Have you ever enjoyed one of those TV series where the two main characters have a love interest in each other that takes episode after episode to come to climactic fruition. The build up is intoxicating. It is almost a shame when they finally succumb to their lust for each other. In fact that is often when the series also comes to its finality and if it doesn’t the show is never really as appealing from that moment on. It is like fairytales where the endings are “…and they lived happily ever after. Clearly the teller these stories know that the buildup is more interesting and tantalising than the actually partnership beyond that point.
Well your decluttering can be like this. I revelled in the joy of each item I sent on its way rather than lamenting daily not being at the end of my decluttering journey. Even now that I am almost fully decluttered I still look for items on a regular basis to send on their way because I know, from experience, that the less stuff I have the easier it is to keep in order, the less time I waste choosing between items and the more breathing space I have in my home. It still gives me a thrill to flirt with the idea of living with even less. 😉
So don’t look at decluttering as a chore, think of it as a thrilling adventure that will lead to a satisfying climax.
And for those of you who are thinking “Does this mean that the end of our decluttering journey will be an anticlimax?”, the answer is no. I means that once you make the conquest you can settle down into a very comfortable, happy and loving relationship with you stuff, not wanting to ever return to your past lifestyle.
So enjoy the journey and reap the rewards.
Today’s Mini Mission
Another obvious clutter magnet is the junk drawer. I am pleased to say I don’t have one of these.  “Why do junk drawers exist anyway?†Surely all the things we put in there have a home elsewhere but we are just not putting them away properly. Maybe once it is emptied you should remover the drawer for a week and attempt to learn to live without it. 
Eco Tip for the Day
If you do iron clothes don’t turn on the iron to do one thing. Designate a regular iron session so you aren’t wasting electricity reheating the iron over and over again.
For a full list of my eco tips so far click here
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
You are right Colleen. To me there is no anticlimax to decluttering. Instead there is peace and contentment. I am amazed at the things I can do now because there is so little calling to me to be taken care of. Cleaning and all that is a breeze.
I know what you are saying Deb, my place is just like that. At the same time I still get a thrill from finding something I can declutter.
Oh yes! What’s really great is when Mom puts another item in the “GO” pile.
Yes that would surely be a high for the day.
Yes, the happy ever after bit is when you move from decluttering/organisisng to “curating” your home. Very satisfying!
Very satisfying indeed, Laura. I love it.
A lovely analogy, Colleen.
Especially as I have been thinking about the time somewhere in the future when my home is finally decluttered. Rather than wait for the “happy ever after”, I am going to revel in the journey.
Good for you Lucinda. I have really enjoyed my journey as I felt I was making progress every day. Without the responsibility of writing a blog post about it nearly every day it would have been even easier. So just decluttering should be a breeze.
I am definitely enjoying each success and triumph along the way. One of the early high points was the (unfortunately rodent-inspired) clear out of the garage, which I am glad to say has stayed clean and tidy (and rodent-free!!) for a year, and makes me happy whenever I go in there. Another huge milestone for me was when I dropped off another 64 items at Goodwill this morning, among them my wedding dress. I have unquestioningly moved that dress around with me for the last almost 30 years, and when I decided to take a look in the box the other day I didn’t like what I saw; I hadn’t had it professionally preserved and the years hadn’t been good to it. Maybe someone will dye it or do something to it to give it new life, but I’m happy to look at my wedding pictures and see it the way I remember it. And if I can let that go, the other clutter really doesn’t stand a chance.
Ah yes, the wedding dress. I did have mine professionally cleaned, and the years were still not kind.
Ugly brown marks eww.
I am thinking of soaking it in napisan before donating it. I figure it is already bad, so is worth a try.
It would be nicer for it to be in a usable condition I think.
Well done Stephanie. You have decluttered something that I haven’t achieved yet. It would be gone were it up to me but my husband has some crazy photo shoot in mind for it first. I think I am going to have to put an expiry date on that photo shoot. I am over the dress cluttering my small closet
Also well done with the 64 items and with enjoying the journey. That makes it so much easier and enjoyable.
Hi Colleen! I am trying to focus on the journey and enjoy every item that goes out the door. I put that white board up and it was a wonderful idea! I am breaking down tasks and I have already seen progress. The journey can be enjoyable and fun.
And I found the analogy you used a great one.
Lol – had been talking about the onscreen couple finally getting together just the other day, it started (for me) with Dr Quinn Medicine Woman tv series back in the 90’s – I guess thats why fairy tales end it with an ‘and they lived happily ever after’ right there. Mind you I read the final installment of a fantastic book series a couple of years ago, the author wrote an epilogue killing off most of the characters through a series of newspaper articles spanning 20+ years. It certainly took care of any hopes of yet another installment but it was definately mood crasher.
I dont think decluttering ever stops as life continually evolves. Obviously there are peak times in life with changes in living arrangements and family dynamics etc. But even small changes in day to day living can have a big flow on effect elsewhere in the household.
I have always looked at de-cluttering and simplifying as a never ending journey. As we age, our lives change and so the process is a constant. However, once you have reached the point that you have Colleen, it becomes so much easier. A quick semi-annual review of our “stuff” along with those occasional “what was I thinking, or why am I keeping this” moments, keep everything moving (preferably out), haha!
First I have to so agree on the TV analogy Do you remember The Flying Doctors. Would Geoff and Kate ever get together…..?
One of the things I have loved about our decluttering journey is not just the change in our house and consequently our lives, but how we have gone down sidetracks and taken up new ways of doing (or not doing things). I have always been eco and ethically conscious but am far more so now. I make our own bread, yoghurt, soft cheese, cereals, cleaning products, toothpaste etc etc. As I looked at ways to stop stuff coming into my house it made sense to stop the packaging and ensure that there were no unecessary additives by making as much as possible ourselves. The latest discovery has been raw chocolate. I am never going to buy a bar of commercial chocolate again….. 🙂
Hi Gillie, I am intrigued with this raw chocolate thing. You will have to tell me more about it. I think I will Google it right now.
Once you have tasted raw chocolate you will never go back. A friend of mine set up Pure Melt in Byron Bay, but she now sells in Melbourne and Brisbane (I can’t remember where you are). If you are interested in tasting REAL chocolate then you have to try fraw chocolate. I promise you, you will never look back 🙂
Hi Gillie, I am in Newcastle. I assume your friend has a web site and I will google it and check it out. I will most certainly have to give it a try. Thanks
I am not even close to the “climax” yet, but still at the stage of the clutter relationship where the characters are just starting to feel the tension, and the conversations are confusing and filled with questions “I think I like him, does he like me?” phase.
About the Junk Drawer. I have one. I am not giving it up. But I think I may re-name it to the “HARDWARE DRAWER”, because that is what lives there. Screwdrivers, scissors, batteries, glues, handy bits of wire and bread tags, cello tape, etc. Basically if I need something small fixed I head to that drawer first. Admittedly genuine “junk” ends up in there from time to time, but I go through it on a regular basis to keep it organized. It’s my handy-dandy-conveniently-located-fix-it drawer.