SeeMyFeet, Welcome! Anyone is welcome here! I can say getting my office organized has made a world of difference. I got rid of all the old/outdated stuff and found a way with my newfound space to organize and access what I needed to keep. It is very freeing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by onebyone
The phrase "you can't organize clutter" keeps running through my head, meaning, if you have too much stuff, you just have too much stuff and some stuff just has to go. I need to keep this front and center as I approach the task of reducing my box pile. Since the new cabinets will be completed soon, my next job is to reclaim the kitchen and to clean off the futon in the back room.
I do agree with this. I firmly believe that I could not be maintaining the way I am had I chosen to try and organize everything I "had". As I started letting go of "stuff" that had been precious to me and "stuff" that I might need someday I gave myself permission to go acquire that item again should I ever truly miss it. In over two years I haven't repurchased anything and have not woken up one time pining for something I let go of.
This is what flyladysaid, which really struck home with me;
"Why is that we feel we have to hold onto everything?
This stuff is suffocating our creativity and holding us back from what we are really supposed to be doing. It is so hard to clean house when you have clutter everywhere!
Anything can become clutter when you don't use it, don't love it, and you don't have a place for it. We collect things because we think we may need them one day. All this does is clog up our homes and our lives. That clutter becomes a stumbling block to our daily routines. It gets in the way of living. We become the caretaker of stuff instead of living our lives. We have a choice; our houses can become a museum, a landfill or a home!"
Why would I want to pay money to store stuff that would make it even more difficult to use/access? I chose to repurpose I can say it's a wonderful feeling.
Well, yesterday after work I had some time to myself. DH had to go back up to the project. I wanted to make quinoa (15 min) and so I took out the mini-vac and delved into the corner lazy susan in the kitchen. I took everything out, looked at everything, got rid of some stuff and cleaned. It looks fantastic!
I have noticed many times during the last declutter challenge that although I'm keeping stuff clean and organized on the "outside" that I have many storage spaces that aren't seen by anyone but me that bug me now.
I think I'm going to focus on those unseen spaces for awhile. One at a time is all I need to undertake. By the end of this challenge they will all be done. Yay!
Today, it's time to switch my files to 2014. Here's my new process:
I have all our personal papers in 3 files
1. Bills Paid
2. Credit cards paid
3. Statements (bank/financial)
I created this system last year and it worked perfectly!1. make new files for the current year.
2. go through the previous year files and get rid of all bills/papers that arent' necessary to keep (shred)
~I keep all bank statements
~I keep electric bills for the big house (history of usage $$)
~I go through credit card statements and only keep ones that have tax decuctible purchases
3. I condense all that's left to one file labeled 2013 and put it in the office cabinet
4. I move the oldest year I need to keep to the basement file (2007) and when I get there I take 2006 and bring it up for shredding, although I keep the tax file forever.
That's my project for this morning....why wait?