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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

STUFF

I've got too much of it.  Do you??? 

I organize my stuff and make it look all nice and neat, and before long, it is in disarray again.  I'm finally realizing that if I had LESS stuff, it would be easier to keep it organized.  I mean, who needs 3 packs of floss, 30 pens (some out of ink), lead pencils with no lead, the bell that fell off of the dog's collar (three years ago!) 5 lighters, 2 books of matches, socks with holes in them?  Unpacked boxes in the garage from when you moved into your house almost 4 years ago.  I could go on and on.  

I think we've been conditioned to save things and be "resourceful" and "frugal".  Maybe at some point in time, we had to do without things because of finances.  Maybe we don't want to be wasteful.  Maybe a repeated pattern in our life has been that as soon as we let go of something, we NEED it.  All three of these things are reasons why I have too much stuff.

It's great to be frugal and all, but really, what's the point of saving something if you never use it?  Why not let someone else give it a go.  You're being wasteful by hanging on to it.  You're wasting space and you're wasting mental energy by being stressed out from all of the clutter.

I'm reading a book that I picked up on clearance called  SORTED!  The author mentions the Pareto principle which says that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  She gives these examples to relate this principle to "stuff":
  • 20% of your clothes will be worn 80% of the time.
  • 20% of the stationery you own will be used 80% of the time.
  • 20% of your kitchen tools and gadgets are used 80% of the time.

You know what?  She's right!!  Think about it.  How many pairs of jeans do you own?  Now, don't you always go for your favorite pair?  I do!  I know that I've got at least 5 pair of jeans that I don't wear.  I never get rid of them because I WILL wear them one day.  Yeah right.

My main New Year's resolution is to become clutter free.  I'm going to go through every room, every cabinet, every closet and ever drawer and literally clean house.  And you're coming with me.  That's right my bloggy peeps, I'm going to show you just how much stuff I have and then show you how I purged and then organized everything.  You're going to see the good, the bad and the UGLY.  I'm going to be brutally honest with the photos I share because I really want to inspire others like me who just have too much stuff, to feel good about letting it go.

Because I don't like a post with no photos, I'm going to go ahead and share with you some photos from my first target, my bedroom closet. 







 I'd love it if anyone else in interested in doing this along with me.  Maybe we could designate a day each week to post on this subject.  We could come up with a name and a cute button for it.  Let me know if this is something you're interested in.  You can leave a comment or just email me.


Linking to:
All Things Merry & Bright @ All Things Heart & Home

10 crafty peeps said:

  1. That's a great idea for a New Year's resolution. At least this is something that can be achieved step by step.
    In fact I am just in the progress of getting rid of stuff from my old craft room while I move everything into my new craft room.
    I'll definitely stay tuned for future posts on this subject.

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  2. Hi there! Thanks for sharing the Pareto principle! That is powerful information. One of my resos is to "get rid of half my stuff" - but maybe I should increase that percentage! I am looking forward to reading more about your process as I begin my own!

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  3. I'm on board with ya girlfriend! 'Specially since I just spent a big bulk of the day going through the basement chucking CRAP.

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  4. Argh.... you are soooo right! I'm in the middle of moving right now and you don't want to know the things I came across. There ARE still unpacked boxes from our move 10 years ago!! How awful....

    And the funny thing is, we moved from Holland to the US 3 times for 6 months and only took 1 suitcase per person and I didn't miss a thing ;o)

    Good luck sorting and making your life lighter and uncluttered!!

    Marlies

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  5. I love this idea! I'm a sucker for organization and before and afters... clean/post away!

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  6. Thank you for the candid shots of your closet! That is real and wonderful. At times, I feel inspired when I read my favorite blogs, but sometimes it feels like the wind gets sucked out of my sail. All the who, what, when, where and whys hit me at once. And then it's panic at the disco! (Gotta get tubs, bins, baskets, racks, boxes, under-the-bed-storage, over-the-door-racks, drawer dividers, hangers, hooks...Saturday Night Fever!) I will definitely be following along with your progress. I love real.

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  7. Love this idea! I made it my goal last year to clean out and organize every corner of my house throughout this last year and it was great. When I was done, I did something I swore I would never do again, had a garage sale. Than, everything left went to Good Will. I'm still feel like I'm swimming in clutter thouugh so I am back on the bandwagon was again to clean and organize! I'm with ya on this one :-) I want everything to have a place and to keep it that way!!

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  8. I am the same but I have tried so many times to go through closets and rooms and put stuff out for garage sales ect, the garage sale never happens and slowly the stuff ends up back where it was. I am a very organised hoarder and no matter what i do can not seem to part with my neat clutter! I will keep watch on your blog and see how everyone goes.....great post!

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  9. Girl, let's do it! I felt like you were speaking just to me in this post! I have always been the one to hold onto something thinking I may need it and not have the money to go and buy it when I will, maybe one day, need it. (Never happens) And when I do have to go out and buy something, a few months later I find one I have stashed away and forgotten about, so it didn't do me any good there either! I always think I don't have a lot of stuff until we moved to a new house, and then I realized we had more than I thought, I was always just really good at hiding it! :) I don't wanna hide it anymore, I wanna get ride of it! I can't wait to see what you do!

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  10. HI! First time visit to your blog and I LOOOOVE this idea!! I can't wait to follow along and I might be up for doing something like this too!!!! I DEFINITELY have too much stuff, MY clothes are in 4 closets in this house.....that is crazy! CRAZY!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for thre inspiration to GET RID of STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XO, Pinky I will be your newest follower!!!

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