Thursday, June 21, 2012

This Has Got To Go

I was reading an interesting article the other day. A woman was talking about how organized she was at work, yet her home was in total disarray. Clutter everywhere. She couldn't understand how she could be so organized in one area, but not the other. The person who answered her question said that she put more value on the person she was at work, and less value on the person she was at home. I can't tell you how closely I can relate to that.

We've lived in our house for 9 years this summer. You accumulate a lot of stuff in 9 years; especially with two kids. Closets are out of control. Drawers are overflowing. Cabinets and counters are cluttered with "stuff". For a person who has lived their adult life fighting to be in control, this is one area where I've lost all control.

I simply can't take it anymore.

A few weeks ago, I started the process of taking my life back. This urge to declutter and regain control at home started then. I believe I even wrote an entry about it. Since then, I have worked on one small space at a time. One day I emptied the pantry where I keep all my canned goods. I cleaned it, threw out old items, and restocked with everything in it's place. This week I pulled my son up to his bedroom and we completely emptied his closet. We threw away trash, and we bagged up clothes and toys to give to charity, and even found a few items to sell on ebay. Next was a counter in my kitchen that was ridiculously cluttered. Again, I just took everything off, cleaned the area and only replaced with a few items. Today we had our old weather beaten front door replaced with a beautiful new energy efficient one.

With each small area I clean and organize, I feel more and more in control. I feel more and more "together". My life is coming together one piece at a time. I feel happy for the first time in a very long time. I feel like I'm actually making changes. I'm controlling that which I CAN control, and letting go of all the things I CAN'T.

1 comment:

Gordon said...

I've been in my house for 11 years, and I totally understand. I may look like a hoarder, but I'm not.