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The new year and the onset of spring are two of the most motivating times of the year for me. I seem to have a burst of new energy and a strong desire to pare down. This urge has gained strength as I’ve matured (a word I prefer over “aged”). Having a smallish house, short on storage, helps force this task on me.
I long to cull out unneeded decor items along with the other odds and ends that build up. Tone on Tone posted some amazing images of his camellias in October last year, but this image, which was part of that post, resonated with how I’d like my desk area to look. I kept it as additional motivation of a goal not yet fully accomplished.
This year was no different, so I thought I’d throw out (no pun intended) a few of my favorite ways to accomplish this task. Oh, and by the way, I have to capitalize on this action (paring down) when the mood strikes, otherwise I tend to think, as I take out one more unused item, “maybe I’ll need this next year, or one of the kids will need it”. Trust me, as the mother of two married sons, both with lovely wives, THEY WILL NOT WANT MOST OF YOUR STUFF!
1. Identify the target. I zero in on a closet or two to tackle. [Divide and conquer is best or it will overwhelm me] This can also be the storage cabinets in the garage, which is where I find most of the stuff that I no longer use gets sent. Once it’s hit the garage shelves I find I rarely go out and get it even if there’s a remote chance I’d use it. Still, I try to make sure I’m not going to need the item anytime within the next year. That seems to be the common time frame for dumping disposing of possessions.
{Pinterest} This looks like a great way to store things in the garage without taking floor or cupboard space.
2. Once you know of a particular space that is troubling you with it’s over-crowding, set aside a time when you can remove all items from the closet, cupboard or drawer. The last thing you want to do is get started right before you have an appointment or dinner guests arriving.
3. Start by making 4 piles…things you can’t possibly live without, things you’d like to donate, things you might like to sell via eBay, Craigslist or a garage sale, and things you need to deposit in the trash. Do not allow yourself to believe you’ll need everything unless you have more storage space than you need, and have the luxury of saving stuff forever, in other words, don’t hoard. Remind yourself that donating is a good thing and that someone may end up with your item and it will make them very happy.
4. Once you’ve divided the items, act decisively. Take “trash” items to the trash can and the donation items to the car, right now, do not delay. I say this because if you loose momentum on this task you will end up putting it all back and you’ll have wasted your time and the problem will rear its ugly head again next season.
5. Reassign the remaining, must have items, to a location in the cupboard, drawer or closet where it can be easily accessible. If you have useful things but can’t get to them, you won’t use them and they will gather dust and you’ll wonder why you have the thing in the first place.
Note: The above steps apply to decorative accessories as well as other under-used household items. I do have a bit of a problem paring down decorative accessories but I’ve gotten better about doing it and it feels good to have only what I love, even if its a seasonal decoration. Keeping less clutter frees me to know what I have, where it is, and comfortable in the knowledge that I absolutely love it!
The ultimate goal is to have things where you can find them and achieving some semblance of order in and around the house. The images I’ve selected for this post calm me by their simplicity and lack of clutter.
{Peters and Mbiango Interiors}
The other thing I try to do while going through items is re-purpose things in unexpected ways. Jermaine at French Kissed is a constant source of inspiration for this, as demonstrated in her “Pantry Post” sometime back…
…and this from Roses and Rust, a clever use for a silver set no longer used for formal tea…
For additional tips on clutter-busting, visit Real Simple for some great ideas on making this job easier.
Are you organized, do you stay that way or is it something you have to do twice a year?
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes said:
That’s all very interesting and practical, Karen… but when will we be discussing Downton Abbey?
What would Mr. Carson say about keeping q-tips in the sugar bowl?
Mrs. Patmore would like to tell the baking-station owner that they’re not fooling anyone—hanging metal kitchen utensils on a white cabinet door is going to leave a mark…
p.s.- the wives DO want your stuff… just not the stuff you actually want to get rid of. 🙂
Karen B. said:
Victoria, That’s exactly what I thought…how rude to have q-tips out where people can see them, not to mention using such an essential vessel as a utility container! I love Mrs. Patmore…a practical woman and philosopher. (I did actually like the little silver creamer and sugar set in this image). Truth is, between you and me, I thought a “how to” might help with readership. A friend who blogged about “how to make bows” taught me this. 🙂 You might be right. The wives will have to fight over some of this after I’m gone. How’s your weather…we’re freezing out here. What’s up with that? This is Southern California, for crying out loud. (I secretly love it!) Karen
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes said:
I do actually think the repurposed tea set is lovely… I just wanted to reference Downton Abbey. And say—Mis-tah Cah-son, out loud.
p.s.- speaking of readership… you can now verify your wp.com site on pinterest. Did you do this? Email me if you need help!
Karen B. said:
I liked the Downton Abbey reference…I would love Carson to be my head butler…as opposed to the guy we have now, Mr. B! Karen
floridaysmom said:
I love that idea of the bins in the garage..although I would get nervous about them getting to heavy and falling. I guess it would be good for light things that just take up a lot of room. I so need to get organized. I am a very organized person on the surface, house usually looks quite put together, desk space is clear..its what behind the doors and inside the drawers that would make people squeal.
Karen B. said:
Christina, I knew we had a lot in common. My home always appears tidy but my closets can get more than disorderly. I’m making inroads this new year and hope to keep the momentum going. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by. Karen
Phyllis said:
Great inspiration and motivation. I feel another big purge coming on. 😉
Karen B. said:
Phyllis, I’ve had some momentum going the past couple of weeks, I hope to accomplish the task completely by March! 🙂 Karen
trouverlesoleil said:
This is such a timely post Karen as I am in the midst of starting to do a little clean up and have started a paint project. Sometimes when there is a lot to do I spin a little.. so zeroing in one spot is the way to go. Just start somewhere.. right? 🙂
Hope your week is off to a great start!
xxleslie
Karen B. said:
Hi Leslie, I’m hoping that after the purge/pare session I’m currently conducting I can be motivated to paint our bedroom. It’s long overdue. Good luck with your project…be sure to share. Karen
Loi Thai Tone on Tone said:
Hi, Karen – Thanks so much! You should see my messy desk now! I’ve been so busy….need a day or two to clean-up and reorganize. And yes, I desperately need to pare down 🙂 Please help!
xo
Loi
Karen B. said:
Loi, I find that hard to believe…but in any case, I’ll be right over. Put the tea kettle on. Seriously, I reallly do love your desk tray and the little porcelain pieces that hold pens and such. Karen
Loi Thai Tone on Tone said:
Thank you, Karen 🙂 I’m going to clean up tonight……just finished a big project. Whew!
Debby said:
Ummm….Once a year. Hanging head in shame. I am not good at organizing – it stresses me out. I have a huge home with 20 years of accumulated family stuff that I need to somehow get rid of when I have to sell the home. I’m stalling because I am just so overwhelmed. I love the silver tea set used for cotton balls, so sweet. xo
Karen B. said:
Debby, I completely understand…we’ve been in our house 30 years and even with extreme paring, there are more boxes of stuff in the attic space then I even know what they contain. You have my sympathy on this. 😉 Karen
Kathy said:
Boy,while looking at all the lovely photos I was thinking… YES!!! One beautiful shot after another of peaceful settings, then along came French Kissed. My mind shouted….HOLD your horses!!! That was not a simple setting. I love it. It’s so me. Bring on the bits and bobs…… I actually get rid of things rather easily. My children used to post notes…MOM do not throw this out. – Or I should say I don’t hesitate to throw out other’s things. I used to have MANY Rubbermaid tubs filled with holiday decorations, then I got sick of wrestling with the lids, they’re hard to get off. thats when I said -Enough. Now for the most part I use nature to decorate for the different holidays then throw it to the curb when it’s over. I find if I put things in beautiful baskets I completely forget I even have it. I’ve even labeled them and then I don’t look at the label! So now my thinking is.. decide what will stay out all the time and get rid of the rest. You’ve inspired me to get back on my clearing the decks mood. I also want to start a collection of the beautiful silver bottle openers in French Kissed’s photo 😦
Karen B. said:
Kathy, Do you read French Kissed regularly…Jermaine is amazingly talented at not only finding the bits and bobs that you wish for, but for then styling them beautifully. I still love “bits and bobs” but have tried to take care not to get too much going on…do you ever question the volume in a vignette? I used to be just like that, toss it if you don’t want to fool with it…I had really slowed on that and that’s why I’m a mad woman on a mission this New Year. I will probably be whining in a later post that I got rid of too many treasures! 🙂 Karen
Mary Ann Pickett said:
This is so motivating. I tried to clean out the garage and did as you said…put the things in the car immediately for donation. You can park two cars in there now…but the space is not pretty. I need to clean my office cabinet,,,ugh. Perhaps, if I got some pretty baskets like you have shown? Really great post.
Karen B. said:
Mary Ann, Thanks! I’m making progress myself, but still have a ways to go. It feels good to pare down a bit…I keep thinking it makes more room for possible purchases, ha, ha. Karen
Linda Coble said:
Karen,
As you know, I’ve been paring down and re-organizing for the past few weeks so this post really spoke to me. I loved some of the ideas and want to incorporate many of them in my own home – especially the kitchen.
By the way, I don’t really care what Carson would think of q-tips in the sugar bowl and I think Mrs. Patmore would appreciate the well organized cupboard. However, Thomas would probably do something to sabotage it!
Linda
Keri said:
I really do need to get organized, but the problem is that I’d rather be the crazy lady in the gardening hat in mid-January than Mrs. Organized. ::sigh:: priorities…
Thanks for the tips! When I get around to being a good, organized mom I’ll be revisiting your post. ;D Wish me luck!
Keri
Karen B. said:
Keri, Funny, after reading your post on growing that lovely vine from seed, I wanted nothing more than to be in the garden! This is the beauty of blogging, being inspired and hopefully providing a little inspiration now that then. 🙂 Karen