Since I announced the Thirty Days of Gratitude, Tidying-Up Edition, for this year, I’ve gotten some questions. So, I thought I’d answer them here and talk a little more about how this is all going to go down.
I’m also going to show you some of the “before” pictures, so you understand what I’m dealing with and why I’m doing this. These pictures are not edited at all – they are straight from the camera to the blog. (Using them here not for pretty images but for a realistic view of what’s what.)
Q: Are you going to be following the KonMari method of tidying or some other famous approach?
A: Nope. I am not sure how I would measure whether a serving dish gives me joy, or whether I’d remember whether one of my children wore something in the last year. So, I’m going with the old-fashioned method of asking myself the following questions:
- Do I need it?
- Do I love it?
- For clothes, would I wear it if all of my other clothes were dirty? I’ve learned that, if the answer to that question is “no,” I should get rid of it because I’ll never wear it.
- Is it broken/torn/beyond repair?
- Has someone outgrown it?
Q: What are you going to do with what you’ve decided to get rid of?
A: Anytime I clean out or organize a room, as I first explained in this post, I have three piles, bags, or boxes:
- Donate – Anything in good condition gets donated.
- Recycle – Paper, plastic, etc. that I know can be recycled goes in the recycling bin.
- Trash – Everything else goes in the trash.
And I’ve added one more: SELL. As explained here, I love the Facebook yard sale groups and plan to sell any furniture or other big things on those sites.
Today, we started on the kids’ rooms (because I knew that this project was going to take way more than just one day!). In one afternoon, we filled one trash bag, two recycling bags, and two bags to donate. And we haven’t even gone through their clothes yet!
I’m already feeling better.
Q: Are the kids participating, or are you chucking stuff of theirs while they’re at school so they don’t get mad at you?
A: I’ll be honest: a little of both.
Seriously, though, they were rock stars today. They honestly thought about the clutter in their desks and on their shelves and what they wanted to keep. I helped them, of course, and there was really only one thing that I asked my son whether he really wanted to throw out (it was a football from a camp he went to). He said he never used it, but that he really liked it. I told him he should keep it as a memory of his camp experience.
Again, not going by hard and fast rules here. Just getting rid of clutter – i.e., that which we don’t need or want or use – and then getting it all in order and in place.
You can even see the clutter on the porch from here. Sheesh.
Q: Are you really going to do one room or space every day?
A: I’m going to try. We are hosting the holidays this year and I really want the house in order and neat to eliminate one (big) source of stress for me.
What other questions do you have? I’d love to answer them!
Tomorrow, I start painting M’s room. Click HERE for the color she chose (spoiler alert: it’s not green!).
A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.
I have been doing some of the same! We cleaned off the deck and got rid of the HUGE patio furniture we NEVER used. It was uncomfortable and took up almost the whole deck. Also cleaned out the garage. Monday and Tuesday people picked up all three of our bikes (Eric had only ridden his 3 times in 10 years, I rode mine regularly a few years ago but had not ridden it in over a year and I bought M a bike she never learned to ride in the 2 years she had it!) We have so little space and they were taking up so much space! Freecycle! I only post things that need new homes I have never taken anything from there. It feels great to have a garage we can get both cars in! And an empty deck waiting for a new life!!!
Nice! I love it! And I love Freecycle, too – a great way to get rid of stuff you don’t want.