Where DOES all this stuff come from? I don’t consider myself a hoarder…but then again, looking around certain areas of this house, maybe I am a hoarder! I just don’t understand how one family can accumulate so. much. stuff. At times, I feel like this house is swallowing me. There are places that are full of things(that we might need someday) that completely overwhelm me. Like, I don’t even know where to start. But, there’s no time like the present. I’m starting! I’m decluttering-first the house, then my mind, and finally my life. All this stuff that’s taking up space in these places has GOT TO GO!
I want to first talk a little about the shame and embarrassment that come along with this clutter. Our detached garage is so full of stuff that I don’t even want anyone to see it. I don’t even know why all the stuff is in it. We barely even have a walkway to get through. If I were looking for something in particular, my guess is, I wouldn’t even be able to find it. The items in there never get used…except for the holiday decor(during their specific holiday season). There’s seriously just no need or use for 95% of the things taking up our space. Things have got to change and have got to go. Why is it that some of us feel the need to keep things? It’s shameful to see what we have let our garage become. I know that there’s not a quick fix…it’s actually a HUGE undertaking. The mess is just embarrassing! I am truly ashamed of what it has become. It makes me feel like I’ve been lazy and unproductive. But nothing will get better until we do something about it. The hardest part for me is getting myself in the right mindset to just start!
I think the spark that lit this fire(my mindset) was the fact that I moved classrooms at school. At the end of the school year in 2025, I had to pack up a classroom that I’d been teaching in for 20 years. Do you know how much random stuff you can have in all the nooks and crannies of a classroom that you’ve been in that long…it’s A LOT! So, the purge began. Selling, giving, recycling, and trashing items became my favorite thing to do. I was able to get everything cleaned out, boxed up, and ready to be moved. When I unboxed in August, probably 50% of those items that made “the cut” to move were given away or purged. My mind is in a better place now about the “stuff.” My new motto…If I haven’t used it in the past year, I DON’T need it! I’m pleased to say that by mid-school year, I haven’t kept anything that I won’t be needing for the remainder of my teaching career.
Can we talk about clothes closets and drawers? I know I can function on just a few outfits and seasonal clothing items. I need a dress for special occasions, a basic wardrobe, I need my workout shoes, a pair of boots, and a pair of flip flops…But oh my goodness, why is my closet so full of clothes? Half or maybe more than half of the pieces hanging never get worn(but I might wear them someday). I have got to get over this mentality! If it hasn’t been worn in the past year, no need to hang on to it. The clothing needs to go to someone who will wear and enjoy it. I’m no longer going to buy things just because it’s a good deal. In the book, Tidy the F*ck Up, the author suggests to ask yourself…would I pay $40 for this today? Another great question to ask is, if I were in the store shopping, is this something that I would buy today and be excited about? She suggests spending more money on high-quality clothing that will last longer. This is the way I want to start looking at the clothes in my closet. This is a work in progress for me.
Memorabilia-Why do I still have trophies, ribbons, and memorabilia from MY childhood? Also, why do I have all those pages and pieces of artwork that my kids made when they were little? They don’t want it…and neither do I! The top-notch artwork can go in frames, or I can take photos to save them forever. Otherwise, I feel like all that can go in the recycling bin. All that stuff that I’ve kept…I don’t need it, honestly, the memories are all I need.
The holiday decor is out of control! I’m going to share a little secret…we haven’t even put ornaments on our Christmas tree for the last two years. Life was busy, and we just didn’t take the time to do it. I got compliments on that tree…from friends that drove by our house and saw it from the window…they didn’t know it wasn’t decorated. And do you know what? Life went on, we still had wonderful Christmas Seasons, and we had less work when Christmas was over. My goal for 2025 was to go through all the holiday decor(every season). Keep the best of the best, our most sentimental or most favorite pieces, and then purge the rest. I had the kids stake their claim on what they want when they move out one day. They will get a tote of holiday gear, and I will keep the minimal amount that makes me feel festive during all the seasons. Holiday goals in progress!
Books...I always feel the need to hold on to books that I love. Why?? I’m not going to reread them. There’s just simply not enough time because there are more books that I want to read. And…if I do get the need to reread a beloved favorite, I can just march my happy butt to the library and check the book out for free and return it when I finish! From now on, as soon as a book has been enjoyed by yours truly, I’m spreading the love and passing it on.
Have I made my point? With all the physical clutter that I’m so tired of? In my closet, in the house, in the garage? All these places in my most favorite place in the world…my home that I share with my most favorite people on the planet. We are cluttering up our safe and happy space. It’s time to break the cycle! We are cleaning out and decluttering for good! BUT there’s one more step we have to take…shopping! We have to start questioning our purchases. When we travel and just simply when we walk into any store. We will not buy things just because there’s a deal! We will not buy souvenirs just because we were there. We have to ask “where will this be in 6 months?” and “if this were full price, would I buy it today?” If we can truly answer that we will wear or use in 6 months, we can purchase, but I am DONE with all the physical clutter that, at times, feels like it’s swallowing me. I no longer want to feel that way! I’m taking some inspiration from A Year of Less. In this book, the author did a shopping ban challenge. She spent less money, saved more money, and learned a lot of life lessons on her journey. While I may not follow this exact challenge, I do plan to use some of her ideas as a guide in decluttering life.
In the midst of all my decluttering, I found this book, Nobody Wants Your Sh*t, and let me just tell you…I changed my perspective. It turned my decluttering into “death cleaning”. Yes, I know it sounds terrible, but the way I’m looking at it…we are saving our kids a lot of work in the long run. This book sparked several conversations with the kids. I would find items that were potentially sentimental, but instead of just shoving them back in a box or a closet…I asked, “Is this something you’ll want when I die?” I got some yeses from them, but to be honest, it was mostly a lot of no thank yous. I hope that when my time does come, they aren’t left with a lot of work to do because mom left them a mess, but instead they have the items that they want to keep and the wonderful memories that are attached.
So, now that I’ve discussed my thoughts on decluttering my house, I’d like to switch the focus to decluttering my mind. I know that might sound silly…but I have a lot of clutter in there! I worry (unnecessarily) about so many things, I try to fit too much into a day, I let other people’s words have too much effect on me…sometimes it all just feels like too much.
Declutter Your Mind– This book offered some great suggestions for this!
Worrying– Why do I do this? It honestly does nothing except make me feel yucky. I need to learn to let it go and give it to God. Praying about my worries is much more useful than just making myself sick with worry. I usually can’t do anything to change what I’m worried about…but you know who can??? God!
Lists-Making to-do lists helps me organize all those thoughts swirling around in my brain and helps me remember what needs to be done and when I need to do it. I have daily lists and long-term lists. I’ve also started journaling random ideas that pop into my head because if I don’t…they are forgotten.
Scheduling-I try to fit so much into one day…knowing I won’t have time. I’m trying to live by the motto “Progress Over Perfection”. I’m just going to try to get done what I can and make sure that I make progress each day. I’m never going to be perfect, and I’m never going to get it all done. So I’m learning to see the progress as winning. Set my goals high, but also be easy on myself if I don’t get to it all…as long as progress happens.
Other people’s words-If someone says something rude or comments something unappealing to me, I need to try to remember…that’s on them, not on me. Maybe they are going through something, maybe they are just having a bad day. Most of the time, if someone happens to be rude to you, it has nothing to do with you. I’m only in control of myself and my emotions…I’m done letting others dictate the way I feel because of their words.
By decluttering my work and home spaces, shopping for less “stuff”, decluttering my mind, and banning the thoughts of having to get everything done will naturally lead to the feeling of a decluttered life. My hope is to no longer feel overwhelmed by tasks and that I never feel as though my house or garage is swallowing me. The books that I read throughout my “decluttering” journey have offered many ideas and suggestions that I have put into my daily life. I hope that you find some inspiration from this post and the books that I’ve suggested.
Garage update-From the time I started writing this, my husband has made a massive overhaul on our detached garage. He and I have officially reached our “Less is more era”. He has worked tirelessly on our detached garage. He has sold items of value, given away things we no longer need or use, recycled anything he could, and even made a few trips to the landfill. He now has a workspace and a garage that we are PROUD of…no longer ASHAMED of.
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Ecclesiastes 3:6–A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”.
