There are some things in the guest bedroom and a closet that I will hang onto for a little longer for reasons I do not wish to go into right now.
BUT, the kitchen cupboards are going to be relieved of all those dishes and stuff I have never used during the 12 years we have lived here. They will go, along with a big batch of books, to the Thrift Shop. I am going to be ruthless!
Hubby will be going on a long fishing trip in mid-January and that will give me days to go through his stuff in the basement. I guarantee he will not miss that box of reprints on shrimp reproduction, which should be available digitally these days. He will not miss the plastic containers for the jam that have gotten brittle. And how many empty cardboard boxes does anyone need these days? He will be pleased that I went through the messy drawers in the bathroom.
The most difficult will be boxes of Pacific seashells in that dark corner on the shelf in the basement that are so lovely but hidden away and never seen! They will remain for another year.
I will be boxing and sending off VHS tapes to digitize---FINALLY.
Later in spring I will go through my closet and toss anything I have not worn for a year. I will be ruthless. (Who was ruth (ruthe) anyway?)
But until then, the days between Christmas and New Year's Day usually looks like this around our house.
Happy New Year!
You've inspired me! I will do the same with my own closet. But I won't be as ruthless as you. We got rid of all our extra dishes years ago. Hubby continually throws things away and I continually buy new junk. Glad I've got him! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen we headed off for our second home (maybe someday only home) in Tucson, AZ, I sacked up every bit of my Oregon clothing. I warned my son that I was doing it; so he'd not fear something bad was happening (he takes over the farm whenever we depart it). I will in the next two months do what you are saying-- give away or throw away (I tend to wear clothes for 40 years when I like them) anything I wouldn't wear now or can't due to weight gain. I have felt such guilt at a closet packed with clothes and even piled on the shelf above with things i had no clue what they even were. Worse, I had three dressers in the bedroom with 10 drawers between them just for my clothes-- some I hadn't opened in months or more as I tend to wear the same jeans and t-shirts which only get washed before being re-donned. To make this work, I figured out what I'd wear when first here or needed on the trailer trip south giving me time to sort when I recover from the trip with 4 cats lol. Actually, the cats did fine but the heavy traffic, especially truck traffic, made the 8 days (laid over on one of them for Christmas) and 1260 miles hard on my bp.
ReplyDeleteI figured a beginning with the clothes can start even in late January. (I also have a book to finish that I've put off most of 2018). I really want a sparse closet where what I have works. The Tucson house is great for not too much but the Oregon house has some closets of 'stuff' which maybe our son will have to sort out when he fully takes over the farm. The worst of it are things like crochet doilies by my mom and grandmothers. I will never use them but can't bear to give them away as they seem like heirlooms of sentimentality and love.
ha! ha! I thought I was the only one who sat sideways in the living room chair. Happy to see I'm not alone doing that! That's a great idea of clearing out extra dishes. I've never thought about that but I'm moving that activity to the top of my list because I have a lot of them.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if one could be ruth. Apparently it comes from from reuthe which meant "pity, compassion." Long ago there was the word ruthful, but it didn't survive in common usage. But maybe it should have. Thanks for sending me down that rabbit hole. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy New Year to you as well. We digitized our old tapes last year ... it's a great move.
ReplyDeleteMoving into a condo was a big "ruthless" time. That was four years ago and I still have boxes I have not even opened since. I wonder what treasures (ha ha) are in there.
ReplyDeletesame here. I usually refer to this time as the 'lost days' because nothing gets done. when we moved from the city to the country house we did a lot of shedding. most of our books went and a lot of other stuff didn't make the transition. I could probably still winnow out some stuff. my sister's kids are always telling her she needs to get rid of some of her stuff, you would not believe how much stuff she has...things on the wall, on shelves, on tables...but all that stuff makes her happy. when I was still doing the etched glass I would go into some homes where their closet was bigger than my whole bedroom and packed with clothes and accessories. I always wondered how often they wear any one piece of clothing. me? I wear almost exclusively jeans or shorts and t-shirts with a few nicer blouses. one year before we moved I was determined to get rid of some of the junk my pack rat husband had accumulated so every trash day I would put one item in the trash. he never missed a single thing.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year dear you. George has to work today, and despite enticing offers to hear friends play or sing, We may just stay home and hide our heads till 2019. Ignore your memories,,,,they will fade away on their own, Perhaps the shells need to come out and be dust catchers, and bravo about the dishes et al. You are doing very well.
ReplyDeleteI failed at ruthless, but do have sparks of ‘got to do’ moments where I decide that things must go. It comes and goes, but last year I had enough of those moments to clean out a large part of the basement (where all things eventually end up). Your chair looks nice and comfy so enjoy the lull before you storm the closets.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful post
ReplyDeleteHere's the deal from my ruthless experiences...there is nothing wrong with saving more than you toss. I believe science will support there are situations where one can get down to having the best, the cream of all the stuff. And, it need not be tossed or donated for the sake of achieving a false and short lived sense of personal power. :)
Happy New Year!
I guess the good thing is around here we have stopped accumulating. Last January I was ruthless in some areas, but our house is still pretty jam packed. I wish you well in your crusade to diminish.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent idea, hope you have a lot of success and a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletemessymimi
I have been pondering this same thing. It would be horrible to drop dead and leave all the clutter to my children. Plus I have kept a diary since I was 10 and must start burning them. Who would want to read them. I wish you a fantastic 2019 and look forward to dropping by your wonderful blog from time to time. Happy New Year!!!
ReplyDeleteI too don't wish to leave all this 'junk' for my kids to clean out later (having had to do this myself for family members). But I have a friend that says "Can't do it. Kids can do it. We had to do it, why not them?" So I compromise... do need to throw out/donate some things but there's bond to be some stuff that they will have to go through. And I too am too old to "re-invent myself"... I am what I am by now. But I do try to keep learning new things...
ReplyDeleteYou had me with the post title.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you! Exactly what I feel like doing today (napping). I'm going to drag myself on a walk though! Andrea
ReplyDeleteI've been doing this in my own home ever since cleaning out my parents' house. I'm a sentimental hoarder, so I've had to get really tough with myself and remember that it's the memories that count, not the stuff. And when the memory goes, the stuff won't matter anyway. Good luck to you and wish me luck in my own efforts! Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant idea, but wait till the memories start floating back. I still have these with books thrown away. Happy New Year to you and your famiy.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear, I am so overdue for ridding the house of items. .....and then the books.
ReplyDelete