Monday, February 12, 2024
Picture it. Sicily 1934 … Oh sorry … I had a ‘Golden Girls’ moment …
Picture THIS: You have started decluttering a room. The closet has been emptied into the center of the room. The closet shelves have been cleaned, the floor vacuumed, and the door wiped down. As you turn around … WHAM! “What have I done?!” you ask yourself. The room looks like a bomb went off!
This, my friends, is what we call the MESSessary Middle. Each declutter job has a Beginning, a MESSessary Middle, and an End. As you look at that pile o’stuff it is showing you that you are on your way to success. Do not lose hope!
It is truly a gift to be able to completely empty an area you are going to work on. Many of us do not have room to be able to do that. If you CAN … now simply put the items to KEEP back in. Do it orderly. Like with like. Contain items. Label your containers. If you are unable to completely empty the area, work one shelf at a time.
Time to deal with the remainder of that pile o’stuff. My previous blog spoke about "Keep or LET GO" (Lives Elsewhere, Trash, Goes Out). Use this method and your MESSessary Middle will be easier to tackle.
a) For your Lives Elsewhere items: Take these things and put them away where they belong. While I am putting things away, I usually end up with a few more items for the Donate box. Makes me as happy as eating cheesecake with the Golden Girls! Awesome!
b) Take the Trash out of the house now. Right now. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
c) Goes Out items are next. Donations go to the car. If you need to, you can put them in your Donation 'holding' spot. Items you are going to sell need to have a specific home. One small space that they can wait for sale or give away. I strongly suggest a short time limit for these items. If you haven’t listed it for sale or free yet - or it hasn’t sold or been claimed - then off to the donation pile it goes! Trust your decision. Let it go!
In our Facebook community we support each other, encourage each other, and give tips and hints along your decluttering journey. We are not minimalists; we're simply people that are getting a grip on the overabundance we have collected. We can tackle the MESSessary Middle together. All of us are learning to create …
A Beautiful, Calm, Decluttered Environment
You can, too.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/abcdecluttercommunity
• 💋 Julie