Yesterday I talked about three steps Christi and I took to getting our family out from under credit card debt. We realized debt held our future hostage with false promises of immediate satisfaction. If we wanted to have the family we envisioned when we married, we needed to pay off debt now, as fast as possible.
As we got our debt under control, we realized something else robbed us of the time we needed to develop the relationships with our kids – clutter. We didn’t have room for the stuff we had! Closets were overflowing! The house took a lot of time to clean because there wasn’t a place for everything. Some of our possessions were nomadic – they moved from room to room, depending on which room needed to be clean at that time. We didn’t possess our possessions, they possessed us!
Possessions require maintenance. That means spending money or time to keep them functioning well. While it may be two minutes here or there, it eventually adds up. The idea is to get rid of things that consume your space and leech your time.
So we are clearing the clutter. We can’t do it all at once. Instead, we’re doing it drawer-by-drawer, closet-by-closet.
Some Things We’ve Learned so Far
If you haven’t worn something in over a year, you’re probably not going to wear it again. If it’s in good shape, donate it to the local charity. If it isn’t, why do you still have it?
You don’t need 50 coffee mugs. Pair it down to seven – one for each day of the week. Even that is stretching it.
If you have empty picture frames you have three options: fill them, toss/donate them, or gift them.
If you can’t remember when, where, or why you bought that knick-knack, you probably don’t need to keep it.
If it’s broken, throw it away.
Getting Started
Don’t kill yourself. Start with one closet and one drawer per weekend. When you’re done, enjoy some time with your family. Celebrate getting the clutter on under control. (We do not recommend a celebration shopping spree! ) If you do this every weekend, you will eventually go through everything.
And you will be one step closer to designing the family life you want rather than letting life get the best of you.
Are you successfully clearing away the clutter in your house? What tips have you picked up that could help the rest of us?
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I chucked through this post as we've done the same thing! My problem now is I can't convince my husband to get rid of the fourth bed in our three-bedroom home. Any suggestions for that?