Take THAT, clutter!

This post got me thinking.

I was wallowing in the clutter hell that my house and yard had become. I ignored it as much as I could, made a half-hearted effort to do some things, and that was about it.

Then, I had it. I sent a note out about the yard, offering $10 an hour for basic clean-up work. A friend asked me to hire her out-of-work husband and he's been getting things done.

And I looked forward on my calendar, and extrovert that I am, I want to have a goddamned Christmas party. (Ooh! Or after-Christmas White Elephant party!) So I divided my house into areas, and wrote out a list (it got lengthy) of what needed to be done, where.

And I've been working on it. Some things are so frustrating, but as the post says, perfect isn't really the goal; progress is. So when I find things all on the ground around the coat tree, I try not to blow my top, but remind my kid again that he needs to hang up his jacket and backpack. And I either put my jackets away or move them so they don't fall off.

Last weekend, I worked really hard on the undercounter spaces in my kitchen. One had lots of random dog crap in it (mostly dog toys, but some bowls and other things), and the other had 3 paper bags of things I'd been ignoring for a few years.

Now, one problem I have with cleaning and decluttering is follow-through. Does this ring true for anyone else? I start cleaning, go to put something away where it belongs, do a little reorganization there, and the first area is not only not clean, it's messier with the piles of things that go here and there. So this time, I really pushed myself to finish the job. I threw away the CD holders and took the old computer backup CDs to work to shred. I emptied the bags out completely and settled in to sort through the papers--recycle, shred, and keep (which was like 3 papers). I filed the papers I kept. I moved the recycle bin back to where it belonged. I put the shred bag back by the front door (my sister has a shredding service and invited me to bring a bag of shreddables rather than take the time at home).

I swept out both places, and found that my dog's dishes (on their boot tray, a trick I learned from other Lab owners to contain the drool as they drink and the food as they eat) fit in one of the knee holes, so they don't have to be out on the floor! I put my son's art bin back in the other knee hole, but it may find a home elsewhere. I'm starting to dislike things being on the floor when they don't need to.

That was one of maybe 45 things on the list, but I did it. And finished it.

And it feels great. Honestly, just great.