Decluttering is a constant battle at my house. Sometimes it seems like for every thing I get rid of three more take their place.
I try to keep at it because an orderly uncluttered house is a priority to me. I know that my children play and work more contentedly in a picked up house, and my husband finds a tidy home more restful. ( Not that my home always fits that description, but it's a goal I aim at. )
I came across a tip recently that helps me in my quest for neatness.
When you are trying to decide whether to keep something, give it away, or throw it away. Stop and think whether the item makes you happy. Let me explain.
Does the "thing" in question annoy you because it's hard to dust or keep clean? An example of this was a dried flower arrangement that I kept for years. It was coated with a gummy layer of dust that I couldn't get off and every time I looked at it I felt irritated, yet I saved it because it was given to me by a friend. This "thing" obviously didn't make me happy--so I decided to dispose of it. Afterward I wondered why it had taken me so long.
Another example would be something that wasn't useful in your current living conditions. I have an ironing board rack that is sitting on a closet shelf in my sewing room. In our previous house it was mounted on the wall in the laundry room and my ironing board and iron fit neatly on it. This house has no convenient place for it and yet I keep it. Does it make me happy? No! It takes up space on my closet shelf that could be used for other things.
See how it works? I just made the decision to donate something that was cluttering my closet.
What are some of your favorite decluttering strategies?
