I have read countless things online recommending that decluttering should be done by category and not by room. I have decided to not follow this and to instead go room by room. Once I remove a lot of the unwanted things I can then go back and do it by category, but right now I just have too much stuff. It seems overwhelming to take everything and move it into one location.
Last night and tonight I am working on the kitchen and dining room area. I have successfully packed up 4+ boxes of items I am donating, as well as, thrown away a lot of trash.
It is wild to me how, in such a small space, there were so many items.
On top of getting rid of things, I am also cleaning along the way. The kitchen is taking some time, however, I am excited to show you the progress and semi-finished product. I am not calling anything complete because I can always continue to get better.
Holding each item in my hand I have asked, “Does this spark joy.” If I answer yes, I have kept it. If I have answered no, I have placed it in either a donate pile (if it is in good condition) or in a trash pile (if it can no longer serve its purpose).
Because I do not have any before pictures the ones posted below might not look like much to you. I have done a lot of work. Everything that you see is organized. Nothing is really behind anything (with a few exceptions), everything I own is clearly visible, I have minimzied my decorations and appliances, and…..EVERYTHING HAS A HOME. Scroll below to see the progress I have made so far on my kitchen.
I am a 22 year old girl living in Cincinnati, Ohio and I am a messy person.
A couple of months ago I got home from work, opened my front door and decided that this was no longer the life I wanted to live.
I was so overwhelmed with all of the stuff that had cluttered my home. You should feel relaxed when you come home and I felt the opposite. I decided that I wanted to change.
My whole life I have been a little bit of a hoarder. I love stuff. I have a hard time throwing things away and I have too much of everything just in case I might need it one day.
I began watching videos on YouTube and Googling endless amounts of ways to declutter your home and how to live a minimalist lifestyle. I was really inspired so I began organizing my home and filling boxes with things I was going to get rid of. I felt like this was easier than I thought and that in no time my house was going to be free of unwanted things. I was feeling so free.
But it wasn’t that simple. I stopped working as hard, time got away from me. My life became busier and I became lazy when I got home. Things started to pile back up. Boxes I had filled to be taken to the thrift store were now apart of my decor. Even worse, the things inside of the boxes were being implemented back into my home. I was using things I was going to get rid of. Things I was sure I no longer needed.
The holiday season came and went and I started to feel overwhelmed again. I started to feel like I was failing at something I put my mind to. Something I was doing so well at.
Here I am after the new year sitting and thinking about how I want 2018 to go. I don’t want to give up on this and I want to continue to declutter my house and be more of a minimalist.
I have started this blog to help keep me focused. A place where I can document how I am doing so I can visually see the progress. I want to be able to share my experience with all of you so you can hopefully learn from my mistakes and maybe be inspired to also try something like this. I am not claiming to know what I am doing. I am not an expert. I am just a determined young lady who wants to feel free of her clutter.
I will continue to update this blog regularly with the progress I am making so stay tuned!
when i was 9 i wrote a love letter to cole sprouse and closed my eyes and threw it out the car window thinking it’d magically find him and wow i did not understand the united states postal system
