I don't know about you guys, but my entire goal of making my house decluttered is to take some of the weight off of me, and put some of the life back into my day that has been taken up with cleaning! I want to play with my children more, I want to be outside more this summer, I want to be able to drive down my road and not dread what I have going on in my house. That is my goal!


What about you??

Love Val

I think clearer and handle stress better when my house is not cluttered and creating stress of its own. I don't need stuff to just pile up, its a waste of my space and my time. I want my kids to be able to play and not have clutter hinder their imaginations. I don't have a lot of habits for good housecleaning from my childhood but I would like my kids to develop good habits (things that they will do naturally without having to think about it so they can focus on other stuff).

I want to be able to invite someone over at a moments notice. I want to basically use what God has given me to the best of its potential (which means not having a 'junk/catchall' room but having a guest room, like we do now since decluttering). I want others to be able to help me easily in a time of need because everything has a place. If I can truly see what we have and what we use then I can easily give away more of what we don't use and more rationally access what our needs are.

Those are my thoughts for now,
Sarah

I just feel totally overwhelmed by all the stuff in my house. There are days that I (almost, but not really) wish I could just throw it all away and start over, bringing in only the basics. I feel such peace walking through my house when I can see the floor and notice the beauty of my space, rather than seeing all the things that need to be put away...things I don't seem to have room to put away into, kwim?

For example, I have too much clothing...skinny and fat clothes in two seasons, church clothes, maternity clothes, and enough socks (w/o mates), bras (that don't fit), panties (that ride up) and pantyhose (that i don't wear) to start a lingerie store. I have a 6 drawer dresser full, half the closet is full. I have two totes of mat clothes, my summer clothes are in a under bed tote. But I still can't put everything away when it's all clean.

In the end, I want a simpler life that isn't dictated by the need to take care of all this stuff. I want to raise my kids to enjoy the beauty of nature and the simple joys of life, rather than the pursuit of more stuff.

I want to declutter to simplify. I want fewer items to clean, to worry about, to put away. I want clear spaces and room in the cupboards. I don't want to have more than I need.

I want to look around and see items that are important to me and that I love. I don't want junky knick knacks that someone gave me as an obligatory gift. I want just enough to meet my needs and make my home a beautiful place.

Peace,

Kimberly

Material things seemed so important in my younger life. Now, just breathing the same air as my dh and dc is what counts. The rest can hit the road, well, except for my coffee pot. I mean, let's be reasonable here.

I even purged photos. Every last negative hit the trash. I put the photos I like in albums and I set out the rest at the last family get-together. It was a full shoebox at the start and empty after the party. :thumbsup:

Katie

I just want to stop moving things from one place to another over & over again. I want to have a "home" for all my stuff, and be able to put things away.

:dito:

If everything had it's own place I would be happy. Today I am working on it :)

~Becky

Originally posted by BlueRoseMama
I don't know about you guys, but my entire goal of making my house decluttered is to take some of the weight off of me, and put some of the life back into my day that has been taken up with cleaning! I want to play with my children more, I want to be outside more this summer, I want to be able to drive down my road and not dread what I have going on in my house. That is my goal!


What about you??

Love Val

:dito:

Also, I just feel like I can't breathe when there's stuff everywhere. It makes me really cranky when I have to step over stuff to get around my house. I want to lay on the floor and play with the boys and not have crap all around me.

I just function better when things are in order.

I'm decluttering because we have so much more stuff than we can use, and because we have so many nice things that we would enjoy if they weren't half-obscured by clutter.

Karen

Oh, that is exactly my reason, too, Val! To simplify my daily routine, make it easier to keep things clean, make it easier to get to doing things I like to do -- play with the kids, get out of the house with them, sew some clothes, read a book -- without feeling guilty because there is so much the house needs.

I also don't even know what I have, and I feel like a fat-a$$ed, spoiled-brat American when I think of all the stuff I have that isn't getting used, that someone else could use. Or when I go out and buy something because I know I already have one, just can't find it. (Happens rarely, but still!)

Also, I just get near-panic attacks when I think of moving...and when I think of how light I used to live, just my Bus, lightly packed, nothing else. When we were packed to go to Alaska, my friend Sarah looked inside my Bus and said "Wow, I'm so impressed -- you got your life pared down to this...it looks so good!" And it did...and I need to get close to that again. It is freeing, to have few things.

I am reading Little House in the Big Woods to Katie, and we are both marveling at the simplicity. Laura and Mary got one pair of red mittens and a stick of peppermint candy for Christmas. That was it. That was heaven!!!! Katie's mouth dropped open. Simple as we do Christmas and Solstice (three gifts each), it looks perfectly decadent in comparison. I read about how they butchered their pig and used every last bit of the meat, and I'm in awe.

Ok, enough...it's time for me to go to the beach for Mother's Day. :heart:

we're decluttering because this time next year we will be looking for a new house. We've been here 6 years, longer than either DH or I have stayed in any place. Normally we ditch 3/4 of our stuff every 2 years, but we haven't moved, so we haven't done a good clearing. Add having a child to that and we've got stuff we haven't even seen in 4 years. In my mind, if we haven't seen it and used it in the last year, it goes.

I'm also trying to be realistic. I'm hanging on to things that we just don't need or use. Why keep something that we're not using, why not pass it to someone who will use it. So all the kids clothes, all my maternity & post maternity clothes, all the old toys, most of our books, heck even most of DH's tools are on their to people who will use them!

Chole

Oh I needed this today!

I need to clear stuff out... really big time. I want to be able to get the kids really cool Birthday Gifts (Lauren the thing that started me the first time I got rid of 2/3 of my stuff was Anne Of Green Gables... LOVE IT!) but I can not see bringing more into this house with it so full like this. I am there... tomorrow, I am going through and getting rid of tons of stuff. I am having a garage sale this weekend... and then whatever is left on Sat eve I am sending off to goodwill. I am doing it... this week. Getting it done. That along with going to the post office are my ONLY goals this week. (Of course I will do the kitchen too in the process. :) )

Love Val

For me it is a matter of personal conviction. I have felt (for years) guilt when I go to my closet and see dozens of clothes that I don't wear and I realize that there are people everywhere who could use them. When I realize that so many people do with so much less than we have, it shames me to talk about "needs" when they are really "wants".

I believe that living a simple life allows me to focus on the things that are most important to me. I can more readily hear and worship God when I don't have things that only add clutter to my soul. I can be available to my husband when I am not exhausted from cleaning or organizing things that I don't need. I can be a better mom to my boys when I have the time to read and play with them because my job as a homemaker is taken care of. Simplicity adds to my life and I think that is a key for me. I have to realize that decluttering and choosing to live a simplified life doesn't mean I am "doing without", it actually adds more and makes my life more fullfilled and richer.

When I moved from Michigan nearly 8 years ago I had a duffle bag, and a garbage bag of stuff... and the first week I was there my mom washed all my clothes with my sisters new pair of purple jeans. So I had even less.

I do no aspire to be this destitute again though... for me simple is not nearly as much having a tiny amount of stuff as it is "Having a home for everything" like Laurie said. It is amazing how much "stuff" kids bring in though... as they get older it seems to get less though. I know that Alex plays with his legos more than anything else he owns... and that takes up a big tupperwear... Cyan on the other hand uses lots of things... but Alex would be happy with the wood figurines and the legos. :) Gotta love them!

Love Val

i'm overwhelmed looking at this...and i don't like that feeling, i want my house to be a place of solace, comfort, peace...so before this baby comes, my goal is to have it fully decluttered...i'm hoping dh will pitch in since he's a teacher and off for the summer! ;)