September 2022, Decluttering by Design

[Harriet]

Are you sitting down?

... yes, I'm going to say it... ...

holidays.

As September begins, those of us who intend to have a planned holiday calendar - crafting, cooking for the freezer, making advance purchases for projects, working on the "gift closet" - will find it's an excellent time to get started thinking.

This is the time for some quiet decision-making. Will you follow a holiday plan? How "big" a celebration will you choose for each holiday, and how much entertaining do you want to do compared to emphasis on craft time, or kitchen time? Do you want to create a notebook or mini-card-file this year just for holidays? You might want to glance at previous years' holiday threads in The Creative Home forum, to remind yourself of your hopes and dreams.

But remain calm - it's not time to implement it all yet!

If there's a cardinal rule for a happy, welcoming holiday season it may well be this: Don't abandon your ongoing efforts against clutter!

There is no merriment in having lots of creativity if we find it's oozing out of an already too-cluttered home! "All dressed up with a dirty neck!" (as P and P said) is not the way to have fun!

Stick with us, and PREPARE your lovely home for creativity and hospitality. Continue to try for YOUR approximation of, say, 15 minutes of decluttering time per day, and insure that holiday feeling !

[Harmony]

I'm trying to think of ways to simplify Christmas this year. DH might be recovering from knee surgery and after all that and then Thanksgiving, do I want the holidays as usual? How do I simplify?

I am still decluttering around here. I ironed the couple things I washed and bleached to donate.

Then I had a dilemma. I had a blouse with short cuffs at the elbow which I'd cut off and had to re-hem. Decided if I haven't worn it in a year or sewed those hems I should just donate. So today I sewed the hems on the sleeves and tried on 1 last time. Ok, it looks pretty good on...but the buttons are small and hard to button closed. Do I want to bother with this, will I wear it? Disappointed that I'd made the decision to let it go then thought maybe I'll keep it. So it's back in the closet. I hate when I do stuff like that. I never take things out of the bin again once I decide, this is a first. Oh well, we'll see if I use it. I'm giving myself 6 months then off it goes. Maybe.

Bin is in the car ready to drop off tomorrow. Even though it was fuller than the last one it was lighter because there isn't any glassware in it.

[Nancy]

I went through a few items today in the spare room that helped.
Got a box of stuff out of here yea!

[Harriet]

Harmony, that is such a kindness to send out into the world, to not just give items but give the time and work that makes them nice to receive, too.

I don't know the answer to how to simplify a holiday. I admit to having thoughts spinning in my head. We are very tight on space here. Literally, where would various decor items be placed if we pull them out of their closet - that has as much to do with decluttering as with creativity, doesn't it?

For instance, I feel obligated to correspond this year, if only to do some people the courtesy of telling them we moved to my parents' house but have the same phone. But before that can be creative it has to be clutter-practical! So, where will I actually DO the cards chore? On what surface? We no longer have a dedicated dining table or dedicated dining room. We are kitchen-table people now, with a bar that could seat a couple people on stools, and those are physically in the middle of everyday meal prep. (And the cardfile box of addresses is the one last lost item from the move that still hasn't resurfaced, so it won't be an easy chore, but that's a different problem.)

Big pushes have continued here on declutter, but there is more arriving from dd42 as we work. Need to put big changes out of my mind for now and just think about from now to end of year. She realizes she's just got to give us a break. When she does find something we love, we're grateful for her hurry, of course. It is sometimes unbelievable to me to remember that during the move we filled that double-size dumpster (skiff?) and loaded the long-bed pick-up to overflowing with throw-away and another smaller load for Goodwill, plus dd24 took nearly her entire room of things, and yet we still can't fit into a house that is only 1/4th smaller.

I did a huge recycling push this past week to the point I couldn't get it all in the bin, so I have some of that in the car waiting on bin space, which should be freed now. This is the push to try to "find" our mud room/laundry under the continuing detritus of the move and buying items to manage the new life here. Those two things have made us the cardboard-box-capital of our road, and HRH is worried to be without boxes. Sigh. Also need to work on his concerns about that, because we've got to start living like we only have the square footage we have. There's no garage, and storage building is shared at dd42's house now - he'll just have to do without some "just in case" things.

[Harmony]

Harriet, I wish I had a solution for you. The only one is the hardest thing you've already seen. Maybe a lot of remodeling and adding on would help your situation? Who wants to tackle something big like that? With our surroundings comes our way of life, how we live, how we do things like entertain, decorate, craft. I can't imagine how many things have changed for you.

We keep looking around here thinking how will we ever downsize? At the back of our mind is what happens when we can no longer handle this house/property? I am doing my part as much as DH is comfortable with... and he is in the thinking stage with the shop and its contents. I think if it was an easier process he would have begun that a long time ago. He tried to take a couple pictures and put them on a place to sell but was unsuccessful with the electronics part of that. So I told him I would try with my phone but really do not know how to navigate that whole system either. If only we had teenagers around here who would help us.

He has been spray painting some sign materials with the thought to put some up and offer a contractor sale... but nothing is out actually ready to go. I think the process for all this is just not formalized yet and we are a bit stuck.

I can deal with the housewares and clothes... that part is easy. I have dropped off my next bin of clothes and linens. I will keep on going with this. I'm really motivated but sometimes I think I get stuck on the how.

[Harmony]

This is so hard. Most people struggle with giving up stuff. That's not my problem. We don't have a clear picture/plan of where we are going / what we are doing. We just know it is coming someday sometime.

Another frustrating thing is that what I'm working on now does not make big visual differences. I put another 10 things in the bin, maybe more but they are linens, odds and ends from kitchen drawers, some plastic stuff thrown away. If you looked around here you wouldn't say wow you got rid of lots of stuff. I did ask DH about his stanley lunch box with the thermos that fits on top (very nice set I could probably take to the antiques roadshow and he said he'd never use it and was fine to donate. I've washed it all off and hopefully someone will be happy to take that home.

We are still struggling with how to actually do this. It's a gigantic job.

[Nancy]

Dumped a box of stuff today yea! Even the box left.

[Harmony]

I left off the donations I have accumulated at GW. Thinking I might want to find another place to donate. The guy out there is none to gentle with the stuff I give him. He took that nice thermos and lunch box duo and tossed the thermos in one bin and the box in another...did he not see it was a SET? And I've seen him throw stuff away that was perfectly good. I don't take junk there. I throw that stuff out myself. Some of it is freshly washed and ironed. Dumped in the bin like an old rag. I think he's clearly bored with his job. I had to tell myself last time, at least it's out of my house. But still...something ain't right. I'm trying to think about how to find another place.

[blessedw2]

dh and I rid ourselves of a bag of clutter
tossed a massager dd bought for me two years ago - it's for you feet - I know she spent a lot on it but after my ankle breaks, the machine causes my ankles to hurt. I feel bad but I can't use it.

d harmony, d Nancy, d harriet, d everyone hello!!!

thank you d harriet for starting September so wonderfully as usual
I finally acknowledge that the holidays are coming
I will work a little at a time towards the holidays. thank you for the reminder: remain calm
Yes to:
If there's a cardinal rule for a happy, welcoming holiday season it may well be this: Don't abandon your ongoing efforts against clutter!

hi d harmony I will say that the centers have to toss things that may look good to us. There is a lot of bad that goes there as well. I think the gw people don't make anything and get so tired of stuff and don't care at a certain point. I like to go to the volunteer run places but they toss stuff too. I have seen it. But they care more. They just don't have the space. Some churches have wings or hope for things to donate bc it is volunteer run. I also put nice things on fb market place for free to be picked up during one hour on the weekend - I will have multiple items and I have people come within that hour I set up.

you don't have to get rid of the shirt until you feel you won't wear it. if it's not worn in the next 6 months to a year then that will be your answer.

also every Christmas is different. Some years we can go all out bc we want to - others have to be simplified to meet our needs in the moment. good for you for thinking about what will work for you!

so nice that you clean and iron what you donate! so thoughtful

hi d Nancy - yay on getting a box of stuff out of the house!

d harriet is this your first Christmas in the house? You are doing a lot!
I wonder if when you are ready to decorate for Christmas - that it will the choices be easier based on your space. decluttering this year, then decluttering again next year until you feel comfortable with what you have.

re: Christmas cards - can you keep the cards in one place tucked away - take out 5 cards a day - do them all the way to stamps and addresses.

It does sound like you have so much to go through and that would be overwhelming for anyone. give yourself grace as you work really hard and are also having to adjust to a new environment.

we also can't fit dd Youngers stuff in our house - we have been getting rid of her stuff for the last 3 years and there is still things to go through. I told dh that if dd moved back to Chicago that she would have to get a rental thing as her older sister has. I feel bad about it but we have to live simpler as we get older. I can't handle the visual multitude of things.

decluttering all at once or even week after week is hard physically and mentally. It strains the brain to declutter things all at once out of our domain. Once the home is simplified we can breath and can be in the season we are in.

cheering everyone on!

[Nancy]

Gave neighbors plums.