this post is too full. It needs to be 3 posts:
fall decluttering (include relevant seasonal actions, prompts to declutter your own closet, and permission to get rid of outgrown seasonal items.)
stuff shuffling (a relatable piece about the struggle to let go, and the illusion of progress)
Origin of decluttering the house (how decluttering the house changed my life by bettering my relationship to stuff, my family, and myself.)
Decluttering my kitchen and diet. The effects of eating whole food on my mind and mental health. How decluttering my food choices actually made eating well much easier.
Whenever there’s a seasonal shift, I feel myself wanting to clear out spaces and make my house feel fresh, clean, and organized.
This morning, I decluttered my kids shoes.
We keep them in plastic drawers in the coat closet and it’s generally a pretty good solution! But with cold weather hitting before the official start of Fall, I had an overload of shoes with all of the seasons mixed.
Flip-flops and sandals mixed with rain boots and snow boots and everything in between. There was just. too. much.
Where to start?
I know the closet has enough space for my family. Why is it constantly getting to disaster status? What is even in here?
I went through drawers and took out the swim diapers that rarely got used. Got the nerve to throw away the broken and falling apart shoes. They were old favorites, but made my child look disheveled, no matter what else she was wearing. Then I took out the excess of running shoes from my oldest’s drawer.
Somewhat better.
Next drawer.
There were too-small baby shoes, hats that nobody wore the entire season, and a single gardening glove whose mate is probably under the back steps. All the things with life left in them are going into my ever-growing garage sale pile.
Future Plans and Shifts
This winter, as seasons shift again and January-energy surges, I want to clear out the upper part of the coat closet -hello reusable shopping bags and random falling stuff!
Redoing my coat closet might not make a huge impact on the rest of my house, but it’s a start. I tend to get the decluttering itch any time the weather has a big shift.
January cleaning.
Spring cleaning.
Summer of garage sale piles.
And “Fall-ing stuff has got to go!” cleaning
I don’t have a lot of decor in my house – on purpose with having three little kids and too much clutter already – so I don’t get this itch when I’m decorating for the seasons. That’s not my cue.
My cue is seasonal weather changes.
My life has been in a constant state of change for 6 years, with pregnancies and constantly having kids change phases and needs, and I need my house to be more and more simple to maintain and accommodate my growing family.
Container Full of Cintainers
Even without having more children, the children we do have keep getting bigger. And their things have gotten bigger right along with them. What used to take up 1 drawer now takes up 3 drawers. What used to fit in a cube cubby, now needs closet-drawer space. And on and on they grow!
What has not gotten bigger? My house. It is still the same size vessel that young 20-something Jeff and Deborah bought and thoughts they would never fill up on their own. (Oh such sweet naïve babies!)
But we did fill it up. And then we had kids. And side hustles – Etsy decor business, bakery side-jobs, and the ever-present vending machine back-stock. And bins upon bins of have-me-down clothing, sporting equipment, and always, always more shoes.
So our full house became a VERY full house, all while I still expected myself to be able to maintain tidy spaces and keep everything.
It Can’t Be Done
Looking back, I was (and still am, a little) crazy to think I could keep my house tidy without getting rid of the clutter.
in Spring 2021, I did a massive overhaul of my life which included decluttering and actually getting rid of the stuff.
I went through every room, flat surface, and drawer. I started in my bathroom and was shocked to fill two garbage bags with trash and expired bottles. It gave me the motivation to clear out more.
I cleared out my closet, the kitchen cabinets and drawers, and all the pens that still work, but I just don’t like. The laundry room, the craft paint, and the spare baking pans. Under the kitchen sink was shocking. The amount of toys shoved into every open space in my living room was overwhelming. And the amount of stuff that I knew we had, but didn’t care about was insane.
I filled boxes and boxes and within 3 months, I had a ton of stuff and the nerve to host a garage sale.
Jeff was traveling for work, so a friend of mine brought her kids over and we set up together while our kids played. It took us two days to price and set up for this sale.
the kids had a lemonade stand and I baked like a madwoman each night after bedtime. Clearing out my house gave me so much energy! I had no idea it would change my life that way!
when all was sai and done, I made $200 in garage sales, and $350 in baked goods Ave lemonade sales. The thrift store got an entire truck full of my leftovers and I haven’t missed anything since.
Maintaining
So every few months I take time to skim over my house, take off the surface clutter, and do a seasonal or size-change wardrobe switch. It helps keep the clutter out of sight, but also reveals my biggest tidying pitfall.
Every day I’m shuffling.
Stuff-shuffling is my vice. Because it feels like progress without the pain or inconvenience of actually getting rid of the stuff. I don’t have to pack the back of my van and then drive into town to get rid of it, if I just move it around or put it into a donation or garage sale box, right?
Wrong
It’s not convenient to have a giant section in the garage piled high with stuff “for the garage sale”. It feels like a solution but it’s really just moving the problem to a different location. And the only reason why I have so much stuff for said future garage sale is because I have stuff shuffled for so long instead of getting the things to the thrift store in small manageable amounts.
Turning the mirror on myself
My shuffling problem is just as detrimental as the over abundance of things in my house. Why can I not fully let go of these piles of things?
I am so good at helping people declutter, throw out, and say “no” to things. I can tell you that you won’t ever use those specialty shaped cake pans, now that your children are out of their Elmo phase. Or that those old shoes with holes worn through and with tread so smooth that you could wear them bowling, have got to go. Or the softball equipment from the one month you played softball 9 years ago.
I am so good at spotting those things for other people.
I am not so good at practicing those things in my own life and home.
I can see what I need to get out of my house, what I no longer use, want, or love, but it ends up in piles. And the piles are everywhere.
I have a pile of out of season clothes to sell to a consignment store, toys to sell in “the garage sale”, kids clothes to pass on to my sister or anyone who might have a baby in the next who-knows-how-many years.
The amount of stuff, that is past its useful phase for my family, is immense.
I “organize” (read: “stuff-shuffle”) the basement at least once a month. But the moment I need something, it’s always at the back and then I don’t get everything I take out put back away and my basement becomes a maze of bins again. It’s not fun.
“I don’t know what my younger daughter will love from these have-me-downs! I had better keep all of them!” I say, but my younger daughter then gets new clothes in her style. Plus all the hand-me-downs from her sister. And her cousin. So she ends up with three girls worth of clothing for every size! That’s a too many decisions for a three-year-old!
Does saving all this money on buying clothes have to mean that my house feels stuffed forever? I really hope not! My kids have drawers bursting with clothes and giant tote bins full of the alternate season in their same size. I can’t seem to get rid of anything that is still good, or that has potential future use. How do I function and still subscribe to my values of using things to death or passing them on?
Dreams are hard work
I have no doubt that we would all rather have the space. Blank, beautiful, open space. No piles, bins, or shuffling. Just space.
Time to take control of the wheel and drive my family toward a simplified life with less choices and piles
My kids love to play in clean empty spaces the best. Get rid of the toys. The excess ones that just end up dumped in a pile and shifted over to get to the good toys. Either find someone to give them to, or donate them.
They love wearing their favorite colors and nothing tight or uncomfortable. Get rid of the excess clothing. Things that shrunk in the wash. Clothes with stains that just won’t come out. Shoes that are meant for narrower feet or higher arches.
Getting ready to go outside in the cold should be quick. Get rid of the excess jackets, hats, and snow pants. Each kid should have their coat without it needing to be a decision. Decisions take time and energy. Getting ready to go out the door takes enough of that already without there being decisions to make in the process. Simplify outer layers and get out the door easier.
Action step
Look through your shoes as the seasons change. Are there any that are too worn? Have you or your children changed sizes but not removed the old size? Are there too many choices?
There is joy in donating things that are still good. It is not bad to throw away shoes that are worn through. You don’t have to keep shoes that don’t fit your current lifestyle. And especially get rid of the shoes that don’t fit anyone’s feet!
In conclusion
Seasons changing is a great time to evaluate your home and decide what is and isn’t working for you. It may take some deep dives into clutter, but getting the piles sorted through – and not just shuffling it around – will make an impact on your mind, your family, and your home.
Getting rid of things doesn’t mean the entire category goes. It does mean that each collection gets simplified down to favorites.
This way we love everything we have, we are not wasting our decision-making energy on things that don’t matter to us, and we get to use our favorite things on a daily basis.
Let’s put in the work and reel in the numerous benefits of keeping our homes simple. Your future self will thank you.