I have piles of crap in my apartment, piles of clutter and shit that I haven’t even looked at since I moved in 6 years ago. My dining table has been unusable for many moons because of the piled-up crap sitting on top of it, and it’s not really helping the general level of dirt in here that I can’t actually really clean because I have piled-up crap everywhere.
And this is after a general decluttering that took place about six months ago, during which I got rid of something like half my books and all of my VHS tapes and about 9 bags of clothes and shoes that I don’t wear anymore or just don’t fit into (my friend Rosalyn from law school made out; she’s now the size I was when I had to wear a suit to the office every day, so I sent her two sizable boxes of work clothes). But it still wasn’t enough.
I’d ask where all this shit keeps coming from, but I already know the answer: that would be me. The pets leave a lot of hair, but the clutter is all on me.
Not only do I need to declutter in order to sell my apartment, I need to declutter to get my shit together. I can’t tell you how much time I spend on the weekends stressed out about my clutter, feeling like I need to do something about it, and then feeling guilty because the most I manage to do is get the laundry done and clean up the kitchen and bathroom. If that.
Why am I doing this to myself?
So I started rearranging some of the piles today. Given that I’ve got a little attention problem, I’m taking it one surface or one item of furniture at a time, pulling all the crap off the item, sorting into keep/give away/toss/recycle/shred/file piles (the file pile is going to be scary in and of itself, but I’m saving that for last), then cleaning and dusting. I’ve already got the dining table, one of the end tables, and the dresser where I keep the TV cleared off, and now I’m working on clearing out the drawers of the dresser, which are crammed with more crap.
I may not finish today, but at least I’m finally getting underway.
Ah, yes, the piles. I’m well acquainted with how shit just seems to continue to accumulate.
Baby steps. The hard part for me is to focus on the good I’ve done and not the mountain that’s left.
Enjoy the cleared-off table!
I made dinner and actually cleaned as I went, then I ate at the table. With candles and everything.
Now I’m taking the night off and working through some of my DVR queue.
My life is in a similar state right now, and I keep trying. One thing to remember is to credit yourself for what you have done, and cleaned and sorted and organized. I also find a small amount of time each day produces better results than a massive cleaning attack once in a while.
Zuzu, I’ve talked with a lot of professional organizers for my job. As one said, “The clutter didn’t happen in one day, it won’t be gone in a day.” You’re taking the right approach - one drawer/surface at a time. Someone else I’ve talked to is household hints columnist Heloise, who advocates a 5 things/5 minutes approach to tasks. Take 5 things that are lying around and put them in their proper place (closet, drawer, cabinet, garbage) or take 5 minutes and do one task such as sorting through one small pile of papers, filing what needs to be filed and throwing away the unnecessary stuff. After you’re done with the 5 things or 5 minutes, you can start again or come back later.
I’m actually amazed at how well that kind of 5 items/5 minutes approach is working. Stuff is actually moving off the surfaces, and the surfaces are now clean.
I got the living room cleared out yesterday, and today I’m working on the hallway/foyer, which is where I tend to throw all my mail and shoes.
Excellent!
Paper clutter is my waterloo. Crap - bills, magazines, etc. - just end up everywhere.
Glad to know that I’m not alone in this. I frequently look around at my piles of crap and think, ‘No one else lives like this! You’re a freak!’
I’m now inspired to go home and clean at least one surface, possibly my beautiful kitchen table (purchased when I finally bought my own place, which I have never eaten or even sat at!).
I, too, have major craptastic problems. Over Xmas, a very close friend of mine helped me at least de-crappify/de-paperize my kitchen/living room so that I wouldn’t set the place on fire. It’s hard keeping up with de-cluttering and household chores in general, especially if your job leaves you exhausted on many levels–when the weekend comes around, all I want to do is sleep, fuck around on the computer, and play video games. Anything else feels too taxing. Even now, I am taking a break from unloading laundry out of the bag and putting thing away–I picked up both loads from the laundromat last week. Le sigh.
Thanks for this. I’m taking it (although I know that wasn’t your intent) as a small kick up the backside, and am about to go and tidy 5 things RIGHT NOW.
The worst thing is, I lost momentum because I got sick. Hopefully, that’s all done now. I even have a checklist of tasks that need to get done.
I typically move residences every 2-3 years and take those opportunities to declutter. Two years ago we moved from a four bedroom house (2700 sq. ft.) to a two bedroom apartment (1,010 sq. ft.) and I did some ruthless decluttering just to be able to get in the apartment. And generally, after the move and everyone has put their stuff away, I wait a year and whatever is still packed in a box sitting in the garage gets looked through and tossed.
I actually didn’t buy my dining room table to eat on.
I bought it because I homeschool my daughter and I am also a full-time student and we like to work together at the table. So the table is generally cluttered with half-finished assignments, notes and texts for the better part of whatever semester we’re in then it gets cleaned up during our breaks. And we eat at the computer desk. 
We do 10-minute cleaning sprees daily and that keeps the rest of the clutter under control (and being in a really small apartment helps, because it becomes impossible to move). We live in Texas so we try to pick a couple of weekends a year when its not too hot and “spring clean”.
I’m also doing a decluttering of my home. A little bit each day is my goal. Today I made a donation at Housing Works of a portable charcoal grill (which I wasn’t using and was in a plastic bag in the living room under a chair) and a bunch of other things.