…and it’s been the bane of my existence for years now.
A short history of the Room of Crap
When we bought the house ten years ago, the Room started as a lovely guest bedroom. All we had in it was our extra queen size bed, an extra dresser, a night stand, and some odds and ends. I cheaply decorated with some odds and ends I was given for free from the office I previously worked at, including a small lamp and some inexpensive art prints. It was sweet and cozy, and I have fond memories of the few times we had guests stay over (including when my cousin and his girlfriend were here all the way from Germany and partied with us for New Year’s!).
Over time though, we stopped having guests stay over, and stuff began to creep into the space. Maybe it started with the elliptical machine I bought – and used a lot – or maybe it was my giant overflowing yarn stash. Then my mom demanded I take the rest of my things from my childhood she had been storing – and because I had trouble with parting with anything (especially with a history of my mom throwing my things out without my consent), I ended up with bags of things I didn’t know what to do with taking up valuable real estate. Soon there was just enough room to use the elliptical machine. The rest of the floor was absolutely covered with stuff. The once regal guest bed was now relegated to the role of a queen sized table covered in junk. The nightstand was covered in nick knacks. You didn’t even notice the Monet art prints on the walls because of all the clutter.
Then we had children. Life became extremely busy after having our first daughter, and for the first two years of her life, decluttering was dead last on my list of priorities. Our fourth bedroom, which before having children was kind of an office/home library, became a second dumping ground for things we didn’t know where else to put, such as outgrown baby gear. By the time I was pregnant with our second child, we had two Rooms of Crap, and I was at the end of my rope.
You see, just because you throw a bunch of stuff in a room and shut the door doesn’t make it disappear. It’s always there in the back of your mind, nagging you subconsciously. Even if you don’t see it every day, you know it’s still there: a pile of crap waiting for you to get around to declutter and organize it.
During my second pregnancy I had the monumental task of turning Room of Crap #2 into a big girl room for our daughter, since the nursery would be given to the new baby. I spent probably every weekend of my third trimester decluttering the library/home office. We donated at least two car loads of stuff to Goodwill. Time ran out, and whatever survived the massive purge ended up being moved to the Room so we could set up our daughter’s bedroom.
Now we’re left with just one Room of Crap again, and turning it into a usable space is very high on my priorities. So… what do you do with a room that is full of clothes, books, miscellaneous baby gear, boxes of baby clothes, craft supplies, and more?
Stay tuned for Part 2 in which I show horrific photos and bring you along on my decluttering journey!