Letting Go of the Stuff

Empower yourself by reducing the amount of stuff in your environment!

This week was the week I decided to remove more unnecessary items from the basement.  I am not planning on moving, or painting or doing any other large project.  I am just tired of all of the stuff.

We are fortunate to live in an area that has a variety of services that will swing right by the house and collect clothing, household items and in some cases even furniture.  I simply have to have my items on my porch by 8 PM and they pick up my items, leave me a tax slip and I win by having less to get rid of.   When they call I never turn them down.

With all of the items I have removed why does the house still seem full? Perhaps I need to do this room by room, removing all but the necessary items that I still need and love. If I can categorize it in any other fashion perhaps its time to go.

I am one of those persons who makes emotional connections to stuff, much like my own parents did and for that matter, my husband and one of my own boys.  I am not certain how to clean up, de-clutter and remove.  I need one of those organizer guru persons to shape me up.

Moving is a great time to reduce so that you can move in and let go of the past.  Have a garage sale, post items on Craig’s list or Ebay.  Donate, donate, donate.

Its tough to get rid of the stuff, but once it is picked up and gone I feel empowered, good about my accomplishment, frustrated when I look around and still find items that are cluttering my life.

What gets you in the mood to reduce?

Updating a Room on a Budget – Simple ideas that can pay off

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Many of us are feeling the tightening of the economy and yet we would like to update our current living space.   Instead of spending the big dollar, consider shopping the clearance area only.  Look to items that don’t match, but that have similar lines or colors.  Find a eye drawing item and then find items to match its color schemes.  Many of us shy from painting, but a fresh coat of paint is a simple thing that we can do to update a look and feel of a room for very low cost.

We are just entering garage sale season and this too is a great place to look for those items to complete a room.  Thrift stores, church sales, flea markets and the ever more popular Craig’s list are a few other options that we don’t always think about.

Make it a challenge to see what you can find to update your space and then instead of storing the items you are taking down, consider donating them to one of the many services who will even swing by your home to pick items up.  I have used Courage Center, Vietnam Veterans, and Friendship Ventures.  They will even call with reminder calls so you know to put items curbside!

I make it a challenge when they call to make sure I have at least a bag or two to donate and in between calls, I am always adding items we no longer need but are in like new shape so that I am ready for the next call.

Not only will you have a new place to relax or entertain, but you will have less stuff to move around and clean up after.

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