Clutter

We all have it to some degree. Clutter! As I started cleaning my porch today so I could put up more coat hooks, I realized just how much useless stuff we hang on to. Today is the first of many days I will spend going through our house, and getting rid of useless stuff.
There are those pressure switches from the water system, pieces of broken solar lights (okay, more like chewed solar lights), containers that "might" come in handy one day - and the list goes on. Out house is small, and the shelving and proper storage is minimal. We have no garage for the tools, so they are all in the porch and the kitchen on free standing shelves. The pup's kennel takes up a good portion of floor space, and it has to be in the porch. He still cannot be trusted to leave shoes alone, as we found out a couple weeks ago.
The next thing to go through is the bookshelves and get rid of magazines that have no purpose. I have tons of quilting and gardening magazines, but the expired Sears catalogs and old seed catalogs can go. Plus, there is one bookshelf full of kids books, which I will hang on to. I have nephews who are just getting old enough not to destroy the books, so its nice to have them available when they come to visit.
The inside will get done over the next couple of weeks as I have time. It will be nice to have some order to our home again. Its amazing how much we hang on to! My son and I went through his dresser last night, and have at least half a trash bag full of clothes that don't fit. The better ones will go to Goodwill, the others in the trash. Or, there is always the option of a yard sale this Spring - to get rid of things we don't need, but don't really want to give away either.
I have seen some wonderful bookshelves at Ikea, and would love to get rid of the ones we have now so I can get the better ones. Or maybe, I'll just have to use those tools I have and build some of my own. Either way, the rest of the winter will be busy eliminating the clutter around our house.
Have a great day everyone!