I was trying to decide what to post for today, and while I was deciding I kept thinking about the fact that I have this need to declutter. I want a more orderly, clean, easy, home. I want to look and see more room, and less “stuff” but at the same time I have things that I really really don’t want to put up in storage. I have tons and tons of photo albums, some filled some empty(awaiting me to fill them), I have items I’ve collected from various places or people, what knots or knick knacks you might say, but also books and books and more books. I have books under the kitchen table, on the floor, in totes by the washer/dryer, in bags by the washer/dryer, on 9bookcases, on the floor, in the bedroom, under the TV in the bedroom, under the bed………..you see, everywhere. I hate having books in storage. I have tons and tons and tons of books in storage. A few series my mom is wanting to read I know they are in storage but I have no idea which totes or where the totes got placed in the storage bin. So finding them………….well that’ll take days. I want a simple life, yet I find myself unwilling to get rid of some items.  I used to watch alot of those home design shows. The one where the guy goes in and helps the family “declutter” used to be a favorite, until I watched him tell a woman she “had” to get rid of a painting her dead mother had painted because “it’s not the painting you need to remember but your mother” or some such thing and the woman went along with it, after much fighting. I’m sorry but if that had be me, well let’s just say he’d have left my home and my land before I hurt him.

I seriously want to declutter, but some items will never leave my home. The green stuffed rabbit sitting in the green and yellow easter basket with the green grass still in it, it was the last Easter gift my grandmother recieved, it is the same grass that was in it in 1984! I will never get rid of it, my kids probably will, but for as long as I live, well I won’t. I have pens that don’t work, they probably haven’t worked for 35yrs but they were special to my grandmother, she had them in this box and I can’t bring myself to get rid of them. But I have decided to put them in a storage tote and put them in the storage bin. I will have them but they won’t be taking up space in the house. I know I keep stupid stuff, but most if not all of it, I can tell you things about it. I would love to have a space just for my books, but alas I don’t, so I’ve got to get most of them in totes and put away. That kills me. I have collector dolls I want out, but have no room for them so they must be in storage, I have hundreds of things I’d love to see spread out, but just can’t do it.

So now I find myself faced with deciding what can be put away and what do I really really want out. While most of the items I know what I want, there are items and mostly especially books that I just don’t know about. I mean how do you decide which books to store, which to get rid of, which to keep close at hand? If I had my dream house it would have at least 5 bedrooms, a playroom, famiy room, formal livingroom, and a dedicated library. I have a dream library, think something similar to the one Belle is seen at Beast’s home. Two stories and books everywhere! So now I have to get to putting stuff up. Add to that the storage bin is well a junk yard gone crazy. We started out with it in order, but then got to moving quickly and just threw stuff. So while de-cluttering the house, I also need to straighten out the storage bin. I’m wondering if it’s even worth it.

Do you have clutter? Do you have more books than space? Do you have a dream library?

If not what do you do with the books you get, do you keep them, sell them, give them away, or what?

hugs,

WendyK