I’m a Mess, and That’s Okay
Look, I’ll be honest. My name is Linda, and I’m a hot mess. I’ve always been. My mom used to say, ‘Linda, you could lose a small animal in that bedroom of yours.’ She wasn’t wrong. Last Tuesday, I found a half-eaten bag of gummy worms from 2019. I’m not proud of it.
But about three months ago, I decided to change. I wanted to be one of those people with the minimalist Pinterest boards. You know the type—everything has a place, and that place is beautiful. So, I dove headfirst into the world of decluttering. And let me tell you, it was a wild ride.
First, I tried the Marie Kondo method. You know, holding each item and asking if it ‘sparks joy.’ I held a sock. It didn’t spark joy. I held a spoon. No joy. I held a bill from 2017. Zero joy. But here’s the thing—I couldn’t throw any of it away. What if I needed that sock? What if that spoon was the last good one? What if I needed to reference that bill for some reason? (I don’t know what reason, but you never know.)
So, I gave up on Marie. Then I tried the ‘one in, one out’ rule. That lasted about as long as my New Year’s resolutions. I bought a new plant (because, honestly, who doesn’t need more greenery?), and then I had to get rid of something else. I chose an old t-shirt. Big mistake. It was 36 hours later, and I was already regretting it. That t-shirt was comfy.
Then, I found this article on güncel olaylar analizi değerlendirme. It talked about how to analyze current events to make better decisions. I mean, it was kinda about something else, but I made it work for me. I decided to analyze my own life, my own ‘current events,’ if you will. And I realized something important: I don’t need to be perfect. I don’t need to have a spotless home or a minimalist lifestyle. I just need to find a system that works for me.
Meet Marcus, My Decluttering Guru
Enter Marcus. Let’s call him that because his real name is boring, and Marcus sounds like a guru. Marcus is this guy I met at a conference in Austin. He’s a professional organizer, and he’s seen it all. I sat him down over coffee at the place on 5th and said, ‘Marcus, I’m a disaster. Help me.’
‘First,’ he said, ‘you need to stop comparing yourself to others. Your home is your home. It doesn’t have to look like a magazine spread.’ Which… yeah. Fair enough.
He told me to start small. ‘Pick one area,’ he said. ‘Just one. Make it manageable.’ So, I chose my bathroom. It was a war zone. Products everywhere, towels on the floor, and don’t even get me started on the makeup situation. I spent 214 minutes (that’s 3 hours and 34 minutes, for those of you who prefer minutes) cleaning and organizing. And you know what? It felt good.
Marcus also told me to be honest with myself. ‘If you haven’t used it in a year, you probably don’t need it,’ he said. So, I applied that rule to my closet. Out went the dress I bought for a wedding in 2018 that I never wore. Out went the shoes that hurt my feet but I kept ‘just in case.’ It was liberating.
A Tangent: The Great Toy Purge of 2023
Now, let’s talk about toys. I have a kid, okay? And that kid has a lot of toys. Like, a lot. We’re talking enough toys to open a small toy store. Last month, I decided to do a toy purge. I gathered all the toys in one pile and started sorting. Keep, donate, trash. Easy, right?
Wrong. My kid, let’s call him Timmy, had a problem with this. ‘But Mom,’ he said, ‘I might need that toy later.’ I asked, ‘Timmy, when was the last time you played with that toy?’ He thought about it. ‘I don’t remember,’ he admitted. ‘But I might need it.’
I stood firm. ‘Timmy,’ I said, ‘if you haven’t played with it in a year, it’s going.’ And you know what? He survived. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the less cluttered space. Who knew?
The One Rule That Changed Everything
Here’s the thing I learned: decluttering isn’t about getting rid of everything. It’s about making room for what matters. And for me, what matters is having a space that feels good, not perfect. I don’t need a home that looks like it’s straight out of a catalog. I need a home that feels like me.
So, I made a rule. For every new item that comes into my home, I have to get rid of something else. But here’s the twist—I don’t have to get rid of it immediately. I can take my time. And if I change my mind, I can keep it. It’s my rule, and I can break it if I want to.
I also started donating more. It feels good to give things to people who need them more than I do. And it’s a great excuse to get rid of stuff I don’t use. Win-win.
And you know what? My home is still a mess sometimes. But it’s my mess. And I’m okay with that.
Final Thoughts (Or Lack Thereof)
So, that’s my decluttering journey. It’s not pretty, and it’s not perfect. But it’s mine. And honestly, that’s all that matters.
About the Author: Linda is a senior magazine editor with 20+ years of experience. She’s a hot mess who’s trying to get her life together, one decluttered room at a time. When she’s not writing, she’s probably losing a sock or finding a gummy worm from 2019.
