I've got an idea!

[mrspopo]

Decluttering has been going great, and we have so much less stuff and more space. So the mess shows up but it isn't nearly as bad as it was. But my tolerance for junk is much lower. And as I scan the things that are left out, I can't help but eye each thing and wonder if it's something I can purge. But it never is, it's always something useful that will be missed.

So what I realized is that if I can't purge that stuff, I should be looking around the rest of the room for what might be purge-able. All that stuff in the living room was useful, but the stuff on the shelves and in the toy bin are perfect candidates! Yay! It's been driving me crazy that most of what gets left out can't be purged, but I finally realized everything else should be fair game! Don't know why it took me so long to think of this!

[cherylchoo]

So true! Every time I try to take a pic of my kids, whatever I am moving around to make the photo look okay probably should be purged. It's the stuff that has been sitting a while that you become totally blind to. Not the mess that gets out with everyday use.

[leadmare]

Great realization! It feels so good to purge. I got rid of some "extra" in our living room, and a ton of clothes today.

Also, I totally understand having a low tolerance for junk. Once we started being more simple and minimal, my mindsent changed.

[pgkcb13]

Originally Posted by cherylchoo So true! Every time I try to take a pic of my kids, whatever I am moving around to make the photo look okay probably should be purged. It's the stuff that has been sitting a while that you become totally blind to. Not the mess that gets out with everyday use.

Ha! I do that too!

[SarasynFox]

Toys and books are fair game in our house too. I've even started getting rid of the "useful" stuff that we don't use very often. I'm getting brutal! Of course, we really need it because we're just starting out on this whole minimalist living thing. It's really been great for us, but we still have a LONG way to go!