As I mentioned in my recent blog one of the things I want to address during BST this year is getting our house in shape.
A brief background to this is, we've been paying rent on the house we used to live in for 17 months so far since we moved out, purely because we have not addressed the terrible amount of clutter and got the house emptied yet!
Recent events surrounding hubby's working conditions have highlighted that we need to act quickly and get rid of this noose from around our neck. Hubby is concerned that he cannot continue to work in that company for much longer because he is not receiving the support he needs from his manager or indeed his colleagues to some extent. I did a very quick summation and worked out that if I returned to full time hours and we got rid of the rented house, we could survive on my wage. This is a scary prospect, but if it has to be done, then I'll do it. Every year around this time is just the same and I'm always scared of what it will do to our relationship (7 years ago it broke us up for a year). So, if it gets hubby away from that ridiculous working environment, I'll step up to the plate!
So anyway, today I am sitting here at the rented house feeling overwhelmed! I know what I want to do but I don't know where to start or where to find the energy to start!
Hubby and I have agreed that we need to be ruthless. Previously, we had the idea of moving things into storage to allow us to vacate the house and then filter through things at a more reasonable pace. Now we have agreed that this is not a good idea. We need to just get rid of things now, because we are not going to visit a storage unit, based on experience! Besides which, if we haven't used things in 17 months, we probably don't need them!
I have to completely buy into this approach, but I am scared about doing so. Just sitting here today, I realised that I have hoarded things because they relate to better times in the past. I need to let go of those "things" and create new better times!
A major thing for me is clothes. As many of you know, weight gain has been the bane of my life for many years. I have a suitcase here of clothes ranging over 5 different sizes. They are mostly new, that I thought I would "fit into soon", but never did. I feel quite nauseous about the idea of parting with this suitcase. In fact, I'm not even sure that I can do it. If I can cut down a lot of other things (how many fleeces does one couple need??), it won't be too conspicuous.... *looks sheepish*
The other thing of course, is handbags! I had already cut down what I was going to keep but now I think I will have to be even more ruthless. Let's face it, there is little point in me having a dozen "going out" bags when I don't even go out!! :-(
The next thing will be kitchen utensils. We have far more things than any normal household would ever use, let alone us two! We have to keep things simple and realistic. As with everything else, we can only keep what we can store away. There is no point having a worktop full of gadgets if there is no space to actually use them!
The idea of having a streamlined household is so liberating, but it will take commitment.
Writing this blog has really helped me to focus my mind and know what I am doing this afternoon. Arrivederci, clothes & handbags!!
Michelle x
I'm very excited for you! Decluttering is a step that everyone needs to take at one time or another. You will feel wonderful once it's all done!
ReplyDeleteThanks :) I'll keep you updated as always :)
Deletespeaking as one who has a ruthless mother who came and threw all the crap out. You will feel so much better when it's gone. It has been an immense weight off my shoulders. And I have genuinely only found 1 thing we should have kept. And that was pretty easily replaced.
ReplyDeleteDo it! :)
yeah, I'm sure my Mum would be the same, given the chance! It's not so much about maybe needing things, I just hate to think of the money we've spent and will get no benefit from. I guess I need to forget that though and just be ruthless!
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