At the beginning of the year I set myself a target of decluttering by stealth – throwing out an item of accumulated detritus each day (by dumping, giving away, recycling or any other means) and getting rid of a book a day. Little by little I hoped to make a noticeable difference without too much stress.
So, the January results are in, and how have I done?
Books
Target: 31 books given away. Actual: Er…0
I haven’t done too well on the giving away of books. I think I’ll say that I’m confident I can move this along in the next month and bring it back on target.
Clutter
Target: 31 items removed from the house. Actual: 6
I had a good ferret round through a load of old paperwork and threw out the envelopes and other bits I didn’t need to keep. It felt good to take charge of things, but the feeling soon faded.
I also sorted some bits of useless junk, which went in the bin.
It’s a start, though even I have to admit that it isn’t much of a start. February is going to be an interesting month.
The book picture is a random book picture because I mentioned books in the post. I’ve decided I need some pictures around the blog to brighten it up.
I love decluttering and wish, wish, wish I’d have done it years ago. I found it liberating and almost like a kind of therapy, but bearing in mind how overwhelmed I was with everything in my life, I’m not surprised that in the end something HAD to happen. I needed help to do in, in the form of my husband to be … and it was the best thing I ever did (weirdly!). It just freed me from the past. ☀️☀️☀️
I’m now even more enthused by the idea – I’m just lazy and creaky and a world class procrastinator. 🙂
Procrastinating is my forte too!
It is a fine pastime. 🙂
I find it hard to get rid of books, even outdated computer manuals.
Yes, I have several useless books of that sort. 🙂
Unless it’s a safety hazard, I wouldn’t get rid of books. But I understand when there’s just too much stuff!! Maybe give them to People for a gift. People will appreciate it and you cleared. Good luck!! I’m doing this too but just too much BS!!
🙂 To be fair “safety hazard” is creeping into discussions more and more…
This is an addiction that requires proper rehabilatation. Let me know when you find a Cure.
Thanks for sharing.
🙂
Too many books? Never. 😉 However, I have been known to donate a few to our library’s book sale.
My problem is actually “too little space” rather than “too many books” but the consequences of one produce the illusion of the second. 🙂
Only one solution, then. More bookshelves. 😉
More rooms. I need a Library. 🙂
Every book lovers dream!
Yes!
This is why I don’t make New Year resolutions 🙂
I was very careful only to make two resolutions – one to eat anything I liked for a fortnight and the second, to make only two resolutions. I kept both of them. The decluttering is more of a guideline… 🙂
Pictures are always good, especially if they are of books 😀. I’m hopeless at throwing things away. I did manage to give away three books during January. I bought far more than that though, Ooops.
Yes, a familiar book story…
I may have gone too far in the other direction over the years and thrown out memorabilia which I would have been quite glad to have kept.
It’s a tricky balance.
I find that I feel too guilty to actually throw something away into the trash, so I recycle all I can, and then I have a box of utter rubbish that someone will want to use to make unspeakable crafts with and then try to flog on etsy. Into this box goes the broken adding machine, this and that, and into another goes fabric-related tat that someone around here will want to make ‘authentic’ hippie clothes out of and then flog for big money at the Woodstock flea market or somewhere else nearby. It is a toursit town, and hippie thing still sell, so the crap from the 60s and 70s has a value here–that’s my excuse! I do put the odd book into the little free library for others to take, but I tend to find great books there that i bring homewith me, so that is not a really helpful decluttering system for me. Oh well.
I’m going to change my book disposal technique – I tend to take them to the local charity shops with the best book stocks. This means I bring some back too. This year I’m going to drop some off in telephone box community libraries.
Those sometimes have goodies too–that’s what we call the little free libraries. Eh, if you find more that you enjoy, it’s just something else to get rid of after you read it!
🙂
De-cluttering is a strange old business. It really depends on the mood one is in. It can be a soul-destroying task or it can be invigorating. If I find I am becoming listless and indecisive I give up straight away – nothing useful can be done when I feel like that. I can’t give myself targets because I am sure to fail miserably!
I love looking at heaps of other peoples’ books or photos of their bookshelves. Nosey-parkerism.
Yes, being nosey is so interesting. 🙂
😉
I too am back in a decluttering mode. When we first moved here 5 years ago I loved that my house was not cluttered with “stuff.” But, slowly we have gained too much stuff and still had a few things leftover from before we moved that we really didn’t need but I could not depart with yet. I love the idea of “stealth” decluttering. Maybe I can get my kids on board with that too! Thanks for the idea.
I’ve been here 30 years now – as hoarder, collector and , finally, dealer. It really needs excavating rather than decluttering. 🙂
I used to collect YA novels for many years. My niece has gotten into them so I was able to give her a large selections – 100+ books, from my collections of 60s, 70s, and 80s novels. It made it easier.
Yes, it’s better to pass them on like that. You can call it a legacy rather than decluttering. 🙂