You might laugh at me, but that's OK. I am really nervous about getting rid of my clutter.  I am a teacher and have accumulated a lot of stuff.  To give you an idea of how out-of-control it's gotten,…

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Comment by Carol Lacey on February 22, 2011 at 4:55pm

Thanks for your encouragement, Melanie.  Change is scary, and I know I have to change.  My school is closed for Winter Break and I have dedicated that time to my project. With supplies in hand, I began in my bedroom.  To motivate myself I took a Flip Video of what I saw.  As Gail suggested I began with my dresser drawers, which went well. Out went the old keys, old makeup, clothes that didn’t fit, don’t like, gifts that had someone else in mind. My list didn’t have many things because a lot of stuff was in the same category, but it felt good to fill a trash bag, and half a donation bag.  The foot high pile staring at me every day on my dresser where my photos should be was another story. I just kept thinking, “When did it get this bad? How could I let this happen?” The time to rationalize this mess had run its statute of limitations, and there was no longer any rationale for it.  So I went back to Gail’s rules and went through item by item, and tossed.  It took almost a day just for the dresser, but that’s OK.  It took much longer to accumulate this clutter. Old or broken or outdated costume jewelry, paperwork, batteries, jars, bottles, hair things – out went most. It’s three days total, the piles around the room are gone; my laminate floor is beautiful.  My dresser drawers, the top of the hutch and mirror area are clutter-free.  The nightstand is purged of junk, and remaining items neatly arranged.  The monsters under my bed are gone.  I no longer dread the countless hours I would need to “scan” in all my teacher papers; I threw most of them out.  I really didn’t need most of that stuff after all.  Inventoried bags of clothing donations are gone.  I’m proud of myself that I didn’t just redistribute the “clutter” to my attic.  The clothes in my closet are now organized, I know where things are: I kept a list of what I put where so I don’t go out and buy when I have. The first room was the hardest; but today, when I started the “second grade room” (PLEASE don’t as

Comment by Melanie Krivdic on February 21, 2011 at 4:21pm

It's a change. Change is scary. But once you get rid of your clutter, you can really organize the things you do use and need. I often kept stuff because I might need it later. Only problem was that I would then lose it and go out and by it again, only to find the first one later. And some things I kept for later use were never sued and ended up ruined due to water in a basement flood we had. When you get going on your areas and you start carting stuff out, you will feel great. I loved dragging out bags and boxes for the trash man and filling up the minivan for goodwill. And truthfully I got rid of a few things I found a use for after they were gone, but I made due with what I still had. :) Be sure to post on how your first session went!