Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Spring cleaning for normal week - the living room

I hope week 1 went better for you than it did for me! I read the book and then kept my eyes open for trash but even though I'd get the trash out of a room one day, there would be more the next. I still have trouble areas - namely, the kitchen counter. I also have a hard time making decisions about what to keep and what to throw away or sell so there wasn't a whole lot I could do quickly.

That brings me to week 2. This week we're going to focus on the living room. For the whole scoop, check out this post at Biblical Womanhood. Since I just put up new bookshelves and have spent so much time putting up my books, there is no way I'm taking them all down now. I am opting to go through all my cupboards and storage areas and things on the shelves and try to weed out as much as possible. I started today with the cupboard in the end table. :) It was a baby step but it got done. Tomorrow I will tackle the entertainment center, which has many storage compartments.

I have read that you really only use and enjoy 20% of what you own and the other 80% keeps you from finding and enjoying the 20%. I believe there is a lot of truth in that. I don't just want bookshelves full of books - I'd rather have them half full of books that I love. When you have too many choices, you sometimes become overwhelmed and walk away instead of choosing one. I'd rather have 10 family games that we all love than 50 games that we don't play because we can never decide which one to get out. I know this happens with my kids, too. When I go through their stuffed animals or toys, suddenly they play with the things that are left because they are more easily accessible and visible.

I also tend to be nostalgic so it's good to remember that you don't have to keep an item to keep the memory. But you could always take a picture of the item. :)

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