Confessions.....a very long post

Those of you that know me in real life know that I am what some would call a pack rat. I keep things. I save them. In case I might need them later. Empty cans and toilet paper tubes for craft projects, picture frames and fabric, photos, cards and letters, clothes and shoes that my children have outgrown waiting for the next girl to wear. I keep books, magazines, every scrapbooking product that I have ever purchased and not yet used, almost everything my girls or my nephews has ever made for me and nearly every gift I have ever received. I save old cell phones and ink cartridges meaning to recycle them and everything that has ever belonged to one of my ancestors. Even if I don't love it or use it. I keep it. My biggest downfall is paper. I have bags, boxes and boxes and stacks of paper. Every bill that gets paid, every pay stub that Derek has earned in our 19+ years of marriage, movie stubs, magazine articles and so many receipts that I could wallpaper a room with them. I have used duplicate checks for about 6 years now. I have every single book saved. I have every card from my Grandma Raynor, announcements and school pictures sent by friends and family and YEARS of past Christmas cards and letters. I keep dance schedules, renewal requests, driving directions and anything with any sentimental value at all (such a receipt that I see and think "oh I remember that day"). I know that I have hoarding tendencies and now that I have acknowledged this I am trying to address it. It has been a goal of mine for several years to "tackle my clutter" and throw things out. This has been a nearly impossible task for a girl whose motto is "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without". I keep everything so that I CAN use it up, wear it out or make it do so that I never have to DO WITHOUT. I can see that this is something that stems from my childhood where we occasionally moved so fast that I would go to school in the morning with my room and house looking everyday normal and be picked up from school by my mom in a packed u-haul and never see that house, my room and many of my belongings again. I have a physical and an emotional reaction when it comes to parting with things. If you don't deal with this issue, you probably don't understand what the heck I am talking about. My sister Salena is the exact opposite. She has no clutter and very little sentimental attachment to most of her junk. She easily parts with clothing that her boys wore when they were little and doesn't need to save every. single. scrap. of. paper. that has I love you mommy written on it by one of her children.
So this week I have been decluttering. Like I said this has been a goal for the past 4 summers and once again it came time to start homeschooling and the clutter and piles were at all time new levels. This summer I worked outside of the house for the first time in ten years and I had a difficult time continuing to juggle all the balls I already had in the air and adding four new ones (working for LSS, training as a Doula, managing my family's play schedule and looking for a new mini-van). Unfortunately I didn't plan very well what I was going to give up, delusionally thinking I could do everything I was already doing and add all that to it as well and still be successful at it all. Housekeeping was one of those balls that came crashing down. Now I like a clean house just as much as Salena does, I just have a much harder time staying on top of my clutter. I have trained my girls very well and they know that the kitchen, bathroom and laundry are our top priorities. If you come to my house for a visit and just stand at the front door what you will see are piles and stacks of paper, boxes, library books, magazines, bills to be paid, art supplies, homeschooling materials and a whole lot of schtuff just lying around the living room and dining room floor. It is not until you come inside and see my kitchen with my roosters and Fiestaware, and like a friend that came to my house for the first time yesterday you'd say (and she said it out loud) "well your kitchen is cute and clean". It's like I am living a double life from room to room. I don't want it to look like this but I seriously am having a very difficult time tackling the paper. I sit down, sort, move pieces of paper around, throw out one or two things, feel paralyzed, have to move on to something else and pile it all back together so it isn't spread out all over the entire floor. This happens over and over to the point that it is easier to just sit and read a book or head out to the park, because I feel defeated before I even begin.
This time has been different. This time I just feel so overwhelmed by all of this stuff that I cannot bring myself to start our "official" schoolyear until I have this tackled. And no Salena, we are not starting school next spring. Also there is the little matter of Derek interviewing for store manager jobs in New Mexico and Wisconsin. I want to be ready. Just in case.
This time I have a plan.
I gathered my family and read them our "theme" scripture for the year. It comes from the Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.
That is our theme and our motto is A Place For Everything and Everything in It's Place. I keep repeating "if it doesn't have a home, find it a home, if you can't find it a home then GET RID OF IT". The tough part of that is holding myself to it too! All this week I have worked my behind off sorting, tossing and organizing. I have been very blessed in my efforts....I found my long lost wedding ring (you can read that story here).
So far we have done the bathroom, hall closet, both girl bedrooms including under beds and in their drawers and closets. We have thrown away trash, donated clothing, stored keepsakes, dusted and vacuumed. Next I moved onto the laundry room and dungeon. The dungeon is the part of our basement that isn't finished and we use for storage. It is the size of a one car garage and lined with metal shelves all the way around. We store all of our seasonal and non-seasonal decor in there, too little clothes, sleeping bags and suitcases, food storage and canning supplies and whatever else that gets taken down and thrown in there. It was a nightmare so I largely ignored it. Yesterday I spent most of the day unpacking, sorting, and repacking all of it. It was VERY HARD for me to do, but it felt great when I was done.
And today? Today is the day that I tackle the paper. I have my shredder set up and waiting, a trash bag (or 7), a three ring binder and a three-hole-hole-punch. I have file folders and room for them in my file cabinet and girls to run things and put them away. I am going to show you my before pictures so that I have an incentive to keep going and have a space worthy of an after picture by the end of today. It is scary I know. For me too. Now I must hand over Harry Potter number 6 to Miranda so I won't give up and sit down for the day. Wish me luck.