I knew I had to declutter when I started getting aggravated with hanging laundry in the Guest room, keeping the ironing board and sewing machine in the guest room, AND trying to finish cabinets (for two separate rooms!) in the guest room. The guest room was (actually still is, ATM) beginning to feel like the "junk room/workshop/laundry room" instead of the purpose we intended--the Guest Room! Meanwhile, we have an actual storage room down in the basement that would work nicely as a laundry room (we currently don't have one; just have the W/D out in the unfinished area of our basement)--except we would need to clear out all the stuff being stashed there before we could convert it. Just thinking about it makes me hyperventilate a little. My DH and I are trying to remodel our house bit-by-bit, doing the work ourselves (including building our own cabinets) as we have time and money, and the extra stuff we have everywhere is contributing to my stress level! I feel like I have no breathing room or area of refuge to escape from the clutter and/or half-finished projects when I need to relax. It clutters up my mind, and I just can't relax! It also scares me to think I have all this STUFF, and I have forgotten what a lot of it is, or where it resides--and some of it is very important to me! I should know where everything is, and have a place for it all, and right now I don't. Our house is pretty big, especially for just two people (built in the 1950's, which is why it needs fixing up), but it doesn't have a lot of good storage.
I have rid myself of a lot of clutter over the years, and am trying to fight my packrat tendencies (I come from a long line of pack rats) but there is still so much to go through.
Chacha1, you are right--it sure is tough to give up on some things! Every time I go through an area of my home, I feel I can release more of it, as I weigh it against the life I *want* to live, and realize this STUFF is getting in the way.
And bandicoot and chacha1, I LONG for beautiful furniture; our furniture is all hand-me-downs (unless we built it ourselves), and our sofa and love are even hand-me-downs of hand-me-downs. They are ugly and embarrassing, as the cats have scratched them up quite a bit, too. As soon as I get my student loan paid off (in 3 more years) I want to start putting that extra money towards buying some high-quality furniture!