"Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions." ~Peace Pilgrim (source)Over the past several months, I have noticed that we have too much. It is not something I just noticed, it is something that has been nagging at me. Really, how much is enough?
I am tired of always trying to find items around the house and our home feeling cluttered. It is impossible to keep the house clean because we have to tear everything apart to find that one do-dad hubby knows he has but cannot find.
Hubby and I have decided to start purging some of our belongings. Do I really need 6 vases when I don’t believe in purchasing fresh flowers? Yes, I can clip flowers from our flower bed and put in the vase for decoration (I rarely ever do this), but I need just one small and one large vase for that. And please don’t ask me why I have 3 sets of hot rollers and use none of them.
We have 3 baker’s racks…in our living room. One is his from his old house, one is mine from my old house, and one is ours that was given to us by my mom when she moved (it’s gorgeous!). They are situated in our living room because we don’t have enough room in our dining room. I think you can tell which one we will be keeping: the one that we both think is gorgeous. I feel like when we have surfaces without clutter, it gives us permission to purchase and fill said surfaces with possessions.
Over the next several months, I will try to post before and after photos of our purging efforts. We could have one major garage sale (or several) this year with all the “stuff” we want to get rid of.
When you look around, are you happy with the amount of possessions you own? Or do you feel like I do, that it’s all too much
Interesting thoughts! I don't have much clutter, but sometimes I hate getting rid of what I have because I always think that when I do, it'll be one week later that I suddenly need that item and then it will be gone. But I have seen that show Hoarders and have heard hoarders say the exact same thing! :)
ReplyDeleteI am also wondering if after you read everything Peter Walsh has to say on the subject, if you are 100% on-board with him, or if there was a part that you disagreed with. I thought sometimes he made too many assumptions about unorganized people.
I am completely on board; however, it is a little overwhelming with as much "stuff" we have. It took us many years to accumulate the "stuff" and it will most likely be an ongoing process to declutter our home.
DeleteI have alot of clutter. I'm trying to declutter my house now. Focusing on one room at a time seems to be helping. I can see progess which motivates me to continue. Selling items at a yard sale may seem like a good idea, but it doesn't work for everyone. Sometimes the stuff gets put in a garage in preparation for a yard sale that never comes. Instead it just finds a home in another part of the house, until the next cleaning and decluttering day. Good luck on your decluttering journey.
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate. Thank you for the comment!
Delete