Out Of Chaos

Have y’all ever noticed how clutter just seems to grow? It’s true.

If I leave one book on the coffee table (instead of putting it back in the bookshelf), within a day it has a mate. Before the week is out, they have a family!

I can hang one shirt on the back of a chair, and soon it has its own posse! Leave the mail stacked on the kitchen table and soon you won’t be able to find the table. Test it for yourself: leave one dish on the counter instead of putting it in the dishwasher. By day’s end, every dish you own will have joined it.

I’d like to tell you that the clutter at my house is made by my other family members, but I don’t like like to lie to you. I’m a “perp,” too. As we have been de-cluttering, sometimes I make a real mess.

I’ve made a couple of rules for myself that have been an enormous help over the last several weeks.

• When I’m re-organizing a shelf or drawer, I never take out more than I can put away in the time I have devoted to working.
• After I’ve finished, I take all my discards to the assigned place (the garage sale pile, the trash, or out to the car to put in a donation box).
• For ten minutes each night, I use that timer I told you about and I pick up everything I’ve left out that day (from shoes to dishes to books or whatever).
• If I’ve still got a mess after that ten minutes, I try to add another ten minutes of straightening, so I can wake up in the morning with no chaos!

I have to admit that I’m enjoying having a less cluttered home. I can feel the stress washing away just a little bit every day. It’s all good!

Tags: Tips by Shelly Kneupper Tucker
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If you had an emergency situation, and had one hour (that’s all) to gather what is important to you, what would you take?

That was the question posed in one of my organizing books. I’m supposed to list what those things would be to get an idea of the things that are really important to me.

Wait a minute! I have some questions first!

1. Do I have to count the cats? Rounding up five cats and stuffing them in cages could take a whole hour.
2. Do I have a truck? If so, how big is it?
3. Do I have a dolly and some boxes?
4. Can I have five big guys helping me?
5. Won’t you give me an hour and a half?

OK, OK! I understand the point of the exercise. Still, it’s a really hard question for me to consider.

I’d grab the family photos and my computer first. I have a few pieces of unique furniture I’d take, and you can visit my main blog to see some of the funky collectibles I would want (I have some very strange stuff, and I love it all!). As much as I love my books, I wouldn’t take a single one, because they can all be replaced. I wouldn’t take any of the clothing I love, either. I can get more.

Heck, if this question is the deciding factor about what to keep and what to cull, I won’t need much house at all when I’m through. I hadn’t planned to cull that much.

Actually, I’m making light of this question, but it is one that will give you some insight into what you value most. As the culling process continues, I guess my foremost question is going to be: “Is it irreplaceable?”

Tags: Tips by Shelly Kneupper Tucker
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Many years ago, I read a tip in one of my books about organization. It told me what to do when I have trouble deciding to get rid of certain items while de-cluttering the house.

The suggestion was to put the items in a box, tape the box shut, and mark a date six months in the future on the box. When that date rolls around, if I haven’t needed any item in the box, I should then donate it to charity without even opening it.

That organizing guru didn’t know me very well.

You can call me “Pandora,” because I’m going to open that box! Then, it’s just like Christmas as I rediscover old treasures.

In theory, the idea is wonderful. If you can make it work, give it a try. In fact, I almost considered using it this time around for those “skinny clothes” I have in my closet.

Women know exactly what I mean. We have the clothes we wear every day, the “skinny clothes” for when we finally lose those 10 pounds we keep saying we will, and the “fat clothes” for when we are feeling fluffy.

I say I almost considered it, because I know it won’t work for me. I’m not going to lose 10 pounds, and if I did those clothes are so hopelessly out of style that I wouldn’t wear them anyway.

No more boxes for this Pandora to open later! Out the door with them!

Tags: Tips, simplified life by Shelly Kneupper Tucker
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At least fifteen years ago, I bought a book called Simplify Your Life, by Elaine St. James. It was cutting edge at the time; it was written back when people were still caught up in the mindset that more is better. I’ve figured out that more stuff is stressful!
Bite
off
a little
chunk each day
While the book is wonderful inspiration (and I’m keeping it by my bedside to remind me of why I am doing this), I find that it doesn’t have enough practical tips for me. I need “how to” advice. I’m finding myself spending as much time searching for answers as I am in actually sorting the clutter, and sometimes forget that I’m supposed to be de-cluttering!

My Mamaw always had some advice for me if I wanted to “finish what’s on the plate,” her way of saying “get things done.” She said, “Bite off a chunk each day.” She was right.

We’ve been in the habit of resting in the evenings, instead of spending any time sorting and sifting. Weekend comes, and we devote hours to the task. We get exhausted and cranky. Then, we ignore everything for the next week until it’s time to get grouchy again.

Now, I keep a kitchen timer on the table by my favorite chair.

It’s a nagging reminder to get off my rear and spend at least fifteen minutes a night on the process of culling my stuff. I don’t have to spend any more than that, but I have to work at least fifteen minutes.

That might not sound like much, but it’s fifteen minutes closer to my goal.

Tags: Tips by Shelly Kneupper Tucker
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