Some days are better than others

Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. ~ Dr. David M. Burns

Good Morning,     

The following is the best site I've discovered, during my search online, for positive information about hoarding.  It's called Stepping Out of Squalor.   They offer lots of information, tips and support for those overwhelmed with cleaning up their homes.   Right now I'm in a place where I want to read positive information, not just people who are still stuck and I find that uplifting

                                                             
http://takeonestepatatime.proboards.com/index.cgi

Being overwhelmed is one of the things that got me where I am today.  So much stuff ... where do I start?  My suggestion - start with any pile or cluttered surface.  My small front hallway has a huge box sitting next to a small desk and it's been there since last winter.  It's big enough that I can't just pick it up and stick it somewhere to get it out of my sight.  Lots of things also ended up on top of it.  Yesterday I received an email about feng shui and read about how important it is for your entry way to be clean and uncluttered.  Just reading that makes me want to go clean it up and find a new home for all the stuff that's been sitting there for way too long.   

If 15 minutes doesn't work for you, some people are successful when they throw out 50 items a day.  I will say that once I get off my bum and start working in my room, I often work longer than 15 minutes.  And then on other days, I do 3 - 5 minute clean up because I'm busy or distracted babysitting my 2 precious granddaughters.  I'm really amazed how unsettling it is if I don't do "my 15".  Doesn't feel good at all.  (I sure couldn't have predicted that feeling a month ago!!!)

My daughter is noticing my progress because it's spilt over into other rooms.  Yesterday I vacuumed for the first time in a long time.  The more I do my 15 minutes, the easier it is to do other areas.  Her positive comments are truly appreciated and I'm so lucky that both my girls are so supportive.

Life is good and it's getting better,

Karen

Welcome to my blog

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.   ~ Anna Quindlen

Hello Blog World,

I've decided to go ahead and blog about my progress in letting go of years of stuff/junk/crap.  (I know there are treasures in some of my boxes or bags and I will pull them out and honor them -instead of letting them just sit and collect dust.)  The past week I've been surfing the net looking for other blogs about hoarding and I'm disappointed at how few I found.  At first I resisted the idea of admitting to the world I'm a hoarder.  However I feel even stronger about sharing my journey then worrying about the shame.

It's been just a month since I started on this new path.  That's when I began therapy (again) and am so fortunate to have found a counselor I'm totally comfortable with.  (I've been down this road  before and it's a blessing to find one I feel safe with.)  Her suggestion was I work on my bedroom for 15 minutes a day.  So far, so good.  I'm actually noticing a difference.  (Whoo Hoo!)  What's funny is every time I make some open space on my bed I manage to fill it up with a new pile.  (I think that's what you call one step forward and two steps back! lol)  But it's the number of bags I've filled with trash that have given an even better indicator of my progress!

I did take "before" pictures and will share them when I get "after".


Goals this week:
1. 15 minutes spent decluttering
2. Take out trash accumulated daily
3. Put donated items in the trunk of my car

This is a good place to stop tonight.  Here are a couple of quotes I found when searching for progress not perfection.

Happy Sorting,
Karen

Maybe the most any of us can expect of ourselves isn’t perfection but progress.
–Michelle Burford

Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. ~ Angelique Arnauld


My first unofficial slogan, for me, is WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT!  It really helps me make quicker decisions when I'm waffling.  I think what does trip me up the most is having to touch every single piece of paper.  (No moaning permit by those reading this)  I know it's not the greatest way to go wade through my mountains of paper work but it's a must for me.  I'm a scrapbooker and always on the lookout for mementos to add to my girl's album.  It just how I gotta do it.  Some evening I bring a bin filled with paper   out to the living room and sort through them while them watching a TV shows.  (I use either baskets or small shoe bins and mark them: KEEP, BILLS, and Scrapbooking.  If it doesn't belong in one of them then it's straight to the trash bag.