Operation Clutter Detox!

I’ve made up my mind, got Justin on-board, and it’s happening. We are ridding our too-full house of all the crap we don’t use, don’t like, and generally bitch about seeing just lying around taking up space. I’m done. I want it gone!

 I find it utterly amazing that our house, which we thought we wouldn’t fill up for many, many years, is bursting at the seams after 2 ½ years. We’ve filled it with furniture, impulse purchases, and stuff that people have given us that we would never buy ourselves. All of these things cost money, collect dust, and make me feel overwhelmed just looking at the sheer amount of it all!

(These are the pictures Justin sent me of our house the 1st time he saw it.)

So, Operation Clutter Detoxification (with a detour for organization) is underway! I started last night with “my” table. This poor little end table gets piled with my laptop, paid bills, Ikea catalogs, crochet supplies, and whatever else I set down and forget about. I’M DONE!

Only my laptop and the Kleenex box made the cut!

(I even eliminated a bunch of cords that were going in all sorts of directions! And moved the lamp back to the corner.)

Mission 1- Success! Table is de-cluttered and, amazingly enough, I threw out so much old mail and multiple years’ worth of Ikea catalogs; don’t worry, my 2012 catalog is safely tucked away! Crochet binder and supplies were moved to my “craft station” upstairs and everything else that needed to be returned to its rightful home was. It was glorious!! I’m addicted!

I’ve got a plan of attack for the kitchen island as well. I’m going to create “family central station” of sorts in the kitchen. This will consist of a calendar (not on the fridge) and a hanging basket to drop mail in below it. Everyone will know what’s going on when and it will be a designated area for mail… that is not the island!

And I’m not stopping there!! All the e-mails with “deals” and information that I delete without opening… done! I am unsubscribing from them as they come in, and freeing my time in the future! I’m hoping my inbox will thank me!

So this is my mission. Out with the crap and in with freedom from Stuff! My hope is that this process will make us think twice, not only about what we bring into our home, but about what we spend money on and what it ACTUALLY costs us in the long run! Fingers crossed!