Well, the last few months have not gone as planned. I am sure I am not the only one who gets derailed by life. I have found myself growing increasingly frustrated with the outcomes of daily living. So I have had a great idea, in my opinion.....
SIMPLIFY!
That's right, simplify. And, while this idea is by no means unique, it is not something I have made a real attempt to do until now.
I have decided that I want to spend the next 12 months simplifying my life. I want to clear away the clutter: materially, emotionally, socially and mentally. I want to streamline my life so I have the time and energy to work on the things I enjoy. I want to feel more control over my surroundings, who I spend my hours with and what I fill my life with.
My first frustration is with "stuff"! Why do we fill our lives with meaningless "stuff"? Sometimes I think shopping is almost a disease. We are bombarded daily with "deals" that will save us money. The "new" and "improved" is touted from every bill board. I thought myself more immune to advertising, especially since I got rid of my TV, but I guess, from the amount of "stuff' I own, that I am no better.
Last week my husband suggested that what we needed to buy "XYZ" for the summer and I couldn't help but point out the long list of "summer" things we already had that we had no time to use! Why did we "need" more stuff when we have no TIME to enjoy it. This is not a unique condition. More people work longer hours to pay for their recreation and recreation-related items then ever before! I have decided that my time, and having control of it, are worth more to me than stuff!
To kick off my "Simplicity" experiment, I will be spending the month of June getting rid of superfluous items in my home. Trust me, this is no easy task! While my house is small by most standards, a mere 750 square feet on the main level, it boasts a full basement (piled high with "stuff") and a 600 square feet "half" level (also piled high with stuff). This means there are 2100 square feet of "stuff" filling my home. This is a lot of space for only two people and yet we have filled it!!
I would like to claim that my space is well organized and everything has a place, but that would be a HUGE fib! There is so much "stuff" in the house that, at times, I can not find what I am looking for and buy new items to replace what I have misplaced!!
Lets take my closet, for example. My 5 foot closet (shared with my husband) is so full that I can not find the clothes I want. I have become so frustrated with this situation that I have quit putting away my clothes, piling them on the chair or trunk instead. This does not exactly make for a tidy, comfortable or romantic bedroom!!
My goal for the first 3 days of June is to sort through my closet and drawers. Studies show that women only wear about 20% of the cloths in their closet. I have no doubt that I fit into this category. To make matters worse, I find that I contract and expand in a cyclical fashion. This means my closet holds cloths in sizes 10, 12, 14, 16 & 18 to accommodate these changes. That makes for a lot of clutter and unworn clothing!!!
Here are my goals for the rest of this week:
1. Remove everything from my closet and drawers.
2. Hang the items I currently wear and items of my CURRENT size that I am not wearing back into my closet.
3. Sort these clothes according to whether they will be donated, stored or thrown away.
4. Bag and remove these items before I talk myself into putting them back into the closet!
5. Go through my closet again and remove and damaged, ill fitting or out of style items and sort as per #3.
6 Take a few minutes to evaluate items in my size that I have not been wearing and determine the reason. Are they ill fitting? The wrong color? Out of style? Or did I just not know they were in there? Remove any items I will not be wearing and add to the appropriate bags for removal.
When I am done, I should have a closet of clothes that I wear, that are in good repair and that fit well. I should be able to see at a glance what I own and be able to lay my hands on items when I need them!!
I expect this will free up more than closet space! I hope it will give me a little more piece of mind and allow me to dress quicker. No more time spent digging for that one item I wanted to wear!
Over the coming days and weeks I plan to overhaul my living room, kitchen, craft room, workout area, laundry room (I think there is a basket of mending there from 2005!), upstairs and storage room! Trust me, that it A LOT of "stuff" to go through, but it will be worth it!
So that is June's start to me "simplify" project.
I hope you will follow along with me as I try to "de-clutter" and simplify my material goods.
Rita - we should get together and have a closet cleaning day.... What I am doing that works for me now is, as I try something on and it just doesn't 'feel' right I put it into the bag that I keep in my closet and when the bag is full I take it away. Anything that doesn't fit, I don't like the color, I have nothing to wear with it, I haven't worn for the last year... out! I also hang my clothes backwards on the hangers and then as I wear them I put the frontwards. After 6 months, anything that is still hanging backwards - OUT! I fold my T shirts a different way, and then in 6 months if they are still folded that way - OUT! It's been a little hard to get rid of some things because I find I am keeping them more for emotional reasons than because I still wear them... but the extra space feels good. I now have less clothes than Norm!!!! Good luck!
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