decluttering changed my life

July 1, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 19 Comments

One year on. Remember this?

and this?

Well now it looks like this.

In fact that is a mere fraction of what has gone. As I write I have six more bags to go to charity and the Singers have been dispatching some of the Boss’s clothes on Ebay. So what next? What have I learned?

What next? Well there is still a huge amount to go. The Boss is slowly working through his wardrobe and I will have to work at his pace. The study still has far too much in it and there are a few black holes around the house to which we have been turning a blind eye. The videos and CDs are a case in point. But as the house has emptied we have begun to turn our attention towards the garden. I have plans to turn our garden into a mainly physic garden where all the plants are either medicinal, edible or have other practical uses. Meanwhile the Boss has finally got on top of the meadow and is planning the wild flower border around it. Currently it’s mainly vetch, poppies and cornflowers, but give him time.

What have I learned? How long do you want me to go on?

Don’t give up Like learning to play a musical instrument it is hard at first. You can see other people knocking off a snazzy sounding concerto whilst you are still struggling to coordinate your left and right hand sufficiently to get three notes out in the correct order. But everybody has to start at the beginning. Everybody has to practice, practice, practice before they are a master of the art. Decluttering is no different.

It does become easier. Trust me, you will come to a point when you are instinctively picking up things that you don’t want or need and putting them in the charity bag or recycling.

Let go of guilt. Just because it was a gift or a family heirloom does not mean that you have to keep it. Offer the latter to somebody else in the family to caretake if it will cause a ruction. So you bought a dress and have never worn it but keep it because you feel you must. Don’t. Let it go. Sell it on eBay BNWT!

Space is beautiful. The things you love can shine when they are bordered by space, space in itself is something to love and cherish.

Don’t clutter it up the space. My entire summer wardrobe fits in less space than my shirts used to take up. My bookshelves contain books I want to read. I know every shoe I possess, I no longer open a shoe box and look at the contents with surprise.

As I decluttered my belongings I decluttered my mind. Now I can’t promise that this is true for everyone or that the two were actually connected. I suffer from acute and severe depression, the kind where all is well and suddenly for no apparent reason the lights are all turned off. I made an active decision after a particularly nasty attack that I was going to think differently. Thus it is quite possible that my mind declutter is down to that. Either way. This year I have gone from unsure what to do with my life stay at home mum to published author with a second book in the works; professional tarot reader; workshop facilitator and have plans for a small handmade toiletry collection. As I decluttered I became more focused. The things I focussed on were not those that I had expected but I am loving life and have big plans for the future.

Not everyone likes it. A bit like losing weight and discovering that not all your friends are as keen on the new you. I have been told all sorts of reasons why “they” can’t do it; why “they” could never let go of books (heaven forbid!) and so forth. Maybe they really can’t or maybe they are jealous. Whatever the reason it has nothing to do with me so I shall continue my path.

I have discovered my own style. As I have let go of things that I didn’t like, need or want I have discovered a style that is mine and I like it.

I have made some amazing friends and some incredible business contacts. I have discovered crossovers and potential joint projects with people I probably would never have met had I not started, and gone public with this journey.

I have more time. I can’t explain this one, I still live in the same house, I still have the same family. Perhaps it is more that I am more mindful of my time, I don’t fritter it away. As I am only keeping things I cherish I am learning to cherish my time as well.

And finally, I did it because I wanted to. You have to want to.

reverse decluttering part one

April 10, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 2 Comments

So the reverse declutter begins. No that does not mean I am bringing stuff in – heaven forbid. No, this alphabetical mularky, the one that is supposed to encourage me to look beyond the easy declutter and get rid of things that I didn’t really know I had or go into boxes I would prefer were left untouched.

Z is for zips. As it happens my haberdashery (the posh name for the boxes containing sewing sort of stuff) boxes contained no zips but they did contain a lot of dross. All of which is now gone.

Nice and tidy.

Rubbish and ebay (there wasn’t much in between).

Y is for yellow. This isn’t actually mine, it belongs to the Boss. It’s a truly vile yellow sweatshirt. Goodness knows what he was thinking when he bought it. He has never worn it and if he did I would disown him. The yellow chicken has been sitting in my study for years and gathering dust. Out it goes

X is for x-tra (well sort of). Time to get rid of duplicates and things of which I have more than one. Despite all they have done to provoke me over the years I am keeping all three daughters, dogs, cats and chickens. Instead I hoofed out two orange squeezers (each one bought whilst on holiday to take advantage of the wonderful fruit. We now have one small juicer living permanently in our suitcase along with a tin opener, sharp knife, corkscrew and bottle opener – the essentials of any holiday picnic 🙂 ).

W is for wellies. How many “spare” pairs of wellies do we need? I used to keep them because we live in the middle of nowhere, it can get very muddy and when the girls were small and had friends over they were useful to have to hand. I think we are past that stage now.

V is for vittels (it was all I could think of). Combined three jars of honey into one and ditto various pasta shapes.

U is for undies. Now there is not a lot I like more than a good clear out of my knicker drawer. Sad I know. This time I did underwear drawer and sock drawer and I feel very virtuous.

Undies

Socks etc.

I know. Not quite an item a day. But If you add up all the items going out the door they certainly exceed 365 so not bad for a fortnight I think. Oh and the first half of the last wardrobe sale on ebay netted over £150. Wonder what I’d get for a pair of twins and an elder sister with a clean driving licence?

V is for

win win

June 29, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 12 Comments

This all has to go. Some of it already has and much of it is already earmarked but that still leaves a lot of stuff. Do we sell or donate? This is a hypothetical question because we have already decided but with this much to dispose of it was a substantial dilemma.

My gut (whose advice I follow quite strictly) feeling is to give. There are two reasons for this, one practical and one emotional. Practically, it is a pain to have to list hundreds of little things on Ebay (or whatever your preferred sale venue) for potentially very little return. Experience has suggested that fishing tackle, furniture, high-end clothes sell well and are worth the effort. The rest no. There is far too much there to go to one car boot sale, we would have to go every weekend for a month and still no guarantee of sale. Life is too short to spend it standing behind a pile of junk in the hope that it might be somebody else’s treasure. Final option was the UK equivalent of a US yard sale. This might have been a viable option if we had any chance of passing trade, but the pheasants and squirrels have shown little interest in our books and the sheep show little interest full stop.

Emotionally, I feel that I have more than I need, I have a wonderful home and family I want for nothing. There are people and organisations for whom our duvets and towels would be a lifesaver. To sell them for pennies which I do not need seems wrong.

So the final decision was as follows:

Linen to Durham Women’s Refuge
Books to Borderline Books
Furniture sold. Having thought this would be very hard it turned out to be remarkably easy. Ask and you shall be given. I just mentioned to a few people that we had some furniture for sale and buyers just came out of the woodwork.
Everything usable to St Cuthbert’s Hospice.
The remainder to the recycling centre and tip.

The balance seems right. I am enjoying seeing everything go, not just because it is wonderful to feel the space they have left behind but also because of the knowledge that instead of rotting away in a cupboard or a shelf unwanted and unused they are going out into the world to be used and loved by people who will genuinely appreciate them. Win Win.