Heart Choices: Are You Ready to Declutter? -->

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Are You Ready to Declutter?


Simplify ~ Declutter ~ Organize

Are you ready to declutter?  Do you look around your home and realize that you have way too much stuff? 

As many of you know, I recently moved from a large home into a very small temporary home.  I sold so much of my stuff including furniture, artwork, rugs, etc.  However, now I have a very messy garage with boxes.  And after more than six months, I can't even remember what's in the boxes.


How would you like to be faced with this mess?  LOL.  It actually looked better before I started. 

I found some handy guidance on decluttering from a site called Life Your Way.  They offer free printables for every occasion.  Here's the one I used for decluttering.

Ask yourself these questions and then ...just do it!
I found a few hidden treasures in my boxes today.  But for the most part, I found lots of stuff that I could definitely do without. 

Believe it or not, I've never had a garage sale.  We weren't permitted to have them in our previous gated neighborhood but here it's a treasure trove every Thursday through Saturday.  And I'm lucky to have friends who live on a more highly trafficked corner lot.  And they are willing to allow me to use their driveway.  Thanks Jack and Anna May!  They even have those great signs already printed up.

I've found that with less stuff:
  • I can focus more on what's really important. 
  • There's less stuff to clean
  • The house is more orderly.
  • I'm not always looking for the latest gadget or thing to add to my house.
In many ways, it's freeing to ...simplify.

How about you?  Do you even remember what's in the boxes in the attic or basement? 

Blessings and love,


QuickEdit
Debbie Petras
22 Comments
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22 comments:

  1. Hi Debbie, In the hopes of relocating to a smaller home, we have donated, sold and given keepsakes to family. I find that it is much easier to keep a clean house! You are fortunate to have friends with a great location for a yard sale. Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Debbie,
    10 Question list is Great, I will be giving it to my husband, believe it or not. Between my husband & I,
    I am the one that de-clutters, tosses things out. I sometimes get myself into trouble when I toss without consent first :o)

    Blessings, Michele Katherine

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm NOT a pack rat at all. I don't like clutter and tell everyone in the house if things don't get put back where they belong quickly they end up in the trash or in a pile for Goodwill.

    I love to declutter! I remind myself all of the time - none of this comes with us.

    Love you!
    Jill

    PRAYING FOR A HUGE TURN OUT FOR YOUR GARAGE SALE!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this! I work with people to clear clutter and not just from their homes- from everywhere. I just moved to LA, so I need to restart my business. THinking about online coaching with this issue.

    I found your site as we are both listed as top resource for spiritual self-help and I wanted to say hello.

    Happy de-cluttering. It is a spectacular process. There is so much to learn about yourself from the decluttering process. If you have any questions let me know. If you are interested, I would love to see how helping people declutter can work online.

    nikki@nikkisacredspace.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Sis,

    I liked this post. I really don't like clutter because I can't breathe or think when things are packed high but I do collect a lot of papers and books so I throw away regularly (papers) and give away often (books) either to the library or people.

    I love you and I'm praying for you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. for once, I have a smile on my face when I think about my garage... I just finished cleaning and organizing the whole thing. It looks so great that I feel like taking visiting friends out there just so they can admire it!! Which also means, just a few weeks ago... it was horrible!

    These are good points, all 10 of them.

    You want to come over and see my garage?? :)

    Hugs sis!

    ReplyDelete
  7. We only moved 3 months ago, but I haven't finished unpacking the garage yet, and have no clue what's in there. I also haven't been able to declutter the piles of junk in the house. I am going to check out that site for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, I cannot stand clutter and am really trying to rid myself of "stuff" in recent years. It's really hard when you have the space to keep it but I know that one day we will move and I am trying to slowly plan for that time. It's so easy to become a slave to our stuff and that's certainly not what the Lord intended. Blessings to you, always enjoy stopping by.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My sister has inspired me to de-clutter. Her motto is "If I were to move today, would I take you?". That has helped her get rid of whatever may be an eye sore.

    I know it may be hard sometime to part ways with personal items but I find comfort in knowing that when I donate items, esp. to the Salvation Army I know it will go to someone who may really need it.

    God bless you and much success on your garage sale.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You have posted on the very topic I needed to read.

    Thanks, I will check out that site.

    And I have been trying to declutter for the past ten years and have not gotten anywhere near my ideal or goal.

    I keep putting it off... but with the help of your encouraging post, I think I'm ready to give it another try.

    Love
    Lidj

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't do well with clutter around me... we live quite 'lightly'.

    After my divorce, and leaving my own home, I have rented ever since. It is a nightmare to cart stuff from one house to another as renting is so unpredictable (ie landlord wants house back, sells etc).

    I pray you have a huge success with your yard sale. You will feel so much freer I'm sure!

    That's a great list too, by the way.

    Love ya Debbie!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Debbie,
    it's Michele Katherine,
    I just wanted to say your comment on my post touched my heart, thank you. After reading it I felt like I needed to make modifications to my post. Thank you again.
    God bless you,
    M.K.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have always been a gal who followed the saying of..."if you don't use it...lose it" haha I don't hang on to much of anything, and if I do it's got to be some neat, simple way of doing so. My husband on the other is a HUGE pack rat...we've had our moments over this issue in our 35 years, haha. But I think God put us together to work on each other over this. But leaving that house of 25 years forced us to go through everything and trust me our garage and attic were full. It is a WONDERFUL feeling to have gotten rid of soo much. I could keep saying to my husband, "You HAVE to get rid of it...there is NO WHERE to put it now." We no longer have an attic, or a garage. We have a couple of sheds, but NO GARAGE...hahaha I love it. It was kind of hard for hubby, but he has finally admitted he likes it better too. I had large collections of books but I passed them all on to my kids. Can you see that this is a subject I feel strongly about? haha We just all manage to collect sooo much junk. We had a couple of garage sales before we moved. I was just AMAZED at what people bought....This was a good post...you will be surprised how much money "your junk" will bring. Have a good day...

    ReplyDelete
  14. I checked out the list. It's
    really good. After the holidays
    we plan to do a lot of cleaning
    and de-cluttering too. I look
    forward to it though because
    I happen to be one of those
    people who loves cleaning and
    organizing stuff. We don't even
    remember what's in our attic!
    I wish you well on getting your
    task done.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I checked out the list. It's
    really good. After the holidays
    we plan to do a lot of cleaning
    and de-cluttering too. I look
    forward to it though because
    I happen to be one of those
    people who loves cleaning and
    organizing stuff. We don't even
    remember what's in our attic!
    I wish you well on getting your
    task done.

    ReplyDelete
  16. So nice to meet you! I come to you from Lisa's blog and find your blog just wonderful! I'm following along! You know, I did the big declutter last year... I would be lying if I said I didn't regret (well kind of) a few things I gave away (mostly old cloths which I now know are "vintage" - goodness, when did I and my things get to be vintage!?)But for 98%... oh my, such a great feeling, a freeing feeling even! You've definitely got the right idea! (Just be careful not to throw out "vintage" clothing!But then...from your picture you look too young to have to keep that in mind!
    Blessings!
    Ann

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Debbie!

    Over the past couple of years, I've made several moves...after leaving our "big" house, too. During that time, I've gotten rid of a lot of things. It was difficult at first, but what I've discovered, is that the things that are truly important are not the items I have gotten rid of, packed away...or put out on display. God has taught me to truly appreciate the blessing in my life that can't be purchased - my family. I have always loved them...but, I have to admit that without distractions of "stuff", I am accutely more aware of how wonderful they are and what is really important in this life. God has showered me with His love through them. Thank you for sharing your journey. Your writings are always a blessing to me!

    Love through Christ, Joan

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love the way you think declutter and organize!! I have lots of junk that needs to be tossed out or stored more neatly. Maybe I will take a couple of days off from work to get it done.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Debbie:
    I enjoyed this post. I love to live a de-cluttered life. But sometimes still collect too much stuff.
    When we moved, four years ago, from our house to a condo we gave away a lot of things. We don't have nearly the storage space here--especially with a one car garage.
    However, I think our attic is stuffed. I'm clueless what is up there. Guess there is more work to do.
    Hope your organizing is coming along well.
    HUGS!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I need to declutter two rooms in our house. Unfortunately, most of the stuff belongs to my husband and our son (who no longer lives here)...Maybe I should just get rid of it - ha. I think I would get in trouble - lol.

    I am glad that you were able to declutter your home.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am decluttering my life, does that count?
    Feels very freeing to no longer have that negativity hanging around

    ReplyDelete

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