new year resolution 01: clutter bust

I am so glad to usher in a new year. I am ready for change and fresh starts and all that. “Do you make resolutions?” was a popular question at the New Year’s Eve party I attended. The answer is Why, yes. Yes I do. All the time. Every list I make is a resolution to get stuff done.

One list item that seems to be rather perennial, though, is to declutter. The entire house. We have piles of stuff everywhere. In fact, there isn’t a surface free from things that we aren’t using or have used and don’t know what to do with them next. Because, heaven forbid, we throw away anything from which we might derive satisfaction again. I wouldn’t say that we’re pack rats or, worse, horders. Rather, we just don’t deal with our stuff.

But no more. I can’t live like this any longer. The mess is affecting my sanity, especially when everyone expects me to find missing items. Well, guess what, guys? It is getting hard to find things because there’s so much stuff to sort through.

I’ve tried decluttering in the past. I have bought countless books about getting organized. I have purchased countless containers to store items with which I cannot part. Many of those containers are empty. Recently I stumbled upon this blog by a St. Paul mom whose children go to school with mine (though, I hasten to add, we've never met; we do, however, have mutual friends). She was wrapping up a year-long challenge to rid her house of 500 pounds of stuff. Her “before” photos of target areas resembled my home so much, I suddenly didn’t feel so alone in this struggle. Her “after” photos were inspiring.

This decluttering I am about to do may be brutal. Mostly, it may force me to toss things I’m fond of or think I may use/refer to again. I refuse to sort a pile only to create a new pile. So far, the only goal I have made for myself is to deal with some corner of the house every day of winter break and see where that gets me. At some point, I need to get buy-in with my little family. Honestly, we all contribute to the mess, and by that token, we each need to be part of the solution. Any ideas here?!

 I am hopeful.