Is this level of declutter even possible without a maid or house wife??
Seriously, I have been on this declutter mission for a couple of weeks now and I conclude this is the hardest thing ever!!!!! Maybe I'm a hoarder ??? I don't think I am I just think New Yorker's just don't have enough space so it looks like you are. I mean check out the Ikea Catologs, not a lick of space for the NY catolog. I just honestly don't know how people do this, I'm going to seriously make it my mission to at least clear one surface by the end of this week.
I really think I need to become a minimalist or try to get a more clutter free life.
Tips I've picked up so far:
DUST: What makes it so hard is the dust!! I have been sneezing non-stop because of all the dust that has built up on my open air things. So gross, lesson going foward is to box things in storage bins so the little things don't collect dust and just the box. It is so hard to remove dust on small things vs just one clean swipe for a box preferable dust friendly like plastic. I have an OCD friend that literally zip locks everything, which is great idea if you do clean regularly otherwise dust does stick to ziplocks too. But it is cheaper than buying boxes.
Paper Towels: I made the mistake of using paper towels to clean dust and surfaces. One Roll down, I realized I have so many clothes garbage/donation clothes that I could just make rags out of them! Much more eco friendly and cheaper!!!!!!!!
Books: I realize I keep things around thinking I will go back to them. I looked at all the books on my book case and I will be completely honest and say "I HAVE NEVER gone back for one book." I think especially New Yorker's in particular like to display books as a sign of their intelligence and individuality (just think Strands Bookstore vibe) but now with the Kindle I think it's going to be a futile pursuit going forward. I even looked into selling some of my old textbooks, I'd get maybe a $.01 for them now that they've sat on my shelf so long. Lesson learned: "don't buy any books", they are heavy, difficult to move and take up too much space.
Magazines: One person had a rule of no more than 4 magazines in the house at a time. Everytime she gets a new one she tosses one out. My problem is there always a couple of articles I want and never getting around to clipping. My new resolution is to rip it out immediately and put it in a big colorful folder. I have literally cleared half a shelf this way. And with internet these days, I don't really need fashion or gossip magazines anymore. Honestly, I find my IKEA and JCREW catolog are not only free but really packed full of interesting ideas that I do want paper references too.
"Like Things Go Together": This is probably the best tip I've picked up so far and it really applies to everything. Because of this I discovered I have a ton of staplers, measuring tapes and pens.
If I weren't moving, I'd definately pick up on some of Target's Storage bin stuff on sale this week. I love these because super easy to clean and stack.
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