February (et al) Declutter Update

I started following along on the Declutter Challenge last, um, year, at Amy's Finer Things. I was hoping to make it to 730 ft cubed exported in 2010. I made it to 113.8, 15.6% before I was distracted by shiny things the rest of the year.

So, I was happy to see that Nony at A Slob Comes Clean is a) a woman after my own heart and b)continuing the Declutter Challenge link-up.

Full disclosure, I haven't paid much attention to decluttering since last year, when I made it to the 113.8 ft cubed. (Yes, I did in fact measure everything and that kind of complusive behavior may have had something to do with my loss of momentum. Merf.) The bulk of that material was purged from items we'd brought back from my Mom's house in Ohio. Divorced parents + sparse long term memory= a lotta crap. "I don't remember this but it says 1984. Maybe if I keep it, I will remember something from 1984?"

Lately, though, I've been focused on the ways my life has stagnated. (I am a recovering grad student. I finished my research and coursework two years ago, life and a mental breakdown intervened, and I haven't quite put the finishing touches on that thesis and defense.) I want to clear out everything that's been staring me in the face for the past few years, big and small, mentally and physically. My declutter steps have made a small impact in terms of what we see in the house, but have really lifted me mentally.

~Returning my Sbux uniform, a year after my last shift. Now it won't be in my closet sparking dreams of being late for my shift. I am grateful to Bux. They are a good company and gave me a job when no other jobs were to be found. However, it wasn't a good time in my life. Booker and I were fighting; anxiety and insomnia had put me in a very desperate and scary place. I was no longer a full-time student, so my loans were due, and when you've invested $60,000 in your education, working for minimum wage is a huge hit to your self-esteem. I'm not being snobby, just honest. So the sight of the green apron doesn't bring a flood of happy memories.

~Took a bagful to Goodwill, including the book American Taboo: a Murder in the Peace Corps. My friend sent it to my 4 years ago. I've been waiting this whole time to be in a mental space to handle Deb Gardner's story. I finally was able to admit to myself that I'll have to find other ways to honor her.

~ I realized that Lowes recycles CFL lightbulbs. It's not so much that we are early adopters, and have run through them after 5-8 years of use, as it is that one of us is very impatient. CFL's have a slight lag time when you turn them on, and I- um, one of us- had a bad habit of flicking the switch off and on, which just makes them burn out. "Is it broken? Oh. Shit. It is now." We had a collection of 9-10 sitting in our closet, that have led to a few bickerfests. The issue:

Me: These contain heavy metals, which are bad and wrong. Our city does not recycle them. We can't afford the $30 kit to mail them off. Throwing them out is not an option. So let's hold on to them until we figure it out.

Booker Phase 1: What? Heavy metals? I've never heard that. Are you sure that's right?

Booker Phase 2: O-KAY. Fine! No, I believed you. Yes I did. Yes I did. Yes I did. Since they have heavy metals, we shouldn't keep them in the house where they are subject to breakage. It would be great to recycle them if it were easy, but it's not, so let's just throw them away and try to do better next time.

Booker Phase 3: Yes I did. Yes I did. Yes I did. No, I care about the water supply. Yes I do. Yes I do. Yes I do.

Seriously, it's been YEARS that we have held onto these lightbulbs. At one point I even hid them. 50 points goes to the winner who guesses which of use was more invested in the idea of recycling these mofos???

And this whole damn time, we could've just trotted off to Lowes. Which I did this afternoon, and it felt great.

Small things physically, big psychologically. Let's see if I can make the thesis deadline of April 15!

I'm linking this up at A Slob Comes Clean for the February Decluttering Update. Stop by to cheer us on and join in!

Blogroll

New links! These blogs are not limited to the topics below, but this is why they appeal to me:

$5 Dinners- Quick, affordable meals
A Slob Comes Clean- aka, my home too
Amy's Finer Things- hosting a year-long declutter challenge
Chow Bella- Science! Food! Awesome. Mostly food and awesomeness. Scientist IRL.
I Heart Faces- photography
Knock Off Wood- make things!
Made By Joel- make toys!
Me Ra Koh- photography
Money Saving Mom- how to things for free
Once A Month Mom- lots of food, less cooking

Declutter Challenge

Well, my goal of 730 ft cubed was waaay overambitious. As of right now I'm at 20 ft cubed. Still, it has changed how I approach my junk...I'm a lot more willing to get rid of things I would have kept in the past. I'm learning that just because something has another use, doesn't mean I have to be the one to use it. That's a hard thing for a tree-hugger to accept.

I'm finding all kinds of treasures too: ex: a cutting board of 4 different woods my Dad made for my Mom their first Christmas together. (They divorced when I was 7 and I find that I am incredibly sentimental over any artifacts I can find from when they were together. Odd, since most of my memories start at 8- it's not like I'm missing that time in my life- I can't remember it! I wonder if this is a typical child-of-divorce thing?)

Ex: an old bug barn, inscribed with 'Bug-el: A safe haven.' I didn't like bugs then. Wonder what I was thinking?


Ex: A battery-operated orange tabby cat my late grandmother gave me. We'd had an orange tabby with a litter of four; the kittens eventually found a home on their farm & 5 acres.

I haven't really had much time to go through things, so I do expect those numbers to go up every month. But the little bit has made a difference- I was able to turn one of our two junk rooms into a usable space. It's officially the man-room, and was Booker's Valentine's Present. My hope is that in the next month or so we'll really start to see a difference in clutter and open space.

See Amy's Finer Things for a community declutter challenge.

Off to a start...good? Definately a start...

Got rid of 4.8 Ft (cubed) today by spreading the last 3 (out of about 50) bales of pine straw we ordered over the summer. We fancied up out front garden beds, which had previously consisted of some nice shrubs we planted, lost among various weeds which we did not. We are sooo *that* house. We'd also thrown down a bunch in our side yard where grass won't grow. (But about 3 species of invasive vine, will...). The last three bales went under a cherry laurel tree in our back yard. I haven't had much time to do major soring and Goodwill-ing yet. There is a box slowly filling up, but so far the count is based on paper clutter.

730 in 365 Clutter Challenge

Amy at 'Amy's Finer Things' is hosting, and I am jumping on board. (Annnd all these blog challenges will get me blogging again. Yayz.)

I'm tailoring it to my own specifications. I am a pretty spatially-motivated person. I guess having less stuff would make it easier to clean, but in full disclosure we don't really clean at all. I just last week accepted that we, as two otherwise competent adults, need a chore chart. But my biggest motivator is that I want to see empty space. It's why I love hotels so much. The rooms are just so...blank.

So, I am going with a spatial measurement for my challenge: 730 ft cubed in 365. I want to know how big of a space full of crap I'm eliminating.

And to fill this 730 ft (cubed) I'll pick through the following:

- Paper clutter is a big problem for us- me- so I'm counting 1) the basketfuls of paper we recycle 2) the bagfuls of paper we shred. I'm not counting other recycling because it's not a problem. The old beer bottles don't infilitrate all rooms of the house and find a way to be packed for every move. Also not counting basic household trash. I do have it in me to measure the cat litter, in the name of accuracy, so Imma go ahead and draw that line in the sand reeeaaall early.

- A few months ago we moved a bunch of my childhood stuff from Midwest State, doubling our junk rooms in the house. We have a spare bedroom (guest room) and an converted garage room (we'd like it to be a workout room) that are out of commission now becase they are full of mostly junk.

- We also have random items that are part of the renovations lying around. THose will count too, since once they are put in use they are still out of my breathing space.