A few weeks ago, I randomly asked my Facebook friends if they prefer to have a big house or a small house. I honestly assumed that a lot of people would choose a big house. Surprisingly though, almost everyone said that they would rather have a small house. The rest said not really big, but just big enough to fit their whole family. A lot also chose a small house with a big yard.
I used to think that I wanted a big house. But then, after giving it a lot of thought, when the boys and I move it will be the first time that we will be on our own. That means that we will be 100% responsible for our selves, and that includes cleaning up. So I ended up choosing a small house as my preference. I really feel that it will be easier to clean and easier to manage. Plus, without a lot of space, we will be forced to let go of a lot of our existing stuff, which is a long overdue activity for the tree of us.
Living in a small house will also help cure me of my hoarder tendencies. And believe me, I like to hoard. And to hold on to things from the past. Way too many things. Some of them absolutely useless. I feel, though, that the process of letting go of my junk will be a little sad and tearful. I’m still not sure how I will do it, but at least I know that I want to. And while we aren’t exactly moving out any time soon, I think I want to start soon anyway. I want to take my time with this.
Like I said,I am a hoarder, and the concept of purging scares me, not jut a little, but a lot. I don’t know where to start. Do you have any tips? For now, I’ve just been all over Pinterest, reading up on small space organization ideas. While it does help, some of the ideas are just too extremely Pinterest. Know what I mean? Like homemaking needs to be your superpower for you to be able to pull it off. I need real-life, tried and tested ideas. Seriously.
Got tips to help me start purging? Share in the comments! Better yet, please share your posts or your favorite blogs about staying organized. Please, please, please? 🙂
Since we moved to a smaller place just a few days ago, I really had no space anymore to store some of our stuff. So, like I told you earlier today, I ended up giving a lot of stuff meant for our future garage sale to my mom instead, just so I can get rid of them already. Haha!
Waaahh.. I think I’m a hoarder too! I always have a hard time letting go even those things that I don’t use anymore.
Houses should be laid out to facilitate interaction and not isolation, whatever the size
Start with your closet! I think I’ve had three garage sales already out of my clothes that I kept, but weren’t really using.
Very creative houses! I would go with the smaller ones but the inside is much beautiful 😉
I sort of want a big house too, but the furniture would definitely be on the minimalist side. My husband hates furniture that are for decoration or would not really be used on a daily basis, and I’m with him on that. But a condo is much easier to maintain or a townhouse without needing to hire house help pa.
For me Small houses. Easy to clean and maintain and also you can now avoid hoarding. mahirap talga i-let go ang mga bagay na sobrang na attach na tayo. I feel guilty din kasi I also don’t tend to trash things kahit yung 1st dvd namin mag asawa is sira na I still kept it kasi it’s our first gamit na nabili from our savings. Hirap! I know you will sort things out.
I have definitely tamed my husband’s hoarder tendencies because, to his horror, I’m an extreme minimalist, hahaha. One time when he was driving home (we were just a few month’s married), he crossed paths with a family of 5 carrying a couch that looked strangely similar to ours…when he got home, that’s when he learned that I got rid of one of the couches because I didn’t like that it took so much space. I so love my floors!
Anyway, I love a small house with a huge yard because I really really dream of being able to do more things outdoors more than indoors. And I really would love more space for the boys to embrace their activeness. 🙂 Great blog Patricia!
I would prefer smaller house too. It’s less costly to maintain and acquire.
Hoarding’s a sickness in a person mind about the past that a person still holding on until now. This is what I read last year and I think it’s true?
Hay. I want to have a big, spacious and eye-candy house. I want it to look simple, modern and really spacious with tons of ‘pinteresting’ interior design. Also, a squeaky-clean and enormous kitchen is a must! <3
Definitely a small house! We used to live in a big house, which was impossible to clean in one day. There were rooms that we did not use because we our a small family and we love to huddle together in one place. 🙂
We live in a small house so I practice minimalist living. I always declutter our stuff so I will know which stuff needs to give away, to keep or to sell. I prefer small house because it is hard to clean especially if you have no helper. But given a chance I want to have a small house with big yard so my son can play.
I so agree with having a house that’s easy to clean. We prefer not to have a stay-in helper at home, too, so I know how that feels.
I always love seeing you ask curious questions in FB. Makes me think about random things. Hehe. Wala akong tips for you, they gave it all. Namiss ko lang magcomment dito sa blog mo. Hehe
Haha! Hi Camille! Namiss narin kitang ka-chikahan online! 🙂
It helps to make purging with wisdom a habit. I read somewhere that to practice purging, commit yourself to the act daily. For instance, I started by letting go of a thing or two a day. Throw or give away. And then when it came around to spring cleaning, it helped me become more objective of purging things from the household in a more insightful way.
Good luck! ☺️
sort, sort and sort
box 1. things you can give WILLINGLY
box 2. things you cannot give yet
box 3. things you will never ever give (not in this lifetime!)
1 month or 2 months after (depends on your phasing of course)
sort box 2 and box 3 into 3 boxes again (or sako haha)..
yan ang technique when I need to purge haha
overly sentimental ako eh, pero nung hindi ko pa ginagamit yang technique na yan, napamigay ko ang stuff toy ng aking first born (na hanggang ngayon eh pinagsisihan ko!) wahaha
Hay, you know this is my problem now too. Still don’t know how to purge too. But I’m guessing that when we finally move into that smaller apartment, I’d be happy to get rid of stuff when I see them lying all over the floor because there’s no more storage space left. No choice na eh! Haha!
My friend goes by the 6-month rule. Anything that hasn’t been touched or used has to go. I have a problem letting go too!
My friend uses the 6 month rule. Anything that hasn’t been used in the past 6 months has to go. I have a problem with letting go of stuff too!
Great tips from Patricia! I am a hoarder and I live in a small house. I learned over the years however to regularly purge stuff – not as organized as Patricia though. Typically we would donate our stuff since we didn’t know where to sell them or we don’t have storage for the stuff we need to dispose of. Used baby/kids’ stuff went to relatives, officemates’ kids or an orphanage an officemate used to support. In our previous place, whenever we “cleaned up”, we gave the neighbors’ household helpers the option to choose what they wanted to get, the others went to the other maintenance staff of the building. My deadlines were usually when I couldn’t tolerate the piles anymore. Hehehe
We usually donate also because we end up with no room to store stuff for future garage sales. I like donating din naman, it actually makes me happy. I guess the best place to start is really just anywhere, as long as I start, right?
Hi Patty! Before marriage and pregnancy, I used to hoard too! Lol. The first time I sorted stuff to let go, I just chose about a few pieces. Hahah! Parang wala lang. But eventually got the hang of it and it turned out na mas fun to let go of old stuff (like really old) because you’ll be able to see that you have enough room for more. I usually do it when I’m stressed out because it’s like I’m also giving away the stress. Hahah! And yah, I agree on letting go of those things that you have’t used for a year na.
I also agree on the small house, I’ve always wanted a small house with a good-sized yard. That would be more fun and easier to turn into a home.
Oh I like that stress-busting outlook of yours! I super agree that a small house would be easier to turn into a home, lalo na there’s only just 3 of us. Guess purging is really a habit that needs to be formed, then!
Hi Patty! I used to be a big-time hoarder in my past life. Then we moved to Singapore where the flats are tiny. Think 85 sq meters tiny. With no bodega. After 10 years of living here, I already mastered the art of conscious, regular purging. And believe me when I say that I wouldn’t want to go back to my hoarder tendencies even if we moved to a house 10x bigger. My life is so much better. I live with little or no clutter. And I’ve learned to be very very picky when it comes to shopping. More on that later. 🙂
My top tips:
1) Get rid of any thing and every thing you haven’t used for the past year.
2) Stop buying stuff just because.
3) Whenever you buy something new, get rid of one thing.
4) Every week, go through your entire house and get rid of 10 things you don’t need/use.
5) I rotate my kids’ toys every 6 months. Eliminates the need to buy new toys every now & then.
Good luck! Wish I could help you personally. I love organizing! 🙂
I wish you could help me personally, too! Hahaha! Okay questionS. We plan on getting rid of stuff by way of a garage sale. Did you do this? What did you store your “to sell” stuff in? And did you give yourself a deadline to get rid of them? Is this an interview??? Hahaha! Hugs!
Hahahah! I didn’t have a garage sale, but that’s a fantastic idea. I just gave stuff away to friends (even large pieces of furniture that didn’t match my decorating scheme of the moment). The rest I simply threw away. Every time we buy a new electronic appliance or whatever, I throw/give the old one away even if it can still be salvaged. Let someone else benefit from it, I always say. And yes, there was a time we had one too many LED TV’s here, so I also gave away a couple of them that were still working. It stops my husband from upgrading so frequently because I give away the old unit so readily. haha. Shhhh.
Try to throw away 50 items every week. That should be easy enough. Magazines only count as one item, ok? It’s not per issue. 🙂 Buy large bins and sort those you can sell, give away/donate, or throw. I’d do it room per room so it’s not so overwhelming. Be very very ruthless. 🙂
In fact, I still do a major overhaul of everything every month. I rearrange and reorganize each room (furniture included). In the process, I review the contents of every single shelf, every single cabinet, every single drawer. And then throw. throw. throw. Whatever is left gets sorted & classified, dusted if need be, and then placed where it belongs. 🙂
“Be very very ruthless” —> Lol I love this. Oh my gosh, my sentimental self is crying inside hahaha.