Decluttering blog 4: Shasta gives me homework
Monday, September 10, 2018
Shasta is my organizer lady's name. Yesterday she sent me an e-mail with this opening line: "General ideas of what we will be doing together and organizing your home."
Being me, and just having run my morning race, my initial reaction was "OMG, I don't want to do this!" Especially once I read on:
"Starting with basement first, In this Area we will be doing a little pre-clean and prep. This is the area where we will will store some of your belongings "
No, no, no! I do not want to store things. I want to get rid of things! I cringed.
She went on with a section called "How to start getting organized "
It said: " Visualize your ideal set up. Take a minute to visualize how you’d like your living space to look 👀 like. Getting clear on what that is is a really important place to start."
Well, that's all true, but it's the hardest part for me. A minute is far from sufficient for a good thought about what I want my space to look like. Certainly not like the motley unmatched collection of furniture and stuff... although, argues the 😈, some of it is functional. Isn't function more important than "look"?
I've been observing my processes as I go about my day. My spaces tend to change somewhat "organically". Depending on where I go upon entering the house, my athletic gear can end up in the master bedroom, the dining room, or the front hallway. Surprise, I have little satellite "piles" in all these places! Although I have a designated spot for certain bits of it, and I always put THOSE back in their spots. It doesn't look tidy, but I can always find my Garmin and my RoadId!
As far as organizing what I KEEP, the rest of it makes sense:
"What you can start doing now is deciding what you need in terms of storage and tools. Think about what you’re going to keep and feel comfortable with getting rid of or what is not going to serve you. 😊"
Getting comfortable with getting rid of things is actually easy right now... I am working on letting go as I putter through my clutter! I shredded another box of papers and am filling those two boxes with things that are on their way OUT. I got around to greeting cards over the weekend. I am accepting that I am NOT going to become the lady who sends these! I'm willing to let them go to someone who wants them for craft projects!
Shasta continues: "I have come out with five general ideas:
- You want to put things where they belong, where they fit.
- find easy storage to use that way you don’t have to go searching for things.
- Store things based on how you use them keep in mind where you want things stored.
- find a good room to start your organizing process.
- follow the same formula in every room "
I set it aside and let it soak for a while, to overcome that initial resistance. I'm thinking I want to get rid of about 2/3's of the stuff in my house! I have three bookshelves, one in the parlor, one in the master bedroom, and one in the "office turned junk room". I have already done significant reduction on two of them (parlor and MBR):
If I truly got rid of 2/3 of my stuff... I could have ONE bookcase, right?
- Already went for a walk. I joined a neighbor who was missing her walking partner and since I wanted to go slow, I decided to follow along and see what route they use. She was OK with having a substitute partner and we talked about the things we normally do when we pause to talk.
- Water vessels have been filled, and hydration is in progress.
- Healthy breakfast on board and tracked for WW points *and* for Spark.
- In process of puttering through the clutter, with breaks built in.
Anyway, as you can see... there has been considerable progress, but there is still MUCH to be done to shrink to a single case.
Today's healthy start:
Here's hoping my Spark buds are also working on making the best decisions you can, wherever you are on your health journeys, this Monday September 10, 2018. After all, it's the only one we'll ever get, and WE are worth taking care of!
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