“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
— Albert Einstein
Hmmm. Eight years ago I started this blog because I felt a need to clear clutter from my life. I have not done so well in sorting through boxes of papers and old photos, closets, and individual drawers. And now? Time is moving along and I feel stuck and panicky with the clutter still in my life. The physical stuff that is in my way compounds to become mental clutter, which, in turn, negatively affects my mental and physical health.
I am sick of it. That's all. I will let you know what steps I take to ensure that in no way could I compose a similar post on the ninth anniversary of Clutterquake. I hope this is the important first step. .
A huge THANK YOU to Ronni Bennett who posted this video at her blog in a marvelous post titled Letting Go of Stuff, in which she considers her upcoming move from Portland, Maine to........Portland, Oregon!
It's a great post and I highly recommend reading it.
I needed to see this video more than I can say! The photos here tell you why.
These shots are the ones I took of the upstairs room last June. I finally have the guts to share them, mainly, I guess, because I'm involved in a project downstairs that makes me feel less guilty that the upstairs room is still filled with stuff I do not want. I do not want it so much, in fact, that I do not want to even look at it.......which is a huge problem because I must sort in order to organize. In my defense I must add that quite a lot of this junk has been given away and/or taken to our storage unit in the past months. Maybe now by posting these shots I will find renewed energy to complete this horrid task. Will keep you posted.
I have not worn any of these clothes in over a year. In fact, I will probably never wear the majority of them again. Office suits (i.e., Nordstrom and Jones New York)? I left work in 2000. I sold and gave away four suits soon after, but the rest need to go...
.
The area by the windows is the only with any hint of what could be. Note that the floor needs work. Ideally, we would have bamboo flooring installed, but in this economy.....in this old house? One thing for sure: the floor decision cannot be addressed until the room is completely cleared out and painted.
Ideas are welcomed.
