Creating Order Out of Chaos

I wish I could wave a magic wand and have everything in my new home cleaned, organized, and ready to enjoy. Most of all, I think I just want to throw everything away so that I don't have to sort, organize, and buy new furniture just to house the stuff. Boy, do we collect a lot of stuff over the years. It's amazing how much stuff accumulates after just a few years. From now on, I need to put some conscious effort into making sure I only buy what I absolutely need, love, and will use regularly.

I've begun this process by auditing all of my purchases and everything else I bring home. No more throwing in a few extra things in the shopping cart at the grocery. No more adding bringing home "free items" from conferences or other such events that I won't use. No more buying things that you might already have at home. I'm going clean, organize and make sure I know what inventory I have in my home for all items.

Here are a couple of stories to illustrate this point.

My Camera
During the move, I thought I lost my camera. I was using it, and then was distracted after some people from craigslist came to buy some of my furniture. After hauling it out of the house, I came back inside to realize that my camera was no where to be found. I didn't know if it was lost, stolen, or just packed away by the movers during the move. I decided to wait it out.

A few weeks later, the camera had not resurfaced and I was getting antsy not being able to have a camera to document my oh so fabulous life. Ha ha. Actually, I really wanted a camera to take a photo of my friend's baby. My iPhone camera just wouldn't do. So, after not seeing the camera anywhere for weeks, I declared it lost and then purchased one online.

A few days later, after going through item by item while organizing the boxes that the movers had left, I finally found the camera! It was hiding inside a CD box. Again, the lesson is learned yet again. The less stuff, the easier it is to see what you have, the less things will get lost. The message is loud and clear. And now we have one more thing to add to our to-do list. Re-pack camera in the box and go to the post office to return the new camera.

Playing Cards
I never use playing cards anymore. I think the last time I used them were on family road trips when I was a kid, or maybe camping trips as a teenager, or maybe even a few times during college. After that, I can't remember ever using them. During our new home organization process, I found 2 decks of playing cards, then 2 more, then 1 more, then 2 more. Do the math...we now have 7 decks of playing cards. What? Why? Is this really necessary? Where did they come from? It's just the 2 of us living here.

Well, at least the additional clutter has been identified. We're keeping 2 and the rest goes to Salvation Army. This process is being repeated for lots of things we own. I think we've already found 5 flashlights, 5 or 6 umbrellas, 4 unopened wall hooks (all different styles), bags and bags of unsorted tools, decorations galore that we don't have enough surface area for, and we're even sometimes finding double copies of the same book! I even managed to find some little scented beads that I owned since I was in 4th grade. Why did I keep those things this long?

It's time to declutter and organize this chaos. With the little space we have, I'm discovering that every single item counts. That's one less thing to find a drawer for. The more the clutter is cleaned out, the easier I can breathe and the more calm I feel. Does clutter have any correlation to stress and anxiety levels? or possibly irritability? Maybe. I wouldn't deny it!

So, moral of the story is: reduce, declutter, organize, donate, and only bring home things you absolutely love, need, and will use regularly! You'll feel better and more organized, and you will have created space for new things to come into your life in the future. Let that positive energy flow into your life!