This blog is evolving a little to account for my lifestyle and interests, as cooking is just one of many things I enjoy doing in my free time. Thanks to the rise of Pinterest and many other DIY blogs and sites, my interests in home deco and organization have also been piqued and sent into overdrive lately. I've been on a six month house cleanse, donating, selling, and repurposing about three quarters of the junk, clothes, and general mess that had been clogging every closet in my house and spilling into my idyllic appearance of clean. I have the very last round of craigslist and donation items set out in the spare bedroom now. My closets are organized and clean. Our attic space junk has been cut to about 20% of the original volume and I can now walk through front to back with zero risk of tripping over some random box of undisplayed art projects or college dorm room decor that had last seen the light of day 9 years ago.
Let me tell you... it is a WONDERFUL feeling to open a door and see everything right there in front of you, to know where everything is, and to be able to use everything that is left. My head feels clearer and I feel much more at peace with our home environment. I don't have obvious things facing me every day now like "I really need to go through that cabinet and reorganize it." There aren't any more broken or orphan phone chargers in the coat closet. I don't have clothes I haven't worn in 5 years or longer any more. That yellow gold jewelry that never suited my skin tone? It's gone too. In place of these random things is a mound of cash in our pocket, a closet that looks neater, drawers that are a little less stuffed, repurposed mason jars that actually do something other than sit empty taking up space in cabinets, and crafts that I've actually used to decorate our house instead of them sitting on a shelf somewhere upstairs for years on end.
I managed to develop a method of getting rid of stuff without the dreaded internal argument.
For example: Well... I did use that doily for Aunt Bertha's party 2 years ago... but will I use it again in the next five years?
Answer: Is the doily currently serving a purpose, or will it serve any purpose in the next six months? How many other doilies do you have? Is there a need to keep all of them especially if they aren't an heirloom or of sentimental value? NO. Repurpose, sell, or donate... or actually USE it. Don't let it sit unused on a shelf.
Those clothes that are either too big or too small or are certified relics yet still hang in your closet? Don't keep them. Donate or sell them. By the time you lose the weight they won't be in style any more anyway. They could be clothing somebody a lot less fortunate than you right now. Instead they are sitting in your closet unworn. Unless you're going to spend time mending, get rid of socks with holes, and clothes that are a little too well-worn as well.
Go through your medicine cabinets and pitch all the expired meds, vitamins, and bandaids that have lost their sticky. Trash those empty shampoo bottles in your shower. (Yes...I'm talking to you). That hairspray you haven't used in five years? Pitch it too.
Check the dates on your non-perishables in those kitchen cabinets too. I had muffin mix in my cabinet that was 4 years out of date. I found old pasta that I can't eat now since I'm gluten free... some of it was out of date too.
The biggest point is, getting rid of things is not an issue of sentimentality, it is an issue of use. Can or will you use it... and be as realistic as possible about those odds.
So step up... do what I did, be bold... and reclaim your house, sanity, and organize! In the future, I hope to share some of the organizational ideas I've picked up on lately as well as some of the recent home decor projects I've completed, so look for updates soon!
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