WOW! First of all, thank you for the incredible response to our 2,024 in 2024 completion! I have received many messages over the year, had many in person converstions, and received some questions after posting that we were finished. Here are some of the most asked questions and my answers:
I am so overwhelemed. I don't know where to start.
Start somewhere small, unemotional. A junk drawer. Your sock drawer. Someplace you can quickly sort through, throw things away, give things away, and then keep going back to that tidy space. If it brings you JOY, then pick another space and keep going.
Do you have advice about getting started as a family?
First of all, I highly suggest you take the time to understand each person's relationship, and your own, with stuff. WHY do the objects you keep matter to you? DO they matter? WHY do other people in your home value their items?
Our relationships with stuff are incredibly complex. Some people keep items due to depression and being unable to clean out. Some people get a real sense of energy from having lots of beautiful items in their space. Some people have an anxiety about parting with items. What if they miss them? What if they need them later? Some adults grew up with very little and having lots of items now gives them a feeling of security.
There are no wrong feelings about our objects, just differing opinions. I would say though if the stuff in your space feels overwhelming first address your emotions, then the clutter.
What if I am the only one in my home who wants to declutter?
This is very common. Start in your own spaces. Do your dresser, closet, workspace, craft area, etc. While you cannot control everyone in your home, you can control you. Maybe your cleanouts will inspire them to do their own. If they don't, you can still find joy in your curated spaces.
What were the easiest items to part with?
Non-emotional and small items. Junk drawer items, socks, clothes the kids have outgrown, shoes that don't fit, etc. I'm very practical so if it was no longer serving us, I could pretty easily donate.
What were the hardest items to get rid of?
I have always struggled most with items that I paid money for. I am very frugal, shop very little, and so when I do it's a real mental sacrifice. Because of that, I always want to save anything I personally paid money for. I joined several decluttering Instagram feeds and kept seeing a quote to the effect of - even if that item is in your storage, you aren't getting your money back. That was so helpful for me. Even if I paid money for an item, if I didn't like it anymore or it didn't fit anymore or I just wasn't using it - the money is gone! I can't get it back by keeping the item.
What about photos and keepsakes?
I am a HUGE photo person. I had nearly a dozen photobooks from middle school through college. I did keep my homemade scrapbooks but opted to really look through my snapshots. If it didn't immediately make me smile, I let it go. I pared down to two photo books from middle school through college.
I also recycled all of my paper yearbooks. I had these from Kinder through 8th grade. I never looked at them, I never reread the notes in them, I just moved them in a box from place to place. Letting go of them felt great!
I also let go of all of my old journals except my ones from the Mark and kids years. I journaled nearly every day from 4th grade through having Annabeth. These journals used to carry a huge importance to me. This year, I took the time to read them one last time and I realized the relationships I had when I wrote them are mostly nonexistent in my adult life. The feelings and attitudes were no longer of value to me. I thanked them for their service and shredded them. This was one of the most freeing things I did. Although it didn't clear a lot of physical space in our home, it created an incredible peace in my heart!
What if the people in my home disagree about something?
On communal objects, for example cookbooks, or items that the kids share, for example comic books, our rule was that if one person wanted to keep it - we kept it. Because we aren't in the process of moving or having to pare down to a smaller space, we could technically keep anything we wanted. I hoped the kids would enjoy this process and that it would help reshape their ideas about what we own. I didn't want to force anyone into parting with anything.
Did you regret anything you gave away?
Personally, no. There wasn't a single item that I gave away that I wished I had back.
Closing thoughts...
In the end, our home is still plenty full. Our children have too many toys, Mark and I have too many clothes, our coat closet is still a mess - we're perfectly imperfect people just daily trying to live for Christ.
Leaning into Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I'm working on remembering that I am just stopping by this world. I should spend my days sharing about the perfect, redemptive love of Christ as I run the race set before me. Thankful for the undeserved gift of God's grace and love. I pray that we might store up our treasures only in heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment