One final “before” we hit the finale! This project was tedious simply because I had so much stuff and it required that I go through it all piece by piece. It was worth it in the end but it was really tiring work-physically & mentally. I’m glad that I broke it up by area but at this point it didn’t really matter. I had to find space to work and then space to put what I was keeping.
Che Disastro-What a Disaster!
Though it is hard to live with and look at “ALL” of this stuff, I reminded myself that it was only temporary and it was the pain to get to the pleasure.
Some of these items are things that I’m keeping but some of it (the paper bags) are items for donation.
This is looking from the vantage point of my craft area. I don’t know if others have to do it this way but I find it necessary to pull everything out especially when there are a lot of items and when you no longer know what you have!
My dining room table got quite the workout! Even though it’s really full, items are actually categorized and group together. This was the other reason that it was necessary to go through each piece. I knew that I had like items spread out in different drawers and shelves and one of my goals is to get like with like. This process really helps prevent over-buying. If everything is in its own place, there is less chance of me thinking that I don’t have something when I actually do.
This is the part of the project where “it gets worse before it gets better”! And, you’re kind of stuck at this point because you have to continue so that it can get better! To prevent overwhelm and also not work myself to exhaustion, I would set a timer and then take a break. I would work for an hour and then take a break, 20-40 minutes-doing this throughout the day (on the weekends) so that I actually ended up working for several hours at a time. I find that when I have a time limit I work more productively and it allows me to get other done as well-laundry, cooking, Italian homework, etc….Taking a break from this project, even to work on other tasks, helped me to continue working even when I wanted to weep!
At this point, I’d taken everything off of my craft table and had moved all of the furniture pieces around so that I could vacuum and clean!
And finally, the decluttering is done and I can start the re-organization!
This is the “fun” part but not always. I have a couple of friends (Michyle & Debbie) who are very good at organizing and can “tetris” the heck out of a drawer, cabinet or suitcase!! This is not necessarily a strong skill of mine but remembering my goal and my why, I decided to just take my time. I also reminded myself that it didn’t have to work out the first go around and I could change it up and adjust as necessary. In the end, the process was kind of fun!
I haven’t seen this table empty like this since I acquired it from Debbie so many years ago! This is actually a sewing table but it definitely works for crafting as well. The beauty and the curse of it is that the table can hold A LOT!!!
At this point, I’m fairly delirious (crazed with exhaustion but happy). I’m ready to get on with everything having its place.
Today is clearly not cancelled because I worked! I worked many long, hard and productive hours and I am proud of myself.
Next time, I will share with you the finished product!
How do you handle the stress from decluttering and organizing? Do you just chuck it all or do you regularly maintain your space? Share your tips in the comments.
