The war against clutter is one that we have to continually fight in our home. With five people living in one space, three of whom are under the age of 10, clutter just sort of finds its way into our home.
Our recent renovations to make our home more energy efficient have put the clutter front and center. All of the extra items stored in the attic, the basement and the garage have recently been occupying our living space, making it very obvious as to how much stuff we own.
This has been a great motivator for me. While we will end up with a good amount of storage, seeing everything out in the open is embarrassing. Do we really need it all? Fortunately, having it out in the open also makes all of that stuff really accessible. It is right there in our faces and very close to the front door.
I’ve also been so fed up with the cluttered state of the house, well we all have, that getting rid of stuff is a bit easier. Sure, I’ve had a couple of pangs here and there as stuff has gone out the door, but knowing that it is less to deal with makes up for it.
Another thing that helps is giving the stuff good home. Having someone else benefit from our stuff is better than having the stuff sitting there or only being used occasionally. For example, one of the handymen who is helping us with our insulation spotted an old video game system that we had been meaning to sell but never got around to doing just that. He talked about how much fun he used to have playing it. We were happy to give it to him, knowing that it would be used and appreciated.
Three boxes of books are set aside for a friend who sells them for extra money, a huge box of preschool toys will soon be finding their way to the church nursery, and about three bags of household items and other toys are in the care waiting for a trip to the Goodwill. Other items that went out the door include an extra waffle iron (the time saved by cooking two waffles at once does not justify the space it takes), a fire ladder that is too short for our home, and some outgrown kids clothing.
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