Decluttering

Ever since I discovered Flylady about 5 or so years ago, I've been aware of the problems with clutter. Unfortunately, I'm a hoarder. I find it very hard to throw things out. Sometimes, this is because I think I might need them in the future, sometimes it is because I feel bad throwing out something that someone gave to me, but often, it is simply because the item still has life in it, and I can't bear to waste it.

This isn't helped by my new reading on the amount of energy/materials that go into making each item, or how much landfill is filled by all these unwanted items. Over the years, but especially since having a child, we have bought so many things that we really didn't need, and that both clutter up our lives, and use up resources that could best be spent elsewhere. There is nothing we can do about the past, but we can stop doing this now. Now we choose DD's birthday and Christmas gifts very carefully, going either for something that has long term usage, encourages creative play, or is an experience rather than a thing. For example, for her birthday this year, we bought DD some craft materials (paint, stickers, printed paper etc), and took her to the zoo. Once we are a bit more settled, I hope to make some of these presents, such as a doll, some dollhouse furniture (if that doll house ever gets finished) and other toys. I think these few items, chosen carefully with care or made with love, are far more valuable than a large number of packages to open.

So we have made inroads into stopping the influx of new clutter into our home. What we need to work on now is getting rid of the accumulation of clutter that we already have. I was doing very well at one point with throwing things that we didn't use out. Huge amounts of toys, bric-a-brac, clothes and kitchen items that we didn't use were either thrown out, or if there was still use in them, donated to charity. Yet for some reason I've stopped. I'm letting things pile up with the thought that I might have a garage sale, or because I think that though they're not good enough to sell, they're too good to throw out. Somehow, I need to stop this attitude, and get back into the frame of mind to throw things out.

I DO NOT want to bring all this clutter into our new home!