I’ve created a Donate Spot.
It’s far from ideal, because it isn’t hidden completely away or contained within a cutesy basket.
But it works.
I finally had to designate a place and name it, because otherwise, my house is filled with piles. Piles that I see and think, “Hmmm, was that the stuff I wanted to get rid of, or the stuff I wanted to keep?”
Then, I’m stuck going back through the pile, which . . . just . . . . makes me crazy.
I’d love for my Donate Spot to be in the garage. But for now, that isn’t possible. My garage is a black hole. My brain has an amazing ability to block out its condition and contents, and things can be out there for . . . well . . . forever.
Other than the three to four times a day that I trip over something on the way to the car, I can’t be held responsible for knowing or remembering what’s out there. This probably has something to do with my this-will-go-in-the-garage-sale-that-I’ll-someday-have-so-I-can-stick-it-out-there-and-forget-about-it-for-months mentality.
Probably.
But with my newfound love of consistently donating, I’ve decided that the Donate Spot works best. Yes, it’s an eyesore, but I kind of need an eyesore so I’ll remember to donate when the opportunity arises.
January has been a very good month for decluttering around here. I’ve donated quite a bit, but I’ve also thrown away a lot, too.
I reluctantly cleaned under my kitchen sink. Quite a bit of glassware went to the Donate Spot, while things like the faceless Beethoven statue went into the trash.
Motivated by the impending arrival of the Bug Man, I cleared the floor of my closet. I was embarrassed to admit that this dumping ground . . . was truly a dumping ground. Much of what covered the floor and required me to do gymnastics to reach my hanging clothes . . . was trash.
I pulled everything from my bathroom cabinet, and finally parted with quite a few free-after-coupon items that I’d had, but hadn’t used, for several years. I donated most of it, but realized how my clutter causes such waste, when I had to throw away things expired long ago. Because they were hidden away for so long in the pile, no one was able to benefit from them.
I gave myself permission to part with a mess-making decoration that frustrated me more than it gave me joy.
I discovered that as I go through this process, there are layers of progress. Even though I love how much better my office is than it was pre-blog, certain things were starting to bug me. I finally tackled a jumble of “useful” stuff . . . that was no longer useful. There was a time in my life when ebay shipping supplies needed to be within an arm’s reach, but that time has passed, and those supplies are now clutter.
I even tackled the task I’d pretty much sworn I’d (almost) never do. I cleaned under my couches. And as always seems to happen, I was shown the error of my stubborn ways. I found the library book that we lost . . . last summer.
And last, but far from least, I accomplished one of my big goals for the year. I organized my laundry room. It was quite a job, and I don’t know that I would have done it if it weren’t for my daughter’s sickness meaning I was home on a day when I had expected to be out. But, now that I’ve completed my first Laundry Day in it, I’m practically giddy over the difference. How easy it is to forget that having a clear laundry room floor really does make it easier to do the laundry!
I love doing these monthly decluttering updates because I love to celebrate progress.
I live in this house every day. And sometimes, when there’s laundry waiting to be folded on the loveseat and shoes strewn everywhere, it’s easy to forget how far I’ve come.
I can almost guarantee that some months of 2011 won’t have as much decluttering progress to report, but knowing that all of these things have left my home (either in a thrift store truck or a garbage truck) is a great way to inspire myself to keep decluttering!
I’m so excited to read about your decluttering progress in January! Amy at The Finer Things in Life has passed the monthly Decluttering Update torch to me! Leave a comment, or join in the linky below! If you do link up a blog post, please link back to A Slob Comes Clean.
And don’t miss my giveaway of some great cleaning tools from Libman. It ends tonight (Feb 1) at midnight! (giveaway has ended)
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