Blueridge Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 (edited) This morning I woke up with a backache from all the furniture and boxes I moved around yesterday. If you could just see my living room...I know the whole point to this exercise is to rid my home of unnecessary stuff, but I am afraid to get rid of it. It makes me feel naked. :nopity: So now I have stacks of books and boxes of stuff and empty cabinets and containers all over the place, waiting... Edited August 2, 2012 by Blueridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Do you have somewhere you can temporarily store some pieces just to get them out of the room for a few days? We have a storage room where we put some things. It might help for you to get used to the cleaner room before you can feel guilt free about letting some stuff go. Are you emptying your bookcases completely, or only getting rid of some books? If you're emptying them, be sure to move those out first. Otherwise your room feels empty and unfinished because the shelves are just callling to you to be filled! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I know what you mean!!! I cleaned out a bunch of stuff from our schoolroom, including three bookshelves of books. That room was a HUGE mess!!! HUGE!! But, it's worth it in the end, I swear! I love walking in that room and looking at it now. It's like a breath of fresh air. No naked people there! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 That happens to me! Usually gotta make a big mess to get it sorted properly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 We thought we would be moving about 2 years ago and I started packing up all the little knick-knacks and things that we hardly ever use. We didn't end up moving. When I went though the things that had been boxed up for several months I was able to get rid of about 3/4 of it. It was wonderful! But as I was initially putting it into boxes I would have never been able to let it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 (edited) Thanks. So far I've got 6 donation boxes cluttering the hallway (I admit to sneaking back and removing things which is bad bad), waiting to be taken to the car, so I'll do that this morning. But sitting here in the living room, I have a large empty buffet table that had been holding our school books that I want to sell (cheaply) and no place to keep it, so it's floating in front of the tv. I have the large stack of ancient Gentle Spirit magazines that I feel so fondly about, can't part with, but I know they should go...and the *extra* encyclopedia set going to the library sale...and the large stack of books to sell on Amazon...and the coffee table is piled with ignored mail and new curriculum stacks and all I want to do is eat chocolate and :smash: it all! Edited August 2, 2012 by Blueridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyeska Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I understand. Once you get to that frustrated point, it is best to just load it all up in the car and take it to second hand. The stress and frustration isn't worth it. I used to have a box of books that were for sale on Amazon or free on paperbackswap. But I decided i was tired of looking at the box and got rid of it all. I didn't regret it a bit!! :grouphug: Once you get rid of the first load of stuff, the rest will come a lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Take the time to actually donate the stuff you're willing to get rid of, or at least as much of it as you can. The resulting cleanness will inspire you to continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 (edited) I started to de-clutter books yesterday. I lost steam, and woke to a huge mess in my living room. I don't even want to go back in there. :tongue_smilie: If you can get someone to help you put in all in the trunk and back seat of your car, I think it would help. In the end, there is little you will think about again, once it's out of sight. Do I need this? Do I want this? No? Well, yes. Well, put it in way back of the van and drop it off. I never think about the stuff again. Truly. Edited August 5, 2012 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juniper Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Another reason to procrastinate! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I'm sitting with my back to the MESS. There is so much and I am so indecisive. I really thought I had pared it down. In fact, we probably own half as many books as we did when we lived in Arizona (2 years ago). But it doesn't all fit on the shelves. At all. I was bemoaning this to my dh last night and he said: No one is going to read those books. No one. Not our older girls, not our boys, not our little girl. That hurt my feelings. Then he said: Look at the shelves. Take off everything that hasn't been read in the last two years. Get rid of that. That really hurt my feelings. He is trying to be helpful. And I am asking for his help. But...argh!!!! I know you're thinking about moving, and we are too. Ours is a two or ten year project though. In the end, if we move, it will be onto a sailboat though. Not very many books would be going with us! And I'm 100% okay with that. It is the current uncertainty with which I can't seem to deal! I hope your back feels better asap! PS -- I can relate to the fond feelings about magazine collections also... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymotherof4 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I am really starting to worry about the mess I am making in my decluttering. I am due in a couple of weeks and 3 out of 4 of my babies have been at least 2 weeks early. On this schedule I only have days left. I have piles everywhere. My garbage and recycling have been overfull for the last 2 weeks and I am sure that will happen again. We have taken 1 huge load to goodwill and am slowly getting another load. My big problem is I jump from thing to thing. I may work on 10 different spots in a day but finish none of them. I am starting to panic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I get four huge black trash bags - black so I can't see into them and once an item is in there it's like it disappeared into a black hole. The first bag is reserved for things I definitely want to save, the second bag is for items I definitely want to trash, the third bag is for items to definitely donated or sold, and the 4th bag is for "iffy" items. This system works great for me because it immediately makes me feel like I've made progress! The "iffy" bag helps me contain my emotional baggage that gets me bogged down when decluttering. If I'm unsure - in it goes to "iffy". The next day I go back through the "iffy" bag and see if any of the items can be then placed into one of the other three bags - if not, back into the "iffy" bag to be dealt with tomorrow or moved to the basement until another day. No slowing down allowed - into one of the 4 bags and move on to the next item! As the bags fill and my shelves empty, boy, does it feel good . This works for me esp if I'm doing a "decluttering" with one of my boys as no discussion/debate/emotional tug-a-war happens as everything quickly goes into one of the four bags and into the basement out of sight! Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I am so with you. The kids and I finally got enough courage to tackle the attic (walk -up)- which has been the "throw it up there" room since moving back from the fire. TONS of trash, a van full of give-aways AND we unearthed the kids winter gear which we thought was gone forever, along with 2 boxes of curriculum that I've been looking for since the fire. BUT I've spent the rest of the week uncluttering from our de-cluttering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 :iagree: cleaning makes a huge mess:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 Y'all made me feel better. :D I did actually accomplish some things today. I sat down and started flipping through those old Gentle Spirit mags, and I just couldn't toss them. I started getting them my first year of homeschooling...just too many memories. So, I used a new priority mail box that I had (shhhhh) gotten for actually mailing something lol, and put them in that box, sealed and labeled. Yep, down to the basement. One step forward, another one back! I did have dh help me tote the donation boxes to the car, so they are out of here. I guess Rome wasn't de-cluttered in a day. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Y'all made me feel better. :D I did actually accomplish some things today. I sat down and started flipping through those old Gentle Spirit mags, and I just couldn't toss them. I started getting them my first year of homeschooling...just too many memories. So, I used a new priority mail box that I had (shhhhh) gotten for actually mailing something lol, and put them in that box, sealed and labeled. Yep, down to the basement. One step forward, another one back! I did have dh help me tote the donation boxes to the car, so they are out of here. I guess Rome wasn't de-cluttered in a day. ;) Girlfriend, I LOVED Gentle Spirit mag!! I had all of the issues till our house fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I had to take daily trips to drop the stuff off. It kept me from second guessing everything I had decided to toss/donate. I am in the process of doing our house, my mom's house, and my classroom! :) Keep going...it will make you feel better in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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