Simplify my... living room

[tehomet]

I have uploaded some before and after photos of some decluttering I have been doing on my living room, inspired by emeraldsedai and her Project. Thank you, Em! I really owe you one.

I still can't believe how much stuff was in the room. All those bookcases you see in the photos had at least three layers of books on each deep shelf. So the first thing to do was extract all the books I'd read, and copy onto my hard drive so I could do away with the CDs. Oxfam relieved me of more than twenty bags of books, music and DVDs, and FreeCycle took care of the excess furniture and rugs. I could still do with ejecting one of the coffee tables, to be honest. Oxfam and FreeCycle are brilliant for getting rid of things as I knew that someone was going to be made happier or healthier by my stuff. I also sold a few things on eBay and used the money to buy a Dyson hoover, which I would recommend to anyone, particularly anyone with pets.

I will freely admit that there is plenty more to do. All those trunks you see in the photos are stuffed with... stuff that needs a good sorting, for example. I still hate the landlord's leather-covered suite and would love to turf it out. I will in due course read all those books and watch all those DVDs. I haven't bought or rented a book or a DVD since I started. There is cabling from old TV and internet dialup connections in the corners that needs stripping out. I need to start dusting regularly, etc. But changing from an oblivious clutterbug to a mindful and relatively tidy person is a process, and I'm taking one step at at time. These are my first steps.

Comments

[ann_tara]

Forgive the late response - I'm always late in checking my DW reading list (and I don't even have that many people friended yet!). I just want to say, Brava! on the decluttering project. I've been trying to do that for months - well, years, but I've stepped it up significantly over the last nine months or so. I've crammed my minivan full of stuff to take to GoodWill or Red Cross countless numbers of times, boxed up tons of crap, and I still have too much stuff! Of course, I've got four adults living in this house, and when it's more than just you, it's almost impossible to truly declutter. But I still try, and applaud those who have managed it. :)

[tehomet]

Thank you! And good luck with the next assault on Clutter Mountain. :) It really is like painting the Forth Bridge, as soon as you stop, you have to start again. *rolls eyes*