While my blog has been quiet, things have been busy around our house! Of course, I’m getting to spend lots of time with Hazel who, at 8 months old, is practicing her new walking skills and is learning to wave hi and bye.
I am also continuing my goal of decluttering our house. At this point, I have completed every room in our house except for my studio and a future spare bedroom. That room was DD#1’s old bedroom before she got married, and it became a storage room (i.e., dumping ground) after she left. That particular room is the worst, but we were able to get started so you can now see the floor (yeah!) and you can get to each of the windows. That is important because a friend is installing new windows in our house. That has been on our wish list for the ten years we have been in this house, and we are really excited about having warmer windows. The windows that are being replaced are the original ones from the early 1960’s. Other than what we’ve done in that back bedroom so far, it will have to wait until later in the year.
For Christmas, my son-in-law offered to do a project for me as a Christmas gift. He took an afternoon and installed crown molding in our bedroom — another project from our wish list. What a beautiful touch! He did a great job, even when he had to climb on the TV cabinet to get to one particularly hard-to-reach corner. A big thank you to him!
And now for my project for this week: decluttering the studio! I’m projecting that I may have two to four hours each day this week that I can dedicate to trying to dig out my studio. How can it get so awful when I’m not even in there?
I think I am finally ready to do some major purging in there. For years, I’ve been hanging on to miscellaneous art supplies from past pursuits: oil painting, printmaking, scrapbooking, and the like. I think I am finally ready to get rid of most of those supplies, or at least move them out of my prime studio space. It should be an interesting process since I come from a long line of hoarders! Maybe I can pass it on to some future budding artists.
So, as I progress, I’ll keep you posted. Ideally, I will be able to complete this task by the end of the week. Maybe by this time next week, I will actually be able to sit at my sewing machine! Won’t that be exciting?
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8 responses to “Decluttering continues”
Hiya, Maria. Your comment about letting go of supplies from past hobbies really struck home with me. Although my husband & I have a high tolerance for “clutter”, the *degree* of the clutter has reached the point where it bothers even me.
I have reached the mental point of view that I *can* let go of the supplies for my past hobbies that I know, deep in my heart, that I am truly never going to get around to using.
But it’s painful. I have a stock of hand-painted needlepoint canvases. All by themselves, they are works of art. They are simply gorgeous. But, I stopped doing needlepoint about 30 years ago. I know I’m never going to stitch these canvases. So, I need to purge them and declutter my visual space. But it sure does pain my heart: those canvases are just so beautiful.
However, I do look forward to a more streamlined sewing studio as I continue to have self-revelations and acknowledge that I *can* let go of supplies and inventory that is no longer relevant to me today. [I can’t say the same of my counted cross-stitch supplies .. those I’m keeping a while longer!!]
Oh, I have cross-stitch supplies, too! Thankfully I never collected knitting and crochet supplies, but despite that fact I do have some delicious yarns. And jewelry making — I don’t even wear jewelry, so why do I have beading supplies? And art supplies from when I went back to college to finish my art degree, and who knows what else? Yes, it has been a process getting to this point, but I must let go!
It is very freeing to declutter. I’ve been letting go of things that I would have held onto for sentimental reasons. Like my younger brothers things… Hopefully, I’ll see him in heaven. His contemporary entertainment center won’t come with me to heaven…
Any art supplies you declutter… I think Ellie would appreciate them!
I’ll add you to the list. I’m sure there will be enough to share ๐
Well, my guess is that we could form a support group. “Hello, I’m Brenda. I have crafting supplies from a thousand crafts!” Of course it goes past the crafting stuff. I just cleaned out a closet that I store things like paper sacks, used egg cartons, Cool Whip containers, cardboard to recycle, and the like. Save, save, save…it was a wreck! I’ve stored them in there for years, but just hit a point that I told myself, “I am not a dumping ground!” Society tells us not to waste things, but keeping them stored to the point of clutter and not being able to find the things that I really use is not the solution. Whenever I purge, later I rarely miss a thing that I pitched. I enjoy my house so much more when it is organized and clean. I’ve decided to enjoy my house.
LOL! I relate to that so much! I got started on the first of three cupboards. I got rid of almost everything in that cupboard. Most of the things in that cupboard were specialized art supplies that college level or professional artists might use (block printing ink, silk screen ink, acrylic mediums, etc.). After talking to DD#2, I decided I might try listing some of those art supplies on Craigslist. What doesn’t sell there, I may try selling through my website. And DD#2 will try selling some of the leftovers when she does a garage sale in the Spring. I like your self-talk, “I am not a dumping ground!” I might need to use that on myself ๐
Another thing I tell myself is, if I get rid of something they sell at a store, I can just go buy it again if I really have to. I’m more cautious if it’s something I can’t replace (like my Dad’s old shirt that I want to use in a quilt or something).
Yep! I tell myself the same thing!