I had a rare summer-holiday-day without the Kids last Friday.
Carpe Diem! I siezed the day, and the opportunity to tackle this.
Our home is now relatively clutter-free. It’s been a long-slow-steady-stroll toward a more minimalistic home over the last few years, and although not perfect, it has improved greatly.
But still I can create clutter. In fact it’s surprising how quickly a small pile can grow.
When I started to lay it out – what did I find?
Project clutter…
Way too much stuff waiting to be upcycled, repurposed or regifted.
I tend to get carried away. I can always see potential in redundant items. For example; toy boxes made from old shoe boxes and original packaging – as above.
Time for a reality check. Although I don’t like waste and try to breathe life into items that may be thrown away, I need to remember clutter is a huge weight on a person’s shoulders. There’s only so much time we all have, and to spend a day tidying up project clutter is a waste. A waste of precious and finite time.
A few hours rationalisation resulted in this;
A few boxes for crafting, a basket of regifts, some wool for this year’s Christmas scarves…
And I found this;
So I can actually do something with the remnants of material I have collected, rather than just hoard them!
The moral of this post – Beware of project clutter!
(I’m now listening to podcasts whilst I do chores and clutter-clearing. If I am to waste time in one respect I like to get it back in another. Last Friday I listened (among other things) to Dr Brene Brown’s 2nd Ted Talk. It’s well worth a listen!)
How are you faring in the battle against project clutter? How do you walk the line between storing to save waste and keeping your closets clear?
Well done! I try to keep the lasting tools I would need to do a project (such as your latch hook tool) and NOT keep all the “consumable” materials that go along. I have found a few places, such as women’s shelters, that will take partially used craft supplies.
Well done! I try to keep the lasting tools I would need to do a project (such as your latch hook tool) and NOT keep all the “consumable” materials that go along. I have found a few places, such as women’s shelters, that will take partially used craft supplies.
Aren’t we all fighting the battle against clutter? Good job on the cleanout. The good part with cleaning out things is that you almost always find something you haven’t seen for a while.
Aren’t we all fighting the battle against clutter? Good job on the cleanout. The good part with cleaning out things is that you almost always find something you haven’t seen for a while.
To be honest, this is the clutter habit that I find hardest to fight – and to fix. And as morbid as it sounds, now that our kids have grown and gone (and I have gone through a cleanout of one parent’s cluttery belongings) the most motivating thing I can imagine is that I am suddenly incapacitated, or die, and my kids have to clean out my stuff. I think the force of that as a motivating factor becomes stronger as I age – when I was younger it would not have worked. The other approach that has worked to some degree is to realize my daydreams of reusing things included skills I don’t have and honestly don’t see myself learning – or even enjoying – and I’ve gotten rid of projects that fit in those categories. I also try to look realistically at the time I have for projects (not very much) and know that I can’t do everything I want, so I keep the materials for the things I most want to do.
You did a great job on that closet. I will keep that image in mind when I am going through my clutter next!
To be honest, this is the clutter habit that I find hardest to fight – and to fix. And as morbid as it sounds, now that our kids have grown and gone (and I have gone through a cleanout of one parent’s cluttery belongings) the most motivating thing I can imagine is that I am suddenly incapacitated, or die, and my kids have to clean out my stuff. I think the force of that as a motivating factor becomes stronger as I age – when I was younger it would not have worked. The other approach that has worked to some degree is to realize my daydreams of reusing things included skills I don’t have and honestly don’t see myself learning – or even enjoying – and I’ve gotten rid of projects that fit in those categories. I also try to look realistically at the time I have for projects (not very much) and know that I can’t do everything I want, so I keep the materials for the things I most want to do.
You did a great job on that closet. I will keep that image in mind when I am going through my clutter next!
Oh… I fear I suffer from project clutter big time! My problem is that I tend to dive into things and then poop out half way through. Perhaps I need a new rule… no new projects until I either finish the ones I’ve already started or get rid of them!
Oh… I fear I suffer from project clutter big time! My problem is that I tend to dive into things and then poop out half way through. Perhaps I need a new rule… no new projects until I either finish the ones I’ve already started or get rid of them!