Have you ever seen the show Clean House? I've watched it a few times and it always motivates me to clean, organize, and declutter.
The show is about families who tend to collect a lot of clutter. But really, it usually ends up to be about families who have some deeply rooted emotional or mental issues. They are attached to material things for all sorts of reasons. The show's hosts try to get the people to sell as much of their things as possible in a yard sale, but it's a huge battle.
It's hard for many of us to get rid of sentimental things. I know I wish I still had a few things from my childhood, like my dollhouse and maybe some of my little dresses. But holding on to things can get way out of hand. Watching the show reminds me that I need to take about a monthly or bi-monthly inventory on my house. If I haven't used it in a month, I need to consider getting rid of it. After watching the show Clean House one time, I marked a day each month on our calendar as "O&D Day" (Organize and Declutter Day). At least this way, maybe I won't even have a chance to get emotionally attached to material possessions.
John and I have a problem with books. We like to keep our books just in case we need them for future reference or want to loan some of them to our friends. But amazon.com has helped me get rid of some, and the rest we may still use...but after a year or so of not even paying attention to them, we try to get them out of the house. Plus, some books are for decoration purposes, since we have very little decoration in our house, and they make us look smart and well-read!
Another area that often needs decluttered is the bathroom. Mostly empty shampoo and lotion bottles. Useless clutter that I think I'll use but I know I won't--so in the trash it goes. Then there's the refrigerator. Gross. Definitely need to declutter that at least once a month! Cleaning supplies. I limited my cleaning supplies significantly when I started using Shaklee products and other all natural cleaning methods (think baking soda and vinegar). It's sad when you realize you have five different types of shower cleaners. Totally not necessary or safe.
I encourage you to watch the show, and, if you're looking for a good book that will make you rethink your perspective on money and possessions, read the book Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. It's sitting on our shelf right now. I can loan it to you if you like!
Happy Decluttering!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
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2 comments:
I have really cut down on our clutter in our main rooms...they have been fairly clean and stuff for quite awhile now. The two most cluttered room are our office and the back room, which serves as our garage/basement/laundry room....it will always be messy cuz we just don't have a place to store everything. I am very anal about my refrigerator and go through it EVERY trash day. I don't like to have old food in there. But my office is just full of little things you just never know when you might need them. I kinda like being the GO TO GIRL...I can usually come up with something that someone is looking for or we need at school. Besides, maybe I want to make my son's work a little after i'm gone and they get left with all my STUFF!!! LOL
Cathy
PS. I do like to watch the yard sale show!!!!!
I've seen a similar show called Clean Sweep. I don't think that one's on TV anymore though. I used to watch it to see the difference between the before and after. Wow, some houses had huge improvements. And its fun to see their reaction to their newly organized rooms and they always seem so relieved to have the clutter gone. Its like if there's clutter in your house there's clutter in your mind and heart. Never knew there was psychology linked to packrats huh? :)
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