Daily Declutter

I am working on decluttering in order to focus on the most important things in my life, both material and intangible. I would like my home and my life to be simple, without clutter interfering with what I want to do. And I do this because I continue to find clutter sitting around, looking at me, whenever I am working on something around the house!

I spent a good amount of time in the garage today as my daughter painted the interior parts of her closet. We're almost finished painting her room, so I looked through the paint we have sitting on the shelf. At least two pints of paint were 20 years old -- even if they aren't dry then I'm sure they won't be used. They went to sit with a few other containers that need to be taken to the HazMat disposal site. Since I am no longer planning to work on "projects" I do not need to keep materials around "just in case," and 20 year old paint is definitely a "just in case" item.

 I also found shelf brackets I had forgotten were there. We'd like to add an additional display shelf for my daughter's room, but I found two sets of brackets and a complete shelf kit -- in addition to the shelf I did know I had. We'll choose her favorite, and the rest will be donated. In fact, they're sitting next to the donate pile to prevent re-absorption by the garage-at-large.

On the potting bench I noticed a couple flower pots that I do not like. I do not care for the colors, and I will not be planting anything in them. Why do they take up space that could be used for potting? I have no idea. They're also gone.

In the attic, I saw a couple of pool noodles sitting unloved and unused. Since we can't use them at the community pool, and because we don't have our own pool, they have no business keeping those toys. However, when I suggested taking them to my parent's pool my daughter responded gleefully. Playing with toys is much better than storing them in the attic until all the kids grow out of them.

And so it goes!  As I go through each area of the house I find things that I don't need, won't use and won't miss. I do notice more space, especially in storage areas, and I'm really happy when I have a productive day, with lots of clutter moving out. I feel like I'm making a difference!