OK—I'll try to stop talking about the decluttering thing in the blog for a bit. But seriously, you won't turn back once you get the hang of how this works. I opened the pantry in the kitchen when I had a few moments waiting for lunch to heat up. We store the dog supplies in there. It wasn't quite tidy enough for me, so I spent a mere five minutes, and now it looks like this. Did you notice the partially empty shelf? If we didn't have dogs, this would be EMPTY!
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| The dog supplies |
The less you have, the easier it is to tidy up and know what you have and what is not being used. I can't believe I lived in clutter for as long as I did! The sense of calm this morning as I decluttered the detritus that had been collected by my computer was unbelievable. I can tackle anything today!
Wait—there's more! I have this shelf of binders in the office. They are a jumbled mess, and I have no idea what's in most of them.
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| Binders in the office |
I had other things on my plate yesterday, but I quickly glanced and spotted two of them completely empty. They are gone!
One was filled with new page protectors!
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| Empty binders - GONE |
Decluttering doesn't have to take hours at a time—a few minutes here and there will get the job done. Now that I've started to attack the office, spotting things that need to go is easy. These five-minute jobs are easy; I'll leave the complex (paper) stuff for later.
Once I'm retired, I'll live a "clean" and very calm life and do everything I want. Stop laughing! I'm learning to say no, and I'm learning to clean up and keep it clean. It's going to be glorious! I almost can't wait to move! There will be so little to tidy up or even to pack up—it's going to be an amazing experience!
But wait—no one is retiring or moving yet. These are just preparations to enjoy the rest of my life in a calm and clean environment. But even better, I get to live in that environment today—not quite where I want to be, but getting closer every day!
Here's something else that went out of the house yesterday. When I originally asked M if she wanted her Christmas decorations, she wasn't sure. Seriously? Now you have an apartment with your future husband? Well, I just said - don't worry about it and was going to put them away. Well, guess what? Dillon LOVES Christmas, and now she wants the decorations. I pulled her box back out, then pulled out what was left of my Christmas stuff and found a few things I had made for her.
Her felt Christmas stocking had a bow that was ripped in half, so I got some new felt and made a new one.
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| Making a new bow |
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| The Christmas stocking is repaired |
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| A box on its way to M |
One box down and about twenty to go. M has agreed to fly home and with a close friend, and they will go through the boxes. Now, when can we make that happen? I even offered to pay for her ticket - -that's how badly I want that stuff cleaned up! I'm super happy to keep what she wants until we can arrange to get it to her house. But I would say that 90% of the stuff is garbage; if it is not, it can be donated! There's no point in keeping it - she's been gone for 10 years, and I've been trying, and the pile is much smaller, but it needs to be gone! Getting rid of that stuff would be HUGE!
I have a few things hanging around that I'm trying to figure out what to do with, but when I think of someone who might use them, I text them to ask. If not, I will come up with Plan B.
Here's the latest quilt on the bed. You know what? I wish I had started this sooner. Walking into the bedroom and seeing the quilts on the bed gives me great pleasure. This is NOT a queen-sized quilt by any means, but it works.
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| The quilt of the week |
I have to put the modern quilts away this weekend, and while doing that, I will start sorting. I'll pull out 10 quilts I don't use for trunk shows. I'll use them on the bed for one week each, and then they will go into the donation pile. They will more than likely end up with Quilts of Valour. And you know what? That is a HUGE relief knowing that I'm giving them away. It's all about enjoying stuff or letting it go. I struggle with both, but the floodgates are now open, and well, I said to Murphy and Lexi that they better behave, or they might be gone too!
So they have been OK since their altercation a couple of days ago. But they are very wary of each other. It didn't help that DH and I have been out and about during the days and evenings this week. Lexi was so out of sorts that she slept outside last night. Don't worry. She has a beautiful little hidey hole under the shed, and she's dug out a comfy spot to sleep. It's dry and out of the wind. She came to the door multiple times, but she wouldn't come in when I opened it. Was she trying to entice Murphy to come out? I don't know, but even when DH came home, she wouldn't come in.
Now, I'm trying to be aware of them in the kitchen and to keep them out. But look at this. That Muprhy has to be part of the action! Always!
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| MOM - I can see you! |
I'm doing great on the writing this week. Again, the feeling of calm at having the time and the space to work is mind-blowing. I feel very calm and in control! And it's only going to get better! I've stopped watching those time-wasting reels on social media. They are just such a blatant waste of time, and yet we get sucked in! I'm not watching shows or listening to audiobooks at the moment. It's peaceful and quiet in the house. I can actually hear myself think! Some people have to turn on sound when they enter a space. I'm the opposite. I could live in silence!
I've been going through old quilt magazines, and some of these are more than 25 years old. Why waste my time? I acquired them, and I want to look at them. Once I'm done, they are in the recycling. And besides, it's hilarious to see some of the things they talk about. There were way more articles in the past than there are today.
But does anyone remember these ads? Of course you do, because you have many books on your shelf as a result.
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| Remember ads like these? |
Oh my gosh—my Mom was HOOKED on those clubs, and there are so many books that she never looked at, sitting in the old house. I belonged to several clubs, but I don't think I have many books left. They have all been donated or thrown out.
And what about quilt shows? Do you remember when the publicity coordinator for a quilt show had to get cracking to get the show advertised in the magazines? And we had to do with the post!
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| Canadian quilt show listing from 2000 |
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| Canadian Quilt Show listing from 2001 |
And what about these local shows? This first one was before my time.
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| That's ME |
I need to work faster on those magazines, but once I get started, it'll go faster. Right now, I just read them occasionally; there isn't a concentrated effort at the moment to eliminate them. I'm still working on the office, and then the magazines will be first on the list to start decluttering in Studio B.
I have them sorted by title, and I've gone through several titles already, and they are gone. Now, I'm working on the QUILT ones, and once they are gone, I'll pick a new title. So there's a process in place; it's just slow at the moment while I work on other things.
I need to get back to my CD sorting. I had taken a hiatus for a couple of days, which is not uncommon for me. I go gangbusters, my schedule gets busy, and the job is half done. So, I'll take a few minutes this morning before I get to work. But it's super easy to see how quickly a note here, a junk thing there, piles up, and you've got clutter. This is a constant struggle to keep things under control.
But even if you declutter half a drawer or door, that is way better than none! The next time you tackle that space, it's going to be faster and easier!
OK—so I didn't stop talking about decluttering. Why? It's become a very big part of my life these days, and I suspect it's going to continue for at least another ten years! But hopefully, not on the scale that I'm working at right now!
I see my pending folder is overflowing, and there is stuff that I need to check off, so I'll be working on that this morning as well. Then it's back to writing!
And what about the appointments or phone calls that one has to make? Why are there so many of them? Order the dog's prescription, then arrange to pick it up. Drop off at the thrift store and schedule the tires and car maintenance. Get the dog groomed, etc. It just never ends. Little bits at a time! And when you're not stressed, it sure is a lot easier!
On that happy note (I sound like Bob Ross!), I'm off to start the day!
Have a super (and clutter-free) day!!!
Ciao!!!
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