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Simplify Your Home: Declutter


Sweaty Creative Types
I’m the creative type. You know the type. I was one of the people no one wanted to sit with in high school but now everyone wants to be me. Creatives are lonely in that way. But if we are creative we live for the art and don’t really care what people think or do. I suppose you heard before that creativity is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. So that makes me and my husband sweaty creatives.
I have to say that I still squint at people who stop me at gas stations and greet me by name with a big smile, announcing that they knew me in high school. I squint because I can’t remember them for the life of me; they certainly never spoke to me at school and weren’t my friend, but now, we must be friends. Hmmm. I don’t care anymore about that. I am having too much fun being an artist.


Simple lifestyle
Part of the new lifestyle I have adopted means living simply. To live on an artist’s income is not usually a very lucrative endeavor, but very satisfying. So I simplify. Not too long ago my husband and I were victims of budget cuts in our respective jobs. That’s turned out to be a good thing and given us more time to work on our respective creative first loves. To do this we had to leave our large house and move into a small one-bedroom apartment. We look at it like an upgrade instead of a downgrade. We have more time for creative endeavors; less time spent cleaning and maintaining a large home. Here are a few of the things we have learned about simplifying:

Love Stuff
Keep only what you use or love, ditch or donate the rest.
When I first started ditching things it was a punishment and a chore. I felt really mistreated to have to eliminate my books (over 1,000) and my crafts (considerable) and my artwork (most went to storage). I love to have all that around me but the more I got rid of and lived through the loss, the more I found that I didn’t NEED all that stuff after all. It got easier and easier, until now 5 years later, I can’t imagine living with all that clutter again ever.

A dirty word
Do feel like downsizing or simplifying is a punishment?

Room dividers
Use bookcases as room dividers. Put hooks near the door to replace a coat closet.
You really don’t need a whole closet for coats after all. I couple hooks near the door and you are good. I have some hooks for my keys too so now they don’t get lost so often. Also bookcases that used to be filled with thousands of books now hold the few precious ones I have kept and serve double duty as room dividers to make two rooms out of one.



Real-estate hogs
Ditch room real-estate hogs, such as big overstuffed couches, dining room furniture, and big beds. Bulky is out. Try not to interrupt line of sight with wooden or solid furniture that makes the space look smaller. As much as possible use wire, Lucite, clear acrylic, metallic dining room furniture.
I remember when the bulky over-stuffed look was very in, but it also made a room look crowded and small. With smaller spaces, these hogs just don’t work. We had to get rid of our overstuffed couch and love seat combo in favor of a smaller love seat size couch. The clear acrylic coffee table is a nice touch that opens up the room. Clear dinning is nice too, but we got a breakfast nook that fits nicely into the small corner space that serves for a dinning room. It looks small in the store but fills the space perfectly in the apartment.
Declutter one room at a time

Vertical clutter
Use pegboards to move clutter upward. Put shelves above doors and windows. Go vertical; get it off the ground.
I think going vertical is a genius move and I love having shelves above the doors and window for my little trinkets and memorabilia.


Sneaky storage
Use sneaky storage wherever possible; shelves and cubbies under beds, tables, bench dining. Find dual-purpose places that give 2 for 1 space under and behind. This is one reason we love our Breakfast Nook dining table. The bench chairs lift for storage under them.

Vertical stripes and light
Decorate with vertical stripes. It gives the illusion of more space.
Lots of light makes rooms appear bigger. Don’t cover up those windows completely. White is bigger… but impersonal… so add color accents.
Mirrors are an age-old fake-out. They make the eye think there’s more space than there actually is… and it’s very fung shui.

Declutter papers and magazines
As much as possible don’t leave newspapers, magazines, and flyers lying around. Toss these out weekly so that your home says uncluttered. Clutter makes a room look small and unkempt fast.

Home Blessing Time
Make a place for everything and everything in its place as much as possible. Carve out a “House Blessing” day when you go from room to room, attacking clutter, putting away and tossing the rest. Once a week is often enough to keep small spaces in great shape.

Simplified Comments welcomed
No, never tried fb. I'll give it a shot. Thanks
I want to get rid of my junk, but nobody wants it.
I'm trying to declutter but it isn't easy doing it by myself. I found 4 large dog crates/kennels in the barn. I knew we had two but my husband must have picked up 3 more at a rummage sale I guess. I tried to get rid of them I called a rescue place that was always asking for crates. FREE CRATES...They wanted them but would never come and get them. I tried Craigslist no one has called. It's going to take me forever to declutter. Enjoyed your hub.
I am struggling. I know there is SO much stuff I need to get rid of; much of it from my mother's estate...it's been sitting here, some of it in use, ever since she passed back in 1998.
However, I am loathe to just toss things out or give them away. I can't afford to. Our finances are in such rough shape, (retired, hubby disabled, we are on a low fixed income), that I really need to SELL stuff to help with the things we need (including some of his over-the-counter meds that are prescribed, but nevertheless, the insurance won't pay for because they are not 'restricted' to prescription-only), and household maintenance etc. Trouble is, selling stuff is a SLOW process, no one is buying much, and well, the rest of that is a whole long story.
We cannot sell and downsize to an apartment, because the going rates are higher than our mortgage payment, and we are barely managing that. Besides, we got a mortgage modification, and the terms state that we have to stay here for 5 years before we can sell. Anyway--I've lived in apartments before, and never again would be too soon. Waste of money going to something that will never be yours, and in which you gain no equity, so you can't sell eventually and get a financial boost that way.
I'm not a hoarder--the rooms are clear--no "pathways through stuff" (hubby would never stand for that), but for sure, all the closets are well-packed. ;-)
It is, as you say, a chore, and feels very much like a punishment to have to get rid of my stuff--things I worked hard to get, and will never be able to afford to replace. No, when we moved here, it was with the idea that the only way we were leaving would be feet-first. I just need to thin out the closets.. ;)
Voted up, interesting and useful.
I enjoy clutter-free living but my husband definitely keeps too many papers. I ditch them in the recycling after fair warning. No need to be knee deep in clutter.
Denise
Your home sounds like ours. I write (when I'm not working) the wife is creatve with numerous crafts (whenever we're on holiday we have to do the craft shops rounds) and the daughter does both!
Decluttering is regular but last time we moved it was to a bigger place!
Blessings
Lawrence
Denise
Loved this hub.
Lawrence
We declutter at regular intervals. We're both getting a little long in the tooth and can't function amidst clutter. Loved the hub.
I hate clutter and always look for ways to live simpler. I applaud you and your husband for making the decision to devote more time to your creative endeavors. Life is way too short. Live it to the fullest.
Always good for a simplifier like myself to get re-inspired. It can sneak back in, ya know? Thanks for the uplift. d
I do clutter up with old magazines. They aren't thrown all over, they are stacked neatly in special places, but there they are and I never look at them. I keep thinking that maybe I could sell them, if there is someone who collects old magazines. But, I realize that I am just kidding myself. I have started to simplify my life by getting rid of them. Now I love to see that space empty. The more simple my life is, right now, the better I like it. Thanks for sharing a great hub.
Blessings to you, Denise.
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with possessions right now, so think I'll go get rid of some magazines. A start, at least, on streamlining.
I have trouble decluttering. Thanks for this helpful hub.
I love this advice. A wise person once said the more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you. Your rooms with open windows and acrylic tables look light and refreshing, but I love my vintage (100+ years old) oak wood furnishings. Yes, they are heavy and dark, but my particular artistic nature is soothed and satisfied by the rich tones and varied wood grains. I'm in a pickle. What to do?
But that's enough about me. This is a very well done useful hub. Voted up.
Great hub and advice paint drips. We really need to think seriously about decluttering again. We seem to have to do it more and more often. You provide some wonderful tips. Voted up.
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