Anyone else out there a disorganised/cluttered/messy person? I know I can't be the only one.
I'll be brutally honest with you all - until two weeks ago, I was probably the messiest person any of my friends knew. I lived in a constant state of clutter. Not dirty, but uber-messy. It was like one of those rooms you see on Lifestyle shows like Clean House or Hoarders. I'll shamefully admit, there were times (and sometimes weeks-at-a-time) when my room was so full of stuff that I couldn't sleep in my own bed or worse - even get through the door.
This was just one of the many challenges of being a frequent event organiser, entrepreneur, Rotaractor, Scout and general owner of a wide assortment of random items who lives in a single room that serves as both their bedroom and office space.
I've lived in this room for ten years, and I estimate that in that ten years, my room has been clean for less than a month cumulatively. Less than a month... in a decade! Insane! So imagine my family's surprise when a month ago I declared that I was no longer going to be a messy person and I was going to lead the life of a highly tidy and organised individual.
My friends and family scoffed at the thought that I would actually get my epic mess clean in the first place, and were even bigger disbelievers that I would be able to keep it that way. Honestly, I don't blame them - I had doubts myself - but I refused to give up. It was deemed 'Mission: Improbable' by one friend, and 'Mission: Impossible' by all others. It was like my own personal Everest.
After three painfully long weeks of cleaning day-in day-out, I did it! I had a completely sorted, everything filed, sparklingly clean living space. Better yet, two weeks later - it is still tidy! And it feels great. I am never going back.
A friend once said to me that it takes three weeks to form a habit, and three weeks to break it. I'm hoping that is true - but since this habit has been forming my entire life, I am going to be very strict on sticking to my guns and never going on that downhill slide into mess ever again.
A friend who saw my room tidy the other day asked me (after the shock of seeing actual carpet in my room) how did I get rid of so much stuff. And my response was simple.
When you are sorting through your stuff, sometimes it's hard to decide if an item should stay or go. So I asked myself three simple questions.
- Is it useful?
- Is it beautiful?
- Is it loved?
If I answered "yes" to any of these questions, it could stay. If the answer was "no" to all three, then the item hit the trash, recycling or donation bins. Due to the extreme amount of stuff I had in my room, I also often used the question "Will I use it in the next year?" which trumped alot of extra items and led to their disposal.
Is your living space tidy? Is it functional? Or like the Krissie-of-things-past, is the state of your living space dictating what you can and cannot do? If you didn't like your answers to any of those questions, then it might be time to get on top of the clutter and reclaim your life. It might be a challenge, but trust me... it is worth it!!!
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