Not the shoes – Dear God, not the shoes!!

So I promised that I’d give you all an update on my vow to de-clutter my life. For those of you that don’t know, I’ve been working on simplifying and getting rid of the unnecessary stuff.  Making room for life.  This whirlwind of a year pointed out my blatant disorganization and clutter.

You know, it’s amazing how much stuff we accumulate in a short time. And they say the more stuff we have, the more risk-averse we become. Which doesn’t make sense logically, but I guess it’s true.  Having more stuff should free us up to have more fun and take chances, but instead it just makes us want to guard our stuff. And work to pay for it.  I’ve been reading a book called The Four-Hour Workweek, and it’s pretty inspiring. Although all my boxes of clutter might have been a nice Novocaine of a distraction for my mind, it didn’t bring me anything meaningful in life.  So I vowed to do something about it. Well, it’s been a few months since my online proclamation, and I think you’ll be proud of me.

Round 1:

So I started with the least-sentimental: the bathroom hair products. How is it possible that I have 15 different hair gels? Sheesh….you’d think my hair would look better with all of that. And I had about ten hand lotions. HAD, I say. Gone now.  And I found three pair of rollerblades in the garage….really?!? Three? What, do I have six legs? What was I thinking? I passed one pair off to my friend Ashely and the other is still up for grabs.

I hit the entertainment section next. I’m ashamed to say how many dvd’s (and vhs tapes….) I had. We’ll see if anyone on craigslist wants an odd mix of chick flicks and Steve Martin movies. But look how nice my entertainment center looks now!

The clothes.  I’ve been taking on my closet ruthlessly, and I think I’m winning. It had me for a bit with the vintage t-shirts (I couldn’t do it), but I pulled ahead with the gold sparkly top. Victory!  I’m having a hard time with the shoes though – they keep calling my name and making small whimpering noises. Maybe if I knew they were going to a good home…

It does have a freeing effect though. It feels like a giant weight of 1980’s neon sweaters has been lifted. My mind feels less cluttered, my life more organized. And I now have cute little wicker organizer baskets – my friend Heidi would be proud. I’m determined not to substitute stuff for life. To keep the important things that I love and to remove the rest.  Any tips or stories out there for simplifying? Here are a few I thought I’d share:

Tips for de-cluttering your closet. Things to ask yourself

• Do I love this – would I buy it if I found it for sale?
• During what presidency did I last wear this outfit?
• Would even Courtney Love refuse to wear these clothes?
• Would I be secretly relieved if someone broke in and stole these  items…would I notice??? (This actually happened to me once…)

De-cluttering your books:

• Do I really want to read these books? Soon? Or do I want to be the person that wants to read these books?

Music:

• Do they even sell the technology to play these music formats anymore? Or are they art pieces?

About kindawilson

Kinda is an author, teacher, speaker, entrepreneur, and hopeless wanderer. Her favorite places in the world include Manarola, Italy, and Gimmelwald, Switzerland. In her free time, you can find her bargain shopping and hanging out at coffee shops.