The decluttering and streamlining continue at the Dept., and I have to tell you: my house feels alien to me. Right now, instead of looking Uncluttered and Airy and Streamlined, it looks more like I'm Moving Out. It's less cozy and more cool. I feel like my house is becoming aloof and might start smoking a cigarette using one of those long holders.
My living and dining rooms now
Do you know I have a silver casserole dish in the basement that has been sitting there, unused and still wrapped, for almost 40 years? It's sitting on top of a silverplate pie dish, also never used. They were wedding presents from 1981 that travelled to the house when we bought it in 1985. Today they were joined by a silver tray, badly tarnished. I just want to throw them all out and stop thinking about the ridiculousness of them all. (I already threw out a set of silverplate salad tongs; I mean, come on!)
I also have dozens of Very Old Books, circa 1900-1920s, that I want to get rid of. I can't bear to think of tossing them, but they are not in terrific condition and likely not worth anything. Small volumes of classics, Shakespeare's plays, Poe collections, essays by obscure authors--all school texts from long ago. What to do with them?
Who is Macaulay? Who is Dr. Frank Crane? No idea.
Right now, they are cleverly stacked on a chair slid under the dining room table. They are in a Transitioning Phase. I have to gird my loins and steel my spine for what I know I must do. It will be impossibly hard. But go they must. Perhaps I'll send them off with the silver pieces so that they feel Honoured and Worthy and In Good Company.
Sigh.
When Rick gets home from work, he will help me carry the breakfront out of the living room. It truly was serving no purpose other than decorative, holding tchochkes and more old (but beautifully bound) books under the faux Vermeer. It's going into storage in the basement or upstairs. I honestly think we bought it because it was lovely and matched other tables we bought at the time.
Pretty, but just a dust collector
I think I'll give myself a couple of weeks to get used to the decluttered spaces, tweaking things here and there. It's a Process. But I'm fully committed. Tomorrow, I'm tackling the living room closet and all the junk that's accumulated in there. (Do you know there's actually a coonskin cap in there someplace? Trust me, that's gone, too.)
Buoy my spirits in Comments, or at least tell me what to do with that Stuff!
Oh, boy. Do we have a LOT OF STUFF that's "pretty but just a dust collector." We did a huge purge in the summer of 2022 when I wasn't teaching a summer class. It felt so cleansing. Apart from Stuff Accumulated from Years of Capricious Purchases, I had a TON of books, papers and photocopies for scanning from prepping online classes during the pandemic that converted our bedroom, where my computer is, into an obstacle course just to get from one end to the other. We have since lapsed into sin again because I am buried under a ton of papers from work over the last year + all my retirement paperwork with the uni, TRS, Social Security, etc., which I can't streamline until I separate the wheat from the chaff. LOTS for me to do in the upcoming semester! The paperchase is endless... *sigh* (Don't even get me started on the garage which is still filled with Luis' remodeling work stuff--- paint, tools, scaffolding (!), and, uh, a used BMW Z that he bought years ago, which he never drives any more...)
ReplyDeleteOrtizzle--You obviously understand. Like Mr. O, Rick is constantly involved in going through his stuff in the basement and garage, trying to make the decision to get rid of things. My hands are itching to get at that stuff and toss it wholesale. It's so much easier to get rid of his stuff! LOL
DeleteI downsized 3/4 of my stuff to move into my CCC as did all of my neighbors. A week doesn't go by when I hear someone say "I wish I'd kept so and so." I don't believe I've heard anyone say they kept too much. My advice is to remove the decor items you think you want to get rid of and let it sit boxed up for a few weeks before you donate or sell it...then look it over again, just to be sure you made the right decision and you have no attachement. As for the books look for first editions that a local used book store might want. I sold quite a few on e Bay and got from $50 to $500 for each of them. A book store isn't going to pay much but at least good first editions don't fall in the hands of crafters who take them a part for upcycing projects.
ReplyDeleteJean--I remember going through your downsizing along with you on your blog. None of the books are first editions--I just have a protective instinct about all books. It makes me feel terrible to simply throw them out. I'd even rather have crafters use their pages for art.
Deletethe obvious place for the books is the library, no guilt there. One cannot simply toss books away in the landfill, it's criminal.
Deletesusan q--I'm not sure the library would want them since they're in rather poor condition and so old. They can't be lent, I don't think. I suppose I could try.
DeleteI've gone through stages of decluttering - I am currently in a lapsed state. But it seems to me that you need to live without the clutter (or decorative items, if you prefer) before your mind re-sets itself to say, this is fine just the way it is. Keep going, I think you will be pleased with the results.
ReplyDeleteGigi--Thank you. I think you're right. I like less clutter overall, but adapt slowly to change in general. I'm definitely continuing my quest.
DeleteWell done. I can only imagine that it feels a little weird at first, but I'm guessing you'll adjust and start to feel like you can breathe better. I'm in awe of the wedding gifts, still in packaging? Holy cow. No idea what to do with such old books. Would a library want them for a display? What about an antique shop?
ReplyDelete*I've put my blog on private, temporarily until things settle down and the lawsuit is wrapped up. Great news, Reg played in a practice tonight and he was upbeat afterwards. He can play in a game on Friday. Fingers crossed the coach lets him play. If I can find your email address, I'll send you an invite to read what I'm posting.
Ernie--Search no more: deptofnanceATyahooDOTcom
DeleteThose wedding gifts are so impractical. Who uses stuff like that? What young (or old) couple has a casserole worthy of silver? It's just dumb.
Great news about Reg. Wise move to put the blog on Private. Please send me an invite to keep up.
HA! I am loving the concept of a Transitioning Phase. Yes. Many things in my home are in various stages of Transitioning to the donation bin.
ReplyDeleteUnpacking after our move, I found a pair of crystal candleholders we got as a wedding gift that I have never laid eyes on before. Whoops. But... back in the box they go.
Suzanne--One of the things I packed up was a collection of both crystal and bronze candlesticks. They've all been packed up in a wine box to be donated or sold. I got very tired of dusting and moving them.
DeleteIsn't it silly, the stuffy and traditional gifts that people give modern brides and grooms? Silver casserole dishes and crystal candleholders are among the last things we would ever need or even use. And now Goodwill and the Salvation Army stores are full of them.
Throw it out! Throw it out! Throw it out! I have only ever regretting throwing out one thing in my entire life, but even now as I try to remember what it was, I can't remember. It's so nice to have a decluttered house and everything has a place to be. I'm far from a minimalist, but I have strict rules about what can and can't be brought into the house.
ReplyDelete(All of that being said, I am a giant hypocrite. We also have a serving platter that was a wedding present - not from the registry, of course - that we have moved four times and have never used. So I am not a trustworthy source of advice!)
NGS--What is it about that platter? Is it beautiful, yet impractical? Is it from someone you love or miss? I think we need to hear about it.
DeleteAll of my things had a place, but I felt closed in. I had so many tables! So many decorative items! And I detest dusting and vacuuming. I just got tired of having so many things sitting around, you know?
We have SO MUCH STUFF!! It's bizarre because we left behind a lot when we moved (and our house was tiny - how did we have so much stuff?). Dr. M grieves all the books he had to leave - they wouldn't fit in the final truck load so off to the donation box they went. I randomly try to find something & realize it must not have made the trip. BUT as usual, we've filled the current house right back up to the brim. It's a little claustrophobic (not to make us sound like hoarders, unless we're talking Amazon boxes "we might need someday" & yarn). I can feel a purge coming on. Just have to get the good Doctor on board (he names things - it's hard to get rid of them after that).
ReplyDeleteBug--I've been good about donating books. Our library has a huge sale every summer, so I have often packed up many totes and boxes of books I've read and taken them to be sold. And I only buy hardcover whenever possible. I completely understand The Professor's pain, however; there are many, many books in my library that would cause me pain were I to leave them behind.
DeleteI know you like little doodads and tchochkes--figures and such. Those can pile up fast. So can clothing and accessories. I've really pared down my wardrobe. It's not easy to get into a new mindset.
My decluttering principle is based on a quote from Alesandra Stoddard: “Life is too short to be the caretaker of the wrong details.” Thus if I no longer like the detail, it is gone. I figure that's what Goodwill is all about.
ReplyDeleteAlly--Thank goodness for Goodwill. I have a box in my car right now to deliver there tomorrow.
DeleteAnd yes, life is too short to be the caretaker of stuff that no longer suits us.
If it doesn't serve you, I hope you'll be able to bid adieu. I really love the William Morris and his quote 'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful." I'm such a maximalist and hold on to a lot of stuff, but I believe it all to be useful/beautiful.
ReplyDeletemaya--I agree--Useful and/or Beautiful should be the watchwords and criteria. I love that breakfront table and find it beautiful, but it's not making me happy anymore. I'm just feeling hemmed in by stuff lately.
DeleteI love William Morris's textile designs. Strawberry Thief has long been one of my favourites.
I'm fixated right now on going through clothing. I work out of my home so have no need for so many clothes. All in good condition. Will donate what I can; silly to have them hanging in a closet when someone else could use them. Books--that is another story. They are so precious to me, for various reasons. Sometimes what we choose to keep is clear only to ourselves; others would toss them, I know. I could never be a minimalist; I do love my "stuff," but we are definitely paring down. Outer chaos, inner chaos for me; so hopefully this cleaning out will work in many ways (a possible downsizing but also less anxiety about the state of everything).
ReplyDeleteElle--Outer chaos=inner chaos...so very true for me, too! As the days turn colder and I spend more time indoors, that's when I start feeling hemmed in and almost trapped. And that's when I start needing to clear out space.
DeleteBooks were almost a lifeline to me growing up. Not having any around would make me feel lonely and adrift.
Every year I have several boxes of things set out on my porch for the Vietnam Vets to come and get. Sometimes it's a couple of times a year, depending on how long I have to wait for them to get here (my patience for boxes sitting around is limited). It's an ongoing process.
Hang in there. I know you're doing great.
The minute after I recycle something, I need it. This evening, in fact. And I cannot, sob, make myself discard books. No, precious, no.
ReplyDeleteMary--You are not helping me! LOL
DeleteFirst, I can't believe you are allowing smoking in your home. 😳 Kidding!
ReplyDeleteIt's a process and it sounds like you are mostly through it. I can not throw anything remotely useful in the landfill and choose to donate to a charitable thrift store, hoping that someone collects such items; especially the old books.
Good luck my friend
BB Suz--LOL. Not smoking, just the elegant demeanour of same.
DeleteIt *is* a process. I'm working through it. Right now, I'm in a holding pattern, trying to see how I feel in the more streamlined, emptier spaces.
I think I will be donating the old books as you mentioned. Jean, above, gave me the idea when she remarked that some people like to upcycle and craft with them if they don't use them as is.
So far, so good. Thank you, friend, for the encouragement.