Let's be honest, everybody has a drawer/cupboard/room of shame. Don't they? Please? It can't just be me!
When I was in the regular vicars I had to be Grown Up and have a study. When I retired I thought, "Whooppee! Second childhood, here I come". And so I called it my playroom.
But it became The Room of Doom. Things went in there never to be seen
again. Gremlins ate them.
Or they bred. (Look carefully and you'll see two copies of "Blogging for Dummies".)
The gremlins left things on the floor to trip up the unwary (sadly, me!).
So now it must be tackled. Big Time. This is not a small messy place to be sorted in a day. It will take two or three months to be done properly.
Oh dear! I NEED ENCOURAGEMENT!!!
Treat it like square foot gardening and tackle a small area at a time. You will get through it, do not make any rash vows about three months, be happy to clear it this year.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you Pam! I accept your permission to take however long it takes! (But I think I need to get a move on before I trip over something and break a leg!)
ReplyDeleteEncouragement?
ReplyDeleteGet on with it woman!!
Was that any help? :-)
Hmmm - I'll let you know on that one!
DeleteWe have a 'room of doom' too - the little bedroom where Mark keeps all his DVDs, Car mags and stuff. We had a half-hearted go at sorting some of the piles over Christmas but it needs an enthusiastic sort out to make a real difference. Good luck! Jx
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear I am not alone.
DeleteI find I have to plan and prepare. I assess the situation, am I going to need boxes to sort into: Tip, Charity, Car boot. Do I need storage boxes for items I wish to keep.labels,tape and marker pens etc I try to have everything at hand before I start otherwise I'll just give up. I am an organised tidier upper!! Good Luck you can do it.
DeleteOur home office actually looked WORSE than that for the better part of two years. I'd say I was going to tackle it, plan on working on it, figure that I could take a section at a time, but mostly I just shut the door and avoided it like the plague. Then one day I made it a household project; everyone had to be involved. Everything except the actual furniture was hauled out and stacked in the hallway for sorting. As the guys sorted into four groupings (trash, donate, keep, not sure) I scrubbed, vacuumed, cleaned and sorted all of the books on the bookshelves, boxing up a bunch for donations. Took the curtains down, washed the windows, etc. Then the things we were keeping were put back in with organization. The two boxes of "not sure" were set to the side to go through, and the trash and donations were immediately handled. It was a very long and exhausting day, but it felt sooooo good to finally have it done!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds wonderful! This household though, is just me, As Frugal In Suffolk says, I've just got to get on with it and as Pam says, I may be some time.
DeleteWe have a set of drawers with all those leads and things that come with each computer, camera, etc. I am embarrassed to say in 3 house moves we have just moved it along with us. No one can decided which are needed for what piece of equipment! We keep promising to label the leads when we buy something - never do! Other areas I have reclaimed by picturing what I am going to enjoy doing in that space when its done, and keep that as my focus.And be ruthless!
ReplyDeleteYup, the Room of Doom has in it a box labelled "Electrical Bits and Pieces".
DeleteI was going to suggest boxes to separate things that have to be chucked, things to send to the thrift store, etc.. but I see you already had that in mind. The only other thing I can think of is putting some music on rather loudly, but it can't be SOOTHING music. It has to be the rousing kind. *smile* Keep us posted.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I loathe background music and it rather demotivates me. But I get your point - look for what actually motivates.
DeleteOne step at a time FC :-) you're already making progress and that's the thing that's most important.
ReplyDeleteThank you. To quote a well known supermarket "Every little helps" but sometimes it feels like very little.
DeleteMy attic room is my ' room of doom'; I've lost count of the number of times I've tidied it since we moved here. It was horrendous just before Christmas but I've started to tackle it in 30 minute time slots - it's amazing how much progress can be made in 30 minutes, and it stops me from feeling demoralised about the size of the job.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you Scarlet, You and Jan are also possessors of rooms of doom - I AM NOT ALONE!
DeleteNo, you are not alone. I don't really know anybody who doesn't have a space like this one. I know I do -- I call it my "guest room". Ha! I couldn't put anybody to spend the night in there at all! My daughter has a room like this as well. It is called the "study". My one desire in life, well, right now, anyway, is to have a room that can look like that on purpose and have it be ok! I can't see that in my future, though. Looking forward to your progress. Maybe I will photograph mine as well and clean up along with you. Still haven't cleaned up the pantry!
ReplyDeleteHi FC! You are so not alone - we all have our dark crowded spaces that need going through and sorting out :-) I'm looking forward to your progress!
ReplyDeleteYou CAN do it! Little by little eh?!
~ Pru
You are so funny! I am enjoying your decluttering posts, they inspire me. I'm just going through my out of season clothes today, struggling with what to do with a dress that I've had for a good 10 years and have worn once (maybe). How on earth could I miss it if I donated it? I couldn't! Off it goes in the donate box. I want to encourage you on your decluttering mission... keep it up. The more you get rid of, the lighter you will feel, until one day, you think you might float away! It not only clears your house, it also clears your mind. I came across another little tip for getting rid of 'stuff': If someone by some chance, happened to 'accidently' throw out your treasure, would you miss it enough that you were really angry about it and go and replace it? If not, then it really wasn't the treasure you thought it was. Happy pitching!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my blog. I can't take myself too seriously! The decluttering will be restarting in about ten days - I've got a party for about 150 guests to cater for and I'm shattered!
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