Actually, let me be honest and say that to start off with it wasn't really a de-cluttering 'challenge'. It was actually more of a tackle my two large bookcases full or junk - they became a dumping ground for just, well...stuff. I've already de-cluttered lots of other areas of the house, but for some reason tackling my bookcases became a crazy task. I had literally no idea I could really fit so much stuff on those shelves...no wonder poor billy* bookcase's shelves are bowing under the pressure. (I didn't name it billy-Ikea did :).
I embraced the world of the Kindle ages ago and now i'm vaguely annoyed by books. I don't know how this happened. I love books, I felt that I could never be attached to a Kindle, it just wouldn't be the same. That was true until I realised that Kindle takes up so little room that I can never find it. My books on the other hand take up an entire wall of my dining room.
I decided that I needed a clear out. It's a really hard thing getting rid of books - what to do with them? I decided on 3 piles. Donate to charity, Ebay and throw. Throwing books away doesn't come easy to me at all, and quite honestly these have most been really old books like a dictionary, out of date guide books or ones that have excessive damage (one was run over by a train in Egypt!), the next pile for charity are ones that I think are ok and someone else might use and then a pile for Ebay where I won't make much, but it'll help the piggy bank a little.
I've been Ebaying loads lately and raised quite a healthy profits which has bought me my dream sewing machine and it surprised me just how much junk i've acquired in my life! I found that all this stuff has just begun to annoy me, i'm frustrated by it, tripping over it and no place to put it. I wish I could just just throw it all in the rubbish bin and be gone with it. (I still have to store it whilst I either sell it, or can get it to a charity shop (which is no mean feat given that there are 5 bags and nowhere to park very close to a charity shop! I only have a very small house built around 1900 and the Victorians weren't awfully bothers about storage space in these tiny terraced houses!
As I've been doing this de-cluttering thing I've realised a lot about myself and what keeps me happy. It really isn't stuff. I love my sewing stuff and I won't part with that but everything else is in the digital world so takes up no physical space. I don't buy paper magazines or books anymore (hello Kindle and Ipad!), films and music are on Itunes (except for the few dvd's I still have. What else is there really?! Apart from home decor things to make my surroundings pretty i'm quite happy thanks.
So the mammoth task of Ebaying is well under way. If i'm honest my passion for ebaying 'stuff' is starting to get a little thin now, but I must press on!
I so agree with all of this. I absolutely need to do this. I will try to make some piles soon.
ReplyDeleteIn the spring I want to get a dumpster and get rid of all the stuff (well maybe not all of it but a lot of it) in the attic.