I've been spending a lot of time in my room over the past couple of months, and while it is substantial enough to be my own little extension to the house, it's full.
I've decluttered.
I've chucked.
I've sorted, tidied, dusted, given away, donated, skimmed over the surface, resolved, relocated and generally lessened the load.
I've done 'one in, two out'.
I have empty bookshelves, less clothes and overflowing yarn tubs.
I'm historian, writer, crafter, family member, job seeker and much more....
I've been reading about minimalism, crafting, frugality, decluttering and much more...
And I'm all of those.
But - at this time:
I'm aiming to spend four days to cut through the surface, set the standard and clear the excess. So - what's the platform?
- I know I have a huge-ish yarn stash. I know I don't want to dispense with it, and I consider it to be a resource. So, I'm giving it a good tidy up (like with like, project bags, donate anything totally out of the equation, create a realistic timetable), and then I have a year from my birthday - 7 April - to use as much as possible. Then the rest - if it isn't allocated to a project - will be donated.
- I am aiming to cut my book collection by one third, my magazine stash by half, and the general stuff in my possession by around one third as well.
To explain, however - I don't mind having actual physical items. I won't be scanning my photographs right now (I have many of the family photos). They are fine. I am fine with allocating space to those. As for magazines, those I keep will be those that are enough for me. I see them as a cheap alternative to books. I like having them - but enough.
- I will also revisit my very small budget, and confirm that it is on track to get through to the end of June without any dramas. I have always been an enthusiastic gift purchaser, and my present lean circumstances have been fantastic for the happy clash of materials and opportunity. I have yarn! Therefore, most of my gifts are indeed 'Mostly Crocheted'!
- I will also be revisiting my need to over plan! This is why I've only gone for broad strokes above. Anything more would lead to inertia, I fear, and retreating to the far corners, convinced that any failure to meet quantity/quality/timing deadlines was cause for despair. I've tried '60 items in however many days', 'use all the morning to clean and then write 1000 words', 'get way more boxes for storage', and specificity is my enemy. So it's a wider platform for both these four days and life in general, with a few accountability timelines, but nothing too drastic.
Will it work? Who knows. But it is worth a try.
