Its been a rough, really rough 2 weeks, emotionally. I’ve been riding an emotional roller coaster, hitting giddy highs and sinking into the lowest of the low. It was the worst for me last Friday when I really felt in despair of ever having a solution to my on-going problem with the people responsible for damaging my car. Blogging and work is helping keep me on an even keel as I strive to have some normalcy amongst the chaos.
But last week, after a long hot shower, I sat down, looked around my humble abode and decide that enough was enough. I didn’t want to keep dragging myself down and despairing over things. Yet, in the 2 weeks when I’d been stumbling around like a zombie, I realised that my home had become a big pile of mess. Well, its not just from last week but its been a growing mess that I keep looking at and looking away because I just don’t have the energy to deal with that on top of everything else.
I had my mail, bills, junk mail, bank statements… all littered over my dining table. We joke that I shouldn’t have a dining table because I don’t dine at it, I just use it as a horizontal dumping ground to dump everything on when I get home. I had stuff everywhere, laundry unfolded, mail unopened, press releases strewn all over. It was a tip.
I needed to get things under control and it would have to start with my home and by clearing clutter.
That’s what I did most of the weekend.
I took to task my working room, prepared a large black bin bag and forced myself to throw out everything I thought I’d “need someday” or “will come in handy”. The fact it, most of it doesn’t. They’ve been there for years and never come in handy.
Tip: If it was supposed to “come in handy” and has not come in handy for a year, chances are it will not come in handy, ever.
Papers, junk mail, expired products, all went into the bin bag. I found a spare set of shelves in my storeroom that I could use and set about putting things in their place.
At the end of the weekend, I’d gotten the worst of the clutter sorted, stored or thrown away. I tossed out 3 large black bin bags and I know I have more to be tossed. But its a start. Being able to see my dining table again for what its supposed to be – a table, not a pile of paper – made me happy.
If you too are thinking of decluttering, here’s 4 tips to get you started and what I practised as I went along:-
- Is it old, expired, never used? Things have a lifespan, no matter how much we want to cling on to them. An item of clothing may be too old, or a product may be expired or you may just never have gotten round to using that coffee machine you thought was a great buy all of 2 years ago. Time for them all to go!
- Be ruthless. Too often I keep things “just in case” or “it may come in handy” I have a shelf of nothing but boxes, bubble wrap, padded envelopes dating from 5-6 years ago. I kept them because “it may come in handy”. Who was I kidding? It never did! I’ve kid myself once too often. This time, I got ruthless and out they went.
- Keep a big bin bag at your side. You’d be surprised at how quickly this bag will start to fill up once you start going. I ensure its a big black bin bag that clearly tells you its destined for the bin. Once things go in there, they don’t come back out. That was my policy so I had to think it through before tossing it in.
- Tackle one room at a time. The key is not to be over-ambitious. I started with my working room as that was where my mess really was. By extension, so was my living room so I dealt with both together. It took me the better part of an afternoon and I was exhausted when I was done. But I’m going to tackle another room this weekend and take it from there.
I have a ways to go yet before I can say I’ve gotten the clutter under control but its a start. And now that I don’t have to trip over boxes and get frustrated looking at the mess of a dining table, looking at unfiled mail and bills, I actually feel more comfortable, almost more at peace. Might this translate into real life, I don’t know but emotionally, I feel a little better.
There are a few more aspects of my home that needs decluttering. My wardrobe is a start – clothes I’ve outgrown (and should stop kidding myself I’d fit back into some day), old clothes, clothes I no longer wear. They can all find a better home somewhere else.
There’s the kitchen – the refrigerator and food store is always a good place to start. Expired food is such a waste!
There’s my beauty cabinet – out will go the expired and old products and stuff I don’t use and don’t intend to use anymore.
And finally, I plan to finally set up my guest room 🙂 Its been a work in progress for years and years but really, if I don’t do it now, when then? 🙂
Do you experience the same sort of mind relief when you clear your clutter? Do you have some decluttering tips to share?
I suppose that for me, getting rid of clutter and keeping things organized and neat is my way of getting my life back in order. Don’t underestimate it. It is very therapeutic and you’d be surprised at how much you can get rid of, how much order you can get back and just how much better you will feel at the end of it all 🙂
Paris B
I feel the same way when my room/wardrobe/table is messy. I’m not by nature a very neat person (I am quite envious of people who can keep their desk/homes clutter free and neat!), so things can get out of hand, which makes cleaning up tougher.
I agree that trying to do everything in one go is tiring and off putting, because you start thinking “Gee, I have better things to do with my time”, and that cleaning one room at a time is more realistic. Just that you have to keep the momentum going!
All the best in your clean up ^__^
I’m the same Applegal! I TRY to keep things neat and tidy but it rarely stays that way for long. Its easier to get home, dump everything on the table and go off, instead of just putting them where they should go right? I’m trying to keep my momentum going. One of the biggest tasks is sorting out the mountain of ironing! *groan*
Oh for ironing, I realised that if I leave it in a pile, it will stay in a pile. And it’s harder to iron because it’s all wrinkled up! Now I prefer ironing them immediately after taking in, or at least on the same day. If I don’t have time to iron, I will hang up the shirts and fold away the rest. Aiyor this is starting to sound like Good Housekeeping or some si lai channel!
HAHAHA Good Housekeeping – damn! I need to have that playing in the background at all times so I get my house in order! 😀 But you’re right about the ironing bit. I should really start on it the minute I take them in but I get lazy. That said, I’m out of clothes so I have to finally do some ironing this weekend. My back hates me already!
Hi Paris~ I totally love your post. Yes, I do experience the same sort of mind relief when I clear my clutter 😀 I’ve always been quite an organized person but when I’m really busy, I tend to pile things up. They’re not in a mess (bits of things here & there), they’re just piled up. Gosh. Haha! So yes, 1 very important thing I’ve learned is: be ruthless. I agree with you 110%! For example, I have some skincare samples kept in a paper bag. They just keep on piling every time I receive more samples. Some of them are not even for my skin type. I would tell myself every time, I might want to try them later when my skin gets dryer but who am I kidding? When will I ever try them anyway. When? I have oily combination skin. Period. By the time I want to declutter, I realized they’re expired anyway. So yes, be ruthless. Out to the bin they went or better still, nowadays if I do receive skincare samples not for my skin type, I’ll give them to my friends that I know for sure will appreciate them more than I do 🙂 Oh dear, sorry for the long post. Just wanted to share 🙂
Hi Rin, I’m glad you enjoyed it 😀 I wanted to share how little things like this can actually help with our peace of mind and give us a comfortable environment to live in. Win win! 🙂 Oh and I hear you on the skincare samples thing! There was a time when I was crazy about collecting samples. Don’t ask me why, it was a disease LOL I’d go around the different counters to try and get samples but you know what? I never ended up using them. I’d keep them aside “for a rainy day” but that rainy day never came LOL! So these days like you, I either use them or give them away at the first opportunity. Its why I can’t handle these beauty box subscription things. Too many samples to have to deal with and more clutter! >.<
I have to agree with your say that it’s therapeutic. I picked up on this decluttering thing a few years back (I’m totally not a neat person) and I find that it helps me to clear myself along the way. It’s an awesome feeling, chucking things that you no longer use and finding more space as you go.
I still have a ways to go (my things tend to clutter every so often) but I make it a point to declutter every now and then just to free myself off some loads.
Keep it up! I’m sure you can do it =D
Yes, it is an awesome feeling indeed! 😀 Its like out goes all that negativity and uncertainty and leaves space open for positive things to come in 😀 We can do this! 😀
This is a great post! I’m moving at the end of the month and am clearing out little by little. Books, clothes, purses, CDs, DVDs, magazines, dishes…all stuff sitting around taking up space, so I took them to a charity shop. Untold trash bags have disposed of even more.
I’m glad you enjoyed this! Moving house is one of the best ways to declutter because its your opportunity to get rid of a lot of stuff! When I moved before this, I tossed out so much, but since settling in my current home for a few years, its all grown organically again LOL So once you move, don’t get sucked back into the clutter trap! 😉
wonderful tips! i have plan to do some “spring cleaning” too. My stuff is taking too much space..they all need to go!!
Get some trash bags handy Shannen and toss them all out! 😀 Good luck with your spring cleaning 🙂
Thanks for the post and I totally agree with you that decluttering can be very therapeutic. I am generally a very neat and organised person and I definitely cannot live or work in a place that is messy. But when I get busy, I just do not have time to organise my stuff and things get pile up for sometime. So it is always good to spend a weekend getting rid of stuff that I do not need and arranging other stuff in the relevant places. It always leaves me with such a happy feeling after the exercise 🙂
I wish I was born with the neat and organized gene but I sadly am not LOL But I’m going to try to keep things as neat as I can and if I can’t clear up as I go during the week, to at least sort things out over the weekend at my first opportunity! Finally putting things in their place help too.
I have a manageable clutter all because i throw out old stuff regularly. I’m not a very sentimental person. If i buy a few new pieces of clothing, I’d search for older ones which i never wore for the past 12 months and chuck them out. I’m quite reckless when it comes to that.
I planned to clear out my clothes and shoes this coming long weekend, so I’m excited to get more space after that!
Good on ya, Lily 🙂 I am trying to streamline my wardrobe too. I just realised that many of my clothes are far too old and hey, if I don’t get rid of them, there’s no space for new ones is there? 🙂
I’ve always been a messy person. Not dirty, but messy! Every night I spend at least 1 hour to tidy up the house when I messed up in like 10 minutes in the morning! I am very timid about throwing stuff, especially reciepts, magazines and all sorts of paper stacks. Also I live alone and I have a spare room which I intended to turn to a study room like 1.5 years ago but things just kept piling on and on there so when I see that room I feel like suffocating. Also I have more than enough of makeup, skincare products and loads, loaaads of clothes. I knew I had to let go off things. So I started with my wardrobe. In the last 4 months I lost 17 kgs, and I was determined to keep my weight so I got ride off all the big sized clothes. Offff what a relief it was for me and my wardrobe!!! I got rid off like 12 bags of clothes. Then I separated my cosmetics products and sold the usable ones and threw the old ones. It was also good for my pocket too 🙂
And this week I am starting with the paper stack. I’m gonna get rid off every useless thing I have and then after the holiday I’m gonna get in that extra room of mine and gonna throw EVERYTHING!!!
Oh even thinking about it seriously relaxes me!!
*high 5* Casey! I don’t throw out things like bills or statements but I file them away because I never know when they’ll come in handy. I do toss receipts but only after I’m sure I won’t need them again to exchange products. Like you, I took so long to set up my study room which I eventually did last year and its great! It also gave me more space to mess up so do be warned! LOL Be sure to put up some shelves and get some boxes so you can put things away more neatly which is what I did last weekend and its helping me stay organized.
Also, congratulations on losing weight! Yes, you won’t need your larger clothes anymore I’m sure 😀 Hurrah for us and our decluttering 😀
i had so much of ‘just in case thy come in handy’ stuff but i dumped all away before chinese new year. and…..guess what, i needed one of those things few weeks back and i realized i have dumped it >< but, that was the first time in years.
and u know what? u should invite us to dine at ur table more often so it leaves u no chance for mess!
Haha yes! Come and visit me more often! I’ll have to hone up on my cooking 😀
Totally agree with you on the therapeutic benefits! Not to mention it clears the eyesore and generally just make home a better place to be.
I’m a housewife, so I not only clean up my mess, I cleanup the whole family’s. I would really like for them to pickup after themselves, but it’s just easier to use that time to do it myself than reminding them.
Oh Charlene, hats off to you for being a housewife and taking care of the home! I think I’d go mad if I tried to because I’m just horrible at it. I’d make someone a terrible wife LOL! 😀
I love this post! De-cluttering is one of my new year’s resolution this year, and I am working on it bit by bit. 🙂
If I have a major work coming along, for example before working on a major proposal, I like to clear out everything on my table so it’s free and spacious (to be filled with research materials later, of course). That always give me a mental prep and sets the mood for some serious work.
I’m a virgo and one would expect that this “species” is highly organised and clean. Well hell no. The state of my house/desk/room reflects the state of my mind. No secret at all.
Just recently I cleared out a drawer full of papers which I always just chuck things in and it got filled up so full I couldn’t put in anything anymore. Guess what I found? An expired cheque (too late to cash in already!! boo!!!) and the company keycard which was lost in the black hole… I filled about 1 large bin bags of papers from this drawer. More than 50% of the contents go into the bin. That’s how much space the rubbish has been occupying over the years!!
Well, hope your guest room is ready soon, and you have sorted out the car mess. 🙂
The car mess is still that – a mess. But at least I can clear up the other messes in my life 🙂 I think this whole throwing out of mess thing is great. I should have done it earlier LOL! Its great to know that you too find decluttering helpful – we can all give each other moral support to a clutter free, smoother sailing life! 😀
That’s what online community is for! 🙂
Speaking of decluttering, it makes me realize how much waste (food, of course) that could have been prevented and made me more careful about not over-buying!
Oh don’t get me started on food! I now try to buy only what I want to use. When I was cooking a little more regularly, I’d have an inventory list and try to use up what I had. That helped me be creative and also prevent wastage but of course, I slacked off and now oops! I dare not open my fridge. Something may be breeding in there 😛
Oh, I really do hope things will get better for you soon! And you are right, re-organizing everything makes things at least a little bit better. I’m on a mission of re-organizing a lot of things at my place, as well.
Just bought a new storage for my jewelry and am giving a away a lot of my clothes.
Thank you Marina, I’m hoping so soon 😀 You should show us how you store your jewellery. I’m sure you have some beautiful pieces – you have great taste! 😀
I work from home so I need to have a clear mind and clean house to be able to focus. I try to clean up every Sunday or every other Sunday. If I don’t do this, I can never start the week on the right foot. I would be distracted and meander through the day….Cleaning is like a kind of detox! 🙂
Ah this explains why I can’t work from home hehe… But yes I fully agree with you. My “working room” was a mess and everytime I sat in there, my head just felt so cluttered all the time! Now that its cleared up and everything’s in place, suddenly the ideas come. Its wonderful 😀
My table is a mess too…. But 1 bad habit of mine is when i clear the clutter, its almost near immediately that the table will be filled again…. @@ but yeah, sometimes we just get too attached to things, or think we may need them “someday”…. Oh women!
Once I clear the clutter, I try to keep it clutter free but it’ll all creep in again. Sigh. Vicious cycle!
Just want to give a suggestion? There’s a website called Flylady that you may have a look into. Dont worry it’s free unless you decide that u wanna buy their products (I’m planning to buy them one day, CLEANING PRODUCTS ALL THE WAY FROM USA mail to Malaysia? I know I’m crazy). It’s a team of people who help others to be able to get organized and chaos free life using very simple steps. Totally free if anyone is interested.
I took a look at the site and it was interesting, thanks. There were some good tips there.
Oohh a good one! To be perfectly honest, I have never had a pile of mess to clean up, thanks to my OCD which necessitates me to keep things away as soon as I’m done with them. Sounds like a blessing but its not. I annoy the people around me with my constant need to have things all perfectly lined up and neat. But the sense of relief after putting away a mess is really therapeutic, not to mention the voice at the back of my head disappears.
Good on you Paris, a mess out of the way leaves you more space for new things to come! Closet space is a always a good thing,one can never have too many clothes. LOL! I look forward to reading about your next de-cluttering adventure.
Shasha
I have something to recommend for people who wanted to declutter. Do read Marie Kondo’s book. It is really inspiring!