Decluttering

I got out of the habit of blogging while I was sick, but I am back at it.  The past week I have been trying to get the furnishings out of our den in order to transform it back into a bedroom for the college girls that are coming to live with us.  The problem is what to do with all of that stuff.  Fortunately our son and his wife have a large basement and they have offered to take the sofa sleeper if it doesn’t fit in the room with the bunk beds.  We have left it up to the girls. 

The den used to be our oldest son’s bedroom.  After he got married we started to make it into our den.  In that room is a small sofa sleeper, t.v. and stand, 2 file cabinets, 4 DVD storage shelves and our dog, Buddy’s, dog kennel.  Now the majority of that stuff is being moved to our upstairs, which means I am again moving stuff around and making room for everything.

One of my readers, Dani, made a comment recently that really got me thinking about how I have the majority of my work spaces spread out throughout the house.  I had a desk set up in a small room that also houses most of our book shelves, a sewing area in an alcove, a crafting area in another alcove and an area that has junk stuff in it that I need to sort through.   This reader was correct in that having things spread out isn’t very efficient and it just doesn’t make much sense.  But frankly I couldn't see how it could work any differently, until I actually started rearranging things.

I am working to stream line these areas.  I don’t like having things spread out, but sometimes you have to be forced to step back and take a new look at the spaces in your house. 

It is my goal to have everything sorted through and in good shape by next Friday.  I’m around 1/3 there and I am seeing results in how my home is looking which is keeping me motivated. 

I have two areas in my life that I struggle with:  procrastination and cleaning/decluttering.  These traits do not work well with someone pursuing a frugal lifestyle.  In fact, these traits work against a frugal lifestyle.  How?  I find myself struggling to find things which can lead to frustration which can lead to spending money on an item I already have and just can’t find.   Putting tasks off or procrastinating leads to frustration by not getting things done in a timely manner.  Laundry is an example and planning for meals.  Yes, these are the things that I fight with every day of my life. 

But this week I have seen the fruits of my labors.  I have been taking all of those items from the den and moving them upstairs – not all at once, but a little bit at a time.  It is getting done and  I am excited to see the decluttering and rearranging/organizing finally getting done.

I will post pictures when I am finished.