WHERE THERE'S A WILL...

I've been spending the last couple of months organizing and sorting through some of my clutter. I'm not proud of it, but I've discovered what a hoarder I've become through this process. Don't get me wrong, I'm not enough of a hoarder to be the subject of a television show or worthy of a news story. Nor is there a need to wear a hazmat suit to walk through my house... but still, a hoarder just the same.

This Is Not My House!!

One of my favorite hobbies is genealogy. Anyone that has ever dabbled in this science knows that the accumulation of documents, photographs, memorabilia, and books is part of the fun of it. Organizing and cataloging these items requires a will of iron, and can take months or weeks. If you've been researching your family tree long enough, …it can take years. If you have multiple interests, such as collecting antiques, books, or crafting…your "clutter" will be multiplied tenfold. Add on top of all that, the day-to-day junk that we accumulate, and you've got yourself quite a mess.


My catharsis began by ridding myself of paper...lots of it. Old magazines with articles that I will never read or ideas I will never try. Stacks of junk mail, statements for accounts I no longer own, recipes that I will never make...you get the point. Papers were coming out of every orifice of my home. It's been driving me crazy for quite a while.

I decided to grab the bull by the horns so to speak, and try the Marie Kondo philosophy of getting rid of those things that no longer give me joy. So far, I have filled three tall kitchen bags with the shredded remains of the joyless paper stacks, and there is enough shredding left to fill another 3-4. The problem is that instead of holding on to paper, I now copy and save links to the articles & various websites. The snowball effect of that is...I forget I have the hyperlink, and now instead of physical clutter...I have a lot of 'cyber clutter.' On the bright side... now at least it is only visible to me...on my phone, iPad, and laptop. It's like shoving everything into a room, and shutting the door when guests are on their way over. I've never done that mind you, but I've heard some people do. Somehow, I don't think that is what Marie Kondo had in mind.

I will probably never become a minimalist, but I must admit throwing stuff out, giving it away, or shredding it into a million pieces can be very therapeutic. I've been putting together a game plan on how to approach the rest of my stuff...books, craft materials, and other miscellaneous dust collectors. My problem is...I like my stuff! I don't know if any of it 'gives me joy' exactly...but it does give me comfort.


Organizing my home is long overdue. It is one of my resolutions for this year. Sadly, it is a resolution I make every year... along with going on a diet and exercising. This time I mean it! It may take me the rest of the year, however, but I'm bound and determined to get it done!! After all, where there's a will... there is a way. Right? As for going on a diet and exercise... baby steps.

RESOURCES:

http://clipart-library.com/

https://konmari.com/