The Declutterbug Returns

Gip Plaster had a great post on Friday about the importance of keeping the decluttering conversation alive, which inspired my post today.

If you check my clutter busters category, you'll see posts from many of my on and off decluttering efforts. I doubt I'm unique in that I will often get the declutter bug for a few months or weeks, then motivation wanes and I let the effort go, and on the cycle goes. There is no shame in this. I don't think decluttering should feel like punishment because actually, when done in the right frame of mind, it can be tremendously fun and liberating.

Like I recommended in this long ago post, decluttering is an ongoing effort. What you might not be ready to part with today, might be easily purged six months from now. So let go what you can and reevaluate your items again in the future. Slow and steady progress is still progress.

Though I've taken more carloads of crap out of my house in the last few years than I care to remember, there's still clutter left. A shining example of this is my area of shame, aka the attic. Anyone who is fooled into thinking I'm an aspiring minimalist would quickly forget this notion if they saw the attic.

Yesterday the Boy and I attacked the attic with two purposes in mind: to attempt another clean up and find more stuff to get rid of at next week's yard sale. I also needed some fuel for my newly revived urge to purge.

The picture above, believe or not, is actually an improvement than what it was before we started, given there is a clear walking path down the middle.

The results of yesterday's purge fest?

• At least a carload of items for the yardsale, most of which are the boy's
  
  
• Three bags of trash, including items I inherited from previous owners when I bought the house but hadn't yet disposed of (hey, it's only been five years!)
  
  
• One bag of items to donate including clothing and sheets
  
  
• At least a carload of cardboard and paper to recycle

See updates to the Dearly Decluttered list if you want the nitty gritty details.

I also managed to sell this Mersman end table on Craigslist, and thanks to listening to the Boy's unfailing pricing advice, made $10 more than I originally paid when I bought it off Craigslist. I can't tell you how excited this made me.