I have a lot of trouble keeping my house clean. Housekeeping doesn't come naturally to me. My mom trained me really well, so I can keep my house under control, but it takes a lot of effort and I have to consciously think about every little detail. For example; it's not natural for me to put clothes in a hamper after changing, or to clean the counter while I cook. I just don't think about it. I've tried the 'never leave a room without taking something that doesn't belong there', but I always forget.
This is just part of who I am and how my brain works, so I will have to work at it for the rest of my life. But there is one HUGE thing I can do; GET RID OF STUFF. Less stuff means less to clean. I don't think I want to go as far as minimalist, but that's the idea I'm holding onto.
Nony, from aslobcomesclean.com, talks about the fact that everyone has a different threshold for stuff. I grew up with parents who keep everything, but their stuff is under control. I inherited the desire to keep everything (from my dad), but not the ability to keep it under control or contained in any way shape or form (which is all my mom). My threshold for stuff is very small. Keeping a near minimalist household is going to allow me to keep my house tidy, with the added bonus of more time and less stress!
Having said all that, I want to share my decluttering story, one room at a time!! I will never be done decluttering, but this is the big overhaul.
There is a sewing studio in my house. It is used by my sisters, my mom, me, and whoever else needs a space to sew. When we moved in, we called it the shelf room because of the large number of built in shelves. Most of those shelves were bursting with fabric, plus fabric on the table, the floor, in bins and hanging from the ironing board. This room was such a mess that it was unusable.
Today, my mom and I filled THREE AND A HALF BOXES with fabric that we will never ever use. Those boxes will be taken and donated to our local 4H office this week.
During this clean out process, we removed 5 bags of trash. That included some old stuff from my great-grandmother's sewing tools, mostly things that dont work anymore. We also threw out moth eaten fabric and shoulder pads. Things like that baffle me. Why did we keep those in the first place??? (Short answer: just in case) ...No one even uses shoulder pads anymore....
We need to bring some stuff over from my mom's house, a little fabric and some notions, but that is much less daunting now that we actually have space for all of it!
We aren't entirely finished, and I forgot to take before and after pictures. But we made HUGE progress today, and I'm so proud of us.
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