Cut the Clutter

Clutter is something I struggle with.  I have a cluttered house, especially upstairs in the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Downstairs isn't as bad, but it isn't ideal, either.  I constantly think, "Oh, I can use that later!" and then I stow it away somewhere: in a drawer, on a shelf, in a file.  The "it" that I hoard can be anything from a cross-stitch pattern to the bottom of the celery stalk that I chopped off for my children's next art project.  The reality is that I very rarely get to those "saved" things.  They end up occupying valuable space, and I have no idea what to do about it.

This article sheds a little light on a few things for me.  I am a self-defeating procrastinator whom everyone has told -repeatedly my life long- that I have fantastic potential if only I could tap it... realize it... but when I get home and look at my house I think of a dozen different reasons to defer greatness: I can't possibly finish my novel until the bathroom is organized; I can't possibly sew those cute summer dresses for Megan until I clean my horribly messy bedroom.  This list can go on and on. Truthfully, though, I could do those things if I would just let myself, because the bathroom and the bedroom never get cleaned anyway.

So, today I'm going to try something new.  I'm going to clean/organize/declutter a room or area, and then give myself permission to do a fun thing like get started on that pink polka dotted sun dress Megan has been begging me for.  Why not?  My time is valuable, my clutter is not.  I need to cut the clutter.  Then I might feel better.  :)