Christa, Day 40: My Decluttering Crutch

I can't believe that we've already reached Day 40 of the 72 Ideas in 72 Days Project! We're more than half over and I feel like there's still so much to do and so much to explore in the realm of voluntary simplicity. And, yes, still so much decluttering left to do! Which brings me to today's idea:

Declutter before organizing. Many people make the mistake of taking a cluttered desk or filing cabinet or closet or drawer, and trying to organize it. Unfortunately, that’s not only hard to do, it keeps things complicated. Simplify the process by getting rid of as much of the junk as possible, and then organizing. If you declutter enough, you won’t need to organize at all.

This brings me right back to the Basement of Dorian Gray - which I talked about on Day 9 - and our household's bad habit of putting clutter out of sight. Eventually, it's out of mind, too. Until it gets bad enough to drive me absolutely out of my head, that is. I suppose not letting it get to that point is what today's simplification idea is all about.Organized clutter is probably my decluttering clutch. Why should I get rid of X, Y, or Z? Look at how organized it all is!

I actually just this second was forced to look at some organized clutter. In a lidded khokhloma bowl on the piano I've mentioned once or twice, my daughter found all manner of things: tiny shells, a wee hook, old Star Trek Barbie accessories, beach glass, etc. She's two, so none of these things were really appropriate playthings and none serves any actual purpose. Why did I stow them in the bowl? The quick answer is that I really have no idea. Might need the hook some day? The toys had memories attached? Who can say.

The point is that as good as I am at getting rid of the big things, the small things are my crutch. It's so easy to keep papers or tiny bits of sea glass or anything else that can be stashed in a corner or stowed in a beautiful lidded bowl from old Mother Russia. I'm not sure what my action item from here on should be... suck it up and learn to throw stuff out better? Small scale decluttering? Create a system for dealing with one type of organized clutter, like paper? All of the above?  I've been working on my kitchen drawers, still, and have encountered a lot of organized clutter. But I'm working on it, so it's all good.