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<blockquote data-quote="Elsi" data-source="post: 744812" data-attributes="member: 23349"><p>A thousand times this. </p><p></p><p>I’ll second the Flylady recommendation. Her style is a bit on the hoaky side for me, but her method works great. I’m not a dedicated follower, but some key takeaways have stayed with me:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Done try to do everything at once - take baby steps and be kind to yourself. The focus is on improvement, not perfection. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tackle one area of the house at a time. She divides the house into four (or five?) ‘zones’ and you focus on one zone each week, so over the course of the month each area of the house gets a deep clean and decluttering. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">While in each zone, try to de clutter one thing each day. A drawer. A closet, or a couple shelves on a closet. A dresser. Don’t try to do everything at once, or you’ll get overwhelmed - just pick your one project and stop there. If you don’t get to everything in the zone decluttered in a week, don’t worry - you’ll be back next month. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Establish morning and evening routines that help you maintain cleanliness once you establish it. Like make your bed and wipe down bathroom counters while you get ready in the morning, and make sure dishes are done and shine your sink before going to bed. I consider these small chores a gift to my future self - my evening self appreciates a well-made and inviting bed to fall into, and my morning self appreciates starting the day with a clean kitchen. </li> </ul><p>Decluttering is really the most important key, though. It’s amazing how fast stuff accumulates. I re-booted my life 11 years ago with 2 suitcases and 3 trash bags full of stuff i fled the house with. When E and I finally moved out of the shelter and into a place of our own, that’s all we had to start with. Everything else came from good will, family donations, and gradual purchases as we needed things. And you know what? It was actually very freeing to walk away with nothing but what I could fit in the trunk of my car. It makes you realize just how little you actually NEED when it comes down to it. I kind of miss that sense of freedom now that I have re-accumulated my own stuff, inherited other stuff, and combined houses with someone who had a house full of stuff of her own. We are restarting the decluttering process again!</p><p></p><p>It was also eye opening to go though the sorting and packing of my grandparents’ house after they died. Like most who lived through the Great Depression, they saved EVERYTHING in case it was needed later. Bins full of buttons, nails, washers, screws, thread spools, fabric scraps, and on and on and on. A closet full of cleaned out margerine tubs and cool whip containers to use for leftovers - when was she ever going to need 100 leftover containers? And then the collections - tea cups, powder dishes, salt and pepper shakers, you name it she collected it. All of it went to auction for $10 per lot (about 20 items in a lot). No one in the family had room to store all this stuff. We all took a couple favorite things from the house and then the rest went to auction, good will or trash. It was a monumental task. And I promised myself I would NEVER leave my children or grandchildren with a task of that magnitude. If it’s likely to just get thrown out when I’m dead, why not throw it out now? </p><p></p><p>I believe in being ruthless when it comes to decluttering. Dont keep things because you ‘should’ (e.g., someone else might want this someday, aunt Gilda gave it to me and would be upset, someday I’ll fit into this again...). If it is not being useful or bringing you joy RIGHT NOW let it go. I can’t think of anything I’ve let go I truly regret not having.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Elsi, post: 744812, member: 23349"] A thousand times this. I’ll second the Flylady recommendation. Her style is a bit on the hoaky side for me, but her method works great. I’m not a dedicated follower, but some key takeaways have stayed with me: [LIST] [*]Done try to do everything at once - take baby steps and be kind to yourself. The focus is on improvement, not perfection. [*]Tackle one area of the house at a time. She divides the house into four (or five?) ‘zones’ and you focus on one zone each week, so over the course of the month each area of the house gets a deep clean and decluttering. [*]While in each zone, try to de clutter one thing each day. A drawer. A closet, or a couple shelves on a closet. A dresser. Don’t try to do everything at once, or you’ll get overwhelmed - just pick your one project and stop there. If you don’t get to everything in the zone decluttered in a week, don’t worry - you’ll be back next month. [*]Establish morning and evening routines that help you maintain cleanliness once you establish it. Like make your bed and wipe down bathroom counters while you get ready in the morning, and make sure dishes are done and shine your sink before going to bed. I consider these small chores a gift to my future self - my evening self appreciates a well-made and inviting bed to fall into, and my morning self appreciates starting the day with a clean kitchen. [/LIST] Decluttering is really the most important key, though. It’s amazing how fast stuff accumulates. I re-booted my life 11 years ago with 2 suitcases and 3 trash bags full of stuff i fled the house with. When E and I finally moved out of the shelter and into a place of our own, that’s all we had to start with. Everything else came from good will, family donations, and gradual purchases as we needed things. And you know what? It was actually very freeing to walk away with nothing but what I could fit in the trunk of my car. It makes you realize just how little you actually NEED when it comes down to it. I kind of miss that sense of freedom now that I have re-accumulated my own stuff, inherited other stuff, and combined houses with someone who had a house full of stuff of her own. We are restarting the decluttering process again! It was also eye opening to go though the sorting and packing of my grandparents’ house after they died. Like most who lived through the Great Depression, they saved EVERYTHING in case it was needed later. Bins full of buttons, nails, washers, screws, thread spools, fabric scraps, and on and on and on. A closet full of cleaned out margerine tubs and cool whip containers to use for leftovers - when was she ever going to need 100 leftover containers? And then the collections - tea cups, powder dishes, salt and pepper shakers, you name it she collected it. All of it went to auction for $10 per lot (about 20 items in a lot). No one in the family had room to store all this stuff. We all took a couple favorite things from the house and then the rest went to auction, good will or trash. It was a monumental task. And I promised myself I would NEVER leave my children or grandchildren with a task of that magnitude. If it’s likely to just get thrown out when I’m dead, why not throw it out now? I believe in being ruthless when it comes to decluttering. Dont keep things because you ‘should’ (e.g., someone else might want this someday, aunt Gilda gave it to me and would be upset, someday I’ll fit into this again...). If it is not being useful or bringing you joy RIGHT NOW let it go. I can’t think of anything I’ve let go I truly regret not having. [/QUOTE]
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