The beginning of the Big Clean

So, maybe it's a bit self-centered, but I decided to blog this particular journey of 'Tidying Up' because maybe it will help serve as a reminder in the future if I need it. I guess when it comes down to it, I'm a Hoarder. It's a hard thing to admit, especially with all of the negative connotations that popular media has attached to the word. Whenever anyone says that, the mind immediately goes to the television programs that show people living in houses piled from floor to ceiling with garbage, crawling with vermin, and leaving no space unoccupied. I am not like this. That said, I have a lot of clutter. I have a LOT of clothes. I have even more yarn. These things are not covering every single surface of my home, but some surfaces are covered more than others. It's an Organized Chaos. I've always been like this - it's just not been a priority for me to have everything put away in its space and have my space look sterile and empty. My family doesn't get it (although my dad is like this too. He's just been forced by his wife to be neater about things). My mom does this to a point as well - her place always looks clean and tidy but it has all this great stuff in it. I will say that most of my 'stuff' -is- pretty awesome, although I'm biased. I love art, I love craft, I love comics and fantasy. I -collect- things, but I don't just collect just anything. I collect handmade, soft-sculpture dragons. I collect fun mugs. I started collecting some fun drinking glasses, but I almost have all the ones I want. It comes down to the fact that I have STUFF and sometimes that gets me in trouble. Like now. I have this amazing apartment in a 2-family home. It's in a great area that is still T (subway) accessible and is close to almost all of my good friends. This apartment lets me have my two adorable cats.

However, I may be getting kicked out of this apartment because of my 'mess'. Things are up in the air right now but what it comes down to is that the landlady claims my apartment smells (I have assurance from 4 people that it does NOT reek) and that it's just too messy (not that it's any of her business...there is no wording about cleanliness in the lease). She has agreed to give me until August (although she kept on saying April) to clean up the apartment and she will then inspect it and if she deems it acceptable, she will give me a lease for another year. I've discussed this with lawyers and they think I should just let her come in once a year and inspect and otherwise to Hell with her. I'm actually kind of torn about this, but that's not what this Blog is about. This blog is about my process for cleaning said apartment. I agree - it should be worked on. I should have done more to work on it when I wasn't working a temp job and had 4 months of nothing-to-do-but-knit-and-watch-SVU-reruns. I did, some, but now I'm in Super Mode. A friend recommended this book:

I had tried Self-Help books before about cleaning up, but nothing helped. The thing is, I have trouble getting rid of things. I don't mind throwing trash away, but I keep broken shoes or clothes that I no longer wear or toys that I 'collected' because they were good to me. I anthropomorphize items. I don't like Waste (I'm big into recycling/reusing). If I know where something is going (i.e. to a person), then I'm ok with getting rid of it because I know someone else will enjoy it/care for it as I have. But just dumping stuff off at Goodwill or tossing it is hard. I guess this book addresses that and talks about keeping things that 'Only Spark Joy'. Ok. Apparently, anthropomorphizing is a thing in Japan so it talks about that as well. That seemed promising. It seems to be a method so that one doesn't relapse. Great! I bought the book and started reading it. So far, so good. However, I wasn't going to be able to use the methods that are recommended in the book because I just don't have time! I started my own sort of 'method', following some of her advice and started in on cleaning the kitchen.

It's looking better but isn't quite there yet. But it seems a reachable goal. I tackled the 'Pantry' yesterday - took a solid hour of work and I still have to go through the closet, but I think it looks fantastic.

It's a start. I'm going to try and document, room by room/category by category and talk about my feelings when it comes to culling my items. Certain things probably won't be gotten-rid of - my art collection, my sentimental items - but I'm going to try and take a closer look at these 'sentimental items' and try to cull more of my clothes/books/music/etc. I've given away a dress already as it was the wrong color for me and I gave away a box of beanies and stuffed animals that had been living in my closet for nearly 9 years. I gave them to a friend so his 3 kids could play with them. I'd rather they be played with than just sit in my closet (I did keep about a dozen or so). I'm hoping to get this done before the end of July. It's going to be tough since I'm working a 40 hour week and will be rehearsing/performing two shows, but I think I can get it done. It's a long weekend this weekend and I don't have that much planned. Maybe I won't have to move after all.