Nina - I think that those of us who live in the cold, dark north need more color and things to help us through those months! :) I know that my plants help, as do colorful art, bright china, and lots of indoor light. On that note, we're up to 6 hours of daylight today, though it's still below zero F.
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Posted 1 year ago #
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I have just been accused of being self righteous in my orderliness. My partner asked where my keys are, because she has procrastinated getting her own car fixed. I told her the keys are right where they belong. I may be tooting my own horn and driving her crazy, but it beats being nagged at for clutter! I am very proud of my improvements!
Posted 1 year ago # -
@pkilmain: Yeah, royal 6 hours of daylight :) I know what darkness means and would never survive above the arctic circle like some fellow countrywomen do. Yikes! It's funny though, because during the Summer months I love light, airy fabrics and endless amounts of light flooding in. That colour scheme is way too cold for the winter season though.
@Wendy: LOL, that is exactly what happens when my H asks about some item that went "missing". He moved in with me in July and had next to nothing as far as earthly possessions go and ever since then I've tried so hard to get this decluttering project going. He doesn't seem to realize that it would be finished (well, the first round anyway) a lot faster if he did all the chores around the house, even if it's not his fault that I have so much crap. His strategy ever since moving here has been to do some small stuff a couple of times a week, whereas I've been his hotel and restaurant service. He works and I'm supposed to study, but since I can't live in a piggy house, my job has suffered (but my studies don't count as a job in his book, so it's rather tricky). I declutter when I declutter and meanwhile he will have to accept the mess that he detests with passion.
P.S. I thought I did some decluttering before he moved in, but that was minor league. I'm playing with the big girls now...
Posted 1 year ago # -
Really interesting to read everyone's takes on this.
For me, I think I realised a while ago that I'm not just an unclutterer, I'm also have a minimalist aesthetic style. I realised it when I got rid of more than was *strictly* necessary just to have a tidy house – that pure tingle of joy at looking at a minimalist vignette in my house was a big OH OF COURSE! I don't want to just have less stuff – I want to ONLY have a few lovely things ("enough" things).
Maybe some of you are actually discovering the same thing? I'm actually now buying a few things here and there that fit my new style, as well as getting rid of Stuff.
Posted 1 year ago # -
vjb, i hear that.
it's beyond merely uncluttering now for me.
i am heading into minimalism....everywhere except the kitchen.in the kitchen, i reserve the right to have the best tools i can find and i am quite happy to use a wide range of equipment and raw materials.
it's a creative space for me and i don't have any other hobbies that require "stuff".
(oi, listen to the justification and rationalisation going on here!)overall though....i am not bringing anything new into the house (not even the kitchen).
if something breaks or wears out, i now look at it long and hard before i consider replacing it.
i am still finding things to donate/toss/recycle/regift.
yup, it's gone beyond decluttering....and it feels terrific!Posted 1 year ago # -
@bandicoot, I warn you, one day I will fly up to FNQ and turn up at your doorstep demanding dinner. :)
But I think it's great to have everything you need to pursue an interest you love, personally; no justification needed. I'm nowhere at your cheffie level and cook very simple things, but even so I adore my cast-iron frypan and dutch oven, good knives and pots, etc. (Tonight's dinner: Neil Perry's mackerel with smoked paprika and garlic sauce – mmmmmm! I didn't attempt to fillet my own mackerel, though. I jointed a duck last year and it looked like World War III!)
So be at peace. (And cook for three! ;) )
Posted 1 year ago # -
@Wendy -- I think I suffer from the same self-righteousness. Actually I quite enjoy it, it's the people who need to put up with me that suffer, I suppose?
It usually goes like this: boyfriend asks where something is. I should respond with "in the drawer". But I don't. I respond with "in the drawer, where it's supposed to be". Sigh. In my head I'm making a statement. But in the real world it seems I'm just being annoying?
Posted 1 year ago # -
There are so many good comments on here! I love it!
@vjb - I think you hit the nail on the head for me. I went from cutting back on clutter to realizing that I just want a few things that make me happy. And like ninakk said, this just might be the stage when obsession is good. It is keeping me focused on what I want.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Wendy/Anita: I've found that, for me at least, being snarky give temporary satisfaction but is counterproductive in the long run. I've been trying to recognize that my DH is in some way threatened by and fearful of all this change in the house and perhaps reading more into it than is there. When he can't find something he goes into some weird zone where he thinks that I've thrown something out or given it away and panics. It's not thought, it's emotion. I've been trying to be kind.
I used to think that what I do (not just with decluttering but with other things as well) is obsession, but now I prefer to think of it as hyper-focus or immersion. I think it's a learning style -- I'm someone who learns best by totally immersing myself in a subject, experimenting with the material, and out of this, coming up with something that (usually) is sustainable at a lesser degree of effort in the long run.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have found that I can obsess about a certain area, but the obsession ends when I've decluttered that area. My walk-in attic is the perfect example. Before putting away the holiday decorations, I vacuumed it. I found a few small things between the rafters that I tossed, but I also found that we still had a computer keyboard, which is now in the charity bag. I also made a decision on a lamp and an additional lampshade that I no longer want. Everything else, except for a bin of Halloween decorations, that I should have tossed years ago when my son stopped caring about that stuff, is stuff I want to keep. I no longer have to think about that space anymore.
It makes me think that perhaps we obsess about deluttering because we know there are still things to get rid of, so we're not going to have any real peace until all the unused stuff is gone.
Edited to add that could sound like a "duh" statement, but I don't think the so call "obsession" is anything pathological. I believe we just have a strong desire to rid our homes of the unwanted and won't be happy until we do :).
Posted 1 year ago # -
@JuliaJayne - I loved your post, I am just waiting to get to that point with my attic. I spent another 5 hours up there yesterday and was utterly disgusted that I'd let so much unneeded stuff accumulate.
I'm pretty sure I'll just heave a huge sigh of relief when I get the clutter under control and happily go back to other projects around the house. But...now there is doubt with other peoples' confessions about being addicted. Lol.
Posted 1 year ago #
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