Breaking through the Clutter

Amazingly, I very recently finished organizing/decluttering/making sense of my bedroom. I say amazingly, because this project took the better part of five months. In August, back from my trip and ready for the fall to start, I decided to face the indisputable fact that my room was a jumble of objects/belongings/stuff from the 1980s/1990s/2000s. And since I was now going to be sleeping there on a regular basis and couldn't forget about the clutter until my next visit home, I needed to do something about it. I managed to make pretty good headway on about half of the room; I even partially cleaned out this little closet in my room - which I had not touched in years - that was full of old toys. I have to admit I felt pretty proud of myself.

I couldn't ignore, however, how my bookcases were in dire need of help. My tallest bookcase was literally sagging under all the weight and it was getting difficult for me to find anything. In awe of (but also inspired by) my friend N.'s perfectly organized and lovely bookcase - she even has a favourites shelf! so cool! - I knew I had my work cut out for me. The only problem was that the bookshelves my mom had bought in May were still sitting in the basement, in their boxes, so not put together... And in that state they remained for the entire fall until luckily, my uncle F. came to the rescue at Christmas, swooping in like Santa Claus and assembling all three one night (he stays up late) while I was sleeping. I woke up the next morning to discover 3 beautiful (but book-less) book shelves.

Then in the days between Christmas and New Years when the kind of internet sites I like to read (Huffington Post's Living section, Salon) were full of reflections and tips on and for 2009 & 2010, I came across a fabulous blog entry with 27 ways to keep order and declutter a house! One of the tips reminded readers to ask themselves, before storing away an item, if they really need to keep it at all. Since I couldn't even remember one single item I had put in that little toy closet in my room in August, I knew I needed to continue where I'd left off from the end of the summer, and this time do a much better job. Thus round two of my decluttering project began in the first days of 2010.

Just like anything, decluttering can feel extremely overwhelming when right in the middle of it. But then the end result usually makes it all worthwhile. I cleaned out the little closet (it's now the happy home of my suitcase) and I organized all my books (I now even have my very own favourite shelf, and the bookshelves in the basement are full and happy) and unlike the last time, I can legitimately feel proud of myself this time. But, I have a confession to make: I secretly like clutter. Yes of course my room is neater now, it's easier to find things, there's more space, but there's something about cluttered rooms that makes me smile. They are very lived in, and very full of life; and those are always good things.