Clutter and Feelings

I realized something this morning: I inadvertently was making my children responsible for how I feel.

That's not their responsibility. They are responsible to obey us as parents, to be kind and respectful, and to finish their work.

Nobody in the world is responsible for how I feel. I'm completely responsible for what I do with those feelings, though.

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I can hardly wait to dig into more decluttering in the basement today. I get a thrill out of tossing junk. Eeee!

Sometimes the big picture of junk is overwhelming, so I hone in on one section. I save the big picture for an outline of how I want the room to function. For instance, the lower level for us is the family room. The big picture of that room is a sewing area, a gaming/TV area, Kris's Ebay wheeling and dealing area, and music. Plus there is a nice fireplace in the room.

Once the purpose of the room is established, I can start start deleting junk and organizing what is left.

A simple way to summarize a boatload of work, but it's satisfying to me.

A few questions I ask to help the decluttering are:

• What good has this item done for me/my family?

• Does this item get used enough to take up space in my home?

• Do I even like it?

• How many of ______ do I/my family need?

• Would I like the cleared-out space better than this item?

All those help me filter out the junk. Also a good refresher reading of Don Aslett's books on dejunking are helpful, especially Clutter's Last Stand.