I took a quick look around in the garage today and there is still a lot to go before I am finished with my decluttering mission. The garage has become a bit of a holding area for stuff that I haven’t dealt with yet. There are things out there that will go and things out there I would like to go but are not mine to decide on.
- A box of snoopy toys – these are going but I’m not sure how. They belong to my son and I would love to be able to sell them on ebay and make a few dollars for him but I am not sure that this is a likelihood.
- A box of wooden coat hangers – we don’t have enough hanging space for them now but I am saving them for when my daughter moves into her own place.
- 2 boxes of household items – also for my daughter.
- The box of my son’s t-shirts I’ve mentioned before – I hope one day he will get over those and let me get rid of them.
- 2 boxes of baseball souvenirs – I’m not even going to go there.
- A box of photo frames – bargains I just couldn’t resist when I was working in the craft store back in America.
- A box of sentimental stuff of my husbands – Clearly I have no say on this but I think he mentioned going through that just recently so there is hope.
- 3 boxes of Christmas decorations – that is about half as much as what we used to have but I still need to pare that down to about half again.
As you can see 365 days was never a stretch when it came to how much time I would need to complete my decluttering mission. It is now day 240 and I still have a long way to go. The beauty of it is I still have 125 days left to continue to slowly and deliberately work towards my goal. The lessons I have learned over the last eight months have been so valuable that I am not concerned whether I will be fully decluttered at the end of the year or not. I am just looking forward to whatever wisdom there still is to gain from the experience.
So far I have learned not to re-clutter by becoming very aware of only buying things I need and not being tempted by retail pressure. That alone is worth the effort. I have had plenty of time to become accustomed to knowing what is important to me and what isn’t when it comes to my possessions. I have no regrets about the things I have let go because I have afforded myself the time to make educated choice on what to let go. And to top it off I believe I have been a help to others on the same journey as me. A win win situation I’d say.
So if you are getting impatient with your efforts, stop and think about how far you have come and the benefits of what you have achieved and be happy.
ITEM 240 OF 365 LESS THINGS
A little more electronic gear that is no longer used
It’s good that you are taking the long view of both the decluttering and the process. It didn’t get like this in a week and it won’t unclutter in a week.
I agree with you that we learn so much about ourselves and what’s truly important to us. Keep on keeping on!
Hi Willow,
keep on keeping on is just what I plan on doing. Thanks!
You’ve inspired me to begin my own project. I think that point about not recluttering is very big. I have noticed myself in recent days stopping at something and thinking “oh, I like that.” normally I would have bought it – especially if it is cheap. But now I stop and think – no wait, I still have boxes to go thru. I may not have room for this, better to wait. I’m surprised that getting rid of things is making me want less things but it is.
Thanks for sharing your project with the world! I’m not very far along in my project and I’ve had to have a break while school gets underway but I’m sure that I’ll have plenty of things when I near day 300 too. 🙂
Hi Rose,
Resisting the temptation to reclutter is the key to decluttering and amazingly freeing as well. I have no envy what so ever for what other people own any more in fact I sometimes feel sorry for them.
I agree! That’s how I feel, too!
My budget has been easier to manage since I started decluttering. I take such a careful look at purchases and wonder “When will I be decluttering you?”
@ Cindy – I do that too! I look at something and wonder how long before I’ll be ready to let it go too. A day? A week? A year? Yesterday? 🙂