I'm trying very hard to think happy grateful thoughts, but its hard. I feel depressed about 'stuff.'
We had a lot and I mean a lot, probably 50 plus boxes of things we rarely used, all put in the end bedroom. Mainly because we moved from a large house, in which we'd had fitted wardrobes installed, a very large pantry, and a very large under stairs cupboard. There were no cupboards here, except for a hall cupboard for coats.
It's not a small bungalow and all three bedrooms are double sized. We bought 4 double wardrobes right away, and a small half size cupboard which now holds our towels, no airing cupboard here either.
We have our bedroom and the second bedroom sorted, but that end bedroom still has boxes to unpack. Every time I go in there, I feel over whelmed with the amount of stuff!
I feel like screaming there's so much 'stuff' A lot is craft work which I can no longer do..
Soooo....... these last few days we have made real effort and so far we have taken over 24 bags of wool, stuff for card making, ornaments, books and larger pictures plus some crochet throws to various charity shops. I've lost count of how many large bags.
But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel; we've bought a small incinerator to burn ' important?' papers from older houses which I have kept for years.
I would very much like to use up the fabric I have to make quilts for various charities. We have the table from the kitchen, which can go in that end room and I can sew all day if I want! I feel excited just thinking about it. BUT we still have stuff to clear.
Do you need to de-clutter?
Chrisxx
14 comments:
Decluttering can feel overwhelming. My daughter has always joked she will need a big skip when we've gone. You're doing the right thing in donating to charity but would a skip be something to consider for the remainder of the stuff?
I'm working on decluttering! I have carried around boxes, like you, for 30 years or more. Lately i sent some nice pices of china to auction which was rewarding! The rest is going bit by bit to our Hospice shop.
I decided that I needed a space for myself, where I could work on projects or just paperwork and not have to pack it all away and then lose interest. (out of sight, out of mind) I gave up my "office" area for storage and said I could use the dining room table for projects, which worked fine as we only had our 2 older cats and though curious, left things alone. Since that decision, we ended up bringing an abandoned brother and sister cat team into our home and they think everything is for them. So, because I feel like I can't really work on anything without them getting into stuff, I made my decision to reclaim my original space. But not without a lot of work. De-cluttering, rearranging, reorganizing, throwing, recycling - you name it, I've done it. Yesterday was very successful and now today, I will need to take a break, but I am much closer to finishing. We all have too much stuff. So many people in the USA pay to store things that most have no idea what is in the storage unit anymore. So much waste. Congratulations on finally diving in. The start is the hardest. I always tell people not to look at the whole picture, just look at and deal with 1 box or bag at a time. Take breaks and treat yourself (with a snack, not more stuff) when you get through each box or series of boxes. Good luck for continued success. Ranee (MN) USA
Living with less stuff is brilliant, we got rid of loads when we down sized here almost 14 years ago, and over the years since we have got rid of so much more. Lots of our special stuff we are using, getting joy from them, no point keeping them special, our children won't want much of what we have.
PS, I gave loads of my crafting things to the local infant and junior school.
The answer to your question is "Yes". Like you we moved from a larger three bedroomed house to a smaller two bedroom bungalow and I have a lot of craft stuff to get rid of. I have given some to a friend of my daughter but still there is more. I used to collect maps which I am now sorting and sending to a charity shop, next I will go through other stuff like my bags which are mostly Kipling, but I only use a few now. It's sad that I spent a lifetimw collecting things just to get rid of them, postcards, stamps, key-rings, playing cards etc, etc.
I decluttered big time when I moved house three years ago and then had a further purge when Mother died. Now at the point where it suits me! But an acquaintance called in on Wednesday and in a patronising tone said “ oh you like minimal”. Not so. I have everything I need and am content. Hope you can get your sewing site set up.
Always! :-) I'm doing it one small thing at a time, not expecting myself to do any more so if I do, that's great. It sounds as if you are doing extremely well, I think. I love your idea of making quilts. xx
Yes I need to declutter. I have scrap booking supplies that I haven't used in 15 years and have no interest in anymore. But I have 2 little granddaughters who like to do crafts so they might be interested in the fancy papers and stickers at some point. Not to mention kitchen cupboards that need a good clean out. We moved 10 years ago from a bungalow with a lovely basement for storage and extra living space to a mobile home with less space and no basement. Boy did we have to get rid of stuff!
I decluttered drastically when I move from a large house into my small 2 bedroom apartment in 2014 and I still have to declutter from time to time. It's a never-ending task. good luck
We started to downsize in prep for a possible move to a smaller space. We did manage to reduce furniture, making our house look quite empty (we’ve adjusted to that). But deciding to part with ornaments, wallhangings, mementoes, many of which were gifts, has been impossible. Consequently there are a half dozen bins of ‘stuff’ in the garage that we don’t know what to do with. And now the housing market is such that it’s not the right time to sell, so who knows how long we’ll live with this!! Funniest of all, DH decided to part with most of his tools and ‘bits’ that took up space, then we needed to do a small fix up and he needed to buy screws, nails, and borrow a tool. Oh, we’ll!
What is an airing cupboard? I've never heard of that. Yes we need to declutter. I did a good job way back, then Mom passed and we got stuff. Then Dad went into Assisted living and we got some stuff, then we sold his house and got more stuff. Didn't want to get rid of his stuff...some of which we thought he might want; but didn't. Then he passed, so it needs to be done. Luckily it's all in the basement so therefore not underfoot; but since it's not seen that much it's easy to keep putting off the chore of doing the decluttering. Good for you for making headway and making room for yourself to sew and make quilts. Anxious to see your projects going forward.
We have been in this small corner for twenty years now and I am still decluttering at various points in the year. Just a little at a time. As for my craft space that is a constant work in progress. Great that you have been able to pass on some of your craft stuff so that others can enjoy them.
Since we now have all our daughter's furniture and stuff after she moved back, I think we are doing pretty well and our 3+1 house is coping :-)
Glad you have a light at the end of your tunnel.
Decluttering never ends! I've been trying to reduce my stuff for years and it is still there! Well done on giving away so many bags of stuff. :)
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