I have had a habit for many years of moving things from one room to another and tricking myself into thinking that I’ve decluttered. I would tidy the area that I was working on, having hidden or used the items in another room. Then, when I went to declutter the other room, I would find the items again and get frustrated that I still have them, and possibly move them somewhere else… and it goes on. I would get annoyed if anyone in the house mentioned that I ‘just move things about’, until I eventually put the items in the spare room or (as a final destination before exiting the house) the garage.

Side note on my 2020 challenge: One of the reasons why I started this challenge is to shift the stuff for good and hold myself accountable by writing about it, so that I actually have more transparency about what I am doing. By tackling things every day and following myself around the house, it’s allowing me to work on eliminating this irritating and embarrassing habit.

When something enters the garage

Deep down I know that I really don’t want something once I’ve made the decision that it’s entering the garage; however, it’s still there in the back of my mind for me to retrieve it if I need to (not good). The way I’m feeling at the moment, there’s no way that I will be bringing anything back into the house as I’m enjoying the clear spaces. So, the stuff is piling up and by adding Covid-19 to the equation where it’s more difficult to get rid of clutter, things can get a little overwhelming and out of hand at times. Unless I actually throw things away in a black sack fortnightly or recycle on the alternative fortnight, nothing is actually going anywhere at the moment.

Whilst leaving items in the garage has got to be better than it entering a landfill via a black sack, it’s clogging up the space I made in there a month or so ago. So, I decided to have an hour in my cluttered hideaway today to clear the way for storing more stuff that needs to go to charity or be sold… more on that below. I need to investigate how I can shift the charity bags and larger unwanted items quicker. Someone must want them… more on that below as well. I think I’m also getting very close to agreeing with the rest of the family about getting a skip, but I need to do some research as to what happens to these items because I want to get rid of things the right way. Lots to think about.

Progress today

1. Advertising an unwanted item: Today I pulled out a ‘Sporter’ scooter from the garage that belonged to my daughter when she was younger. It looks as good as new as she’s hardly used it, so I washed it down in the garden and immediately advertised it on the FaceBook Marketplace Page.

I’ve had some successes this year already in selling some popular items including a rocking horse, so let’s see how I go with this.

2. Garage Sorting: I then spent a whole hour shifting some boxes around in the garage and making space for some of the items that I need to store from the spare room (soon to become my daughter’s bedroom). I found some half filled boxes and quickly shifted items from one to the other. I ended up flattening two or three boxes for recycling. I’ll be continuing with that process in the morning as there’s some easy decluttering to be achieved in there which requires no decision making (although I’m actually feeling a bit stronger about making decisions at the moment).

3: Calling all Decorators: I rang around a few painters and decorators to get an idea of pricing and availability for decorating the spare room and a few other rooms we need to get done. I did suspect that people would be booked up due to Covid-19 and I was right. I have one more person calling me back tomorrow and I need to speak to an electrician as well. My daughter is a little frustrated because there are a lot of steps involved to get the room ready and the delays will mean that she might not be able to enjoy it over the school holidays. I’ve explained that it will all be fine, and it might turn out that we paint that room ourselves and get someone to do the other rooms and hallway when they become free later in the year.

Another busy and productive day at home and at work.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra