Stuff Shifting

I did some decluttering of my needlework book collection. I also sorted my references and got them in order by both subject and size. I found several texts that I knew had to go. Instead of re-shelving them, I did a stuff shift and created a pile of texts that I wanted to get rid of. That pile has outgrown the space I designated for books I want to get rid of and is now a problem I have to solve.

I must now actually deal with the pile of books that I have created by stuff shifting. Stuff shifting is not decluttering. It is the shuffle that makes you think you are decluttering. Unless the clutter leaves your house, you haven’t decluttered.

But what about the things that are in a box, ready to go? Nope. Shifted stuff in a box. But I put the stuff in a cupboard (or wherever) because I want to use it for such and such project. I can’t see it any more. Isn’t that decluttered? No. You have done a stuff shift. Just because you can’t see it, if you know you want to get rid of it and it is still in your possession, it is still clutter and you need to deal with it.

In short, it ain’t over until it is out of your house. Period.

Some of your decluttering time has to be spent on using the things you have saved for a project on actually completing that project. If you can’t do that, you need to acknowledge that the project is a dream, and get rid of the shifted stuff you set aside for that dream project. Either that, or pay someone to do the project for you.

I have a lot of scrapbook pages that I want to scan, so I can save the digital file and get rid of the large, bulky scrapbooks. The scrapbooks are shifted stuff. I must set aside time to scan before I can stop shifting the scrapbooks and get rid of them. Many of the pages are too large for a home scanner. I will have to pay to get them scanned. Then the scrapbooks will not be shifted, they will be gone.

The Size of a Life

Is your space too large for the life you are living?

When we had visitors and adult children that were needing space in our house, we needed a house that was large enough for them. During the years we lived in Florida, we had friends and family staying with us more often than not. At one point we were a 6 person household with a three car garage and four bedrooms. I had three sets of dishes and stacks of sheets and towels. We used the space. Now the kids have houses of their own. Our life still includes them, but we don’t need to include space for them in our house.

In many different ways, we can downsize and simplify. A nest doesn’t have to be empty, it can be a new and smaller nest.

Inbox Clutter and Shopping

Every so often, I go through the emails I get and do an unsubscribe binge. Usually, I simply delete emails, but when the pile to delete gets to be too big and annoying, I stop instantly deleting and start doing the unsubscribe and then delete.

This helps me clear out the mental clutter that is digital. It also helps me avoid random shopping on line that is encouraged by these emails. Not that I actually do random on-line shopping. These days, I go grocery shopping and that's it.

I recently looked at the pile of boxes of stuff that I have in our basement and I realized that I've not only made a dent, I've made a big dent. If I had to move out of this house tomorrow, I have less stuff than I had when we moved into this house. A lot less.

I'm working on getting rid of even more stuff. This is the stuff to get rid of that is difficult. I have to find a market for it. I've got an inkle loom and a spinning wheel to get rid of. The first step is to get pictures, and the second is to post them on a buy/sell website that has people that might actually purchase them.