I'm in the process of going through 10+ years of boxes. Mainly mementos, photos, past art work, ideas for art, journals/sketchbooks, old files, DIY projects waiting to be worked on/finished, art supplies, old school work, quotes written on misc pieces of paper, saved children's clothes/toys, CDs, extra office supplies, and oh so much more.
I'm about 15+ hours in and although progress has been made, there is so much more to do!! The basement still looks like a pig sty and I have spread the mess around another room creating piles while I go through all the boxes. It's a necessary evil.
So you may be asking what's motivating me? A couple things:
1) Find documents to help my son. My husband and I are having my son tested for Aspergers. The counselor has asked for any and all school/medical documents we think would provide more information on our son's development starting with my pregnancy. Mind you this was a little over 8 years ago! Thus began my journey into the dreaded basement. With relief that I have saved a ton of my sons medical/school papers and panic that all the information was spread through out my many boxes, I began opening boxes and clearing and organizing the content. It felt great to have a mission and to start getting things under control. This has been nagging me for over 10 years. THIS stuff has made me feel less of a person because my internally organized self was embarrassed and ashamed of my "hoardish" behavior. Now, I'm facing it down and kicking it's butt.
2) Save money. In an attempt to save money and make the most of what we already have, I have started couponing. Something I've always been interested in but never dived into because of the time investment. That is until I found southernsavers.com. With a couple hours of exploring Jenny's website, free tools, and youtube videos, you can begin your journey to becoming a coupon queen. It feels soooo good to save money and have stock in household items I know I'm going to need later. I absolutely love it!
Through this process of saving money, I needed a little space for my 6 weeks worth of items that were on sale which brings me to the dreaded basement. We have a wire rack that hold extra office supplies, old technology, and random larger items. Well, that wasn't going to do so I moved some stuff around and found a corner for my 6 bags of chips I had just purchased (BOGO free thank your very much). That was fine for the time being but the stash will be growing so my need for space is increasing which is a great reason to finish attacking the basement clutter.
3) New baby coming! That's right. We will soon be outnumbered by our kiddos in the near future. With that in mind, I want to get as much cleaning and organizing done now so our home will be a well oiled machine when baby #3 joins our family.
(If you've stayed with me this long, yay!! You're a trooper. I know this is a long post, I just have so much to share. I'm almost done, I promise :))
4) Party NEXT WEEK! We're throwing a big bash for my husband next week and this will be the first time a lot of our friends will be seeing our house for the first time.
5) In-laws are visiting NEXT WEEK! Now that the basement looks like it's under construction, I have to step it up and finish it ASAP so it's spick and span before my husbands parents visit.
Reasons 4 and 5 are great motivators to finish this project fast. Follow through is a must!
Here's what I've learned from decluttering so far...
- Stop what you're doing when you become tired, grumpy, or stressed. It becomes more painful and I'm convinced you become less productive. Instead, take a break and confront the boxes when you have more energy.
- It feels awesome to make progress. I feel like a more responsible, organized, and self sufficient person. I have a vision of what my life is going to be like when the basement is 100% organized and it's so exciting. I'll have so much more free time to spend with the kids and I'll know what we have and where we have it. I can live and do more in the present rather than be bogged down with the past.
- I have been blessed with such wonderful family members, a great education, and fun experiences. It's so easy to feel stuck sometimes but when you stop and look back at what you've accomplished and where you've come from, it's beautiful and encouraging.
That's it for now. I'll be sure to check in and update you all on my status. Wish my luck!
Is anyone else working on a home organizing project? If so, what have you learned from the process?
