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I will stop using clutter as a to-do list
By Meg | March 3, 2008
My husband and I have been doing a pretty good job of decluttering. However, we haven’t yet been able to keep our living room decluttered for a decent length of time. Then it hit me; We’ve been using our living room as a to-do list.
The tables and chairs collect stuff that we want to fix or read or go through, and it just piles up. We keep thinking that putting it nearby will mean that we’ll be more likely to do whatever we need to do to it. It doesn’t seem to be working. Our to-do lists keep expanding along with the piles of clutter.
Recently, my husband and I started sharing a to-do list on Google Documents. So, I got to thinking, “Why am I using clutter as a reminder when I have a to-do list?” Even if I do need to find a place to store things, it shouldn’t be on the living room tables. So, I put the receipt bin back in the office and the sewing machine back in the utility room — despite my assertion earlier that I would leave it on the coffee table until I learned to sew.
When I got home from class, I put my instruments back where they belong instead of laying them in the middle room as a reminder to practice sometime this weekend.
Even my reading pile got a makeover. Some things went back to the shelves, a few things ended up in a magazine rack which I placed behind my end table, and a few other books got sent to the donate pile. If I can’t limit my reading list to what will fit in the magazine rack, I’ll make a reading list on my computer along with the location of those books (i.e. which bookcase and shelf).
Our goal now is to only bring things to the living room to work on when we are actually going to work on them. And if we can keep that under control, then we’ll probably move on the office and do the same for our desks.
Tags: Home & Garden, Organization & Decluttering
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March 3rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Tell me about it… I have a list of “TO DO” for decluttering a mile long.
The only thing I’ve checked off now, is posting stuff to sell LOL
although I’m looking into consignment shops.. :\
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Yeah, I’m not looking forward to cleaning the office since there are a lot of projects there, like a pile of books to relist on Amazon.
I must admit, I already found a small problem with my plan. I went to the library and brought back a huge stack of books that won’t fit into my magazine rack. However, I gave them a dedicated spot on an end table shelf, so I guess they’re not technically clutter.