The Great House Purge

(Thanks to Kathy Kail of Charwin Curlies for
sharing this amusing little graphic.
It pretty much sums up life in the Midwest right now.)

It's too bloody hot to do anything outside without the risk of spontaneous combustion so over the weekend, I started my annual late summer project known as the Great House Purge.

I did this three years ago and enjoyed it so much, in a very sick and twisted sort of way, that I've done it every year since.

Basically, I go through our house, room by room, and clean out every drawer, cabinet, cupboard, closet, chest, cubby hole, etc.

I get rid of stuff we don't use anymore, clothes that don't fit, meds that have expired, stuff we've saved for no apparent reason except we were too d*mn lazy to carry it out of the house. It's a wonderful feeling! It's addicting! It's like a drug! It's so nice to open closets and cupboards and not have things fall on my head! I'm not a super fussy housekeeper (want proof? walk barefoot through our house in black socks) but I hate clutter.

The first time I did a house purge, it took me five months to go through the first and second floors of our house. We've lived there for 19 years and it's amazing the amount of stuff we've accumulated. It's not like we constantly get a lot of new stuff, it's more like we think we have to keep everything that has ever come through the door, whether we're still using it or not. My initial inspiration was the fact that if I didn't do something, I was not going to be able to get the door to the downstairs spare bedroom shut again.

Some stuff goes to Goodwill. Some stuff goes to the burn barrel. Some stuff goes right back where I found it because even though I am pretty sure I will never ever have a use for six boxes of trophies from 4-H dog shows in the mid-1980s, I am going to keep them for sentimental reasons.

This year, the third year of the annual house purge, I got through four good-sized rooms in three days. Yeah, it gets easier after the first time. One thing that makes it easier to de-clutter is the realization that over the last two years, I have never once regretted throwing something out. I also pay more attention to stuff during the year because if I just shove it in a drawer or closet, I know it will be there to haunt me and I will eventually have to deal with it.

Here are the House Purge rules:

1) Do one room at a time. You can't start on a new room until the first room is completely cleaned. You're on the honor system. Don't cheat.

2) Everything has to come out of every closet, drawer, etc. EVERYTHING.

3) You are not allowed to put it all back in. You have to get rid of something.

4) It's not a timed event. There's no rush. Start small and work steadily.

I've found stuff I forgot I had. (Hey, there's that leash I lost five years ago!) I've found stuff I wondered why in the world I ever kept in the first place. (Seriously, do I still need 15 years of vaccine and health records for a dog who died in 2004?) I've found storage space I never thought I'd see again. (Oh, THAT'S what the floor in this closet looks like!)

It's also fun because you can do it indoors with the AC blasting and a fan running and a ice cold Diet Coke at hand.

Which beats the heck out of having an atomic meltdown outdoors.