I'm not one to usually make new years resolutions. Instead I try to embrace changes as they presnt themselves. So sometime back in December, I became overwhelmed with stuff. At that time I decided to do what I call "the Great Purge".
I'm doing my whole house, a drawer, closet and room at a time, a little each day.
I'm a pretty organized person by nature. And I have a firm belief that you either are or you are not, and it's very difficult to become permanently organized if you are not naturally organized.
But I will tell you that if you will attempt to organize your life you will find that you have more time for the people you love and hobbies you love.
So my problem was not organization as such, just that I was feeling overwhelmed by all my stuff.
Part of the issue is that I have a business, and that business is to buy and sell great old stuff. And I have to keep that stuff somewhere until it sells.
At some point I ran across this you tube channel and Have truly enjoyed this gal's tips on getting organized here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZRmGSRGgRiaOl8P95a6p9g
One of her tips is to group "like with like". Meaning as you are sorting group simliar stuff together, sort and eventually store these similar items together.
So last night I tackled one of my desks (I have 3) My roll top desk although outdated, is sure handy, and is where I keep most of my personal family business papers. I began to clean out the drawers and grouping "like with like" and I was overwhelmed by some of the numbers of my accumulations.
I mean how many pens does one person need? Some other things I found that I had too much of was greeting cards, and envelopes and note pads. I kept a reasonable amount of them and threw the rest away. Yay!!!!!
Another of her tips is to gather all broken electronics in one place and send it to best buy for recycling. This is what I've found so far. I have a husband who is hesitant to throw this stuff away so I'll be giving it to him to deal with. It will probably go into a box in our attic for just this type of thing, but It won't be my problem after that.
And now for a shot of my desk after clean up. Wish I had taken a before.
It feels great to start the year out like this.
The Great purge continues and I'll be blogging about different things I'm doing to de-stash. But the best news, is that many of my best treasures are being listed in my Etsy store all month. All new listings are from my personal collections, and I've kept the best for myself, so this is good stuff!
I also have a lot of fun items to help you get organized in vintage junking style so check out my Etsy store and type "Organize" in the search box.
I have to go now and sort Pens :)
2 comments:
I did this 1st purge, drawer by shelf by counter in 2000 I think it was, inspired by FlyLady methods. It took me nine months to work through my house and it changed my life.
I've spent the time since remembering to put things away after I use them (defeating the clutter dragon) dealing with paperwork as it comes in the door (struggling with the paper dragon) and continuing to purge things I no longer use.
I expect, in a land of plenty this is a lifetime task, but it has certainly made me a better steward of my finances, space, and mind. Because while decluttering my home, I found my mind getting into the process. Time eaters are rigorously limited :) Two hours a day computer/phone stuff is it. Keeps my interests focused!
I don't think my stash was ever huge but I went on the fabric wagon in October 2001. This October I finally gave myself permission to buy fabric again. I am basically down to blues, reds, an greens. I have surprised myself, there has been no big bolt to the fabric store. The idea of buying because I might use it someday, is out of my system.
Anyway, long story short, and my 2 hours are about up...best wishes, it is worth the effort.
Sharyn/KalamaQuilts
I guess it's pretty common to have this feeling of needing to purge and organize at the start of a new year. I know it's been on my mind lately too. Thanks for the video link, I plan on watching some of her videos.
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