Clutter and Decluttering

While we were in Ohio, I spent one night tossing and turning, due to a spider bite on the back of my neck (I'll get to that story later), and trying to think of all the things I could get rid of when we got home. So, although the loss of my blog archives for the last year was a hard blow, I think I was in a state of mind where decluttering didn't hit me as hard as it might, when I'm in my usual full-blown packrat mode.

This weekend, Justin and I actually tackled the attic and hauled down a ton of stuff that had been piling up from who knows where. I think it was breeding up there, because I sure don't know how else the entire room got filled to the brim. We took big loads of things to Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity's Homestore and finished up with a big reorganization that left us with floor space and room to get to things. Now we just need to remember to never put anything else in there. Yeah, right...

That went so well that we moved on to the kitchen, where we happen to have completely open upper cabinets and so disorganization really shows. We've been pretty good about keeping things neat, but there are a few areas that never got straightened up and above the cabinets things have just been sitting without rhyme or reason. My decorator (aka Justin) rearranged, straightened and disposed of, until our kitchen actually looks like humans and not wild hyenas live there. At least in parts.

This is going so well and feels so nice that we might just move on to closets and see what lies buried in their depths. What a lovely feeling to hand over bag after bag to the Goodwill lady and know I need never think about it again.