The Magic of Decluttering

 

I came across a book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and since I had all of Thanksgiving week off work, I decided it was a good time to try her techniques.  She is definitely more minimalist than I am, but her ruthlessness in getting rid of things that really aren't serving you any longer or bringing you joy is freeing.  She recommends you start with clothes, and one of the things she suggests that I had never done before was collect ALL your clothes from around your house and put them all in one place as you begin sorting. Typically I had approached clothes-culling by clearing out one drawer or closet at a time, but this time I gave myself an entire day and heaved all the clothes from the front coat closet to two different chests and the closet onto the bed, and looked at each piece with a critical eye.  Four bags to the Goodwill and one bag to the trash later, the clothes I truly wear and love are neatly folded or hung, receiving the proper care they deserve.  (And it only took a morning to do, not an entire day.)

After clothes, she recommends tackling books.  Again you are supposed to put all of your books in your entire house in one place.  That wasn't going to happen for me.  I live in a multi-level house with bookcases in every room.  So I first weeded out all the books in each bookcase to make the book collections more manageable.  Next I'm going to take a photo of each bookshelf so I can study what's left and decide if I need two books on the same topic when one will do nicely.  To my surprise, I had two copies of some books as it was -- one I purchased for myself and then another was gifted to me.  I had planned to pass on the extra copy but never did, so those extra copies have now found a new home.

After finishing with books, we tackle papers, then miscellaneous (gadgets, kitchen tools, etc., etc. -- this category sounds much too broad to me, and one that will need to be tackled room by room!), and lastly sentimental objects.  So this weekend, once I finish with photographing the bookcases and getting rid of the extra books, I hope to start in with papers.  However, I have a busy weekend coming up -- a special Christmas luncheon tomorrow, gifts to finish making, gifts to wrap and prepare for long distance mailing, and cards to address.  I love Christmas and all these busy little tasks that go with it!

Although it may seem like a crazy time for me to start the decluttering projects, in the midst of the holiday season, it is also a time when I have a extra time off work and I'm very home-focused so it makes sense to me. Let me know if you have tried Kondo's techniques.

Ash and Lys were home for a few days over Thanksgiving.  We put up the Christmas tree and decorated the tree and most of the house.  I still need to decorate my family room mantle this weekend and then it will be all set!  Merry Christmas!  

Serendipity

I simply couldn't decide. Two scratched up, mismatched book cases sat in my studio, doing their job of holding books and videos, but sorry sights as contributors to the decor. I'm finally reaching the end of the re-organizing project in this room and one of the last things to do was paint those shelves.

These shelves have a history. We made them 23 years ago in our garage when we lived in Southern California. They were for our very own Montessori School that we started down there! What an adventure! My sister and her husband were owners of a very successful Montessori School and were helping us get one of our own going. Carpenter that he is, my dad also joined in to help us build a couple dozen of these sturdy little shelves for the classroom. There were perfect specifications for them. Low enough that children could reach even the top shelf -- about four feet wide and three shelves high. Just right for books and activity centers. Then all were color coded. We spray painted them. As I recall there were blue ones for the language center, peach for sensorial, yellow for math, pink for practical life. When we eventually sold the school the buyer had some of her own furnishings, so we ended up with about seven or eight of these shelves to take home. These shelves have been wonderful! With growing kids of my own they were used in their bedrooms, in our closets, as toy and book holders in the family room. I've used some at work for my speech therapy supplies. I love these shelves!

So here they sat, moved one too many times, faded and showing signs of wear. One was a faint shade of peach, but I wasn't even sure what color the other one was anymore. I couldn't decide what color to paint the shelves. With mainly blue and green decor in the room, I was concerned I'd pick out a blue or green that would clash. Finally I decided to go neutral and paint them plain white.

It was dark in the garage when I fumbled around for the paint a couple mornings ago. I found the can with the light colored dot on top, grabbed my brush and a screwdriver, and in the early morning hours sanded the shelves in prep of their new face lifts. I opened the can of paint with the screwdriver, dipped in my brush and slapped the first bit of color on the shelf. Not white! Instead, the lovely gray-blue that is in my bedroom. I love this color. It is soft, subtle, looks gray going on and drys to a quiet sky. Why hadn't I thought of that color?

Serendipity -- I found the perfect color for the book cases quite by accident. The freshly painted pair awaits, like old friends with arms outstretched, to welcome the re-organized content.

My studio is almost complete at last.