52 Week challenge - Week 24

I love a good plan -what is even better is when a plan comes together……

I’ve been decluttering, still some way to go to get rid of all the clutter in my life but the SYL challenge this week is “What can I do from today to prevent clutter?”

Going, Going - Gone!

First things first I have to work out what is my clutter? Identifying clutter in my life and understanding the difference between useful items is the first step for me.

What is the clutter in my life? Ok I’ve said it before and no doubt I will say it again  and again – I don’t like housework. So why do I have so much clutter making more housework for myself. Simple isn’t it.  Get rid of the clutter reduce the housework.

With that in mind I started to think about clutter and what is my clutter?

The dictionary says that clutter is “A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble”. So I need to get rid of the confusion and put a bit of order in to my collection of stuff.

Another thing to remember is that what is my clutter may not be somebody else’s clutter and that my “ordered collection” of stuff could be seen to be clutter by others. No matter what I do or how I do it – it has to be for me and my family. Nobody else just us! My mum used to say “it’s only a weed if you think it is a weed”. This is how I will approach this challenge.

So looking at my home, really looking at my home I did a clutter audit – very similar to the home audit from a couple of weeks ago but focused on what I think is clutter.  I looked in cupboards and found all sorts of things I had forgotten about and some things I wish I could forget about. It was hard looking at things without emotion and this is how I approached this daunting task:

Room	What is it	When did I last use it	Will I use it again	Solution
Lounge	DVDs	All the time	Definitely	Find a better storage system
Front Room	Miniatures	Dust collectors	No	Memories Folder and Vinnies

It is tough to do and my list is quite long. It means changing many things and things my two fellas may not want to change. But it can be done and it will be done.

As I wandered around our home I found so much confusion and jumble that was filled with so many memories and emotions that it was difficult to remember why I was doing this:

Simplifying my life, less housework, remembering how hard it was to pack up my parents unit

 and Mum didn’t have a lot of clutter, getting rid of the confusion put a bit of order in to

 my collection of stuff.

Now that I know what my clutter is and have started decluttering how will I prevent clutter happening again?

Before I buy something this will be my new mantra “Need it badly love it madly or don’t buy it.”

Another area I need to concentrate on is to stop surrounding myself with emotional things. This will be my toughest challenge by far.  I love having reminders around me and I’ve kept many gifts not because of the item but because the person who gave it to me.  I have a strategy for this and I am working through it but it is really hard for me and it will take time (alot of time).  I know that I can do it but I also know I have to be kind to myself and take my time with it. I’ve started my Memories folder.

Why the memories folder?

Too many memories, too many things cluttering up my life.  I need to declutter but where to start, what do I do with all the memories?  I don’t want to loose things, I don’t want to get rid of things from my life forever.

So what do I do? Leave them all sitting around collecting dust, getting broken or do I pack them away and nobody gets to see them.  What to do, what to do!

I was thinking about how I could solve this small dilemma. I’ve decided to create a memories folder.

So how will this work – it’s like scrapbooking but with words and saved to the computer, maybe I will print it out and give it to my son but who knows……

I think I need to have some categories – everything needs some categories:

Gifts – things I’ve received, loved but no longer have a need for (Miniature’s)

Things I’ve made – things I’ve made but don’t want to keep anymore. (Ceramics, Handcrafts)

Family – Gifts from the family that I love because the family gave it to me but are just dust collectors

This will take time and whilst I have started it, it is a slow process but a good one for me. I will find the time and I will do it.

Keeping up with the Joneses – this isn’t so much of an issue for us but LOML does like gadgets and he does use them so not really an issue. Of course Merman does have all the modern gadgets too but it does make our lives simple.

DVDs we have 1500 (if not more) and this won’t change is what we like so yes it takes up space, so instead of not buying them let’s find a way of storing/displaying them better. Just in case you were wondering - yes they are all in alphabetical order and in a database.

Being brought up by parents that did it tough during WW2 – has a twofold effect. Hoarding everything that one day might come in handy and buying things because you can afford them.  Need to break the cycle. Need to pass on good habits to Merman.

If it is broke, throw it out and replace it don’t keep the broken one.

Limiting clutter gifts – Thanks Deb I really like this one.  It’s something we have been doing within the family for a while now – we only give gifts to the kids and for the teenage ones we give money. For the little ones we give clothes and a toy (after checking with the parents to see what they need). For close friends we go out for dinner or spend time together and no gifts.  I also like the idea of buying a lottery ticket pack.  The thought of giving somebody a chance to win big bucks makes me smile.

Finding my simple – I actually think I am doing this now. We live in a modest 3 bedroom home just right for us, we don’t get caught up in bigger is better.  I don’t do things because others do them I do them because I want to do them. So yes I have found my simple and I will continue living my simple life.

There is one thing that I have to remember:

If something makes my life simpler ~ it is not clutter!

Thanks Deb ( http://www.homelifesimplified.com.au/simplify-your-life-week-25-catch-up-week/) from today I have a plan to prevent clutter.

PS  A week on since I wrote this post and I've put my mantra to good use - working in the city I often go shopping during my lunch break.  I really enjoy looking at shops, often I'd just buy something because I liked the look of it but this week it was different I went looking but I didn't buy. There was nothing I needed badly or loved madly so I just didn't buy anything.