In every corner, behind every door and in each drawer, I'm discovering new things! Or should I say, they are things that I'd long since forgotten about? I did not think you could hide and stash that much stuff in one house! Apparently, you can.
I finally managed to convince my son to get rid of the two sets of broken speakers that were cluttering up my living room. They had not been working for such a long time and were stacked in a corner collecting dust. I have no idea what his attachment to them was but I'm glad it's broken at last.
That is a big problem when you are trying to de-clutter your home...other people's stuff. You don't understand their love for a particular item, any more than they understand your passion for vintage glassware (or whatever). And it's just as hard with them to part with their childhood comic books as it is for you to part with some of your doll collection.
Everyone in your household really has to be 'on board' with the de-clutter project in order for it to be completely successful. You can pare down your own belongings and personal space but you cannot toss out or donate their 'prized possessions', no matter how tempting that might be some days. And you are fighting a losing battle when others keep bringing more stuff into the house as fast as you are getting rid of it.
Progress was definitely made this week though. Being able to convince my son to see the futility of keeping some the items he's been saving was a good first step. I'll keep working on him. *smile*
I understand this completely. My hubby has taken to collecting things that he considers "nice to have" but never uses. My youngest son has left things here that "will be worth something someday" and though he refuses to move them to his place because "he doesn't have the room" checks with me periodically to make sure I still have them. We also have stuff from the homes of all our dearly departed that we just don't feel right about throwing out. How does one dispose of a box of mother's paintings after every child and grandchild has already picked out the ones they want. Why is MY house the place where all this clutter has found a home?
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