I have been continuing my household purging, though completion might be weeks or months away now that we are back to lessons. It has all been going quite well with two van loads of random items hauled off to Goodwill. I drove off with forty stuffed animals in the last load. Do you know that no one has noticed yet? Not one child has said a peep. Phew!
Upon beginning to declutter, I was afraid that my biggest obstacle would be my emotional attachment to certain items. Now that I have seen it played out, I have not had much trouble parting with things. In fact, there are few things in my home that are really THAT important to me. Photographs of my family and my father's model ships are all I am particularly sentimental about. Books are another thing I will hang on to as a matter of homeschooling practicality, though I know there are many I will purge when I get to that room.
I have much much more to do. (hint: Come over ANNE !!! Please? :) I detailed the living room and sunroom, dusting everything thoroughly and eliminating a lot of things that we simply don't need in there. The rooms that are finished are looking a little, well, bare. Maybe not sterile but certainly streamlined. It will take some getting used to but in a very good way. :)
Kim and I have talked at length about clean design lines and minimal decorations. We've agreed that simple, functional spaces make us smile. I now have two rooms that almost fit that bill. Honestly, it feels kind of strange to me now that it is happening. Two rooms down, six more to go (not including a really nasty basement and a scary linen closet).
I've been following the suggestions in It's All Too Much which uses the acronym F.A.S.T.
Fix a time--Schedule a time for decluttering and make it happen.
Anything not used for twelve months--out the door!
Someone else's stuff--return it or get rid of it!
Trash--gone forever. Once you take it out of your home, do not bring any of it back inside your home.
Setting aside time each day has been very helpful. The days fly by so quickly and unless I give time to decluttering, it rarely happens. Even fifteen minutes makes a huge difference.
Slow and steady wins the race, right?
