One of the things we discussed is I'm stressed by my house. On my book spree the other day I bought 2 small, easy books on reducing clutter and organizing. I originally hadn't gotten a storage unit because I didn't want to pay for something that wouldn't be necessary if I got rid of things and I also thought if I re-arranged things just so there'd be more room. I know in some of the boxes there's just old bills and maybe even junk mail that needs to be shredded and thrown out. Why pay to keep a box of that around? Figured when I had time I could go through and throw out most of it, keep important stuff. But I've been here almost a year and my dining table is still not put together because the dining area has been my storage area. Some of the boxes remain unpacked, or weeded through to toss stuff.
While there's a rationale to the original plan, based on not liking my home Dr. H encouraged me to rethink it. He said I have a goal to feel less stressed & more comfortable in my house. Going through everything could take a while. So, to meet the immediate goal of feeling comfortable in my home, and feel like it's easier to clean because I'm not trying to maneuver around stuff, that I consider a storage unit. This way I can free up space so it feels less cluttered etc. Then I can either go through stuff at the unit, or bring a box or two home at a time to go through. Gradually empty the storage unit and get rid of it.
I like the idea of moving some of this stuff out of the way so my house feels less chaotic, more peaceful, and gives me the space to actually figure out where things might go as I sort through and get rid of things. So, today I looked at a storage area. If all I move there are various boxes, the small one should work. You can stack up to the ceiling in the unit, which I haven't really done here.
Let's be honest. My living space may not look like this:
or this:
On a regular basis, at least not without some help. But I can definitely move closer to it. :)
A tidbit from one of the books (not sure if it was in one I flipped through and didn't buy, or one I bought). Most of what we file away never gets looked at again. The writer said that for many things you'll get them again (another catalog), can find the information if you really need it, or information is changing so what you've kept may be outdated. That was pretty liberating. I had been holding onto potential "resources" at the office. Mail I hadn't really had time to do anything with, but looked like it could be useful. I dumped a lot of that in the recycle yesterday. yay! There's more to do, but it's a start. I do know that there are certain kinds of things that I *will* look at, because I already have. But much of it can go bye-bye.
The books say to tell someone about your plan to de-clutter. Also you are to write out your reasons (which I've kind of done here, could be more specific). So after buying the books I told one good friend, then yesterday I told Dr. H., and today I told a friend who could be a good person to use as a "buddy" to keep me company as I work on stuff. Books say that the buddy doesn't even have to be helping, they can be doing they're own project, but just having someone there can help. I think it can help you stay on task and committed to the project... can't just decide to put it off and do something else instead with the friend there. But I think the other big thing is that with someone else there maybe it seems less tedious, or difficult.
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