We are like everyone else – change happens whether you want it or not.  Some changes, while unexpected, have positive outcomes.  Others, while strived for, have negative outcomes.  Most of us have negative feelings about change.  When we started decluttering the stuff, we really didn’t expect to see any changes in our lives.

We’ve had some changes in our lives directly and indirectly related to decluttering the stuff.

One change/event that really changed our outlook was having the house flood.  We were already decluttering and really on a roll when that happened in May 2015.  It forced us to go through our belongings much sooner than we would have otherwise.  We lived in a 565 sq ft hotel room for 3.5 months.  This gave us a look at what really is needed on a daily basis.  Did we rid our lives of everything?  No, but it gave decluttering a new look.

Another change/event was the passing of John’s Dad.  It occurred at the time we were living in the hotel.  It was nice having no household responsibilities for the 2 really crazy weeks and the 2 months after.  Death seems to reinforce how important family is – what you do with this new realization varies from person to person.

Relating to family, our eldest daughter got married 10 days after Grandpa passed.  Grandma was adamant that things proceed as planned.  Grandpa would have wanted that.  We gained a son-on-law who is awesome!  He brings out the best in our baby!  They then moved 300+ miles away for jobs.  It has been hard having her so far away.  We were used to quick trips for a meal.  For the previous 10 years, she was only about an hour away (assuming there was no traffic!)  This change makes our visits with her all the more special.

The above family changes resulted in our youngest daughter wanting to move back to the area.   She is currently interviewing for her first job – Doctor!!  Medical residency programs require day-long interviews and she has “moved” in (temporarily) to interview in the area.  It has been a blessing having her around for the last 6 weeks.  She is typically traveling during the week and here on the weekends.   It will be a sad day when she leaves to go back to her home 3,000 miles away.  Hopefully she gets the job placement she wants, regardless of its location.

The decluttering has made so many other aspects of our lives easier.  We no longer have to wear protective gear when we open cabinets or closet.  Things don’t fall!  Everything has a place so putting things away has been easier.  There is less stuff around the house so Saturday cleanings (which used to take all day/weekend) now take about an hour (excluding the laundry time).

We put in a high volume exhaust fan in the master bathroom, splurging on the humidity sensing switch, and now the monthly mold removal process is eliminated!  Since so much of the drywall had to be removed because of the flood, we replaced all the old drywall.  We used mold resistant paint too.  The shower stall, which was replaced, now completely dries!  Towels dry!  They can be used more than once!  Life is good!

We have recently examined how often we could wear clothing between washes.  We both agreed that shirts can rarely make it to day 2 but our pants can go more than one day.  This has decreased the amount of laundry we are doing.

This extra time gives us both time to do other stuff – like remove the weeds hahaha  But seriously, because of the water restrictions, yard maintenance has decreased.  The lawn doesn’t need to be mowed every week.  The back yard lawn is gone – primarily because of watering restrictions.  Less time spent doing these things opens up time for other stuff!

I guess the biggest change in the amount of free time we have.  We don’t worry about doing something on the weekend since the “chores” take so much less time.  They can even be done during the week!

What changes have you noticed since you began decluttering the stuff??  Have you noticed you have more free time for the stuff you want to do??