I did get one small area(under kitchen sink) done yesterday. But as I sit here over my morning coffee, my mental list of "where to start" seems like never ending. So, instead of putting all my newly found information and tips to work....here I am wondering is this common to just not know where to begin? I don't consider myself lazy, I work over 80 hours a week in my home(childcare and sewing) today and tomorrow (Sat/Sun)is actually clear schedule...I should be able to make some progress here...and yet.....here I am. To make matters worse, my first new topic, on such a great site, and I know I am coming across as the whiny newbie.
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Posted 11 months ago #
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No, not whiny, don't worry! It's normal to be overwhelmed I think. Well done for starting and doing under your sink - just pick another small area, maybe also in the kitchen, and go for it. Maybe using a timer method would help. You can do just 15 minutes, right?
Posted 11 months ago # -
It is overwhelming when you are trying to make a change in your life and everybody has days when things get on top of us. Good on you for clearing out under the sink. Don't worry about LISTS of "where to start". Just start ONE of them today. Then maybe finish it today or tomorrow or even the next day, but keep at that one area until it is done. Then choose another. When you are working on the chosen task, you should give yourself permission to ignore the other jobs until it is their turn.
Good luck and keep going.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Yes, I like the timer method, and the kitchen is actually the room that needs the most attention. Should I start with areas that are visable(like countertops)or should I start with cabinet/drawer areas, non-visable areas 1st to make more organized room there? That seems to be my problem-if I start pulling out and going thru the less visable areas then I make more of a mess, but if I just start on the areas that you see---will I ever want to actually get into the "behind closed door places"?
Posted 11 months ago # -
Thanks to both of you. I am just going to grab my supplies and my timer and dive in there. I'll come back later and let ya know how that worked out. I am determined to make some progress today.
Posted 11 months ago # -
It will seem for a long while as is nothing is happening, but one day you will hit your turning point and realize you are leaving the ranks of the perpetually cluttered. My first milestone took a few weeks - I looked around and my apartment walls were no longer lined with boxes from old moves. The second took a lot longer - almost a year, including another move - but one day after a 3-hour cleaning marathon I was able to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in a totally clean office. Yes, I took a picture!
You don't need to get overwhelmed - just take it slowly and don't expect an immediate change. After all, your house didn't get the way it is because you came home one day and decided to trash the joint, right? It's only natural that a single giant cleaning spree won't undo the clutter.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Way to go with the sink! This isn't whiney at all -- it's a good question. There is no right or wrong way to go about decluttering. As with most things, the best method is one that works for you and that you can keep up with.
I've found the A Thing a Day (ATAD) thread very helpful for me. Commit to getting rid of a thing a day, do it, then tell us all about it. One thing often leads to another, but the commitment is just one thing.
When you are just starting -- and it sounds like you have a day you can devote to this -- it can be useful to make a sweep through the house. Get some trash bags and go through and trash the trash. You might want to start another bag or bin at the same time for things to give away. Don't worry at this point about actually finishing any area -- just go through the whole house once.
If your the kind of person who likes to write things down you might want to start a list, or at least make a mental note:
(1) Do you have some places to give things away? If you're not sure, do some research and figure out convenient places to donate. I live fairly close to a Goodwill dropoff point and there is a Salvation Army store on the way to work. A children's home has a curbside clothing drop off point near my MIL's. Rainbow House, ARC and Purple Heart will come to my house and pick up. A couple of years ago Furniture for a Cause picked up our old dining room set -- the money from sales go to the battered women's shelter. With Freecycles, I can advertise free stuff through an e-mail list and the "winner" can stop by my house and pick things up. Our library has a bin where you can drop off magazines for pickup -- some people drop theirs off at a nursing home or dr.'s waiting room.
(2) You might also look into places to unload your trash and recycling. We have curbside pickup of both, but not everyone does. Once a year my city picks up "big trash" at the curb and knowing when that day is is a big incentive for me to cull out the big stuff. We have a city a drop off point for hazardous waste (old paint and chemicals) and electronic waste.
(3) Make a note of your problem areas. You don't need to "fix" them right away, but let the ideas percolate in the back of your mind. Don't be hesitant to do things in stages. For example, we had photographs scattered all over the house. Phase 1: get them all into a box in one place. Phase 2: go through them all and cull out the duds and dispose of them. phase 3: figure out what to do with them. An album? Scan them? Phase 4: carry out the plan. This might take a year -- but just gathering them up in a big box helped cut the clutter. For many people, there is no place for the family to drop things when they enter the house -- keys, school backpacks, etc. Is there a place you could set up a "landing pad?" What do you do with the mail when it comes in? Can you mull over a system for handling this?
Keep going through the house. Collect trash and giveawy items. Put things away where they belong (a place for everything and everything in its place, or "PEEP.") If something doesn't have a place, put it on your mental list to FIND a place.
This is what I've done. You might find it more productive and encouraging to concentrate on one room and work on that until it's the way you like it.
The important thing is to just start. One thing will lead to another. For a while our house didn't look much different. Then, all of a sudden, it did -- all the little things added up to a big change.
Best of luck to you!
Posted 11 months ago # -
You don't sound whiny, maybe just a big overwhelmed because you are thinking about everything. Like Charity said, just pick a small area: a drawer, a shelf, a cupboard. What works best for me is to pick the one spot that's bothering me the most. You don't have to do the whole thing, and do not strive for perfection, you just get the obvious stuff out. Neaten it but don't get hung up on this. I could easily turn a 15 minute decluttering session into a project that lasts for days if I let myself. Don't do it -- you'll burn out too fast. Then I go on to another area, usually in another room, that is bothering me and do the same: get all the obvious stuff out and neaten it somewhat. Then go on to the next, etc. You will begin to see progress in every room. I found that very motivating, but some people need to finish a room before going on to another.
What I mean by getting stuff out is: toss the trash, get rid of anything that is past it's expiration date (if that applies), bag or box anything that you are taking to charity, and have a basket for those things you find that should be in another room. Before you finish for the day, deliver those things to the appropriate places. Don't be alarmed if you start to make more of a mess in the beginning; this will improve once you clear some space and can put things away properly. When you revisit a space, you're likely to find more to get rid of. I don't know exactly why we can't get all the clutter out right away, but a lot of us can't. That's why I don't recommend working on an area expecting it to be perfectly decluttered. I also think that decluttering should somewhat fun, which is another reason to avoid trying to achieve perfection.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Good for you walkermom, start where you want to start. Don't over-think it, just jump in.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I try different approaches to protect myself from becoming overwhelmed.
You might try alternating between an area of hidden clutter (drawers, closets, cupboards) and an area of highly visible clutter (the kitchen counter, sink, dining room table). Just pick one of each... one finite drawer, plus one visible area where the clutter seems infinite. LOL
Then alternate your methods... do the entire drawer (just like you did the entire under-sink area). Be sure to spend a moment admiring the results! Then, for the infinitely cluttered area, set a timer... 15 minutes is usually good. Sometimes I'll go for half an hour or a full hour, but I break it into 15-minute segments, with a little reward in between like reading a couple of posts on this forum. Though I have to be careful not to let the breaks go longer than the decluttering periods! But really, any effort is good, no matter how small it may seem. The accumulated efforts soon add up to sweet results.
So don't worry too much about where to start. Just start where you are.
Posted 11 months ago # -
The only thing that's important is to do SOME part. Doesn't really matter which one, as long as you don't get stuck doing the same one over and over and over.
When i'm stuck, I start with either the perimeter of the room, at the door, going clockwise (that's from the Messies Manual) or else start with surfaces - one table/counter/shelf top at a time. But if you keep doing it a little bit at a time, it really doesn't matter where you started, because you'll get to all of it.
Posted 11 months ago # -
i agree with the others.
it doesn't really matter where you start....just so long as you make a start!
start where you feel comfortable and do not panic about the big picture.
decluttering doesn't have to get done in a perfect manner....there is no perfect way to do it anyway.
just start chipping away at it...you will see results soon enough!while it is nice to completely delutter an area in one fell swoop, life doesn't always happen like that.
it is perfectly acceptable to declutter a drawer....then to revisit that drawer six months later and declutter it some more.
this is a process....over time your needs and preferences change.be kind to yourself.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I just try to take things out of the house, and not bring things into it.
others have talked about this above, where they say to start by walking around gathering the trash and then taking the bag out to the dumpster. Then walk around gathering whatever can be recycled and taking it to the recycling. then gather all the stuff you want to donate, and then take it to the donation place. The key for me is to carry it out and finish the task. instead of getting stuck with piles of things in the house that are ready to go somewhere, just take them out right away. it makes a person feel better.
and then don't go shopping to escape your house! :D
Posted 11 months ago # -
I have been decluttering for years and I'm still finding things that I don't need after all. As everyone else has said: don't feel you have to do it all at once. I don't think anyone ever has.
Posted 11 months ago # -
No, wait, some people have practiced extreme uncluttering: refugees who have to leave everything behind, and people joining religious orders, who give up all worldly possessions.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Recap of a beginners weekend of de-cluttering/deep cleaning adventure.
I have always considered de-cluttering as more physical but cannot believe that it is actually more of a mental thing for me. After lots of reading, and watching several videos -tackling an entire room to start off with was not really recommended but I did have a rare entire day to devote to this, and was really hoping to get a big jump into getting this process started. I am so happy with all that I got done but thought I would recap my day on how it went. My past attempts always failed, I would mess up 2 rooms trying to clean 1, or would spent way too much time just moving/relocating piles or boxes of stuff.
The plan(kitchen)- as part of getting ready I washed and put away the dishes, took out the trash, used my table as the work area, large donation bag next to the table, short box that was bigger than my drawers(to dump and sort) fresh liner in the trash can, set my timer for 15 mins. I started to the right, went from high to low-one drawer, one cabinet, one counter space at a time.
My 1st problem- 15 mins was too long for me, found myself checking the timer, looking at the next area, staring at the items on the table, out the window-seeing the neighbors dog coming over looking for a place to poo in my yard--you get where I am going with this...it wasn't working. Solution shut the blinds, start over. I then set the timer to 5min and broke down each drawer/cabinet/counter into three steps. (1)empty area/spray cleaner(2)deal with all it's contents on the table, finish cleaning the drawer/cabinet(3) put the items needed things back in and clean the outside of the drawer/cabinet/counter. By not jumping from space to space and sticking with just working around the room I didn't skip over some of the worse areas.
Things I found, wish I hadn't, but now can deal with them.
I need to replace the sprayer on the sink-I thought it was just unscrewed, but it is broken. Mouse droppings(UGH) in back one of the cabinets-I do live on a farm-not sure if this is a new critter or one from the past. Ants-usually I see these around the sink, but these were on the corner counter-cleaned and sprayed that area.
What I got rid of: 4 large trash bags, 4 large donation bags-dropped those off last night, and I only have one shoebox of items that needs to put into the other areas of the house.
What's in the game plan for today(Sun) I still have cork board and a microwave cart that I didn't get too-plus the general cleaning of the floor. But today I plan on picking up the rest of the house and doing laundry(my usual daily work). Monday I hope to actually start my 15 daily routine and work toward getting the kitchen completed. To me, this weekend was a super great success.[very happy]Posted 11 months ago # -
Wow! I'm really impressed (and jealous) - wish I could accomplish that much! You really figured out what works for you and kicked butt!
Posted 11 months ago # -
you are off to a romping start!
i bet it feels great!Posted 11 months ago # -
Don't be jealous sdevjkt, I still have 10 rooms, 2 small bathrooms, and a laundry room-that are ALL in need of help. We have lived here for over 20+ years(lots of stuff) It does feel great, hoping it's not just beginners luck to have gotten so much done in one day. Don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed that I owned 18 cookie sheets yesterday-trashed 10, donated 4, kept 4. Or the fact that I had 6 bottles of cinnamon, geez..the things you find out about yourself.
Posted 11 months ago # -
about the cinnamon and cookie sheets....this is what just happens when we have disposable income and live in a disposable consumer culture.
but once we wake up to it, it changes everything.
you are right....the main work is mental work.
once you have really had the realisations and really examined your stuff...you won't go back.Posted 11 months ago #
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