Decluttering, or Early Spring Cleaning?
Two weeks ago I noticed two things: 1) I did not need my lizard lamp at all to maintain my mood, even with doctor's visits, and 2) I had the urge to purge. Purge my house, that is. I bought a couple new items for my wardrobe after some of my wardrobe staples wore out and then went to put them away in my dresser. Said dresser was full (it's a three drawer, 3.5' x 3' dresser, so it isn't huge). I looked in my closet. My half was full there as well. I became irrationally irritated. I didn't wear half of this crap! I left the new items on top of the dresser for a few days.
I then went into my craft room. It had a two foot high pile of papers and shipping materials trying unsuccessfully to hide between my shelving unit and the little two drawer filing cabinet. The surge of irrational anger returned. The anger was familiar. I've had it before. It means I've had it, in general, with things. Stuff. Items. Junk. There was just far too much of it.
So, on a Tuesday I went into the craft room to do battle. I sat on the floor and spent over an hour sorting, filing, and shredding so much paperwork. A ton of stuff went out in the mail that belonged to previous tenants that keeps getting sent to our address.
Then on Wednesday, the dresser and closet had their turn. I pulled everything out of the dresser and went through it. Had holes? Trash. Haven't worn it in 12 months? Donate. Worn out? Trash. Doesn't fit and when it did I still never wore it? Donate. In the end I had two garbage bags full of clothing to take out for donations and another full garbage bag that went to the trash. Suddenly, I had a clear dresser and rearranged it. My closet ended up going from full to half-full.
If you're stressed out, I recommend getting rid of your excess junk. It's cathartic. Truly, deeply, cathartic.
I then went into my craft room. It had a two foot high pile of papers and shipping materials trying unsuccessfully to hide between my shelving unit and the little two drawer filing cabinet. The surge of irrational anger returned. The anger was familiar. I've had it before. It means I've had it, in general, with things. Stuff. Items. Junk. There was just far too much of it.
So, on a Tuesday I went into the craft room to do battle. I sat on the floor and spent over an hour sorting, filing, and shredding so much paperwork. A ton of stuff went out in the mail that belonged to previous tenants that keeps getting sent to our address.
Then on Wednesday, the dresser and closet had their turn. I pulled everything out of the dresser and went through it. Had holes? Trash. Haven't worn it in 12 months? Donate. Worn out? Trash. Doesn't fit and when it did I still never wore it? Donate. In the end I had two garbage bags full of clothing to take out for donations and another full garbage bag that went to the trash. Suddenly, I had a clear dresser and rearranged it. My closet ended up going from full to half-full.
If you're stressed out, I recommend getting rid of your excess junk. It's cathartic. Truly, deeply, cathartic.
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