It seems to be taking a long time for me to get to the place I want to be. I somehow always end up finding more items I don't want/need. Is anyone at a point where they are completely satisfied with their uncluttering?
I also have this issue: With clothes I like to wear them out so that is taking some time. Items that can fetch a decent amount of money get sold. Toiletries get used up. While I have made a lot of progress, I still feel like it is taking so long to get to my goal!
I'm not thinking of it as a crash diet plan, but as a lifestyle change. I still have things I could work on - too many lotions, a wardrobe that could stand another sort, 4 boxes of knickknacks that are in storage. But I am very content with what I have done and where my clutter level is at right now. I've got systems in place to deal with incoming clutter, and routines to keep up with cleaning and tidying things back into their designated locations. I do feel like I've reached my goal of an uncluttered, organized space right now. So my new goal is to maintain it. Your tastes and needs change over time, so things that aren't clutter now will become clutter later, so the process is never going to be finished.
Perfection isn't my goal, though. Thank heavens!
I know I'm a long way from where I want to be, having lived in this house for 33 years! I also know that if I do a hurry up clean up of an area (except the kitchen) it quickly reverts to its previous state. My kitchen and living room and for the most part the bedroom (except my clothes) I've dealt with and they stay pretty well decluttered. Just don't come to my office or crafts room. :)
I'm still dealing with books and paper, but I have a new grasp on it and an accountability partner, and I am making great strides again!
hahahahahahahaHAA! Totally uncluttered ... um, no. I *do* feel I've made substantial progress this year, but there is no single area that is "complete" to the point of letting it rest. I am still picking and tweaking.
yes, i am pretty much done with the big stuff and feel as though i am in a maintenance mode.
i try to get rid of a thing a day still... it keeps me in a decluttering mindset.
it took me about a year to get here... with some breaks while i was away...and to be fair, i didn't start with a great volume of clutter and i don't have kids and i have been into voluntary simplicity for a long time.
my approach hasn't been particularly structured, disciplined or consistent.... but it has been persistent. i have chipped away at the clutter like water falling on a stone.
I am 95% where I want to be but there are some projects I haven't gotten around to yet. A box of slides I need to get in order and send off to be scanned to DVD's. Then I can toss the slides and boxes. That type thing and I'm waiting for cooler weather (South Carolina is hot!) to get the attic in better shape.
Nothing urgent but on my to do list.
I feel like I am three quarters of the way there... but the clothes and the music are the slowest process for me. I am in the process of getting rid of music I no longer listen to. It's just slow moving for me - but I guess, like many of you have mentioned, it's a lifestyle change and always a work in progress!
yes, almost...!
It helps that we have no children, and that we have done 4 major cross-country moves in the past 10 years. I've been working on voluntary simplicity for about 4 years, and I've always been very organized, so that helps too.
All the major things are in maintenance mode. Like bandicoot, I still try to let go of 1 thing a day and I follow the 1 in, 1 out rule too.
Yet somehow, there's always something! Lately it's been little things. I was packing for a performance in Las Vegas and realized I had makeup brushes I didn't use anymore. And I had just decluttered my entire bathroom including all my cosmetics only 2 months ago!
It's like that a lot for me... I get it to a really nice uncluttered state and then it's like I have room to really *see* what I have, so then I realize that I don't need as much as I thought, or that I have extras. Or, I examine my relationship to something and realize my attachment to it is not as great as I thought.
I think de-cluttering will always be a part of my life, no matter how simplified I become. :)
It's taken 2 years of steady uncluttering to get where I am now. I've even managed to sort my photos. Thankfully my husband isn't a hoarder, and I'm teaching the children that having lots of stuff isn't cool (that's an ongoing process!) Like bandicoot and trish, I'm really in maintenance mode now, after getting rid of quite a substantial bit of furniture this year. That's why this thread is so good: keeps me on my toes :-) However, I do have a stack of photos on CD that I still have to upload, but I know there will always be little projects to deal with.
Thanks, Themusiclives, for starting this thread. I know I'll return to it more than once when I feel as if I'm taking one step forward and two backward. I appreciate everyone's frankness.
Regular routines have been a breakthrough for me--finally, an end to the "I really should, but don't wanna today" procrastination.
It felt very good today, re-entering my classroom for a new school year, to know where to start: dumping the contents of my desk drawers on the floor to re-organize by priority/frequency of use.
I thought we (me and OH) were, well except for his desk. Before our last move, we were pretty ruthless about getting rid of stuff and pared everything down. It's now one year on and I decided to go through everything again (except his desk) and re-assess what we hadn't actually used or needed in the past year. And yes, we still found things to dispose off.
Decluttering never ends; IMO, it is an on-going process. The difference is that at the beginning, many years ago, it seemed to be a monumental mountain to climb. Now, it's a pleasant stroll on a very shallow slope.
Zen friend - You're welcome! I am sure I will be referring to it as well again :o) It's just so strange to me how after doing a major "uncluttering", and not shopping, I can still find things that need to leave my house.
I just want to be at a point where I actually really "need" something. (New clothes, etc.) I can't justify bringing new items into my home when the old ones are still in great shape (and in an overabundance!)
I was about 90% "there", but am stuck right now and have back-slid somewhat. My reading basket is full, I keep bookmarking more projects, and my former junk drawer is starting to collect things again. My son moved back in July bringing his own personal chaos back. I love him dearly and am glad to have this time with him, but eesh.
I've been thinking about doing 5 weeks of FlyLady. That always seems to jump start things for me.
Hee hee hee ha ha ha *wipes tears of laughter away* Um no :o)
Seriously though, I think I am doing so much better than four years ago, but only since reading this forum regularly it dawned on me that I can probably never be "done". So, I'm happy that I actually know what I own and where it is now, but I'm also happy aiming for being 70% uncluttered. And the 30% are either the stuff on my to do list, or simply the part of the home (or the self?) that got decluttered the longest time ago and need an overhaul ;o)
I feel like its something that will never be totally "done". I get to a point where I feel like I am happy and then a few weeks or a month goes by and I start feeling crowded again. I start to feel like we need to organize things. When I feel like something is to much work to keep organized all the time then I feel like I have to much and need to get rid of more.
i just got "my area" of the apartment to where I pretty happy with it, but I know there are still plenty of things I need to do.
I still have photos to organize, books to get rid of(either after reading or just get rid of them). I still have a large tote of books under the bed. I have more space on my bookshelf now, but eventually I would like them all to fit on there comfortably.
I am leaving things as they are for the most part right now b/c I have classes and don't want to be worried about that and my schoolwork.
I think I've been working on this for like three years though. But I've always felt like i had to much stuff, hated to "pack things away for later" but was always encouraged to do so by my mom. I reached a point where I realized I could live my life anyway I wanted to and if people didn't like it, it was their problem.
I think that was always my problem in previous attempts at decluttering: I'd spend weeks doing huge blitzes of every room in the house, feel exhausted and then think 'well, that's done now' and admire my work. And then little by little things would creep into the wrong places and I'd be too tired or bored or stressed to put them back, or the kids would trash a room as soon as it got tidied and I'd think: 'I give up, it's hopeless'. And then within a few weeks, things would look as bad as before, so demoralising. Now, my kids have got past that awful toddler stage where they have millions of toys everywhere and you get Lego in every crevice, so I figure there's no excuse. And the thing a day is making me more aware of what belongs where, I'm thinking about homes for everything, I've chucked out stuff more slowly and it doesn't seem like such a Herculean task. But it will never be 'done'! My kids will grow up, we'll get new hobbies, we'll have new stuff in the door, old stuff can go out, it's constant. I just want a low level of baseline chaos in the house, along with a few rooms kept neat and tidy almost all the time (kitchen, my bedroom). I don't want perfection, just a house uncluttered enough to be comfortable and homey and to reflect my interests and my tastes. I also don't want 'today is Wednesday so I have to do the hoovering and scrub the shower', which was another thing I was struggling with: could I keep the house reasonable whilst also not feeling like a slave to a routine? And the answer is actually yes if I break it into little chunks and do little and often. Well, it is so far at least, will have to see how it lasts :) My house may not be fully uncluttered (probably never will) but I have a freshly-formed uncluttering attitude!
On the whole- I'm pretty well de-cluttered and have been for some time. But, as my life will forever be a work in progress, there will always be something changing, something to de-clutter. Very much like my gardens.
been purging excess items for several years and don't ever feel "done". have noticed even if items are not removed, rearranging into a more easily seen/more organized (hubby has eye problems) arrangement is an improvement.
since things are more organized i can concentrate on improving storage. recently bought two bamboo shoe racks (GREEN!) at a great price, and in the process removed two metal racks that were meant for shoes w/heels (so shoes kept sliding down) and two metal racks that had been removed from the laundry room (didn't want to toss them because they matched the shoe sliding down racks-bad reasoning). should have donated them then. in the process of cleaning and placing the bamboo racks was able to donate four more pair of shoes. the closet looks great.
isn't that the place where atad comes into play. we don't get discouraged because always removing at least a thing a day. i tend to be ocd at times and have found the trend to be satisfied with an item each day to be satisfying and calming because i look back at all that has been purged and do not stress about the work to be done because i always have tomorrow.
love this forum, keeps me so inspired and UP!
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