Inspiration to Declutter/De-junk

We all know what is important, and it isn’t our STUFF. However, what do our actions say? How much time do we spend cleaning, organizing, sorting, storing and managing our STUFF? How much time do we spend just relaxing and enjoying our family?

These thoughts have motivated me to get serious about decluttering. I realized that I was spending more time picking up, cleaning, asking the children to pick up, or worrying about the mess than I was playing games or reading books to the children. It has been getting increasingly difficult to keep everything picked up and put away because we simply have too much stuff.

The stuff wasn’t enhancing our lives; it was taking over our lives.  Clutter and extra belongings make every job take longer.  How long does it take to dust an empty shelf? A shelf that is full of nick-knacks? I find that most of  what bothers me about our home isn’t the dirt, it is the clutter, the stuff that is not put away or doesn’t have a home.

Contemplate the 80/20 rule. 80% of our space is is occupied by things that we use only 20% of the time. 80% of our family entertainment comes from 20% of our games and toys, etc. Think about it. How much of that 80% could we get rid of and not miss. How much of your beauty supplies do you use every day, every week? So my goal is to really get rid of clutter, not just move it around. If we simply move it around and organize it, we will still have to manage it. If  we get rid of it, we never have to move it, clean it, or deal with it again.

Get rid of things that:

• are broken or obsolete
• you don’t want your children to have to deal with after you’re dead.
• you have to clean and store , but don’t get much use out of. (We have a lot of games, toys and activities that fall into this category. Sure we use them, but only occasionally. There are some games that we play often, those we keep.)
• you never really loved
• you don’t love now
• you don’t have room for

Keep things that:

• make you happy
• help you do what you love to do (or what you need to do)
• are truly valuable
• give more than they take
• your children will appreciate and enjoy

Remember if you are really serious about decluttering, you will be getting rid of some good things, maybe lots of good things. It isn’t a question of whether the item is good or not. It is a question of whether the item adds significantly to your enjoyment or purpose of  life. Does it help you to achieve your goals? It is back to the question of priorities and trying to chose what is best and not merely what is good. We can’t own it all.

Let’s do this together. Spread the word. Post before pictures of the project that you are tackling this week, link back to this post and add your post to Mr. Linky.

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Don’t forget to come back and  link up with us next Friday to show off  and check out other finished projects.

Read the other decluttering posts. Need more help getting the house in order? Read my posts on scheduling, chores or laundry management.

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Related posts:

1. Decluttering: Final Thoughts and Your Results
2. Banishing Clutter
3. Big Projects with Little Kids
4. Decluttering: Art Closet
5. Decluttering and Being Real