A decluttering success story

Stand up - sit down. D that ten times an hour; you'll run a marathon before you know it. OK - maybe not, but it's a good start to keeping/maintaining mobility and helps prevent stiffness. 

OK—I'm not going to belabor that one today. I didn't know how to title the blog today—a Christmas miracle? But let's say something absolutely amazing happened in our house yesterday, and I'm giddy.

My daughter (M) moved out ten years ago. While her car was packed to the gills, stuff was still left in her room. Over those ten years, I've gotten her to look at some of the stuff, but it drove me mad as I knew she would never use or wear most of it again. 

It became a struggle. Eventually, I packed everything into boxes, moved it into the guest room, and took over her old room as a second sewing space. 

The boxes have been in the guest room for a long time, making it look messy. I could have thrown them away, but it wasn't my stuff. It was her job to do it. 

Then, one day, we had a conversation. She agreed to have her friend (Yagana) help her. I was to pay for M's plane ticket home to make that happen. Then, somehow, the conversation changed to having Yagana come here, and M would be on What's App, and they would do it together. Hmmm - that could work. 

And yesterday was the day!! 

Before Yagana came, I removed any finished quilts from the black shelf, I removed the clothes from the closet, as well as the boxes and stuff that was taking up half a closet. I have ZERO issues with storing the things she wants to keep until she has room to store them. 

So we went from this................................

Before

To this in seven hours. 

After

What? How did that happen? I'm stunned. I'm giddy! I'm beyond words!!!!!

Five articles of clothes were put back in the closet—no problem. No other clothes are hanging in that closet; they are special garments. Will M wear them again? Probably not, but that's not the point. The point was to separate what she wanted (at this time) from the stuff she didn't want. 

The green bins at the bottom contain things that she wants to keep. I laughed when I peeked inside. Two of them contain journals and sketch pads. Many have only a few pages used, and the rest is empty. My next goal will be to get M to do the same as I did with mine. Evaluate the pages, rip them out, recycle them, and donate the journal to the local school. 

One green box contains a few special books, including The Night Before Christmas, which I had as a child. Although it's in pretty bad shape, it's a keeper. The fourth green bin contains odds and ends. None of the boxes are full. 

She also kept this stuff in the closet. A few cushions that she bought. I have already removed the white basket because it's empty. I removed a green bin as it's stuff to send to her now. Too bad, as there was room in the box sent yesterday. The rest of the boxes on the top shelf are for me to deal with. They are all her stuff from when she was a baby. School certificates, cards, birth announcements, and all that. 

All that remains in the closet

She wanted to keep two boxes of school paperwork or artwork and review them in greater detail, and I'm perfectly OK with that. 

And this is how it started. This is the first box for donation. 

Two boxes for donation

And then the donation pile grew. 

Became five boxes for donation

At one point, I caught a glimpse—oh boy, what a massive mess there was! But you know what they say—you have to make a mess to clean a mess! Yagana had it under control, and I had no doubts about her getting the job done. It sounded like they were having a great time as they sorted. I'm not sure I would have lasted 7 hours, but she did! 

The mess to clean the mess

And now there's a pile in the top left that is garbage. 

The garbage pile begins in the top left

At the end of the day, this is garbage. She even vacuumed the room when she was done! 

Garbage

This is the giveaway pile. Sheesh! I knew it would be significant, but this is HUGE. Yagana even separated the ripped, stained clothing from what would be suitable for donation! Bless her heart!!!

The donation pile

And there were three empty boxes, which I filled with something else - wait for it. 

Three empty boxes

There were some artist canvases in the room and a lot more under the bathroom sink. I filled two boxes with brand-new canvases, not even out of the wrapping, to be donated to the local school in the new year. Some of them have been painted, but they can be repainted and reused. 

Two boxes of artist canvases

I kept some canvases, but I'm also tempted to put those in a box. Seriously? They have sat around for years, and no one has touched them. I'll contemplate that. If I need a canvas for any reason, I can easily buy one. Hmm—these might just go in the empty box! 

More canvases

What is left in the room? Not much! I moved the black shelf a bit to squeeze my moveable shelf with quilts into the corner. Then, I placed the quilt rack between the two closets. 

The room as it looks now

And there's the bed and a bookcase with more quilts. 

The other side of the room

Do you see why I'm giddy? That's the best transformation ever!!!! I cannot thank Yagana enough for all her hard work. I'm sure it wasn't easy to persuade M to give up so much stuff, but she would never use it again. I'm very proud of her for doing that, and I'm proud of both of them for the fantastic job they did. 

We are now down to a manageable amount of stuff M still has in the house. It could probably be packed into three boxes, which is very manageable. I have stuff that I need to go through, but it's all manageable. 

I don't know how many times I walked into that room last night and just looked! The only disappointment is that the smelly, delightful candle is probably in the garbage or a donation box. I miss that smell! I may try to find it, but I won't tell anyone. 

I bet Yagana was itching to get her hands on my office! But I'm about at the stage that M is with the paper. It's stuff that I personally want to go through. Yes, we could have gotten rid of some stuff, but I know how to do it and just need the time. I've done a great job plugging away and am not in a rush. Hmmm - it might be good to discuss with her, but first, I need to be better organized. Maybe she can help get rid of the junky stuff! That would be huge! Sometimes, you just need someone to help to get you started! 

That's not coming out right. I have started, but I just need to keep at it! 

I paid Yagana to do that work and gave her a large quilt for her spare bedroom in her apartment! I'm happy to find a good home for another quilt! And that rack in the room - well, hopefully, we'll start to see it deplete - that's the plan, but for the moment, I needed somewhere easy to store the excess quilts. 

Now, I feel like I need to sort the quilts further: those I want to keep, those I need for trunk shows, and the rest I don't need! I may or may not have time later today, but this is amazing. 

So here's my advice: If you are getting ready to move, it probably costs a lot less to pay Yagana to get rid of the junk BEFORE moving than to pay movers to move it! So, if you are moving and need help, let me know. Yagana would be happy to come see you. 

If you struggle to know where to start, I bet she could also help with that. She's lovely (working on a PhD in - oh gosh -- social work - I don't think that's right), but she's a bright girl and was quick and efficient. She even dusted and vacuumed as she went.

When we left for dinner, the floor was a huge mess. When we came back, Yagana had sorted all the crap into piles, and everything was neat as a pin! 

Let me know if you want to talk with her! I was impressed and will find a place to get her to help. Maybe she could tackle Studio B. ACK!!! Am I ready? 

I managed to get loads done yesterday, but my decluttering efforts paled compared to hers. Every success, even the little ones, is a success! I'll share my story tomorrow. 

How many times will I walk into the room today? About a dozen! The energy in that room has changed! I want to sort my quilts, I want to buy new sheets for the bed, I want to move the furniture. It makes me feel alive to be in that room now instead of a dead space filled with clutter! It's amazing how getting rid of unwanted things can be so freeing. I wonder how I'll feel when the office is done? 

We really need to paint that room. It's never been touched since we moved in. 

Don't forget that we have a Virtual Retreat tonight. I'm all prepped to work hard. I found some handwork that needs to be done, so that's my focus tonight. 

Saturday, December 28 - Starts at 6 PM EST

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

Sunday, December 29 - Starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

On that note, I'm out of here. WAIT - stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down!

DH must feel left out of the decluttering, as I heard him say that he needs to get his stuff in order! Oh my—I can't wait until the house is clear! We'll have to downsize or keep some quilts, or the echoing will drive us mad! 

I just want to reiterate how proud I am of M for letting go and for Yagana for doing such a fantastic job!!! Love you both!!!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!