Keep Clearing Out that Clutter!

I’ll never be a minimalist - it’s simply not in my nature!  While I like to live, and work, in a tidy environment, and keep ‘stuff’ neatly out of sight in cupboards or drawers, I have to confess to being a secret hoarder.  I don’t like throwing anything away if it might still serve a purpose, if not for me then for someone else. 

Car Boot sales have never appealed to me.  I don’t mind the early mornings, it’s just not how I want to say farewell to previously cherished possessions.  Plus, to be honest, I’m a little afraid of coming away with more than I originally went there with.  It’s surprising how attractive other peoples’ unwanted and outgrown stuff can be!

I’m just as bad at hoarding virtual e-Books and reports on my hard drive.  A couple of weeks ago I spent ages looking for a file and was amazed at how many Word documents and pdfs were stored in various folders.  I came across material from a few years ago and was rather proud when I discovered I was the author, even though I’d forgotten ever writing some of it!

So at the weekend, I sat down with old-fashioned pen and paper and wrote down a few ideas of how I could re-use the best material, what had to be done to bring it up to date if necessary, and then to share it here online.  After all,  I really should take a bit of my own advice!

The first batch of material I’ve picked to work on was originally part of a full day in-person workshop which I delivered to around a hundred people over a 2 year period.  It still needs a bit of work but I’ve decided not to wait until it’s perfect - or it may never see the light of day! 

In fact, I’m going to schedule a Teleclass in the diary - that’ll make sure I get started! 

Do you hoard things or re-use them? Please share what you do in the comments below :)

Comments

[LouiseBJ]

Hi Samantha - thanks so much for commenting here! I too live in a small flat and have had to curb some (though not all) of my hoarding tendencies since moving here 10 years ago from a much larger house.

I like the way you tackle one cupboard at a time, it makes the job seem less daunting doesn't it?

[Samantha Minogue]

I used to be a hoarder until I moved into a very tiny flat. My cupboard is very small and just doesn't hold the same amount of clothing, shoes and stuff so I have learnt to sort out everything regularly and donate what I don't use. It helps so much when your living space is smaller. I tend to plan clean-ups by starting to think about them and then when I have a free afternoon, I get cracking and sort out one cupboard at a time. If I haven't worn or used something in the past 3 months, it heads out the door, to someone who might need it more than I do.