Clearing Away the Clutter:
My Journey From Hoarding to Happiness
My name is Amy, and I am a hoarder. (EEK! Admitting that is so hard!)
I love to craft, but somewhere along the way, I found myself with way too much stuff and too little time. Three moves and three kids later, I basically have to crawl into my office/craft room. My kids have way too many toys, and they are scattered everywhere. Instead of a cute home, I am bogged down with clutter. I have found myself buried in a house full of furniture, electronics, scrapbook supplies, and empty organizational tools…empty because a part of me has known for a while that I needed to try and make sense of the mess – leading me to purchase things to help organize my life – but I just didn’t know where to start. And so they sit there, empty still.
I have started to organize my house a MILLION times, but it always ended up the same or worse. I knew that all of my “stuff” was making me (and my family) miserable. I finally admitted to myself that I was a bona-fide hoarder(which is the fist step!), and that in order to be happy, I would have to let a lot of things go, probably sold for a fraction of the price that I paid for it, or donated for a tax write-off. But the thought of starting such a massive endeavor was overwhelming to me!
I have three kids under the age of three and not enough time to do anything! There was no way that I would have enough time to make a dent in things, not enough to make a difference in any way. Sadness set in, and I was at the point that I was ready to rent a dumpster and just throw it all away.
Then, I started talking about my mindset at work. Susan started giving me little tips here and there – things that she used to control the clutter in her life – AND THEY WORKED! I’m not that shocked that they worked for her; she is a superwoman. She runs a company, has five kids, and is still active with friends and church. I am shocked, however, that they worked for me!
A few days after making some exciting progress in reducing the baby-related paraphernalia in my house, I approached her with an idea about tackling my office. I told her that I didn’t think that I was alone in feeling this way, and I thought she should help me and share the process with others. Maybe we could help a few other people along the way.
This series is not going to resemble an hour long show where trash becomes treasure. Real Life doesn’t work like that! After watching all of those shows about decluttering your life, I think that we believe it can all be done in record time, and then, when we prove that idea wrong in our own lives, we give up.
Don’t kid yourself, this is going to be hard! REALLY HARD! You might cry a little bit(or a lot)! You may have to stop and breathe into a paperbag for a while. But, if you are willing to join me, I am going to attempt to carve happiness out of the chaos, and hopefully, we will all learn a lot along the way!
Be sure to join us on this journey to simplicity and happiness by using some tips that have worked for someone who didn’t think anything would work for her.
Where to Begin
Don’t kid yourself, this is going to be hard! REALLY HARD! You might cry a little bit (or a lot!). You may have to stop and breathe into a paper-bag for a while. But if you are willing to join me, I am going to attempt to carve happiness out of the chaos, and hopefully we will all learn a lot along the way!
- First, I had to accept the fact that I had to get rid of a lot of GOOD stuff, since I plainly had too much stuff and not enough space!
- I then set a date for a garage sale and knew that I had to go through everything before that date. I made the date relatively close. I had a burning desire to change the way we were living and, rather than spread this out over months and months, decided to make it happen quickly.
- Next, get support. This method is not for the weak! My husband and I talked about it beforehand and knew it would be a hard few weeks and even knowing this in advance, it was a trying experience!
With toddlers and a baby in the house, I could only go through things when they were napping during the day or sleeping at night. This would mean a lot of sleepless nights, so to make the most of my limited time, I knew I needed a plan!
In this article, I want to share with you the method that I used to sort through everything. It REALLY worked for me in every room of the house and I am so glad that Susan shared it with me, it has changed my life in many ways!
Divide to Conquer
You MUST divide to conquer!
There is no other choice. Categorizing and dividing things up turns all of the chaos into controlled chaos, making everything less overwhelming and easier to handle. I’ve tried buckets before and was left, in the end, with boxes of “stuff to go through”. I didn’t want that again!
Susan’s exact words to the “boxes” comment was, “The key is to be more specific and to make quick decisions!” I didn’t want to have to go through a pile later if I didn’t have to. This meant using more boxes than you usually hear about, but the goal should be for things to pass through your hands as few times as possible.
Here are the categories Susan uses to handle the mess:
- Put Away Now
- Put Away Later
- Sell Now
- Sell Later
- Trash
I added in the following two categories:
- File/Scan
- Shred
Let’s break them down:
Put Away Now
If it is something we use, and is just simply in the wrong place, then don’t wait… put it away, do it NOW. If we used it, but it didn’t have a home yet, then I created one.
For example, my stamps, and my adhesive. I realized I had stamps everywhere, all in different places because there was no specific place for them to go. So I started piles. That way, all of my stamps were together in one place, all of my adhesive was together in one place, etc…and then, once they were gathered, I found them a home, since I knew this was something that I was going to KEEP and USE.
Put Away Later
This was a dangerous bucket. Make sure you use it sparingly, and only for certain reasons! For example, my home is a two-story house, so if I went and put something away every time I found it I would lose steam and it would have taken much longer to get through everything. So, into the box went anything that belonged upstairs. I think about 700 hair bands ended up in this box to be taken to the upstairs bathroom later.
And this part is key! At the end of every sorting session, I would immediately take that box upstairs, and put everything away! Don’t procrastinate this step! Give yourself a pep talk – and remind yourself that you finish things!
Sell Now
I was hesitant to sell anything at all. I hadn’t had a good experience with selling things. I’d been trying to sell some of my stuff on craigslist as well as on a local facebook garage sale group. It took a ton of time and energy. In the past, as I was sorting and came across an item to sell, I would take a picture, post it. Almost immediately, I would have to stop and reply to post after post. It just took too much time away from all of the sorting I had to do! It was during my online selling phase that I felt most buried, and that there was no hope of digging my way out. As I mentioned in my last post, I just wanted to rent a large garbage dumpster and throw it all away.
Susan taught me a trick to help blow through your pile, while at the same time prepping to sell things successfully online.
As you are sorting through things, when you find an item you’d like to Sell Now, take a picture of it, but don’t post it yet! The things you will sell online are generally bigger items that cost more than a few dollars.
If it’s clothing, take a picture of the tag showing the size. If it’s a frame or a rug, take a picture of it with a tape measure beside it showing the size. Once you have the details in pictures, throw the item in a bag and toss it in the Sell Now box. This allows you to blow through the room quickly.
Later, when you are riding shotgun in the car, or sitting and watching tv, you can start posting. Because you took pictures that included the sizes, you don’t have to go back and look at the items again!
It’s so simple, but it works! I kept the stack of money where I could see it. That growing pile inspired me to keep going. When my feet hurt so bad I could barely stand, I would look at that and imagine the vacation my family could take with that money.
Sell Later
As far as your smaller items go, there were some things I just knew I didn’t want, usually because the style didn’t fit me anymore. Some things I thought were adorable, but I could easily see that I wouldn’t use them. They weren’t practical. These things would be perfect for my garage sale later, so these things I put together in a box, and did not even bother trying to sell through the online groups.
Trash
Susan also said the following to me … ”sometimes, it’s just trash!”
So true! I had a LOT of binders full of notes from college classes and magazine cut outs. I haven’t revisited those notes in the 10 years since I graduated college…I don’t think I ever will. If you have things like that, throw them away! What are they really doing for you?
There were 5 binders just full of magazine cutouts! That’s what Pinterest is for! Throw them away! I thought about saving the binders, but most were falling apart, so I threw them away too!
File/Scan
I have a ton of paperwork, and too often important papers are mixed in with unimportant ones. I was ready to throw a big pile away when I found my kids’ social security cards. After that, I went through every piece of paper one by one. I started a file/scan folder (instead of using a box). These are papers that I needed to keep copies of, whether physical or digital. I didn’t want to stop and deal with them then, but it was good to have made sure that they are the ones I want/need to keep.
Shred
Instead of having a box for this category, I just used the shredder itself! I set it up under the desk and would send anything I wasn’t keeping through the shredded immediately. Scanning and filing takes time, shredding is quick and easy (especially if you’re only going through a bit at a time), and maybe even a little satisfying!
I found piles of expired credit cards that I had meant to shred, but hadn’t. If you do as well, now is the time! Anything with account numbers or personal information you will want to shred before throwing them away!
A Structure to Work Inside of That Works!
Categorizing things in this way, gave me a plan…a structure to work inside of that really helped me make sense of my hoard, and feel productive while doing, which fuels you to keep going. Not only that, but it allowed me to work my way through things quickly! Which is honestly how Susan approaches most things, and why you can see it in the Kiwi Lane’s way of scrapbooking. 😉 Structure, productive, simple, energizing!
Small Changes
If you can’t commit such a large chunk of time to sorting through your own things, you can still make a change! Start by prepping a place for each of these categories. Keep a small basket nearby for your Put Away items – small so that you don’t get overwhelmed. As soon as it’s full, it’s a perfect time to stop and put the items away! Put your Sell Now and your Sell Later boxes in the garage so they’re ready, but out of the way. Keep your file/scan folder handy, and your shredder plugged in and ready to go!
Ok! The easy decisions have been made. The stuff I don’t like is gone. But look, you can see the floor. It’s hard when there is still a lot of stuff, but it’s important to celebrate the small things.
What Will Make the Second Cuts?
At this point, I have gone through my boxes and drawers. All my stamps are together, all my paper, all my supplies are divided into piles.
It was a HUGE mess. I felt like I had taken 10 steps backwards. We were about to make a huge leap however! It really helps to have a reasonable head with you at this step. One that values your supplies as much as you do, but can help you see what is valuable and what is bogging you down. (read this to mean – if your husband wants you to throw it all away he may not be the best person for this job.) My reasonable friend was Susan. We picked a night and she came over to help.
Decide On Your Criteria
My criteria was a little different for every category. Ink, Pens, Stickers all have shelf lives. There is no use keeping them if they don’t work. Easy decision: test it out and if they don’t work throw them away.
I would like to stamp, even though I don’t. So I kept some stamps, but I narrowed down my ink collection to one of each color. If after this remodel I still don’t have time to stamp, I will eliminate the rest. Stickers were hard for me. Stickers are so CUTE!! But they are also flat and I love dimension. So I had to seriously think if I would use them on my pages. Susan would ask me, “Where would you use this?” If I couldn’t answer, we put it in the sale pile.
I LOVE paper. Kiwi Lane Designer Templates is a great tool to use your paper! I prefer to use heavier paper. It is easier to cut and handle, and I feel like my pages are safer when they are on sturdy paper. So that was my first criteria. I instantly cut any paper that was light weight regardless of how cute it was. I did, however, keep a lot of paper, because I knew I would use it.
And so it went on with every “type” of scrapbooking product. Here are a few more tips on how I decided to organize my paper, ribbons, and of course my Designer Templates.
My Designer Templates and Other Must Have Tools
First stop, Amy shows you how she stores her Kiwi Lane Designer Template Sets and keeps them organized and functional for everyday use along with her other most used tools.
Totally Tiffany Finds For Your Craft Space
Take a look at some of the fun products by Totally Tiffany that Amy used to organize her supplies to make them easily accessible in her new craft room.
Paper Organization
Take a peek as Amy shows you how she has chosen to organize her Scrapbooking Paper so that it is easy to find whenever she needs it.
Final Thoughts
I have made a lot of progress, but I still have too much. One of my goals in this whole mess was to have a place where my children could play at my feet. Having products out that would just get ruined wouldn’t work. I also didn’t want it to feel like a scrapbook room. This is my oasis, and I want it to be calm and peaceful and creative.
I kept that goal in my mind the whole time, which honestly in the grand scheme of things, outweighed any attachment that I might have felt to products that have not served me, or that I have outgrown. I had to compromise on a few things.
I’ve come a long long way. I now scrapbook every month. I find what I want, and I can clean up crazy easily. I haven’t missed any of the stuff I got rid of. I kept what I loved to create with, what gave me JOY.
I want to thank Susan for showing me her way of approaching clutter and also teaching me how to avoid the shiny things going forward. Honestly when you have a system that you know works for you for scrapbooking and is resulting in finished pages and using up your stash I am feeling more fulfilled then ever, and in a space that I love as well. All the compromising was worth it. And I truly found joy again in scrapbooking.