For the past two yrs, one of my new yr resolutions has been to declutter my mind and possessions.
Decluttering my mind has been going well. For me, this means eliminating the negativity and focus on the simple, happy moments in life. I am most happy when we do family things on the weekends, like gardening, going to the market to buy dinner ingredients, strolling Zoey through the park. This also means not to worry about petty things and learn how to ‘choose my battles.’ Is it worth it for me to feel this way? To get worked up? 99% of the time, the answer is no.
However, decluttering my possessions has been a bit of a challenge. You see, I have a problem of letting go. Letting go of anything! If I have a scrap piece of fabric, I will stash it in my scrap box. I mean, who knows WHEN I will need it for something?! Does it matter if 99.9% of the time I will never ever use it again?
One of the most classic examples is my separation anxiety from magazines. Magazines that I only skim through once and don’t like to revisit again or sometimes haven’t even crack open.
In the ideal world, I can always fall back on them on a rainy day, flipping through the fashion pages while sipping my cappuccino. Has this happened yet? No, but it MIGHT. Can many of you relate? Please say yes so I can tell my husband that I am not abnormal.
My little growing Teavana collection. This I can’t get rid off. How can I, when I haven’t tried all the flavors that I bought?
In all seriousness, I do want to conquer this part of my resolution. I strive for a clutter free space yet our home is full of stuff that we don’t need or have way too many of. Perhaps, we just need a bigger house?! That might actually be the answer. Then I can have a place for EVERYTHING that I hoard.
But since I don’t live in that mansion right now I will start by getting rid of the magazines…once I scan through them one more time (many of them, for the first time) so I can have the peace of mind that I’m not throwing out any issues I love. Baby steps. I will get there, give me time.
Til next post, Kellie.
lezoemusings.com 
oh yes yes yes… I completely am there with you. I just downsized to a smaller apartment AND added a roommate so decluttering was something I really focused on during the summer months. but there is still so much to be done – I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles!
Mary
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Love your insights on de-cluttering… more please. x
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Thanks..I’ll try to do more decluttering post! I have major decluttering to do around the house. Have a GREAT day. Best, Kellie.
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Ahhhh, the decluttering project! We can totally relate when it comes to not being able to get rid of magazines, they hold so much info and so many great ideas. XO ~ Tresors De Luxe! P.S. – Your camera angles are so great
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I’ve been working on decluttering lately too. In my blog I called it “performing a stuffectomy”. If surgically removing the tonsils is a tonsillectomy and cutting out a lump is a lumpectomy, getting rid of stuff must be a stuffectomy. Right?
I have a stack of magazines to get rid of too. I’ve started dropping them off at our local library where there’s a bin of magazines that anyone can take from. The idea that someone else might enjoy them is much more satisfying that throwing them in the garbage or the recycling.
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Haha! I love your solution. Just get a bigger house. Problem solved. Until then, (for both of us) I feel your pain on the decluttering. We’re moving next month, and I need to start decluttering ASAP.
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We all seem to have things that we must hang unto for that never to oocur “free”moment. Ah kids. You will acquire a lot more before you let anything go. That’s ok. Thanks for stopping by!
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I have the magazine problem, as well. & from the looks of it, we have the same taste in magazines,too! I hope your un-cluttering goes well! You should do a follow up post when it’s all finished about how you feel. I’d be interested in reading about it.
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Hi Kellie! Thanks for liking my post. I took a parouse around your site and love all the photography and inspiration you are sharing. As for decluttering, it’s a big challenge for me too. I think I’ve been working on it for years. But it sounds like you know what you got to do – a mansion or less stuff. LOL!!
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same same. I horde tea too…. most of my tea comes from friends who brought in more variety/brands with each visit. magazines… I rarely Buy, but I keep them for a SUPER long time, so I have a good stack. I also have box for the scraps that I keep, incuding tiny pieces of clothes….
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I was only able to declutter my storage closet when we moved to another country. I know how difficult it is.
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First, your blog is beautiful! Second, I totally understand the need to de-clutter. I am ruthless with magazines though. I kinda obsessively read them cover to cover, then give them away or put them straight into recycling. I feel like it is a weekly task to try to stay de-cluttered. With 4 kids bringing unending creations and treasures into our house, it is a never ending, but worthwhile pursuit! Good luck!
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I have been decluttering and mostly succeeding. However,I love magazines and it has taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that it makes no sense to continue to keep them all indefinitely.
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I’m the same, but after one day catching an episode of hoarders on tv I’ve become obsessed with organizing and striving for a minimalistic lifestyle…haha
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Aw the magazines….this made me smile. I clung to my pile too “my if I’m sick in bed they make me feel better pile” but alas I had to divest myself of mine….its the first step I’m afraid in de-cluttering. The second step is to get ready for all the clutter that grows and grows as Zoe grows. Its amazing how toys multiply and multiply like rabbits:)
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Your blog is so much more than just the writings. It’s also about elegant classy photographs placed at the best possible places. You have a great sense of design!
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Ohhhh – the magazines that I love to subscribe to and love to look at. Elle Home Decor, Coastal Living, Gourmet and all the garden mags. I keep them thinking I’ll use the recipes or designs but I usually just go on line rather then try to find it in the mag.
Anyway, I also started getting rid of all kinds of stuff – cuz” Feng Shui says to move forward we have to lighten the load. Good Luck and thanks for visiting my blog.
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Not going to help you at all, but I too hoard magazines and it turns out that I was right to hang onto all of my Gourmet issues now that they are out of print! I bought catalog file holder thingies at Office Depot and now I feel much more at ease about my hoarding!
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I have the same problem. Moving out of a rented apartment made me throw out a lot of my clutter. However after two years of living in our own home I find that my collection of small ornaments and clothes from thrift stores and markets have doubled. HELP! I think I may need to start my own set of resolutions.
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I hoard magazines, too – I recently moved about 1200 miles, so I had to get rid of my years of September Vogues, but I’m starting it up again. I’ve got a massive stack of The New Yorker, too. For Vogue, I always want to rip out my favorite ads and frame them (if I ever get a home office) and The NYer comes in handy sometimes. Maybe a cup of tea and an attempt to sort through the backlog?
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I recently moved and I have boxes and boxes of magazines! Luckily, all my subscriptions ran out, so I’ll be able to start catching up on them…soon.
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I used to hoard magazines, always saying I’d pull out the pages that I wanted to use for inspiration and never did. Then I found pinterest and decided to get rid of my magazines… The decluttering of the brain though, that’s a different story!
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Nice to see you’re starting your own tea collection! Teavana, though, is not one of my favorites and it’s a little expensive. I prefer tea from Remedy Teas in seattle (www.remedyteas.com) or Tealuxe in Boston (Tealuxe.com) both of them are great and they ship.
I’m not paid by them, I just love tea 🙂
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I made a rule with magazines – make time within a week of getting them so that I can pass them on while they are still current….works well enough so far!
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Don’t worry about your magazines, you’ll get new ones.
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Oh gosh! DeClutter! I would love that.
Am inspired by your site. Thank you.
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Ha ha, no you are crazy! I collect magazines too, I even mark the pages that I would like to get back to but never do. I never ever throw out scraps of fabric either. I even collect the extra buttons that are usually attach to new garments (this came in handy a few times). But I do have a rule with my closet, if it doesn’t fit or I haven’t worn it in a year its OUT!
Anyway wish you the best in decluttering your mind and hey if you can ever let go of some tea…I’ll be happy them take off your hands 🙂
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I get that way about magazines because I feel like I can reread it and learn something new, but the reality is, I rarely pick them back up.
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….And I thought I was the only person who has a stack of magaiznes in my house, yet to read… but can’t stand to part from! I keep thinking, one of these days, I’ll get around to reading them, surely I will! HaHa.. I like the idea of getting a bigger house though .. although, you are probably right in de-cluttering, and the magazines are a good start. I have a friend who (instead of throwing them away) drops them off at the local library, dentist & doctors office – that way you know that someone is enjoying them!
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I also have too many magazines to count. After the final flip through, I also donate them to waiting rooms – but treadlemusic gives them to much better causes – I usually bring to hair & beauty salons I frequent. You are not abnormal! (But my husband would agree with your husband and say that we are)
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I have the exact same issues with magazines. So, what I have done is committed to going through the magazines every couple of months and pulling out the articles I really want to read but have not gotten to. I file them away and then read them. If I don’t read them after a few months the file gets dumped in the recycling bin. At one point I had boxes of magazines…it was a bit out of control.
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I’m a writer, so I have an ever-growing collection of magazines myself that I have to purge every now and then.
I think there’s a middle ground here. You don’t always have to get rid of everything — save a few important issues that you really loved, frame some especially beautiful magazine covers, tear out the pages that you really want to save and recycle the rest. If you creatively reuse or recycle your magazines and even those tea canisters, you can find a reason for keeping some of them around!
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Thanks for “liking” my post today.
Starting with the magazines is very cathartic! I did it earlier this year, and amazingly, I don’t miss them. I could not have done it, had I not been introduced to pinterest!
Happy Blogging,
THF
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I just decluttered my linen closet. If I haven’t used something in 6 months – out it goes (except for towels of course)!
I also use baskets to organize itms that are bulky and in awkward packaging. It hides the clutter and I get them at the dollar store!
Best of luck on your resolution!
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Oh, boy you crack me up some days. I am attached to the same kind of clutter as you but have been collecting it much longer. One time I valiantly tried to package up my old Vogue magazines for a neighborhood garage sale. It just felt WRONG. I loved those things. Could not take them and regretted the Architectural Digests that I did sell, besides. Wait a couple of years and Zoe will be big enough to love your old fashion magazines with you. My girls have a running issue over who will get the Vogue collection one day!
(Apologies to your hubby for this advice.) You’ll get that mansion one day, and no worries!
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I have found new ‘homes’ for many of my magazines: local hospital waiting areas, other waiting areas (medical clinic, dental, etc), assisted living/nursing homes, friends who, I know, do subscribe/purchase my title of magazines. Maybe other waiting areas (trains, buses)–may have to check to see if ok, though. I describe my home as “Cozy Country Clutter” which merely makes the guys in my life groan! It is who I am! Hugs, Doreen
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You know, I’ll be more than happy to take some tea off of your hands 😉 Best of luck on your resolutions! I’m sure that you can do it 🙂
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