I'm attempting minimalism

I had a meltdown this weekend. We have a lovely home, but you can't appreciate its loveliness because it's always so-o-o-o dirty and cluttered. I'm an orderly, organized person by nature and I lowered my standards by agreement with my husband when we had children, but this is ridiculous. I lost it. I'm embarrassed when people stop by for a quick visit and I have to furiously clean before someone's expected.

I can't keep this house clean. I straighten, organize, encourage, discipline, cajole, train, neaten, put up, clean, teach, straighten, organize, neaten... but the house still is constantly messy. I'm too tired to keep this up any longer. The children know better, but they fall into this slovenly habit. The rules are that they hang up their coats and sweaters in the mudroom (on the specially-designed hooks I had installed low, so they could reach) upon entering the kitchen, remove their lunchboxes from their bookbags, put their lunchboxes on the bar counter, put their backpacks on the parson's bench, and then change clothes, putting their dirties in the laundry hamper and their school shoes and belts next to their closet for the next day. These directions are not that difficult, especially when you consider they've been the same for the last 2 years, since we moved back into our reconstructed house. But I find shoes in every room in the house, dirty school clothes in all the hallways and on the floor in the children's rooms and the bathroom, lunchboxes on the kitchen table, backpacks thrown on the floor in the middle of the dining room, etc.

Every counter in the kitchen is clogged with coupons, toys, sunglasses, papers... The dining room table is piled high with coats, scarfs, gloves, notes, school papers, toys... Anyway, I went on the warpath. I told Don that things would have to change. I needed his help and the children were going to have to start towing the line. I threatened to move out and get my own apartment so I had someplace to go to escape the clutter. In the past, when I've gotten frustrated, Don's been very solicitous for a day, then returned to old habits. This time, I think he got the picture. I started cleaning and thinking, pondering my problem.

By Monday, I had reached the point of wondering why other women with much larger houses and much less time seem to keep their houses neat and clean. This thought was key. I finally made the connection and realized that the problem with my house is not that it's too large and I have too little time, but that we have TOO MUCH STUFF!!! I spend all my valuable cleaning time just neatening, and very little cleaning gets done. If we had less stuff, I wouldn't have to spend all my time putting it up and I could spend my time actually cleaning.

So, I talked with my friend, Rachel, the minimalist, Monday afternoon. I asked her how she does it. She gave me lots of pointers but, mostly, she said, "Throw away, throw away, throw away." I got right to work. By yesterday afternoon, I had a whole garbage can full of "stuff" and the recycle bins were full, as well.

It's a start. But, just a start. I'm going to have to do the same thing with every closet and cabinet in every room. Don came home and saw the condition of the kitchen counters and the dining room table, and nodded.

"Rachel said that I should think about how much other children that can't afford to buy them new will enjoy these toys and our stuff if I donate them," I told him.

"Just keep good records," Don said, "and it wouldn't hurt to take pictures. Then we can claim our donations on our taxes."

No complaints, No digging through the trash can and pulling out items he thinks we should keep. I'm going to throw the bag out before he has a chance!!