Decluttering

Decluttering. 

Truer words were never spoken than Courtney Carver's from her blog Be More With Less, "Decluttering comes in waves and stages and layers." 

For most of us decluttering might happen on a whim when we can't seem to fit anything 
more into the junk drawer, or we can't find a favorite shirt in the closet. The simple rule if you haven't used it in a year might come in handy at this time. 

But sometimes decluttering becomes more of a necessity if you are truly downsizing your residence. When fourteen rooms become seven you know there is no way all that stuff is going to fit. 

For us the first layer of decluttering had to do with a much needed attic clean-up. It was only after we removed everything from the walk-in attic into our bedroom that we realized how much stuff we actually had. As we began to make decisions about what to discard we found ourselves completely overwhelmed. 

After a multitude of drop offs at Goodwill we were quite proud of our accomplishments, until we decided to go on to round two. 

The house was getting ready to go on the market, and we knew there was still more that needed to go, except this time it was much easier. Beyond the sheer physicality of the job, the feeling of lightness was quite freeing as we let go of more and more. 

Thinking you can declutter once and be completely through might not be realistic. In fact it's already become apparent that when we get to the apartment we will need to do a little more decluttering.  Let go of what you can, but give yourself time to move onto the next stage. You will begin to appreciate the space you have brought back into your life.