rechelle's lifelyrics

Maybe it’s because I’ve been helping my Daughter-in-Law get her “nest” ready for their first baby, or maybe it’s because I’ve been doing so much baking and organizing in my own nest while the huge project I’ve been working on is coming to an end. I’m not sure, but I’m feeling inspired to share some tips on tidying the spaces where stuff is stored.

1. Have a spot in a closet or the garage with a basket (or large bag) for things you see around the house and think, “I might get rid of that…” Maybe you’ll end up donating to Goodwill or other thrift store, or you might have another creative way to allow your toss-out become someone else’s treasure.
2. When you’re working in your kitchen, take note of things you have to move out of the way to get to the things you use more often. If the things you’re moving out of the way are specialty items that you use once or twice a year, find a place at the back of the cabinet or a spot in the pantry where you will go through the extra effort to pull it out just on those occasions. If you are moving things out of the way that you haven’t used in years, migrate them to your toss basket.
3. When you’re picking out the clothes you want to wear for the day, take an extra moment to think about what apparel is crowding your closet because you don’t like it any more, or you don’t wear it for one reason or another. Pull it from your wardrobe and place it in your toss bag.
4. If you itemize your tax deductions, this is an easy way to track your donations: A few times a year, I pull out my toss tote, and group things together so I can see everything laid out in sections. I take pictures of each section of goods such as women’s clothing, kitchen wares, men’s clothing, etc. before loading it all up to donate. (This is the point in which a few – very few – items have made their way back to the closet or cupboard!) So I have pictures of everything I have donated, ready to be assembled in a document where I can easily list and price the items to attach to the donation receipt for tax return preparation!

The best part about having a safe place to store undesirables for another day is that you give yourself another chance to assess after some time has passed. If you haven’t missed the items that have gathered in the “maybe I’ll get rid of them” pile when the receptacle fills up, you might be more ready to part with them.

We collect things for many different reasons. We hold on to things for about as many varied feelings. Sometimes we need strategies to peel off the layers of stuff that aren’t serving a need so that we can create more functional spaces within our homes.

In 2011, when our family of 7 was preparing to move 1,000 miles away to the unknown, we got rid of so much stuff! We went from a 3,000 square foot home to a 31 foot motor home, so it was imperative to pare down on the amount of cargo we reserved for a storage facility until we found employment and housing in our new life as Oregonians. We had a huge garage sale that earned about $2,000 toward our moving expenses. Everyone had to pick a few outfits to get through the current season, and the rest went in bins to be pulled out and exchanged as the weather changed. I was limited to work with the kitchen tools I could fit in the tiny cupboards of our RV. We learned to live with a lot less for several months until we could afford to move out of the RV park where we were staying!

Eight months later, we were moving into a 3 bedroom rental home that was 2/3 the size of our previous home. We also went from housing a family of 7 to 5, because our oldest daughter was getting married, and our oldest son was going to continue living in the RV until he found his own place. It was surreal the first time we opened the storage room door to start moving our furniture and household items, much of it long forgotten, to our new home. I remember Ray kept saying, “Wow, we lived just fine with a lot less stuff!”

Since I have started baking several days a week, I decided to reorganize a few areas yesterday. Even though I regularly assess what I use/need versus what I can get rid of, I was surprised to find several items in my kitchen that I have held on to for no good reason. I’ve been using the “toss basket” technique for many years, and it has proven to be a really good way to minimize the pressure of separating from my stuff before I’m ready to do so. So, I carried the items to the receptacle in the closet to quietly wait for another day, and received the benefit of having an uncluttered space for my new baking gear.