Ruthless de-cluttering

Have you ever gone through decluttering, downsizing or whatever you wish to call it and wondering if the end is ever going to be in sight?

Seldom can you clean one drawer, closet, collection or room without other drawers, rooms, etc being affected.  I thought downsizing books would be easier because my books are limited to two rooms and I was only going to tackle one subject among all my books. Ha! I heard a noise the other night and couldn't identify the source. I thought it might have been ice falling off of our neighbor's garage. The following day I discovered that a shelf of books, the type of shelf held in place by two small brackets on each end, had fallen on one side as the wood bowed under the weight of too many books. Books on the shelf below were holding all of this in place, putting that next shelf in jeopardy.

I love books. But it is time to lighten my load. Do many of you re-read a novel? I don't. There isn't enough time to read all that I would like to read, so why am I saving books I've read and have loaned to my reading friends and relatives? Whole collections of authors I like... Jan Karon, Janet Evanovich, Ann B. Ross, Joanne Fluke, Earlene Fowler (I could go on and on)...are now on their way to friends who haven't read these authors yet, or to my city's library and some to the Salvation Army.

The novels aren't the books that I started culling. The first books were mainly quilting books with a few knitting and general sewing volumes mixed in. I have friends that teach these subjects and hopefully they or their students will find use and enjoyment in them. I've saved many for reference or for patterns that I might get around to using in the next few decades.
Like most readers, it isn't just books that accumulate in my house, magazines multiply also. I began a new habit a few years ago with general magazines (BH&G, Good Housekeeping, etc), tossing old ones at least every 3 months. My problem was cooking, knitting or craft magazines. There were patterns, recipes, ideas that I wanted to save. Keeping the entire magazine takes up too much space and how to remember which issue has the recipe you're looking for? Time to rip those articles out and file them in binders.

I've been at this for almost a week now. The discard pile is done, now I am reorganizing items returning to shelves. De-cluttering makes me feel better about myself. I start out aggravated for letting things get out of hand, but gradually my mood lightens as order returns.

I don't think of myself as a controlling person, but we all like to have control of some things, some times. One of my sons is having surgery this week to repair a shoulder injury. A good friend is having surgery next week. Both surgeries are considered common to those in the medical field, but surgery never feels common to the patient or their loved ones. I truly do have faith that all will go well with both procedures, but I know that recuperation will take time and present challenges to the daily lives of both these men. Bill and I are going to be as helpful as much as possible in both cases, but we don't know what exactly we're facing or how long we'll be on call. This isn't a complaint, but an acknowledgment that we are not in control. Cleaning the shelves is one little area that IS controllable and probably why this feels so good right now.

January....time to purge!

I'm taking a different approach this year. I haven't set a goal date for getting specific jobs done but I plan to work on the whole house over the entire year. That doesn't mean any one room will be completely done before I move on to something else. While this may not be the most efficient way to handle things for some, it allows me the freedom to fit jobs to the time available or to procrastinate on something that needs a little more think time.

Today I tackled the cabinet and drawer in a room divider that has held mainly candles and candle holders. What a mess! Even if I had taken a before picture, I wouldn't show you.

We don't often burn candles here. My husband dislikes them unless you are staying right with them, keeping an eye on them. We don't exactly live like that, plus I've grown fond of battery operated candles with timers from Candle Impressions. I can use those in places that I would never safely use a real candle.

Over the years I went to more Party Lite home parties than I can count. Never wanting to leave without buying something, I resorted to buying boxes of candles, candles that rarely were used. Throw in the occasional single votive or tealights bought because I wanted a holiday scent or liked the color in a table arrangement when entertaining plus the candles received as gifts and party favors and yikes! Candles were multiplying behind closed doors!

This is what I pulled out of the cabinet, minus a few warped tapers and a few half used and past their prime.

Scary, eh?

Does Lennox still make candles? I think these pink ones are over 30 years old! And birthday candles? If I combine them all, I can have a party for a 113 year old!

After donating many items and trashing a few, I was able to restock the cabinet and look...there is room to spare!

Our living spaces are not messy so what goes wrong with the closets and cabinets? Hanging on to items for sentimental reasons eventually becomes old. If something is too good to toss but you know deep down you are never going to use it, it is time to find someone who will use it.

I plan to share other successes with you throughout the year. I know many of us are in the same situation, knowing we have too much stuff and needing inspiration to start the sorting process. Maybe we can influence each other and have roomier closets and cabinets by the end of the year.