I went through a huge cleaning stage two weeks ago when I did a garage sale. We did three categories. Things that we need to keep because they are part of our daily life. Things that we want to hold on to, like baby pictures. And things we haven't touched in a year. If it's been sitting in the garage for a year, that's trash. Not necessarily trash, but give it away.
It's hard, because when you're giving away things, you're thinking, "Oh my God, I'm giving away half my house." And,"This reminds me of that trip I took to Greece five years ago, because I bought it on that trip." Everything is lingering in your mind. It's connected to your emotions. It doesn't matter if it's this box of crackers. I would even hang onto this stupid takeaway box of sauce...sitting there! Why am I holding onto that? It's because my daughter got it for me when we had dinner together the other day. Once you're looking at it, you realize, I'm not going to eat this. So then you open the trash and dump it out.
Cleaning is all emotional. It's the past that you're cleaning, what you did last week. It's the dust that's accumulated over things.
-Gina
Photos and text from the forthcoming book "Cleaning: People Talk About Housework"