Starting a New Home Off Designed For Decluttered Life

[~Adorkable~]

So we just moved across country and even the total pack rack and borderline hoarder in me mandated the best purge of my life as we packed. I'm really proud of myself.
that being said we still moved 12,000 pounds of household goods 3000 miles for just my self and my husband! So clearly I have more work to do. I also have our first kids, twins, on the way, due in Jan. I want to change my life and my home habits.

I have trouble with both clutter and cleaning, and certainly understand that feeling beet down by the clutter is one of the things that makes the cleaning seem so hard. When I know I can clean an area to look amazing, I'm way more likely to clean it at all.

so my question is...

**How do I move into a new home in a way that helps me live the more clear minimal life I yearn for? My systems always seem to fall apart ( though I do love setting them up!)

**What tools can I use now that I get a clean slate before or as my stuff is even unpacked? ( we haven't had our stuff delivered yet, we are in temp housing for a few more weeks looking for a home)

[Juvysen]

honestly? If possible, I'd unpack bare-bones necessities and then unpack certain things as you need them... at the end of the year, sell whatever's left that you haven't used or wanted in your space. If you haven't needed/wanted it in a year, chances are it's safe to ditch it...

[zoebird]

a lot of times when decluttering and packing, this statement enters the mind: "i might use this." or "i don't want to have to replace it." so, we hold onto it. you pack it and you move it.

so, my method of unpacking would be basic. first, the furnishings come into your new home. just organize those.

then, unpack only what you need/use on a daily or weekly basis. so, for example, you might own 14 cookie sheets, but only use one once a week. so, when unpacking your kitchen stuff. pick the best cookie sheet that you use once a week, and pack the rest away. you might discover that you have three pots and three pans, but you only ever use two pans and two pots. store the remaining ones. just pull out what you actually use, not what you "might" use, but what you *actually* use.

the next layer of this is what you use seasonally: your decorations. in the US, i had one book box of decorations for each season. right now, i have no seasonal decorations, and am currently using items from nature and origami. everything can be composted when i am finished with it. we are taking up wool felting, so i do believe we will eventually have a box of decorations per season, but i'm rather ruthless about culling such things, and the great thing about wool is that it is compostable.

beyond that, it's a matter of controlling what comes in. we keep paper coming in to a minimum--we don't get any junk mail, and we have asked for online versions of our bills. we pay online, so why not? we try not to bring paper home. any paper we do have is filed or recycled on a daily basis (that is, we take care of it that day and do not let it pile up).

when it comes to controlling the income of objects, we are simply careful--is this something that we really need? can we be happy without it? does something that we already own already do the job of this object? will i use this object within 6 months (if it's a consumable)? if i bring this in, will it have a place where i can put it away when i'm not using it?

if i can answer those questions, then i know whehter or not it's an object that i want to bring in.

so, that's how i do it.

[~Adorkable~]

I did the leave it in boxes technique last time we move two years ago ( not really sure if it was on purpose) and it did actually work kinda well. Problem if I went digging a bit too often because things were not easy to find when I did want something, and the garage ended up unusable from badly stacked boxes and when I did move I finally found somethings that would have really made my life easier if I had found them a long time ago.

I did when I repacked last month do a pretty good job of getting rid of duplicates ( wow I had 9 crowbars??) As well as get pretty honest with the stuff that had been in a box of some form for a few moves. I even had my very first garage sale ever! That was terrifying but a huge growing step for me and when it was over I took the " Clean House" approach and did not let one thing come back in.

I have good clear plastic bins for each type of seasonal decor and finally feel like that is issue that is positive for me, I'm a huge holiday fan so the space the boxes take up seem like space well spent.

So things I need to adress:

Things that come in my house daily ( mail, other paper, nick nacks, can't think of what else but it must be a lot of I wouldn't have this issue)

Memory items ( from a few festivals I go to yearly, and a million other things I do, pal es I go) I have this dream of making large wall mounted showdown boxes with it all some day and I have the skill to do it, but it never happens. Maybe now that I ha e it all more csolidated it will.
Once thing I need to do with that stuff is keep pairing it down, I have duplicate stickers and patches and stuff and still have it is a few different places as it got packed at different times. So one goal is to have my nice stackable boxes marked with each type of event and make sure that anything that comes out of a box where er goes into the right new one right away.

Craft items. Boy I need to stop buying this stuff, I do make a lot of cool things and sew and love that I have so much to work with, but I have too much because I usually can't find the right thing when I need it. I started winding my ribbon and lace around 3x5 cards and placing them in a photo box ( really is amazingly nice working storage) and was blown away by how much I had to work with, not to mention how much money it was all worth!!! Now I need to find equally as good ways to sort and store fabric and a million other craft odds and ends that aren't as straight forward. I will probably no longer have a huge designated craft space and will need to make it pack up neater.

Tools and shop items. Both general shop stuff and my silversmithing stuff, I must stor this in a everyday usable way, this is where I have too many duplicates ( hopefully less after the move) and spend too much on replacing things because I can't find them.





But in general I feel like I need to change my mindset most of all. Why don't I put things away when I use them? Why do I set trash down when I make it rather than throw it out or recycle it right then? My dh has gone from being irritated by this to doing it ascwell and now the two of us are horrible. There is no way to baby proof a messy house!


Ok I'm rambling, I'll stop for now

[~Adorkable~]

I might add that my urge to unpack really slow is in conflict with my overwhelming urge to have our house totally settled before I'm completely hands full with the 3rd trimester of a twin pregnancy or the twins themselves. That means I should be doing basically everything within the 6 weeks after finding a home hopefully by Oct 1st.

Since I'm notorious for taking years to unpack I feel this is a valid concern.

[Climbergirl]

Here is my take. Unpack only what you need. You are having twins. Your life is about to be profoundly different. Basically get the house ready for the next year of your life. Once the twins are older, you can go through the boxes (and yes, that means storing them for a year, but honestly, I would not have time to do what you need to accomplish in a short amount of time).

If you don't want it at your house, find an offsite storage.

While unpacking, only keep the stuff you have a place for. The rest should go away. This is what my husband can not understand and has made our house an utter disaster for years. He unpacks it all. And crams it somewhere. And eventually I find all this stuff and have to purge. And I have been working on this for a year and really want to be done by the time #2 comes along. So, be very judging of what stays out of a box.

[Juvysen]

I agree. Go with the basics, toss the rest in storage... once you get your life settled with your new babies (or, you know, once you're willing to have a babysitter or whatever), go back through the boxes. After it's been sitting in storage for a year (or however long), it should be more clear what is something you actually do want and what is completely not necessary for your life...

[~Adorkable~]

Keeping what i have clean is my issue right now

i guess what im asking for is ways to KEEP a clear uncluttered home, not really about purging right now, i just did a lot of that and certainly at least have a taste for it and how to best go about it. the keeping stuff in boxes does work well at times.

and yeah i need to be more disciplined at what i buy just cause it was on sale or looked neat.
techniques for dealing with my everyday stuff seems to be a big issue for me, the stuff i handle on a regular basis and then does not seem to find its way back to its spot.

one thing i certainly agree with is i do need to be ruthless about the requirement that if it does not have a spot it probably does not belong in my life, if its so important to keep than its worth building/buying a spot for it or overriding something else for a spot.

[Climbergirl]

Look around your house now at the spots that are cluttered and list them. Then sit down and figure out why they are cluttered. Then figure out what works for you as to how to keep it clean. Here is an example:

My dining table. It is cluttered because there is no place to put all the incoming mail and random stuff that needs to be on this level of the house. What is on the table? Books. Stuff from my bag. Mail. Toys. A purse. Diapers.

How do I fix it? Mail sorters are going to go on the wall near the desk on this level. Diapers need to go back upstairs (we need to figure out a way to get dirty cloth diapers to wet bag upstairs more regularly and not store them randomly until diaper laundry day). Books need a place in the living area (that will be the table that I have next to the sofa). Stuff from my bag needs to go back into bag or trashed (I was cleaning out my bag). Toys need to be put up (we are going to start an after dinner cleaning routine). Purse (now has a spot in the foyer closet, so it is moving there once I clean it out).

See, I know I have some things to figure out, but I also have solutions for some. And once you figure that out, then it is easier to fix the problem than just cleaning it up and having it turn into a mess again.

Hope that helps some.

[Juvysen]

But i think the trick *is* just having a place for everything. If you have a spot that gets real cluttered up, look at why and then figure out a way for everything to have it's place or get rid of it. Not saying this is easy... I certainly am not perfect at it, by far. The less stuff you have, the less chance of mess.

What about placing a nice looking basket in "clutter prone" areas that you can toss things into (maybe one with a lid to hide the clutter?) and then daily or weekly wander around your house putting those things away?

[lolar2]

Climbergirl, it sounds as though you need a second wet bag downstairs.

[Climbergirl]

Haha I am just scared I will forget about it and let it go too long if I have a bag downstairs. But I should try it and see!

[clutterwarrior]

Originally Posted by Juvysen

What about placing a nice looking basket in "clutter prone" areas that you can toss things into (maybe one with a lid to hide the clutter?) and then daily or weekly wander around your house putting those things away?

I am going to try this....I realised I have one spot in my craft room that seems to gather lots of plastic bags full of random stuff and it looks so messy and higgledy piggledy in the corner of the room, so a nice big basket would at least be a more attractive place to stow these.

[zoebird]

first, i would cut back the mail that you receive, and then have a system for what mail you do receive.

second, i would work on the emotional side of impulse buys, striving not to buy odd objects. (you'll save money too)

third, come up with a clear system of organization for each thing that you need to organize, so that everything has it's place.

and finally, and most important, "do it now." this is a good little mantra to have, which is really about cleaning up as you are going. so, for example, if your silversmithing tools are just spread about, then yes, you loose track of what you have. but if you always put the tools away when you are finished, then you know exactly where you are. build time into your time doing that work so that you have time to tidy away at the end of the time that you have for that. so, for example, if you have 45 minutes of time to spend on that activity, give yourself 10 minutes for putting away your tools at the end.

if ever you hear yourself going "oh, i'll clean this up tomorrow"--then flip it with "do it now." and then, do it. it works, keeps the place really clean.

[IsaFrench]

Originally Posted by zoebird

build time into your time doing that work so that you have time to tidy away at the end of the time that you have for that. so, for example, if you have 45 minutes of time to spend on that activity, give yourself 10 minutes for putting away your tools at the end.

if ever you hear yourself going "oh, i'll clean this up tomorrow"--then flip it with "do it now." and then, do it. it works, keeps the place really clean.

... thanks for writing that !

as usual I can find much use for your advice to other people ...

this is putting the finger exactly on the spot where it hurts for me = I have a particular anxiety about timing/timetables/being on time/allowing myself time for this or that ....

I did buy "Time management from the inside out" and it did help somehow
... but I'm usually more anxious to get going to my next planned activity to take the time for "closure" & in the same vein, if I have the luxury to be alone, I will start several projects at the same time and will not by preference finish one before starting on the other... another facet of my own muddled way for getting along in my life !

[SubliminalDarkness]

It sounds like you just need to learn to deal with things immediately.

If you're at a store and considering purchasing something, where will it go? You need to know where it will go as soon as you get it home, and put it there.

When I check the mailbox, I go through the mail immediately. Junk goes right into the trash. Bills are opened immediately and sorted. Anything else is dealt with right away.

When I get home from any store, I immediately put everything away. New clothes are hung or put into a hamper to be washed.

There is no, 'I'll deal with this later.' Later builds up to more work and stress down the line. If i won't have time to deal with something immediately, I don't buy it.

[LaughingHyena]

We found it helpful to walk through tasks and see where we wanted to put things, especially the things which used to pile up in hot spots in the previous house.

For example we always used to end with a pile of unsorted mail on the counter. When we moved we wanted to try and sort out a place for it so it didn't get dumped. We ended up putting the filing cabinet in the dinning room, rather than upstairs in the study. It means I can file things straight away, not leave them in a pile to go upstairs later.

We also got a nice dried flower arrangement for the windowsill in the hall. That way I an;t pile the post there

[Magelet]

Craft items. Boy I need to stop buying this stuff, I do make a lot of cool things and sew and love that I have so much to work with, but I have too much because I usually can't find the right thing when I need it. I started winding my ribbon and lace around 3x5 cards and placing them in a photo box ( really is amazingly nice working storage) and was blown away by how much I had to work with, not to mention how much money it was all worth!!! Now I need to find equally as good ways to sort and store fabric and a million other craft odds and ends that aren't as straight forward. I will probably no longer have a huge designated craft space and will need to make it pack up neater.

In terms of craft space, what I recently did (and I love) was I got several shoe boxes, and a big plastic tub. The large peices of fabric are folded in the tub, the quilt scraps are in one shoe box. Another shoe box is thread. I have a little plastic makeup box I had around for ribbons and zippers and such, and my sewing basket for tools. I haven't organized patterns, mending or WIPs yet, but it's so helpful to have seperate places for each thing. (And by putting it in boxes, it's pretty easy to put away in the garage and get out. I'd rather have it out all the time but I can't.) Things don't get lost as much this way either.