Clutter, Clutter, everywhere!
Clothes are my
Clutter-Karma. They follow me, there are piles everywhere,
and no matter how much I wash, fold, put away; they seem to
reproduce. Another attachment: Paper. Piles and piles of
paper.
Since I do not
live alone, my family has also caught the clutter bug. My
husband is a pack rat, and brings home all kinds of junk. My
daughter is already a "collector", and sadly has inherited
my clothes deposit (on the floor) habit. Who knows what my
son will bring in??
Don't get me
wrong, our house is not dirty, despite it being too small
for the four of us and two dogs. But it is messy, there is
stuff everywhere! When my friend once told me of a plaque
she received that said: "Boring women have immaculate
houses", I embraced it with open arms and made it my mantra.
Whenever I had
company or events planned, the whole family went into a
flurry of dusting, gathering, stuffing, flinging. My bedroom
is usually the catch-all. Our house looked great on the
surface for one day, the next it was back to "normal". Dare
anyone come unexpected! They were driven away!
My breaking
point came when I was cleaning the bathroom a few months
back and my daughter asked:
"Who is
coming over, Momma?".
"No one"
"Then why are
you cleaning the bathroom?"
It hit me in
the heart like a stake. My company deserved a clean house,
but my family didn't? What about me? I was getting sick of
all the junk, and never finding what I need. I began by
asking a friend, who is VERY organized (how do we ever
match??) to come over and help me declutter my office. She
came and flung, she took no prisoners. What ever looked old,
unused, or use-less, she flung. We went through paperwork
together and shredded and filed. 5 hours later my office was
3 big garbage bags lighter.
To tackle the
house, that meant some serious back-up. Like a stroke of
good luck, I came across
http://www.flylady.net.
This is "MY" personal helper, but there are many out there,
one for each of us :). I love FlyLady, she sends plans,
inspirations, missions, tips, and testimonials every day via
email. She and her staff guide my junk out a step at a time,
15 minutes each. Like she says, you can do anything for 15
minutes...It is alot of email, be warned. Some days I
actually have time to sit and read the testimonials, and low
and behold, there are OTHERS LIKE ME OUT THERE!
I must proudly
say, this Holiday Season was much nicer, no hours of hectic
"pre-company cleaning". Plus, I finally rid my closet of
some clothes I had been saving for years. Get this, I tried
to sell it to a consignment store, and she told me it was
too out-dated! I immediately went home and cleared out more
stuff and donated it all to a women's shelter :). I am too
young to be outdated, called for some serious flinging! I am
far from being boring and having an immaculate house, but we
are slowly getting more space. My daughter is even doing the
27 step boogie in her room (yah!), and we enjoy it.
Some of you
may even reminisce like I did. The first step FlyLady asks
you to take is to always shine your kitchen sink. I do now,
and believe me, sometimes it is a struggle, as we are one of
the few households in America without a dishwasher...But it
reminds me of my Oma, who's stainless steel sink looked like
new after 30 years! When I was growing up, no one dared get
water at her shining sink, we went to the bathroom. She was
a bit anal about it. After we ate, she did the dishes, dried
them, and that sink was polished. It was her pride, and now
I understand her better. It does feel good to walk into the
kitchen in the morning to a clean sink instead of stinky,
greasy pots or food stuck to plates.
Remember, all
the principles of good living start with de-cluttering. Feng
Shui, my other passion, insists that you clear your clutter
first. So in the Spirit of my New Year's resolutions, here
are some resources for you "un-boring" sisters that want to
join me :):
"Treat your lawn &
garden...Organically"
Making A Difference ...Ask Me How!
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