Spring Cleaning: Preparing for the Purge

As I have so much free time on my hands, and I am sick of every storage in the house overflowing, I have decided to do a whole house purge, one category at a time.

I thought it might be fun to do a mini-series of blog posts. I figure I will start with my tips and methods of purging.

For me, getting rid of things is difficult. I seem to have a tendency towards hoarding-like behaviors. The hardest thing for me is seeing that I spent money on an object that I will either sell for a huge loss on an online yard sale (see my post about that), donate, or just simply throw away. I hate wasting money. I have never been well off financially, always struggling paycheck to paycheck. I mistakingly ran up some credit card debt. I see items I'm getting rid of that I am technically still paying for. Lesson learned. I am much, much more careful about what I buy.

After a brief bit of research on organizational techniques, something that stood out to me was the Konmari method of organizing. Let me say I did not read the book, although it does look very interesting. I simply googled the method and used pieces of it to help me organize my possessions.

The Sleepy Cat Organizational/Decluttering Method:

1. Pick ONE group of items to organize (Clothing, Health and Beauty, Toys, Craft Supplies, etc)
2. Gather all the items of the same group together in a common place. The center of a room works well
3. Pick up each and every item and look at it. Try it on if necessary. Ask yourself the following questions
1. Do you like this item? Or Do You Need this Item?
2. Have I used this item recently? Or Can I realistically see myself using this item? Seriously, be realistic. It doesn't help if it's a maybe if a certain situation arises that hasn't arisen in the past year....
4. Make FOUR Piles (Keep, Sell, Donate, Trash)
1. Keep - Self explanatory
2. Sell - Items in excellent condition
3. Donate - Items definitely useable, maybe not brand name or not worth much
4. Trash- Destroyed items, Unsanitary items
5. Put everything away. Everything should have a home now. If you use the item, put it back where it belongs to keep the clutter down. 

One thing I really liked about the Konmari method is to put everything together in one place to sort it. Take all the items out of the drawers, boxes, closets etc and put them in one central place. It seems overwhelming at first, seeing a huge pile of stuff you have to go through, but it is worth it. That way you don't miss anything and you can see if you have duplicates or even more of the same item. It also makes it really nice to put your newly discovered items into empty places. A complete fresh start.

The main idea of the Konmari method is to ask yourself "Does this item bring you joy?" If the answer is no, then away it goes. While I think this concept is awesome, it was a little bit hard to do for me right now. I am in limbo as far as what my career path is going to bring. I have to keep enough office clothes and casual clothes until I get my work life figured out.

Follow along as I make our house more organized and less cluttered!