Spring Cleaning & Secrets of Simplicity

I’m reading the final chapter this week of Secrets of Simplicity by expert organization queen and author Mary Carlomagno and as soon as I’m finished I’m going to start reorganizing my house and I plan to sell a bunch of things over on eBay — I have wayyyy to much stuff and really need to downsize and clear the clutter. I feel bad that I will be getting rid of so many things but I’ve learned from Secrets of Simplicity that my need to hold on to certain things is crazy, especially when I yearn to live in a clutter-free environment. Of course, I can’t live without cherished items around, but I can live without the piles of magazines, the collection of lamps and chairs and ceramics and art that I’ve collected that honestly, I really have to personal attachment to any longer.

{book from amazon, office products via knock knock}

Of course, I’m not getting rid of everything I own, but I’ve decided to clear out my storage room located in the attic of my home and sell everything on eBay, through a series of tag sales, and on Craigslist. What I cannot sell I will donate to charity just as I did last Spring (this is an annual cleansing activity for me, though this year is the biggest one ever!). It’s my May must-do project and Secrets of Simplicity is helping me to get there emotionally and spiritually so that I can take this healing journey of saying goodbye to all of this stuff. Though it is beautiful, too much of anything is never good. I know the feeling of joy that will sweep over me as I say goodbye to the final box carried out of my front door will be worth it all. Yippie-kay-yay! Two spaces in my home that I can’t wait to purge — my walk-in closet, my office/craft room and my bookcase.

I found this cool site today called Knock Knock while reading Victoria’s blog and I love all of the office products here. I will be needing lots of file folders and other miscellaneous storage for organizing, so I’m definitely bookmarking this site. I’m going to order the Personal Library Kit because I loan out books so often that this would help me to keep track of them. Plus, in this economy, I think good friends should be encouraging one another book to borrow things from one another now and then. Especially novels. I am so tired of buying them and then what? I will never pick up the same book and read it twice. I’d much rather loan it out or swap it with another novel from a girlfriend.

What about you? Have you read Secrets of Simplicity? Are you doing any Spring cleaning at the moment? How are you handling it emotionally? What are you currently trying to take control of in your home - clutter, a reno, DIY project, cleaning?