Day One, De-Clutter, De-Hoard!!

Day One of my New Adventure has begun! I am going to try and declutter and 'dehoard' this house. I did a pretty good job of getting rid of a lot of old clothes this past summer, and last summer, but now I need to get rid of a lot of other junk that is in this house. I suppose I am somewhat of a hoarder. I think it is a family trait of sorts. Both of my parents were raised during the depression, and this made them tend to keep things for later. My grandmother was the same way. Growing up extremely poor had a lot to do with it, also. There were always towels or sheets that were "put up for later", and they never got used. There have always been things in very small boxes, in small boxes, and in even more boxes that were put away for special times. We are still finding things like that. This house of mine is really a mess. I have an entire room full of books that I have used in the last several years for studying. They are important, but I have got to DO something with them. There are tote boxes full of teaching supplies, books, bulletin board items, etc. all over the house and in the attic. There are books upon books upon books all over the house. These are the items that are of importance. The other things cluttering up the place are not so important. SO, my big idea for the year was to find all of my old Southern Living magazines and cut out the recipes from them and then put the remaining parts of the magazines in the recycle bin outside.

Task #1 Accomplished!! I did that today. I had magazines from 2006 and 2005, and all of 2010 and 2011. I think I must have put others in the recycle bin at some other point and time, because I cannot find them anywhere, UNLESS they are in a tote box somewhere. My goal is to put the recipes into a notebook and make my own Southern Living cookbook. Hey, it will save a bunch of money that I might spend on a Southern Living cookbook! Why pay for them twice??I know there are some more of those rascals around this house somewhere, and maybe I will find them while I am piddling around getting rid of other 'stuff'. Can anyone tell that I have gotten rid of four or five years worth of magazines? No. Can I? Not really, but it is a START!! You have to start small, or you will drive yourself crazy. I found that out a while ago. Start with a simple corner and get that one corner done, and it is amazing how good you will feel. I have LOTS of corners to go through, not to mention entire rooms, but that is for another time!! See, I told you I would find some more. I just turned around from this computer to look at this very crowded room, and I spied two more SL's from 2005! I must have had them out to put in the other pile, because these were right on top of a basket. So, there ya go! After going through several magazines page by page from the beginning of the book, I realized that the recipes are all in the BACK! There may be one or two in the front, just to whet your appetite, but the majority are in the back. The beginning is usually about taking trips to places, then you have your gardening and your decorating. The main cooking sections are last. I also found that there is usually a little story in the very back of the magazine. Those stories are quite cute. I have just made a small dent in the job, but I am actually on the way to decluttering and dehoarding (which I realize is not a real word, but I thought I would make it up to fit this cause of mine)!! This process is going to take a while. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day, and my mess of a house wasn't created in a day. Little baby steps...that is what it will take...little baby steps. It looks like I am on the way to a productive new year. I hope so, anyway!! Have a great day!!