uncluttering....it is contagious!

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uncluttering....it is contagious!

(13 posts) (8 voices)

Started 1 year ago by bandicoot
Latest reply from calzephyr
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bandicoot
Member

my heart almost stopped a few minutes ago.
i idly looked out the kitchen window over towards the workshop....it's about thirty/forty metres away....to see what my husband was so busy doing in the drizzling rain.

and he is cleaning up the workshop entrance!

this area has a big deep verandah roof over it, and is in the lee of the building, so tended to collect gardening/mechanical /handyman debris like you would NOT believe.
you need a certain amount of stuff to create and maintain a 5 acre property, lawnmowers and tools and things like huge bags of horse poo and gravel and dirt and weed matting and and and.
this stuff is absolutely not my domain and over a few years it has grown into a huge knotted ball of greasy dirty dusty rodent-chewed rubbish that made me slightly depressed every time i waded through it into my lovely workshop. which is several times a day.
i would have done it myself, but i honestly don't even know what half the stuff is or how useful/valuable it is.

i have been lightly nagging/begging about it for a while. just mentioning it now and then.
well holy moly, something has made him see the light and the difference ALREADY from all this distance is palpable.
he came over for coffee and i said, soooooo, what's going on over there?
he said, well i am tossing all the junk, and donating stuff i haven't used in 12 months, and sorting out, and cleaning the rest of it.
he HAS been paying attention!
we high fived each other, i kissed him, and sent him back out there to finish it.

i cannot tell you what a huge difference it will make to my psyche, just this one thing.

Posted 1 year ago #
luxcat
Member

Wow that's wonderful and gives me hope!

I am the book addict in the family- DH does not read at all but has a rather large collection of books that were given to him at conventions, as gifts, etc. Some are still shrink-wrapped. I have been plotting for some time and I am going to see if I can broker a deal... I get rid of 20 books if he will give up five... maybe it will make him think a bit?

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

luxcat, i'd try the deal approach in a heartbeat.
you've got nothing to lose and all that space and clarity to gain.
go for it!

Posted 1 year ago #
charmed2482
Member

I had the same feeling today. Except we already did the uncluttering, but we had this bread machine my boyfriend was using to roast coffee beans. That along with a heat gun, a small tripod and a screen to dry the beans on. A small thermometer and some unopened bags off coffee beans he never used. I been wanting to get rid of it for a while b/c he didn't use it at all. Then he gave up coffee all together, I waited a few weeks to see if it would stick and then said something about clearing some stuff out of the kitchen and he got rid of all his coffee stuff. Except for the "coffee roaster" thing b/c you can't just donate something you gerry rigged like that to goodwill, they would probably throw it away b/c they wouldn't know what it was.

So I posted it on Freecycle and craig's list in the free section. and today someone FINALE came and got it. the guy was more than happy to take it too, he said he already had one set up similar and wanted a 2nd one b/c he makes coffee for a bunch of people. Coffee roasters are really expensive so he was really happy to get it. I would have thrown it out but my BF was determined to rehome it, he said he was sure someone else would have the same idea he did and want it.

I'm so glad i don't have to look at it anymore. it was the last huge eyesore cluttering up my recently uncluttered and organized space. I'm soooooo glad its gone!

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

Congrats, everyone! I had a similar experience this week (comments on another thread in this forum) with DBF, and I am still happy. We helped a relative move some of their belongings. Now DBF and I are even more motivated to clean and declutter.

Posted 1 year ago #
luxcat
Member

... update, DH actually agreed to sort out his books and gave one up right away for donation. I uncluttered over 60 books and plays instead of my goal of only 20 so I'm hoping he'll get inspired as well!

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

it really is wonderful when the SO will work WITH you on uncluttering.

mine went out before breakfast this morning and came back announcing that he had purchased some suitable shelving for the workshop.
hallelujah!

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

Shelving! ooohhh, I dream of chrome shelving for my walk-in pantry...and shelving for DBF's workshop.

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

Yay for your husbands/boyfriends, bandicoot, charmed, SunshineR and luxcat! I guess wonders never cease :o)

And... Um... if it's that contagious, could you maybe tell them to infect my boyfriend, too? :oD Seriously though, I love the "deal" idea. I'm so going to try that :o)

Posted 1 year ago #
lottielot
Member

My dh is definitely in need of a good dose too :) Although he did very grudgingly say yesterday that the house was looking much tidier 'for a change'. Sigh, luckily I'm doing it for me, not for him...
The deal thing is working pretty well with my kids, though dealing with my ds1 (aged 8) is like brokering peace in the Middle East, constant ongoing impossible negotiations which NEVER end! I'm finding it helps to say 'I'll put your washing away for you if you go and bring in the clean stuff from the line' and stuff along those lines. He seems to miss the fact that I usually put his washing away for him anyway :) Still, he's part of this family and I had a mother who did absolutely everything for me (control freak) and I'm determined my kids will leave home being able to cook, clean, wash up and wash their clothes. I keep telling them I'm doing them a favour, the girls will love them!

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

lottielot, you are totally doing them a favour and one day they will know it.
i learned how to do all that stuff at the knee, and thus moving out was an almost seamless transition for me.
in fact, i had less housework to do because i wasn't polishing miles of copper every weekend.

my husband on the other hand was "done for" all his young life and i had to laboriously train him in the domestic arts from the age of 19.
however, i cannot fault him for attitude and willingness and good temperedness, and i thank his parents for those traits also.

Posted 1 year ago #
T
Member

There must be something in the air -- my husband sounded sincerely appreciative when I showed off the neatening/clearing I did in our bedroom this weekend. I capitalized on his reaction by bringing down 10 shirts of his that have been hanging in the attic for more than 2 years. I simply said: The charity truck comes on Tuesday in case you want to set any of these shirts free to find new homes. If not, I'll put them in your closet so you can wear them.

He reclaimed two that are actually quite nice. The others were not suitable for him at all. I imagine someone will buy them from the charity shop to make a costume, or something!

T

Posted 1 year ago #
calzephyr
Member

Awww, it's nice to see it rub off on others. I had the same thing happen this past spring when I cleaned out my basement. My husband is a computer nerd and had lots of old equipment that wasn't being used. He took boxes of it away for e-cycling and now has room for his stereo equipment in his office. I also noticed Mom getting into the act - I come from a family of pilers, and it was nice to see some of the piles go away when I came to visit.

Posted 1 year ago #

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