We have too much junk

So I keep trying to organize the house. I've talked about it with the others, and every time we get a room clean, it gets messed up again shortly after, because we use it. Which tells me we just have too much junk. If we could get rid of some things, I think we'd have a better chance of keeping the mess down.

Now, I realize that there are two houses here. And when Mur and Dig move out into their own place (which I am assuming they will want to at some point) we're going to go back to two single houses. Which means that maybe there are things neither of us want to permanently get rid of. For example, if they have a better stereo system than I do, we'd want to use theirs, but I might not want to sell mine, because when they go, I'm going to want mine back. I'm probably more likely to part with things than they are, because after all, there's a lot of stuff here I could see go and not really miss.

The issue comes with finding time to pack it up and get rid of it, as well as getting rid of things. I know there are some things I'd rather get rid of that the Hubby wants to keep. There's a lot of stuff we have that 'looks cool' but really doesn't do much but take up space. Lots of space. Space that could be better served by being open and uncluttered.

I'm not saving we should go minimalistic and get rid of everything except clothing, beds, chairs, and other necessities. Sure, it might sound cool, but I'm fairly certain I'd be depressed in a minimalistic environment. Still, setting a goal of getting rid of one item a day for a  year, or removing 30 items at the start of every month, or even 101 items every month, no matter how small, would be a decent goal. It's quantitative. It's a solid number we can work with to make sure we meet.

I'd rather have things go all at once rather than one a day. It's easier to toss one item in a box each day, sure. But after a while it's going to be difficult to remember if I've put something in the box that day or not. While it might be cool to just toss an item in 'just in case' so that if I did forget, I cover it, but then I know I'd look at it and go, 'well, if I toss a few more in today while I'm at it, I can skip the next few days guilt free'. And then I'm stuck trying to remember what day I have to start dropping things in again, and next thing you know, it's too complicated to keep up with.

Sitting down on, say, the first Sunday of every month and dropping 30 items in a box for that month has it's advantages. It's 30 items for the whole month, all at once. When we finish, we're done for that month. Add to that the fact that at the end of the month, we can take the box into some place to donate the items, or off to a storage unit. And by doing it that way, we have almost a full month to figure out if we need the item or will miss it. If not, guilt free removal. If so, we can trade it out for something else.

It's a good plan. if this procrastinating house hold can get behind it.