Please tell us what your biggest challenges are when it comes to decluttering!
my biggest challenge is definitely deciding what i am willing to let go of. storing and appreciating all the sentimental things, and things i 'might use' someday has gotten to be a huge task. when i finally decide to get rid of something, i can't just throw it out. i'd really like to give it to someone i know who could use it. or maybe sell it, because it's worth something. so then, it sits around for even longer. garage sales and yard sales seem like a lot of work for not much profit. but i've never done one, so i don't really know. i just know it would take me forever to get that organized and decide on selling prices. but i am getting much better at deciding what we really need, and what i can get rid of. now, if i could find someone willing to take all this stuff! my mil would take it, but everytime she moves (at least once or twice a year) we have to help her move all of her stuff, and i don't want to add to that pile!
I used to keep stuff for potential sale too but found that i didnt get enough return to be worth it, or never got around to selling it in the first place. i have found that the more i let go, the more that comes back to me however. it's like making space for new things welcomes those things in :-)
My collections are not going anywhere. I have collected Teddy Bears since I was 16 and I refuse to give them up. My glassware collection same thing,plus I like to use them for special occasions. And then there is yarn and fabric, there I'm doing pretty good. I can't do a lot at one time, so I'm going downstairs to my craft room when I feel good and work as long as I can. I just keep at it bit by bit, someday,I'll have it finished and can use the room the way I envision it. But I have a lot more to get rid of, including a floor loom. I'm keeping my spinning wheels and wool,but realistically,I'm a knitter not a weaver. So,I really have no use for this huge loom. I have bought a table loom on Ebay,and I can use that to make scarves,towels or whatever else I think I want to make. My husband has a lot of knick knacks he has collected from all over the world with his first wife,and I have no use for pointless knick knacks,so he has said,he is not attached to anything so those are going in my yard sale box . I bought him a really pretty curio cabinet for his special pieces. Yay,less junk to dust!!
I think there is a definite difference between collections, and crap LOL crap is the stuff that is serving no purpose in our lives. My husband collects shot glasses despite the fact he doesnt drink much because he has traveled all over the world and they're an inexpensive souvenier. he displays them over the bar, and i'm cool with that. I collect dragons, I like their energy. I'm talking more about getting rid of the stuff that serves no purpose at all. the stuff that spends all year in a box. the stuff that is taking up so much space in a room that you cant use the things you do want because you cant see them. things like that.
an important note on collections- do make sure that they're cared for and that they have a place if you're going to keep them. for something like teddy bears get stands for them for display, clear boxes are a great way of keeping dust off of them, etc. i've seen some people stand by the "collection" excuse for keeping stuff but not care for the collection which gathers dust and gets broken and becomes unrecognizable over time.
My biggest challenge right now is where to start. I am ready to simplify but it needs to be done in EVERY room. I tried the start at a door and work clockwise method but my eye wanders.
I tried a do a simple job first to get some momentum going, but did not catch on.
Doing a small area works but then makes the rest look so much worse. Discouraging.
But not giving up. Someone tell me you have had success.
Like many, one of my biggest "collections" (not in a good sense) is PAPER. It comes in constantly even after I take steps to stem the flow, and seems to stay longer than needed.
Even after children have outgrown stuffed toys, I bring them in when others are getting rid of them. It is like I can not leave an animal homeless even if it is filled with fluff.
This is going to be my first major purge. I need to get rid of them now before the Children's Lead Law protection makes it difficult. If I think they are going to a landfill I will never let them go.
I finally attacked my last mess, my downstairs closet
- FiberMama
on Mar. 2, 2009 at 12:29 PM