I spent the weekend clearing out the study, as we're expecting family to stay with us in the coming week. Remember that crazy mess in there? It now looks a little better, but there's still a lot to pack. Getting started was overwhelming, since we had so much stuff! We had all these things from years back, that just got moved from our parents homes, to our homes (hubby's parents even brought down his stuff all the way from Penang). Then I was a hoarder: I can't seem to throw recyclables since I always have projects in my mind, and I have difficulty letting go of sentimental stuff. And I have alot of half-done home decor projects/items sitting around waiting to be sorted. It was a recipe for domestic disaster. Add to that my perfectionist streak, which makes me procrastinate... and well, you just have mess upon mess, and it was drowning us.
I realized I just had to get down to throwing out lots of stuff, and that going slow gets you there quicker than going nowhere. So my parents kindly took the older kids on two evenings, and I stayed up late to declutter. Throwing out all the random dusty bits and bobs felt liberating! We packed off a whole pile of books to friends, and another pile is waiting to go over to be donated to Dignity Kitchen, where proceeds from the books support the disabled and disadvantaged. (We figured Salvation Army is usually swamped by books, so we wanted an alternative!)
I've realized that its not that hard to throw out sentimental stuff, all I do is take a photo of it, before I throw it out or give it away. The one that is tougher would be certain gifts from friends or family: do you keep them even though you don't use them, or do you re-gift them? I'm still struggling with regards to this area. How about you? What do you do with stuff from others? Is re-gifting taboo for you?
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I totally feel you coz I'm like that too and get a mild panic attack when I see my hubby clearing out stuffs. I'm hopeless when it comes to decluttering and should learn from hubby in this aspect to be less emotionally attached to stuff.
ReplyDeleteI remember feeling terribly sad when I started clearing out stuff while preparing for my move to the US. But as the time to leave got closer, it kind of got easier and I became very ruthless about it.
ReplyDeleteSome of the better quality things I set aside and convinced all my friends to come adopt them. We threw a special going away party and put all our goodies in a "lelong" corner for people to pick and choose. We gave away a lot of stuff this way and it felt good that things weren't going to waste.
Oh yes Justina, I feel your pain. What did it for me, a sentiment a list was when we moved to another country and then back. I realised we really do not need much in life. So we have a no clutter policy in our home, which makes daily cleaning easier too. I took pics of the stuff I once held dear and the plan is to scrap the pics one day. Of course, that is another pile to tackle once again. While it seems so easy for me to say all the above, it really took me to be firm with myself, so kudos to you for a job well done!
ReplyDeleteColortypes sophie