The decluttering continues

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I need to spend a bit of time going through them all! I'm on a roll, and I can't stop, yet I have to. I have some admin work that needs to be done -- I promise by Sunday, all of it will be complete - it has to -- there are deadlines! 

The writing is almost finished -- that goodness, as I need to move on. But this happened at my house, and I'm still in SHOCK. 

Two things have let this mess in my house become an issue. And I shouldn't call it a mess any longer since I've made HUGE inroads to cleaning it up. It's no longer a mess - just some stuff that has to be dealt with. The two things are lack of time and homes for things, lack of experience dealing with this, and procrastination. OK, that's more than two things, but many small things can quickly accumulate. 

Everything that is NOT urgent gets set aside when I'm in the mood. I decided to tackle the office - again! But this time, I want to see some fruits of my labor. These two chairs have had piles of paper on them for YEARS. I did NOT deal with the paper, but I moved it. WAIT -- don't yell at me. 

People could actually sit on these chairs! 

Yes -- I cleared off a good part of what was on the table. Seriously?? That took me how long? Not very long. The green bin and the box behind it contain everything from those two chairs. It's mostly filing, and I bet most of the stuff can be tossed. But I must do that in my way, so it won't happen today. A TALL glass of beer would be good when dealing with all that paper. 

But LOOK -- there is some empty space on that table. That means I can put my basket of current paperwork on the table and my backpack as I prepare it for next week. How civilized is that? I no longer need to use the floor! The beauty of cleaning up this stuff is that there isn't ANYTHING to go back on that table. What? 

Yep -- I used to empty a spot on the table and then open up a box on the floor and fill the table back up. Well, there are no boxes on the floor. OK -- that's a lie - about three or four boxes are still on the floor. I'm not ready to deal with them. I'd like to clear more space in the room before I deal with those boxes. 

The crap got moved to the kitchen counter, as I like the height to work on. The stuff on the counter is GONE - the dog stays! 

What I had to deal with 

There was more stuff on the kitchen table. That all got dealt with, except the dog. She's still here. 

More stuff to deal with

Even the little guy is still here!

MOM -- don't throw us out!

But EVERYTHING, except for a key, is gone from the kitchen table. I need to ask DH about the key, but he's never home. Today, I'll ask him.  

What does this key belong to? 

Wait -- that's a lie. I have one thing to hang up in the backyard, one thing that needs to be sent to someone (I've emailed them for their address), and some tissue paper to put in the recycling (I was hoping to find a home for it). Hopefully, those three things will be dealt with by the end of the weekend. 

Three things left from yesterday's clean

WAIT -- there's more! I was rummaging in the cupboards under the bathroom sinks. Yep -- I'm all over the place. And I sorted a few things, and there will likely be a few things to donate. But what's left is sorted and put in containers to corral the jumble. It was a manageable jumble, as I've already been through those cupboards, but it's incredible how stuff can get messy if not put away correctly. That is tidier now. 

Earlier this week, I swapped one pair of sandals that were too large for me for rain boots. These are SUBSTANTIAL rainboots. Thanks -- you know who you are! 

My new rain boots

And it was about time, as there was a split in my old ones. 

My old rainboots were done!

Goodbye, rain boots. I contemplated keeping the laces, but I did not. No home for them. 

Goodbye old rainboots

Then, it was back to the office. I have those two empty drawers in that plastic shelving unit and this jumble of cords. 

A jumble of cords

I did a bad thing; I should have sorted through the cords or labeled them before I put them in the drawers. But it looks much neater and tidier, and I'll sort through the drawer another day. I'm OK with that. It's all about finding a home for stuff, and then when I get this buzz another time (if it ever goes away!), I'll tackle that drawer. 

The cords are hidden in two drawers

Next up was the living room. OK -- we don't have much excess stuff here. Just a few faded photos, two ceramic frogs, and a large candle. Time to get rid of those big candles. The dog stays. 

The candle goes

More faded photos and a set of coasters that we never use. The coasters are in the giveaway box. The blue bin belongs to Bear -- it's his worldly possessions while he is here. Once he's gone, the blue bin will also be gone. That lamp needs something done with it. The shade is split on the back, and the light bulb has been dead for YEARS. I use the lamp on the other table. You can't see the split as it's at the back, so it's just a new lightbulb, although I don't use the lamp. Should it go? 

An unused lamp

I don't think there is any furniture in this house (other than the stuff in the craft room) that we would hold dear to us. So when we downsize, most of the furniture will be tossed. It's old, although it still looks OK and is functional. 

Back to the office. Since I moved the cables, I now have a clear spot beside where I sit. Shoot - I didn't take a picture before I plunked all the crap that I'm currently working onto that spot. It's on the right-hand side of the photo. 

The space looks a bit neater

But that allows me to take one thing at a time and put it on the computer desk. See -- there's no need for new furniture until I figure out what I need and what to do with it. 

Actually, some space to work

But Bear was unhappy when I cleared off the table. My backpack was on the floor as I put stuff in it or under it to take next week. The little guy LOVES to sit on backpacks, even though he has a cushy bed. 

I LOVE to sit on the backpack!

Can you believe that sorting, tidying, and cleaning did NOT take a lot of time? Which is good because I had a LOT of prep work before I could write my final assignment. And I double-dipped on that as I was prepping for one of my classes this weekend, so it all worked out. I think I have all the pictures ready (or almost), so that won't take long to process. Yes --- things are coming together. The less you have, the less you want; it just gets easier to get rid of it. 

I laughed as I stopped at the thrift store on my walk and spotted a couple of interesting books. However, I had no money, so they didn't come home. And I do NOT need more books. While I do not have this specific book, it's black and white images of quilt blocks. I have Barbara Brackmans' Enclyopedia, so I do not need this. 

Book of quilt blocks

I spotted this one, which was super interesting, and seriously -- the technique back then for garment making is still the same today. 

A garment sewing book

That book was copyrighted in 1969. 

Copyright 1969

OH -- back to the office. I dealt with these large designs that were created when I was at Sheridan College - almost 25 years ago!  

The screen print for my butterfly fabric

I removed all the designs that were taped on and threw them out. The large sheet of vellum is in the container that I hope to donate to Sheridan for students to use. These supplies are expensive, and sitting in my house is doing me no good. 

The butterflies are now free! 

OH -- one more thing today. I swear, the number of monkeys that have been removed from my back in the last couple of days? Well, it's pretty easy to maintain good posture! Who knew this was all weighing so heavily on me? 

I have this small quilt, and I'm looking for a particular fabric for the binding. I could just put any fabric on it, but I'll check with you first. This is the collection from Northcott. 

Dreamscapes collection by Northcott

Here's the fabric I would love to have. 

This is what it looks like in real life. 

What the fabric looks like in real life

And here is my quilt that needs the binding. 

My quilt

Yes -- I could contact all the stores that bought this fabric, but this collection was from 2016. It was a good blender, so I doubt that any of it remains in a store. But some of it could remain in your stash. If you have some, email me -- elainetheriault@gmail.com

And as I sat and read last night, I had the usual entertainment. Do they do that for me? Or for them? The little guy is tucked up in the bed, sleeping. But prior to that, he was "shouting" at the neighbor dogs that walk by!!

Murphy and Lexi are up to no good

And I LOVE this quote. I think it's one of the reasons I love to get up EARLY in the morning. Before the dogs need or want anything, I have HOURS and HOURS to myself. No one to bother me -- it's truly the most productive time of the day (at least I think so!)

Love this quote about the morning

It's pouring rain, and even though I have new boots, I'm not a fan of walking dogs in the pouring rain. Let's hope it stops or lets up a bit before they get anxious about going out!

And I want to thank you for all your support in my decluttering journey. I hope my journey inspires you to tackle one area in your house. Start small -- it's going to take a while. You will NOT regret it. I never thought I'd be where I am today with the mess. I never thought I'd be able to part with things. Then reality set in, and I knew I had to do something. I did NOT want to saddle anyone with this job. Yes -- it's taking time, but my memories while doing it have been amazing. And I'm going to have 30 - 40 years of clutter-free life? Bring it on!!! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!