Clutter

I just realized as I typed the title of this post, that I could probably write about de-cluttering my brain ... but I think I will have to save that one for a bit later! = ) This one is about my house.

Agh, my house. I'm not even going to try and blame the clutter on the size of the house. Because I know all too well it doesn't matter the size of the house, clutter can still take over. My house may not be large, but that does not mean it is impossible to keep neat. Now, since I three small children, my "neat" may not be the picked upness of those with no kids, but I can still fight the clutter fight. Right?

I despise clutter. I like walking into rooms, and NOT seeing piles of things in corners, along the sides of the wall, heck, in the middle of the room! I like things looking neat. When the house is clean, I feel at peace. The problem is - somehow, I create clutter. I am terrible, repeat - TERRIBLE, about stacking things everywhere! Maybe in organized piles, but not really putting away, finding homes, or getting rid of ... Eli always tells me: "You have to act like it cannot stay there any longer. Find a home or get rid of it! Don't stack it!"

Trying! Maybe, I think?

Anyway, the past two weeks, I'm really looking around my house and feeling slightly defeated about how cluttered it really is. I feel kinda, well, embarrassed about the clutter. Why on earth do I have this much stuff anyway? If it doesn't fit, I just want it gone! The defeated part comes into play because my time feels really limited right now. School, work, Eli's work/school, homeschool, preschool, general cleaning of kitchens/bathrooms/laundry/etc. You know how it goes! How can I attack and room and really "do it" so that it is cleaned up, cleaned out, and bags of stuff go away from it and don't come back!?!? It's not really an organization problem, it is just a too much stuff problem. And goodness, what good is stuff, really? It just accumulates. We have a saying on our wall: "The Best Things In Life Aren't Things". And after living in our house 7+ years, "things" are all over. Time to re-focus.

I can't dedicate a day to a room. Just won't happen right now. So, my plan is this: 10 minutes a day. If I will commit to spend 10 minutes each to de-cluttering. I think I will see some results. Might take longer than I like, but I still want the results. So, I have to do it! I want to do it.

It's now on my daily list, right after Jonah's school. 10 MINUTES. I spent 10 dedicated minutes in my bedroom, and I was amazed at the results! I found things that desperately needed to be put in their correct home, threw away quite a bit, and finally re-found the top of my dresser. Happy Sigh. Later on in the day, I walked into my room, and felt so ... happy. Peaceful. It's actually quite crazy how much better it looks. Truthfully, I'm sure it could use another 10 minute moment, but I think I will spend some time the next couple days on the living room/dining room area. And see where I am at the end of the week!

Every room has goals ... and I want to stick with this! And perhaps, but the time in November we're getting ready to put up Christmas stuff, the other clutter will be much less! I also hope we can go through ALL the toys in this house and clean out thru those as well, as we look forward to Christmastime. Share with others and throw away broken ones.

So, for the few that read my blog, keep me accountable! I would love to get reminders to keep at it and not get discouraged when it seems like no change is happening! And let's hope in a few weeks, my 10 minute times will have added up for big results.