The siege on the Clutter Dragon’s hidden hoard continues, with another week and another installment of sorting clutter. ONWARD! 
This week, I began with this mountainous pile you see below:
This pile, affectionately nicknamed “Clutter Mountain,” was yet another obstacle to the process of cleaning. I had to scale Clutter Mountain and conquer it, like Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Everest.
Unexpected Philosophy Amid the Climb
The actual process of de-cluttering progressed much as the last post did–removing items one at a time from the top of Clutter Mountain, making a decision about each item on the spot, and putting it in one of three areas: keep, donate/sell, and toss. Another big black trash bag served as the Toss zone, so it could be easily removed from the house when it was full.
But I found myself waxing philosophical about the journey as I worked. Contrary to my expectations, I was beginning to enjoy myself, even if I had put off the work as long as I could. And once I was finished conquering Clutter Mountain (which actually only took about 15 minutes once I got down to it), I was even energized enough to think about tackling the more grown-up clutter that lay on the table where the mountain of childhood had once stood.
It led me to an interesting realization: the more you de-clutter, the easier it is to do, mentally. Even though I had dragged around part of the day trying to avoid the task, once I got around to doing it rather than mentally whining about it, it was much easier, especially since I had set the hard and fast rule of “make a decision about each item RIGHT NOW.” (You wouldn’t believe how freeing that is, not until you’ve experienced the kind of quick de-cluttering it engenders.)
The Results
At last, Clutter Mountain has been conquered! WOOT! Only the slight layer of grown-up junk that was there before remains, and that might even be gone later, if my cleaning bug gets me again. 
The chair I appropriated for my “Keep” zone gained only one new item–a little Paddington Bear, much-beloved from my childhood. He ain’t goin’ anywhere.
As for the “Donate/Sell” zone…well…it got more piled up. LOL! But that’s a GREAT thing–there are plenty of toys here in good to almost-new condition, just in time for Christmas. Just think, some of these toys in this pile could make a little girl’s (or even a little boy’s) Christmas that much brighter!
I even had to start a new “Donate/Sell” box on another surface in the basement, because I had so many toys I sorted into this zone! This represents another step forward for me–not only am I sorting these things to be taken out of the house, but I’m getting more comfortable with the idea of getting them out of the house, instead of hoarding them.
As for the Toss zone, I didn’t photograph it, but the big black trash bag, empty at the beginning of the task, is already 3/4 full. WOW. :O
Next Week: The Philosophy I Thought Of Today
In next Tuesday’s post, I’ll share some of the clutter and cleaning philosophy I came up with while busy doing the work for this week. What I came up with might surprise you!