My Motivation This Year

This year I became truly motivated to clear some clutter! Why? I think it is because I turned 70 this year in January. I never thought I would live this long and here I am. And I have lived in the same house since 1997.

And having lived for 43 years in '97 meant that I brought a lot of things into this house when I moved in. And even though we moved this house to our retirement spot, when we moved I was dealing with cancer and only got rid of a few van loads of things.

That was always the best part of moving was downsizing. I have always hated the rest of the move.

My husband will sometimes say, "Well, we could have had a fire." I am sorry for those who lose so much and I would never want a fire for me or anyone else. Then we see all the disasters around the country and are thankful that we live where we live.

My husband agrees with my need to clear clutter and it is usually only my stuff that he wants to give away. Then he owns the things of mine that he wants. He is in charge of all the tools for example. It doesn't matter that I came with tools.

He will say, "Your tools weren't any good. I'm sure I got rid of them right away." He is a bit of a 'Monk' so his tools don't look as dirty or used, as the tools in the photo above and there are several of the same item on each hanger. He is 74 and had more years than I did to collect things.

My help has been joining a decluttering group. The photo above reminds me that I have clothes to get rid of. I donate clothing and shoes to the Salvation Army when they are taking donations or to the Veterans boxes that are placed in the L&M parking lot in a nearby town.

If that was all there is to decluttering though, I would be done with a yearly trip of clothing and shoes. Well, maybe more than one.

My decluttering has been slow over the years. Someone suggested turning hangers around seasonally or at least yearly. Then what you don't wear you get rid of. That has helped but not completely. Lately, I always think, has it been a year? It may have been two years!

Then I was told by a friend that every time she buys shoes she has to get rid of a pair. That is fine but I don't usually wear my shoes out and 24 years ago when I met my husband he accused me of having enough shoes that I may be getting close to Imelda Marcos, a former Philippines First Lady.

After that I started to get rid of three pairs for every pair I purchased. I did that for several years having cut back on buying shoes. I stopped when I had about 20 pairs of shoes.

I have started to go back up and need some shoes as I have been wearing a few favorites out, so I will go back to getting rid of at least two pairs of shoes for every pair I buy.

We recycle by taking our recycle and bag of trash to the recycle center weekly. I recycle egg cartons by giving them to a neighbor or my daughter who has chickens. Then I recycle bags by taking them back to the grocery store and Target as they have bins for them. This makes storage a problem.

This year I learned that I really need more support to declutter and I have chosen to pay $37.00 a month for the extra motivation. In that, I get 10-minute miracle demonstrations that give me support and guidance to declutter my living spaces. Showing me what can get done in ten minutes.

With this, I have the habit of kitchen zero, so that every day I put groceries and leftovers right away, I empty, load, and run the dishwasher daily, I wipe counters. That is it! Simple. Makes a huge difference. No dishes piling up in the kitchen. Nothing is left out. Clean counters, no crumbs!

There are Facebook groups created with special directions to Organize Like A Boss (OLAB). It is suggested to get a buddy to go through any special challenges with. It helps to keep me moving with the clutter.

Then there is the continuing process of getting pictures sorted and in albums. And I change photo frames and the frame on my refrigerator that is there mostly for the little ones that can see them. I decided I would evaluate yearly.

I didn't have to drive myself crazy trying to get it done in one day, one week, or even one month. It is for when I want to look at my family in pictures. Now, a new lesson is that I have started to order photo books of the photos I want to keep to eliminate what I am doing now.

As 2024 comes to an end, I am considering whether I pay the incentive money for another year. It feels like it has been worth it. I have a whole lot more decluttering to do before my next move. So, yes, I can do that. I feel like it's a can I afford this and the answer is I can't afford not to.

The only thing I know is that I may need to push myself a bit more to get rid of more things. What would our children do if something happened to me and the hubby? Pull up a dumpster and start tossing. I also decided not to wait to give some things away to the person I would like to have them.

Then I thought I could always keep working to pay for my decluttering fee. I can work as long as I can. I choose what I want to do and love what I do now. And I could pay for someone to come in and get me organized as I did once when I was working full-time.

Was that worth it? Yes, it was. At first, I thought she would just do it but instead, I had to be there with my three bins of trash, give away and keep. The good thing is we put the trash out together, and she took the giveaway with her so I couldn't change my mind.

The keep bin was for me to put away. That was only working on my closet and my office at the time. When we finished our contract was over. I could use a similar contract. An extra pair of hands. See what this did! It talked me right into looking into this service around here. Damn.