We are all guilty. Yes, you. Me too. There is just something about us. We like to keep things. Some of them are valuable, but most are not. Despite our best efforts, our homes are slowly overcome with pure junk we have collected over the years.
The late, great George Carlin had us nailed. We accumulate stuff and we refuse to let it go. It might be junk, but it is clearly our junk and you better keep your hands off of it! Sooner or later, however, we accumulate too much stuff.
We love our stuff, but sometimes it can take over. There is simply too much of it. We want to save it, but we would also like to have a closet or two as well. When you reach this point, it is time to do the deadly deed of decluttering your home.
The first step does not involve your home at all. It involves the junk you are going to throw out. Where are you going to put it all? The answer is to rent a dumpster. Trust me, you will fill it up. Your home may be tiny, but you will still fill it up.
A sense of progress is important when it comes to junk removal. As such, step back and get a plan. Your plan should be to work on one area until you are completely done before moving on to a new area. This makes things go faster.
A subtle issue that you also need to address has to do with the problem of junk love. As you pull junk out of closets, memories will start to flash across your mind. This will happen with nearly every piece of stuff you own.
Every piece of junk will bring back memories of some part of your life. It may look like a beer dispenser hat to you, but it reminds me of that great game in college I attended with long lost friends.
This is going to be true for practically everything. If you want to spend a month worth of weekends cleaning, this is okay. If not, you need to make a rule that there will be no reminiscing and stick to it. There is no right answer. The choice is yours.
Low and behold, we are ready to actually start tossing things in our rented dumpster. The difference between junk and useful stuff can be a fine one, so we are going to employ the rule of 12.
All bow before the rule of 12. It states that you must have used the thing you are looking at within the last 12 months or it has to be pitched out in the trash. 12 months covers all the seasons, so there should be no excuses.
What do we find with every rule? Exceptions! This one has them as well. If something is associated with a major event in your life, like childbirth, it stays. The velvet Elvis painting you bought in Tijuana is not something from a major event.
As odd as it may sound, that is it. Follow this article with a bit of discipline and you will soon have a home that has closets you can actually use and an attic you are not afraid to go up into.
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