The ‘I Need to Fix This or I’ll go Crazy’ Projects List

I’m compiling a list of projects that I’ve been putting off for a long, long time. Whether it’s because I’ve not had the energy or the emotional strength, that time has passed and I am on a new path of clearing out my life and making way for new things to happen and dwell.

So profound I know but I think we go through seasons in our lives when this happens. I am moving into a new time in my life and I need to clear the way to experience it fully. A streamlining of my life if you like. I’m sure many of you can relate to this and probably have the same problem areas in your homes.

The plastics cupboard:
Who doesn’t have too much Tupperware and plastics. How hard is it to keep it organised and neat. Finding lids is like playing a matching game with missing pieces. It almost kills the King and his ADD tendencies. I can see his eye muscle twitch whenever he has to put anything in there from the dishwasher. I just tell him not to look. He NEVER uses any of it. I know it’s sheer stubbornness.  He would rather put a half can of beans with the metal lid placed back on top in the fridge than get out a plastic container. (I was actually surprised it was still there when I got home from OZ.) We play Polly and Suki with the cereal containers. I hate the cereal boxes in the cupboard, you can never tell when they’re empty and it’s always sooner than you’ve shopped for. He hates the ‘flip to pour lids’ on the tupperware cereal containers. The cereal doesn’t come out properly, and then they don’t close correctly. So it’s a constant battle of me putting the cereal in the container and he putting the empty container away and placing the new cereal box in the cupboard. Someone will have to relent but so far neither of us are.

The Bedroom Bookshelf:
I have come to the realisation that, since Miss Gremlin, our youngest is 8, I probably have no further need for books like ‘What to expect when you’re expecting’  and ‘Breastfeeding, I can do that’. Or even ‘On becoming Childwise, toddler years’. There are several other titles of a similar genre that can be purged cos the baby factory is shut down.
And now I eat like a caveman, I don’t need all those grain ridden, low fat recipe books either!
Here is a project that can be done in an afternoon.

The Living Room Bookshelf:
Man, we never even use this one. It’s just full of books we put on display to make us look intelligent when people came over and we need to clear it out to a reasonable level. So we can look like intelligent, NON hoarders.

Our Closet:
(Deep Breath) This one calls for the heavy artillery. I can’t do this alone. I need someone with no emotional attachment to anything in my closet, to gut it and be ruthless with anything that I will no longer wear. It’s been a long time coming, hey I still have a Garfield t-shirt/nightie that I got for Christmas one year when I was around 14. I think, no I know, I need an intervention.
But the biggest reason is I have a closet full of stuff and nothing to wear! With all the weight I’ve lost nothing fits and as painful as clearing it out with be, I’m looking forward to filling it with new stuff that fits my new size.
I have a friend who is willing to spend the time with me and clear it all out, hold my hand and grieve with me.
This could be a whole post on it’s own. The fashion choices, the things I can’t let go of. The enormity of the experience is something many women go through and I’m ready to do it, for me.

The Linen Closet:
Here’s one I can tackle on my own. The baby blankets can go and the character doona covers and sheets may also find a new home. Grand Master D is almost 12 and beyond Superman, Spiderman and the like. Even Pirates of the Caribbean have been retired. I’ve got no room so it all needs to go.

The Kids Room:
Although this room gets tackled regularly, shit just keeps on coming in! We have to go really hard and get rid of so much. Books that will never be read, need to go. Even though they are of the appropriate reading age they are of no interest, otherwise they would have been read already 🙂 So they must leave to find new homes where someone with love them. Tubs full of toys need to go. Puzzles, games and other kid paraphernalia.
I might need to call my friend in for that one too. It will certainly have to take place when the kids are not present.

It can be hard to let things go, I can honestly understand hoarding, well to an extent, I couldn’t live in filth. But living in a small area in the City doesn’t afford us the luxury of keeping stuff we’ll never use. I’m feeling very ready to do it. I think it’s part of a healing process. The trip back to Australia has set me on a new path and I’m ready to embrace it. I have seen my mum un-clutter her life of stuff and it’s just ‘stuff’ and I need to do the same.
I don’t have a timeline but if I plan on a BIG project once a month and a smaller one once a week I could have it all done by Christmas, just in time to fill it all up again 🙂     ……….AWESOME

Do you have problem areas in your home? Do you need someone to hold your hand to clean out your closet? Or are you great at purging unwanted stuff? I guess we’re all different and that’s ok.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *