'll let you know if I can get that link from Sandy! If any of you have it (sandygrason.com/groovy) would you be so kind as to post it?

oxox

Comment by Ellen on November 14, 2008 at 12:03pm

Wow, Aeroney, that takes courage.

Or perhaps you do not have little emotional land mines in the bottom of your individual never never lands.

Tomorrow is Saturday and I will have a few hours to myself. Seriously, I could just get up and walk away fropm the family in the evening for an hour or so and work on my room instead of reading, but I feel like I need the reading time, too. Is there a group here called the Queens of Procrastination or hasn't anyone gotten around to it?

What I was going to say is that perhaps I will take occasional one minute breaks to write the things I am avoiding down and at a set time stop and work on making sense out of that.

I am pretty sure that laziness is just an excuse to beat up on yourself instead of dealing with the initial approach avoidance issues.

Comment by Aeroney on November 14, 2008 at 9:39am

Clearing the clutter. I think this could also be a great way to sift through the stuff in our minds as well? lol, hmm, or maybe I am just avoiding doing the work to clear the space.

I have 5 to 6 little plactic containers, baskets and cubbies that I call never never land. They are were stuff goes when I find it lying around and cant figure were to put it or can be bothered walking it to where it should be. When i wake up, after my sleep in and my stretch, i am going to pull them all together and sift through them. And I also intend to never ever have a never never land again.

Then I am going to start journaling the things in my mind, write it all down to. Once my house is all done, I will be able to clear my mind easier rather than sitting there and thinking "wow, i realy need to vacume, or dust, or move that 5ft pile of papers, lol"

Never never land, here I come

Comment by firstlove on November 13, 2008 at 8:54pm

I joined this group sometime ago now and kept thinking about it and reading what others were doing in order to get their clutter sorted.
Still I just looked around me and didn’t know where to start; just the thought of having to go through stuff to decide what to keep and what to throw away was mental agony.
Hell, I was moving house in a few days and still that couldn’t motivate me, I was in awe of the members on here who were doing all their clean outs and feeling better.
Finally, my brother turned up and said, “Right let’s get in to it” and it was a breeze.
We got rid of so much “STUFF!” and it feels great sharing all that stuff with people who needed it and appreciated it.
I am now in my new house, move was as smooth as butter and have no clutter, only the things I need to make my home comfortable and the things I need for work, etc.
My partner is happier, he can now make his way through the house without it feeling like an obstacle course and I feel so much freer.
We can become too attached to our “Stuff” and it can weigh us down. Sometimes you just need someone to come along and give you that initial push.
Being free of clutter clears your mind aswell, being free from clutter gives you more presence in the room and being free of clutter makes you smile.

Even though you havn't noticed it, you have all inspired me
Blessings

Comment by Carolyn Campbell on November 13, 2008 at 1:15am

Some may find this ironic :) I own and operate a small business - property management which includes a myriad of home services - organization being one of them. However, because I give out so much energy I found that I am being left dry! So I am so happy to join this group and learn how others keep it together in their own homes, because if one of my clients saw my space lol ... oh dear! Though I will say that I do keep my office organised! Funny that :)
Hello to all !

Comment by Robin Amy Bass on November 12, 2008 at 8:31am

Sorry about below...that is the before shot...I'll have to post the after shots later... But I have been decluttering!

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