We have a new favorite show here- the Style Channel’s “Clean House”. The host is one Ms. Niecy Nash, who looks fabulous and has no patience for homeowners who fill their homes with clutter.
Watching Clean House makes me feel better about myself as a housekeeper. I mean, I may have a problem with piling stuff up on tables, but the people on Clean House are filling every square inch of every room in their house with stuff. I can see my carpets and floors!
Even still, I have this overwhelming urge to take every single thing out of this house and start fresh. We’re having a neighborhood garage sale next month, and we have So. Much. Stuff. And I can be honest, I am mostly the reason why. I hold on to things for sentimental reasons, or because I think it might come in handy “some day”. I find it nearly impossible to get rid of books, because if I’ve paid for a book rather than get it from the library, it’s because it’s a really good book that I’ve read more than once.
My Mom, who passed away in 1997, was a teacher and collected children’s books. She would go to conferences and come home with tote bags full of Newberry and Caldecott winners. I have her books now, in boxes in my basement, because I have nowhere else to put them. And that’s when I hear Niecy Nash’s voice in my head- if you really love something, why is it in a box in the basement?
I’m participating in a webcast tomorrow with Peter Walsh, the chief Organizer of TLC’s “Clean Sweep”, another show I love. He’s even tougher than Niecy, and often has to remind the people he’s helping on the show that memories are what you hold in your heart, not what you stuff into boxes that gather dust. Wise words indeed.
I don’t just hear Niecy’s voice when I’m looking at clutter in my house. I hear it whenever I think about a lot of the things that I know are holding me back. My weight? My lack of exercise? My crappy diet?
Nonsense. And foolishness. It shouldn’t take a TV show host for me to know that.
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Twitter: jennuinepain
says:
I couldn’t part with the books… I’d have to hold on to them until I found bookshelves or a place to put them. I get what you mean though. I’m am definitely a packrat and I come by it naturally with packrats on both sides of my family. It’s so easy to assign sentimental attachments to things. I’m MUCH better at getting rid of things now, moving into teeny apartment really helped. A few things give me a twinge, but I really don’t miss most of it.
Twitter: average_jane
says:
I’ve caught a couple of episodes of that, too, and I feel the same way. (Plus, I love Niecy Nash on “Reno 911.”)
I go out of my way to get rid of stuff I’m not using, but I still need to do a big cleanout every couple of years. I will say that our basement is pleasantly free of stored items except for Christmas decorations and other seasonal stuff.
Twitter: Table4Five
says:
Average Jane- our basement is a disaster. My husband even built these shelves in between the wall studs so we could get everything up off the floor. And yet, there is still stuff on the floor! Not to mention a broken pool table that was left here by the previous owners that has more crap piled up on top of it. We need a clean sweep!
Twitter: Table4Five
says:
Jennifer- I know what you mean. One of the reasons I secretly enjoyed moving into this house was because we were able to go through our possessions and get rid of so much. And now we’ve just accumulated more! It’s sad.
Twitter: tanyetta
says:
I love Niecy! She is always FAB and will call you on your sh*t. HaHa. Gotta love that about her!
I’m with you on the books… I can’t part with any that I’ve enjoyed more than once. So far I’ve managed to keep them on bookshelves, but the real shame is that my photo albums are in boxes still since we moved last year! Something’s wrong with that! Ha ha!
I must say I love the show too. I am somewhat of a packrat too. I am tryiong to slowly get rid of my junk though. Thank God my house looks nothing like the ones on the show though. I do have lots of books and lots of clothes. I do not plan on getting rid of my books or most of the clothes. If I get rid of all the other clutter I will have planty of room for these two items and I can organize them and it will not be cluttered.