What do you do when it's decluttering groundhog day?

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What do you do when it's decluttering groundhog day?

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Started 2 years ago by klutzgrrl
Latest reply from djk
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klutzgrrl
Member

I seem to be back in the same place again, looking at the same mess, feeling the same frustration. Some stuff I know I just haven't made a proper go of dealing with; some stuff it's a storage issue that I need to figure out; another problem is lounge furniture bought for a bigger room.

But so often we end up in this kind of circular loop - if I could move this, that could go there... but then there's such-and-such ... and so we 'rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic'.

Do you have any strategies to shake things up when what you've been doing (or not doing) isn't working for you?

Posted 2 years ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

I think we tend to look at our messes as a whole, as if it's one thing. What we need to do is categorize the mess, see it for what it is.

What I usually do is determine that which is bothering me the most or what is causing the biggest problem. Then I focus on that one thing and take care of the problem the best I can. Maybe I can't complete it in one day or it will take months to complete. Maybe I need to buy something or have something built, but because I am focusing on one problem, I can find solutions easier than when I'm thinking about everything. Once that one issue (or maybe its a few big things)has been identified and is being addressed, the rest of falls into it's proper perspective and it all starts falling into place.

Is the scale of your furniture to big or do you have too many pieces? If you have too many pieces, can you take out one piece and use it in a different room or sell it? Sometimes just moving one piece out can help immensely.

Posted 2 years ago #
ArtGal
Member

One of my strategies is to put the piles, trinkets, and/or clothes into big cardboard boxes with the date on them and tape them shut. I put them into my "transition closet"...this is an empty closet reserved just for this purpose. If I haven't looked for something in the box for 3-6 months, out it goes! I know this may be a bit drastic, but it has worked well for me. (Of course, I don't put important documents, bills (although I'd LIKE to!), etc. in the boxes :) I call it my "Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Poof It's Gone" method. I do this with furniture as well...if you can, get a piece or two out of the room and see how that makes you feel. Leave it out of the room for a while and see if you truly miss it. If not, sell it and take yourself out for a nice dinner or massage :)

Posted 2 years ago #
ragabond
Member

Yard sale. I always just purged and got a clean start. Over the years I've gotten much better at not collecting as much stuff so now once a year I donate to a thrift store anything I've grown tired of or don't need anymore. And when I want to purchase new things I used to ask myself "If you had to fit eveything into your car and that's all you get to keep would this be something you would keep?" That seemed to help me make better decisions. Now I just ask myself if I want that new item attached to my back to carry around the rest of my life since that's more the reality of what our stuff does to us.

Posted 2 years ago #
Aunt Cloud
Member

I'm still dealing with the aftermaths of downsizing. One uncluttering habit I'm surprising myself by sticking to is declaring mess-free areas. The kitchen table gets cleared daily, as are the kitchen counters. Nothing is left there until it grows permanent roots. I'm gradually extending the mess-free areas.

Another method that's good for motivating my kids - so why not use it to motivate myself? is plain old bribe. "I'll get rid of the side table/extra trash can/box of odds and ends, and treat myself to a pedicure". Caveat: the bribe has to be non-cluttering, of course.

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

klutzgrrl, i reckon you need to give yourselves a break.
it doesn't have to be perfect today or tomorrow or even next week.
take it down a gear, maybe start just removing one item per day.
this allows you to keep moving forward, while not being exhausting and overwhelming.
i know exactly how you feel....i've been there too.
it can all feel sooooooo disheartening.
i promise you though....just keep chipping away at it. you'll see light eventually.

Posted 2 years ago #
chacha1
Member

I fear there is only one way to deal with oversized furniture and that is to swap it out - or reduce the number of pieces in the room.

We have an oversized la-z-boy couch (it's a three-seater, and we really only needed a loveseat - was a housewarming gift from dear Mom who INSISTED). We are looking forward to buying a properly sized loveseat and giving this behemoth away ... I am squirreling money into a New Seating fund. :-)

For one thing, it'll be more fun to watch movies with DH, because we won't be on opposite sides of the frickin' room.

I have found the best way to overcome an organizational block, or mental hamster wheel, is to step away into a space I'm happy with, and think a little about how we really *will* use the space that I'm NOT happy with. Being realistic about how we use our space has helped me conquer my attachments to some things we bought based on ideas of how we thought we "wanted" to live.

Posted 2 years ago #
klutzgrrl
Member

Thanks so much for these great suggestions. You're right, Bandicoot, I probably do need to just cut myself some slack a bit - realistically, most of the house functions well enough. I keep thinking if my office was nicer that I'd get more work done, but that's an excuse, isn't it! I'm not working enough because I'm fed up with work!!! lol!

I think I'm pretty much stuck with the couch at least for now - we wouldn't get enough for it (it's an expensive leather one) to get a decent replacement, but I think I'll keep an eye out for alternatives. I'm going to try putting away the few remaining decorative objects that are on the TV stand, that will help it look cleaner.

The laundry is a major issue - between the actual laundry, ironing board, buckets and cat bowls, it's ridiculous. I guess I could tackle that.

I like the mess-free zone idea, too. The kitchen counter NEARLY is, if I put away the few things that have migrated onto it, that'd be a good start.

And I'll just ignore the kids' rooms. They officially do not exist!

Posted 2 years ago #
klutzgrrl
Member

a smaller corner couch with some storage space would be nice...

Maybe after tax time. (July here in oz)

Posted 2 years ago #
nellieb
Member

Work a small area. Last weekend I was having a Feng Shui consultant come in and I was able to organize the top shelf of my clothes closet (it had gotten sloppy), the top of the refrigerator (which meant donating some other kitchen items so I could clear the top and use other space), and my cat litter box closet where I store vacuums, mop, brooms, etc. I picked small specific areas and then pulled everything out of that area, sorted what I had not used or really did not need, and then put back what was left. It was amazing how much left my house (yet again!) and how nice those areas looked when I was done.

Good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
Rosa
Member

klutzgrrl, do you work at home?

I do, and my office is never all the way clean. But what I do when it gets too messy to work, is just say that every time I get up from my seat - to pee, to get a snack, to answer the door or whatever - before I sit back down, I put away 10 things.

10 is pretty easy in an office because it's full of small things - papers that can be recycled, drinking glasses that should be in the kitchen, pens and paperclips and sticky notes and stuff. Doing that for one day, not even a very fidgety day, makes the office look a lot better.

Posted 2 years ago #
klutzgrrl
Member

Yes I do, Rosa.

Part of the problem with the office is big stuff - a sewing cabinet full of electronics components, paperwork, a gazillion art supplies. A tall, ugly ikea shelf with a crazy assortment of art, books and supplies - I really need some decent storage, but can't really afford it right now. I don't want to waste money on a halfway solution.

However that is a good approach for general tidying up and I could probably use it to keep the paperwork more under control - file ten papers!

I'm halfway through the office reorg today - threw out a big bag of old computer disks and papers, moved the desk; now I'm staring at piles of books....

Posted 2 years ago #
trillie
Member

klutzgrrl, congrats on being already halfway through the office! :o) Paper stuff is what I dread most.

I don't know if this is possible in your home, but what I usually do when I am fed up with how everything looks is: I rearrange the furniture! This ranges from just switching the chairs from the living room with the kitchen ones, or swapping the bedroom curtains with the living room ones, or move pictures around, turning my desk by 90° ... or actually moving every single piece of furniture in the living room or bedroom, or even both. After, I usually dust and/or vacuum because some dust bunnies did come to light ;o) Rearranging makes me a) pick stuff up that has no home or hasn't been put back, b) it makes some items go into the Outbox because after rearranging, there is no room for them and while touching everything you notice how you only touched this or that the last time you rearranged (e.g. the stuff in my shelves has to be taken out in order to move them, and I can be selective when putting the stuff back), and c) it makes you feel different and refreshed because the room and its light feels different.

Oh, and if you're not sure what else is bothering you (as JuliaJayne said above, solve what is bothering you first), I once read on ApartmentTherapy.com that it's helpful to take pictures of your home, and then look at the pictures to see what is 'off' or what doesn't look right. I found that the piles of magazines or whatever usually accumulates at home are ignored by me after a while and just become background, and to suddenly see them again on pictures is a surprise ;o)

Posted 2 years ago #
chacha1
Member

klutzgrrl, I think trillie's suggestion is great. I love to rearrange furniture, too, when I'm feeling frustrated about ... just about anything. DH used to think I was just being weird, but now he "gets it" - and gets a kick out of it.

And as noted, it's a great way to get the corners clean (cat-fur tumbleweeds, anyone??) and find things you don't love anymore.

I believe if there's variety around you in the small things, it makes you more content with the big things. Or else it exposes their shortcomings and you start looking for better solutions!

But yes - no halfway solutions. Wait to find the perfect piece once you know exactly what you need.

Posted 2 years ago #
djk
Member

@ Trillie I also do the photos thing--in fact just did it earlier today. What I also do sometimes is take a mirror, turn my back, and look at the room through the mirror. That is a quick way to see something you have stopped seeing. Also, if you have tried out a new decorating vignette or corner you can see it better through a mirror.

Posted 2 years ago #

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