After living in our suburban home of almost five years, we have made the decision to sell. Not sure where we will end up just yet but this is a start. Over the years, Eric and I have de-cluttered here and there. When he first met me, I was a tchotchke fanatic. A porcelain doll here, a ceramic cat there. He basically turned me into a minimalist.

We’ve been mulling over the idea of selling our home for a year or so now. So in preparation, little by little, I have been trying to de-clutter. I make several trips to Goodwill per month and post ads on Chicago’s Craigslist and Naperville’s Yard Sales website, as well as on Ebay. I have become a GREAT Ebayer! Still, I feel like I have only made a dent in our collection of stuff. My husband is sort of a pack rat. Not the worst by any means but at the same time, I find little scraps of paper all over the house with random thoughts on them. I hate to throw them away because he is a musician and may need these for that “hit” song he’s writing. I, on the other hand, have managed to store most of my previous life’s collection into one storage bin. I know right where everything is if I ever want to sit and go through it in search of something from my past.

All of this de-cluttering has made me feel so much better. I have been referred to Fly Lady by a couple of friends and have yet to really go and check her out. I believe I am on the right track to de-cluttering my mind with getting rid of a bunch of things. The question now is, do we put these “things” into storage or get rid of them completely? Right now, I guess I’m living by the phrase “out of sight, out of mind”.

*Original Chicago Moms Blog post