I started this decluttering journey a few months ago thinking I would just clean out some closets, drawers, cupboards, etc. This is the link to the original post http://nenaholt.blogspot.com/2015/08/decluttering-more-than-your-home.html
What I found is that it is much more of an emotional process. Purging and getting rid of items, especially given to me by others, is a difficult process for me. I remember when I received the item, who made it for me, the relationship and all the feelings that went with it. It is especially hard with items my children made or my grandma made for me. I started by cleaning out my closet and then decided to go through one room at a time and it has taken me MUCH LONGER than I ever imagined it would.
It took me almost three months of internal processing before I could even start. It seemed that I was paralyzed and overwhelmed by where to start. I actually had to call my daughter and have her come over and help me with the grandbabies playroom. Once we purged and organized that room I immediately felt better and it gave me the boost I needed to look at other rooms.
My daughter told me about a book called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It is an excellent book and totally different than any other organizing book I have ever read. It makes much more sense to me. She has you get out all of your items that are alike and group them together so you can see how many you truly have! It is eye opening. For example: all of your shirts, pants, sweaters, skirts, underwear, bras, slips, shorts, skorts, dresses, etc. It is amazing how many items you have and how many you don't use or haven't used in well over a year. Then she has you decide if it's something you love or something you have no emotion toward at all. If you don't love it, it goes!
The next room I worked on was the kitchen. What an eye opener this was. I have so many cooking items that I didn't even know I had. I also had SEVERAL 13x9x2 pans and I definitely don't have an over big enough to fit them all into! It is just amazing to pile it all up and then see what you have. I would be willing to bet I am not the only person that has multiple items of the same thing!!
I'm not finished but I do have a good start on purging and getting rid of things I don't need or use. The best part is the overall joyous feeling I have in getting rid of items I don't need. It feels like at least a one ton weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I cannot wait to see how I feel after the entire house has been completed!! This is a great time of year to declutter and get ready for the New Year! Please share your experiences in the comment section to help others. Sometimes it helps to know we're not alone.
God Bless,
Nena
