1000 pounds. That’s a lot of stuff. At least it sounds that way. But I think it’s easily achieved if I include the heavy items like furniture, pots, pans, tools, cast iron cookware, bags and bags of clothing, paper, glassware, china, coffee mugs and other assorted crap I never used but for some reason kept in my space. Why I shared it for so long with these items is pretty clear: It never occurred to me that I should get it out.
I don’t need 15 coffee cups. I don’t use 12 pieces of cast iron cookware. It simply isn’t necessary and I chose not to live with it anymore.
I must have turned a blind eye to it and just lived with it. Well, no more.
I cleaned out my bedroom yesterday and today. I made a bad decision almost 2 decades ago by choosing form over function.
Years ago, I bought a fairly large bed frame and dresser. Furniture looks smaller in the store in such a large space. I didn’t realize how big it was until it was delivered and I tried to move around the bed in my bedroom.
While I liked the look of it, I didn’t realize I would be repeatedly banging into the sharp corner of the top rail of the footboard and bruising myself.
I did this repeatedly over the years, badly bruising my upper thigh in the same damned place, over and over. If I did it once, I must have done this 30 times leaving a big bruise that got ugly. I’d had about enough of this.
I offered it to one of the guys doing construction on the building I live in. He came back after work and picked up the frame. The following day he came back for the dresser, queen-sized mattress and box spring which are in perfect shape.
And in thinking about it, with the bedroom furniture included, I’m pretty sure that I have easily surpassed the 1000 pound mark. Of course I’m going to have to replace the bed, mattress and dresser. But I’m getting a full-sized bed instead of a queen, a slimmer bed frame and a smaller dresser. Getting rid of this stuff has had a huge impact on me. It’s made my mind a little easier.
Having a lot of stuff tends to clutter not only your space but it clutters your mind. I got tired of having to move stuff in order to find something I needed. It took up not only my space but my time.
I couldn’t just decide to use something. First I had to find it. Then I had to move a few things in order to get to it. Then I had to put the other stuff back. This became a pain in the rear end. And I’d about had enough of that.
I’ve realized that there is more possibility in having less than in having more.
February 3, 2014 at 5:14 pm
Well I’ve thrown out or given away or dumped at the donation store darn near 3/4’s of my attic. I didn’t give myself time to question the choice – keep or toss. My first inclination is what I stuck with.
I also got rid of it the same day so I wouldn’t second guess any “toss” decisions. I’m actually digging through the remaining “keep” & have come up with a bunch more “tosses”.
I love parring down every new year, it’s cathartic & certainly gets easier as I have less stuff each time.
The funny thing is, some of the stuff I wouldn’t (or couldn’t ) dream of letting go of last year, is the very same crap I pitched out first this year. Stuff I didn’t use in a year is grounds for getting rid of it. I obviously had enough time to use it, but didn’t – so out it goes. Sushi rolling mats are a good example.
Anyways, thanks for posting your decluttering adventures. I totally dig this kinda stuff.
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February 3, 2014 at 6:26 pm
As long as you don’t toss the birds out on their ears I think you’re ok! Hopefully they can keep more than one toy! Although a big source of clutter in my house is uses parrot toys that I keep meaning to recycle in something and that they totally hate and ignore if and when I do so! Maybe I need to dump it all???
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February 4, 2014 at 2:03 pm
I’ve been following your Cleaning Chronicles and I have to say that they’ve been inspiring me. My husband and I just got married last June. We live in a condo, which is plenty of space for the two of us, but after two bridal showers and three wedding receptions, we got so much stuff that I feel like I’ve just been keeping up with it since the wedding. Add to all of that the stuff my husband and I brought together from our single lives and you have one packed condo. I hope to get my act together this spring and start purging some things as well as talk to my husband about possibly converting our coat closet into a pantry so our food isn’t taking up valuable kitchen cabinet space 🙂 God bless!
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February 4, 2014 at 2:07 pm
Knowing you’re not alone is a big part of staying engaged in the process, Budgie! The more efficient your space is, the more time you will have for yourself, for your husband and for your birds.
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