Decluttering Frenzy Continues

  I thought I was done.  2 or 3 times a year, I get hit with a desire to declutter.  When I get that decluttering feeling, I run with it.

  Last week, the feeling faded.  I decided I was probably done after going through our kitchen cupboards and 3 of 4 bathrooms, plus the laundry room.

 But then I went to a friend's house to help HER declutter, and also got a decluttering book on sale, and I'm inspired again. So today I decluttered the last bathroom and also worked on our family room.

 The book is Unstuffed: Decluttering your Home, Mind & Soul by Ruth Soukup.

  As is often true when I read decluttering books, I realize I'm in pretty good shape compared to some people. When Ruth married her husband, she joined her entire house of stuff with his entire house of stuff. Then 2 relatives died and they took in a lot of their stuff.  She also loved to shop, and her husband hated to throw things away. So yeah.  They decided at some point that they needed to get rid of 75% of their stuff. Seriously. Wow.

  But I did read something that was very helpful to me.  She said something on the lines of -- figure out what you want from your living spaces.

  That seems obvious, right?  But...well, let me give an example.  There is this fun Netflix show called Fixer Upper.  It is a home remodeling show, hosted by a really sweet couple in Waco, Texas.  They are obviously totally in love (so sweet to see) and love their 4 kids.  Joanna Gaines is quite the decorator, and her husband Chip is the knock the house apart and put it back together guy (along with a group of other great workers.)

 So when they are done with a house they've fixed up, it is really awesome.  Joanna is into something called shabby chic.  So there are cute doodads all over and yeah, it looks great. It really does.

 But it is not me.  If I were living alone, I seriously think I'd want nothing on the walls at all -- no art, no pictures. My ideal is completely clean surfaces on computer desks, mantles, and bookshelves.  Completely clear floors.  I don't want cute, I want clear.

  I'm not sure quite why I'm like this, but it probably has to do with 16+ years of small children spreading stuff everywhere.

  Plus I'm an engineer. I'm not a decorator.

 So when I look at our living spaces, I realize that 11 people live here.  So there is a lot of stuff. And I'm not the one in charge so I can't just shove my preferences on other people.

  BUT, I am in charge of certain things.  And I can change things and not bother anyone else, and yet make myself happy.

 So today I pondered our family room. I am in this room a lot.  A LOT.

  And it collects stuff on the mantle, and on the fireplace step.  It is distracting and stresses me out.

 So I'm making some changes.  I'm moving items out of our entry room (adjacent to the family room) so I can store some basic items there (like homeschool items) and reduce how much STUFF is in our family room.

 I always feel better when this room can be tidied well by the end of the day. I don't mind puzzles and toys on the floor during the day, but in the evening I want the floors tidy, the bookcases in reasonable shape, the mantle clear of all but decorative items, and so on.

  I'm also clearing off my dresser in my room. I can control that, right?  There have been a bunch of things on it, like paperwork, and that doesn't need to be there.

 This is funny, though. Almost every day I move everything off our bed's headboard onto my dresser because Rose likes to climb on my bed and mess with Kleenex and my water glass and my Blistex. That's my girl. That's why it is SO hard to keep things organized around here.

  But really, a key thing is to just get rid of stuff. Organizing is good and I'm good at it, but a lot of simplifying life is getting rid of possessions, or at least that is true for me.

  So today, for example, I threw away 15 or 20 or 25 or 30 little floss things we've been acquiring from dentists for a decade. We use individual Glyde flossers and never use the floss from the dentists so out it went!

 I also consolidated all our toothpaste and toothbrushes and mouthwash in the boys' bathroom. I came to the stunning conclusion that our toothbrushes have been breeding. We have...we have so many.  I couldn't possibly have bought them all.  Could I?  Seems way more likely we have sentient toothbrushes that are reproducing like rabbits.

So we'll see how the next few days go. If I'm tired, I'll probably stop toiling away on the house.  If I get my 3rd wind, more stuff will be thrown out/donated/etc.

Stay tuned...