I've been darning this week: a Land's End nightie that really should have lasted longer than it did, leggings [that I use as pj bottoms], joggers, socks, and reinforcing weakened areas on a cardigan.
This may not seem like it's getting rid of stuff, but it has created some (much-needed) mental space, so that is seven things off my 'mental To-Do list'.
Result!
I saw a YouTube short [that I forgot to bookmark, so I can't remember who it was by], and he said that if you are failing, it's not because you aren't aiming high enough, it's because you are aiming too high; aim lower!
It was a persuasive argument: my aim had been "Do.All.The.Things", and I've realised that that particular aim has caused "paralysis"... If I want to start to succeed, I need to start with "baby steps"...
I need to Aim Lower!
Since I started to declutter, we have emptied my mother-in-law's two-bedroom terraced house, in two phases: Phase 1 cluttered up our dining room, and prevented us from making good the wall [structural movement from 2003 that the previous owner hadn't dealt with, and that was worsened by another bout of heave, following Covid's lovely summer/wet winter combo].
We got Janet's stuff finally dealt with [shoe-horning in some pieces that we intend to keep (at least for now), and taking so much stuff to the charity shop (I can't tell you how many loads of clothes I washed, and how much kitchenware I scrubbed)], and then it was time for Phase 2...
If you guessed "cluttering up our dining room", I would love to be able to give you a prize, but there isn't one on offer, sorry! We also "cluttered up a storage unit".
So that then added another delay, as we dealt with emptying the dining room once again.
Thankfully, in the meantime, we have had the wall made good, and the whole room plastered, and tomorrow the plumber is coming back to re-fit the radiator; we may even have finished painting the walls by then - who knows?
I'm going to try and blog about the changes, as a way of keeping myself accountable.
[Yeah, like that worked so well the last time?! But: this time, I have been having some counselling, and am working on/willing to work on the shame I feel at not being able to keep my home clean and tidy, and I'm going to aim lower, so please keep your fingers crossed for me, anyone who stumbles over this? Thank you, if you are out there and wishing me well.]
I cannot change the past, but I can start again, and (maybe) change the future.
