Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Decluttering

Sometimes you don't realize how cluttered your living space has become, until you start to clean it and throw out four bags of garbage and six bags of paper... Yes that's what actually happened to me in the last week. It started on my birthday when my sister phoned me to tell me what her birthday present would be for me. She would help me clean and organize my room, which is something I had asked for, but didn't really expect to get.

My sister didn't realize what she was getting into or the state my room was in. We worked four hours solid and made progress but were no where near completion. I had run out of closet, desk, and filing cabinet space, and my foot care nursing and nursing supplies with back packs, tote bags, and my large tool box out in plain view as well as untidy piles of miscellanous items. My book shelf was overflowing with books and my desktop and dresser were cluttered and untidy on the outside and overfilled within. The main problem is how many papers for my many years of schooling I had held onto. Even though, in studying for my nursing exam, I did not review the entirety of my nursing notes which were nearly illegible anyways, I had kept nearly all of them from all five semesters. I was fooling myself that I would ever look them over again and they were taking up valuable closet space. They couldn't go in my filing cabinets, because I had kept so much other paper from my university career and from each year of my life since I was twenty when I had gotten the filing cabinet. I think I had kept 75% of the papers I got in the mail in that time period.

My sister and I started by cleaning my closet and then managed to get my nursing supplies into my closet. My sister tidied up my dresser while I ruthlessly threw out my notes and other various papers from my closet and desk. By this time we were hungry and nowhere near done. After a snack and texting break, we worked some more, until it was suppertime. My sister outlined what my strategy should be when I would, as she strongly hinted, be working solo. I spent the long weekend doing lots of cleaning, sorting, and throwing out and by Tuesday my room was basically clean. It was such a good feeling to have a clean, less cluttered room and to let go off all those papers! It was not as bad as the hoarders featured on tv, but it was pretty unliveable. 

I would like to go through a similar process, except this time with my life! I am sure I am holding onto to a lot of stuff I should be letting go of.

7 comments:

Suzanne said...

It turns out with all that throwing out of paper I ended up throwing out my passport. It had been missing for a couple of years and I couldn't find it anywhere among my things. Thankfully I received a phone call from a company that manages recycling who had rescued my passport and gave me an address where I could pick it up. Finding the address ended up being a major ordeal even with the help of a GPS, but eventually I made it there.

Mrs. Gryce said...

I wish I lived closer...I absolutely LOVE de-cluttering and think it's fun to help other people throw out junk. (I'm a nerd--I know!) I am trying to make a business out of it, but so far, haven't had much success. I would love to see a "before" and "after" photo! :)

Suzanne said...

A before and after photo would have shown a dramatic difference, but I didn't think to take a photo before... I guess I could still take an after photo, although things aren't quite in the same shape:) A photo of all the garbage bags full of paper and garbage that I got rid of would reveal how much stuff I actually removed from my room. Not every one has the same joy in decluttering as you, but there is something inherently satisfying about the process and results. I don't think you're a nerd and it is a good idea for a business. I would think a lot of seniors who need to move out of their homes into long term care or a retirement home could use your services.

Suzanne said...

Btw I realized yesterday that sadly there is no way to read your blog except through a Facebook account. Since I am off for awhile I will be missing out.

Mrs. Gryce said...

Suzanne, You should still be able to get on my blog without going through facebook (I think). :S You just won't get notifications of new posts--unless you add me to the list of blogs you follow via your blog. Let me know if that works...if not, perhaps I need to adjust some settings on my blog...?

Suzanne said...

Donna you are totally right. Earlier I tried googling to try to find your blog and it didn't work, but when I click on your profile picture I can easily access your blog without Facebook. I have added you to the list of blogs I follow so I can see your new posts.

Mrs. Gryce said...

And I have changed my settings so that I will now show up in a Google search. Happy reading! :)