Well, well, well! You know what they say about a certain road being paved with good intentions? I am proof that it is true! The kicker is that it sneaks up on you, this clutter habit, and you don’t even realize what’s happening until you’re past the middle of it, and then WHAM! The good news is that if (IF!) you catch yourself, you can avoid the slippery slope and grab a lifeline as you’re passing along your way, and when you get to that fork in the middle of the road, you know which way to go. I know – a lot of references to others’ writings, but that’s what happens when you think you’re decluttering a file folder of quotations, but you’re not; you’re spending a lot of time leafing through, smiling to yourself, and saving it all over again.

But that’s not what happened to me exactly. You see, when I started this decluttering project, I was simply doing that – decluttering. My reasons were entirely of a personal preference; I wanted to simplify my life, which meant a lot of organizing but also releasing things that no longer brought me joy (thanks, Marie Kondo!). I had figured that I could even make room for new things, if they happened to come along, and mainly I could create good space. Which is akin to “making time,” another see-through fallacy. I could at least widen the walking paths throughout my house, let my Stuff breathe, and settle my mind so it didn’t jump from lovely thing to another lovely thing to another lovely thing.

But then… yes, then …. my plan had a crack in it, the kind that lets light in. A lot of light. In my leisurely pursuit of “someday,” when I would eventually downsize from my 4 bedroom/2 living room/2 dining rooms/3 bathrooms/office with a large fenced yard house, I found what seemed like the perfect 2 bedroom/2 bath/tiny yard house with a gazebo out back. I was only looking to see what might be an option for Some Day, when a friend referred me to her neighbor, who would be moving soon. And I fell in deep like.

She wasn’t fully ready to commit to a sale but was serious about Independent Living (if not actually Assistive Living, and nearer to family after her husband had passed away), and so I agreed to get my house ready for sale but would not list it until we had a formal contract. I started dreaming and engaged in decluttering in earnest. I made a new plan, I filled out a calendar, I gathered resources, and I purged. I put off the other home improvement ideas and purchases I had for my current house; after all, my original plan was to not downsize for a couple of years yet, but I wasn’t going to put any more money or time into my current situation.

So I put up with the couch that was too short, and the chair that didn’t really fit me, and the loveseat that was feeling its age. I stopped looking for paint colors for my getting-tired living room walls and started looking for paint colors for my new and improved smaller house. The new house that would be my very first own house – no kids or husband to consider, just me. A new vibe, a new (simplified) lifestyle, a new outlook on the world.

She found a place she was planning to move to, and hired an appraiser to help her set the selling price. She divested herself of a certain collection of things she had. But she did not set a date, and she did not set a price. After a few more months, she decided she was taking her house off the market (not that it was really on the market, but she was staying put).

I was disappointed, but yet relieved to have the pressure off of me to get my house ready to list. After all, there is a difference between decluttering for the sake of simplification, and downsizing by a few rooms and several hundred square feet. I relaxed my schedule and started going out with friends. I liked the airiness that was floating around my family room, so I continued to donate or ditch boxes of things.

But then I found a new couch I liked. And I easily sold my existing couch. One in, one out; right? I donated my loveseat and the chair, and I bought a new chair. Two out, one in; good idea, right? I rearranged a few things, and I was happy. THIS was the look I was after, so no reason to wait for a new house. I could have what I wanted right now. I still looked at some of my inspiration pictures (thank you, Pinterest!) but my screen time was way down.

Then I decided that the downstairs powder room, which I had started to refresh last fall but stopped at “good enough” when I thought I was moving, was going to be finished. I ordered the wallpaper. I thought I was going to need probably six rolls, maybe seven to allow for any tears or measuring mistakes, and so I ordered eight just to be safe. See? This is how cluttering starts!

I had previously decided against wallpaper and went with adhesive decals instead. Now I removed those decals but, you know, they weren’t exactly cheap, and they were kind of pretty, so I didn’t want to just trash them. (Ding! Ding!) So I repurposed them; temporarily, you know how it is. I put them on each pane of the French doors to my kitchen. And on the walls of the cabinets over the sink. And on the peninsula and sides of the cupboards by the refrigerator. Repurposing is good, though, I argued; it wasn’t as if they took up space either – although they did create a teensy bit of visual clutter. Little floating flowers and leaves all over the place. Maybe they won’t stay long, but they’re here now.

But here’s where the decluttering train jumps the tracks. I did need and use seven rolls of wallpaper. A friend was over helping me with this project, and she offered to take the eighth roll back to Staples for an Amazon return the next day. BUT, no, I said, I might find a use for it. BULL’S EYE! Why in the world did I need this last roll of unopened wallpaper??? Never mind I already had all the cut-offs (a 16″ pattern repeat on every roll, times two strips per roll is a lot of unused pieces). My friend offered to take a few pieces with her for a project she was planning, so I happily told her to take all she wanted. Because I was keeping the unopened roll. It wasn’t that much money anyway, I justified, so I’d just keep it, I said.

This is how clutter happens in my world. I threw it in the closet and closed the door. Where I wouldn’t see it again for a long time probably. Out of sight, out of mind. Until the day comes when I need something in that closet and see it again. Or I put that closet back on my 37 Things in 37 Days list of spaces to declutter.

However, the next morning, I caught myself. I took my friend’s advice to use the cut-offs to wrap another friend’s birthday present. For future reference, by the way, bad idea. It didn’t stick so well, and I ended up taping it anyway. It’s strange wrapping paper! But it got me thinking about that brand new roll in the closet. So I got out my phone, opened the Amazon app, and processed the return. Then I took it to Staples. Decluttering at it’s best. On the way, I stopped at a housing center to drop off two rugs that had been in my garage, and one thrift store to drop off some camping equipment I no longer use but was keeping “just in case,” and then one more thrift store that takes doors (from a different bathroom remodel several years ago). Big Win!!

I was so proud of myself. I had completed the bathroom refresh, I had returned the unused roll of wallpaper, and I made three donation stops. I decided to celebrate by going to a new restaurant for pie. While sitting there waiting for a friend to join me, I flipped through Facebook. And saw a notice for a mirror for sale from one of my other favorite thrift stores. A large, ornate, framed mirror like one I had drooled over last fall. In fact, I had practically swooned over an even larger one in the past few years but wouldn’t cough up the money for. A mirror I thought would look great in my new house – the house I was not getting any longer. But a mirror that would make a statement, even in my current house. And would actually fit well in my current house. And would fit my current budget.

You guessed it. Yes, I immediately contacted the store and bought that mirror! It’s 5′ tall by nearly 5′ wide, that large. And heavy. Now I have to find a place for it. But it’s just too sweet to pass up, especially at this price. So I thought I could move my late husband’s gun cabinet that I repurposed to a blanket cabinet a few years ago, and then move one of my two book case/display cabinets from where it is to where the gun cabinet is. The gun cabinet will go up to the landing area at the top of the stairs, where there is currently a different bookcase. The gun cabinet is too narrow to hold photo albums, though, so the books need to be relocated. The armoire in my Diva Den (f/k/a guest bedroom) has an empty shelf and an empty drawer, though, thanks to recent decluttering (yay!), so most of the books go there, and the framed displayed photos were put on a different shelf in my bedroom. The bookcase, though, is too nice, so for now it is behind the door in my bedroom until I can part with it. My husband and I bought it to flank our fireplace when we got married 24 years ago, so I can’t just let it go without a little drama first, unfortunately. And there is a matcher in the attic, so if I let go of one, I should let go of both probably.

Next up is to empty the gun cabinet so the muscles coming this afternoon can move it upstairs. And I have to empty the display cabinet so it can be moved where the gun cabinet was. Uff-da! This is how clutter happens, I am sure of it! (But this mirror is way cool, trust me. It will be worth it.) And although two of my three sisters have now said it appears I have decided to not move at all, this mirror will go with me if I do move. Someday. When I will have to start a new decluttering project from scratch probably. Oh wait! I let go of the loveseat and the rocking chair, and only replaced them with one new chair, so I actually have a net zero gain/loss if you count the mirror as a piece of artwork-cum-furniture…. Okay, good. I am at least not losing ground. In fact, I came across four books I can donate when I looked at the other bookcase. Maybe this decluttering mindset has settled in, it just hasn’t been fully incorporated yet. Progress is progress, though. And now that I know what to look for, I am positive I can return more Amazon items without breaking a sweat … if needed.