#DeclutteringStartsFromTheInside

A strange thing happened to me the other day...

when I received a book I'd ordered online  -

"The life changing magic of tidying|" by Marie Kondo.

I'd read half the book within half an hour of it being posted through my door

and I can honestly say that I think this book is going to change my life!

Okay, the author's a little bit wacky...

encouraging you to "stroke your clothes whilst folding them,

thanking them for making you feel comfortable"...

but I can live with that.

I do that sometimes. Like when I go to lay the table - 

I always hope I'm not favouring one particular knife or fork and that they are all getting equal use... I know. It's crazy!

Anyway, I'd bought this book to help with my bad habit.
\Over the years, I have struggled with hoarding. 

I keep EVERYTHING! 

I've tried many different methods of decluttering but have fell into the trap that most people do, in thinking that great storage solutions are the answer.

I've lost count of how much money I have spent on storage bags, boxes and great storage systems that will supposedly sort me out.

I have a loft/shed/annexe full of stuff that I am going to recycle.

Here's a clip from a blog I did 2years ago...

I've spoken to my family. I've been to my doctor...and they all say the same thing... 

I have an illness...

I'm a hoarder.

I love to collect stuff - anything pretty, useful, or just unusual will usually find its way into my loft... 

only thing is now the loft is full. 

So it's the spare bedroom now... here's a photo... 

I'm ashamed of it... 

That's just one, small corner of the room.

I live in a beautiful house, I have a happy life,

but, I can't help but save stuff...just in case I might need it! 

But today I've learnt that decluttering starts from the INSIDE.

First you need to find out WHY you hoard.

I've always been a magpie.

I love finding treasure in charity shops, car boots and yard sales.

Especially vintage treasures!

Auctions and antique and collectors fairs are also like a magnet to me.

But I think my real hoarding started about 30 years ago.

I lived with a heroin addict then and can remember 

loading jewellery, camera, etc into the boot of my car 

before I went into work each day, 

so that I knew they woudnt be taken to the local pawnbrokers. 

I started to hoard for future security, 

and I did this for almost ten years.

My possessions grew and grew as my first marriage

and husbands heroin addition became worse.

When the marriage ended, I felt I had failed 

and I fell into chronic depression.

I continued to buy more things, 

things I didn't need, things I was going to recycle.
It felt really good, when I acquired something new,
but the feeling never lasted.

I was saving, storing for lean times ahead and at that time it served its purpose.

Now almost 30 years on, I still have lots of "stuff"

 I am now remarried to a very tidy chap, the poor, long suffering, Mr H.

We rarely argue, but if we do, I can guarantee

it will be about the amount of "stuff" I have.

I had so much stuff, that often I would not be able to find what I wanted, when I needed it. 

I've lost count of the amount of hours I have wasted looking for stuff  and
when I decluttered my craft "stuff" -

I found 18, yes, 18 pairs of scissors!

so at least 18 hours of my life had been wasted looking for them and that's only if I'd looked for each pair once!

Now, I have 5 pairs, and I know exactly where all 5 of them are.
I know that this book is going to save me loads of time.

Another book I'd read suggested doing a "clutter test" to see how cluttered yur life was. The aim was to find your passport, spare back door key, a stamp and envelope and a pair of scissors. 

Try it, see how you do. I gave up after half an hour!

Most decluttering gurus say you should be able to do it in 5 minutes. 

Any more than that and you are wasting away time you could be doing other stuff.

I actually found this clutter test very stressfull, but it highighted an important point to me which is,

too much stuff doesnt equal security, too much stuff  = chaos.

Over the years, I have tried so many times to declutter

and failed miserably.

This time it's dfferent. I'm getting somewhere and I feel GOOD about it! 

And I'm going to share my journey with you here.

But...first, I want to show you some pictures...

of before and after

so you can see this method really works.

I started with clothes. Now, I've done this before - but not this way.

The secret is to gather all your clothes, from every room in the house, every cupboard, hallways etc and put it all on the floor in one room.

Now you can clearly see just how many clothes you have...

now you are ready to use a method which will change drawers and cupboards from this

How I used to store my clothes. Can't see half of what's in there!

to this...

 Now, I can see at a glance, everything that is in the drawer,
and they are folded in a certain way to avoid creasing.

I used to keep my socks tucked into each other and tights tied into a knot.
Both are not only bad for your clothes, but they also take up much more space stored that way! 

 I now, fold and roll ...

When you have it all laid out in front of you,

its easy to discard the old and tatty or unnecessary duplicates and keep just your favourites,

things that bring joy into your life and you enjoy wearing.

You can then choose which drawer/cupboard/shelf is the right size for each collection of items. 

I've only just started, and have a long way to go, but what would have seemed a daunting task before, now feels GOOD.

I have more space in my life/my mind and I'm excited about how it's changing my outlook on life.

Not only have I gained 4 empty drawers and more space in my wardrobe so far,

I am also clearing out old habits and my "attachment" to things.

All by using a little of Marie Kondo's magic!