De-Cluttering

I don’t like clutter. Walking into a clutter-filled room in my house makes me feel anxious. By no means do I like the minimalist aesthetic. I just like things put away.

One of the many cruel side effects of depression is that I don’t feel like cleaning or straightening up. But then the mess piles up and I have a meltdown similar to the one I had last week. As a result, my Sweetie formulated a plan of action to de-clutter the house over the next several weeks.

Saturday morning we sorted through about half of the bookcases in the house, the storage cabinets below some of the bookcases, the pantry, and one of the hall closets. We must have taken 150 pounds of books to Goodwill.

While sorting I realized that I hold onto some things for a really long time. Apparently, if the items are put away and behind a closed door, then I don’t mind clutter so much. Boxes of crayon nubs leftover from the boys’ days in elementary school were some of the items to hit the garbage.

After a drop-off run to Goodwill and lunch, we went to Ikea for storage ideas. The den is the smallest room in the house, the room that serves the most functions, and the most cluttered mess in the entire house. It’s the room that causes me the most anxiety. Unfortunately, after discussing our de-clutter plan we might revise it and the den will end up last.

The revised de-clutter plan may include switching the boys’ bedrooms around after Mr. A leaves for the Academy. G-Man would move into the smaller bedroom with the “grown-up” furniture. The larger bedroom would get a major makeover and become the guest room / sewing room. Of course, all of Mr. A’s belongings would move into that room as well.

I had mixed feelings while discussing the room switch. I’m finally to the point in my life where I’m willing to let go of the boys’ youth furniture. That stage of our lives is completely finalized. But at the same time, I’m having a hard time accepting the fact that starting in June Mr. A will only be home for a maximum of two weeks at a time.

In other words, I had a Mom Moment.

So in a sense, the de-cluttering this weekend was both physical and emotional. Good thing we’re doing it in stages.


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You Turn
How do you feel about clutter? Do you de-clutter often or do you never let it build up? Do you hang onto things for emotional or practical reasons?