Tuesday, January 17, 2017

MONDAY'S PROJECT! (hint...it's not a sewing project!)

Well we have just finished up a nice 3 day week-end.  Since hubby had Martin Luther's Day off, we had considered going to Mel's, but decided against it.  Instead, we hit a movie on Sat. afternoon, (Patriots Day) and did some grocery shopping and errand running.  Sunday was church and then a quiet afternoon with hubby watching football and me doing a little sewing.  But then yesterday, we decided to tackle our closet.  But before I tell you about that, I have to give you some detail of said closet.  First of all it's huge!  Honestly I have no idea how big it is in reality, but it almost seems like another room, lol.  In the center of it are shelves on both sides, plus shelving all the way around the top as well.  LOTS of storage in other words.  And then of course we have LOTS of hanging clothes room for both of us, hooks for more hanging, and plenty of floor space.  Soooo if you know me at all you know what has happened in this closet. When we first moved in almost 6 years ago now, it quickly became the place to stuff, cram, store things I wasn't sure I wanted to get rid of yet (after all there was plenty of space!) plus room for all kind of extra "necessary" things as well, including things I just didn't know where else to store.  And through the course of the next almost 6 years, EVERYTHING I just wasn't sure what to do with, or needed to just get out of my sight for now, was somehow "put away" in this closet.  I will be truthful here and say almost every house we have lived in for the last 41 almost 42 years has had an area that served just this purpose for me.  At our last house it was definitely our garage.  I don't want to get rid of an item, but have really no need for it, and not sure what to do with it, and into the "room" it goes.  Now it sounds like here that I MIGHT be a saver, or even a hoarder, but honestly that title goes to my hubby at our house.  I am more of the ruthless pitcher as we call it.  But there are those "things" you hang onto nonetheless no matter how "ruthless" you might be.  Let me give you a few examples....I went through a period of time where I longed to be one of those women who create those adorable scrap books full of pictures, stickers, and just the right descriptions etc.  Yeah, well I have ALL the gear to do this, and even lots of the necessary tools to do so, and a couple of started albums etc., but that's the end of it.  I have NEVER finished an actual album.  Actually I did do one for my daughter of her engagement year, but of course I gifted that to her when she married.  It's not that I can't do it.....it's not that it isn't a good idea.....it's that I honestly DO NOT enjoy doing it!  lol.  WAY too fiddly for me.  But! I have a gigantic box FULL of all of this kind of stuff in that closet.  Another few quick examples might be....boxes of old pictures (certainly can't get rid of those!), baby books and scrap books for all 4 of my kids FULL of their memories and accomplishments and milestones, things that belonged to my mother that I still treasure, old purses that I can't bear the sight of anymore but are still in good condition, and I guess I could go on and on and on but I will spare you.  LOTS of it needs to be kept, but LOTS AND LOTS of it needs to go.  I have been DREADING the "cleaning" or reorganizing, or downsizing, or the just plain "dumping of junk"  of that closet for some time now.  So you can see why this was SOOO large that we decided to finally "go for it" yesterday, lol  We started at around 9 am and had all we were going to do for one day, done by around 4:30.  We had 6 GIGANTIC bags full of old clothes for good will.  (suddenly I seem to have soo little to wear, lol) and two big boxes full of "things" too donate as well.  In the past when I cleaned closets for old clothes, my old cleaning woman and I would pack them all up and send it to her relatives in Portugal.  Most of the other kinds of things she would take as well and either use herself or pass around to people in need.  For 25 years that worked well for me.  But now without that option, I give some of those things to my kids or people I know who might want them (an example.. I actually had a full on artificial bush/tree in that closet in perfect condition, but with just NO WHERE to go in this house) and a practically brand new set of rugs for a bathroom that my mother bought and I didn't like the color of.  My kids dove on these items.  Now I realize I could no doubt have a garage sale and sell these kind of things, but you can't have those where I live, and the thought of dragging it all to one of my kids houses and doing it there seems like WAY too much work, lol.  One thing I do know for sure, I have reached a stage in my life where it is time to GET RID OF STUFF, not hang onto to it or add even more to it heaven forbid!  Oh, and let me also mention we had a gigantic bag full of just full on trash as well.  Soooo is it done?  Only in my dreams.  Most of it is completely organized now, and the clothing part is handled, and even all the shelving around the top of the closest has been gone through, as well as everything on the floor.  But the entire center section with the shelves from floor to ceiling on both sides has not even been touched yet.   A lot of the stuff on these shelves will take a while to sort through.  Most of it (though not all of it!) is full of boxes of pictures and old memories and memorabilia.  Our plan is to work our way through it slowly maybe one or two shelves at a time, saving those things we can't bear to part with yet, hopefully ruthlessly pitching LOTS of it, and in the meantime keeping it all cleaned and adding NOTHING new to it's contents with the exception of course of an article or two of clothing.  Think I'll pull it off?  Then if, when I finish this little chore, I have every intention of starting in on all of my fabric and sewing "junk"  and ruthlessly pitching and getting rid of tons of things there, and honestly that is such an overwhelming thought I won't let my thoughts linger long there.  I will just start in soon and DO IT.  I will say, that now that the closet is well on it's way, I might actually be motivated and in the mood to continue on with the downsizing of our junk.  I'd like to add that the sewing gear will be the end of it, but that isn't true either.  There is a lot of cupboards in our utility room full of mainly hubby's "junk" that needs to go as well.  sigh...what in the world is all this stuff?  Is it not amazing and or frightening at the amount you can accumulate over the years?  I guess I could have taken before and after pictures, but truthfully it might have altered the opinions some of you might have of me, lol, so I did not do it.

And I have to mention here for those of you who might not know it that Kathy of Empty Nest but Full House passed away peacefully yesterday morning.  Though I have never met her in person I truly felt as though she was a kindred spirit, and my heart has been quite sad.  I will miss her very much. She was a Christian so we can know that she is even now in heaven with Jesus, and for that I greatly rejoice.  She has made it home before me, but I know I will meet her face to face one day there, and who knows, maybe we will even do a little quilting together in heaven.  My prayers are for her husband Charlie, only daughter Robin, and her 4 precious grands as I know this will be a VERY hard season for all of them.

I have a few sewing projects lined up for this week, and a trip to the salon to address these grey roots again, and a new women's bible study starting up as well, so there is lots to keep me busy.  Hope all of you are enjoying your January's!  Blessings to you all, Debbie






6 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post! I have been doing the same as you all my life and you know the family joke is when my daughter tells me toss some great-grandmother or other's hair bun. Yes! It is carefully wrapped in tissue paper and saved in a trunk. Sigh. It is just pitiful. Sounds as if you folks had an excellent plan...beginning and ending time. Well done!

    Have you seen the family photo walls. If I find the one I am thinking about, I'll send it to you. It may be an idea that you can use.

    I am sorry to read about your dear blogging friend. So many have been leaving us. In ththe past two years, I have lost seven. It is why I fret when a blogger stops blogging. I wonder if she is just taking a break or if something more significant has happened. It is a sweet blessing to know where they are.

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  2. What a busy but productive Monday you had, my friend. When we moved into our Garden Home ten years ago, I was determined to keep only what we loved and didn't want to do without. I have done a pretty good of maintaining that where stuff is involved, but am gradually seeing that my "hide it" closet is filling up. Not good! So sorry to hear about Kathy. I learned of another blogger friend, Pat from The Back Porch died in Sept. It is like losing a friend that you've never met. Have a great week.

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  3. Oh my gosh, I didn't know that and I had been thinking of her. Thank you for letting us know. They were just moving into that house by her daughter too. So very sad.
    I need to do this too. I have so much stuff in my closet just like you said.
    I need to be getting rid of stuff too. Well you made a start and that is the hardest part, just starting. I hope you have a lovely week.

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  4. We have way, way too much stuff at our house and while a lot of it is mine, most of it is my husband's saving as we might need the stuff one day and it isn't hurting anybody. It bothers me at night thinking of all the work and strength itmwill take to clean it out and with his health, I know who will be needing said strength for the job. Moi!

    I'm sorry to read about your friend, Kathy, but it is always a relief to know they are with Jesus.

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  5. I was just thinking about Kathy and wondering how she was doing, I appreciate you posting, will be keeping her family in prayer.
    We are talking about a move and I am just dreading the thought of going through things. I have been try to sort and toss over the last several months but it seems like a never ending battle...and everything seems to have sentiment to it...thus my problem...lol I need help of a non attached person who can see things without sentiment and help me toss things. Hope it's a good week for you

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  6. Oh, Debbie, I was going to ask you about Kathy in my comments on this post. That hurts my heart so much. She was such a dear, dear person and I have missed her blogs so much.

    Well, sounds like you are well on your way to decluttering. Good for you! Stuff can get out of hand very quickly if we don't keep a handle on it.

    Happy weekend!

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I am so glad that you would take the time to comment on my thoughts and feelings, it is such a blessing to me!